Energy Performance of Office Building in Santiago, Chile: Results of Unregulated and High Solar Radiation Context

Abstract

In Chile, non-residential buildings are not subject to regulations in regard of energy consumption or indoor environmental quality. With the exception of urban aspects related to volume and sun obstructions, other aspects such as energy performance or façade performance are left to the market's ability to define without any standards or models of adaptation to the country’s climate and energy conditions. Santiago, the capital, concentrates most of office buildings, where this development has turned critical due to the widespread use of architectural models based on highly transparent façades, associated with economic success and transnationalization, but little consideration of Santiago’s temperate-warm climate. This paper presents the results of a currently ongoing measurement campaign considering nine representative buildings selected by types according to the characteristics of its architecture and façade systems. Measurements considered energy consumption, indoor environment quality and user satisfaction. The results obtained in the spring and summer, critical periods of the year in Santiago’s climatic context, will be presented. The conclusions of the study show results in two areas regarding the role that architecture plays in the energy performance of buildings: the results obtained when only market mechanisms regulate building performance; and the consequences of this for user comfort Keywords: Energy consumption, unregulated market, Energy Performance, Office Building, Cluster analysis.