Work

Energy efficiency and cost benefits of office-to-residential building transformation: Insights from Los Angeles

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: To address office vacancy and housing shortages, adaptive transformations of office buildings into residential spaces are proposed. While renovating old office buildings is prioritized, energy and socio-economic feasibility assessments are lacking. This study fills the research gap by using building performance simulations to create over 500 models, revealing the potential benefits of converting office buildings to residential use through multi-scenario evaluations. The research examined twenty-three pre-1980 office buildings in Los Angeles County with vacancy rates over 50 %, establishing a baseline scenario based on actual data. Four scenarios were compared: baseline scenario, office energy efficiency transformation scenario, office-to-residential transformation scenario, and office-to-residential and energy efficiency transformation scenario. The study evaluated energy consumption and costs for each scenario. The research found that functional transformations cut energy use intensity by 46.09 % and Life Cycle Cost by 61.61 %, saving at least 5154.84 MWh annually for Los Angeles County. It also found a comprehensive approach that reduces electric equipment loads, improves insulation, and moderately cuts lighting power density offers the best energy and economic benefits. The study suggests prioritizing renovation for small to medium-sized old office buildings with energy consumption below 348.3 kWh/m 2 ·yr, footprint area over 2000 square meters, and height under 26 m. This study highlights the benefits of functional transformation over energy-saving transformations in reducing operational energy and costs, offering decision-making methods and optimization recommendations for converting non-residential buildings to address the climate and housing crisis.

Source: Journal of Building Engineering

DOI: 10.1016/j.jobe.2024.111496

Authors: Shengyuan Li, Zhonghua Gou

Institution: Wuhan University

Language: English

Topic: Building Energy and Comfort Optimization

Subfield: Building and Construction

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Climate action, Affordable and clean energy, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,320