scholarly journals Energy Performance Monitoring and Analysis of NetZero Energy Homes (NZEHs)

Author(s):  
Hong Xian Li ◽  
Haitao Yu ◽  
Mustafa Gul ◽  
Mohamed Al-Hussein ◽  
Ahmad Alrifai ◽  
...  

Residential building operations consume a considerable amount of energy, especially in coldclimate regions. The National Energy Board of Canada (NEB) analyzed energy consumption in 2011, and found that energy use in the residential sector, including space heating/cooling, hot water heating, lighting, appliances, and other energy-using devices, accounts for 14% of the total energy consumption nationally. The concept of NetZero-energy homes (NZEHs) has emerged as a solution to reduce the energy demands of residential building operations. Following efforts to develop NZEHs, the actual energy performance of these homes needs to be examined, and sensor technology is capable of measuring this energy consumption in detail. In this research, sensor instrumentation is customized for NZEH projects developed by Landmark Group of Builders in Edmonton, Canada. Data is collected for the first month and following winter months, then the collected data is validated and cleaned and is analyzed in terms of energy consumption, energy generation, and energy balance. Based on the analysis, recommendations for the operation of NZEHs are proposed.

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Anna Życzyńska ◽  
Zbigniew Suchorab ◽  
Grzegorz Dyś ◽  
Jakub Čurpek ◽  
Miroslav Čekon

AbstractThe paper presents the structure and indices of the annual energy consumption in educational buildings subject to comprehensive thermal retrofitting. Seven buildings were analyzed; the energy consumption for heating and ventilation, hot water preparation, and built-in lighting was analyzed in each of them and, in the case of one structure, also cooling. The indices of the usable, final, and primary energy consumption were analyzed. The values calculated were compared to the requirements of the energy standards in force in Poland. The percentage shares of the above-mentioned energy demands of each of the buildings investigated are given in the total energy performance. Within the investigation, we evaluated the shares of the particular building services in the total energy consumption and determined that even after the thermal retrofitting, the energy demands for heating together with lighting are still the most significant compared to the other demands.


Author(s):  
Junjie Liu ◽  
Xiaojie Zhou ◽  
Zhihong Gao

With the development of energy saving, it is needed to calculate the energy consumption of the residential building, particularly accurate dynamic energy consumption. Fixed shading devices are wildly used to save building energy because they prevent undesirable heat coming through the windows during the “overheated period”, just as in summer, which can ameliorate the indoor environments and reduce the energy consumption of air-conditioning in summer. But they will also prevent solar energy which can be used in winter to enter windows. So it is very important to be able to determine the optimal shading devices of windows. The overhangs and vertical-shading devices are representative to study the different energy performance in summer and winter, in an actual dwell house. On the other hand, fixed shading devices can weaken the effect of daylighting, so we would take both the total energy consumption and rooms’ daylighting into account. In this study, we choose several typical dwelling houses in different cities located in north, south, west, east and central region of China respectively. We calculated energy consumption of those models by using Energyplus program, and compared the shading performance of horizontal and vertical shading devices, then optimal configuration dimensions of horizontal shading devices are recommended on the basis of different requirements for solar heat gains in winter and in summer for those typical dwelling houses.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naim Jabbour

