COMBINED EFFECT OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES AND THERMAL ADAPTATION ON AIR CONDITIONED BUILDING IN WARM CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF INDIA

by Shivraj Dhaka, Jyotirmay Mathur, Vishal Garg

Report No: IIIT/TR/2012/-1

Centre for IT in Building Science International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad - 500 032, INDIA September 2012

COMBINED EFFECT OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES AND THERMAL ADAPTATION ON AIR CONDITIONED BUILDING IN WARM CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF INDIA
Shivraj Dhaka1, Jyotirmay Mathur1*, Vishal Garg2 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, India 2 Centre for IT in Building Science, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, India Abstract This study evaluates improvement in energy efficiency of an air conditioned building block employing energy conservation measures (ECMs) recommended by Indian Energy Conservation Building Code -2007 (ECBC) through prescriptive route. First part, evaluates energy savings by implementing five ECMs of envelope independently and two combinations of ECMs keeping constant thermostat setting throughout the year. In second part of the study same ECMs are considered to the subject building model allowing thermostat settings as per thermal adaptation resulting from change in outdoor temperature. Actual measurements were taken and simulation model was finetuned. Annual energy consumption of building is used to evaluate the effect of individual ECMs and their combinations on both part of the study, i.e. fixed thermostat and adaptive thermostat settings. The simulation result shows that together with combination of all ECMs recommended by ECBC, small buildings can save up to 40% energy consumption as compared to buildings built with conventionally practiced specifications of India. Effect of thermal adaptation itself offers up to 16% energy saving opportunity in small buildings considering adaptive thermostat settings. The potential of energy conservation through ECMs suggested by ECBC and adaptive set point gets significantly reduced for large size buildings having high internal heat gains. Key words: Building Code; Energy Efficiency Measure; Energy Efficiency; Thermal Adaptation Nomenclature
ECBC ECM EPD Energy Conservation Building Code Energy Conservation Measure Equipment Power Density (W/m )
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LPD Tmmo, To Tn

Lighting Power Density (W/m2) Mean monthly outdoor dry bulb temperate (oC) Neutral/ comfort temperature, (oC)

1. Introduction An efficient building envelope with appropriate design consideration can reduce energy consumption and downsize the heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. It is the interface between indoor and outdoor conditions. In warm climatic conditions, prevention of heat gain through envelope is the best way to conserve energy, therefore building envelope should be climate responsive.
*Corresponding author: Dr.-Ing Jyotirmay Mathur, Head-Centre for Energy and Environment MNIT Jaipur, Tel: +91-141-2713211; E-mail: jyotirmay.mathur@gmail.com

