scholarly journals How Much Energy Do Building Energy Codes Save? Evidence from California Houses

2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (10) ◽  
pp. 2867-2894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arik Levinson
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Codes ◽  
New Buildings ◽  
Building Energy Codes

Regulations governing the energy efficiency of new buildings have become a cornerstone of US environmental policy. California enacted the first such codes in 1978 and has tightened them every few years since. I evaluate the resulting energy savings three ways: comparing energy used by houses constructed under different standards, controlling for building and occupant characteristics; examining how energy use varies with outdoor temperatures; and comparing energy used by houses of different vintages in California to that same difference in other states. All three approaches yield estimated energy savings significantly short of those projected when the regulations were enacted. (JEL Q48, Q51, Q52)

Building Energy Codes: Reviewing the Status of Implementation Strategies in the Global South

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-53
Author(s):  
Tariene Gaum ◽  
Jacques Laubscher
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Global South ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
The Status ◽  
Energy Codes ◽  
Building Energy Codes

The public understanding of climate change, methods, mitigation, adaptation and the reason behind it have been investigated in developed countries. The current knowledge levels in the Global South remains limited, this while countries forming part of the Global South are more vulnerable to resultant effects of global warming. This requires the urgent attention by both citizens, who lack relevant information as well as decision makers lacking environmental literacy to establish long-term sustainable strategies. With just 9 years left, the probability of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is unlikely and will require the complete redevelopment of the building sector. Focusing on the built environment, this paper uses contemporary definitions of the Global South to establish the contribution, significance and lack of energy efficiency mechanisms in the face of climate change. A combination of literature, desk research and data gathering from various sources are employed to establish the contribution of the Global South built environment to climate change. Using Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emissions, 2050 urban population figures and distinctive climatic regions as basis, this study selected the largest role players to establish the status, extent and efficacy of building energy codes. The review point towards a built environment lacking the necessary building energy codes, with approximately 47% of selected Global South countries not implementing any form of building energy efficiency regulations or related policies. As part of the recommendations, Global South countries lacking the necessary regulations are encouraged to revise, update or adopt possible best practice standards from relevant countries that implement mandatory building energy codes. This study aims to address the gap in knowledge, establish a way forward and facilitate a larger implementation of building energy codes and strategies in the Global South

Analysis of the Energy Saving Potentials for Near-Zero Energy Buildings in Shanghai

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Huang ◽  
Donghyun Seo ◽  
Moncef Krarti
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Ground Source Heat Pumps ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Building Models

The Changning District in Shanghai has expressed interest to becoming a green neighborhood and has asked for recommendations on how to reduce the energy usage in public buildings in their district. The objective of this short study is to identify the likely range of further reductions in the energy use and carbon emissions of new buildings through energy-efficiency improvements and the use of renewable energy, i.e., solar hot water (SHW), photovoltaics (PV), and ground-source heat pumps (GSHP), as compared to buildings that meet the current public building energy code in Shanghai. This analysis is done using DOE-2.1E computer simulations of three prototypical building models — an office, a hotel, and a mixed-use retail/office building — that have been calibrated against measured energy data from such buildings in the Changning District. After the building models have been calibrated, they are then used to establish the baseline energy use for code-compliant buildings, and to calculate the energy savings for 16 potential EEMs (Energy Efficiency Measures) that exceed the building energy code. A LCC (Life-Cycle Cost) analysis is done to compare the energy cost reductions to the capital costs for the EEMs, with the result that some EEMs are rejected as being not cost-effective over a 25 year period. The usage of the EEMs accepted as cost-effective is found to reduce the energy usage of the three building types by 30–40% in the office, 43–46% in the hotel, and 35% in the retail, depending on the assumed discount rate. If all the EEMs are considered regardless of cost, the energy savings increase to 44% in the office, 47% in the hotel, and 36% in the retail.

scholarly journals Improving the Energy Efficiency of Buildings Based on Fluid Dynamics Models: A Critical Review

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5384
Author(s):  
Xiaoshu Lü ◽  
Tao Lu ◽  
Tong Yang ◽  
Heidi Salonen ◽  
Zhenxue Dai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Simulation Models ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Building Energy Efficiency ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Building Energy Systems ◽  
Dynamics Models

The built environment is the global sector with the greatest energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, building energy savings can make a major contribution to tackling the current energy and climate change crises. Fluid dynamics models have long supported the understanding and optimization of building energy systems and have been responsible for many important technological breakthroughs. As Covid-19 is continuing to spread around the world, fluid dynamics models are proving to be more essential than ever for exploring airborne transmission of the coronavirus indoors in order to develop energy-efficient and healthy ventilation actions against Covid-19 risks. The purpose of this paper is to review the most important and influential fluid dynamics models that have contributed to improving building energy efficiency. A detailed, yet understandable description of each model’s background, physical setup, and equations is provided. The main ingredients, theoretical interpretations, assumptions, application ranges, and robustness of the models are discussed. Models are reviewed with comprehensive, although not exhaustive, publications in the literature. The review concludes by outlining open questions and future perspectives of simulation models in building energy research.

IDENTIFICATION OF BARRIERS THAT HINDER THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF BUILDING ENERGY CODES

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Danesh Edalat ◽  
Mohammad Mehdi Mortaheb ◽  
Hamed Kashani
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Building Energy Efficiency ◽  
Building Energy Consumption ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Energy Codes ◽  
Energy Efficiency Standards ◽  
Building Energy Codes

In response to the growing energy consumption levels in buildings, many countries have introduced standards and codes aimed at reducing their national building energy consumption and managing the amount of emissions. Title 19 of Iran’s National Building Regulation (NBR) was first introduced in 1991. It was projected that Title 19 can lead to a 30 to 50% reduction in building energy consumption in the country. Nevertheless, evidence suggests that the introduction of Title 19 NBR has not led to substantial saving in building energy consumption. Unlike Title 19 NBR, similar standards in other countries have proven to be very effective in reducing the building energy consumption levels. For instance, it is believed that the implementation of Title 24 of California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards has led to $66 billion dollars of energy savings over the past 35 years. The objective of this study is to utilize content analysis and experts’ opinion in order to identify and categorize the barriers that hinder the effective implementation of Title 19 NBR in Iran. The contribution of this study to the state of knowledge is the identification of barriers that could hinder the effective implementation of building energy codes.

scholarly journals Energy and Greenhouse Gas Savings for LEED-Certified U.S. Office Buildings

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 749
Author(s):  
John H. Scofield ◽  
Susannah Brodnitz ◽  
Jakob Cornell ◽  
Tian Liang ◽  
Thomas Scofield
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Ghg Emission ◽  
Site Energy ◽  
New Construction

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.

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