Data shows residential energy consumption constituting a significant portion of the overall energy end use in the European Union (EU), ranging between 15% and 30%. Furthermore, the EU’s dependency on foreign fossil fuel-based energy imports has been steadily increasing since 1993, constituting approximately 60% of its primary energy. This paper provides an analytical re-view of diverse residential building/energy policies in targeted EU countries, to shed insight on the impact of such policies and measures on energy use and efficiency trends. Accordingly, the adoption of robust residential green and energy efficient building policies in the EU has increased in the past decade. Moreover, data from EU energy efficiency and consumption databases attributes 44% of total energy savings since 2000 to energy upgrades and improvements within the residential sector. Consequently, many EU countries and organizations are continuously evaluating residential building energy consumption patterns to increase the sec-tor’s overall energy performance. To that end, energy efficiency gains in EU households were measured at 1% in 2000 compared to 27.8% in 2016, a 2600% increase. Accordingly, 36 policies have been implemented successfully since 1991 across the EU targeting improvements in residential energy efficiency and reductions in energy use. Moreover, the adoption of National Energy Efficiency Actions Plans (NEEACP) across the EU have been a major driver of energy savings and energy efficiency. Most energy efficiency plans have followed a holistic multi-dimensional approach targeting the following areas, legislative actions, financial incentives, fiscal tax exemptions, and public education and awareness programs and campaigns. These measures and policy instruments have cumulatively generated significant energy savings and measurable improvements in energy performance across the EU since their inception. As a result, EU residential energy consumption trends show a consistent decrease over the past decade. The purpose of this analysis is to explore, examine, and compare the various green building and energy-related policies in the EU, highlighting some of the more robust and progressive aspects of such policies. The paper will also analyze the multiple policies and guidelines across targeted European nations. Lastly, the study will assess the status of green residential building policies in Lebanon, drawing from the comprehensive European measures, in order to recommend a comprehensive set of guidelines to advance energy policies and building practices in the country. Keywords: Building Policies; Residential Energy Patterns; Residential Energy Consumption; Energy Savings


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5836
Author(s):  
Ali Mohammed AL-Dossary ◽  
Daeung Danny Kim

In Saudi Arabia, residential buildings are one of the major contributors to total energy consumption. Even though there are abundant natural resources, it is somewhat difficult to apply them to building designs, as design variables, due to slow progress and private issues in Saudi Arabia. Thus, the present study demonstrated the development of sustainable residential building design by examining the daylighting and energy performance with design variables. Focusing on the daylighting system, the design variables were chosen, including window-to-wall ratios (WWR), external shading devices, and types of glazing. The illuminance level by these design variables in a building was evaluated by using daylight metrics, such as spatial daylight autonomy and annual sunlight exposure. Moreover, the building energy consumption with these design variables was analyzed by using energy simulation. As a result, the daylighting was improved with the increase in WWRs and the tinted double glazing, while these design options can cause overheating in a residential building. Among types of glazing, the double pane windows with a low-E coating showed better energy performance. Based on the results, it is necessary to find the proper design variables that can balance the daylighting and energy performance in residential buildings in hot climates.


2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (2) ◽  
pp. 738-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Dennis Barley ◽  
Paul Torcellini ◽  
Otto Van Geet

The Van Geet home near Denver, Colorado, demonstrates the successful integration of energy conservation measures and renewable energy supply in a beautiful, comfortable, energy-efficient, 295-m23,176-ft2 off-grid home in a cold, sunny climate. Features include a tight envelope, energy-efficient appliances, passive solar heating (direct gain and Trombe wall), natural cooling, solar hot water, and photovoltaics. In addition to describing this house and its performance, this paper describes the recommended design process of (1) setting a goal for energy efficiency at the outset, (2) applying rules of thumb, and (3) using computer simulation to fine-tune the design. Performance monitoring and computer simulation are combined for the best possible analysis of energy performance. In this case, energy savings are estimated as 89% heating and cooling (compared to 95 MEC), 83% electrical, and nearly 100% domestic water heating. The heating and cooling energy use is 8.96kJ/°Cs˙days˙m20.44Btu/°Fs˙days˙ft2.


