Energy Saving Policies for Housing Based on Wrong Assumptions?

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-83
Author(s):  
Henk Visscher ◽  
Dasa Majcen ◽  
Laure Itard
Keyword(s):  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Energy Saving Potential ◽  
Energy Performance Of Buildings ◽  
New Buildings

The energy saving potential of the building stock is large and considered to be the most cost efficient to contribute to the CO2 reduction ambitions. Severe governmental policies steering on reducing the energy use seem essential to stimulate and enforce the improvement of the energy performance of buildings with a focus on reducing the heating and cooling energy demand. In Europe the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is a driving force for member states to develop and strengthen energy performance regulations for new buildings and energy certificates for the building stock. The goals are to build net zero energy new buildings in 2020 and to reach a neutral energy situation in the whole stock by 2050. More and more research projects deliver insight that the expected impact of stricter regulations for newly built houses is limited and the actual effects of energy savings through housing renovations stay behind the expectations. Theoretical energy use calculated on base of the design standard for new houses and assessment standards for Energy Performance Certificates of existing dwellings differ largely from the measured actual energy use. The paper uses the findings of some Post Occupancy Evaluation research projects. Is the energy saving potential of the housing stock smaller than expected and should we therefore change the policies?

scholarly journals A comparison of greenhouse gas emissions in the residential sector of major Canadian cities

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 285-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene A. Mohareb ◽  
Adrian K. Mohareb
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Residential Building Stock

One of the most significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada is the buildings sector, with over 30% of national energy end-use occurring in buildings. Energy use must be addressed to reduce emissions from the buildings sector, as nearly 70% of all Canada’s energy used in the residential sector comes from fossil sources. An analysis of GHG emissions from the existing residential building stock for the year 2010 has been conducted for six Canadian cities with different climates and development histories: Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Halifax. Variation across these cities is seen in their 2010 GHG emissions, due to climate, characteristics of the building stock, and energy conversion technologies, with Halifax having the highest per capita emissions at 5.55 tCO2e/capita and Montreal having the lowest at 0.32 tCO2e/capita. The importance of the provincial electricity grid’s carbon intensity is emphasized, along with era of construction, occupancy, floor area, and climate. Approaches to achieving deep emissions reductions include innovative retrofit financing and city level residential energy conservation by-laws; each region should seek location-appropriate measures to reduce energy demand within its residential housing stock, as well as associated GHG emissions.

scholarly journals Towards Differentiated Energy Renovation Strategies for Heritage-Designated Multifamily Building Stocks

Heritage ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 4318-4334
Author(s):  
Petra Eriksson ◽  
Tim Johansson
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Historic Building ◽  
Energy Saving Potential ◽  
Balance Energy ◽  
Multifamily Buildings ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Building Conservation ◽  
The Relationship

The historic building stock is not homogeneous, which implies a need for differentiated energy renovation strategies in order to balance energy efficiency requirements and building conservation goals. This paper presents a new method for developing a base for differentiated energy renovation strategies for heritage-classified multifamily building stocks. Our suggested method combines different building databases using an extract, transform and load (ETL) technology. The method for this study was tested on the available information for heritage-designated and -classified multifamily buildings in the municipality of Stockholm, Sweden, and in the county of Halland, Sweden. The two cases reflect the heterogeneity of the Swedish Building stock. An important achievement is that the results visualise the relationship, not detectable before, between energy use, energy performance, year of construction and heritage classification within each of the selected building stocks. A specific result is that the energy-saving potential in the older building stock is insignificant in relation to the entire stock. The results contribute to an improved understanding of relationships both within and between the two historic building stocks, which is useful for developing differentiated energy renovation strategies.

Energy performance of buildings in Poland on the basis of different climatic data

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 551-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Grudzińska ◽  
Ewa Jakusik
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
Energy Performance Of Buildings ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Source Data ◽  
The Mean

Typical Meteorological Years (TMY) were prepared in Poland due to the introduction of obligatory energy certification for buildings. They are based on source data collected by the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management from 1971 to 2000. Predictions indicate that until the end of the 21st century, the air temperature will increase. Therefore, the characteristics obtained with the use of TMY may differ from the energy demand of buildings used nowadays. This article compares energy demand calculated with the use of TMY and subsequent climatic data from 2001 to 2012, for three different locations in Poland. The analyses were performed with the use of the dynamic simulation computer program, for typical living quarters in a multifamily residential building with different construction and window orientation. Results obtained with the use of TMY and subsequent climatic data show that the typical years can be used for the evaluation of heating demand. However, cooling demand calculated with the use of TMY was significantly lower in comparison with the mean cooling demand for the years 2001–2012. This may distort the energy needs and indoor environment conditions in summer, and cause discomfort or unnecessary energy use in presently occupied dwellings.

