Using Simulation-based Energy Consumption of NIU Engineering Building to Provide Cost-Saving Solutions

In the current global situation where almost all countries need energy to perform their activities, providing energy is a vital demand for modern society. Furthermore, lack of fossil energy draws attention to the utilization of renewable energy, specifically solar energy. Because no specific published record of considering renewable energy solutions applied to the buildings of Northern Illinois University (NIU) have been found already, in this paper, solar energy as an energy solution for Northern Illinois University (NIU) Engineering Building (EB) has been considered. In this case, building envelope model and HVAC system model have been developed in eQUEST software to perform simulation-based energy consumption of EB. This simulation presents annual energy consumption of boiler, chiller plant, and daylighting in EB. Moreover, economic analysis of using solar energy for lighting has been performed to identify the feasibility and savings associated with solar energy which can potentially reduce costs with a reasonable payback time