CASE48 · Buildings · DOE-2.1E high-rise modeling
Predicting energy requirements for a 133-floor mixed-use tower
A design-stage DOE-2.1E model divides a vertical mixed-use development by facility and operating schedule. Demand, final energy, primary energy and historical rating expectations are interpreted separately.
01 · CASE ANALYSIS
Model a building that does not yet operate
The tower extended from basement level B2 to floor 133. Total floor area was approximately 496,320 m² and conditioned area 362,803 m².
Different facility uses were separated because hotels, offices, retail and residences have different occupancy, lighting, HVAC and hot-water schedules.
02 · CASE ANALYSIS
Vertical zoning and input assumptions
The source allocated luxury hotel to floors 103–133, family hotel to 84–102, residences to 50–83, offices to 9–49 and retail to B2–8, with cultural facilities included in the overall analysis.
Representative AHU schedules were offices 08:00–18:00 weekdays, retail 09:00–20:00 and hotels 06:00–24:00. These assumptions are project-specific, not universal operational recommendations.
| Quantity | Source value |
|---|---|
| Floors | B2–133 |
| Total floor area | 496,320 m² |
| Conditioned area | 362,803 m² |
| Exterior wall area | 164,350 m² |
| Window area | 81,404 m² |
03 · CASE ANALYSIS
Demand and energy-source conversion
Annual demand was approximately 109,597 MWh; final energy was approximately 85,122 MWh. Delivered heating/cooling demand and purchased electricity/gas differ because of system performance and energy conversion.
Cooling demand was approximately 34,630 MWh, heating 9,710 MWh, lighting 26,911 MWh, hot water 27,168 MWh, ventilation 4,061 MWh and plug loads 7,118 MWh. Rounded components need not exactly match the aggregate.
04 · CASE ANALYSIS
Facility and historical rating interpretation
Retail had the largest modeled facility demand, followed by offices and the two hotel groups. Monthly profiles revealed seasonal plant requirements that annual totals alone cannot describe.
Office primary-energy intensity excluding plug loads was estimated near 263 kWh/m²·year, compared with the historical first-grade threshold below 300. This is a preliminary historical rating comparison, not certification or a current threshold claim.
| Facility | MWh/year |
|---|---|
| Offices | 21,130 |
| Retail | 27,615 |
| Family hotel | 20,358 |
| Luxury hotel | 18,122 |
| Residential | 12,970 |
| Cultural facilities | 9,401 |
| Reported total | 109,597 |
05 · CASE ANALYSIS
Design alternatives and evidence boundary
Compare alternative envelope, lighting, hot-water, HVAC and schedule assumptions under the same model conditions. Keep final and primary energy separate when ranking design opportunities.
These are simulation outputs, not post-occupancy measurements. CASE36 discusses the related design-study figures from an end-use perspective; they are not independent savings outcomes.
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