Energy benchmark for naturally ventilated medium-sized supermarkets
Energy efficiency research is usually focused on residential and office buildings, overlooking other typologies such as supermarkets. This research gap can be filled with the development of energy benchmarks for the supermarket typology. Two approaches to create benchmarks are usually used: top-down and bottom-up. None of them are free of criticism and the hypothesis is that their combination can lead to a more robust methodology. The aim of this research was to compare distinct approaches to create an energy benchmark for the typology of medium sized and naturally ventilated supermarkets located in the Southeast region of Brazil. The methodology comprised two case studies, the development of a representative model, the development of a parametric database containing energy consumption data and the comparison between the two approaches. The refrigeration system represented the biggest part of the end-use, around 74% and 82% in the analyzed supermarkets. The parametric simulations generated a database with 1536 models from which the most influential parameters in the bottom-up approach were identified through a sensitivity analysis, and a percentile analysis were performed for the top-down approach. The bottom-up approach showed that the construction variables and the weather have a small influence on the energy consumption, that can be explained by the special setting of the typology. The multiple linear regression obtained a coefficient of determination 0.97, CVRMSE 2.47%, and NMBE 1.14% in the validation between measured and simulated. The limits for the typical EUI (benchmark) were similar for both approaches, leading to the hypothesis rejection. Thus, it was confirmed that the bottom-up approach is more costly but allows studies and conclusions about the building performance and the singularities of the typology focused on the building systems, while the top-down approach do not create detailed information. The choice of the approach should consider the goals of the benchmark.
Keywords: Energy Efficiency. Benchmarking. Supermarket.
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