A110 IEQ Energy impact

Energy impact of IEQ in air-conditioned offices

Brief:

Maintaining an acceptable indoor environmental quality (IEQ) for air-conditioned office buildings consumes a considerable amount of thermal energy. We evaluated thermal energy consumption with the overall occupant acceptance of IEQ in some air-conditioned offices. An empirical expression of an IEQ index associated with thermal comfort, indoor air quality, aural and visual comfort is used to benchmark the offices. Employing input parameters obtained from the building stocks of Hong Kong, the office portfolios regarding the thermal energy consumption and the IEQ index are determined by Monte Carlo simulations. In particular, an energy-to-acceptance ratio and an energy-to-IEQ improvement ratio are proposed to measure the performance of energy consumption for the IEQ in the air-conditioned offices. The ratios give the thermal energy consumption corresponding to a desirable percentage of IEQ acceptances and to an IEQ upgrade respectively. The results showed a non-linear increasing trend of annual thermal energy consumption for IEQ improvement at the offices of higher IEQ benchmarks. The thermal energy consumption for visual comfort and indoor air quality would also be significant in these offices.

Source: Energy Conversion and Management, Volume 50, Number 5, pp. 1362-1367 (2009).

Further information:

Wong LT, Mui KW, 2009. An energy performance assessment for indoor environmental quality (IEQ) acceptance in air-conditioned offices, Energy Conversion and Management 50(5) 1362-1367.