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A Case Study on Passive vs. Active Strategies for an Energy-Efficient School

Building Design

Conference Paper · June 2015

DOI: 10.3390/ifou-E004

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Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban., E004, doi:10.3390/ifou-E004.

True Smart and Green City?

8th Conference of the
International Forum on Urbanism

Conference Proceedings Paper

A Case Study on Passive vs. Active Strategies for an Energy-

Efficient School Building Design
Ji-Eun Kang 1, Ki-Uhn Ahn 1, Cheol-Soo Park 1,* and Thorsten Schuetze 2

1 School of Civil and Architectural Engineering, SungKyunKwan University, Suwon, Gyeonggi,

South Korea
2 Department of Architecture, SungKyunKwan University, Suwon, Gyeonggi, South Korea

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; Tel.: +82-31-290-7567; Fax: +82-31-290-

7570 ; E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: This paper presents a simulation study to reduce heating and cooling demand of a
school building in Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea. This study aims to cross-compare the
impact of passive (e.g. improved thermal performance of envelopes, redesign of the building
shape and orientation) vs. active (blind control, lighting control, heat exchanger, and
geothermal heat pump) approaches on building energy savings using EnergyPlus simulation.
It was found that the energy saving of the original school building design by lighting control
is most significant. In addition, the energy saving from the original design to a new improved
building design increases by 32%. It is noteworthy that energy saving potentials of each room
significantly vary depending on room’s thermal characteristics (window-wall-ratio, internal
heat generation, ventilation requirement) and orientation. Thus, the energy saving analysis
should be introduced at the level of individual space, not at the level of the whole building.
Also, simulation studies must be involved for informed rational design. Finally, it was
concluded that a priority should be placed on passive building design strategies, such as
building orientation as well as control and utilization of solar radiation. Passive building
design strategies for enhancing energy efficiency are related to urban, architectural design and
engineering issues, and are more advantageous in terms of energy savings than active
strategies.

Keywords: energy efficiency; passive; active; building design strategies; architectural

engineering; energy simulation
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

1. Introduction

The Zero Energy Building (ZEB) design has become a high and imminent priority for architects and
multi-disciplinary researchers [1-2]. With no standardized definition of ZEB, Torcellini et al. [3] indicate
that a good ZEB should first attempt energy efficient design, and then employ available renewable
energy production on site. In particular, the integration of active and passive design elements is important
to achieve the required energy efficiency and energy productivity of a ZEB. Generally the requirements
of Net Zero Energy Buildings are easier to achieve than the requirements of standalone Zero Energy
Buildings [4-5]. In order to achieve a net zero energy consumption of a building over the period of one
year, the total renewable energy production of a building has to be at least similar or even exceed the
total energy demand of the concerned building.
Building Energy Performance Simulation (BEPS) tools have been widely used for energy efficient
building design since they take into account the dynamic thermal behavior of buildings, climatic
conditions, and user behavior [6]. Several studies [7-9] have shown that the active and passive systems
can be successfully simulated for informed rational decision-making.
In this paper, the authors discuss a ZEB project, in which the energy saving potential of active and
passive design elements was compared using BEPS. The production of renewable energy will not be
discussed in this paper. Accordingly this paper focuses on the enhancement of the energy efficiency and
reduction of the end energy demand. In order to facilitate such a comparison two building designs had
to be compared with each other. The process involved the identification of effective design and control
strategies to achieve the ZEB concept for the concerned school building design. The energy efficiency
two different building designs and different technology applications were compared by means of the
program EnergyPlus [10], a widely used BEPS tools. This paper presents results and insights learned
from the research and design project for the concerned ZEB building in Korea.

2. Project Description

The ZEB School building in Korea, which is discussed in this paper (Figure 1) was designed as a high
school for international students. The total usable floor area of the building is 7,963 m2. The building
has four floors above ground and two underground levels. The main building orientation is towards
southwest. Each room is equipped with an individual electric heat pump for cooling and heating, and
LEDs for lighting. There are staff rooms, administrative rooms, and classrooms on the floors above
ground. The underground floors accommodate a gymnasium, a cafeteria, a mechanical and electric
equipment room, and a music room with windows to a sunken garden. The U-values of building
envelopes are: 0.183 W/m2-K for underground walls, 0.147W/m2-K for walls above ground, 0.113W/m2-
K for roofs, and 0.795W/m2-K for windows. The g-value of the windowpanes is 0.442. In comparison,
the recommended U-values for passive house design are as follows: 0.08-0.15 W/m2-K for underground
walls, 0.06-0.15 W/m2-K for walls above ground and 0.8 W/m2-K for windows [11]. The underground
walls and g-value of windows do not meet the passive house design criterion (The g-value for passive
house is 0.5).
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

Figure 1. (a) Site plan. (b) Section. (c) 3D view from southeast. (d) 3D view from southwest.

