This study analyses the energy performance of the building envelope of a bank branch standard project, according to the requirements of the Prescriptive Method of the Brazilian Technical Regulation for Energy Efficiency Labeling of Commercial, Service and Public Buildings, for different bioclimatic zones in Brazil. Whenever the building presented opportunities for improvement, bioclimatic strategies were tested regarding glazed openings, such as shading devices (vertical and horizontal), and the glazing solar factor. Only in six cases the envelope did not meet the "A" efficiency level requirements. Under such conditions, parameters related to shading devices and to the glazing solar factor were changed in the equations of the prescriptive method for reaching the "A" level. For the purpose of evaluating the potential of electric energy savings due to air-conditioning for each change tested, simulations were for the original and for the optimized project. Simulation results indicated possible savings in electricity consumption of up to 26.0% for the optimized project with main façade facing West in Curitiba. For a West-facing main façade in Brasilia, potential savings were 30.5% by changing the solar factor of glazing.
Energy efficiency in buildings; Bioclimatic architecture; Thermal Simulation
