Retrofitting Strategy of Residential Buildings Based on Detailed Energy Monitoring Measurements in Hot Climate

In this study, a typical house was extensively monitored to measure the actual consumption of each active system, i.e., each air-conditioner system, lighting system, hot water boiler, plug load, and other sources of the house energy consumption. In addition, the indoor environment was also monitored by recording the temperature, relative humidity, light intensity, and carbon dioxide. Moreover, the envelope was subject to thermography analysis to assess the envelope's performance.

The extensive instrumentation (energy meters and data loggers) installed in the house for data collection and monitoring precisely identified many energy consumption components. The data collected from each component of the building can be divided into either deterministic or indeterministic components. For instance, a lighting energy meter is referred to a part of the building that can be directly measured; however, measuring the air-conditioning energy consumption implicates many other components, such as building envelopes, fenestration, and air-conditioning system performances. We sought to reduce the unknown variables that affect the energy meter, and the remaining implicit variables were verified through sensitivity analysis. The data collection found that the Energy Use Intensity (EUI) was 184 kWh/m² per year, which could be dramatically reduced by feasible retrofitting strategies.