scholarly journals Top Energy Saver of the Year: Results of an Energy Saving Competition in Public Buildings

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 278-293
Author(s):  
Jan Kaselofsky ◽  
Ralf Schüle ◽  
Marika Rošā ◽  
Toms Prodaņuks ◽  
Anda Jekabsone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Heat Consumption ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Building ◽  
Team Members

AbstractNon-residential buildings in the European Union consume more than one third of the building sector’s total. Many non-residential buildings are owned by municipalities. This paper reports about an energy saving competition that was carried out in 91 municipal buildings in eight EU member states in 2019. For each public building an energy team was formed. The energy teams’ activities encompassed motivating changes in the energy use behaviour of employees and small investments. Two challenges added an element of gamification to the energy saving competition. To assess the success of the energy saving competition, an energy performance baseline was calculated using energy consumption data of each public building from previous years. Energy consumption in the competition year was monitored on a monthly base. After the competition the top energy savers from each country were determined by the percentage-based reduction of energy consumption compared to the baseline. On average, the buildings had an electricity and heat consumption in 2019 that was about 8 % and 7 %, respectively, lower than the baseline. As an additional data source for the evaluation, a survey among energy team members was conducted at the beginning and after the energy competition. Support from superiors, employee interest and motivation and behaviour change as assessed by energy team members show a positive, if weak or moderate, correlation with changes in electricity consumption, but not with changes in heat consumption.

scholarly journals Investigating Primary Factors Affecting Electricity Consumption in Non-Residential Buildings Using a Data-Driven Approach

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 4046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sooyoun Cho ◽  
Jeehang Lee ◽  
Jumi Baek ◽  
Gi-Seok Kim ◽  
Seung-Bok Leigh
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Simulation Analysis ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Electric Energy ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Measuring Instruments ◽  
Building Energy Consumption

Although the latest energy-efficient buildings use a large number of sensors and measuring instruments to predict consumption more accurately, it is generally not possible to identify which data are the most valuable or key for analysis among the tens of thousands of data points. This study selected the electric energy as a subset of total building energy consumption because it accounts for more than 65% of the total building energy consumption, and identified the variables that contribute to electric energy use. However, this study aimed to confirm data from a building using clustering in machine learning, instead of a calculation method from engineering simulation, to examine the variables that were identified and determine whether these variables had a strong correlation with energy consumption. Three different methods confirmed that the major variables related to electric energy consumption were significant. This research has significance because it was able to identify the factors in electric energy, accounting for more than half of the total building energy consumption, that had a major effect on energy consumption and revealed that these key variables alone, not the default values of many different items in simulation analysis, can ensure the reliable prediction of energy consumption.

scholarly journals Redefining cost-optimal nZEB levels for new residential buildings

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 03035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raimo Simson ◽  
Endrik Arumägi ◽  
Kalle Kuusk ◽  
Jarek Kurnitski
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Apartment Building ◽  
Detached House

In the member states of the European Union (EU), nearly-Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) are becoming mandatory building practice in 2021. It is stated, that nZEB should be cost-optimal and the energy performance levels should be re-defined after every five years. We conducted cost-optimality analyses for two detached houses, one terraced house and one apartment building in Estonia. The analysis consisted on actual construction cost data collection based on bids of variable solutions for building envelope, air tightness, windows, heat supply systems and local renewable energy production options. For energy performance analysis we used dynamic simulation software IDA-ICE. To assess cost-effectiveness, we used Net Present Value (NPV) calculations with the assessment period of 30 years. The results for cost-optimal energy performance level for detached house with heated space of ~100 m2 was 79 kWh/(m2 a), for the larger house (~200 m2) 87 kWh/(m2 a), for terraced house with heated space of ~600 m2 71 kWh/(m2 a) and for the apartment building 103 kWh/(m2 a) of primary energy including all energy use with domestic appliances. Thus, the decrease in cost-optimal level in a five-year period was ~60% for the detached house and ~40% for the apartment building, corresponding to a shift in two EPC classes.

