Influence of energy efficiency renovation on indoor climate
Résumé
The buildings of the 1960s are not designed for today’s conditions and sustainable building
standards. One of the solution strategies is renovation, which is not only for energy
conservation but also for quality-of-life improvement. However, achieving both factors at
once is a challenge, mostly from a financial standpoint. For public establishments, their
priority is on energy efficiency retrofits which in return could push the indoor
environmental quality (IEQ) to the edge of the comfort zone. IEQ is correlated to the
health, comfort, and performance of users according to previous studies. This paper
presents a case study of university buildings that underwent an energy-efficient renovation,
including the replacement of windows and the installation of walls and roof insulation and
mechanical extract ventilation systems. The objective is to analyze if the target energy
consumption is achieved while maintaining a good IEQ during the heating period. Using t-
test statistics on in-situ measurements of the before and after renovations, the results have
shown three important findings. One, the total energy consumption has been reduced by
67%. Two, the t-test shows a significant difference between before and after states, with
temperature decreased, and CO2 level increased. Three, a higher CO2 concentration is due
to a faulty ventilation control that provides half less of the initial design airflow rate to meet
a healthy standard. Overall, both temperature and CO2 rates remain in acceptable ranges
despite the variation, but it is crucial to evaluate the HVAC controls after the renovation for
safety reasons.
Domaines
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