Factors influencing existing medium-sized commercial building energy retrofits to achieve the net zero energy goal in the United States

Despite the increased awareness of benefits and opportunities resulting from energy retrofits, there is a lack of information regarding the factors influencing the success of energy retrofits – especially deep energy retrofits – aiming to achieve a net zero energy goal. The aim of this study is to identify factors and variables that could contribute to the successful implementation of energy retrofit measures in buildings with the goal of achieving net zero energy. A database of 34 small- and medium-sized commercial building retrofit projects was developed for this analysis, which was derived from the New Buildings Institute’s Net Zero Energy Building Database. Five factor categories were investigated: physical, technical, environmental, economic, and policy. A total of 11 variables from the 5 categories were analysed. The results show that success stems from a combination of certain variables: the number of floors, the climate zone, and the building cost. In general, the results indicate a trend: compact buildings with a construction cost range between $19/m2 and $42/m2 in a mild climate have a higher likelihood of achieving a net zero energy goal. Also, the analysis provides new evidence toward the importance of understanding a building’s physical characteristics in an existing building energy retrofit.尽管公众对能源改造（energy retrofit）所能带来的效益与发展机遇的认知不断深化，但目前仍缺乏针对旨在实现净零能源目标（net zero energy goal）的能源改造——尤其是深度能源改造（deep energy retrofits）——的成功影响因素相关研究成果。本研究旨在识别可助力建筑能源改造措施成功落地、并达成净零能源目标的各类影响因素与变量。本次分析所用的数据库共收录34个中小型商业建筑改造项目案例，该数据集源自新建筑研究所（New Buildings Institute）的净零能耗建筑数据库（Net Zero Energy Building Database）。研究共涵盖5大类影响因素：物理属性类、技术类、环境类、经济类与政策类，并针对这5大类下的共计11项变量展开了系统性分析。研究结果表明，项目成功取决于多项变量的协同作用：建筑楼层数、气候分区与建造成本。整体而言，研究结果呈现出明确趋势：在温和气候区域内，建造成本介于19美元/平方米至42美元/平方米之间的紧凑型建筑，实现净零能源目标的概率更高。此外，本分析还为「在既有建筑能源改造中充分考量建筑物理属性的重要性」提供了全新实证依据。