scholarly journals Energy Sustainability of a Cluster of Buildings with the Application of Smart Grids and Decentralization of Renewable Energy Sources

Author(s):  
Bohumír Garlík

The article deals with the current state of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the urban area of building clusters. There are many requirements, such as those set by the EU (FIT 55, decarbonisation in 2050, full electromobility in 2035, or mandatory annual reductions in energy consumption and CO2 production) or societal requirements, such as stable energy supply and its optimisation while significantly reducing CO2 emissions. This inspired us to design an energy model of a building (EMB) with smart grid implementation in a decentralized sustainable energy system. Simulation model studies were carried out to show the possibility of their application in the process of fully satisfying energy needs in terms of reducing their environmental impact. A decentralized photovoltaic system (microgrid) connected to a distribution grid. The main objective is to propose an original methodology for the design of smart "Nearly Zero Energy Buildings" (NZEB) and a subsequent solution for energy sustainability. This has led us to use HOMER, PV*SOL, Monte Carlo and DesignBuilder software which were chosen from the range of options that were and are available. Subsequently, a synthesis of the selected software solutions was carried out and a new model - the "Energy Model of a Building" (EMB) - was proposed in the process of integration with the energy performance of buildings, as an original optimization basis for designing smart buildings and smart areas, and even cities. The proposed EMB has been verified and evaluated within the experiment.

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4209
Author(s):  
Rita Remeikienė ◽  
Ligita Gasparėnienė ◽  
Aleksandra Fedajev ◽  
Marek Szarucki ◽  
Marija Đekić ◽  
...  

The main goal of setting energy efficiency priorities is to find ways to reduce energy consumption without harming consumers and the environment. The renovation of buildings can be considered one of the main aspects of energy efficiency in the European Union (EU). In the EU, only 5% of the renovation projects have been able to yield energy-saving at the deep renovation level. No other study has thus far ranked the EU member states according to achieved results in terms of increased usage in renewable sources, a decrease in energy usage and import, and reduction in harmful gas emissions due to energy usage. The main purpose of this article is to perform a comparative analysis of EU economies according to selected indicators related to the usage of renewable resources, energy efficiency, and emissions of harmful gasses as a result of energy usage. The methodological contribution of our study is related to developing a complex and robust research method for investment efficiency assessment allowing the study of three groups of indicators related to the usage of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and ecological aspects of energy. It was based on the PROMETHEE II method and allows testing it in other time periods, as well as modifying it for research purposes. The EU member states were categorized by such criteria as energy from renewables and biofuels, final energy consumption from renewables and biofuels, gross electricity generation from renewables and biofuels and import dependency, and usage of renewables and biofuels for heating and cooling. The results of energy per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions per million inhabitants (ECO2), energy per capita, the share of CO2 emissions from public electricity, and heat production from total CO2 emissions revealed that Latvia, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, Denmark, and Finland are the nine most advanced countries in the area under consideration. In the group of the most advanced countries, energy consumption from renewables and biofuels is higher than the EU average.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-114
Author(s):  
Ana Radojevic ◽  
Danijela Nikolic ◽  
Jasna Radulovic ◽  
Jasmina Skerlic

The implementation of energy efficiency measures and use of renewable energy sources in educational buildings can significantly contribute to reducing energy consumption, but also to CO2 emissions in the entire public sector. The paper shows the comparison of energy consumption indicators for 61 elementary school buildings which have previously been divided in 12 groups, according to the period of construction and size, based on the national typology called TABULA, as the first step of further study on how to use the renewable energy sources. The aim of this paper is to use the energy benchmarking process to select representative facilities which are suitable for applying renewable energy sources, for their further energy efficiency improvement. Indicators of annual specific electricity consumption and CO2 emissions per unit area [kWh/m2] and per user [kWh/user] were calculated. After that, from two groups (in which the highest electricity consumption and CO2 emissions are 68.37% and 74.53% of the total consumption/ emissions), one representative facility was selected.


Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rokas Tamašauskas ◽  
Jolanta Šadauskienė ◽  
Patrikas Bruzgevičius ◽  
Dorota Anna Krawczyk

In order to fulfil the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requirements regarding the reduction of energy consumption in buildings, much attention has been paid to primary energy consumption. Wind energy is one type of primary energy. The analysis of the literature has revealed that wind energy is evaluated by different methods. Therefore, the aim of this article was to calculate the effect of the parameters of wind sources on the primary energy factor of wind turbines. In order to achieve this aim, the primary energy factor of 100 investigated wind turbines and 11 wind farms operating in Lithuania was calculated. Investigation results showed that the difference of the non-renewable primary energy factor between wind turbines due to capacity is 35%. This paper provides a recommendation with regard to EU energy efficiency and renewable energy directives and regulations: All EU member states should use the same or very similar methodology for the calculation of the primary energy factor of renewable and non-renewable energy sources.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kamran Khan ◽  
Muhammad Imran Khan ◽  
Muhammad Rehan

AbstractDeveloping countries are facing the problem of environmental degradation. Environmental degradation is caused by the use of non-renewable energy consumptions for economic growth but the consequences of environmental degradation cannot be ignored. This primary purpose of this study is to investigate the nexus between energy consumption, economic growth and CO2 emission in Pakistan by using annual time series data from 1965 to 2015. The estimated results of ARDL indicate that energy consumption and economic growth increase the CO2 emissions in Pakistan both in short run and long run. Based on the estimated results it is recommended that policy maker in Pakistan should adopt and promote such renewable energy sources that will help to meet the increased demand for energy by replacing old traditional energy sources such as coal, gas, and oil. Renewable energy sources are reusable that can reduce the CO2 emissions and also ensure sustainable economic development of Pakistan.


Author(s):  
Francesco Barreca ◽  
Giuseppe Modica ◽  
Salvatore Di Fazio ◽  
Viviana Tirella ◽  
Raimondo Tripodi ◽  
...  

Food industry is the production sector with the highest energy consumption. In Europe, the energy used to produce food accounts for 26% of total energy consumption. Over 28% is used in industrial processes. Recently, European food companies have increased their efforts to make their production processes more sustainable, also by giving preference to the use of renewable energy sources. In Italy, the total energy consumption in agriculture and food sectors decreased between 2013 and 2014, passing from 16.79 to 13.3 Mtep. Since energy consumption in food industry is nearly twice the one in agriculture (8.57 and 4.73 Mtep, respectively), it is very important to improve energy efficiency and use green technologies in all the phases of food processing and conservation. In Italy, a recent law (Legislative Decree 102, 04/07/2014) has made energy-use diagnosis compulsory for all industrial concerns, particularly for those showing high consumption levels. In the case of food industry buildings, energy is mainly used for indoor microclimate control, which is needed to ensure workers’ wellbeing and the most favourable conditions for food processing and conservation. To this end, it is important to have tools and methods allowing for easy, rapid and precise energy performance assessment of agri-food buildings. The accuracy of the results obtainable from the currently available computational models depends on the grade of detail and information used in constructional and geometric modelling. Moreover, this phase is probably the most critical and time-consuming in the energy diagnosis. In this context, fine surveying and advanced 3D geometric modelling procedures can facilitate building modelling and allow technicians and professionals in the agri-food sector to use highly efficient and accurate energy analysis and evaluation models. This paper proposes a dedicated model for energy performance assessment in agri-food buildings. It also shows that using advanced surveying techniques, such as a terrestrial laser scanner and an infrared camera, it is possible to create a three-dimensional parametric model, while, thanks to the heat flow meter Accepted paper measurement method, it is also possible to obtain a thermophysical model. This model allows assessing the energy performance of agri-food buildings in order to improve the indoor microclimate control and the conditions of food processing and conservation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 361-363 ◽  
pp. 382-385
Author(s):  
Marek Kušnír ◽  
Danica Košičanová ◽  
František Vranay

Nowadays, choosing of heating source is emphasized. On the market there are different types of heat sources, which need to be properly designed to the required heating output. Finally, it is necessary to take into account the possibilities of fuel burning as well as heat transfer substance. Heating system is dependent on regional weather conditions, where the building is located. All these factors ultimately, with proper design of the heat source, could reduce operating costs in the heating season. Currently in the design of the heating system, there are taken into account the greatest possible energy savings. It is therefore to encourage bigger utilization of renewable energy sources.Currently has the highest proportion of total energy consumption in the buildings, energy for heating. For this reason, the expert and research community seeks to reduce energy consumption at the lowest possible value. For this purpose, people are starting to apply renewable energy sources. These devices using renewable energy sources convert energy from the environment. Most of them are transforming energy from the sun, earth, water and air. This energy is then used directly for heating. In this article we will more closely deal with transforming solar energy into electricity using photovoltaic panels and we will focus on the interaction between the photovoltaic system and heating and cooling system, under certain conditions. Produced electric energy is used for heating system in the school building in Spišská Nová Ves in Slovakia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1776
Author(s):  
Jordi Renau ◽  
Víctor García ◽  
Luis Domenech ◽  
Pedro Verdejo ◽  
Antonio Real ◽  
...  

