Comparing Economics of Various Methods of Improving Energy Efficiency of Commercial Buildings

Various means of improving the energy efficiency of commercial buildings while preservingand/or improving their internal environmental quality have been extensively studied. In therecent past, the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), produced several of such studies orientedexclusively to identifying the benefits of applying various energy efficiency technologies todifferent types of commercial installations in the U.S.A. and also in Europe. Independently,these involved technologies for desiccant dehumidification and/or systems of combinedheating, cooling, and power generation, (CHP). The applications and their performance weresimulated by internally developed programs such as the Building Energy Analyzer, using theDOE2.1E computational engine. Studies identified potentials of targeted application ofcombined technologies in comparison to using the traditional building heating, ventilation,and air conditioning equipment.[1]The latest study, which is the subject of this paper, expands on the previous ones. Authorscompare the economics of investing either in installing the energy saving mechanicalequipment, such as CHPs and solar thermal cooling, or applying the modern means ofimproving the building envelope and reducing internal loads. As in previous studies theresults were found to be case specific, yet for the assumed installations the preferred waysof improving a building performance were identified and are reported in this paper. This hasbeen accomplished for the specific case of selected buildings on the campus of the Universityof Hawaii, yet the implications can be valid for other locations with similar climaticconditions.[2]