scholarly journals Amplification of future energy demand growth due to climate change

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bas J. van Ruijven ◽  
Enrica De Cian ◽  
Ian Sue Wing
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Demand Growth

scholarly journals Overheating Risk and Energy Demand of Nordic Old and New Apartment Buildings during Average and Extreme Weather Conditions under a Changing Climate

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3972
Author(s):  
Azin Velashjerdi Farahani ◽  
Juha Jokisalo ◽  
Natalia Korhonen ◽  
Kirsti Jylhä ◽  
Kimmo Ruosteenoja ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Living Room ◽  
Extra Energy ◽  
Cooling Unit ◽  
Indoor Conditions

The global average air temperature is increasing as a manifestation of climate change and more intense and frequent heatwaves are expected to be associated with this rise worldwide, including northern Europe. Summertime indoor conditions in residential buildings and the health of occupants are influenced by climate change, particularly if no mechanical cooling is used. The energy use of buildings contributes to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions. It is, therefore, necessary to analyze the effects of climate change on the overheating risk and energy demand of residential buildings and to assess the efficiency of various measures to alleviate the overheating. In this study, simulations of dynamic energy and indoor conditions in a new and an old apartment building are performed using two climate scenarios for southern Finland, one for average and the other for extreme weather conditions in 2050. The evaluated measures against overheating included orientations, blinds, site shading, window properties, openable windows, the split cooling unit, and the ventilation cooling and ventilation boost. In both buildings, the overheating risk is high in the current and projected future average climate and, in particular, during exceptionally hot summers. The indoor conditions are occasionally even injurious for the health of occupants. The openable windows and ventilation cooling with ventilation boost were effective in improving the indoor conditions, during both current and future average and extreme weather conditions. However, the split cooling unit installed in the living room was the only studied solution able to completely prevent overheating in all the spaces with a fairly small amount of extra energy usage.

scholarly journals Heating and Cooling Degree-Days Climate Change Projections for Portugal

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 715
Author(s):  
Cristina Andrade ◽  
Sandra Mourato ◽  
João Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Degree Days ◽  
Climate Change Projections ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Cooling Degree Days ◽  
Heating Energy Demand

Climate change is expected to influence cooling and heating energy demand of residential buildings and affect overall thermal comfort. Towards this end, the heating (HDD) and cooling (CDD) degree-days along with HDD + CDD were computed from an ensemble of seven high-resolution bias-corrected simulations attained from EURO-CORDEX under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). These three indicators were analyzed for 1971–2000 (from E-OBS) and 2011–2040, and 2041–2070, under both RCPs. Results predict a decrease in HDDs most significant under RCP8.5. Conversely, it is projected an increase of CDD values for both scenarios. The decrease in HDDs is projected to be higher than the increase in CDDs hinting to an increase in the energy demand to cool internal environments in Portugal. Statistically significant linear CDD trends were only found for 2041–2070 under RCP4.5. Towards 2070, higher(lower) CDD (HDD and HDD + CDD) anomaly amplitudes are depicted, mainly under RCP8.5. Within the five NUTS II

scholarly journals Urban Geometry Optimization to Mitigate Climate Change: Towards Energy-Efficient Buildings

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Hatem Mahmoud ◽  
Ayman Ragab
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Heat Stress ◽  
Thermal Efficiency ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Urban Geometry ◽  
Outdoor Spaces ◽  
The Impact

The density of building blocks and insufficient greenery in cities tend to contribute dramatically not only to increased heat stress in the built environment but also to higher energy demand for cooling. Urban planners should, therefore, be conscious of their responsibility to reduce energy usage of buildings along with improving outdoor thermal efficiency. This study examines the impact of numerous proposed urban geometry cases on the thermal efficiency of outer spaces as well as the energy consumption of adjacent buildings under various climate change scenarios as representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 climate projections for New Aswan city in 2035. The investigation was performed at one of the most underutilized outdoor spaces on the new campus of Aswan University in New Aswan city. The potential reduction of heat stress was investigated so as to improve the thermal comfort of the investigated outdoor spaces, as well as energy savings based on the proposed strategies. Accordingly, the most appropriate scenario to be adopted to cope with the inevitable climate change was identified. The proposed scenarios were divided into four categories of parameters. In the first category, shelters partially (25–50% and 75%) covering the streets were used. The second category proposed dividing the space parallel or perpendicular to the existing buildings. The third category was a hybrid scenario of the first and second categories. In the fourth category, a green cover of grass was added. A coupling evaluation was applied utilizing ENVI-met v4.2 and Design-Builder v4.5 to measure and improve the thermal efficiency of the outdoor space and reduce the cooling energy. The results demonstrated that it is better to cover outdoor spaces with 50% of the overall area than transform outdoor spaces into canyons.

