A decision-making approach for energy efficiency improvement in municipal water pumps during water scarcity scenario

The growing world-wide energy demand and environmental considerations have attracted immense attention in building energy efficiency. Climate zone plays a major role in the process of decision making for energy efficiency projects. In the present paper, an office building located in Melbourne, FL is considered. The building is built in 1961 and the goal is to identify and prioritize the potential energy saving opportunities and retrofit the existing building into a Net-Zero Energy Building (NZEB). An energy assessment is performed and a baseline model is developed using eQUEST to simulate the energy performance of the building. Several possible energy efficiency improvement scenarios are considered and assessed through simulation including improving insulation on the walls and roof, replacing HVAC units and upgrade their control strategies, use of high efficiency lighting, and more. Selected energy efficiency improvement recommendations are implemented on the building model to achieve the lowest energy consumption. It is considered that photovoltaic (PV) panels will be used to supply the energy demand of the building. Simulations are also performed to determine the number of required PV panels and associated cost of the system is estimated. The results from this paper can help with the decision making regarding retrofit projects for NZEB in humid subtropical climate.

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Strategy Context of Decision Making for Improved Energy Efficiency in Industrial Energy Systems

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13071540 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1540 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alexander Melnik ◽

Kirill Ermolaev

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Energy Efficiency ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Energy Management ◽

Strategic Decision ◽

Efficiency Improvement ◽

Conceptual Approach ◽

Industrial Companies ◽

Energy Efficiency Improvement ◽

The Impact

Energy efficiency improvement in industrial companies is an essential prerequisite for the enhancement of their competitive positions in the national and global markets. Yet, the approaches currently employed in respect of the energy management do not fully utilize the innovative potential of energy technologies to achieve strategic goals. One way to further develop energy management is theoretical justification of the use of new approaches based on the suggested concept of the energy saving and energy efficiency processes’ positioning in the system of a company’s management priorities. In this article, we consider the applied use of the developed conceptual approach from the perspective of the energy saving and energy efficiency program development at the company. The main purpose of this paper is to justify the relations between energy management and strategic decision making in industrial companies. The results of the research conducted, firstly, make a certain contribution into the research of strategic multiple benefits of energy efficiency in a company; secondly, they expand understanding of the impact of energy saving and energy efficiency improvement on the achievement of operational, tactical and strategic results of the company’s activities; thirdly, they provide methodological decision support for the development of energy saving and energy efficiency programs taking into account the management and organizational barriers.

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