The effectiveness of the Iranian building code in mitigating climate change in Bandar Abbas

Abstract

Climate change has a varying impact on building energy demand. In Bandar Abbas, a city on the southern coast of Iran, global warming is expected to exacerbate an already harsh climate. Although the Iranian building code has an energy efficiency ranking with specific design requirements, its effectiveness in mitigating climate change is still to be fully understood. Furthermore, Iran’s energy mix based on fossil fuels makes filling this gap even more urgent. This study assesses the magnitude of the impact of global warming on a real-case multi-apartment building in this region and evaluates the effectiveness of the different energy efficiency levels designated in the building code in reducing energy consumption under present and future climate conditions. Depending on the projected shared socioeconomic pathways scenarios, the annual electricity consumption may increase by 14 % to 21 % and 21 % to 40 % in 2050 and 2080 timeframes, respectively. When implementing Iranian building code requirements for the envelope’s higher levels of energy efficiency, energy consumption reduces substantially, thus contributing to mitigating the impact of global warming. By applying these regulations, energy savings of 5 % to 19 % and HVAC electricity reductions of 9 % to 26 % can be achieved for units on different building floors. In order for Iran to meet the carbon neutrality targets, we recommend making the highest energy efficiency level of the building code mandatory immediately and pushing forward new and more stringent legislation.