ENERGY POSITIVE, ZERO ENERGY, SUPER LOW ENERGY BUILDING CONFIGURATION OF A HOTEL BUILDING � A SIMULATION-BASED FEASIBILITY STUDY

Abstract

Nowadays, global warming and climate change have become increasingly critical, more and more countries are pushing their national building practices towards sustainability and energy efficiency. Even though Building Construction Authority (BCA) is targeting "at least 80% of the buildings in Singapore to be green by 2030", Phua (2017) reported that BCA is now also developing roadmap particularly on creating “Positive Energy Low-rise, Zero Energy Medium-rise and Low Energy High-rise Buildings in tropics”. Although building energy simulation models can estimate and predict energy savings, configuration among above three types of building concepts on high-rise hotel still remain unclear. Thus, this dissertation aims to find out the optimal storeys high for Net Zero Energy Building (nZEB), Energy Positive Building (EPB) and Super Low Energy Building (SLEB) with a conceptual framework. This research deals with energy performance of hotel building, an energy intensive sector in Singapore. To substantiate the discussion, a hypothetical 20-storey high-rise hotel building is designed and modeled after reviewing substantial research knowledge on passive design, active design, building envelop elements, HVAC system, lighting needs, occupancy profile and so on. A simulation software - Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment (IES-VE) is employed in this dissertation to first model calibrate the model to Green Mark Goldplus level. During the calibration process, four parameters, namely external shading devices on south-west, north-west and south-east, construction material thermal performance (U-values), and cooling capacity are adjusted through five simulations. Next, IES-VE is employed to generate solar energy analysis and PV panel energy performance, and lastly identify maximum number of storeys for nZEB, EPB and SLEB. In this way, this study investigates the feasibility of nZEB, EPB and SLEB configuration in Singapore. Simulation results from output data show that it is only technically feasible to building a low-rise nZEB and EPB with 1 storey high and SLEB at 2 storeys high in Singapore when applied with the materials with insulation and monocrystalline PV panels under their efficient and optimal conditions. Interestingly, the study has a new finding: the hotel model can perform the best as a 20-stoey air-conditioned high-rise in tropical climates if it aims to achieve an EEI of 210 kWh/m2/yr (lower than the calibrated EEI of 223.39 kWh/m2/yr) under same footprint, shape and PV system. As for the limitation, designs and results are specific to tropical climate and may not be applied in other climates. In short, a comprehensive study has been provided from the major findings for future researchers for further study and understanding in more manners.