Energy and Water Saving Potential in Commercial Buildings: A Retrofit Case Study

Wahhaj Ahmed (), Ayman Alazazmeh and Muhammad Asif
Additional contact information
Wahhaj Ahmed: Architectural Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P.O. Box 855, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Ayman Alazazmeh: Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P.O. Box 279, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Asif: Architectural Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P.O. Box 855, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: The global building sector has great potential for energy savings. Retrofitting of existing buildings can effectively improve their energy and environmental sustainability. However, retrofitting is a complex task and requires proper Measurement & Verification (M&V) to validate the process for various building types and locations. Such M&V studies for commercial buildings in the studied region are missing and a critical gap exists. This paper addresses this gap by discussing the effectiveness of retrofit energy and water efficiency measures implemented in a commercial building in Saudi Arabia. At first, a thorough energy audit is conducted and then five Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) and a water conservation measure is implemented. A post-retrofit M&V exercise is conducted to measure and validate the savings along with respective economic benefits. The results indicate that the implemented EEMs reduced the building’s annual energy consumption by 27%. The overall compound payback period for the investments is found to be six years. The study successfully validates the energy and water savings achievable through retrofitting by presenting the first M&V case study of a post-retrofit commercial building in the country. Thus, it proves that implementation of EEMs and water saving measures are effective strategies to retrofit commercial buildings in the region.

Keywords: energy; retrofitting; M&V; water; conservation; energy efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/518/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/518/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:518-:d:1017815

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().