scholarly journals The effect of weighting factors on income-related energy inequalities: The case of Sweden’s new building code

2021 ◽  
Vol 2069 (1) ◽  
pp. 012102
Author(s):  
J von Platten ◽  
M Mangold ◽  
K Mjörnell
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Regulatory Requirements ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Energy Carriers ◽  
Weighting Factors ◽  
Energy Performance Of Buildings

Abstract To ensure building construction with low heating demand, efficient use of sustainable energy carriers, and neutrality between heating technologies, Sweden recently introduced weighting factors (WFs) for different energy carriers which are now used in Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). As EPC ratings are gaining increased influence in Swedish energy policy and regulation, with recent examples of buildings’ EPC rating acting as base for imperative regulatory requirements, the introduction of WFs is likely to have significant effects on how policy and regulations are distributed in the multifamily building stock. As residents often are directly or indirectly affected by policy that either impose or trigger measures to be undertaken in their building, the aim of this paper is to analyse how WFs affect the assessed energy performance of buildings in different resident income groups. The results show that overall, reduced energy performance from WFs was more common in high-income areas than in low-income areas. However, although the total number of buildings in the lowest EPC ratings was reduced after introducing WFs, the resulting income distribution among worst-performing buildings was more skewed towards low-income households than before introducing WFs. As imperative regulatory requirements previously have targeted worst-performing buildings, these results indicate that energy-related inequalities in the housing stock have become more prominent and should be considered as to not disproportionately burden low-income residents in the energy transition of the housing stock.

scholarly journals Assessment of energy-saving potential, associated costs and co-benefits of public buildings in Albania

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1387-1407
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Novikova ◽  
Zsuzsa Szalay ◽  
Miklós Horváth ◽  
Johannes Becker ◽  
Gjergji Simaku ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Public Building ◽  
The Public

Abstract The paper presents the public building typology, energy demand estimations and retrofit scenarios, as well as associated costs and benefits for energy-saving measures in the public building stock of Albania. First, representative building types were identified to estimate their energy performance, and define retrofit packages. Second, this information was used to analyse the costs and benefits of the different thermal efficiency retrofits. Apart from specific benefits due to cost savings in the use phase, co-benefits were estimated to understand their dimension and influence on decision-making. Finally, energy efficiency supply curves were developed to show the priority sequence of retrofits and building types. It was found that due to the growing wealth in Albania, user behaviour will change a lot in the future. Energy usage in the public building sector will increase and mitigate savings resulting from energy-saving measures making saved energy costs invisible. However, if other benefits beyond energy savings are considered, the cost efficiency of the measures remain obvious. The recommended approach can be used to assist decision-making and allocate funds.

scholarly journals Evaluación de la demanda energética de edificios no residenciales en Escocia = Energy demand benchmarking of non-domestic buildings in Scotland

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Julien Chetboula ◽  
Céline Garnier ◽  
Julio Bros-Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Occupancy Patterns ◽  
Energy Use Intensity ◽  
End Use ◽  
The Uk

ResumenCon los años el rendimiento energético del edificio se ha convertido en una preocupación predominante para los propietarios y administradores de bienes raíces. La atención se centra generalmente en edificios de viviendas, pero en los últimos veinte años un interés en edificios no residenciales ha surgido en el Reino Unido. Los puntos de referencia general se pueden encontrar a escala del Reino Unido, aunque a menudo está restringido a Inglaterra y Gales. Este documento tiene como objetivo proporcionar puntos de referencia para el parque inmobiliario no doméstico escocés como parte del Ayuntamiento de Edimburgo. En esta investigación, la muestra seleccionada incluye datos de energía y las emisiones de carbono calculadas de 199 edificios.Los parámetros decisivos fueron la intensidad de uso de la energía (kWh/m2) y el uso y la edad de los edificios. Esto permitió la creación de seis tipos de edificios, aunque siguiendo patrones de ocupación se dividió en cuatro categorías desde el s. XVI hasta el s. XXI. Los principales resultados revelan el predominio de un clúster de edificios educativos en términos de superficie (72%), el número de edificios (70%), las emisiones de carbono (68% de los cerca de 42.000 toneladas de CO2) y el consumo de energía (61% de la 38,4 MWh de electricidad consumida, y el 73% del 117,4 MWh de gas natural que se consume). Entre estos niveles de consumo destacan el potencial de ahorro de energía para las escuelas: 186 kWh / m2 / año en promedio, en comparación con la media europea de 100 kWh / m2 / año de energía térmica de uso final. AbstractOver the years building energy performance has become a predominant concern for owners and real estate managers. The focus is usually on residential buildings but in the last twenty years an interest in non-domestic buildings has emerged in the UK. Benchmarks can generally be found at UK scale, although often restricted to England and Wales. This paper aims to provide benchmarks for the Scottish non-domestic building stock as part of the City of Edinburgh Council estate. In this research, the selected sample includes energy data and calculated carbon emissions of 199 buildings. The deciding parameters were the energy use intensity (kWh/m2) and the use and age of buildings. The last two allowed the creation of six clusters in which to group buildings of similar occupancy patterns in four age categories from the 16th to the 21st century. The main findings reveal the predominance of an educational buildings cluster in terms of floor area (72%), number of buildings (70%), carbon emissions (68% of about 42,000 tons of CO2), and energy consumption (61% of the 38.4 MWh of electricity consumed, and 73% of the 117.4 MWh of natural gas consumed). These levels of consumption highlight the energy saving potential for schools: 186 kWh/m2/year on average, in comparison with the European average of 100 kWh/m2/year for thermal end-use energy.

