Assessment of Passive vs. Active Strategies for a School Building Design

This paper presents a simulation study to reduce heating and cooling energy demand of a school building in Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea. The aim of this study was to estimate the impact of passive vs. active approaches on energy savings in buildings using EnergyPlus simulation. By controlling lighting, the energy saving of the original school building design was found most significant, and increased by 32% when the design was improved. It is noteworthy that energy saving potential of each room varies significantly depending on the rooms’ thermal characteristics and orientation. Thus, the analysis of energy saving should be introduced at the individual space level, not at the whole building level. Additionally, the simulation studies should be involved for rational decision-making. Finally, it was concluded that priority should be given to passive building design strategies, such as building orientation, as well as control and utilization of solar radiation. These passive energy saving strategies are related to urban, architectural design, and engineering issues, and are more beneficial in terms of energy savings than active strategies.