Investigation of the energy saving potential for an office building complex : A study on the viability of an on-site combined heat- and power supply system

The building stock in the European Union accounts for over 40% of final energy use, where the usage of non-residential buildings may be up to 40% higher than the residential sector. Improving building energy efficiency across all categories of buildings is one key goal of the European energy policies, made prominent by the Climate and Energy package, Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD) and Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). In this study, a simulation model of an office-building complex utilizing district heating was created using transient simulation software TRNSYS. The model was validated using consumption data provided by the facility owner, after which an investigation of the energy saving potential along with the economic viability of adapting a new heat- and power supply system was conducted. The system designs were comprised of a geothermal energy system in combination with a PV-system and electricity storage. It was concluded that the systems were sufficient in maintaining an adequate indoor climate. Furthermore, the investments were ascertained as profitable and resulted in a decreased building specific energy demand