Feasibility assessment of sustainable thermal rehabilitation and energy-efficient approaches for the existing buildings in Iran

Abstract

The main aim of this thesis, which comprises of five chapters, is to provide general information about sustainability, energy efficiency, and analyze the conditions of energy loss of existing buildings in Iran and find out the most viable programs for improvement of the thermal situation of these buildings. To do this, different scenarios including thermal rehabilitation of the walls, replacing the windows with double-glazed panes, thermal rehabilitation of roof, and installation of solar panels on the roof were considered for an office building located in Tehran, Iran. Two different approaches were considered to do the energy analyses, namely rough calculation and computer simulations. Because of the reliability and precision of the DesignBuilder software, all the financial assessments were done based on the results of simulated models. In order to do the financial assessment of different scenarios, Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) methods were used. By comparing the initial required investments to the cost savings due to the proposed renovation programs, payback periods of various investment scenarios were computed. Based on the results of NPV, IRR, and considering a base payback period for different scenarios, it was revealed that the most viable scenario is renovation of windows and walls. Subsequently, installation of solar panels and insulation of roof were not financially viable scenarios.