scholarly journals Application of Life Cycle Energy Assessment in Residential Buildings: A Critical Review of Recent Trends

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Omrany ◽  
Veronica Soebarto ◽  
Ehsan Sharifi ◽  
Ali Soltani
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Current Trend ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
System Boundary ◽  
Energy Assessment ◽  
Boundary Definition

Residential buildings are responsible for a considerable portion of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Correspondingly, many attempts have been made across the world to minimize energy consumption in this sector via regulations and building codes. The focus of these regulations has mainly been on reducing operational energy use, whereas the impacts of buildings’ embodied energy are frequently excluded. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in analyzing the energy performance of buildings via a life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) approach. The increasing amount of research has however caused the issue of a variation in results presented by LCEA studies, in which apparently similar case studies exhibited different results. This paper aims to identify the main sources of variation in LCEA studies by critically analyzing 26 studies representing 86 cases in 12 countries. The findings indicate that the current trend of LCEA application in residential buildings suffers from significant inaccuracy accruing from incomplete definitions of the system boundary, in tandem with the lack of consensus on measurements of operational and embodied energies. The findings call for a comprehensive framework through which system boundary definition for calculations of embodied and operational energies can be standardized.

Intrinsic Changes: Energy Saving Behaviour Among Resident University Students

2010 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 85-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemary Black ◽  
Penny Davidson ◽  
Karen Retra
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
University Students ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Report Data ◽  
On Line ◽  
Self Report Data

AbstractThis paper presents the results of a study that explored the effectiveness of three intervention strategies in facilitating energy saving behaviour among resident undergraduate university students. In contrast to a dominant practice of motivating with rewards or competition this study sought to appeal to students' intrinsic motivations. An experimental design was used with two intervention groups and a control group. The interventions were the provision of real-time feedback provided by an inhouse energy consumption display unit (ecoMeter) and a targeted social marketing approach. They were evaluated using energy consumption data and self-report data from the participants via an on-line survey and focus groups. Across the three research phases the rate of reduced electricity consumption for the interventions ranged from an average of 17% to 28% less than the control group. The findings provide evidence that facilitation of intrinsically motivated behaviours can result in reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

scholarly journals Determinants of Energy Saving: Evidence from a Vocational School in Greece

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (19) ◽  
pp. 3647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiva Dumciuviene ◽  
Akvile Cibinskiene ◽  
Meda Andrijauskiene
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Sustainable Energy ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Vocational School ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Saving Behavior ◽  
Important People

For this paper, the authors theoretically analyzed the determinants of energy saving and sustainable energy consumption in schools. Much research exists on energy-saving behavior in residential buildings. However, there is a lack of focus on public buildings and schools. A systematic literature review was conducted in order to construct the theoretical background for the research of school buildings, which are substantially less investigated. The determinants of sustainable energy use in schools were grouped together into three groups: (i) psychological and social, (ii) sociodemographic and economic, and (iii) contextual. The influence of these determinants on energy consumption was investigated empirically by conducting a questionnaire survey in a vocational school in Greece. The results reveal that the intention to save a substantial amount of energy in a vocational school in Greece is greater when students feel morally obliged to consider the environment and nature, believe that it is in their power to avoid unnecessary power consumption, and are positively influenced by teachers, classmates, and other important people in their lives.

scholarly journals Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Use at the University of Almeria (Spain)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5843
Author(s):  
Mehdi Chihib ◽  
Esther Salmerón-Manzano ◽  
Mimoun Chourak ◽  
Alberto-Jesus Perea-Moreno ◽  
Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Energy Sector ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
University Buildings ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused chaos in many sectors and industries. In the energy sector, the demand has fallen drastically during the first quarter of 2020. The University of Almeria campus also declined the energy consumption in 2020, and through this study, we aimed to measure the impact of closing the campus on the energy use of its different facilities. We built our analysis based upon the dataset collected during the year 2020 and previous years; the patterns evolution through time allowed us to better understand the energy performance of each facility during this exceptional year. We rearranged the university buildings into categories, and all the categories reduced their electricity consumption share in comparison with the previous year of 2019. Furthermore, the portfolio of categories presented a wide range of ratios that varied from 56% to 98%, the library category was found to be the most influenced, and the research category was found to be the least influenced. This opened questions like why some facilities were influenced more than others? What can we do to reduce the energy use even more when the facilities are closed? The university buildings presented diverse structures that revealed differences in energy performance, which explained why the impact of such an event (COVID-19 pandemic) is not necessarily relevant to have equivalent variations. Nevertheless, some management deficiencies were detected, and some energy savings measures were proposed to achieve a minimum waste of energy.

