Climate Change Impacts on Building Energy Retrofitting Strategically Linked to Retrofit Decision-Making

Climate change significantly influences building energy retrofitting in the construction industry's response to environmental issues. A recent study at Tsinghua University analyzed the impact of climate change on retrofit benefits and found it to play a substantial role in energy-saving measures. The research aimed to develop an analytical framework for assessing the impact of climate change on retrofit benefits, which can aid in decision-making processes.

Key Takeaways:

• The existing building stock is substantial, accounting for high energy consumption, making building energy retrofitting a crucial strategy for addressing climate change.
• Climate change is a dynamic factor influencing the effectiveness of retrofit strategies, with significant implications for retrofit decision-making.
• The study incorporated building energy consumption and economic indicators related to retrofitting, including a weather data downscaling approach to generate weather data for 2020, 2050, and 2080.
• A set of 12 building models was developed with a 10-story office located in different climate zones, subject to energy consumption simulations, cost, and net present value calculations.
• Sensitivity analysis and inter-group difference tests revealed that climate change impacts the energy-saving retrofit benefits of buildings significantly, varying across different climate zones.
• The findings provide conclusive evidence for incorporating climate change factors into future building retrofitting and valuable insights for developing building energy retrofit decision-making models.

Statistics:

• 12 building models were developed for energy consumption simulations.
• The energy-saving retrofit benefits of buildings were simulated for 2020, 2050, and 2080 under the IPCC's A2 emission scenario.
• A total of 144 models were constructed to account for multiple factors, including building lifespan, discount rate variations, price fluctuations, and climate change.
• The study employed a weather data downscaling approach to generate weather data for the specified time periods.

Sources:

• "Does Climate Change Significantly Impact the Benefits of Existing Building Energy-saving Retrofit? Evidence From a Parametric Study." Energy and Buildings, 2025;345.
• NewsRx. Reports on Climate Change from Tsinghua University Provide New Insights (Does Climate Change Significantly Impact the Benefits of Existing Building Energy-saving Retrofit? Evidence From a Parametric Study). Global Warming Focus. October 20, 2025; p 211.