This document reviews literature on improving energy efficiency in educational buildings. It finds that strategies like increasing daylighting (8-12% savings), natural ventilation (7-9% savings), building envelope optimizations (4.09-5.05% savings), optimizing window size and location (16.6% savings), and installing photovoltaic panels delivered the largest energy performance improvements. A case study of a 1978 educational building suggests implementing HVAC management, occupancy sensors for lighting, and replacing windows with energy-efficient ones could improve its energy efficiency.

1. Energy Efficiency in Educational
Buildings: Literature Review
What is the key factor in energy efficiency of education buildings?
EBT 530E – April 2023
Ahmad Reza Darabi
1

2. Final Energy Consumption
Other Usages
50%
Buildings
50%
2

3. • For the purpose of this study, we review previous literature which has
been published in the field of Educational Buildings Energy Efficiency,
in order to collect energy-efficient methods applicable to Educational
Buildings.
• The studies included in the review used research methods, including
case studies, field studies, and simulation studies.
Case Studies
Simulation
Studies
Field Studies
3

4. Room Strategy Result
West Daylight 12%
East Daylight 8%
West Natural Ventilation 9%
East Natural Ventilation 7%
Literature Review
4

5. Literature Review
• Analyze the cost-effective renovation of educational buildings in cold
climate regions built in the 1960s and 1970s, with a focus on a Finnish
case study educational building.
• Results show that achieving the minimum national energy
performance requirement of new educational buildings can be cost-
effectively done in deep renovations, with a geothermal heat pump,
energy-efficient windows, and solar-based electricity production. The
study also indicates that solar-based electricity production delivers
the largest improvements in energy performance.
5

6. Literature Review
• Scenario 1: Shutting down some
lamps
• Scenario 2: Dimming lamps
• Scenario 3: retrofitting non-LED
lights with LED lights
• Scenario 4: Combining the last two
scenarios
6

7. Literature Review
• Various parameters such as different plan typologies, orientation,
width, window to wall ratio, glazing materials, shading types were
used in the optimization study.
• The study concludes that optimizing the building envelope
parameters can improve energy performance by up to 5.05% for
Istanbul and 4.09% for Ankara.
7

8. Literature Review
• Focuses on the impact of window size and location on energy
consumption and indoor environment quality in a classroom located
in Guangzhou, China.
• The results showed that the optimal window configurations could
save approximately 16% of the energy consumed in a year compared
to the worst-case scenario.
8

9. Literature Review
• The study identified several options for improving energy efficiency,
including installing polyurethane insulation above the ceiling, using
autoclaved aerated concrete instead of bricks, roofing with concrete
profile tiles, and installing tinted glass.
9

10. Literature Review
• An in-field monitoring was carried out to assess the actual operation
and energy use of building systems under real conditions.
• A building energy simulation model was developed and calibrated
against the real monitoring data to simulate and compare different
control strategies of the heating system.
Water supply
temperature
control
Water
storage tank
temperature
control
Shifting back
of AHU's
switching on
Save
from 32%
to 46%
10

11. Literature Review
• The methodology used in the study involves the use of DesignBuilder
simulation software to predict energy consumption for two different
air conditioning systems, namely the installed Chiller system and a
proposed Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system.
11

12. Literature Review
• This paper discusses a study that aimed to improve the energy
performance and thermal comfort of an educational building in South
Korea through the use of phase change materials (PCMs) applied to a
shading system.
• An energy performance analysis was carried out using the simulation
tool DesignBuilder.
• The study found that the PCM shading system reduced cooling energy
consumption by 44%.
• the increase in heating energy consumption due to shading in winter
could not be overcome.
12

13. Literature Review
• This article examines the effect of the shape of the building as well as
the type of glass of the windows on the amount of energy
consumption.
13

14. Conclusion
• Educational buildings offer significant potential for energy savings. In
this review, we have try to gather insights into the most impactful
strategies for enhancing the energy efficiency of such buildings. Our
findings are summarized in the table below.
Examined Factor Software/Language Result
Daylight BIM, DesignBuilder 8% - 12%
Natural Ventilation BIM, DesignBuilder 7% - 9%
Renovation MOBO Solar Base Electricity
Outdoor Lighting - Save 762 MWh/year
Envelope Parameters Rhino, Grasshopper, Honeybee 4.09% -5.05%
Window Size and Location Grasshopper, Ladybug, Honeybee 16.60%
Building Envelope Building Energy Code 22 MWh/year
Heating System Modelica Open Language 32% - 46%
Cooling System DesignBuilder 38%
PCM Shading Material DesignBuilder 44% in Cooling Energy
Building Shape Octopus 39.45%
14

15. Case Study
• My case study in the Energy Efficient Building Design course is CIVIL
ENGINEERING FACULTY BLOCK 3 witch constructed in 1978-1980. It is
an L-shaped building that includes 4 floors and approximately 2200
m2 floor area.
• According to the study, I expect that implementing the HVAC
management system as well as the Occupation Sensors for the
lighting system will improve energy efficiency in this building.
Additionally, it would be advisable to conduct a feasibility study on
the potential utilization of wind energy. Lastly, replacing the existing
windows with energy-efficient ones could further contribute to the
building's energy efficiency.
15

16. Thank You for your time and
consideration.
16