Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4928052 | Sustainable Cities and Society | 2017 | 24 Pages |
Abstract
This paper explores the potential energy savings of using dynamic cool roofs (DCRs) with seasonally variable reflective surface for various building prototypes when compared to static cool roofs. The analysis conducted demonstrates that the additional energy savings from DCRs depend largely on the climate, insulation level, and reflectance of the roof, as well as but to a lesser extent on the building thermal mass. This study shows that older buildings, with low insulation levels, in colder climates are the best target for retrofit using DCRs. Specifically, the results show that when a variable reflective costing is applied to low insulation buildings, source energy savings can be achieved and range from 4.33 to 19.44Â MJ/m2 (i.e., 1.6-4.9%) for residential units and from 1.17 to 18.00Â MJ/m2 (i.e., 0.3-3.9%) for offices. Based on an economic analysis, it is found that the break-even cost for a variable reflectance coating system with a 22-year life span ranges from 0.80 to 4.84Â $/m2 for residential buildings, and from 0.86 to 4.92Â $/m2 for commercial buildings.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Energy
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Authors
Jenna Testa, Moncef Krarti,