scholarly journals Spatial-temporal variation of CO2 emissions from private vehicle use in Japan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yin Long ◽  
Yoshikuni Yoshida ◽  
Yuan Li ◽  
Alexandros Gasparatos
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Vehicle Emissions ◽  
City Size ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Private Vehicle ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract The transport sector is a major contributor to anthropogenic climate change through the emissions of large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from fossil fuel combustion. Private vehicles account for almost half of the transport energy demand, and are thus a major target of climate change mitigation efforts. However, emissions from private vehicles can have large variability due to various geographic, demographic and socioeconomic factors. This study aims to understand how such factors affect private vehicle emissions in Japan using a nationally representative survey of household energy consumption (n=7,370) for 2017. The results indicate a large temporal and spatial variability in private vehicle emissions. Annual emissions show three peaks associated with major holiday seasons in winter and summer. Some of the more noteworthy spatial patterns are the higher emissions in prefectures characterized by low population density and mountainous terrain. Income, city size and the fuel-saving driving behavior all have a significant effect on emissions. The results indicate the need for sub-regional and socioeconomically-sensitive mitigation efforts that reflect the very different emission patterns, and the factors affecting them. The strong effect of city size, which is often much more clear-cut than between prefectures, suggests that it is more appropriate to approach transport decarbonization in Japan at the city level.

scholarly journals Risks and opportunities for a Swiss hydropower company in a changing climate

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsti Hakala ◽  
Nans Addor ◽  
Thibault Gobbe ◽  
Johann Ruffieux ◽  
Jan Seibert
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Water Volume ◽  
Volume Distribution ◽  
Impact Studies ◽  
Changing Climate ◽  
Low Flows

Abstract. Anticipating and adapting to climate change impacts on water resources requires a detailed understanding of future hydroclimatic changes and of stakeholders' vulnerability to these changes. However, climate change impact studies are often conducted at a spatial scale that is too coarse to capture the specificity of individual catchments, and more importantly, the changes they focus on are not necessarily the changes most critical to stakeholders. While recent studies have combined hydrological and electricity market modeling, they tend to aggregate all climate impacts by focusing solely on reservoir profitability, and thereby provide limited insights into climate change adaptation. Here, we collaborated with Groupe E, a hydropower company operating several reservoirs in the Swiss pre-Alps and worked with them to produce hydroclimatic projections tailored to support their upcoming water concession negotiations. We started by identifying the vulnerabilities of their activities to climate change and then together chose streamflow and energy indices to characterize the associated risks. We provided Groupe E with figures showing the projected climate change impacts, which were refined over several meetings. The selected indices enabled us to simultaneously assess a variety of impacts induced by changes on i) the seasonal water volume distribution, ii) low flows, iii) high flows, and iv) energy demand. We were hence able to identify key opportunities (e.g., the future increase of reservoir inflow in winter, when electricity prices are historically high) and risks (e.g., the expected increase of consecutive days of low flows in summer and fall, which is likely to make it more difficult to meet residual flow requirements). This study highlights that the hydrological opportunities and risks associated with reservoir management in a changing climate depend on a range of factors beyond those covered by traditional impact studies. We also illustrate the importance of identifying stakeholder needs and using them to inform the production of climate impact projections. Our user-centered approach is transferable to other impact modeling studies, in the field of water resources and beyond.

scholarly journals Demographic determinants of energy consumption in the European Union: Econometric analysis results

Stanovnistvo ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Predrag Petrovic ◽  
Goran Nikolic ◽  
Ivana Ostojic
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Senior Citizens ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Human Society

