Heating/cooling degree days and building energy consumption in Pakistan

Pakistan suffers a continuous energy crisis and needs all out efforts to overcome this problem. The use of locally available renewable energy and energy conservation offers a viable solution to the energy crisis. As Pakistan consumes 50% of its primary energy in the building sector, and therefore, it offers a huge potential for energy saving. The study estimates the energy consumption in buildings as a function of heating and cooling degree days for all climate zones of the country. Both components (weather independent and dependent) of the energy used in buildings are calculated using EnergyPlus software. Energy consumption is estimated both for conventional buildings and buildings built approximately Building Energy Code of Pakistan (BECoP). The results show a huge reduction in energy consumption in BECoP buildings. The paper also demonstrates how to calculate energy consumption in houses in all zones of Pakistan.