Mathematics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Carlos-Antonio Domínguez-Torres ◽  
Ángel Luis León-Rodríguez ◽  
Rafael Suárez ◽  
Antonio Domínguez-Delgado

In recent years, there has been growing concern regarding energy efficiency in the building sector with energy requirements increasing worldwide and now responsible for about 40% of final energy consumption in Europe. Previous research has shown that ventilated façades help to reduce energy use when cooling buildings in hot and temperate climates. Of the different ventilated façade configurations reported in the literature, the configuration of ventilated façade with window rarely has been studied, and its 3D thermodynamic behavior is deserving of further analysis and modeling. This paper examines the thermal behavior of an opaque ventilated façade with a window, in experimentally and numerical terms and its impact in energy savings to get indoor comfort. Field measurements were conducted during the winter, spring and summer seasons of 2021 using outdoor full scale test cells located in Seville (southern Spain). The modeling of the ventilated façade was carried out using a three-dimensional approach taking into account the 3D behavior of the air flow in the air cavity due to the presence of the window. The validation and comparison process using experimental data showed that the proposed model provided good results from quantitative and qualitative point of view. The reduction of the heat flux was assessed by comparing the energy performance of a ventilated façade with that of an unventilated façade. Both experimental and numerical results showed that the ventilated façade provided a reduction in annual total energy consumption when compared to the unventilated façade, being compensated the winter energy penalization by the summer energy savings. This reduction is about 21% for the whole typical climatic year showing the ability of the opaque ventilated façade studied to reduce energy consumption to insure indoor comfort, making its suitable for use in retrofitting the energy-obsolete building stock built in Spain in the middle decades of the 20 century.


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 00009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Basińska ◽  
Katarzyna Ratajczak ◽  
Jan Tomczyk

This paper presents an energy performance of residential building (two – family building) located in Poznan. Both apartments were analysed separately. By using a method of energy performance calculations valid in Poland, a theoretical energy performance had been prepared. The calculations were conducted assuming real changeability of climatic data in years: 2010–2017. The real energy performance was prepared based on actual gas consumption for the purpose of heating and domestic hot water preparation (DHW) within the years of measurements taken, being a subject of analysis. The findings from this study revealed that a theoretical energy performance significantly deviates from the results obtained by means of energy consumption measurements, which resulted from variability of basic climatic data over time and also from theoretical usage profile of the apartments.


2013 ◽  
Vol 368-370 ◽  
pp. 1214-1217
Author(s):  
Guo Hui Jin ◽  
Dong Sheng Yu

The energy consumption of residential buildings and its potential influence factors in Inner Mongolia were investigated by questionnaires.The main factors influencing energy consumption of the residential buildings were screened by the partial corresponding analysis.The partial correlation analysis indicates that the total energy consumption of the residential buildings and the energy consumption per unit floor area are closely related to annual household income, air conditioning opened situations and building orientation. While they are not significantly related to construction area, building type, building ages, household resident population, heating modes, appliances quantity, appliances opened situations, hot water supply modes, According to these influencing factors, the article put forward some energy optimization measures.


Author(s):  
C. Dennis Barley ◽  
Paul Torcellini ◽  
Otto Van Geet

The Van Geet home near Denver, Colorado, demonstrates the successful integration of energy conservation measures and renewable energy supply in a beautiful, comfortable, energy-efficient, 295-m2 (3,176-ft2) off-grid home in a cold, sunny climate. Features include a tight envelope, energy-efficient appliances, passive solar heating (direct gain and Trombe wall), natural cooling, solar hot water, and photovoltaics. In addition to describing this house and its performance, this paper describes the recommended design process of (1) setting a goal for energy efficiency at the outset, (2) applying rules of thumb, and (3) using computer simulation to fine-tune the design. Performance monitoring and computer simulation are combined for the best possible analysis of energy performance. In this case, energy savings are estimated as 89% heating and cooling, 83% electrical, and nearly 100% domestic water heating. The heating and cooling energy use is 8.96 kJ/°C·day·m2 (0.44 Btu/°F·day·ft2).


2012 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 85-88
Author(s):  
Xiao Chang Yang ◽  
Jian Yao

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of movable shading on building energy demands. A public building and a residential building with movable shading and fixed shading were modeled by the building energy use simulation software DOE-2. Cooling and heating energy demands were calculated. The results showed that movable shading is better than fixed shading.


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