Investigating Energy Saving Potential in a Big Shopping Centre through Ventilation Control

This work shows an example of energy saving interventions on the ventilation system of a big shopping center. This kind of buildings is characterized by high energy consumptions, because of the high level of yearly operating hours and the use of obsolete technologies. In the case study, a big Do It Yourself (DIY) shop located in the southern part of Italy is analyzed, proposing two different approaches aimed at reducing the annual energy consumption for the indoor air exchange of the sales area. In the AS-IS scenario, a centralized HVAC plant, composed by six rooftops, is installed on the roof of sales area, working with fixed airflow value. The first retrofit solution involves the installation of heat recovery exchanger, reducing the energy demand for the air thermal treatment without changing the airflow. In the second scenario, a smarter solution is proposed, considering the installation of air quality sensors able to modulate the air exchange rate according to the real requirement for the indoor health. Finally, the application of both retrofit solution is considered. For each scenario, the paper reports the evaluation of the yearly energy saving and the avoided CO2 emissions as environmental benefits. As regard the economic evaluation, the annual avoided expenditure, the breakeven time of the investments and the discounted cash flow are provided.