Energy consumption in building sector is continuously increasing all around the world; Synnefa et al. concluded that nearly 60% of the net electricity consumption in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) economies is from the building sector [1]. This sector represents about 33% of electricity consumption in India, with commercial sector and residential sector accounting for 8% and 25% respectively. It is estimated that ECBC compliant buildings may consume about 40% less energy than conventional practiced buildings in India and nationwide enforcement of the building code could result in annual saving of 1.7 billion kWh units [2]. In the residential sector, building size and its location are the key factors for energy consumption as small buildings or flats need less energy as there is less conditioned and transfer area, and also less occupancy. The amount and type of energy used in building is mainly due to variation related to weather, architectural design, and envelope features such as wall, roof, and glazing. These factors affect energy consumption of buildings a lot. Chirarattananona et al.conducted study at tropical climate of Thailand revealed that insulation of wall decrease the cooling coil load from 83.0 to 44.1 kWh/m2/yr [3] whereas similar type of study carried out at hot & humid climate of Dubai (UAE) demonstrated 30% energy saving by wall insulation [4]. Reflectivity of roof has become important factor in warm climatic conditions being easy and inexpensive measure to conserve energy as well as to improve thermal comfort conations. Synnefa et al. demonstrated that increasing roof reflectivity from 0.3 to 0.5 decreases energy consumption by 15% to 30% in hot climate [1] whereas Bhatia et al. conducted study at a multi storey learning center of Hyderabad to examine the effect of reflective roof on cooling energy as well as building energy consumption in composite climate of India. It revealed that white coating reduce total building energy consumption by 5% [5]. Cooling and heating requirement caused by residential roof accounts for about 4% of the whole building envelope and 20% of the top floor in hot summer and cold winter [6-7]. Energy efficient glazing can reduce the energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 25% and 7.1% respectively [8]. Roof is responsible for dominant heat gain and it is predicted that insulation over roof provide maximum energy savings compare to other envelope measures whereas South oriented wall gives least energy savings in warm climate [9-11]. Thus, building envelope affects heat gain and also plays important role in selection of air conditioning system. ASHRAE 90.1-2007 suggested climate based envelope specification to improve energy efficiency of buildings although it is not considered in this study [12]. This study is aimed to use envelope specification of ECBC to evaluate energy efficiency in different warm climatic conditions of the country. Many researchers such as Humphreys, de Dear, Nicol, Brager, etc. conducted field studies and concluded that occupants feel thermally comfortable at high elevated temperature which is beyond the thermal comfort conditions defined by ASHRAE 55-2004 [13]. This is due to physiological, psychological, and behavioural adaptation of occupants. Approach of adaptive thermal comfort also offers energy conservation in buildings. Field study carried out at naturally ventilated building concluded that occupants perceive thermally comfortable up to 30oC without much ventilation [14]. Mui and Chan demonstrated that with the integration of adaptive comfort temperature (ACT) model about 7% energy could be saved in office buildings [15]. Similar type of study carried out at Thailand demonstrated that every increase in set point by 1oC (from 22 to 28oC) gives a mean energy saving of about 6.14% [16].
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Pioneers researchers Auliciems and de Dear carried out field research and proposed comfort temperature equation, Tn = 0.31To + 17.6 for conditioned and non-air-conditioned buildings [17]. Above equation is used in this study to work out neutral temperature for three warm climatic conditions of India. Then, this monthly varying neutral temperature is used as thermostat of the air conditioner. Based on review, it is clear that insulation of roof gives maximum energy saving in warm climates and use of adaptive concept with this measure would result in significant energy conservation. The purpose of study is to quantify energy saving potential considering envelope measures of ECBC initially keeping fixed set point, and then by varying it as per thermal adaptation approach. The effect of thermal adaptation is evaluated in three representative cities located in hot & dry, warm & humid, and composite climatic zones of India. 2. Methodology 2.1. Site and building block The study has been conducted at institutes hostel building at Hyderabad (17.45o, 78.47o, and 545m above sea level). The city has high temperature during summer, cold winter, and low humidity in summer but high during rain, and high solar radiation in all the seasons except rainy season. The summer mid day high and winter night low temperature is about 45oC and 4oC respectively. Hot as well as cold wind blows during summer and winter time, cold strong wind during rain and hazy sky occasionally. The mean monthly outdoor dry bulb temperature varies from 20 to 35oC. City has been considered under composite climate of India. Top floor hostel room of wing D of old boys hostel (OBH) has been chosen for this study. Photograph A and B of Figure 1 shows the geographic location and elevation of analyzed hostel building. The investigated part of the building was six year old and it was built with concrete roof and double brick wall with beam type heavy weight construction. Building was constructed in cross shaped (107x107m) structure to avail the effect of across ventilation to all wings of the building. Every room has one door facing to the corridor and windows on both sides to provide cross ventilation. Transverse iron jail (X shaped) was put on corridor wall. Hostel had room size of 3.6x2.4m (room area 8.64m2), floor to ceiling height of 3.2m (room volume 27.7m2), window openings of 1.340.65m, window shade of 0.91x0.6m, opaque door of 1.98x1.0m, and a corridor of 1.35m wide to front side of the hostel rooms which was used as walkway to the neighbouring rooms. Windows were quite ordinary and had single clear glass of 0.006m thickness; each window had two glass panes and four thermal breaks. Window glass panes were operable to outside in case of rear window and inside in case of corridor window. Iron frames were used for the construction of windows as well as door. The U-value of glass was 5.8W/m2-oC, and solar heat coefficient and direct solar transmission were 0.81 and 0.8 respectively. Table 1 illustrates the construction details of existing building block. Construction of hostel building was similar to conventional construction practices of India. All the rooms had single occupancy and equipped with single fan, a computer, and a fluorescent tube light. Internal load was not much affecting energy consumption being less compare to ECBC compliant buildings. 2.2. Temperature measurements Three parameters were recorded from the hostel room as roof inside and outside surface temperature, and room air temperature. Minco S667 PT100/3 RTD sensors (time constant 1.3 second) were installed at the centre of roof inside as well as outside to record surface
