A Fundamental Study on the Development of New Energy Performance Index in Office Buildings

Jin-Hee Kim, Seong-Koo Son, Gyeong-Seok Choi, Young-Tag Kim, Sung-Bum Kim and Won-Ki Choi
Additional contact information
Jin-Hee Kim: Green Energy Technology Research Center, Kongju National University, Cheonan 31080, Korea
Seong-Koo Son: SK E&C Co., Ltd., Seoul 03163, Korea
Gyeong-Seok Choi: Korean Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, Goyang 10223, Korea
Young-Tag Kim: AIMT Co., Ltd., Daegu 42709, Korea
Sung-Bum Kim: Institute of Technology, Sonusys Co., Ltd., Gimpo 10028, Korea
Won-Ki Choi: Institute of Technology, Sonusys Co., Ltd., Gimpo 10028, Korea

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Recently, there have been significant concerns regarding excessive energy use in office buildings with a large window-to-wall ratio (WWR) because of the curtain wall structure. However, prior research has confirmed that the impact of the window area on energy consumption varies depending on building size. A newly proposed window-to-floor ratio (WFR) correlates better with energy consumption in the building. In this paper, we derived the correlation by analyzing a simulation using EnergyPlus, and the results are as follows. In the case of small buildings, the results of this study showed that the WWR and energy requirement increase proportionally, and the smaller the size is, the higher the energy sensitivity will be. However, results also confirmed that this correlation was not established for buildings approximately 3600 m 2 or larger. Nevertheless, from analyzing the correlation between the WFR and the energy requirements, it could be deduced that energy required increased proportionally when the WFR was 0.1 or higher. On the other hand, the correlation between WWR, U-value, solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), and material property values of windows had little effect on energy when the WWR was 20%, and the highest effect was seen at a WWR of 100%. Further, with an SHGC below 0.3, the energy requirement decreased with an increasing WWR, regardless of U-value. In addition, we confirmed the need for in-depth research on the impact of the windows’ U-value, SHGC, and WWR, and this will be verified through future studies. In future studies on window performance, U-value, SHGC, visible light transmittance (VLT), wall U-value as sensitivity variables, and correlation between WFR and building size will be examined.

Keywords: curtain wall building; window-to-floor ratio; building energy; EnergyPlus; window properties (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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