Before attempting to apply renewable energy to the building, the original design was simulated to
investigate the energy efficiency. Based on architectural drawings and specifications, the authors
developed a simulation model using the program EnergyPlus (Figure 2(a)). The school is operated during
five days per week, but not during the weekends and the school holiday periods. The summer and winter
vacations are from Jun 27th to August 31th, and from January 1st to March 3rd respectively. Internal heat
generation (people, lights, and equipment) was assumed based on the database of the program
DesignBuilder [12].
Table 1 and Figure 2 (b) show the simulation results of the original school design. The total annual
end-energy demand is in the range of so-called low energy buildings. Compared with conventional
Korean school buildings the annual end-energy demand of 44.86 kWh/m2-year is very low. The heating
and cooling energy demand is relatively low because the thermal performance of the building envelope
is excellent. Due to the low heating and cooling energy demand, the portion of lighting energy demand
accounts for 44.46% (Table 1) of the total end-energy demand. Accordingly, reducing the energy
demand for artificial lighting became a priority for the further reduction of the building’s energy demand.
Based on Table 1, the authors developed active design strategies for the reduction of the building’s
energy demand, which will be explained in the following section.

Figure 2. (a) Simulation model. (b) Energy consumption of the original school design
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

Table 1. Annual energy use of the original design

Heating Cooling Lighting Equipment Ventilation Fan Total

kWh/m2-year 0.69 6.10 19.95 3.10 10.00 5.03 44.86
% 1.53 13.60 44.46 6.90 22.29 11.22 100.00

3. Active Strategies

3.1. Application of Active Strategies

Since the initial building design was already completed and passive strategies (change of orientations,
window-to-wall ratio, room relocation, etc.) require significant effort and time for redesign of the school,
the authors started first to apply active strategies in order to reduce the building’s end energy demand.
As mentioned above, intelligent lighting control was primarily considered in this regard. In addition,
dynamic blinds and controlled ventilation systems with heat recovery were also considered. The three
active design strategies can be summarized as followed:
 Blinds - Dynamic exterior blinds: In cooling mode, blinds are closed (rolled down) to block incident
solar radiation. In heating mode at daytime, blinds are rolled up to induce solar radiation as much as
possible. In heating mode at nighttime, blinds are rolled down to minimize long wave radiation
between glazing surfaces and outdoors environment (e.g. a cold night sky).
 Lights - Daylighting autonomy: If indoor daylight illuminance is higher than the thresholds
(classroom: 400lx, office: 300lx), the artificial lighting is automatically turned off. If indoor
illuminance is lower than the thresholds, 3 steps of dimming control is applied (33%, 66%, 100%)
for artificial lighting.
 HE - Controlled ventilation with heat recovery by Heat Exchanger (HE): In the origin design, there
is no mechanical ventilation system considered but windows were regarded as a mean for fresh air
supply. For energy savings, a CO2 level controlled mechanical ventilation systems with HE with
demand control is introduced. The ventilation rate is set to 9.44L/s-person and the heat recovery
efficiency of the ventilator with regard to total heat (both sensible and latent) is 0.8. In addition, the
HE is not operated and in bypass economizer mode when outdoor air temperature is between 10℃
and 23℃.

3.2. Results

Table 2 and Figure 3 show the simulation results of active design strategies. The lighting control
strategy could save 28.07% of total annual end energy consumption by reducing 25% of the cooling
energy and 55% of the lighting energy demand. The cooling energy demand can be significantly reduced
by dynamic blinds and lighting control. In contrast, the heating energy demand increases since the
exterior blinds prevent transmission of part of solar radiation, and lighting control reduces heat
generation from luminaries.
The introduction of controlled ventilation system with HE was efficient in heating mode, but
increased the cooling energy demand due to introduction of hot and humid outdoor air during the summer.
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

Table 2. Annual simulation results of active strategies (kWh/m2-year).

Saving
Heating Cooling Lighting Equipment Ventilation Fan Total (%)
Orig. 0.69 6.10 19.95 3.10 10.00 5.03 44.86 -
Blinds 1.02 4.51 19.95 3.10 10.00 3.35 41.92 6.57
Lights 1.07 4.89 8.88 3.10 10.00 4.33 32.27 28.07
HE 0.22 7.01 19.95 3.10 10.00 5.03 45.30 -0.99

The results shown in Table 2 and Figure 3 are based on the simulation of the entire building. The
energy saving potential of each active design strategy varies significantly depending on thermal
characteristics of room type and orientation. Four classrooms and offices were randomly selected as
shown in Table 3.

