Renovation of existing office buildings in regard to energy economy:: An example from Ankara, Turkey

Unit energy consumption of existing buildings in Turkey is excessive. While average energy consumption of residential buildings in Europe is 100 kWh/m(2) per year, it is about 200 kWh/m(2) per year in Turkey. The principle reason for this, is that there was not any regulation on thermal insulation issues until recent years. However, the fiscal value of total energy consumption in residential buildings is about $2.5 billion. Recent research has shown that 40% of this energy consumption could be saved, provided that using energy efficiently. Furthermore, every reduction in energy-usage has a significant influence on environmental protection and CO2 emissions. This study has focused on energy efficiency in a building of public sector that had been inaugurated in 1988 in Ankara. During the preinvestigative step, it has been determined that 47% of total energy consumption of the building could be saved. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.