Energy Modeling of a High Performance Building in the U.A.E. for Sustainability Certification

Abstract

The Sheikh Zayed Desert Learning Centre (SZDLC) is a high performance sustainable exhibition center under construction in the U.A.E, aiming for the highest achievable sustainability ratings within the LEED and Estidama sustainability building rating programs. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) sustainable building program provides a set of criteria for rating sustainable buildings (U.S. Green Building Council 2009). The Estidama rating program, currently in its pilot phase, is an upcoming sustainable building guideline for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (Urban Planning Council, Abu Dhabi 2008). The Estidama program is similar to LEED in many ways, with a focus on the integrative design process for sustainable building projects. Both of these rating programs assign a large share of points to reducing energy usage which is related to CO2 production. To demonstrate that a design has improved performance, the rating programs encourage the use of whole building energy simulation. The building as it is designed is simulated and compared to a baseline building, where the building envelope and systems are replaced with materials and components meeting minimum acceptable standards. The percentage improvement of the As-Designed building over the Baseline building dictates the number of points awarded in the respective categories. Innovative solutions in managing the simulation complexity and visualizing energy performance were necessitated by the complexity of performing the building simulations. Improved decision support during the design phase and a better understanding of energy usage in the building are expected to improve the energy efficiency, operating costs, and environmental impact of the building. The detail available from an ambitious modeling approach is presented, demonstrating the usefulness of building energy performance simulation for sustainability ratings as well as design decision support.