Exterior Retrofitting Systems for Energy Conservation and Efficiency in Cold Climates: A Systematic Review

Shayan Mirzabeigi, Jianshun Zhang, Mohamad Razkenari

Research output: Chapter in Book/Entry/PoemConference contribution

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the United States, approximately 65% of buildings were constructed before 1992, when the United States Department of Energy (DOE) established the Building Energy Codes Program (BECP). Building retrofit to meet and exceed present high efficiency building standards is a critical path to reduce the overall existing building energy consumption and associated carbon emissions. Despite the well-established advantages of building energy retrofit, its adoption has faced numerous challenges. Therefore, it is important to review how effective building energy retrofit approaches can be in specific climatic contexts. This paper aims to provide a systematic and critical review of various exterior retrofitting systems for energy conservation and efficiency in cold climatic conditions, to summarize findings and knowledge gaps, and to identify values and challenges in advancing building envelope retrofits. To this aim, a set of various exterior retrofitting representative techniques was collected from various projects around the world. A summary description of key design elements, thermal performance, airtightness, and improvement areas for each system is presented and discussed. The potential and limitations of each retrofitting approach are evaluated to aid further development of sustainable retrofitting systems. Concluding remarks also converge on the identification of remaining research questions to discuss various issues related to system performance, and to address future opportunities.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 5th International Conference on Building Energy and Environment
EditorsLiangzhu Leon Wang, Hua Ge, Mohamed Ouf, Zhiqiang John Zhai, Dahai Qi, Chanjuan Sun, Dengjia Wang
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Pages413-422
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)9789811998218
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023
Event5th International Conference on Building Energy and Environment, COBEE 2022 - Montreal, Canada
Duration: Jul 25 2022Jul 29 2022

Publication series

NameEnvironmental Science and Engineering
ISSN (Print)1863-5520
ISSN (Electronic)1863-5539

Conference

Conference5th International Conference on Building Energy and Environment, COBEE 2022
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityMontreal
Period7/25/227/29/22

Keywords

  • Building envelope retrofit
  • Cold climates
  • Energy efficiency
  • Exterior retrofitting systems

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Information Systems

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