Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the energy consumption of university buildings

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused chaos in many sectors and industries. In the energy sector, the demand has fallen drastically during the first quarter of 2020. The University of Almeria campus also declined the energy consumption in 2020, and through this study, we aimed to measure the impact of closing the campus on the energy use of its different facilities. We built our analysis based upon the dataset collected during the year 2020 and previous years; the patterns evolution through time allowed us to better understand the energy performance of each facility during this exceptional year. We rearranged the university buildings into categories, and all the categories reduced their electricity consumption share in comparison with the previous year of 2019. Furthermore, the portfolio of categories presented a wide range of ratios that varied from 56% to 98%, the library category was found to be the most influenced, and the research category was found to be the least influenced. This opened questions like why some facilities were influenced more than others? What can we do to reduce the energy use even more when the facilities are closed? The university buildings presented diverse structures that revealed differences in energy performance, which explained why the impact of such an event (COVID-19 pandemic) is not necessarily relevant to have equivalent variations. Nevertheless, some management deficiencies were detected, and some energy savings measures were proposed to achieve a minimum waste of energy.

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Green BIM-based Study on the Green Performance of University Buildings in Northern China

10.21203/rs.3.rs-260952/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Qibo Liu ◽

Zixin Wang

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Performance Optimization ◽

Building Design ◽

Northern China ◽

Design System ◽

Building Performance ◽

Green Performance ◽

University Buildings ◽

Project Objectives ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background: Green BIM emphasizing the contribution of BIM technology to the design and construction of green buildings. It attaching importance to the impact of climate and regional environment, using benchmarking and target setting, using BIM architecture for building performance analysis and realizing performance optimization through scheme comparison and modification. A university campus is a community that has a certain geographical scope and spatial scale and involves a variety of functions, such as teaching, scientific research, and living space. Hence, a campus possesses urban characteristics and diverse building types, and the construction of green university campuses will play a leading role in green urban construction in China under the increasing ecological and energy pressure of cities. Methods: Based on the Green BIM decision cycle model, the study employs BIM architecture to analyses building performance. By using the as the evaluation benchmark values and project objectives and taking the most representative teaching buildings, libraries, and dormitory buildings in universities in northern China as examples, the study selects appropriate BIM software, establishes models in steps, and conducts targeted visual analysis. The purpose is to find out the commonness and difference through the analysis, and then realize that the diversity of building types in campus determines that the green performance research of different types of buildings should comprehensively consider various design factors. Results and conclusions: Taking a university library in northern China as an example, the study optimized it from four aspects: base environment, function layout, envelope performance and system transformation, and management measures improvement. The results show that the total annual cumulative energy consumption load of the scheme is reduced obviously. The conclusions are that the improvement of university buildings' green performance must be comprehensively carried out from the aspects of planning, building design, system design, energy management, and energy conservation planning. In the future, we also need to carry out energy consumption data mining, continue the energy-saving transformation of existing buildings and energy consumption systems, achieve the goal of green and low-carbon campus.

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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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ANALISIS DETERMINAN KUALITAS LINGKUNGAN PERIODE 1999-2013

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis ◽

10.24123/jeb.v21i1.1632 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 9-20

Author(s):

Ersalina Tang

Keyword(s):

Foreign Direct Investment ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Gross Domestic Product ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Direct Investment ◽

Meat Consumption ◽

Domestic Product ◽

World Data ◽

The World ◽

The Impact

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of Foreign Direct Investment, Gross Domestic Product, Energy Consumption, Electric Consumption, and Meat Consumption on CO2 emissions of 41 countries in the world using panel data from 1999 to 2013. After analyzing 41 countries in the world data, furthermore 17 countries in Asia was analyzed with the same period. This study utilized quantitative approach with Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method. The results of 41 countries in the world data indicates that Foreign Direct Investment, Gross Domestic Product, Energy Consumption, and Meat Consumption significantlyaffect Environmental Qualities which measured by CO2 emissions. Whilst the results of 17 countries in Asia data implies that Foreign Direct Investment, Energy Consumption, and Electric Consumption significantlyaffect Environmental Qualities. However, Gross Domestic Product and Meat Consumption does not affect Environmental Qualities.

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The Nexus between Financial Development, Economic Growth and Energy Consumption in India: A VECM Technique

Indian Journal of Economics and Development ◽

10.35716/ijed/20131 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 602-612

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Financial Development ◽

Consumer Price Index ◽

Development Economic ◽

Energy Prices ◽

Vector Error Correction ◽

Percent Increase ◽

Growth Energy ◽

The Impact

The demand for energy consumption requires efficient financial development in terms of bank credit. Therefore, this study examines the nexus between Financial Development, Economic Growth, Energy Prices and Energy Consumption in India, utilizing Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) technique to determine the nature of short and long term relationships from 2010 to 2019. The estimation of results indicates that a one percent increase in bank credits to private sector results in 0.10 percent increase in energy consumption and 0.28 percent increase in energy consumption responses to 1 percent increase in economic growth. It is also observed that the impact of energy price proxied by consumer price index is statistically significant with a negative sign indicating the consistency with the theory.