Over the past several decades there has been a strong intensifying trend of human society impact on ecosystems, consumption of natural resources and global change. The environmental impact of the society is fully apparent and dominantly implemented through various greenhouse gases emissions (GHG), leading towards global climate change with considerably spread harmful effects. Global climate change includes the earth and ocean surface and atmospheric warming, but also melting of snow and ice, increase of sea levels and ocean acidity, as well as ever more common natural phenomena extremes (winds, various forms of rainfall/precipitation, extremely low or high temperatures, etc.). Scientists are well-familiarized with the fact that use of fossil fuels, such as oil derivatives and coal, is the main generator of harmful gases. In addition, possible substitutions for fossil fuels in the form of other energy sources are very limited, and it should be remembered that other energy sources also have certain adverse environmental effects. Bearing in mind climate change caused by products of fossil fuels combustion, as well as inevitable depletion of natural crude oil resources, management of growing global energy demand becomes one of the key goals and challenges of 21st century. If these reasons are coupled with obligations emanating from Kyoto Protocol, it is clear that attention of researches should be more than reasonably focused on the main determinants of energy consumption. This study is focused on illumination of key demographic and economic determinants of energy consumption in 28 EU member states in the period 1960- 2014. The results obtained demonstrate that population positively and quite strongly influence total energy consumption. An increase of population of 1% will result in an increase of energy consumption of 1.59% to 1.76%. Such relation most probably can be explained by the fact that demographic growth of the society aggravates and complicates planning processes of efficient energy consumption, diminishing the ability of society to be energy efficient. The population effect of persons aged 65 and above to energy consumption is also positive. An increase in share of this age group of 1% will result in an increase in energy consumption of approximately 0.43%. Positive elasticity coefficient should be understood as a proof that European societies with higher share of senior citizens consume more energy that societies with higher share of younger population, not necessarily as an argument that senior citizens use more energy than younger population. The explanation for such nature of a cause-andeffect relation could be that high share of senior citizens influences the structure of production and consumption, spatial distribution of population, transport infrastructure and social services provided. A significant influence on energy consumption in the EU is made by the level of economic development of countries, which is in accordance with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), suggesting a relation of inverted letter ?U?. The amount of income per capita needed to have the EKC expressed ranges between 54,183 and 81,552 dollars.

scholarly journals Application of Life-cycle Assessment for the Study of Carbon and Water Footprints of the 16.5 MWe Wind Farm in Villonaco, Loja – Ecuador

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Tama Franco
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Cumulative Energy ◽  
Cumulative Energy Demand

Wind technology is considered to be among the most promising types of renewable energy sources, and due to high oil prices and growing concerns about climate change and energy security, it has been the subject of extensive considerations in recent years, including questions related to the relative sustainability of electricity production when the manufacturing, assembly, transportation and dismantling processes of these facilities are taken into account. The present article evaluates the environmental impacts, carbon emissions and water consumption, derived from the production of electric energy of the Villonaco wind farm, located in Loja-Ecuador, during its entire life cycle, using the Life Cycle Analysis method. Finally, it is concluded that wind energy has greater environmental advantages, since it has lower values of carbon and water footprints than other energy sources. Additionally, with the techniques Cumulative Energy Demand and Energy Return on Investment, sustainability in the production of electricity from wind power in Ecuador is demonstrated; and, that due to issues of vulnerability to climate change, the diversification of its energy mix is essential considering the inclusion of non-conventional renewable sources such as solar or wind, this being the only way to reduce both the carbon footprint and the water supply power.

scholarly journals Research Proposal: Cryptocurrency User Attitudes Towards the Environmental Impact of Proof-of-Work

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moritz Platt ◽  
Francesco Pierangeli
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Consensus Protocol ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
User Attitudes ◽  
Decentralised Systems ◽  
Consensus Models ◽  
Potential Impact

The consumption of electrical energy is a requisite for ‘proof-of-work’, a class of consensus protocols for decentralised systems. ‘Ethereum’ and ‘Bitcoin’, along with various other cryptocurrencies, use implementations of such a consensus protocol. Among experts, the vast energy demand associated with the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies and the potential impact on climate change have been discussed extensively. It is, however, unclear what attitudes the users of cryptocurrencies themselves have towards the consequences of its growing energy demand. The proposed study aims to answer this question through survey research, using ‘Bitcoin’ as an archetype of a proof-of-work cryptocurrency. Conducting the study will reveal whether cryptocurrency users themselves consider their energy needs to be problematic, and which stakeholders they hold accountable to reduce consumption. The outcome can provide a theoretical grounding in social science for the ongoing implementation of alternative consensus models, for example in the context of the ‘Eth2’ upgrade of the ‘Ethereum’ blockchain.

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