An evaluation of environmental and economic performance of sustainable building technologies for apartment houses in Korea

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate economic and environmental performances of sustainable building technologies applicable to multi-family residential buildings in Korea. The technologies investigated for the study include; 'exterior insulation', 'double envelope system', 'floor radiant heating/cooling system', 'solar hot-water system' and 'photovoltaic system'. Energy performance of each technology was evaluated using "EnergyPlus" as the simulation program. A sensitivity analysis was conducted in order to determine the relative influence of each technology in terms of energy consumption reduction in a sample building. A life-cycle cost analysis of a sample building designed with conventional technologies was also conducted to compare the result with the sustainable building technologies. The result of the study indicates that the sustainable building technologies, although the initial investment costs are higher than conventional technologies, are more economical in terms of life-cycle cost due to the reduction of energy and environmental costs.