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temperature. Campbell Scientific 108-L probe was used to record room air temperature. Photograph D and E of Figure 1 represents positioning and location of roof surface temperature and room air temperature probe respectively. The accuracy of the probe was 0.2C over 0 to 70C temperature and time constant was 30 to 60 second at wind speed of 5m/s. This probe was suspended 1m below to the inside roof and about 0.75m away from wall. Image C of Figure 1 shows data logger -Campbell Scientific CR1000 and connections. It was used to record temperature measurements at the interval of 30 second start from June 26, 23:00pm to July 31, 23:00pm. Later on, measurements had been averaged out on hourly basis to compare with the simulation outputs. Table 1 Construction details of the building block Material Roof Wall Floor (Outer to inner layer) Thickness (m) thickness (m) thickness (m) Gypsum Plastering 0.0127 0.0127 0.0127 Sand and Gravel 0.0254 0.0254 Concrete slab medium density 0.1016 0.1016 Brick 0.2032 Gypsum Plastering 0.0127 0.0127 0.0127 Cork tiles 0.06 Assembly U-value (W/m2/oC) 3.8 1.9 3.1 2.3. Simulation model Simulation model of investigated part of the building was modeled in DesignBuilder (version 2.100.25) by specifying all the information of actual building block such as azimuth angle, envelope (wall, roof and glazing) properties, occupants schedule, lighting schedule, fan schedule, shading devices etc. Photograph F and G of Figure 1 shows the plan and axonometric view of the building block. Simulation was carried out using EnergyPlus (version V4.0.0.024) building simulation program. Layer by layer construction (outside to inside) of wall as well as roof has been given in Fig.2. Actual measurements obtained from the building block were compared to simulation outputs. In order to find good congruence between measurements and corresponding simulation outputs, a series of alterations were carried to the simulation model. Solar absorptance was varied from 0.1 to 0.25 in step of 0.05, thickness of sand and gravel (layer) was modified from 0.00635m to 0.0508m in step of 0.00635m and size of brick was altered from 0.23m to 0.25m in step of 0.00635m. Mean bias error (MBE) and coefficient of variation root mean square error Cv(RMSE) was calculated using equation 2 to 5, during alterations to the building model. These errors below 10% and 15 are considered as good congruence between measured and simulated parameters [5]. (equation 2) Where: M is the measured value during the time interval, S is the simulated during the same time interval. Root mean square error was calculated using equation 3. (equation 3) Here, N is the number of time intervals (720 hours) during monitoring period. The mean of
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the measured data for the period is defined in equation 4. (equation 4) Following equation 5 was used to compute coefficient of variation root mean square error. Once the simulation model shows errors within permissible limits, this ensures further use of simulation model. (equation 5) 2.4. Final simulation model Later on, simulation model was changed from naturally ventilated building block into air conditioned building block model by specifying HVAC related inputs, infiltration, fan schedule etc. Simulation model was having a packaged type air conditioner unit of COP 3.1 (average performance), a value recommended by ECBC. This simulation model was used as the basic subject building model to examine the effect of envelope measures on energy consumption firstly by keeping fixed thermostat and then adaptive thermostat settings. Energy consumption of this model was taken as the reference for calculation of energy saving which is referred by as is case in this study. 2.4.1. Control type Part 1: fixed thermostat control The thermostat setting of air conditioner was kept at 24oC constant throughout the year, since it is a prevailing practice in India and then, seven envelope measures were used to evaluate energy conservation in three warm climatic conditions. Part 2: monthly variable thermostat control (adaptive thermostat control settings) Under this part of the study thermostat of air conditioner was varied based on monthly variation of outdoor temperature. The temperature at which occupants feel thermally comfortable is a function of outdoor temperature and therefore thermostat of air conditioner was varied as per the monthly varying neutral temperature reflecting thermal adaptation. It was calculated using Equation-1 as suggested by Auliciems and de Dear [17]. Tn = 0.31To + 17.6 (equation 1) Where-Tn is the neutral/comfort temperature. Neutral temperature or comfortable temperature is worked out through regression analysis of occupants thermal sensation vote. Regression line that intersect at neutral condition (0 condition) on thermal sensation scale is defined as neutral temperature and at this temperature majority of occupants feel thermal comfortable. 2.4.2. Energy conservation measures This study considers seven envelope measures to evaluate the energy efficiency of air conditioned building block. Five measures are recommended by ECBC and rest of the two measures have been chosen based on their performance such as combination of ECBC Glass + ECBC Roof, and ECBC case. Table 2 exhibits the details of recommended measures by building code (ECBC) such as U-value for wall, roof, and glazing and SHGC of glass, and reflectivity of roof in warm climates [18]. Table 3 shows the nomenclature of envelope measures used in this study. Envelope measure 7 is also termed as ECBC case and it follows all envelope measure recommended by ECBC.

