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Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 17075

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Constantinos A. Balaras

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Group Energy Conservation, Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 118 10 Athens, Greece
Interests: high performing buildings; sustainable cities; EUI baselines & benchmarks; environmental impact of buildings; embodied energy; indoor environmental quality; solar heating & cooling; energy audits-diagnosis; building renovations
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Dr. Tomasz Cholewa

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Department of Indoor and Qutdoor Air Quality, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, 20-618 Lublin, Poland
Interests: HVAC systems analysis, optimization and control; energy efficiency in buildings; radiant heating/cooling; heat cost allocation in buildings; renewable energy use/integration in buildings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Continuing on the success of the first Special Issue that was published in early 2021 with 12 article reprints and 54 contributing authors from 7 countries, reaching about 100 citations and over 15,300 views by early 2022, we are proceeding with an enhanced second edition of a Special Issue entitled “Building Energy Audits—Diagnosis and Retrofitting Towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities”

Building audits, in one form or another, can be used to systematically collect the necessary data in order to gain adequate knowledge and a better understanding on the operations, energy use and prevailing indoor conditions of buildings. The data can be used to identify, quantify and prioritize renovation measures for higher energy efficiency and lower emissions, improve indoor environmental quality for better and healthier living and working conditions. Findings can also be used as input during building certification and studies for assessing the cost effectiveness of renovations. At larger scales, the data can be exploited to develop performance baselines and benchmarks, methods and tools for understanding the building stock in order to facilitate the decarbonization and sustainability assessment of the built environment, assess and improve the outdoor environment and the well-being of area residents, among others.

Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

Methods and tools for building energy audits, surveys, diagnosis, inspections, assessment;
Non-destructive testing, measurement, monitoring, and analysis of data;
Energy efficiency and conservation measures;
Calculation, measurement, and verification of energy savings;
Model calibration and gap analysis;
Energy performance contracts and certificates, risk analysis, and assessment;
Benchmarking energy use and carbon intensity, baselines and breakdown for end uses, financial assessment, and cost analysis;
Auditing, monitoring, and assessing decarbonization and sustainability efforts;
Facilitating audits, inspections, and data collection using information from smart systems, remote data collection and virtual audits;
Exploiting automated processes using novel methods to collect and process data for large-scale built environments from geographic information systems (GISs) and global earth observations (GEOs), among others;
Quantifying energy and carbon savings from renovations of large portfolios and building stocks;
Case studies, large-scale assessments and lessons learned from the field.

Dr. Constantinos A. Balaras
Dr. Tomasz Cholewa
Guest Editors

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

building and HVAC energy audits
built environment
survey
diagnosis
inspections
monitoring
smart systems
remote data collection
virtual audits
automated processes
geographic information systems (GISs)
global earth observations (GEOs)
energy performance
energy efficiency
energy conservation
implementation and verification
baselines
energy-use intensities
carbon-use intensities
gap analysis
benchmarking
building stock modeling
decarbonization
sustainability assessment
case studies

Related Special Issue

Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities II in Energies

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 4231 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Factoring Building Refurbishment and Climatic Effect into Heat Demand Assessments and Forecasts: Case Study and Open Datasets for Germany

by Abdulraheem Salaymeh, Irene Peters and Stefan Holler

Energies 2024, 17(3), 690; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17030690 - 31 Jan 2024

Viewed by 409

Abstract

Reducing the heat demand of existing buildings is an essential prerequisite for achieving a greenhouse gas-neutral energy supply. Numerous studies and open-source tools deal with heat demand mapping. It is not uncommon that estimated heat demands deviate from real heat consumption, so existing approaches should be improved by including in-depth building information. Some tools have recognised this problem and offer built-in functions for factoring various parameters into their assessments. Nevertheless, the necessary information is usually missing and should be obtained first. In this paper, we analyse the impact of thermal refurbishment and climate on building heat demand; hence, generate public datasets with corresponding key figures for each building type in different efficiency states and years. Accounting for already performed refurbishments in methodologies for assessing the actual state heat demand for cities will result in a reduction of at least 8% up to more than 21%, depending on whether conventional or passive house components were installed. As a result of climatic differences within Germany, a building’s heat demand can be up to 39% higher or up to 21% lower than the heat demand of an identical building in the reference climate of Germany. By further developing the approaches of the tools Hotmaps and Heat Cadastre Hamburg, we could improve the estimated heat demand of Hamburg to a value approximating the real consumption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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18 pages, 2042 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Auditing and Rating Sustainability of Mediterranean Buildings, Neighbourhoods and Cities

by Constantinos A. Balaras, Kalliopi G. Droutsa, Elena G. Dascalaki, Simon Kontoyiannidis, Andrea Moro, Elena Bazzan and Paola Borgaro

