Energy analysis of commercial buildings in subtropical climates.

The overall thermal transfer value ( OTTV) concept has been extended to correlate the OTTV of building envelope designs with other key building design parameters through DOE-2 computer simulations. A survey of 146 commercial buildings completed between 1975 and 1995 provides the information on the prevailing architectural designs and construction practices in Hong Kong. This information forms a basis for the development of a generic office building used in the computer analysis. Four major design aspects have been considered, namely the building envelope, indoor design conditions, internal loads and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC). Implications for energy efficiency in the commercial sector energy use are discussed.