Cool Roof reflectance 0.70

Table 2 Recommended energy conservation measures Wall U-value Roof U-value Glass U-value Solar Heat Gain (W/m2-oC) (W/m2-oC) (W/m2-oC) Coefficient (SHGC) 0.440 0.261 3.30 0.25

Similar analysis was carried out in three different warm climatic zones of India namely composite zone, hot & dry zone, and warm & humid zone represented by Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Chennai respectively. Table 3 Nomenclature of recommended energy conservation measures Nomenclature Name of energy conservation measure Measures As is case As is case Actual buildings case or existing case ECM1 CR Cool Roof ECM2 W ECBC wall ECM 3 R ECBC Roof ECM4 GS ECBC Glass SHGC ECM5 GU ECBC Glass U-value ECM6 RS ECBC Glass SHGC + ECBC Roof ECM7 E all ECBC Case (1+2+3+4+5) 2.5. Sensitivity analysis of buildings block Effect of a particular envelope measure also depends upon building type, building envelope, internal load, occupancy schedule, type of air conditioning system, and operating conditions etc, therefore it is required to carry out sensitivity analysis of employed ECMs. It has been carried out considering large building area (square foot print of the building) and variation in internal loads. It was carried out for the ECBC case only. The effect of adaptive set point has therefore, been examined for different cases of Lighting Power Densities (LPD), and Equipment Power Densities (EPD), as presented in Table 9. In order to consider the variation in building size, that governs the role of building envelope in the total cooling requirement, the analysis is further carried out in two parts; in the first part, only the building size was changed to observe the impact of change in the exposed surface area of building with respect to its volume. Size of the building block was increased from 3.6x2.4 m (8.6m2) to 40x40m (1600m2). In the next variation, higher values of LPD and EPD have been taken into consideration. The LPD was increased from 4W/m2 to 12 W/m2 (as suggested by ECBC for office buildings). The EPD was increased from 5W/m2 to 20W/m2 (as found in IT offices).

Fig.1. Geographic location of hostel building (A), elevation of hostel building (B), positioning of sensor at roof surface (C), suspended room air temperature probe (D), CR 1000 data logger and connections of sensors (E), plan of simulation model (F), and axonometric view of simulation model (G)

Fig.2. Layer by layer construction of roof and wall

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3. Results 3.1. Temperature measurements The average temperature difference between measured and simulated roof inside surface temperature was observed 1.2oC whereas this difference for room air was found 1.1oC. It was observed that simulation roof inside surface temperature and room air temperatures were found in good congruence with the onsite measurements, this ensured to proceed for further analysis. Fig.3 and Fig.4 shows the variation of simulated and measured temperatures.

Fig.3. Variation of simulated and measured room air temperature

Fig.4. Variation of simulated and measured roof inside surface temperature 3.2. Validation of simulation model Based on hourly simulation outputs such as room air temperature and roof inside surface temperature, percentage Mean Bias Error (MBE) and Coefficient of Variation Root Mean Square Error CV(RMSE) were calculated. These errors for roof inside surface temperature and room air temperature were found less than 10% and 15 as shown in Table 4. Then, this