Energies 2024, 17(1), 82; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17010082 - 22 Dec 2023

Viewed by 622

Abstract

Sustainability rating systems for the built environment involve a multitude of indicators that are based on different types of data. This work capitalizes on an existing multicriteria assessment method and supporting decision-making tool at building and neighbourhood scale, to develop an enhanced method and tool at city scale. The main sustainability issues at building and city scales include site and infrastructure, energy and resources consumption, environmental loadings, climate change, environmental quality, water, waste, transportation, services, social aspects, economy and governance. Approximately 300 indicators distributed among the different scales are used to describe and quantify the various facets of sustainability. Specifically, the building scale includes a pool of 80 indicators of which 17 are key performance indicators (KPIs), the neighbourhood scale has 133 indicators of which 14 are KPIs and the city scale has a total of 99 indicators of which 10 are KPIs that were new additions to the existing method. The emphasis in this paper is given on elaborating the key performance indicators for cities and demonstrating their applicability through a case study. The common method and tools provide a flexible assessment system for local authorities and stakeholders to develop and assess sustainability plans. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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13 pages, 64136 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Intelligent Monitoring Platform and Application for Building Energy Using Information Based on Digital Twin

by Cui Li, Ping Lu, Weiran Zhu, Han Zhu and Xinmin Zhang

Energies 2023, 16(19), 6839; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16196839 - 27 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 907

Abstract

With the development and popularization of the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and other technologies, Digital twin technology (DTT) is increasingly applied to building operation and maintenance (O&M). However, most of the research focuses on building energy consumption, safety, and other management, and relatively little research on the monitoring of building terminal energy using information. The information is closely related to occupants’ behavior, such as air conditioning, lighting, shading, window status information, as well as personnel number and location, and it has a great impact on building energy consumption. Due to different occupants’ behaviors, the level of building energy consumption varies several times or even more. Take an office building as an example. Based on digital twin technology, the framework of building energy using intelligent monitoring is constructed. It mainly includes four parts, namely building physical space, virtual twin space, predictive control simulation engine, and twin big data. For each part, functions are realized through building Information Modelling (BIM), smart sensors, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Based on the standard framework and every function realization method, the DTT can used for building O&M effectually. The application of building an intelligent control system based on the occupants’ characteristics is simulated and analyzed in Designbuilder software 6.1.2. The results show that the digital technology application in building intelligent control systems can realize maximum energy saving for 30%. However, the DTT in building O&M is not widely used now. There is a lot of research to be completed in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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21 pages, 6102 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of Indoor Environmental Quality and Self-Reported Productivity in Intelligent and Traditional Buildings

by Łukasz J. Orman, Natalia Krawczyk, Norbert Radek, Stanislav Honus, Jacek Pietraszek, Luiza Dębska, Agata Dudek and Artur Kalinowski

Energies 2023, 16(18), 6663; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16186663 - 17 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 938

Abstract

People tend to spend considerable amounts of time in buildings; thus the issue of providing proper indoor environmental quality is of significant importance. This paper experimentally analyses the subjective sensations of the occupants of intelligent and traditional buildings with the focus on possible differences between these two types of buildings. The study is based on a large database of 1302 questionnaires collected in 92 rooms where simultaneous measurements of the indoor environment physical parameters (air and globe temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and illuminance) were carried out. Their impact on the subjective assessment of the indoor environment has been presented and analysed. The results show that the occupants seemed to be more favourable towards the indoor conditions in the intelligent building; however, the differences in comparison to the traditional buildings were not considerable. Similarly, self-reported productivity proved to be higher in the intelligent building, while the optimal range of air temperature, which ensured highest productivity, was 22–25 °C. Moreover, a strong correlation between the occupants’ overall comfort and their perception of the air quality has been found. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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16 pages, 2052 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of the Incentive Rate to Favor the Energy Retrofit of Public Buildings: A Comprehensive Approach for an Italian University Facility

by Giuseppe Aruta, Fabrizio Ascione, Nicola Bianco, Teresa Iovane and Margherita Mastellone

