A critique on thermal performance and energy usage in government office buildings in Trincomalee and the need for sustainable retrofitting - a typological analysis

Abstract

Buildings use a large amount of energy during their lifetime and are identified as the main contributors to the increasing energy demand. A proper understanding of the Thermal Performance (TP) parameters can result in a climate-responsive design and reduce indoor overheating. In the construction field, sustainable retrofitting is identified as another important field of research, where new technologies can be introduced to the existing built environment and enhance their efficiency. This paper mainly focuses on how different building typologies of the existing public office buildings are contributing to inefficient TP and energy usage, and how sustainable retrofitting can help to improve their energy performances. 27 existing public office buildings in urban and suburban areas in Trincomalee, were selected for the typology analysis, and with special attention to plan form, one case study under spread-out plan form was selected. The TP of the building was investigated through an on-site Thermal Performance Investigation and Computational Simulation (CS) process. It is proposed that the energy required for cooling a building can be reduced if efficient sustainable retrofitting design strategies can be used to improve the TP. The outcome is beneficial in the formulation of design guidelines for new and existing buildings.