Achieving European climate neutrality by 2050 requires further efforts not only from the industry and society, but also from policymakers. The use of high-efficiency cogeneration facilities will help to reduce both primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions because of the increase in overall efficiency. Fuel cell-based cogeneration technologies are relevant solutions to these points for small- and microscale units. In this research, an innovative and new fuel cell-based cogeneration plant is studied, and its performance is compared with other cogeneration technologies to evaluate the potential reduction degree in energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Four energy consumption profile datasets have been generated from real consumption data of different dwellings located in the Mediterranean coast of Spain to perform numerical simulations in different energy scenarios according to the fuel used in the cogeneration. Results show that the fuel cell-based cogeneration systems reduce primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions in buildings, to a degree that depends on the heat-to-power ratio of the consumer. Primary energy consumption varies from 40% to 90% of the original primary energy consumption, when hydrogen is produced from natural gas reforming process, and from 5% to 40% of the original primary energy consumption if the cogeneration is fueled with hydrogen obtained from renewable energy sources. Similar reduction degrees are achieved in CO2 emissions.


Author(s):  
Antonio Santos Sánchez ◽  
Maria João Regufe ◽  
Ana Mafalda Ribeiro ◽  
Idelfonso B.R. Nogueira

Institutional buildings need smart techniques to predict the energy consumption in a smart grids’ framework. Here, the importance of dynamic load forecasting as a tool to support the decision in smart grids is addressed. In addition, it is reviewed the energy consumption patterns of institutional buildings and the state-of-the-art of load forecast modeling using artificial neural networks. The discussion is supported by historical data from energy consumption in a university building. These data are used to develop a reliable model for the prediction of the electric load in a campus. A neural network model was developed, which can forecast the load with an average error of 6.5%, and this model can also be used as a decision tool to assess the convenience of supplying this load with a set of renewable energy sources. Statistical data that measure the availability of the local renewable sources can be compared with a load model in order to assess how well these energy sources match the energy needs of buildings. This novel application of load models was applied to the campus where a good correlation (Pearson coefficient of 0.803) was found between energy demand and the availability of the solar resource in the campus.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Komal Kanwar Shekhawat ◽  
Arvind Kumar Yadav ◽  
Md Sahnewaz Sanu ◽  
Pushp Kumar

Abstract To devise an appropriate climate policy dealing with environmental degradation, reliable measurement of CO2 emissions is essential. In the recent past, most researchers have utilized production-based emissions in their studies, ignoring the important role of consumption-based emissions in environmental degradation. Therefore, the present research examines the drivers of consumption-based CO2 emissions in SAARC nations over the period 1990 to 2018. By employing traditional and second-generation panel cointegration methodologies, the study, more specifically, explores the link between consumption-based CO2 emissions and its four macroeconomic determinates, namely, GDP growth, energy consumption, FDI, and trade openness (measured by Composite Trade Share Index). The study also applies the FMLOS and DOLS techniques for calculating the long-run elasticities of regressors with respect to the explained variable. The results establish a cointegration relationship between the variables and validate the “EKC hypothesis” for the SAARC region. It is also found that in the long run, as expected, energy consumption enhances the consumption-based CO2 emissions while FDI and trade openness improve the environmental quality by plummeting emissions. Most importantly, the study rejects the “pollution-haven hypothesis” for the SAARC region based on the negative and statistically significant coefficient of FDI. Lastly, based on the results, some policies are recommended for the abatement of environmental degradation in SAARC countries. As the SAARC nations rely heavily on fossil-based energy, it is suggestive for these economies to enhance the level of energy efficiency and augment the share of renewable energy sources in the energy-mix. Furthermore, the policy-designers in this region should encourage trade openness and liberalize inward FDI for containing consumption-based emissions.


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