simulation model is called validated simulation model. Table 4 MBE (%) and Cv (RMSE), prior and post comparison of temperature Inside roof surface Temp Room air temp Prior Post Prior Post comparison comparison comparison comparison MBE (%) +14.09 + 4.06 +14.26 + 3.01 CV(RMSE) 22.52 13.94 18.20 7.55 3.3. Energy efficiency in representative climates Energy efficiency of building block was improved by employing ECBC measures considering fixed and adaptive control of thermostat. International Weather Energy Calculation (IWEC) files were used to perform year round simulation of building block for Ahmedabad and Chennai climatic locations. Indian Society of refrigerating and air conditioning engineers (ISHRAE) weather file was used for Hyderabad because of unavailability of IWEC file for this city. Weather files had hourly data of solar radiation, outdoor temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, sky conditions etc. Weather files were not modified in this study. Table 5 shows the monthly variation of outdoor dry bulb temperature and corresponding variation in neutral temperature in the representative cities of warm climatic conditions. The maximum neutral temperature was noted down as 28oC in hot and dry climate. The maximum thermostat temperature difference was observed 4oC in hot and dry climate and this difference could lead to significant energy savings. Table 5 Monthly outdoor dry bulb temperature and neutral temperature Month Hot and dry Warm and Composite (Ahmedabad) humid (Chennai) (Hyderabad) Tmmo Tn Tmmo Tn Tmmo Tn Jan 19.91 23.77 24.47 25.19 22.79 24.67 Feb 22.33 24.52 26.02 25.67 25.19 25.41 Mar 28.11 26.31 27.84 26.23 29.19 26.65 Apr 31.48 27.36 30.05 26.92 31.71 27.43 May 33.62 28.02 32.08 27.55 32.91 27.80 Jun 33.17 27.88 31.01 27.21 28.59 26.46 Jul 29.58 26.77 30.25 26.98 26.78 25.90 Aug 28.21 26.34 29.30 26.68 25.69 25.56 Sept 28.86 26.55 29.02 26.59 26.19 25.72 Oct 27.19 26.03 27.72 26.19 26.11 25.69 Nov 23.53 24.89 26.07 25.68 23.71 24.95 Dec 20.56 23.97 24.80 25.29 21.74 24.34 3.3.1. Energy efficiency in composite climate Hyderabad was chosen as representative city for composite climate while analyzing the effect of thermal adaptation, the cooling set point is varied on monthly basis as per the neutral temperature that changes from 26.6oC during March to 27.8oC during the month of May. It is observed that neutral temperature has significant difference with constant thermostat (24oC)

as shown in Fig.5. The variation of temperature in this climate ranges from 4 to 43oC and relative humidity varies from 20 to 95% (dry period to wet period).

Fig.5. Monthly variation of neutral temperature and mean monthly outdoor dry bulb temperature (Composite climate, Hyderabad) Table 6 shows the annual energy consumption considering seven measures using fixed and adaptive set point for the HVAC system. Following assertions are noted from the results: With ECM 7, i.e. combination of all individual ECMs termed as ECBC case, 40% energy could be saved over the common practice case i.e. the as is case. Further, additional energy savings by about 15 to 19% could be achieved (maximum of 30kWh/m2/yr) by using adaptive set point conditions. The energy savings with various ECMs with adaptive set point approach are of the same order as compared to the cases with fixed set point approach. This is evident from comparison of Figure 6 and 7. This indicates that with adaptive set point approach, the suggested ECMs have nearly the same importance. From Figure 6 & 7, it can be observed that in the ECBC case and with adaptive approach, the monthly variation of energy consumption reduces significantly, whereas in case of fixed set point conditions peak is very high as compared to rest of the period. Fig.6 and Fig. 7 revealed that adaptive approach has large energy savings opportunities in composite climate throughout the year. It is also evident that the maximum energy saving is possible from March to June. ECBC case (ECM_all) shows the lowest energy consumption compare to other envelope measures.

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Fig.6. Energy consumption in Hyderabad considering fixed set point conditions