Energies 2023, 16(11), 4483; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16114483 - 01 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1071

Abstract

The Renovation Wave for Europe highlighted the role of the public building stock for which Directive 2012/27/EU has set an annual renewal rate of 3%, which should rise to reach the goal of decarbonization by 2050. In this paper, the energy retrofit of an educational building—at the academic level—in Southern Italy was investigated. The aim was to evaluate the incentive share, which could accelerate the energy efficiency process, to achieve a cost-effective nZEB. The results show that the highest incentive rate is required for interventions on the opaque building envelope, which are also those that allow the least energy savings. An incentive rate of about 45% for the energy efficiency of the transparent envelope is necessary to reduce the payback time by about 7 years. The efficiency of the plants and the installation of a PV system are energetically and economically convenient even without forms of economic incentive. Finally, if the building is brought to high energy standards—a primary energy saving of 46% and energy class A3—an incentive rate of 40% is required to repay the intervention in about 10 years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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26 pages, 6030 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geographic Information Systems for Facilitating Audits of the Urban Built Environment

by Constantinos A. Balaras, Andreas I. Theodoropoulos and Elena G. Dascalaki

Energies 2023, 16(11), 4309; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16114309 - 24 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1274

Abstract

Data collection and large-scale urban audits are challenging and can be time consuming processes. Geographic information systems can extract and combine relevant data that can be used as input to calculation tools that provide results and quantify indicators with sufficient spatial analysis to facilitate the local decision-making process for building renovations and sustainability assessment. This work presents an open-access tool that offers an automated process that can be used to audit an urban area in order to extract relevant information about the characteristics of the built environment, analyze the building characteristics to evaluate energy performance, assess the potential for the installation of photovoltaics on available building rooftops, and quantify ground permeability. A case study is also presented to demonstrate data collection and processing for an urban city block, and the relevant results are elaborated upon. The method is easily replicable and is based on open data and non-commercial tools. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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22 pages, 2019 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Space Cooling Systems from Energy and Economic Perspectives for a Future City District in Sweden

by Sana Sayadi, Jan Akander, Abolfazl Hayati, Mattias Gustafsson and Mathias Cehlin

Energies 2023, 16(9), 3852; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093852 - 30 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1321

Abstract

In this study, the performance of different cooling technologies from energy and economic perspectives were evaluated for six different prototype residential Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) within a planned future city district in central Sweden. This was carried out by assessing the primary energy number and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) for each building model and cooling technology. Projected future climate file representing the 2050s (mid-term future) was employed. Three cooling technologies (district cooling, compression chillers coupled/uncoupled with photovoltaic (PV) systems, and absorption chillers) were evaluated. Based on the results obtained from primary energy number and LCCA, compression chillers with PV systems appeared to be favorable as this technology depicted the least value for primary energy use and LCCA. Compared to compression chillers alone, the primary energy number and the life cycle cost were reduced by 13%, on average. Moreover, the district cooling system was found to be an agreeable choice for buildings with large floor areas from an economic perspective. Apart from these, absorption chillers, utilizing environmentally sustainable district heating, displayed the highest primary energy use and life cycle cost which made them the least favorable choice. However, the reoccurring operational cost from the LCCA was about 60 and 50% of the total life cycle cost for district cooling and absorption chillers, respectively, while this value corresponds to 80% for the compression chillers, showing the high net present value for this technology but sensitive to future electricity prices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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23 pages, 4750 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Biogas Potential in Building the Energy Independence of the Three Seas Initiative Countries

by Grzegorz Ślusarz, Dariusz Twaróg, Barbara Gołębiewska, Marek Cierpiał-Wolan, Jarosław Gołębiewski and Philipp Plutecki

Energies 2023, 16(3), 1366; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16031366 - 28 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1410

