scholarly journals The Environmental Impact Reduction obtained by implementing an Energy Management System. The advantages of using Energy Management and Energy Savings Standards when performing Industrial Energy Audits

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 04007
Author(s):  
Mircea Scripcariu ◽  
Ioan Sevastian Bitir-Istrate ◽  
Cristian Gheorghiu ◽  
Aida Maria Neniu

Energy audits are used world-wide for developing energy efficiency projects. Industrial consumers have complex energy supply, generation and distribution networks and a variety of energy use installations. Romanian industrial companies became more interested in the last years in implementing Energy Management Systems in accordance with ISO 50001 standard. This paper presents a comparison of using the current way of developing energy audits and the concepts provided by the ISO group of standards, by quantifying the environmental impact reduction generated by each methodology. Authors pointed out that current legislation does not fully match the rigors of the ISO 50001 group of standards when evaluating the Energy Baseline (EB), the Energy Performance Indicators (EPI) or the Energy Performance Improvement Actions (EPIA), thus leading to a lower global energy efficiency improvement in the hypothesis of implementing all the recommended EPIAs [1]. Identifying and developing energy efficiency measures following the recommendations of the energy management and energy savings group of standards may be more consistent and less risky for the industrial company, which in turn can lead to an overall improvement of the Carbon Footprint [2].

Author(s):  
Lesley Herrmann ◽  
Moncef Krarti

Recently, the city of Boulder, CO has recently approved mandatory energy efficiency standard, called SmartRegs Program, for rental properties. Improving residential energy efficiency is a goal of the city as they strive to meet the green house gas reduction targets of the Kyoto Protocol. However, energy efficiency is typically not implemented in rental units because of a split incentive between landlords and tenants. This paper evaluates the various retrofit measures that improve rental homes energy efficiency as well as the effectiveness of SmartRegs Program. First, various energy efficiency measures are evaluated through walk-through and detailed energy audits to assess their effectiveness in improving the energy performance of rental homes. Based on the results of the energy audits and survey of various stake holders, a set of recommendations have been defined to ensure that the SmartRegs program be successfully implemented in order to improve the overall performance and quality of rental homes. Moreover, it is found that energy efficient can increase the thermal comfort levels and decrease the energy costs for tenants, increase the value of the property for landlords, and help the city meet their green house gas reduction goals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naim Jabbour

Data shows residential energy consumption constituting a significant portion of the overall energy end use in the European Union (EU), ranging between 15% and 30%. Furthermore, the EU’s dependency on foreign fossil fuel-based energy imports has been steadily increasing since 1993, constituting approximately 60% of its primary energy. This paper provides an analytical re-view of diverse residential building/energy policies in targeted EU countries, to shed insight on the impact of such policies and measures on energy use and efficiency trends. Accordingly, the adoption of robust residential green and energy efficient building policies in the EU has increased in the past decade. Moreover, data from EU energy efficiency and consumption databases attributes 44% of total energy savings since 2000 to energy upgrades and improvements within the residential sector. Consequently, many EU countries and organizations are continuously evaluating residential building energy consumption patterns to increase the sec-tor’s overall energy performance. To that end, energy efficiency gains in EU households were measured at 1% in 2000 compared to 27.8% in 2016, a 2600% increase. Accordingly, 36 policies have been implemented successfully since 1991 across the EU targeting improvements in residential energy efficiency and reductions in energy use. Moreover, the adoption of National Energy Efficiency Actions Plans (NEEACP) across the EU have been a major driver of energy savings and energy efficiency. Most energy efficiency plans have followed a holistic multi-dimensional approach targeting the following areas, legislative actions, financial incentives, fiscal tax exemptions, and public education and awareness programs and campaigns. These measures and policy instruments have cumulatively generated significant energy savings and measurable improvements in energy performance across the EU since their inception. As a result, EU residential energy consumption trends show a consistent decrease over the past decade. The purpose of this analysis is to explore, examine, and compare the various green building and energy-related policies in the EU, highlighting some of the more robust and progressive aspects of such policies. The paper will also analyze the multiple policies and guidelines across targeted European nations. Lastly, the study will assess the status of green residential building policies in Lebanon, drawing from the comprehensive European measures, in order to recommend a comprehensive set of guidelines to advance energy policies and building practices in the country. Keywords: Building Policies; Residential Energy Patterns; Residential Energy Consumption; Energy Savings


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4723
Author(s):  
Carlos Herce ◽  
Enrico Biele ◽  
Chiara Martini ◽  
Marcello Salvio ◽  
Claudia Toro

The implementation of monitoring tools and energy management systems (EnMSs) supports companies in their long-term energy efficiency strategies, and they are essential to analyse the effectiveness of energy performance improvement actions (EPIAs). The first fundamental step towards increasing energy efficiency is the development of energy audits (EAs). EAs provide comprehensive information about the energy usage in a specific facility, identifying and quantifying cost-effective EPIAs. The crucial role of these tools in clean energy transition is remarked by the European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), which promotes the implementation of EAs and EnMS programmes. The purpose of this work is to better understand the link between EnMSs (specifically ISO 50001) and EAs in the EED Article 8 implementation in two industrial and two tertiary sectors in Italy. Moreover, the impact of company size, energy monitoring systems, and EnMSs on planned and/or implemented EPIAs is analysed. Our findings show that, albeit the complexity of the variables involved in energy efficiency gap, the “energy savings/company” and “EPIA/site” ratios are higher in enterprises with an EnMS and monitoring system. Thus, a correct energy audit must always be accompanied by a specific monitoring plan if it is to be effective and useful to the company decision maker.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 40-52
Author(s):  
M. Upitis ◽  
I. Amolina ◽  
I. Geipele ◽  
N. Zeltins

