High-Rise Residential Building Energy Analysis in Shanghai, China

Abstract

The intent of this study was to reduce the energy consumption of an existing high-rise apartment in the warm and humid climate region of Shanghai, China by applying energy-efficient and cost-effective strategies.

To accomplish this, a typical high-rise apartment was selected as a case-study apartment. Its energy use and local weather data were collected and analyzed. A calibrated computer model of the case-study apartment was then constructed with the eQUEST program, and a series of strategies were applied to the base-case apartment including the building envelope, domestic appliances and HVAC systems. Both energy-efficiency and cost-effectiveness were analyzed and discussed.

The application of all the proposed energy-efficiency measures could save more than 40% of the total annual household energy use. However, many of the measures had a long payback period due to the high initial costs and low energy cost savings.

These findings are significant because they provide policy makers with a solution to better understand the growing residential energy use in Shanghai. The energy efficiency measures explored in this study should also provide policy makers with alternatives other than building more power plants, transmission and distribution systems.