LB-17-C051 -- The Impact of Chiller Plant Retrofit on Energy Consumption for Office Buildings in Singapore PDF

Energy efficiency in buildings is one of the key measures to tackle global energy and emission concerns. The large share of air-conditioning in commercial buildings makes air-conditioning systems as primary targets for retrofitting. This study investigates 56 office buildings in Singapore that have undergone chiller plant retrofitting. The energy audit reports from these buildings are studied in detail to gather data related to building energy consumption and chiller plant efficiency (measured in kW/RT). The energy utilization index (EUI) which is measured as the total energy per square meter is analyzed for these buildings before and after retrofitting. The results show a positive trend in the correlation between EUI and chiller plant efficiency before and after retrofitting. A simple correlation relating change in EUI to the change in chiller plant efficiency displays a positive trend. Following this, a k-means clustering analysis is performed with change in EUI and change in chiller plant efficiency values. The results exhibit interesting clusters for improvement in EUI based on change in chiller plant efficiency based on the ranks for these slopes. Such an assessment can provide primary level guidance for potential improvement in building EUI due to air-conditioning retrofitting for office buildings in Singapore.