AbstractDirective (EU) 2018/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency sets a target of 32.5 % energy efficiency to be achieved by 2030, with a possible upward revision in 2023. The directive also stipulates that the obligation to achieve annual energy savings must continue to be met after 2020. In addition, a revised directive on the energy performance of buildings was adopted in May 2018. It includes measures to speed up the renovation of buildings and the transition to more energy-efficient systems, as well as to improve the energy efficiency of new buildings, thus using smart energy management systems [1].Buildings consume the most energy and have the greatest energy saving potential. They are therefore crucial to achieving the European Union’s energy saving targets. The EU allocated around 14 billion EUR to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in the period of 2014–2020, of which 4.6 billion EUR was intended for residential buildings. In addition, the Member States have earmarked 5.4 billion EUR of public co-financing for the improvement of all types of buildings, of which around 2 billion EUR is allocated to residential buildings.Multi-apartment residential buildings in Latvia are in a technically unsatisfactory condition. In Latvia, the service life of multi-apartment residential buildings has been artificially extended. In addition, there is also the problem of reduced construction quality. Housing problems affect all layers of society, but they are most acute for low- and middle-income people.The aim of the research is to study, using the co-financing of the European Union Structural Funds, the activities performed during the renovation process of multi-apartment residential buildings in Latvia and to identify the shortcomings.


Author(s):  
Daranee Jareemit ◽  
Parintorn Canyookt

Abstract Thailand committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals to increase urban livability and reduce energy use in the building sector. However, the design information to achieve those challenge goals has been undefined. This study aimed to investigate and examine potential improvements for outdoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency in 136 designs of the two-type residential cluster in Pathum Thani, Thailand, via designs of building orientation, geometry and window-to-wall ratio (WWR). The daily cooling energy consumption in residential clusters was performed using eQuest under the modified weather data from the prior microclimate analysis. The energy-saving scenarios were calculated and compared to the acceptable outdoor thermal comfort hours. It is found that the row house cluster had the potential to be more sustainable than a single house. The row house clusters on orthogonal street orientation offered the highest percentage of hours in outdoor thermal comfort of 46% and energy efficiency below the new standard of Thailand. The cooling energy savings through increasing H/W with lowering WWR was up to 32%. This study’s results could provide urban planners and architects with the new design guidelines and improvement potentials to make cities more energy efficient and environmentally friendly for outdoor living in Thailand.


Proceedings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Joanna Southernwood ◽  
Grigoris K. Papagiannis ◽  
Erudino Llano Güemes ◽  
Luisa Sileni

Few small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have undertaken an energy audit to date and even fewer have taken action to implement energy-saving measures. Lack of time, knowledge, and finance, coupled with the low priority that SMEs give to energy management, are the most commonly cited barriers to effective energy management in SMEs. Four projects funded by Horizon 2020 (SPEEDIER, SMEmPower Efficiency, E2DRIVER, and Innoveas) have developed innovative capacity-building programmes designed to eliminate these barriers and encourage SMEs to undertake energy audits and implement the recommended energy efficiency measures. This paper presents an overview of the innovations being tested and suggests a series of policy recommendations that could help to drive uptake of energy audits in SMEs.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 749
Author(s):  
John H. Scofield ◽  
Susannah Brodnitz ◽  
Jakob Cornell ◽  
Tian Liang ◽  
Thomas Scofield

In this work, we present results from the largest study of measured, whole-building energy performance for commercial LEED-certified buildings, using 2016 energy use data that were obtained for 4417 commercial office buildings (114 million m2) from municipal energy benchmarking disclosures for 10 major U.S. cities. The properties included 551 buildings (31 million m2) that we identified as LEED-certified. Annual energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission were compared between LEED and non-LEED offices on a city-by-city basis and in aggregate. In aggregate, LEED offices demonstrated 11% site energy savings but only 7% savings in source energy and GHG emission. LEED offices saved 26% in non-electric energy but demonstrated no significant savings in electric energy. LEED savings in GHG and source energy increased to 10% when compared with newer, non-LEED offices. We also compared the measured energy savings for individual buildings with their projected savings, as determined by LEED points awarded for energy optimization. This analysis uncovered minimal correlation, i.e., an R2 < 1% for New Construction (NC) and Core and Shell (CS), and 8% for Existing Euildings (EB). The total measured site energy savings for LEED-NC and LEED-CS was 11% lower than projected while the total measured source energy savings for LEED-EB was 81% lower than projected. Only LEED offices certified at the gold level demonstrated statistically significant savings in source energy and greenhouse gas emissions as compared with non-LEED offices.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Fernando Martín-Consuegra ◽  
Fernando de Frutos ◽  
Ignacio Oteiza ◽  
Carmen Alonso ◽  
Borja Frutos

This study quantified the improvement in energy efficiency following passive renovation of the thermal envelope in highly inefficient residential complexes on the outskirts of the city of Madrid. A case study was conducted of a single-family terrace housing, representative of the smallest size subsidized dwellings built in Spain for workers in the nineteen fifties and sixties. Two units of similar characteristics, one in its original state and the other renovated, were analyzed in detail against their urban setting with an experimental method proposed hereunder for simplified, minimal monitoring. The dwellings were compared on the grounds of indoor environment quality parameters recorded over a period covering both winter and summer months. That information was supplemented with an analysis of the energy consumption metered. The result was a low-cost, reasonably accurate measure of the improvements gained in the renovated unit. The monitoring output data were entered in a theoretical energy efficiency model for the entire neighborhood to obtain an estimate of the potential for energy savings if the entire urban complex were renovated.


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