Fig.7. Energy consumption in Hyderabad considering adaptive set point conditions Table 6 Energy consumption at both set points conditions in composite climate Annual Energy Saving in Case of Hyderabad cases Energy Energy consumption Actual Energy Percentage consumption Adaptive Set point Saving saving Fixed Set point (kWh/m2yr) (kWh/m2yr) (%) 2 (kWh/m yr) As is case 177.89 149.34 28.54 16.04 ECM_1 164.23 135.63 28.59 17.41 ECM_2 142.52 117.12 25.39 17.82 ECM_3 141.09 115.83 25.25 17.90 ECM_4 156.01 125.99 30.01 19.24 ECM_5 184.78 155.27 29.52 15.97 ECM_6 141.37 116.39 24.99 17.67 ECBC case 105.69 89.20 16.49 15.60
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3.3.2. Energy efficiency in hot and dry climate For hot and dry climate, Ahmedabad was chosen as representative city. While analyzing the effect of thermal adaptation, the cooling set point is varied on monthly basis as per neutral temperature that changes from 26.3oC during March to 28.02oC during the month of May. Figure 8 shows the variation of adaptive thermostat and constant thermostat. The variation of mean monthly outdoor dry bulb temperature is large (20 to 38oC) in this climate and relative humidity varies from 25 to 40%.

Fig.8. Monthly variation of neutral temperature and mean monthly outdoor dry bulb temperature (hot and dry climate, Ahmedabad) It is observed that there is a significant difference between neutral temperature and constant thermostat compare to composite climate because of harsh summers and winters conditions. Table 7 shows the annual energy consumption per unit area considering each ECM using fixed and adaptive set point for the HVAC system. Following conclusions are noted down from the results: With ECM 7, i.e. combination of all individual ECMs (ECBC case), 43.1% energy could be saved over the common practice case i.e. the as is case. Further, additional energy saving by about 15 to 19% could be achieved (maximum of 33kWh/m2/yr) by using adaptive set point condition. The effect of ECMs with adaptive set point approach is similar as compared to the fixed set point approach. This is evident from comparison of Figure 9 and 10. From Figure 9 & 10, it can be observed that in ECBC case and with the adaptive approach, the monthly variation of energy consumption reduces significantly, whereas in case of fixed set point conditions, peak is very high as compared to the rest of the period.

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Fig.9. Energy consumption in Ahmedabad considering fixed set point conditions

Fig.10. Energy consumption in Ahmedabad considering adaptive set point conditions It is observed form Fig.9 and Fig. 10 that roof and wall insulation shows large energy savings potential considering fixed and adaptive set point conditions. The peak specific energy consumption of ECBC case has also reduced to a great extent in case of adaptive approach. Table 7 Energy consumption at both set point conditions in hot and dry climate Annual Energy Saving in case of Ahmedabad cases Energy consumption Energy consumption Actual Energy Percentage Fixed Set point Adaptive Set point Saving saving 2 2 2 (kWh/m yr) (kWh/m yr) (kWh/m yr) (%) As is case 196.29 164.52 31.77 16.18 ECM_1 181.49 149.79 31.71 17.47 ECM_2 161.53 136.41 25.12 15.55 ECM_3 156.50 129.15 27.35 17.48 ECM_4 179.45 146.37 33.07 18.43
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ECM_5 ECM_6 ECBC Case

200.95 155.46 111.69

168.24 128.26 93.24

32.71 27.20 18.44

16.28 17.50 16.51

3.3.3. Energy efficiency in warm and humid climate Chennai is chosen as representative city for warm and humid climate. While analysing the effect of thermal adaptation, the cooling set point is varied on monthly basis as per the neutral temperature that changes form 26.2oC during March to 27.5oC during the month of May. Figure 11 shows that there is not much difference between neutral temperature and constant thermostat line due to less variation in climatic conditions round the year. The variation of dry bulb temperature ranges from 20 to 35oC whereas relative humidity is all-time high such as 70 to 90%.

Fig.11. Monthly variation of neutral temperature and mean monthly outdoor dry bulb temperature (warm and humid climate, Chennai) Table 8 demonstrates the annual energy consumption per unit area considering each ECM using fixed and adaptive set point for the HVAC system. Following observations are noted down such as: With ECM_7, i.e. combination of all individual ECMs (ECBC case), 39% energy could be saved over the common practice case i.e. the as is case. Further, additional energy saving by about 15 to 19% could be achieved (or maximum of 36.6kWh/m2/yr) by using adaptive set point condition. The effect of ECMs with adaptive set point approach is similar as compared to the fixed set point approach. This is clear from comparison of Fig. 12 and Fig. 13. From Fig. 12 & 13, it can be revealed that when all the ECMs applied with adaptive approach, the monthly variation of energy consumption reduces by a large extent, whereas in case of fixed set point conditions peak is very high compared to rest of the period.

