Cold-Climate Supermarket Attached Greenhouse: a Case Study
Abstract
Supermarkets are responsible for large amounts of energy consumption, for building operations (HVAC and refrigeration) as well as for transportation of produce and other goods. This study is based on an on-going research to reduce the energy consumption of this type of buildings by attaching a greenhouse to an energy efficient supermarket for locally grown organic produce. Using a parametric approach, a design model for a supermarket attached greenhouse for improved energy performance is proposed. The analyzed parameters pertain to passive design (building envelope, shape, day-lighting, PCMs, aerogels) and active design (photovoltaic, semi-transparent photovoltaics, supermarket waste heat harnessing), to develop a model for year-round production in Calgary, Canada (51oN). The results indicate that energy consumption can be reduced by up to 85% as compared to the base case.
Keywords
Supermarket, Energy efficiency, Parametric study, Optimization, Building envelope, Phase change material, Photovoltaics