Bekele, Getachew(PhD)Teshome, Bezawit2018-07-052023-11-042018-07-052023-11-042013-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/6689The 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, RETScreenenEnergy ConservationEnergy EfficiencyRenewable EnergyCommercial BuildingsRETScreenThesis