Skip to main content

Energy Retrofit of Existing Building Stock in Amman: State of the Art, Obstacles and Opportunities

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Advanced Studies in Energy Efficiency and Built Environment for Developing Countries
  • The original version of this chapter was revised: The affiliation of Dr. Paola Boarin was incorrect. The affiliation has been corrected. The correction to this chapter is available at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10856-4_19

Abstract

Energy security is one of the most important challenges Jordan is currently facing, as it imports 96% of its energy resources from foreign countries. Together with other sectors, the existing building stock is responsible for high energy consumption, as average energy performance levels are much lower than the standards prescribed in the recent Jordanian Energy Efficient Building Code. Addressing issues related to energy retrofitting will assist the country to develop effective plans to reduce the energy consumption of buildings and, therefore, decrease the associated energy costs on a large scale, thus helping Jordan’s sustainable development. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the current situation of the building sector and the energy performance of existing buildings in Amman, identifying issues, obstacles and opportunities to be considered for retrofitting this stock. The paper also provides a critical reflection on interviews with six local experts in the fields of architecture and engineering, including governmental and non-governmental institutions, making recommendations and suggesting possible directions for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Change history

  • 09 August 2019

    In the original version of the book, the following belated corrections are to be incorporated.

References

  • Ministry of Environment, UNDP. Jordan’s Third National Communication on Climate Change. Amman, Jordan; 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan GBC, Situational analysis for home owners and housing companies: “Building a smart program for saving water & energy through design and construction”. Amman: Jordan GBC; 2013. Retrieved from https://jordankmportal.com/resources/introduction-on-building-a-smart-program-for-saving-water-and-energy-through-design-and-construction-arabic.

  • Shamout, S. Energy Retrofit of the Existing Building Envelope in Jordan: A Study on Mixed-Use Buildings (Retail and Office) in Amman, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohsen, M., Akash, B. Some prospects of energy savings in buildings. Energy conversion & management, 42(11); 2001. p. 1307–1315.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Our Common Future. Oxford University Press; 1987. p. 163–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan National Building Council. Green Building Guideline of Jordan. Amman, Jordan: Ministry of Public Works and Housing; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • EBSCO Sustainability Watch. LEED Strategies for Existing Buildings. 2010. Retrieved from ebscosustainability.com: https://ebscosustainability.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/leeds-strategies-for-existing-buildings.pdf.

  • Fan, Y., Xia, X. A Multi-objective Optimization Model for Building Envelope Retrofit Planning. Energy Procedia, 75; 2015. p. 1299–1304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konstantinou, T., Knaack, U. An approach to integrate energy efficiency upgrade into refurbishment design process, applied in two case-study buildings in Northern European climate. Energy and Buildings, 59; 2013. p. 301–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, Z., Cooper, P., Daly, D., Ledo, L. Existing building retrofits: Methodology and state-of-the-art. Energy and Buildings, 55; 2012. p. 889–902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ungureanu, V., Bollinger, R., Fulop, L., Jakob, M., Kiss, B., Maneschi, D. Integrated Strategies for Retrofitting Buildings to Reduce Primary Energy Use, GHG Emissions and Costs. Central Europe towards Sustainable Buildings CEBS 13; 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouahrani, D. Towards energy efficient buildings in Amman, Jordan: Defining thermal requirements by mean of thermal simulations. 44th Annual Conference of the Architectural Science Association, ANZAScA 2010, Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand; 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Attia S, Zawaydeh S. Strategic Decision Making For Zero Energy Buildings in Jordan. Proceedings of the ASHRAE Conference on Energy and Indoor Environment for Hot Climates. Doha, Qatar; 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daher, M. I. Comparing Green Structures with Different Thermal Efficiency Designs. Jordan International Energy Conference, Jordan Engineers Association (JEA), Amman, Jordan; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Housing Development & Management (HDM) and the Royal Scientific Society (RSS). Climate Conscious Architecture and Urban Design in Jordan; 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • GAM. Foundations of the application of green building standards and incentives offered by the Greater Amman Municipality. Amman; 2015. Retrieved from Greater Amman Municipality official website: http://www.ammancity.gov.jo/site_doc/green.pdf.

  • Saleh, B., Al Rawashdeh, S. Study of Urban Expansion in Jordanian Cities Using GIS and Remoth Sensing. International Journal of Applied Science and Engineering, 5(1); 2007. p. 41–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson, S. J., Remoy, H., & Langston, C. Sustainable Building Adaptation: Innovations in Decision-making. Somerset, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Royal Scientific Society (RSS), Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Amman (FES Amman). Green Building Development in Jordan. Amman: the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung; 2013. Retrieved from http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/amman/10678.pdf.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the New Zealand government’s Overseas Aid and Development Programme, year 2015. This research was approved by the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee (UAHPEC), on 1 April 2016, for three years. Reference Number 016827. Authors would like to thank all the participants who agreed to take part in this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sameh Shamout .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Shamout, S., Boarin, P., Melis, A. (2019). Energy Retrofit of Existing Building Stock in Amman: State of the Art, Obstacles and Opportunities. In: Alalouch, C., Abdalla, H., Bozonnet, E., Elvin, G., Carracedo, O. (eds) Advanced Studies in Energy Efficiency and Built Environment for Developing Countries. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10856-4_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics