International Conference on IT, Architecture and Mechanical Engineering (ICITAME'2015) May 22-23, 2015 Dubai (UAE)
Energy Conservation by Retrofitting: An
Overview of Office Buildings in Saudi Arabia
Sarah A. Al-Ghamdi1, Alaa Al-Gargossh2, and Khalid A. Alshaibani3
The world three primary economic sectors of energy use are
industry, buildings and transportation. Buildings have become
one of the fastest growing energy consumption sectors and
they are the responsible of more than 33% of the global CO2
emissions [3]. Thereby, improving the energy performance of
existed buildings is undoubtedly considered to be one of the
most sustainable and feasible measures for creating
sustainable buildings with less energy consumption profiles
[3].
Energy is used in buildings to operate its systems that are
necessary for ensuring the comfort of the building’s
occupants; such as air-conditioning, heating and ventilation
which all consume over 40% of the total energy, while the rest
are used for lighting, elevators and equipment...etc. The good
energy management of those systems in a building will assist
to conserve the valuable natural resources; where many
changes can be made to save energy and money [4]. These
changes are called (Green Retrofitting), Low carbon retrofit
can be achieved by improving the building envelope and
systems with the primary intention of improving energy
efficiency, saving money and reducing carbon emissions [4],
and any building which performs badly in terms of energy
consumption, comfort conditions or environmental impact is a
potential candidate for retrofitting [5]. Whatever shortcoming
or deficiency in the performance of one of the building
systems would have to be compensated by other systems,
otherwise the desired objectives would be compromised. The
impact of the performance of such systems would be reflected
on the quality of the environment, productivity and long-term
economics of the facility [6]. Therefore, a total system
approach of energy management that considers all systems
together and their interaction as one system is critical in
achieving the desired objectives of energy efficiency retrofit
[6]. There is a wide range of possible retrofit actions, and they
all have impact on each other either at the time of installation
or after operation. Thereby, choosing the correct combination
of actions increases overall effectiveness [5].
There are two key retrofit activities that stand out as major
carbon reducing opportunities in multi-occupied commercial
properties: The first is low disruption retrofits to the envelope
which intended specifically to improve energy efficiency, and
the second is accelerated replacement of existing systems and
equipment [4]. Assessing the performance and potential of an
existing building will indicate which remedial actions will
produce the most effective results. Such actions may relate to
the building, its systems and its users [5]. However, the
building envelope cannot be deduced from its performance
alone, because a building and its systems have such complex
Abstract—Buildings have become one of the fastest growing
energy consumption sectors. Energy is used to operate the buildings'
systems that are necessary for ensuring the comfort of the building’s
occupants; such as air-conditioning. In other hand, good energy
management will assist to conserve the valuable natural resources
and reinforce the global sustainability. The paper discussed the
increase of electrical energy consumption in Saudi Arabia due to
rapid economic development and the absence of energy conservation
measures. Office buildings represent the commercial sector that
consumes 14% of the total buildings energy consumption in Saudi
Arabia. The new Tariff and the raise of the electricity rates have
highlighted the problem of the energy consumption in office
buildings and proved the need to develop energy conservation
policies for sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to
shed light on some of Saudi retrofitting studies to explore energy
conservation opportunities in Saudi office buildings and review some
of the international retrofitting studies in order to develop solutions
that can be applied in Saudi Arabia. The studies led to the result that
the building envelope has a direct effect on electricity and energy
consumption and that glazed facades work as a transmittal for heat. In
order to analyze the impact of glazing factor in Saudi Arabia and the
need for retrofitting, an office building with 36% glazed facade was
selected, and some recommendation was discussed to minimize the
energy consumption..
Keywords—retrofit, energy conservation, glazing.
I. INTRODUCTION
I
N order to achieve a bright energy future with minimal
environmental impact, it must be taken into consideration
that problems with energy utilization are related not only to
global warming, but also to many other environmental
concerns as air pollution, acid rain, stratospheric ozone
depletion and the main concern is the emission of carbon
dioxide (CO2). Nowadays, improving the energy performance
isn’t just for saving the environment but due to economic
reasons as various organizations in different sectors is
constantly under pressure to reduce energy consumption. The
reduction in energy consumption leads to reduction in
operating costs, and thereby helps to improve the profitability;
as energy cost is one of the main cost drivers for businesses
[1], [2] and this stands side by side with conserving the
valuable natural resources.
