Paper

Energy Retrofit Evaluation of a Naturally Ventilated Historic Building in a Hot and Humid Climate

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Abstract

Successful energy retrofits of historic buildings are those that take into consideration energy savings, thermal comfort, and the conservation of cherished heritage values. This study proposes passive energy efficiency measures that abide by historic preservation standards and evaluates their impact on a wood-frame heritage residential building in a hot and humid environment. It also assesses the efficacy of natural ventilation in those conditions. The approach is structured according to the following steps: (a) the building performance assessment through onsite monitoring; (b) the numerical studies by energy simulations; (c) the selection of adequate passive energy efficiency measures; (d) the investigation of potential energy savings of the chosen energy efficiency measures; (e) the investigation of the efficacy of natural ventilation. The achieved results reveal that high energy savings can be attained through the selected solutions, with some measures better than others. However, natural ventilation proved to be ineffective without being paired with the package of energy measures. The findings of this research are replicable to numerous similar historic buildings in hot and humid conditions.

Keywords: Historic buildings, Energy retrofit, Building simulation, Natural ventilation, Passive energy efficiency measures

How to Cite:

Iskander, L., Martinez-Molina, A. & Beeson, S., (2023) “Energy Retrofit Evaluation of a Naturally Ventilated Historic Building in a Hot and Humid Climate”, Building Technology Educators’ Society 2023(1), 20–27. doi: https://doi.org/10.7275/btes.1927