An approach for energy performance and indoor climate assessment in a Portuguese school building

Abstract The main goal of this paper is to present a set of well-defined and structured procedures to establish guidelines for the application of an integrated assessment of energy performance and indoor climate in schools. Increasing the knowledge about how energy is consumed in schools is a way to enhance the awareness of school managers (board of directors) about the importance of improving energy efficiency and reducing energy costs. The proposed methodology helps to identify major energy consuming equipment in school buildings and potential energy conservation measures. The assessment of indoor climate identifies potential corrective measures to problems related to indoor air quality and thermal comfort, also supporting the study of further energy conservation measures associated with ensuring environmental quality. Results of a case study showed that the expected energy consumption reduction is about 11.2% due to a better usage of daylighting and 4.5% due to the reduction of fresh air flow rates, while extending the ventilation operation time. In addition, there is a considerable non-calculated potential for energy savings and improvement of indoor environmental conditions in school buildings, promoting students and teachers productivity and wellbeing.

[1]  Sandhya Patidar,et al.  Understanding the energy consumption and occupancy of a multi-purpose academic building , 2015 .

[2]  L. Dias Pereira,et al.  Indoor air quality audit and evaluation on thermal comfort in a school in Portugal , 2015 .

[3]  Hani H. Sait,et al.  Auditing and analysis of energy consumption of an educational building in hot and humid area , 2013 .

[4]  Wayne Turner,et al.  Energy Management Handbook , 2020 .

[5]  Mattheos Santamouris,et al.  An integrated evaluation study of the ventilation rate, the exposure and the indoor air quality in naturally ventilated classrooms in the Mediterranean region during spring. , 2015, The Science of the total environment.

[6]  Manuel Gameiro da Silva,et al.  Assessment of indoor air quality and thermal comfort in Portuguese secondary classrooms: Methodology and results , 2014 .

[7]  Guillermo Escrivá-Escrivá,et al.  Continuous assessment of energy efficiency in commercial buildings using energy rating factors , 2012 .

[8]  Monica Paciuk,et al.  Improving energy performance of school buildings while ensuring indoor air quality ventilation , 2007 .

[9]  Umberto Desideri,et al.  Analysis of energy consumption in the high schools of a province in central Italy , 2002 .

[10]  Jørn Toftum,et al.  Association between classroom ventilation mode and learning outcome in Danish schools , 2015 .

[11]  Stefan Maas,et al.  Field study on the energy consumption of school buildings in Luxembourg , 2014 .

[12]  Theodoros Theodosiou,et al.  Energy, comfort and indoor air quality in nursery and elementary school buildings in the cold climatic zone of Greece , 2008 .

[13]  Eleonora Annunziata,et al.  Enhancing energy efficiency in public buildings: The role of local energy audit programmes , 2014 .

[14]  S. Corgnati,et al.  A method for heating consumption assessment in existing buildings: A field survey concerning 120 Italian schools , 2008 .

[15]  Francesca Romana D'Ambrosio,et al.  Indoor Environment and Energy efficiency in Schools. Part 1 Principles. Rehva Guidebook n. 13. (F.R. d'Ambrosio editor) , 2010 .

[16]  Ali F. Alajmi.  Energy audit of an educational building in a hot summer climate , 2012 .

[17]  Bo Shen.  Energy Audit Practices in China: National and Local Experiences and Issues - eScholarship , 2011 .

[18]  A. Dimoudi,et al.  Energy monitoring and conservation potential in school buildings in the C' climatic zone of Greece , 2009 .

[19]  A. K. Mishra,et al.  A comparison of student performance between conditioned and naturally ventilated classrooms , 2015 .

[20]  Tod Schneider.  National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities , 2010 .

[21]  Dejan Mumovic,et al.  Improved benchmarking comparability for energy consumption in schools , 2014 .

[22]  Derek Clements-Croome,et al.  Ventilation rates in schools and pupils' performance , 2012 .

[23]  Pawel Wargocki,et al.  The Effects of Outdoor Air Supply Rate and Supply Air Filter Condition in Classrooms on the Performance of Schoolwork by Children (RP-1257) , 2007 .

[24]  Albert Thumann.  Handbook of Energy Audits , 1979 .

[25]  Miimu Airaksinen,et al.  Measured energy consumption of educational buildings in a Finnish city , 2015 .

[26]  Guillermo Escrivá-Escrivá.  Basic actions to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings in operation , 2011 .

[27]  Alastair Blyth,et al.  Modernising Secondary School Buildings in Portugal , 2012 .

[28]  Vishal Garg,et al.  Quantifying the direct benefits of cool roofs in an urban setting: Reduced cooling energy use and lowered greenhouse gas emissions , 2012 .