Optimization of energy efficiency and thermal comfort measures for residential buildings in Salamanca, Mexico

Energy use attributed to residential buildings makes up nearly 16% of the total energy consumption in Mexico, yet a larger portion of the Mexican Official Standards for Energy (NOM-ENER) are specific to the commercial building sector which only makes up 3% of the total energy consumption in Mexico. Furthermore the NOM-ENER standards related to residential buildings are developed through a component based approach where energy efficiency guidelines are outlined for individual pieces of equipment with no interactions between these components taken into consideration. In this paper, a holistic and integrative energy analysis approach is considered to improve energy efficiency in residential buildings. Specifically, the study presented in this paper investigates the interactions between various energy efficiency measures and thermal comfort measures for residential buildings in Salamanca, Guanajuato using detailed simulation and optimization procedures. The results from the optimization analysis suggest a combination of improved appliance efficiencies, increased levels of roof and wall thermal insulation and improved water heating system efficiencies is required to achieve a minimum cost solution which results in nearly 52% annual energy savings for new homes. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.