Cost optimal energy retrofit strategies for public administrative buildings: A Cairo case study

The Egyptian government is currently constructing a new governmental quarter in the New Administrative Capital City, located east of Cairo. A planned relocation for all ministerial authorities to the New Capital City will leave a vacant governmental estate in Cairo. The study of the energy retrofit options provides a unique opportunity to reduce energy use and maximize the benefit from the anticipated investment in the re-use to be implemented within this stock. However, energy retrofit was found to be under-researched in the Egyptian context. This paper presents a pilot study that aims to identify cost optimal retrofit strategies for one of the soon to be vacated buildings, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Using DesignBuilder, an energy modelling study was implemented to estimate the existing performance of the building, assess the projected performance after a change of use (to an office building), and evaluate the cost optimality and the savings associated with the application of retrofit measures. The study found that the feasibility of implementing retrofit can be significantly offset by the discount rates in Egypt. As such, maintaining economic stability and considering non-economic incentives can be key drivers to increasing the energy retrofit uptake in Egypt