Investigating the energy use in an Australian building: A case study of a west-facing apartment in Sydney

Abstract

This study presents the simulation of retrofitting measures in a residential apartment located in Sydney based on energy consumption, building characteristics, and climatic conditions through energy audits. From the results, an upgrade to a casement aluminum framed double glazing window with a thermal conductance (U-Value) of 2.3 W/m2/oC, having an initial cost of $6,570, will save 41.2 % and 21 % of the energy used for heating and cooling equipment with a simple payback of 6.3 years and fuel cost savings of $1,046. In addition, 787kWh of electricity saved from white goods by investing $1,050 has a payback of 2.2 years and fuel cost savings of $472. Finally, the building will save 2.7 tons of GHG emissions, equivalent to three people reducing energy use by 20 % in Australia. The research is vital because retrofitting multi-residential buildings in Australia has not been fully explored, leaving 7.8 million existing buildings that are not energy efficient.

Keywords

• Energy savings
• Emission reduction
• Thermal conductance
• Building energy performance
• RETScreen Expert