Energy demands and potential savings in European office buildings: Case studies based on EnergyPlus simulations

This article presents key energy use figures and explores the energy saving potentials in office build-ings across Europe by simulating several currently available scenarios. The information provided in thisresearch work is based on a review of relevant literature and the results of EnergyPlus simulations of areference office building that can be considered as a representative office building across Europe. Threelocations were selected to represent the three climate zones in which Europe was divided.Lighting has been pointed out as an area with significant improvement potentials. These improvementshave been investigated by using two scenarios with different lighting control systems. In both cases andregardless of the location of the office building, the energy savings were achieved with already existingtechnology and will bring important reductions in the overall energy bill.Two further aspects were investigated in this work: the first one is an improvement of the insulationof the windows and the external walls (U-value) and the second one the orientation of the building.Unlikely to the lighting improvements, the location of the buildings highly influences the amount ofenergy required by HVAC systems. It is observed that higher insulation factors are recommended in coldand medium climate zones while they should be carefully chosen in the warmer climate zones. Officebuildings constructed in warm climate zones are subjected to higher heat gains that cannot be easilyreleased from buildings within a well-insulated envelope. Consequently, the energy demand for coolingpurposes is increased, affecting the overall energy consumption and the economic performance of the building.JRC.J.5-Sustainable Production and Consumptio