IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i22p6473-d287987.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy-Efficient Window Retrofit for High-Rise Residential Buildings in Different Climatic Zones of China

Author

Listed:
  • Qiong He

    (School of Economics and Management, Nanjing Technology University, Nanjing 211816, China)

  • S. Thomas Ng

    (Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Md. Uzzal Hossain

    (Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China)

  • Martin Skitmore

    (School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane Q4001, Australia)

Abstract

The building envelope plays a significant role in the energy performance of buildings and windows are a key element in transmitting heating and cooling between the indoor and outdoor environment, and hence an adequate window system is one of the most important retrofit strategies of existing buildings for energy conservation. Therefore, this study presents a method with a theoretical case study to examine the improvement of energy efficiency in a typical high-rise residential building through window retrofitting. A building energy design model in Designbuilder along with a building information modeling (BIM) model in Revit are developed, with 20 common potential glazing alternatives being analyzed to predict the potential energy savings in the same case building with identical orientation located in a variety of climate zones in China. Based on different parameters and considerations, the results demonstrated that the currently relatively expensive low-e window glazing has the best energy performance in all climate zones, but is sufficiently close to conventionally glazed windows in its energy efficiency to discourage its adoption at present, and that, instead, a single dark conventional glazed window is preferred in a hot summer/warm winter climate, double dark traditional glazing in a hot summer/cold winter climate, and a double clear conventional window in a cold climate. Based on the simulated results, an indicative suggestion was provided to select an adequate window system for residential building retrofitting in the studied climates or similar climatic regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiong He & S. Thomas Ng & Md. Uzzal Hossain & Martin Skitmore, 2019. "Energy-Efficient Window Retrofit for High-Rise Residential Buildings in Different Climatic Zones of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6473-:d:287987
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/22/6473/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/22/6473/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wan, K. S. Y. & Yik, F. W. H., 2004. "Building design and energy end-use characteristics of high-rise residential buildings in Hong Kong," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(1), pages 19-36, May.
    2. Cuce, Erdem & Riffat, Saffa B., 2015. "A state-of-the-art review on innovative glazing technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 695-714.
    3. Hee, W.J. & Alghoul, M.A. & Bakhtyar, B. & Elayeb, OmKalthum & Shameri, M.A. & Alrubaih, M.S. & Sopian, K., 2015. "The role of window glazing on daylighting and energy saving in buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 323-343.
    4. Ihm, Pyeongchan & Park, Lyool & Krarti, Moncef & Seo, Donghyun, 2012. "Impact of window selection on the energy performance of residential buildings in South Korea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-9.
    5. Yang, Liu & Yan, Haiyan & Lam, Joseph C., 2014. "Thermal comfort and building energy consumption implications – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 164-173.
    6. Cuce, Erdem & Cuce, Pinar Mert, 2016. "Vacuum glazing for highly insulating windows: Recent developments and future prospects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1345-1357.
    7. Capozzoli, Alfonso & Gorrino, Alice & Corrado, Vincenzo, 2013. "A building thermal bridges sensitivity analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 229-243.
    8. Chi-Ming Lai & Yao-Hong Wang, 2011. "Energy-Saving Potential of Building Envelope Designs in Residential Houses in Taiwan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 4(11), pages 1-16, November.
    9. Joonrak Kim & Dongmin Son & Bongju Jeong, 2017. "Two-Stage Integer Programing Model for Building Retrofit Planning for Energy Saving in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-18, November.
