Sensitivity analysis of building energy retrofits

When a building is refurbished, energy conservation measures might be profi table to implement. The profitability depends, among other things, on the e lectricity and district-heating tariffs, the unit price for oil, etc. The c ost for the retrofit is of course also important as well as the influence o f the retrofit on the demand for heat in the building. By the use of a Mixe d integer Linear Programming model of a building, a number of different opt imal retrofit strategies are found depending on the energy cost. The result shows that the Life-Cycle Cost for the building is subject only to small c hanges as long as the optimal strategies are chosen. Most important is the heating system, while building retrofits such as added insulation, are too expensive to take part in the optimal solution. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science L td. All rights reserved.