Analysis of Methodology for Scaling up Building Retrofits: Is There a Role for Virtual Energy Audits?—A First Step in Hawai’i, USA

Mark B. Glick, Eileen Peppard and Wendy Meguro
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Mark B. Glick: Hawai’i Natural Energy Institute, University of Hawai’i, 1680 East-West Road, POST 109, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Eileen Peppard: Center of Excellence for Smart Building and Community Design, University of Hawai’i Sea Grant College Program, 2525 Correa Road, HIG 238, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Wendy Meguro: Center of Excellence for Smart Building and Community Design, University of Hawai’i Sea Grant College Program, 2525 Correa Road, HIG 238, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: Energy audits are a time-consuming and expensive initial step in the building retrofit process. Virtual energy audits purport to be an alternative that remotely identifies energy efficiency measures (EEMs) that may reduce electricity consumption and offset operational costs to businesses operating during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This case study reviews virtual energy audits as a means to benchmark energy use and estimate cost savings from future EEMs. A novel feature was the estimation of energy costs associated with increasing ventilation to improve indoor air quality. The authors analyzed ten virtual energy audits performed in Honolulu, Hawai’i, over a two-week period that used existing building information and electricity use data to estimate a potential 9% to 41% annual electricity use reduction per building and a 24 MWh to 1195 MWh reduction, respectively. This paper makes a significant contribution through its assessment of virtual energy audits as a step beyond benchmarking, which has merit as an educational tool to motivate business owners to reduce energy use and improve indoor air quality. Further evaluation and improvements are suggested to study how often the virtual energy audits instigate action, how they compare with in-person audits, and their potential for use at a large scale.

Keywords: energy efficiency measures; virtual energy audits; indoor air quality; building efficiency; energy cost savings; energy; environmental policy; management during and after COVID-19 (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 (2)

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