View in EDS

Building community energy retrofitting in urban neighbourhoods: A novel conceptual paradigm.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Building community energy retrofitting in urban neighbourhoods: A novel conceptual paradigm.
Authors: Q. Hamdan, Mohammad1 (AUTHOR) m.hamdan@meu.edu.jo, Gillott, Mark2 (AUTHOR) mark.gillott@nottingham.ac.uk, Calautit, John2 (AUTHOR) john.calautit1@nottingham.ac.uk, Mirzaei, Parham A.1,3 (AUTHOR) parhammir@cae.au.dk
Source: Energy & Buildings. Feb2026, Vol. 353, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subjects: Energy conservation, Sustainable development, Cost effectiveness, Building performance, Energy management, Office building remodeling, Neighborhoods
Geographic Terms: Amman (Jordan), Jordan
Abstract: Over the last few years, renovations and retrofits for existing buildings have been acknowledged as crucial strategies for attaining energy conservation and sustainable objectives. Nevertheless, current studies investigations have only focused on the retrofit measures on an individual building bounded by building ownership premises, ignoring the impact of the surrounding built environment. Hence, retrofitting solutions are only extracted from individual building energy systems while they can negatively impact on the surrounding environment. This study investigates whether cost-effective solutions can be found if the scale of energy retrofitting is extended from individual buildings to communities of buildings. For this purpose, this paper presents a novel coupling method for optimising building retrofit strategies by integrating community-scale and building-scale interventions using a case study of Amman, Jordan. The research combines microclimate computational fluid mechanics (CFD) simulation (ENVI-met) and building energy performance analysis (DesignBuilder). Through systematic evaluation of nine scenarios at the community level and calibrated interventions at the building level designed to achieve equivalent energy reductions, the study demonstrates that community-scale approaches offer superior economic value. Implementation of comprehensive community-scale strategies achieved microclimate improvements, including peak temperature reductions of 2.9 °C (7 %). These translated into a 27 % reduction in cooling demand and a 19 % decrease in overall energy consumption. To achieve the same energy reduction target, the community-scale approach required 17.9 % less capital investment offered a 21.2 % shorter payback period and demonstrated a 23.8 % better net present value compared to building scale interventions. The results provide a framework for sustainable urban development, demonstrating that community-scale retrofits offer superior cost-effectiveness and broader co-benefits compared to individual building retrofits targeting equivalent energy performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Energy & Buildings is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Description
Abstract:Over the last few years, renovations and retrofits for existing buildings have been acknowledged as crucial strategies for attaining energy conservation and sustainable objectives. Nevertheless, current studies investigations have only focused on the retrofit measures on an individual building bounded by building ownership premises, ignoring the impact of the surrounding built environment. Hence, retrofitting solutions are only extracted from individual building energy systems while they can negatively impact on the surrounding environment. This study investigates whether cost-effective solutions can be found if the scale of energy retrofitting is extended from individual buildings to communities of buildings. For this purpose, this paper presents a novel coupling method for optimising building retrofit strategies by integrating community-scale and building-scale interventions using a case study of Amman, Jordan. The research combines microclimate computational fluid mechanics (CFD) simulation (ENVI-met) and building energy performance analysis (DesignBuilder). Through systematic evaluation of nine scenarios at the community level and calibrated interventions at the building level designed to achieve equivalent energy reductions, the study demonstrates that community-scale approaches offer superior economic value. Implementation of comprehensive community-scale strategies achieved microclimate improvements, including peak temperature reductions of 2.9 °C (7 %). These translated into a 27 % reduction in cooling demand and a 19 % decrease in overall energy consumption. To achieve the same energy reduction target, the community-scale approach required 17.9 % less capital investment offered a 21.2 % shorter payback period and demonstrated a 23.8 % better net present value compared to building scale interventions. The results provide a framework for sustainable urban development, demonstrating that community-scale retrofits offer superior cost-effectiveness and broader co-benefits compared to individual building retrofits targeting equivalent energy performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:03787788
DOI:10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116897