Sarah Al-Ghamdi1 is with the University of Dammam, Dammam, Saudi
Arabia (e-mail: saralghamdi@uod.edu.sa).
Alaa Al-Gargossh2 is with the University of Dammam, Dammam, Saudi
Arabia (e-mail: Algargoosh@uod.edu.sa).
Khalid A. Alshaibani 3 is with the University of Dammam, Dammam,
Saudi Arabia (corresponding author’s phone: +966555855911 ; email:kshaibani@uod.edu.sa).
http://dx.doi.org/10.15242/IIE.E0515005
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International Conference on IT, Architecture and Mechanical Engineering (ICITAME'2015) May 22-23, 2015 Dubai (UAE)
patterns of interaction that make it difficult to know how the
different parameters are affecting each other [5]. It can be
assessed by analyzing the energy performance of existing
building for representative periods of energy use per day and
per year, based on internal records or on utility bills, and by
the evaluation of emissions or comfort levels.
It must be taken in consideration that one of the greatest
barriers to retrofit and improve the energy efficiency or even
add renewable energy technology in buildings is the high
capital cost of projects. Whether upgrading a chiller, installing
a solar photovoltaic system, or implementing a bundle of
improvements under a whole-building retrofit, clean energy
projects require large up-front investments, followed by a long
period of payback through savings in energy bills [7]. It is real
that Retrofits do not yield the same profit margin as do
construction projects begun from the ground up, but they are
safer in the current economic climate [8], and it is difficult to
generalize about the cost effectiveness of different measures
which depends on climate, local energy prices and the type of
conditions for a particular building [5].
-
Enhancing the overall materials specification.
Applying an advanced window shading measures.
Reducing the windows area particularly for the east
and west façades.
- providing occupancy sensor control of HVAC
setpoints and terminal unit damper positions.
And the utilization of renewable energy sources in addition
to the existing site energy must be taken into consideration
with reporting on the impact of energy measures on carbon
emissions [9].
In Europe, a life cycle assessment case study was conducted
in seven retrofitted public buildings to determine the balance
of energy and environmental benefits and drawbacks for
retrofit actions. For most of the case studies, the retrofit
actions involve about 50% of energy saving for heating and
the improvement in the envelope thermal insulation (highefficiency windows, and thermal insulating boards) has the
most significant benefits [10].
This leads to result that the building envelope has a direct
effect on electricity and energy consumption because windows
work as a transmittal for the sunlight; this will raise the
interior temperature and the need for air conditioning that will
consume more energy.
II. INTERNATIONAL RETROFITTING IN THE COMMERCIAL
SECTOR
1B
The green building retrofit is becoming widespread at
United States, as the office buildings and education facilities
constitute the largest percentage of all retrofit activity which is
50%. By 2014, the United States green retrofitting and
renovation market is expected to increase by 20-30% and it
was reported that the most green retrofit activities
concentrated on the use of more energy-efficient lighting or
natural day lighting, and nearly 92% installed more energy
efficient mechanical and electrical systems [3] Eight
interactive strategies were made to get the optimal retrofit
solution as shown in table.3. It is clear from the results that the
most significant savings was a result of controlling the amount
of lighting either natural or artificial and also managing the
interior temperature, which made a total annual energy savings
of 4.4 million$.