Abstract

Increasing biogas production in the Three Seas Initiative countries (3SI) is a good way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase energy self-sufficiency by replacing some of the fossil energy sources. An assessment of the biogas production potential carried out for the 3SI at the NUTS 1 and NUTS 2 level shows that the potential of this energy carrier was stable for the period (from 2010–2021). The results showed that it can cover from approximately 10% (Hungary, Slovakia) to more than 34% (Estonia, Slovenia) of natural gas consumption; moreover, there is strong variation in the value of potential at the regional level (NUTS 2) in most of the countries studied. The biogas production forecast was carried out with the ARIMA model using four regressors, which are GDP, biogas potential utilisation, natural gas consumption and investments in RES (renewable energy sources) infrastructure, including changes in the EU energy policy after 24 February 2022. In the most promising scenario (four regressors), the results obtained for the period from 2022–2030 predict a rapid increase in biogas production in the 3SI countries, from 32.4 ± 11.3% for the Czech Republic to 138.7 ± 27.5% for Estonia (relative to 2021). However, in the case of six countries (Bulgaria, Lithuania, Hungary, Austria, Poland and Romania) the utilisation of 50% of the potential will most likely occur in the fifth decade of the 21st century. The above results differ significantly for those obtained for three regressors, where the highest rise is predicted for Bulgaria at 33.5 ± 16.1% and the lowest for Slovenia, at only 2.8 ± 14.4% (relative to 2021). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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15 pages, 3339 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Indoor Air CO₂ Sensors and Possible Uncertainties of Measurements: A Review and an Example of Practical Measurements

by Anatolijs Borodinecs, Arturs Palcikovskis and Vladislavs Jacnevs

Energies 2022, 15(19), 6961; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15196961 - 22 Sep 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1931

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, special attention has been paid to proper ventilation and building management systems. The indoor air CO₂ concentration level is still used as an effective indicator to evaluate indoor air quality. Many different sensors have appeared on the market in the last two years. However, calibration procedures and guidance on proper installation have not been well described by manufacturers. The research method is based on a review of technical parameters. The practical measurements of CO₂ concentration were taken using different sensors. For these purposes three different premises were selected. It was found that CO₂ measurement failure happened in residential buildings without mechanical ventilation. Meanwhile, in well ventilated buildings all sensors have shown similar results and the difference between sensors located in different zones was minimal. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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Review

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38 pages, 478 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of the Evaluation of Building Energy Code Compliance in the United States

by Yulong Xie, Matthew Tyler, Jennifer Huckett, Rosemarie Bartlett, Yan Chen, Victor Salcido, Vrushali Mendon and Michael Rosenberg

Energies 2023, 16(16), 5874; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16165874 - 08 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1204

Abstract

Building energy codes are essential tools for achieving energy efficiency in buildings. However, the full energy savings potential of these codes can only be realized if buildings are constructed in compliance with them. Therefore, evaluating building energy code compliance is crucial in bridging the gap between the energy efficiency requirements set by energy codes and the actualized energy savings achieved. An energy code compliance evaluation serves as a mechanism to assess construction practices, evaluate the effectiveness of code enforcement, identify gaps in compliance, and guide strategies for improvement through training and education. Conducting code compliance evaluation activities involves field studies that require careful design and significant resources. Historically, more emphasis has been placed on developing and adopting building energy codes, while efforts to evaluate compliance have been relatively limited and lacking consistent approaches. The passage of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which mandated that states create plans for achieving 90% compliance within eight years, stimulated the need for an energy code compliance evaluation. As a result, federal, state, and local governments, and utilities have invested in the development of methodologies and tools for code compliance evaluation studies. This paper reviews the code compliance evaluation studies conducted in the United States over the past three decades. It describes and compares the methodologies and metrics used to assess building energy code compliance, summarizes the general elements and steps involved in the evaluation process, and discusses common issues in these studies. Over time, code compliance evaluation methodologies have evolved from isolated development within individual states, regions, and utilities, to widely accepted protocols applicable across different states and local jurisdictions. There has been a transition in compliance metrics, shifting from historical compliance rates to energy-consumption-oriented approaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

25 pages, 2414 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Review of Experimental and Numerical Analyses of Solar Thermal Walls

by Krzysztof Sornek, Karolina Papis-Frączek, Francesco Calise, Francesco Liberato Cappiello and Maria Vicidomini

