Energy consumption characteristics and evaluation of public buildings in Tianjin, China

• The energy consumption characteristics of typical public buildings is analyzed. • The energy consumption level of different types of public buildings are compared. • The energy-saving measures of public buildings is proposed by analyzing the factors. In order to analyze the impact of heat source type and building function on the energy consumption level and distribution characteristics, find out the existing problems, and provide scientific guidance for the selection of heat source type and the optimization of operation strategy of public buildings in Tianjin, China, the building structure information, cold and heat source type and operation energy consumption data of 195 public buildings are collected by on-site investigation and statistics. The heating energy consumption and non-heating energy consumption are analyzed by graphical method and quartile method. The results show that the heat source of urban central heating accounted for the highest proportion, 63.07 %. The building energy consumption using coal-fired boiler is the highest, which is 109.61 kWh/(m 2 ∙a), and the building energy consumption using ground source heat pump is the lowest, which is 31.90 kWh/(m 2 ∙a). In different types of public buildings, the energy consumption of school buildings is the lowest, which is 24.53 kWh/(m 2 ⋅a), and the distribution is the most concentrated, while the energy consumption of cultural places is the highest, which is 81.64 kWh/(m 2 ⋅a), and the distribution is the most scattered. Through on-site investigation, some problems in building envelope, energy supply equipment and operation methods are found out, and corresponding energy-saving measures are put forward, which provides guidance for reducing energy consumption of public buildings.