scholarly journals Experimental Data and Simulations of Performance and Thermal Comfort in a Typical Mediterranean House

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 3311
Author(s):  
Víctor Pérez-Andreu ◽  
Carolina Aparicio-Fernández ◽  
José-Luis Vivancos ◽  
Javier Cárcel-Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Thermal Characterization ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Dwelling House ◽  
Account Standard

The number of buildings renovated following the introduction of European energy-efficiency policy represents a small number of buildings in Spain. So, the main Spanish building stock needs an urgent energy renovation. Using passive strategies is essential, and thermal characterization and predictive tests of the energy-efficiency improvements achieving acceptable levels of comfort for their users are urgently necessary. This study analyzes the energy performance and thermal comfort of the users in a typical Mediterranean dwelling house. A transient simulation has been used to acquire the scope of Spanish standards for its energy rehabilitation, taking into account standard comfort conditions. The work is based on thermal monitoring of the building and a numerical validated model developed in TRNSYS. Energy demands for different models have been calculated considering different passive constructive measures combined with real wind site conditions and the behavior of users related to natural ventilation. This methodology has given us the necessary information to decide the best solution in relation to energy demand and facility of implementation. The thermal comfort for different models is not directly related to energy demand and has allowed checking when and where the measures need to be done.

Energy Saving Technology for Doors and Windows of the Building

2014 ◽  
Vol 1056 ◽  
pp. 128-130
Author(s):  
Fu Yun Yang
Keyword(s):  
Energy Saving ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Energy Performance Of Buildings ◽  
Summer Heat ◽  
Energy Saving Technology ◽  
Heat Preservation

Doors and windows of the building is an important part of the building envelope. AS the transparent and open envelope of the building, doors and windowsare the weakest part in the winter and summer heat preservation. It directly affects the energy performance of buildings. Therefore, do a good job of building doors and windows energy saving is an important way to optimize the indoor environment and realize energy saving.

scholarly journals Energy saving potential of occupancy sensors in intermittent-use space types.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Georgia Alexander
Keyword(s):  
Time Delay ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Sensor Technology ◽  
Building Industry ◽  
User Survey ◽  
User Perceptions ◽  
Energy Saving Potential

<p>For decades, studies have been suggesting the idea of occupancy sensors in intermittent use spaces for energy savings. This work investigates the potential energy savings of occupancy sensors in hallways, stairwells, seminar rooms and lavatories of an education building. Lighting is one of the largest consumers of energy in the building industry and these space types are often fully illuminated for long periods of vacancy. Lighting is for the user, not the building. Discussions centre around light use habits, energy saving behaviours and sensor technology such as time delay and daylight sensors. The experiment uses wireless light sensors and PIR sensors to measure light energy use and occupant use of 20 intermittent use spaces. A user survey was planned to run alongside the experiment to investigate user perceptions of changes in lighting but was discontinued due to unresolved software issues. Results of the experiment encouraged the use of occupancy sensors in intermittent use spaces. Lavatories attained highest energy saving potential 54%, seminar rooms highest annual cost savings per fitting $15.47 and highest annual energy savings 482kWh and hallways calculated the quickest payback of 8.6 years. Hallways, stairwells, seminar rooms and lavatories all offer potential for energy savings, supporting the theoretical ideas and success of occupancy sensors in intermittent use spaces.</p>

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