Statistical analysis of Impact of Building Morphology and Orientation on its Energy Performance

Abstract

Building energy consumption in developed countries accounts for 20–40% of the total energy use and about 40% of primary energy use in the U.S in 2010.Office buildings account for approximately 18% of this usage. The morphology of a building has a huge impact on its energy use, especially in office buildings due to their huge glazing areas. Designing with proper regard of climate issues leads to enhanced energy performance. This paper provides an analysis of the impact of building shapes and orientations on the energy performance across small, medium and tall office buildings for the Chicago, IL, USA location. The method is based on the analysis of simulation results obtained from energy modeling software, using Pearson Correlation and Multiple Linear Regression methods. The analysis considers six different building shapes; Rectangular (1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2), T, L and U. All of these considered shapes have identical construction and Window-wall ratios as specified in the Department of Energy (DOE) standard reference buildings. The aim is to establish a relationship between the impacts of building relative compactness (RC) on the energy performance of office buildings in three different cases: Small, Medium and Tall.