scholarly journals Trends of Energy Performance Certification of Buildings in Azerbaijan

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3.2) ◽  
pp. 563
Author(s):  
Samira Akbarova ◽  
. .
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Codes ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Certification System ◽  
Energy Auditing ◽  
World Trend

Energy consumption by construction sector is estimated by multi- disciplinary energy auditing and results are represented in an energy performance building certificate. The building certification, which is a world trend today, is applied successfully for many buildings  inAzerbaijantoo. The purpose of this paper to study the current methodology of energy building certification in terms of the technological aspects of energy auditing. Many documents of the European Union directives and Russian building codes and regulations in the field of ecology and energy saving in construction sector have been revised for implementing them as base for national energy performance certification system AZERI GREEN ZOOM. The assessment categories and main requirements have been considered. The results of this overview have shown the trends and problems in this field.  There are given examples of certified buildings.  

scholarly journals Analysis of Energy Consumption for Biomass Drying Process

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgars Vigants ◽  
Girts Vigants ◽  
Ivars Veidenbergs ◽  
Dace Lauka ◽  
Krista Klavina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Moisture Content ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Heat Consumption ◽  
Drying Process ◽  
Process Energy

<p class="R-AbstractKeywords"><em><span lang="EN-US">This study is dedicated to the analysis of the drying process energy consumption. In order to evaluate the main energetic processes that consume the most energy, the energy consumption of each individual drying process with and without air recirculation was modelled. The model shows that drying agent (air) recirculation is not an energy-saving operation, since it increases the total electricity and heat consumption. Recirculation of the drying agent increases the moisture content of the drying agent at the dryer entrance, which increases the need for fresh air in the dryer so that it can absorb the evaporating moisture from the dried material. An increased flow of the drying agent in the dryer increases the heat and electricity consumption.</span></em></p>

scholarly journals Measures to Achieve the Energy Efficiency Improvement Targets in the Multi-Apartment Residential Sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 40-52
Author(s):  
M. Upitis ◽  
I. Amolina ◽  
I. Geipele ◽  
N. Zeltins
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Structural Funds ◽  
Energy Management Systems ◽  
Energy Efficiency Improvement

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.

scholarly journals A comparative benchmarking study of multi-storey residential buildings in two periods of energy saving efforts: the 1980s and the 2010s

2021 ◽  
Vol 2069 (1) ◽  
pp. 012075
Author(s):  
O M Jensen ◽  
J Rose ◽  
J Kragh ◽  
C H Christiansen ◽  
M Grimmig ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Energy Performance ◽  
Heated Area ◽  
Energy Signature ◽  
Change Point Models

Abstract In 1990, Technological Institute (TI) in Denmark made a benchmarking study of 92 typical multi-storey buildings covering 23 000 dwellings. The study included measurement data from the 1970s and the years after the energy crises. This study showed that over a period of less than 20 years a significant reduction in energy consumption took place. In a new similar study, TI and Aalborg University have analysed 62 buildings covering 18 000 dwellings including measurement data from the last 20 years. This time, the data covers a period with an increasing focus on the carbon-emission impacts of energy consumption. As opposed to the first benchmarking study, the new 20-years study shows that the heat consumption has been almost constant over the last 20 years. This paper presents a comparative study of the two sets of measurements and evaluates energy saving efforts and individual building energy performance. Furthermore, the paper compares two different ways of deriving benchmarks from the data and demonstrates how utilizing change-point models/energy signature as opposed to the more traditional mean annual values per heated area, significantly increases the usability.

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