Energy Conserving Electrical System Design and Performance Analysis for Commercial Buildings in Addis Ababa
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Date
2013-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The electrical energy demand growth in Ethiopia has been enormous in the past few years as
a result of economic development. This sharp increase in demand is expected to continue in
the years to come. Therefore, in the face of increasing demand for electric energy in all
sectors and the limited generation capacity problem, energy conservation has to be considered
at the demand side as one of the major options to achieve a sustainable power supply system.
Next to the domestic sector, the second most energy consuming sector in Ethiopia is the
commercial sector. Hence, to succeed in reducing energy consumption and in developing a
sustainable energy structure, the buildings in this sector need to consider integrating
sustainable energy and energy conserving strategies into their design.
This thesis work investigates the potentials for energy conservation in the commercial
building sector of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The objective of the study is to identify and suggest
the energy conserving design strategies that can reduce energy consumption of a building
beyond conventional practice, making it more energy efficient and self-sufficient, with
respect to its power demand. This is done by selecting best available design concepts and
technologies related to energy efficiency and renewable energy resource utilization, which
can be implemented for commercial buildings in Addis Ababa. Case studies are carried out on
two typical commercial buildings located in the city in order to evaluate the energy
consumption of conventional buildings and to select the appropriate energy conservation
measures that can be taken. An energy conserving electrical system is then proposed for these
two sample buildings. Annual energy saving analysis is done by comparing the energy
consumption of the base case and the proposed case systems. The economical aspect of the
energy conserving electrical design is also studied through the life time cost analysis.
RETScreen is used as an evaluation tool in order to demonstrate the application of the
strategies and to what extent it can make an impact on the energy consumption of the
buildings. The thesis presents the methodology followed to design the proposed system. It
also discusses the result of the annual energy saving and the life time cost analysis. Finally,
based on the result of the work, suggestions are made on strategies that could help to realize
energy-saving potentials, promote energy conservation, and thereby enhance energy
sustainability in the nation’s commercial building sector.
Key words: Energy Conservation, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Commercial
Buildings, RETScreen
Description
Keywords
Energy Conservation, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Commercial Buildings, RETScreen