Evaluation of the Energy Consumption of a University Building Using Dynamic Energy Simulation

Abstract

Assessing the energy efficiency of buildings and minimizing their operating costs are essential for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings used for educational purposes account for a significant portion of this energy consumption intensity. Using Carrier Hourly Analysis Program (HAP), an in-depth energy performance evaluation was performed for the Food Engineering Department building complex at Ankara University's Gölbaşı Campus. Initially, the main building and annex were modeled separately to reflect their different functional characteristics and occupancy patterns, before becoming one integrated structure. Ankara's climatic conditions, building envelopes, HVAC systems, occupancy profiles, and internal heat gains are all modeled in the simulation models. The Transfer Function Method (TFM) was used to calculate the annual energy consumption and operating costs based on the HVAC system's existing configuration. Based on the simulation findings, the local climate of Ankara results in a predominantly heating-driven energy profile for the building, requiring 409.89 MWh/year for heating against 66.95 MWh/year for cooling. Overall, the site consumed 618.53 MWh of energy annually, of which HVAC systems accounted for 84.8%. The building complex's annual operating costs are estimated at approximately 2.23 million Turkish Liras due to natural gas consumption. Additionally, this simulation model provides the basis for future investigations aimed at calibrating models, improving building envelope performance, optimizing HVAC systems, and assessing energy conservation strategies.

Keywords

• Building energy simulation
• Carrier HAP
• Educational buildings
• HVAC systems
• Energy performance
• Building energy consumption

Ethical Statement

Ethics committee approval was not required for this study because of there was no study on animals or humans.

Thanks

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Rectorate of Ankara University for their valuable support in providing the architectural, mechanical, and technical documentation of the building complex used as the case study in this research. Their assistance significantly contributed to the development of the building energy simulation model.

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