Winter energy consumption in reading space of green library in cold regions

Abstract

In recent years, green libraries are springing up in many Chinese universities. The green library is an energy-efficient type of library that provides an excellent reading environment. The library’s energy efficiency relies on the careful design of natural and artificial lighting, illumination uniformity as well as heating efficiency. Therefore, this paper attempts to laid down an energy-efficient design to make the Hebei Agricultural University Library a green library. Specifically, the comprehensive energy consumption of the reading space was evaluated through dynamic and static simulations of illumination variation, illumination uniformity, daylighting factor and supplementary lighting under different windowing conditions. The evaluation results were coupled with the enclosure energy consumption to determine the optimal energy consumption plan. From this case study, it is found that the window area in the south-facing reading space is beneficial to the energy efficiency of the whole library. Thus, the south-facing window area should be increased as much as possible.