Passive design optimization towards Nearly Zero Energy building requirements. Operational performance of a low energy office building in a continental semi-arid climate.

D'AMANZO, MICAELA; ANDREONI TRENTACOSTE, SOLEDAD ELISA; MONTIEL ZAMORANO, GLORIA VIRGINIA; BETMAN, ALICIA; GANEM, CAROLINA

Santiago

Conferencia; 36° PASSIVE AND LOW ENERGY ARCHITECTURE (PLEA) Will cities survive?; 2022

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Greenhouse gas emissions reductions in buildings by cutting energy demand and increasing energy efficiency turns up as a possible response path to Climate Change. Nearly Net Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) also integrate renewable energy (RE) technologies integrated in architectural design pursuing a nearly zero balance between energy demand and energy production. The present study investigates the operational performance of a low energy office building in a continental semi-arid climate, and the integration of passive and active designstrategies to meet nZEB requirements. It focuses on the study of the thermal and energy performance of the building under summer conditions. Environmental measurements were performed during the year 2021. Meanwhile, ER generation data was collected. A simulation model was developed in Energy Plus software.Results show that the lack of adequate solar protections favours the overheating of the interior spaces during the hours in which the solar radiation falls directly on the façade. Regarding energy demand, there is a high consumption of electricity for the air conditioning to maintain indoor thermal comfort. The model was run improving the passive strategies of night ventilative cooling and solar protection. A consumption lower than 30 kWh/m 2 /year was achieved through the passive design optimization proposal meeting nZEB requirements.