Carbon emissions of chiller systems in Hong Kong hotels under climate change

Building energy simulation is a common technique to forecast future energy use and develop strategies for meeting carbon reduction targets. The purpose of this study is to analyze the trend of electricity use and carbon emissions of chiller systems - the most energy intensive type of system - using building energy simulation for hotels in subtropical zones under climate change. Based on a typical meteorological year weather file for subtropical Hong Kong, weather data were forecasted for climate change scenarios in 2020, 2050 and 2080. The building simulation program EnergyPlus was used to model a reference hotel with two typical chiller system designs. Simulation results show that a system capacity extension by up to 5% could be considered to satisfy the increasing cooling demand for a 15-year operating span. Various strategies have been discussed for chiller systems to reduce carbon emissions by the demand side. A rigorous carbon intensity target by power companies should be in place to reduce the increasing carbon emissions by hotels in subtropical zones.