    10. Peng, Yuzhen & Rysanek, Adam & Nagy, Zoltán & Schlüter, Arno, 2018. "Using machine learning techniques for occupancy-prediction-based cooling control in office buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 1343-1358.
    11. Huang, Jianhua & Gurney, Kevin Robert, 2016. "The variation of climate change impact on building energy consumption to building type and spatiotemporal scale," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 137-153.
    12. Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana & Cabeza, Luisa F. & Serrano, Susana & Barreneche, Camila & Petrichenko, Ksenia, 2015. "Heating and cooling energy trends and drivers in buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 85-98.
    13. Wan, Kevin K.W. & Li, Danny H.W. & Lam, Joseph C., 2011. "Assessment of climate change impact on building energy use and mitigation measures in subtropical climates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1404-1414.
    14. Liu, Yang & Wang, Wei & Ghadimi, Noradin, 2017. "Electricity load forecasting by an improved forecast engine for building level consumers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 18-30.
    15. Lam, Joseph C. & Tsang, C.L. & Li, Danny H.W. & Cheung, S.O., 2005. "Residential building envelope heat gain and cooling energy requirements," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 933-951.
    16. Giacomo Chiesa & Andrea Acquaviva & Mario Grosso & Lorenzo Bottaccioli & Maurizio Floridia & Edoardo Pristeri & Edoardo Maria Sanna, 2019. "Parametric Optimization of Window-to-Wall Ratio for Passive Buildings Adopting A Scripting Methodology to Dynamic-Energy Simulation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-30, May.
    17. Baldinelli, G. & Bianchi, F., 2014. "Windows thermal resistance: Infrared thermography aided comparative analysis among finite volumes simulations and experimental methods," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 250-258.
    18. Eom, Jiyong & Clarke, Leon & Kim, Son H. & Kyle, Page & Patel, Pralit, 2012. "China's building energy demand: Long-term implications from a detailed assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 405-419.
    19. Fong, K.F. & Lee, C.K., 2012. "Towards net zero energy design for low-rise residential buildings in subtropical Hong Kong," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 686-694.
    20. Lee, J.W. & Jung, H.J. & Park, J.Y. & Lee, J.B. & Yoon, Y., 2013. "Optimization of building window system in Asian regions by analyzing solar heat gain and daylighting elements," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 522-531.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xie, Xing & Xu, Bin & Fei, Yue & Chen, Xing-ni & Pei, Gang & Ji, Jie, 2024. "Passive energy-saving design strategy and realization on high window-wall ratio buildings in subtropical regions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    2. Ma Katrina Rañeses & Alice Chang-Richards & Kevin I-Kai Wang & Kim Natasha Dirks, 2021. "Housing for Now and the Future: A Systematic Review of Climate-Adaptive Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Haibo Yu & Hui Zhang & Xiaolin Han & Ningcheng Gao & Zikang Ke & Junle Yan, 2023. "An Empirical Study of a Passive Exterior Window for an Office Building in the Context of Ultra-Low Energy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-23, September.
    4. Wen Cao & Lin Yang & Qinyi Zhang & Lihua Chen & Weidong Wu, 2021. "Evaluation of Rural Dwellings’ Energy-Saving Retrofit with Adaptive Thermal Comfort Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-25, May.
    5. Mohammad AlHashmi & Gyan Chhipi-Shrestha & Rajeev Ruparathna & Kh Md Nahiduzzaman & Kasun Hewage & Rehan Sadiq, 2021. "Energy Performance Assessment Framework for Residential Buildings in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-25, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Qiong He & S. Thomas Ng & Md. Uzzal Hossain & Godfried L. Augenbroe, 2020. "A Data-driven Approach for Sustainable Building Retrofit—A Case Study of Different Climate Zones in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-29, June.
    2. Seo, Dong-yeon & Koo, Choongwan & Hong, Taehoon, 2015. "A Lagrangian finite element model for estimating the heating and cooling demand of a residential building with a different envelope design," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 66-79.
    3. Koo, Choongwan & Park, Sungki & Hong, Taehoon & Park, Hyo Seon, 2014. "An estimation model for the heating and cooling demand of a residential building with a different envelope design using the finite element method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 205-215.
    4. Mi-Su Shin & Kyu-Nam Rhee & Ji-Yong Yu & Gun-Joo Jung, 2017. "Determination of Equivalent Thermal Conductivity of Window Spacers in Consideration of Condensation Prevention and Energy Saving Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Pilechiha, Peiman & Mahdavinejad, Mohammadjavad & Pour Rahimian, Farzad & Carnemolla, Phillippa & Seyedzadeh, Saleh, 2020. "Multi-objective optimisation framework for designing office windows: quality of view, daylight and energy efficiency," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    6. Refat, Khalid H. & Sajjad, Redwan N., 2020. "Prospect of achieving net-zero energy building with semi-transparent photovoltaics: A device to system level perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    7. Ali Bahadori-Jahromi & Abdulazeez Rotimi & Anastasia Mylona & Paulina Godfrey & Darren Cook, 2017. "Impact of Window Films on the Overall Energy Consumption of Existing UK Hotel Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-23, May.
    8. Feng, Wei & Zhang, Qianning & Ji, Hui & Wang, Ran & Zhou, Nan & Ye, Qing & Hao, Bin & Li, Yutong & Luo, Duo & Lau, Stephen Siu Yu, 2019. "A review of net zero energy buildings in hot and humid climates: Experience learned from 34 case study buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    9. Uetsuji, Yasutomo & Yasuda, Yuta & Yamauchi, Shugo & Matsushima, Eiji & Adachi, Maki & Fuji, Masayoshi & Ito, Hirokazu, 2021. "Multiscale study on thermal insulating effect of a hollow silica-coated polycarbonate window for residential buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    10. Li, Danny H.W. & Yang, Liu & Lam, Joseph C., 2013. "Zero energy buildings and sustainable development implications – A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-10.
    11. Pacheco-Torgal, F., 2017. "High tech startup creation for energy efficient built environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 618-629.
    12. He, Qiong & Hossain, Md. Uzzal & Ng, S. Thomas & Augenbroe, Godfried, 2021. "Identifying practical sustainable retrofit measures for existing high-rise residential buildings in various climate zones through an integrated energy-cost model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. Liu, Changyu & Wu, Yangyang & Bian, Ji & Li, Dong & Liu, Xiaoyan, 2018. "Influence of PCM design parameters on thermal and optical performance of multi-layer glazed roof," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 151-161.
    14. Michaux, Ghislain & Greffet, Rémy & Salagnac, Patrick & Ridoret, Jean-Baptiste, 2019. "Modelling of an airflow window and numerical investigation of its thermal performances by comparison to conventional double and triple-glazed windows," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 27-45.
    15. Karolis Banionis & Jurga Kumžienė & Arūnas Burlingis & Juozas Ramanauskas & Valdas Paukštys, 2021. "The Changes in Thermal Transmittance of Window Insulating Glass Units Depending on Outdoor Temperatures in Cold Climate Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-22, March.
    16. Yu, Sha & Tan, Qing & Evans, Meredydd & Kyle, Page & Vu, Linh & Patel, Pralit L., 2017. "Improving building energy efficiency in India: State-level analysis of building energy efficiency policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 331-341.
    17. Seok-Hyun Kim & Hakgeun Jeong & Soo Cho, 2019. "A Study on Changes of Window Thermal Performance by Analysis of Physical Test Results in Korea," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    18. Liu, Zhijian & Liu, Yuanwei & He, Bao-Jie & Xu, Wei & Jin, Guangya & Zhang, Xutao, 2019. "Application and suitability analysis of the key technologies in nearly zero energy buildings in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 329-345.
    19. Mamdooh Alwetaishi & Omrane Benjeddou, 2021. "Impact of Window to Wall Ratio on Energy Loads in Hot Regions: A Study of Building Energy Performance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-15, February.
    20. Sanghoon Baek & Sangchul Kim, 2020. "Potential Effects of Vacuum Insulating Glazing Application for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emission (GHGE) from Apartment Buildings in the Korean Capital Region," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-15, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6473-:d:287987. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.