Reshmi Goswami

BE4003

To optimize the energy performance of a commercial healthcare building located in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, the project began with an in-depth review of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017. The code's mandatory and prescriptive requirements guided the development of a standard-case thermal model, which revealed an initial Energy Performance Index (EPI) of 107 kWh/m².year. This EPI provided a baseline for assessing the building’s current energy consumption and evaluating potential improvements. The optimization process aimed to reduce operational carbon emissions and costs by focusing on energy efficiency measures. The proposed model introduced optimizations to the building envelope, HVAC system, and passive design strategies through a mixed-mode operation approach. These adjustments successfully lowered the building’s EPI to 78 kWh/m².year, achieving a 30% reduction from the ECBC standard-case baseline. In addition to these optimizations, on-site renewable energy sources were integrated into the model, further reducing the EPI to 36 kWh/m².year and offsetting 43% of the building’s electricity needs. This integration underscored the commitment to reducing the building's environmental impact and operational demands. To ensure a practical and balanced solution, each stage of the optimization process included a detailed evaluation of economic benefits, comfort levels, and energy efficiency. Sensitivity analyses were conducted for both the envelope and HVAC system to determine the optimal extent of each measure. Simulations on various time scales—annual, monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly—allowed for a comprehensive assessment of these parameters.