Another study with a similar target but wider vision was
conducted by The Department of Energy (DOE) to reduce the
energy consumption in the United States medium office
buildings to 50% [9]. The aim of DOE was to create
technologies and design approaches that enable net-zero
energy buildings at low incremental cost by 2025. The study
includes the modeling assumptions used in the Energy
molding simulations for both baseline and advanced
prototypical buildings in 8 different climate zones around
United States by using EnergyPlus simulation program. The
prototype medium office building was simulated in each
climate locations to determine if the 50% energy savings goal
was achieved. The baseline inputs has included all the detailed
information of building envelope, lighting, Miscellaneous
Equipment, HVAC Systems, Variable Air Volume and
Service Water Heating. In addition to that, a CostEffectiveness Analysis was set to ensure the saving results and
efficiency recommendations for each climate zone are
included, along with the results of the energy simulations. The
recommendations can be summarized as following:
http://dx.doi.org/10.15242/IIE.E0515005
III. ELECTRICITY GROWTH IN SAUDI ARABIA
2B
Electrical energy consumption in Saudi Arabia has
increased sharply during the last two decades due to rapid
economic development and the absence of energy
conservation measures [11]. In 2007, the per capita
consumption has reached 19.4 KWH per day which is 7080
KWH per year [12]. The reports of Saudi Electricity Company
showed that about 73% of the electric energy generated in
Saudi Arabia is used for operating buildings (Fig. 1), and 65%
of this energy is consumed by air conditioning [13]. The
excessive demand for air conditioning in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia is a direct result of the extreme temperatures
during summer, when the ambient temperature frequently
reaches 46 degrees C at night [12]. Peak loads reached nearly
24GW in 2001 which is 25 times their 1975 level and are
expected to approach 60GW by 2023 and the total investment
needed to meet this demand may exceed $90 billion [12].
Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop energy
conservation policies for sustainable development. If energy
conservation is taken into account, the forecast demand can be
reduced by 5–10% and this is equivalent to 3–6GW of
additional capacity, which represents a possible $1.5–3.0
billion saving over the next 20 years. And if only savings on
air conditioning are considered, the return on investment is
equivalent to 400–500MW p.a. of generating capacity and that
will save up to $0.25 billion p.a. [12].
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International Conference on IT, Architecture and Mechanical Engineering (ICITAME'2015) May 22-23, 2015 Dubai (UAE)
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International Conference on IT, Architecture and Mechanical Engineering (ICITAME'2015) May 22-23, 2015 Dubai (UAE)
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International Conference on IT, Architecture and Mechanical Engineering (ICITAME'2015) May 22-23, 2015 Dubai (UAE)
Fig. 4. Southern oriented elevations of Dar Alyaum office building, KSA
To study the effect of some possible treatments for the
glazing, the Visual-Doe energy simulation program was used
where climatic data of Dammam Area was used [33]. The
analysis has shown the importance of utilizing daylight
effectively. Daylight in such area could reach up to 16000 lux
(excluding direct sunlight) on the vertical surfaces that
exposed to any orientation for about 50% of the working year
(07:00 to 17:00) (Fig. 5)
Such large amount of external daylight show its importance
a potential natural source for reducing the use of electrical
light inside the building.
The results indicate that the glazing used could admit an
average internal illuminance of more than 500 lux for about
85% of the working year. However, the studies has shown also
that reducing the existing glazing area from about 31% to 10%
can results in a reduction in energy consumption by 20%.
However, if the owners want to keep the same area of glazing,
changing the glazing material with a better solar heat gain
coefficients (SHGC) can help in reducing the energy
consumption by up to 6% (Fig. 7).
To use daylight effectively without causing an increase in
internal loads due to heat gain, optimization studies need to be
carried out.
Fig. 6 The effect of glazing area on energy consumption of Dar
Alyaum office building, KSA
Fig. 7 The effect of SHGC on energy consumption of Dar Alyaum
office building, KSA
VI. CONCLUSION
While the international studies concentrated on the
importance of providing retrofitting solution for both: the
envelope and the systems of the building, the studies in Saudi
Fig. 5 Percentage of illuminance that more than 16klx on vertical
surfaces of Dammam Area.
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International Conference on IT, Architecture and Mechanical Engineering (ICITAME'2015) May 22-23, 2015 Dubai (UAE)
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Arabia were limited to either the building systems or the
envelope.
And since most of the studies had proven that the building
envelope has the most significant effect on the energy
consumption, the large glazed facades in the office buildings
in Saudi Arabia should be treated by minimizing the glazing
area especially for SE and SW facades, or by providing
shading, and better results can be achieved by using insulation
materials in addition to the glazing treatment.
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