Evaluation of the impact of internal partitions on energy conservation for residential buildings in Serbia

AbstractCurrently, there are many initiatives to thermally insulate buildings on the assumption that the more insulated the building is, the more efficient in terms of energy conservation it will perform. Many assessment systems assume a linear relationship between building insulation and energy conservation. The drawback of such hypotheses is that they ignore the effect of occupants’ behaviour in their conclusions. In this study, the authors will examine the effect of people’s behaviour, particularly windows’ opening, as a behavioural pattern of occupants. It aims to study the impact of occupant’s behaviour on energy consumption of residential buildings and to identify the key factors that influence occupants’ behaviour; thus, providing ideas for improving energy efficiency by suggesting enhanced policies, approaches and techniques. The findings suggest that occupants’ behaviour could have a greater influence on the energy efficiency of buildings in some cases when compared with their thermal insulation due to opening of windows in cold weather which causes air infiltration.

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Investigating the Impact of Integration the Saudi Code of Energy Conservation with the Solar PV Systems in Residential Buildings

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063384 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3384

Author(s):

Radwan Almasri ◽

Abdullah Alardhi ◽

Saad Dilshad

Keyword(s):

Energy Conservation ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Net Present Value ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Electrical Energy ◽

Economic Feasibility ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Solar Pv ◽

Thermal Insulations ◽

The Impact

The demand for air conditioning is increasing day by day in the world’s hot and humid climate areas. Energy conservation in buildings can play a vital role in meeting this high cooling demand. This paper attempts to consider the impacts of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures on the energy demand of Saudi Arabia’s residential buildings. The energy analysis and economic feasibility analysis of thermal insulations are performed in this paper by investigating the effect of residential buildings’ thermal insulations on the economic feasibility of grid-connected photovoltaic systems. This was the combined effort of building owners and government, and buildings were examined if a photovoltaic system and thermal insulation were used. The study was conducted in the three climate zones in Saudi Arabia. The results showed that the building base case’s annual electrical energy consumption in Riyadh city was 67,095 kWh, Hail 57,373 kWh, and Abha 26,799 kWh. For the basic case-building in Riyadh, 69% of the total electrical energy was used for cooling and heating. Applying the Saudi Building Code requirement for Riyadh will provide only 18% of the total energy used for cooling and heating. RETScreen 6.1 software was used to design a photovoltaic system; the analysis was done using technical and economic indicators. The annual yield factor for Riyadh, Hail, and Abha was 1649 kWh/kWp/year, 1711 kWh/kWp/year, and 1765 kWh/kWp/year, respectively. The capacity factors for Riyadh, Hail, and Abha were 18.8%, 19.5%, and 20.1%, respectively. The Unified photovoltaic Levelized energy costs were 0.031, 0.030, and 0.029 $/kWh for Riyadh, Hail, and Abha, respectively. Finally, the Net Present Value and greenhouse gas emissions reduction have been estimated.

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HUMAN DISEASE FROM RADON EXPOSURES: THE IMPACT OF ENERGY CONSERVATION IN RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

10.2172/1009810 ◽

1979 ◽

Author(s):

R.J. Budnitz ◽

J.V. Berk ◽

C.D. Hollowell ◽

W.W. Nazaroff ◽

A.V. Nero ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Conservation ◽

Human Disease ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

The Impact

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A social psychological perspective on energy conservation in residential buildings.

American Psychologist ◽

10.1037/0003-066x.39.7.810 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 39 (7) ◽

pp. 810-811 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lynn Langmeyer

Keyword(s):

Energy Conservation ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Psychological Perspective ◽

Social Psychological ◽

Social Psychological Perspective

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Impact of roof shading on building energy performance in warm & humid climatic places of India

iCRBE Procedia ◽

10.32438/icrbe.202037 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 50-64

Author(s):

Kuladeep Kumar Sadevi ◽

Avlokita Agrawal

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Conservation ◽

Energy Performance ◽

General Assumption ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Passive Cooling ◽

Base Case ◽

U Value ◽

The Impact

With the rise in awareness of energy efficient buildings and adoption of mandatory energy conservation codes across the globe, significant change is being observed in the way the buildings are designed. With the launch of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in India, climate responsive designs and passive cooling techniques are being explored increasingly in building designs. Of all the building envelope components, roof surface has been identified as the most significant with respect to the heat gain due to the incident solar radiation on buildings, especially in tropical climatic conditions. Since ECBC specifies stringent U-Values for roof assembly, use of insulating materials is becoming popular. Along with insulation, the shading of the roof is also observed to be an important strategy for improving thermal performance of the building, especially in Warm and humid climatic conditions. This study intends to assess the impact of roof shading on building’s energy performance in comparison to that of exposed roof with insulation. A typical office building with specific geometry and schedules has been identified as base case model for this study. This building is simulated using energy modelling software ‘Design Builder’ with base case parameters as prescribed in ECBC. Further, the same building has been simulated parametrically adjusting the amount of roof insulation and roof shading simultaneously. The overall energy consumption and the envelope performance of the top floor are extracted for analysis. The results indicate that the roof shading is an effective passive cooling strategy for both naturally ventilated and air conditioned buildings in Warm and humid climates of India. It is also observed that a fully shaded roof outperforms the insulated roof as per ECBC prescription. Provision of shading over roof reduces the annual energy consumption of building in case of both insulated and uninsulated roofs. However, the impact is higher for uninsulated roofs (U-Value of 3.933 W/m2K), being 4.18% as compared to 0.59% for insulated roofs (U-Value of 0.33 W/m2K).While the general assumption is that roof insulation helps in reducing the energy consumption in tropical buildings, it is observed to be the other way when insulation is provided with roof shading. It is due to restricted heat loss during night.