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Fig.12. Energy consumption considering fixed set point conditions in Chennai

Fig.13. Energy consumption considering adaptive set point conditions Figure 12 and 13 shows that there is a large potential of energy savings between fixed and adaptive set points conditions. There is less variation in weather conditions in the chosen climate, specific energy consumption of ECBC case is more than other climates and the maximum saving is possible during May only. Table 8 Energy consumption at both set points conditions in warm and humid climate Annual Energy Saving in case of Chennai cases Energy consumption Energy consumption Actual Energy Percentage Fixed Set point Adaptive Set point Saving saving 2 2 2 (kWh/m yr) (kWh/m yr) (kWh/m yr) (%) As is 212.37 177.64 34.72 16.35 case ECM_1 197.45 162.50 34.95 17.70 ECM_2 179.63 151.63 28.01 15.59
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ECM_3 ECM_4 ECM_5 ECM_6 ECBC case

172.09 195.31 217.99 171.45 128.80

141.83 158.67 181.99 141.19 108.14

30.26 36.64 36.00 30.26 20.66

17.59 18.76 16.51 17.65 16.04

3.4. Sensitivity analysis Analysis of variation of building size reveals that with increase in building size keeping the intensities of internal loads constant, the energy saving due to ECBC measures reduces from 39 % to 15.9 % in Chennai, from 40.6 % to 28.6% in Hyderabad, and from 43.09 % to 16.7 % in Ahmedabad. The effect of thermal adaptation in large buildings reduces significantly from 16 % to 10.5 % in Chennai, 16.8 % to 6.3 % in Hyderabad, and from 16.7 % to 6.2% in Ahmedabad. Similarly, analysis of change in internal load shows that effect of thermal adaptation gets reduced further from 10.5 to 3.4 in Chennai, 6.2 to 2% in Ahmedabad and from 6.3 to 2.5% in Hyderabad. Table 9 illustrates the variation in internal load and corresponding energy savings in chosen climates. It is concluded from Table 9 that 27% energy saving is possible considering small buildings with high internal loads in hot and dry climate whereas Table 10 demonstrates that energy savings reduces as increase in building size and internal loads (high internal load). Thus, sensitivity analysis reveals that the effect of adaptive set point gets reduced in large building blocks however in all cases, considering thermal adaptation is important to estimate the actual behaviour of unconditioned buildings and for estimating energy savings in building with air conditioning. Table 9 Energy consumption and energy savings potential at different internal loads Variation Fixed set point conditions of LPD Hyderabad Ahmedabad Chennai & EPD As is' ECBC Savin As is' ECBC Savin As is' ECBC Saving (W/m2) case Case gs (%) case Case gs (%) Case Case s (%) LPD 10 199.3 168.8 299.2 173.3 270.0 189.1 15.3 42.1 30.0 EPD 10 LPD 10 222.8 207.8 321.2 212.1 295.4 228.5 6.7 34.0 22.6 EPD 15 LPD 12 246.6 246.5 343.7 250.6 320.6 267.7 0.0 27.1 16.5 EPD 20 Table 10 Summary of results variation analyzed under representative cities Variation for Hyderabad Ahmedabad Chennai sensitivity analysis % Energy savings with 40.6 43.09 39.35 Small building ECBC Case over as is Large building with 28.21 32.7 30.9 case at fixed thermostat set low LPD/EPD point conditions Large building with high LPD/EPD

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% Energy savings with ECBC Case over as is case at adaptive thermostat set point conditions

