Use of a Building Energy Model to Predict Energy Utilization Index: A Comparison

Abstract

Qatar has one of the highest rates of infrastructure and general construction spending and growth in the world. Quarterly estimates for Qatar’s gross domestic product growth are on the order of 15 – 17%. This growth has impact on the power and water infrastructure in the country and as a result Qatar is trying to address the associated sustainability issues. Though new construction is an obvious target, the existing building stock has an impact and will continue to draw on resources for the life cycle of those structures. But the lack of understanding of complex building energy modeling tools constrain building owners from using them to monitor their building’s energy performance. On the other hand, less complex simulation tools like eQUEST heavily rely upon input data and logical assumptions for their accuracy. An energy model using eQUEST of an office building in Doha was validated against utility data and a peer model to understand the key factors that determine the accuracy of the model. The study showed that the total electricity consumption decreases by 3% on average as the lighting (LPD) is reduced by approximately 20%. For occupancy, the electricity consumption increased by 8% per increase of 50 ft^2 / person (4.64 m^2 /person) in occupant density. For operational schedules, the results indicated an average increase of 22% in total electricity consumption per incrementing day. Lastly, changing the weather file in the model from Doha to Houston, resulted in a 3% increase in the total electricity consumption.