Airaj Sadeq — Energy Engineer
Energy engineer specializing in building energy performance and retrofit decision making, from calibrating building energy models against real utility and measurement data to identifying priority retrofit interventions. Background spans academic research through to on the ground program delivery, including multi megawatt solar feasibility studies and stakeholder facing program management. Based in Padova, Italy.
Now
Research Fellow, Betalab, University of Padova, Padova (2025–present).
- Analyzed electricity and gas consumption across the University of Padova's non-residential building stock (utility bills and simulations, current-state and retrofit scenarios), defining technical-economic KPIs to prioritize retrofit interventions.
- Built the building energy model in OpenStudio for a prototype timber building under the VALORLEGNO regional research project, running thermal-bridge and surface-condensation analysis alongside in-situ thermal measurements.
Selected work
- MasterB (2025) — a decision-support tool for building-portfolio retrofit planning, built around a physics-based building-energy-simulation engine.
- Valorlegno — Building Energy Model (2026) — a whole-building energy model in OpenStudio, with a fully parameterized air handling unit sized from dynamic load calculations.
- Valorlegno — Thermal Bridge Analysis (2026) — 2D finite-element analysis of 14 envelope junctions to UNI EN ISO 10211.
- Valorlegno — Interstitial Condensation Analysis (2026) — moisture-durability assessment of two wall assemblies to UNI EN ISO 13788.
Education
- MSc Energy Engineering, University of Padova (2022–2025). Developed a multi-stage calibration methodology for Urban Building Energy Models (UBEM) on the University of Padova's non-residential building stock using the EUReCA simulation platform, cutting simulation error from 284% to 11% (gas) and 383% to 34% (electricity). Used the calibrated models to assess retrofit scenarios.
- BSc Energy Engineering, Kabul University (2016–2019).
Tools
EnergyPlus, OpenStudio, QGIS, Python, MATLAB, CAD, Revit, FEMM, LaTeX.
Elsewhere