Glenn KatzFor 2 Units
For the window shading, I made custom mullions…
… as well as custom curtain walls with glazed panels.
Visual Result:
Wall Construction: obtained R-38 insulation as follows.
Green Roof: obtained R-60 insulation by creating my own green roof and respective layers as follows.
I added door openings to my building and changes some egress paths.
I have no skylights so far. I have added a café on the first floor, a terrace above the café, a mechanical room for each of the first three floors, stairs to the cafe.
For 3 Units
I have used my Building Element Model to create an Energy Model. Specifically, I created a simplified replica of the original model due to the complexity of its shape, which was causing errors and delays during energy simulations in Autodesk Insights (my first simulation took about 12 hours).
To create the energy model, I have considered the following setting:
- I have selected “Convention Center” as the building type and “Default” as the Building Operation Schedule.
- To have a more general understanding about my building performance, I have overridden all the following categories with Revit’s default values:
- I selected the model complexity as “Simple with Shading”
ENERGY ANALYSIS RESULTS
Key Factor Tile Settings:
- HVAC Type: High Efficiency Heat Pump
- Plug Load Efficiency: 0.6 W/SF
- Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR):
- South Orientation: Up to 80%
- Northern, Western, and Eastern Facades: Up to 50%
- Window Glass Type: Triple LoE
- Wall Construction: 12.25-inch SIP or R38 Wood
- Roof Construction: 10.25-inch SIP, R38, or R60 insulation (around R38)
- Lighting Efficiency: 0.3 W/SF
Considering these settings, a predicted mean EUI of 66 kBtu/SF/yr was achieved, compared to the initial value of 148 kBtu/SF/yr. Please note that using offsite renewable energy sources could greatly reduce the annual building energy conspumption.
Step 0: Baseline
Step 1: Adjusting the HVAC type
The energy consumption was greatly reduced to from 148 to 104 kBtu/SF/yr by setting the HVAC type to High Efficiency Heat Pump.
Step 2: Adjusting the Plug Load Efficiency
The energy consumption was greatly reduced to from 104 to 102 kBtu/SF/yr by setting the Plug Load Efficiency to 0.6 W/SF.
Step 3: Walls - Windows
Based on this analysis, for the South Orientation, maintaining a window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of up to 80% results in a minimal energy tradeoff of only 1 kBtu per square foot per year, compared to having no windows at all. Similarly, any shading can be applied without compromising too much the energy consumption. The best window glass type results to be Triple LoE.
Additionally, maintaining a window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of up to 50% in both Northern, Western, and Eastern facades results in a reasonable energy tradeoff compared to having no windows at all. At any of the three orientations, shading can be applied without compromising the energy consumption. The best window glass type results to be Triple LoE.
The energy consumption was then reduced to from 102 to 93.9 kBtu/SF/yr using the above window ranges.
Step 4: Wall Construction
The energy consumption was reduced to from 93.9 to 85.9 kBtu/SF/yr by setting the wall construction to 12.25 inch SIP or R38 Wood.
Step 5: Roof Construction
The energy consumption was reduced to from 85.9 to 81.6 kBtu/SF/yr by setting the roof construction to 10.25 inch SIP, R38, or R60 insulation (I will chooes a value around R38 to reduce costs).
Step 6: Lighting Efficiency
The energy consumption was reduced to from 81.6 to 79.1 kBtu/SF/yr by setting the lighting efficiency to 0.3 W/SF.
Step 7: Solar Panels The energy consumption was reduced to from 79.1 to 71.3 kBtu/SF/yr by installing highly efficient solar panels with a 90% roof coverage.
Note that I would like to explore off-site renewable energy solutions. Installing onsite solar panels on my building located in New York in such location (shielded by skyscrapers) can be challenging, especially after considering the height of my building (not too tall compared to the surrounding buildings).
For 4 Units
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