Impact of Thermal Characteristics of Building Envelope on Cooling Equipment Operation in Indian Households
In India, the residential energy consumption is expected to increase by more than 8 times by 2050. It is becoming critical to assess the heterogenous characteristics of building envelope to curb the current energy demand of residential buildings. The cooling energy consumption is largely driven by occupants’ interaction with building systems based on their thermal comfort preferences. It is essential to understand thermal comfort as an outcome of an efficient building envelope supported by the operation of building systems. The comprehensive study of energy and comfort is a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis of operational characteristics of cooling equipment in some households, in the city of Bareilly. The building stock will be evaluated against parameters like outdoor climate conditions, geometry and thermal characteristics of external walls, roof, glazing, shading devices and natural ventilation. Residential Envelope Transmittance Value will then be calculated using the estimated coefficients, to benchmark the thermal performance of the envelope. A correlation is then to be drawn between these estimated coefficients and the cooling energy usage that was monitored over time through smart meters. Furthermore, an energy model of a typical household will be simulated with suggestive retrofitting strategies for the envelope. Through this approach, the targeted thermal comfort study in residential buildings is realized as a combination of better performing buildings sustained by better performing cooling systems.
