Improving office building energy-efficiency ratings using a smart-engineering–computer-simulation approach: an Australian case study: Fid-Bau Portal

Improving office building energy-efficiency ratings using a smart-engineering–computer-simulation approach: an Australian case study

Burroughs, Steve

Abstract

Building owners in Australia are increasingly being required to proactively manage the environmental aspects of building operation. This paper presents a case study of how an Australian property investment trust is improving the energy efficiency of its buildings, and places the case study in the context of the commercial realities of the sustainable property industry. The trust uses a smart-engineering–computer-simulation approach that involves (i) a comprehensive check of a building’s mechanical–electrical systems, including examining the building systems brief documentation and the history of maintenance, and (ii) computer simulations of building energy use. The improvements are rated by the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS), a performance-based rating tool that rates a building’s actual energy consumption from 1.0 to 6.0 stars. In the presented example, an office building in central Sydney has improved its NABERS energy rating from 3.6 stars (2010–2011) to 5.3 stars (2012–2013), representing a 48% reduction in energy use (saving $530,000 pa). Much of the improvement in this building has been achieved by replacing the building management and control system and upgrading the control strategies for the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, as shown by the temporal correspondence of the upgrades with submetered monthly electricity consumption. The engineering–computing approach avoids the need for costly, full-scale refurbishments and can be applied to other countries with different building sectors and rating tools and with contrasting climates and financial resources to those found in Australia.