Energy analysis of commercial buildings in subtropical climates

The overall thermal transfer value (OTTV) concept has been extended to correlate the OTTV of building envelope designs with other key building design parameters through DOE-2 computer simulations. A survey of 146 commercial buildings completed between 1975 and 1995 provides the information on the prevailing architectural designs and construction practices in Hong Kong. This information forms a basis for the development of a generic office building used in the computer analysis. Four major design aspects have been considered, namely the building envelope, indoor design conditions, internal loads and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC). Implications for energy efficiency in the commercial sector energy use are discussed.