Analysis of Energy Saving Potential in High-Performance Building Technologies under Korean Climatic Conditions

Abstract

This study aims to suggest a basis for the selection of technologies for developing high-performance buildings to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Energy-saving technologies comprising 15 cases were categorized into passive, active, and renewable energy systems. EnergyPlus v8.8.0 was used to analyze the contribution of each technology in reducing the primary energy consumptions and CO2 emissions in the Korean climate. The primary energy consumptions of the base model were 464.1 and 485.1 kWh/m²a in the Incheon and Jeju region, respectively, and the CO2 emissions were 83.4 and 87.4 kgCO2/m²a, respectively. Each technology (cases 1–15) provided different energy-saving contributions in the Korean climate depending on their characteristics. The heating, cooling, and other energy-saving contributions of each technology indicate that their saving rates can be used when selecting suitable technologies during the cooling and heating seasons. Case 15 (active chilled beam with dedicated outdoor air system + ground source heat pump) showed the highest energy saving rate. In case 15, the Incheon and Jeju models were reduced by 189.4 (59.2%) and 206.2 kWh/m²a (57.4%) compared to the base case, respectively, and the CO2 emissions were reduced by up to 32.7 (60.8%) and 35.6 kgCO2/m²a (59.3%), respectively.

Keywords

• high-performance buildings
• energy-saving technology
• primary energy consumption
• CO2 emission
• Korean climate
• EnergyPlus
• reference building