Figure 3. Annual simulation results of active strategies (kWh/m2-year).

According to the finding illustrated in Tables 4 and 5, the energy saving rate of individual classrooms
is higher than that of the whole building. There are interesting findings as follows:
 Energy saving potentials of dynamic blinds and artificial lighting control are significantly
influenced by the room’s orientation, WWR and the specific season related to the investigated
months (January=Winter, May=Spring, August=Summer). For example, blinds and lighting
controls are most advantageous to Room #7 since it faces south and has 100% of WWR.
 Controlled ventilation with heat recovery by Heat Exchanger (HE) is most advantageous to
classrooms because due to high density of students, the required ventilation rate is higher than
the required outdoor rate of the offices.
 Return On Investment (ROI) is dependent on the strategies as well as the room’s thermal
characteristics, e.g. WWR, the portion of specific air-conditioning modes (cooling versus.
heating), the required artificial lighting level, ventilation rate, etc. Rather than following intuition
or expert’s judgment, simulation studies must be involved for informed rational design.
 The energy saving analysis of the aforementioned strategies (Blinds, Lights, HE) should be done
at the level of individual space, not at the level of the whole building.
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

Table 3. Floor area and Window-To-Wall Ratio (WWR) of classrooms and offices.

Classrooms Offices
Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4 Room 5 Room 6 Room 7 Room 8
Orientation East West South North East West South North
Floor area (m2) 127.68 134.44 121.67 161.09 57.24 97.33 60.90 50.86
WWR (%) 23.0 47.6 26.4 20.5 12.2 13.5 100.0 13.9

Table 4. Energy savings of active strategies

Origin. Blinds Lights HE

Room # season Energy Energy Saving Energy Saving Energy Saving
(kWh) (kWh) (%) (kWh) (%) (kWh) (%)
Jan. 84 85 -1.2 78 7.2 45 46.0
Room1 May 128 102 20.6 89 30.8 130 -1.3
Aug. 172 145 15.9 129 24.9 167 2.9
Jan. 96 96 -0.3 91 5.0 53 44.8
Room2 May 161 104 35.4 116 27.8 163 -1.1
Aug. 212 149 29.8 166 21.8 206 2.9
Classrooms
Jan. 74 74 -0.8 61 17.5 42 43.4
Room3 May 114 91 19.8 81 28.6 115 -1.4
Aug. 162 135 16.7 130 19.4 157 2.8
Jan. 111 112 -1.0 103 6.8 57 48.1
Room4 May 154 125 18.9 99 35.6 156 -1.2
Aug. 209 179 14.7 153 26.9 202 3.4
Jan. 82 82 0.9 82 0.4 77 6.1
Room5 May 71 59 17.7 52 27.3 72 -1.3
Aug. 85 72 15.7 64 24.5 86 -0.8
Jan. 80 79 0.7 80 0.0 68 15.1
Room6 May 100 92 8.3 92 8.6 101 -0.9
Aug. 124 114 7.9 113 8.7 123 1.0
offices
Jan. 26 26 0.9 17 35.7 28 -9.1
Room7 May 150 81 45.9 129 13.9 151 -0.6
Aug. 181 101 44.3 159 11.8 181 -0.4
Jan. 50 49 1.2 49 2.7 42 15.9
Room8 May 74 61 17.0 54 26.6 75 -1.2
Aug. 86 73 14.8 66 23.3 88 -2.1
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

4. Passive Strategies

4.1. Application of Passive Strategies

In the original building design, most rooms on the 2nd floor of the building have almost 100% of
WWR. In addition, most classrooms and staff rooms are located on both sides of the corridor and face
to different directions, to east, west, or north. The gymnasium and music rooms are located underground
and deep inside the building, without any windows to the outside. The active design strategies that are
discussed in section 3 of this paper show significant energy saving potentials. However the authors
decided to re-design the building to correct the aforementioned issues such as improvement of WWR
and daylighting potential for all rooms. The aim was to identify how much more energy could be saved
by the application of passive design strategies in the re-design of the concerned school building.
Figure 4 shows the site plan, section and 3D of the re-designed school building, of which the size is
similar to that of the original design. Compared to the shape and design of the original school building,
which is long and narrow (Figure 1, 2) with comparable low compactness, the re-designed school
building is more cubic and compact. In order to facilitate daylighting of central building space and rooms
the building re-design is equipped with an atrium in the center of the building (Figure 4, 5a). Table 5
shows a comparison of the area, volume and WWR of the original and the re-designed school buildings.
The floor area of the re-design is greater than that of the original design (re-design: 8,573m2, original:
7,963m2). The improved U-values of building envelopes of the re-design are as follows: 0.120 W/m2-K
for underground walls, 0.111W/m2-K for the walls above ground and 0.111W/m2-K for the roof. The u-
value and SHGC of windows are similar to the original design.

