An Energy Survey of the Church Lane Building at DIT
Document Type Other
A Thesis submitted for the award of MSc in Building Services Engineering, Sept 2012. at Brunel University, London. Made available with the kind permission of Brunuel University .
Abstract
Within the European Union, the collective governments have introduced broad energy policies in order to increase energy efficiency and improve energy performance in new and existing buildings, within each member state. The following dissertation considers energy and how energy is used within the context of global and local consumption in an extensive literature review. Where does the future lie for Ireland and its energy sources? Policies, standards and regulations associated with energy efficiency and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) are defined and briefly explained. The status of how well the response from the commercial building market to Building Energy Assessment initiatives is discussed. Finally, the literature review explores some of the latest methods to improve energy consumption patterns within buildings. This literature review is intended to recognize the latest changes that may affect the Church Lane building should it undergo any improvements to its energy performance. This dissertation will include an analysis of the current condition of an existing educational facility using the Dynamic Simulation Modelling (DSM) software IES. Using this software a comprehensive analysis of the day-lighting thermal performance of the heating system, and a Building Energy Rating (BER) shall be carried out for the building. The results will be compared with the existing building’s electrical energy consumption, artificial lighting, heating requirements and current BER. Finally, energy efficient improvements and their installation costs to reduce the building’s energy consumption will be explored. This method of analyzing a building, Dynamic Simulation Modelling (DSM), will be critiqued in terms of suitability for this type of building following the process.