Session: 09-07-01: Energy Sustainability for Buildings and Cities

Paper Number: 174065

Designing for Resilience: Retrofit Strategies to Improve School Energy Performance 

School buildings are major public infrastructures that are highly important to remain functional, safe, and comfortable for students and educators under evolving environmental conditions. As climate-related stressors such as rising temperatures, longer cooling seasons, and more frequent extreme weather continue to grow, there is an increasing need to develop retrofit strategies that not only improve energy efficiency but also enhance building resilience. This study investigates the long-term energy performance of school buildings under projected climate scenarios and identifies retrofit measures that offer the greatest impact on energy savings and resilience of these buildings.

Using the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) primary school prototype building as a baseline model, we conduct energy simulations with EnergyPlus to evaluate building energy consumption under historical climate data as well as future climate scenarios. Future climate files are generated through various methods, reflecting mid-century and late-century climate projections for a representative U.S. location. The simulations quantify changes in annual and seasonal energy demand, with a particular focus on heating and cooling loads.

Considering the findings from the baseline analysis, a group of Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) are applied, including envelope upgrades (e.g., roof insulation, high-performance glazing), HVAC system improvements, lighting retrofits, and passive design interventions. Each measure is evaluated considering both current and projected climate conditions to assess its individual and integral impact on total site energy use and thermal comfort. The performance of the proposed strategies are examined both in terms of the energy savings, and for their adaptability to future climate conditions as well as their implementation feasibility in school settings.

Results show that cooling energy demand increases significantly under future climate scenarios, with late-century projections shoeing large increases in peak loads in some regions. Improvements in HVAC systems as well as building envelope improvements are among the most robust strategies among all EEMs in different scenarios. However, examples of EEMs that demonstrated reduced effectiveness or diminishing returns under extreme heat conditions are also reported which emphasizes on the importance of scenario-based planning and taking into consideration of the future climate dynamics. The present study presents a framework for priorotizing retrofit options based on their energy impact, resilience value, and ease of deployment. This work provides important insights for energy engineers, school districts, facility managers, and design professionals who are exploring future-proof educational buildings. Through integration of resilience thinking into energy efficiency planning for schools, this approach supports decision-making and accelerates the deployment of impactful retrofit solutions that prepare school infrastructure for long-term environmental challenges.

Presenting Author: Muhammed Salih Florida Institute of Technology

Presenting Author Biography: Muhammed Salih is a PhD student at Florida Institute of Technology specializing in energy systems and thermal-fluids engineering. His research is focused on designing and optimization of sustainable and climate-resilient buildings. With expertise in sustainability, CFD analysis, and hybrid energy solutions, he aims to develop cost-effective strategies for built environments.

Authors:

Muhammed Salih Florida Institute of Technology
Hamidreza Najafi Florida Institute of Technology