Energy retrofit of the existing building envelope in Jordan: A study on mixed-use buildings (Retail and office) in Amman

Abstract

Energy security is one of the most significant challenges facing Jordan. Addressing this will reduce the country's burdens and ensure its sustainable development, especially in the face of the country’s sudden unplanned population growth. Jordan imports 96% of its energy re-sources, and its existing building stock is a high energy consumer with a performance level far below the standard of new constructions. Therefore, it has the potential to reduce energy demand on a large scale. This study focuses on optimising energy consumption in mixed-use buildings in Amman through retrofitting the building envelope using passive design solutions, with a special focus on improving thermal performance. It investigates the potential of achieving the requirements of the Jordanian Energy Efficient Building Code (JEEBC) for new buildings and the Passive House Standard (EnerPHit). The methodology of the study is divided into three main parts: i) Literature review. ii) Interview activity with local experts. iii) Development of a retrofit guideline. The interviews are qualitatively analysed to understand the current situation, issues and practices, possible obstacles and opportunities. The original contribution of this study is achieved by assessing the current situation of these buildings from the point of view of thermal performance, calculating thermal transmittance (U-Value) of different building envelope technologies for external walls, roofs, ground floors, internal partitions and windows. The proposed solutions, which are internal or external insulation, are presented in tables with suggested additional insulation thicknesses, achieved U-values, and the thermal performance improvement required for each building envelope component to achieve the study targets. Up-grading the thermal performance of the building envelope results in significant energy savings in buildings and improves the quality of the indoor environment. Post-retrofit calculations that meet the JEEBC requirements resulted in thermal performance improvements of up to 80% in external walls, 50% in cavity walls, 47% in insulated walls, 78% in external roofs, 48% in ground floors, 50% in internal partitions, and 46% in windows. Achieving Passive House U-value standards would mean these figures doubled for internal partitions and increased about 10% for other components. Keywords: Amman buildings, building envelope, energy-efficient buildings, energy retrofit, passive design strategies, thermal insulation.