Comparison of nZEB indicators for hotel renovations under different European climatic conditions

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020

Authors

Filipe O. Cunha (Author) Other; Armando C. Oliveira (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: International Journal of Low Carbon Technologies

Pages: 1-12

ISSN: 1748-1317

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 2 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 2 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00S-XHX

DOI: 10.1093/ijlct/ctaa059

Abstract (EN): Hotels hold an important role in the energy efficiency policies of the European Union (EU), as they are typically ranked among the top energy consumers in the non-residential sector. However, a significant amount of the energy used in hotels is wasted, leaving ample room for enhancing energy-efficiency and resource conservation. Indeed, energy refurbishment of the hotel building stock is crucial in order to reach the nearly zero energy building (nZEB) status imposed by EU Directives for energy efficiency, and also an important pillar to achieve the energy targets for 2030 and the transition towards climate-neutral levels by 2050. A typical 4-star hotel in operation in Faro (Portugal) was used as a case study in order to establish energy performance indicators for nZEB hotels in three European cities, taking into account the influence of the climatic context, the technical feasibility and cost effectiveness of the best energy retrofit packages. The study started after the calibration of the building energy model by means of an energy audit and measured data, in order to have a baseline model that represents well the actual energy use of the hotel in the reference location. The building energy model was developed by using DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus software. The validated model was then used to assess the effect of the best retrofit interventions (energy efficiency measures and active solar systems) in order to set minimum energy performance requirements and to reach cost-optimal levels and nZEB levels for refurbished hotels. A significant energy-saving potential was found for the costoptimal benchmarks, and the obtained nZEB levels can be achieved under technically and economically conditions for the selected cities: Faro, London and Athens.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 12