Climate Change Mitigation Approach for School Buildings in Palestine: A Combination of Energy Efficiency and Energy Production

Abstract

The rising energy demand for school’s buildings in Palestine is one of the problems facing the energy sector. This paper aims to provide estimation for the potential production of electricity from the installation of PV systems on the roof of schools' buildings, to produce its energy needs and to provide electricity to its surrounding buildings. The most used school building types were selected for the installation of the photovoltaic (PV) system. The produced electricity from the installation of PV systems was estimated using PVSOL software. The energy consumption for the selected type of the schools was simulated using design-builder thermal simulation software. A comparison between energy production and consumption was done for two climatic zones, with different tilt angles and different scenarios for the school's building envelope and indoor systems. The results show that the PV systems on schools' buildings can supply their estimated consumption, and provide a surplus in electricity production. This surplus can be a base for the transition to renewable energy in the residential areas surrounding school buildings. The study concluded that the installation of PV systems should be combined with building envelope thermal improvements or a combination of envelope improvements and heating and cooling systems.