40.3 Small building Large building with 6.3 low LPD/EPD Large building with 2.5 high LPD/EPD

43.33 6.6 2.2

39.12 10.5 3.4

3.5. Summary and discussion It is observed that buildings complying with the Energy Conservation building Code of India, may consume about 40% less energy as compared to building built with conventional construction practices of India. Table 11 summarizes the results of above analysis which is carried out for three different cities under different climatic zones. Maximum energy savings is possible in hot and dry climate as there is large variation in weather conditions. The maximum annual energy consumption (as is case 212 kWh/m2yr) was found in warm and humid climate being similar variation in weather conditions round the year whereas minimum annual energy consumption (89 kWh/m2/yr) was observed in composite climate considering adaptive thermostat settings. Therefore, result reveals that composite climate is much appropriate for evaluating the effect of thermal adaptation due to moderate change in climatic conditions. Table 11 Energy consumption considering fixed and adaptive set point conditions in respective cities Composite climate (Hyderabad) cases Energy consumption Energy consumption Energy Saving Fixed Set point Adaptive Set point Saving (%) (kWh/m2/yr) (kWh/m2/yr) (kWh/m2/yr) As is case 177.89 149.34 28.54 16.04 ECBC case 105.69 89.20 16.49 15.60 Saving % 40.6 40.3 42.2 Hot and Dry climate (Ahmedabad) cases Energy consumption Energy consumption Energy Saving Fixed Set point Adaptive Set point Saving (%) 2 2 2 (kWh/m /yr) (kWh/m /yr) (kWh/m /yr) As is case 196.29 164.52 31.77 16.18 ECBC case 111.69 93.24 18.44 16.51 Saving % 43.09 43.33 42.0 Warm and Humid climate (Chennai) cases Energy consumption Energy consumption Energy Saving Fixed Set point Adaptive Set point Saving (%) (kWh/m2/yr) (kWh/m2/yr) (kWh/m2/yr) As is case 212.37 177.64 34.72 16.35 ECBC case 128.80 108.14 20.66 16.04 Saving % 39.35 39.12 40.5 Sensitivity analysis shows that, energy savings gets reduced to 16% with increase in building size and internal loads. The effect of thermal adaptation in large buildings reduces significantly from 16 % to 10.5 % in warm and humid climate (Chennai), from 16.8 % to 6.3 % in composite climate (Hyderabad), and from 16.7 % to 6.2% in hot and dry climate
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(Ahmedabad). Similarly, analysis of change in internal load illustrates that effect of thermal adaptation gets reduced further from 10.5 to 3.4 % in Chennai, 6.3 to 2.5% in Hyderabad and from 6.2 to 2% in Ahmedabad. It is observed that large building with low internal load gives energy savings of about 28 to 32% considering constant thermostat conditions which reduces to 6 to 10% considering thermal adaptation. It is concluded that ECBC envelope improves the energy performance of a building although specific measure should be chosen wisely as all the ECMs do not offer same energy performance in all climates. 4. Conclusion This study evaluates improvement in energy efficiency of an air conditioned building block employing energy conservation measures recommended by National Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC). Following are the key conclusion of the study- Small building with ECBC specifications gives energy saving opportunity of about 43% compared to buildings built with conventionally practiced specifications of India. - The effect of thermal adaptation itself offers up to 16% energy conservation through adaptive thermostat settings changing as per mean monthly outdoor temperature. - However, in case of large buildings having high internal heat gain resulting from lighting, equipment, occupancy; energy savings due to adaptive thermostat get reduces to negligible amount. - The effect of thermal adaptation is of the same order for buildings constructed with common practices and buildings having specifications as per ECBC. Study suggests implementation of recommended envelope measures of building code to improve energy efficiency in warm climatic conditions. Study highly recommends the use of roof insulation over other ECMs except ECBC case. This measure alone offers 20% energy savings whereas group of other envelope measures gives 40% energy savings opportunities. Wall insulation also put forward significant energy conservation. Combination of roof and glass (ECBC roof + Glass SHGC) measure has not been found much effective over roof although it is recommended over wall insulation. This study also suggests use of adaptive thermostat control to reduce additional 16% energy consumption over fixed thermostat. Use of envelope measures along with adaptive thermostat concept is highly recommended. This, study would be useful to facility managers, investor, architects, engineers, and contractors to choose the appropriate envelope measures in particular climate and to operate air conditioner on monthly variable thermostat settings to provide the most comfortable environment. Acknowledgement We thank to Prof. Andreas Wagner and Dr. Marcel Schweiker from Department of Building Physics and Building Services (fbta), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Karlsruhe, Germany for their help during revision of this paper. References [1]. A. Synnefa, M. Santamouris, H. Akbari, Estimating the effect of using cool coating on energy loads and thermal comfort in residential buildings in various climate conditions, Energy and Buildings 39 (2007) 1167-1174. [2]. USAID, Energy Conservation Building Code User Guide, BEE New Delhi, 2009. [3]. S. Chirarattananona, V. D. Hienc, P. Tummua, Thermal performance and cost
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