Energy performance of infiltrated and elevational earthsheltered buildings in the territory of the city of Kragujevac: A numerical investigation

Abstract

This paper investigates the energy potential of different modern earth-sheltered building types, during a seven-month period (October 1 to April 30), in order to achieve sustainable development. The subject of the research is a one-story residential building (total net area 102.5 m2 ), intended for a family of four, located in the territory of the city of Kragujevac (central Serbia). The heating system consists of a ground source heat pump, geothermal vertical probes, floor panel heaters, and two circulation pumps. Four types of infiltrated earthsheltered buildings, as well as one elevational earth-sheltered building, were investigated by numerical analysis (using the EnergyPlus software). The energy performances of all of the mentioned earth-sheltered buildings were compared with the energy performance of classic above-ground building. All of the buildings have the same geometric, construction, and thermotechnical performance. The research results show that, in infiltrated earth-sheltered buildings, the annual consumption of final (electrical) energy can be reduced by 2.53-21.64% (depending on the number of external building elements in direct contact with the soil). Modern architecture should still be focused on the development of elevational earthsheltered buildings because in them the annual consumption of final (electrical) energy for heating can be reduced by more than 40%.

Keywords

• earth-sheltered building
• energy efficiency
• energyplus
• google sketchup
• location parameters