An evaluation of the effects of thermal insulation levels on the energy performance of New Zealand office buildings- exploring the impact of building attributes on the performance of thermal insulation
Authors:   , Grieve Brittany 
Published: December 2021

<p>This thesis explored the impact of thermal insulation on the energy performance of New Zealand air-conditioned commercial office buildings. A sample of calibrated energy models constructed using real building performance data and construction information was used to ensure that the results produced were as realistic as possible to the actual building performance of New Zealand commercial office buildings. The aim was to assess how different climates and building attributes impact thermal insulation's ability to reduce energy consumption in New Zealand commercial office buildings. Driven by the ever increasing demands for healthier, more comfortable, more sustainable buildings, building regulations have steadily increased the levels of insulation they require in new buildings over time. Improving the thermal properties of the building envelope with the addition of thermal insulation is normally used to reduce the amount of heating and cooling energy a building requires. Thermal insulation reduces the conductive heat transfer through the building envelope and with a higher level of thermal resistance, the less heat would transfer through the envelope. Consequently, the common expectation is that the addition of thermal insulation to the building envelope will always reduce energy consumption. However, this assumption is not always the case. For internal load dominated buildings located in certain climates, the presence of any or a higher level of thermal insulation may prevent heat loss through the wall, increasing the cooling energy required. This issue is thought to have not been directly examined in literature until 2008. However, an early study undertaken in New Zealand in 1996 found that for climates similar or warmer than Auckland, the addition of insulation could be detrimental to an office building's energy efficiency due to increased cooling energy requirements. The energy performance of a sample of 13 real New Zealand office building energy models with varying levels of thermal insulation in 8 locations was examined under various scenarios. A parametric method of analysis using building energy modelling was used to assess the energy performance of the buildings. Buildings were modelled as built and standardised with the current NZS4243:2007 regulated and assumed internal load and operational values. The effect the cooling thermostat set point temperature had on the buildings' energy performance at varying levels of insulation was also tested. The study concluded that the use of thermal insulation in New Zealand office buildings can cause an increase in cooling energy for certain types of buildings in any of the eight locations and thermal insulation levels explored in the study. The increase in cooling energy was significant enough to increase the total energy consumption of two buildings when modelled as built. These buildings were characterised by large internal loads, low performance windows with high window to wall ratios and low surface to volume ratios. The current minimum thermal resistance requirements were found to not be effective for a number of buildings in North Island locations.</p>