Towards low-energy retail warehouse building

Retail warehouse buildings consume a growing proportion of the energy used within Australia and they have potential to be designed much more efficiently. This article outlines the results of modelling reductions in the energy consumption for a retail warehouse building in the Sydney, Australia climate. The design evaluated in this research consumes 73% less energy than does the base-case building, resulting in a significant reduction in on-going costs and in greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with the operation of this building. Techniques for reducing the total energy consumed by the building were explored using the simulation software, DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus. It was found that energy required for lighting, which is approximately 69% of the total energy consumed in the base-case model, could be dramatically reduced by introducing daylight through a sawtooth roof, in conjunction with efficient T5 fluorescent lighting and automatic daylighting controls. Other savings were made by adding insulation to the building, using natural ventilation and selective glazing to limit heat transfers into and out of the building.