Energies 2011, 4(11), 2061-2076; doi:10.3390/en4112061
Article

Energy-Saving Potential of Building Envelope Designs in Residential Houses in Taiwan

Chi-Ming Lai 1,2,* email and Yao-Hong Wang 1 email
1 Department of Civil Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan/1, University Road, Tainan 701, Taiwan 2 Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan/1, University Road, Tainan 701, Taiwan
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 3 September 2011; in revised form: 4 November 2011 / Accepted: 5 November 2011 / Published: 23 November 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficient Building Design)
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Abstract: The key factors in the energy-saving design of a building’s exterior in Taiwan are the thermal performance of the roof and window glazing. This study used the eQUEST software to investigate how different types of roof construction, window glasses and sunshield types affect the energy consumption in residential buildings under common scenarios. The simulation results showed that the use of an appropriate window glass significantly reduced the annual energy consumption, followed by the shading device, whereas the roof construction produced less of an energy-efficiency benefit. By using a low-E glass and a 1.5 × 1.5 m box shading (e.g., balcony), this could save approximately 15.1 and 13.6% of the annual electricity consumption of air conditioners, respectively. Therefore, having control over the dominant factors in the building envelope is indeed an important step in the path to achieving energy savings and carbon reduction in residential houses.
Keywords: energy; building; thermal performance

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Lai, C.-M.; Wang, Y.-H. Energy-Saving Potential of Building Envelope Designs in Residential Houses in Taiwan. Energies 2011, 4, 2061-2076.

AMA Style

Lai C-M, Wang Y-H. Energy-Saving Potential of Building Envelope Designs in Residential Houses in Taiwan. Energies. 2011; 4(11):2061-2076.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Lai, Chi-Ming; Wang, Yao-Hong. 2011. "Energy-Saving Potential of Building Envelope Designs in Residential Houses in Taiwan." Energies 4, no. 11: 2061-2076.

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