Energies 2023, 16(7), 3102; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073102 - 29 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1487

Abstract

Nowadays, almost 30% of total energy consumption (130 EJ) is consumed for the operation of buildings, mainly by space heating/cooling and ventilation systems, hot water preparation systems, lighting, and other domestic appliances. To improve the energy efficiency of buildings, several countries are promoting the use of renewable energy. The most promising systems include active and passive solar installations. In passive systems, the solar energy is collected, stored, reflected, or distributed by the roof ponds, natural convective loops, and the most popular direct gain walls and thermal storage walls (known as Trombe walls). This paper reviews the experimental and numerical studies devoted to the different solutions of Trombe walls, including solar chimneys integrated on the vertical walls, classic Trombe walls, Trombe walls with incorporated phase change materials, and photovoltaic Trombe walls. The actual state of the art is presented in the context of reducing energy consumption and enhancing thermal comfort. Most of the analyzed studies showed that the application of thermal storage walls allowed achieving these goals, led to lower emissions of greenhouse gases, and improved living standards. Nevertheless, there is a need for more detailed feasibility studies, including cost and environmental indicators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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22 pages, 5513 KiB

Open AccessReview

HVAC System Control Solutions Based on Modern IT Technologies: A Review Article

by Anatolijs Borodinecs, Jurgis Zemitis and Arturs Palcikovskis

Energies 2022, 15(18), 6726; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15186726 - 14 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1868

Abstract

As energy consumption for building engineering systems is a major part of the total energy spent, it is necessary to reduce it. This leads to the need for the development of new solutions for the control of heating, ventilation, and conditioning (HVAC) systems that are responsive to humans and their demands. In this review article, the existing research and technology advancements of the modern technologies of computer vision and neural networks for application in HVAC control systems are studied. Objectives such as human detection and location, human activity monitoring, skin temperature detection, and clothing level detection systems are important for the operation of precise, high-tech HVAC systems. This article tries to compile the latest achievements and principal solutions on how this information is acquired. Moreover, it how parameters such as indoor air quality (IAQ), variable air volume ventilation, computer vision, metabolic rate, and human clothing isolation can affect final energy consumption is studied. The research studies discussed in this review article have been tested in real application scenarios and prove the benefits of using a particular technology in ventilation systems. As a result, the modernized control systems have shown advantages over the currently applied typical non-automated systems by providing higher IAQ and reducing unnecessary energy consumption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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Other

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18 pages, 1866 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Application of the Hybrid MCDM Method for Energy Modernisation of an Existing Public Building—A Case Study

by Bartosz Radomski and Tomasz Mróz

Energies 2023, 16(8), 3475; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16083475 - 16 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1282

Abstract

The existing public utility building belonging to the Forest Experimental Station of the Poznań University of Life Sciences, due to high energy consumption and related costs, has qualified for deep energy modernisation or consideration for the construction of a new building. One of the goals is to achieve carbon neutrality and have a positive energy balance. The article uses the hybrid DEMATEL-AHP/ANP-VIKOR method. The methodology used is distinguished by the creation of a set of decision-making criteria and the identification of the relationship between them, which is determined by conducting a survey of a group of experts using the Delphi method, as well as determining the preferences of the decision-maker using a survey of the target group using social research. Two different models of the decision-maker’s preferences have been developed, taking into account the selected decision criteria, and four acceptable technical solutions have been identified. As a result of the calculations performed, a ranking of the solutions has been developed, from the most preferred to the least accepted. Variant 3B has been identified as the best solution with respect to eight evaluation criteria for both of the adopted models of the decision-maker’s preferences. The ranking index R_i coefficient for this variant ranged between 0.733 and 0.901, while for the other variants, it was lower and amounted to between 0.106 and 0.274 for variant 1, 0.166 and 0.290 for variant 2 and 0.403 and 0.437 for variant 3A. The methodology used for the case study has proved to be applicable. The presented methodology can be used to design new buildings (not only residential) with almost zero energy consumption, as well as those with a positive energy balance, and can also be used for deep energy modernisation. In this article, it was applied for the first time to the energy modernisation of an existing public building. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting towards Decarbonization and Sustainable Cities)

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