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Assessing the effect of night ventilation on PCM performance in high-rise residential buildings

Journal of Building Physics ◽

10.1177/1744259119848128 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 229-249 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Shahrzad Soudian ◽

Umberto Berardi

Keyword(s):

Thermal Energy ◽

Phase Change Materials ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Solidification Rate ◽

Operative Temperature ◽

High Rise ◽

Ventilation Strategies ◽

Night Ventilation ◽

The Impact

This article investigates the possibility to enhance the use of latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) as an energy retrofit measure by night ventilation strategies. For this scope, phase change materials (PCMs) are integrated into wall and ceiling surfaces of high-rise residential buildings with highly glazed facades that experience high indoor diurnal temperatures. In particular, this article investigates the effect of night ventilation on the performance of the PCMs, namely, the daily discharge of the thermal energy stored by PCMs. Following previous experimental tests that have shown the efficacy of LHTES in temperate climates, a system comprising two PCM layers with melting temperatures selected for a year-around LHTES was considered. To quantify the effectiveness of different night ventilation strategies to enhance the potential of this composite PCM system, simulations in EnergyPlusTM were performed. The ventilation flow rate, set point temperature, and operation period were the main tested parameters. The performance of the PCMs in relation to the variables was evaluated based on indoor operative temperature and cooling energy use variations in Toronto and New York in the summer. The solidification of the PCMs was analyzed based on the amount of night ventilation needed in each climate condition. The results quantify the positive impact of combining PCMs with night ventilation on cooling energy reductions and operative temperature regulation of the following days. In particular, the results indicate higher benefits obtainable with PCMs coupled with night ventilation in the context of Toronto, since this city experiences higher daily temperature fluctuations. The impact of night ventilation design variables on the solidification rate of the PCMs varied based on each parameter leading to different compromises based on the PCM and climate characteristics.

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Does a carbon emissions trading scheme spur urban green innovation? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Energy & Environment ◽

10.1177/0958305x211015327 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0958305X2110153

Author(s):

Chao Li ◽

Xiangyou Li ◽

Deyong Song ◽

Meng Tian

Keyword(s):

Energy Conservation ◽

Alternative Energy ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Emission Trading ◽

Green Innovation ◽

Urban Green ◽

Carbon Emissions Trading ◽

The Government ◽

Trading Scheme ◽

The Impact

Based on the panel data of 277 cities between 2003 and 2017 and a unique city-level dataset of green patent applications, this study employs the difference-in-differences (DID) method to evaluate the effect of China’s carbon emission trading scheme (ETS) pilots on urban green innovation. The findings indicate that China’s ETS pilots have a positive impact on urban green innovation, and that impact is more significant for municipalities than for prefecture-level cities. Furthermore, the impact on different categories of urban green innovation is heterogeneous. More specifically, China’s ETS pilots have significantly spurred urban green innovation that is closely related to energy conservation and emission reduction, including alternative energy production, transportation, energy conservation and so forth. Moreover, the facilitating effect of China’s ETS pilots on urban green innovation suffers from a lagging effect, which began to show a significant positive effect in 2016. Overall, this paper identifies the effect of China’s ETS pilots on urban green innovation, and suggests that the government should consider the heterogeneity of urban green innovation when designing national ETS policies.

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Life Cycle Assessment of an Innovative Hybrid Energy Storage System for Residential Buildings in Continental Climates

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11093820 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 3820

Author(s):

Noelia Llantoy ◽

Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽

Valeria Palomba ◽

Andrea Frazzica ◽

Mattia Dallapiccola ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Storage System ◽

Energy Storage System ◽

Hot Water ◽

Hybrid Energy ◽

Hybrid Energy Storage ◽

Innovative System ◽

The Impact

With the aim of contributing to achieving the decarbonization of the energy sector, the environmental impact of an innovative system to produce heating and domestic hot water for heating demand-dominated climates is assessed is evaluated. The evaluation is conducted using the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology and the ReCiPe and IPCC GWP indicators for the manufacturing and operation stages, and comparing the system to a reference one. Results show that the innovative system has a lower overall impact than the reference one. Moreover, a parametric study to evaluate the impact of the refrigerant is carried out, showing that the impact of the overall systems is not affected if the amount of refrigerant or the impact of refrigerant is increased.

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of an Innovative Compact Hybrid Electrical-Thermal Storage System for Residential Buildings in Mediterranean Climate

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13095322 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 5322

Author(s):

Gabriel Zsembinszki ◽

Noelia Llantoy ◽

Valeria Palomba ◽

Andrea Frazzica ◽

Mattia Dallapiccola ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Environmental Impact ◽

Mediterranean Climate ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Storage System ◽

Hot Water ◽

Electrical Consumption ◽

The Impact

The buildings sector is one of the least sustainable activities in the world, accounting for around 40% of the total global energy demand. With the aim to reduce the environmental impact of this sector, the use of renewable energy sources coupled with energy storage systems in buildings has been investigated in recent years. Innovative solutions for cooling, heating, and domestic hot water in buildings can contribute to the buildings’ decarbonization by achieving a reduction of building electrical consumption needed to keep comfortable conditions. However, the environmental impact of a new system is not only related to its electrical consumption from the grid, but also to the environmental load produced in the manufacturing and disposal stages of system components. This study investigates the environmental impact of an innovative system proposed for residential buildings in Mediterranean climate through a life cycle assessment. The results show that, due to the complexity of the system, the manufacturing and disposal stages have a high environmental impact, which is not compensated by the reduction of the impact during the operational stage. A parametric study was also performed to investigate the effect of the design of the storage system on the overall system impact.

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