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Empirical evidence on the impact of urban overheating on building cooling and heating energy consumption

iScience ◽

10.1016/j.isci.2021.102495 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102495

Author(s):

Mi Aye Su ◽

Jack Ngarambe ◽

Mat Santamouris ◽

Geun Young Yun

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Empirical Evidence ◽

Heating Energy Consumption ◽

Building Cooling ◽

The Impact

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Graphene-based 3D XNOR-VRRAM with ternary precision for neuromorphic computing

npj 2D Materials and Applications ◽

10.1038/s41699-021-00236-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Batyrbek Alimkhanuly ◽

Joon Sohn ◽

Ik-Joon Chang ◽

Seunghyun Lee

Keyword(s):

Neural Network ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Recognition Accuracy ◽

Material Selection ◽

Weighted Sum ◽

Device Design ◽

Key Factors ◽

Neuromorphic Computing ◽

Device Scaling ◽

The Impact

AbstractRecent studies on neural network quantization have demonstrated a beneficial compromise between accuracy, computation rate, and architecture size. Implementing a 3D Vertical RRAM (VRRAM) array accompanied by device scaling may further improve such networks’ density and energy consumption. Individual device design, optimized interconnects, and careful material selection are key factors determining the overall computation performance. In this work, the impact of replacing conventional devices with microfabricated, graphene-based VRRAM is investigated for circuit and algorithmic levels. By exploiting a sub-nm thin 2D material, the VRRAM array demonstrates an improved read/write margins and read inaccuracy level for the weighted-sum procedure. Moreover, energy consumption is significantly reduced in array programming operations. Finally, an XNOR logic-inspired architecture designed to integrate 1-bit ternary precision synaptic weights into graphene-based VRRAM is introduced. Simulations on VRRAM with metal and graphene word-planes demonstrate 83.5 and 94.1% recognition accuracy, respectively, denoting the importance of material innovation in neuromorphic computing.

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Review on Urban Heat Island in China: Methods, Its Impact on Buildings Energy Demand and Mitigation Strategies

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13020762 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 762

Author(s):

Liu Tian ◽

Yongcai Li ◽

Jun Lu ◽

Jue Wang

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Urban Heat Island ◽

Building Energy ◽

Design Stage ◽

Heat Island ◽

Building Energy Consumption ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Substantial Impact ◽

Urban Heat ◽

The Impact

High population density, dense high-rise buildings, and impervious pavements increase the vulnerability of cities, which aggravate the urban climate environment characterized by the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Cities in China provide unique information on the UHI phenomenon because they have experienced rapid urbanization and dramatic economic development, which have had a great influence on the climate in recent decades. This paper provides a review of recent research on the methods and impacts of UHI on building energy consumption, and the practical techniques that can be used to mitigate the adverse effects of UHI in China. The impact of UHI on building energy consumption depends largely on the local microclimate, the urban area features where the building is located, and the type and characteristics of the building. In the urban areas dominated by air conditioning, UHI could result in an approximately 10–16% increase in cooling energy consumption. Besides, the potential negative effects of UHI can be prevented from China in many ways, such as urban greening, cool material, water bodies, urban ventilation, etc. These strategies could have a substantial impact on the overall urban thermal environment if they can be used in the project design stage of urban planning and implemented on a large scale. Therefore, this study is useful to deepen the understanding of the physical mechanisms of UHI and provide practical approaches to fight the UHI for the urban planners, public health officials, and city decision-makers in China.

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Economic Development, CO2 Emissions and Energy Use Nexus-Evidence from the Danube Region Countries

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14113165 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (11) ◽

pp. 3165

Author(s):

Eva Litavcová ◽

Jana Chovancová

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Carbon Emissions ◽

Bounds Testing ◽

Mutual Cooperation ◽

Long Run ◽

Short Run ◽

Danube Region ◽

The Impact

The aim of this study is to examine the empirical cointegration, long-run and short-run dynamics and causal relationships between carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in 14 Danube region countries over the period of 1990–2019. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing methodology was applied for each of the examined variables as a dependent variable. Limited by the length of the time series, we excluded two countries from the analysis and obtained valid results for the others for 26 of 36 ARDL models. The ARDL bounds reliably confirmed long-run cointegration between carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Economic growth and energy consumption have a significant impact on carbon emissions in the long-run in all of these four countries; in the short-run, the impact of economic growth is significant in Austria. Likewise, when examining cointegration between energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth in the short-run, a significant contribution of CO2 emissions on energy consumptions for seven countries was found as a result of nine valid models. The results contribute to the information base essential for making responsible and informed decisions by policymakers and other stakeholders in individual countries. Moreover, they can serve as a platform for mutual cooperation and cohesion among countries in this region.

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