Life Cycle Carbon Emission Analyzing of Rural Residential Energy Efficiency Retrofit-A Case Study of Gansu province

Objective To study and analyze the life-cycle carbon emissions of existing rural residential energy retrofit projects to provide theoretical and data support for local rural green development and sustainable construction. Methods Life cycle analysis (LCA) was used to analyze and compare the life cycle carbon emissions (LCE) of a rural residential envelope energy efficiency retrofitting project in central Gansu. Results It was found that rural dwellings have a very high potential for energy efficiency retrofitting, and the contribution of retrofitted homes to CO2 emissions reduction can reach more than 30% over the whole life cycle. Secondly, during the retrofitting process, neglected in previous studies, carbon emissions account for about a quarter of the LCE. It is concluded that introducing LCA into evaluating rural residential energy retrofit projects' energy-saving and emission reduction benefits is more scientific, reasonable, and necessary.

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ANALYZING TAX CREDITS FOR RESIDENTIAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY USING ENERGY MODELING

Journal of Green Building ◽

10.3992/1943-4618.13.1.83 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 83-94 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Caroline M. Clevenger ◽

Moatassem Abdallah ◽

Jayapradha Madhavan

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Program Analysis ◽

Energy Modeling ◽

Tax Credits ◽

Life Cycle Costs ◽

Star Products ◽

Residential Energy ◽

Energy Star ◽

Residential Energy Efficiency

From roughly 2013 to 2016, ten building product categories related to residential energy efficiency were eligible for United States ENERGY STAR Federal Tax Credits. In general, the objective of residential energy-efficiency tax credits is to encourage individuals to increase residential energy-efficiency investments and invest in properties that generate renewable energy. This research analyses eight of the available tax credit categories for four climatic zones and recommends packages based on low Life Cycle Cost and low First Cost for the eligible ENERGY STAR products. An experiment was conducted using energy modeling software for different tax credits and costs combinations, to explore potential variability in economic impact of the federal program. Analysis used Building America B10 Benchmark as a reference, and the energy computations were completed using Building Energy Optimization (BEopt) software. Results suggest that ENERGY STAR product packages that include PV systems generally have the lowest (best) Life Cycle Costs and packages that include Geothermal Heat Pumps generally have the highest (worst) Life Cycle Costs. However, there are tradeoffs between cost savings and energy source savings, and the particular economics of tax incentives for ENERGY STAR products depend on project specifics as well as owner priorities.

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