Figure 4. (a) Site plan. (b) Section. (c) 3D picture from southeast.

Table 5. Comparison of areas, volume and WWR of original and re-designed school building.

Total floor Exterior envelop WWR Conditioned Conditioned

area (m2) area (m2) (%) area (m2) Volume (m3)
Original
7,693 1,958 28.24 4,599 19,841
design
Re-design 8,573 1,733 29.44 4,955 16,079

4.2. Results

The dynamic building simulation that was conducted on the re-designed school building with the
program EnergyPlus shows the following results. The annual energy consumption of the re-design is
30.47 kWh/m2, leading to savings in the end-energy demand of 32% compared with the original school
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

building design. The calculated savings were achieved without including the active design strategies
which have been discussed in section 3 in order to reduce the end-energy demand of the original school
building design. The percentages of the end-energy demand for specific uses in relation to the total end-
energy demand are illustrated in Table 6. The results show that percentages in relation to total are similar
to the original school design and the values presented in Table 1. The amount of end-energy consumption
of different uses in specific months is illustrated in Figure 5b.

Figure 5. (a) Simulation model. (b) Energy consumption of the re-designed school

Table 6. Annual energy use of the re-design

Heating Cooling Lighting Equipment Ventilation Fan Total

kWh/m2-year 0.60 4.73 14.29 2.65 8.04 0.15 30.47
% 1.96 15.52 46.91 8.70 26.40 0.50 100.00

5. Integration of Active and Passive Strategies

The active design strategies discussed in section 3.1 were also applied to the re-designed school
building. Table 7 and Figure 6 show the simulation results.
The energy saving potential (%) of each active design strategy (Table 7) of the re-designed school
building is similar to the percentages of presented in Table 2. As shown in Table 2 and 7, the lighting
control is most advantageous. It is noteworthy that the energy consumption of the passive design (30.47
kWh/m2-year) is better than the best active strategy (lighting control) in the original design (32.27
kWh/m2-year). When lighting control is applied to the re-design, the energy consumption is reduced to
21.82 kWh/m2-year, which is close to energy saving rate of 51.36 % (Table 8).
According to the findings the effectiveness of active strategies regarding the reduction of the total
end-energy demand vary significantly between the original school design and the school re-design. The
end-energy saving rate by application of dynamic blinds on the original school design is for instance
6.57% while the energy saving by application of dynamic blinds on the re-designed school building is
only 2.03%.
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

Table 7. Annual simulation results of the re-design with active strategies (kWh/m2-year).

Saving
Heating Cooling Lighting Equipment Ventilation Fan Total (%)
Passive
0.60 0.73 14.29 2.65 8.04 0.15 30.47 -
design
Blinds 0.82 3.91 14.29 2.65 8.04 0.13 29.85 2.03
Lights 0.85 3.85 6.30 2.65 8.04 0.13 21.82 28.39
HE 0.06 5.36 14.29 2.65 8.04 0.15 30.56 -0.31

Figure 6. Annual simulation results of the re-design with active strategies (kWh/m2-year).

Table 8. Integration of active and passive strategies.

Original design Re-design

Original with active strategies Re-design with active strategies
design Best Worst (Passive) Best Worst
(Lights) (HE) (Lights) (HE)
Energy
44.86 32.27 45.30 30.47 21.82 30.56
(kWh/m2)
Saving
- 28.07 -0.99 32.08 51.36 31.88
(%)

6. Conclusions

This study addresses a ZEB school design project with application and comparison of passive and
active design strategies for the reduction of the buildings end-energy demand. The following important
findings were derived from the study:
 Energy saving potentials of active strategies are significantly influenced by the room’s thermal
characteristics such as orientation, WWR, dominant air-conditioning mode (cooling vs. heating),
required ventilation rate (L/s), illuminance level, etc. Special attention should be paid to the
selection of active strategies.
Proceedings of the 8th Conf. Int. Forum Urban. E004

 The energy saving analysis should be introduced at the level of individual space, not at the level
of the whole building. Also, building simulation studies must be involved for informed rational
design and control.
 Passive building design strategies should be primarily addressed since passive strategies are more
advantageous in terms of energy savings than active strategies. The re-designed school building
according to passive design strategies, and without application of active design strategies analyzed
in this study, has for instance a lower end-energy demand than the original school design with
active design strategies being applied.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a gran t(11 AUDP G02) from Architecture & Urban Development
Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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