scholarly journals Toward Energy Savings in Campus Buildings under a Life Cycle Thinking Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (20) ◽  
pp. 7123
Author(s):  
Ricardo Abejón ◽  
Jara Laso ◽  
Marta Rodrigo ◽  
Israel Ruiz-Salmón ◽  
Mario Mañana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Building Industry

Recent studies have identified that buildings all over the world are great contributors to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The relationship between the building industry and environmental pollution is continuously discussed. The building industry includes many phases: extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, construction, use, and demolition. Each phase consumes a large amount of energy, and subsequent emissions are released. The life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) is a simplified version of the life cycle assessment (LCA) that focuses only on the evaluation of energy inputs for different phases of the life cycle. Operational energy is the energy required for day-to-day operation processes of buildings, such as heating, cooling and ventilation systems, lighting, as well as appliances. This use phase accounts for the largest portion of energy consumption of the life cycle of conventional buildings. In addition, energy performance certification of buildings is an obligation under current European legislation, which promotes efficient energy use, so it is necessary to ensure that the energy performance of the building is upgraded to meet minimum requirements. For this purpose, this work proposes the consideration of the energy impacts and material resources used in the operation phase of a building to calculate the contribution of these energy impacts as new variables for the energy performance certification. The application of this new approach to the evaluation of university buildings has been selected as a case study. From a methodological point of view, the approach relied on the energy consumption records obtained from energy and materials audit exercises with the aid of LCA databases. Taking into practice the proposed methodology, the primary energy impact and the related emissions were assessed to simplify the decision-making process for the energy certification of buildings. From the results obtained, it was concluded that the consumption of water and other consumable items (paper) are important from energy and environmental perspectives.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Energy Consumption of Mobile Data Transfer—From Technology Development to Consumer Behaviour and Life Cycle Thinking

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 2494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Pihkola ◽  
Mikko Hongisto ◽  
Olli Apilo ◽  
Mika Lasanen
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Mobile Networks ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Consumer Behaviour ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Data Transfer ◽  
Life Cycle Thinking ◽  
Mobile Data

Mobile data consumption in Finland is among the highest in the world. The increase in mobile data usage has been rapid and continual future growth is foreseen. Simultaneously, consumer behaviour is changing. While new end-user devices are more and more energy-efficient and energy consumption per transferred gigabyte has significantly decreased, people spend more time and consume more data via their mobile devices than ever before. Does the increased usage outweigh the energy savings that have been achieved? What options are available for tackling increasing energy demand? And should consumers have a role to play in this discussion? This paper examines the current and future trends that results from the energy consumption of mobile data transfer and mobile networks in Finland. The findings presented in this paper are based on a top-down energy intensity estimate and publicly available data, which was employed to construct an illustrative trend (kWh/gigabyte) for the energy consumption of transmitted mobile data for the years 2010–2017. In addition, energy consumption related to mobile data transfer is discussed from a life cycle perspective, considering both direct and indirect energy use. Finally, the challenges in conducting such assessments are examined.

scholarly journals Humidity-Sensitive Demand-Controlled Ventilation Applied to Multi-Unit Residential Building – Performance and Energy Consumption in Dfb Continental Climate

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerzy Sowa ◽  
Maciej Mijakowski
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Controlled Ventilation ◽  
Demand Controlled Ventilation ◽  
Continental Climate

A humidity-sensitive demand-controlled ventilation system is known for many years. It has been developed and commonly applied in regions with an oceanic climate. Some attempts were made to introduce this solution in Poland in a much severe continental climate. The article evaluates this system's performance and energy consumption applied in an 8-floor multi-unit residential building, virtual reference building described by the National Energy Conservation Agency NAPE, Poland. The simulations using the computer program CONTAM were performed for the whole hating season for Warsaw's climate. Besides passive stack ventilation that worked as a reference, two versions of humidity-sensitive demand-controlled ventilation were checked. The difference between them lies in applying the additional roof fans that convert the system to hybrid. The study confirmed that the application of demand-controlled ventilation in multi-unit residential buildings in a continental climate with warm summer (Dfb) leads to significant energy savings. However, the efforts to ensure acceptable indoor air quality require hybrid ventilation, which reduces the energy benefits. It is especially visible when primary energy use is analyzed.

scholarly journals Systematic Simplified Simulation Methodology for Deep Energy Retrofitting Towards Nze Targets Using Life Cycle Energy Assessment

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 3038 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Sánchez Ramos ◽  
MCarmen Guerrero Delgado ◽  
Servando Álvarez Domínguez ◽  
José Luis Molina Félix ◽  
Francisco José Sánchez de la Flor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Simulation Tools ◽  
Energy Assessment ◽  
Energy Efficiency Improvement ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Reduction Of Energy Consumption

The reduction of energy consumption in the residential sector presents substantial potential through the implementation of energy efficiency improvement measures. Current trends involve the use of simulation tools which obtain the buildings’ energy performance to support the development of possible solutions to help reduce energy consumption. However, simulation tools demand considerable amounts of data regarding the buildings’ geometry, construction, and frequency of use. Additionally, the measured values tend to be different from the estimated values obtained with the use of energy simulation programs, an issue known as the ‘performance gap’. The proposed methodology provides a solution for both of the aforementioned problems, since the amount of data needed is considerably reduced and the results are calibrated using measured values. This new approach allows to find an optimal retrofitting project by life cycle energy assessment, in terms of cost and energy savings, for individual buildings as well as several blocks of buildings. Furthermore, the potential for implementation of the methodology is proven by obtaining a comprehensive energy rehabilitation plan for a residential building. The developed methodology provides highly accurate estimates of energy savings, directly linked to the buildings’ real energy needs, reducing the difference between the consumption measured and the predictions.

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.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Impact of Different Variables on the Energy Demand in Office Buildings

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 5347
Author(s):  
José Luis Fuentes-Bargues ◽  
José-Luis Vivancos ◽  
Pablo Ferrer-Gisbert ◽  
Miguel Ángel Gimeno-Guillem
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Regulatory Systems ◽  
Energy Behaviour ◽  
Balance Energy ◽  
The Impact

The design of near zero energy offices is a priority, which involves looking to achieve designs which minimise energy consumption and balance energy requirements with an increase in the installation and consumption of renewable energy. In light of this, some authors have used computer software to achieve simulations of the energy behaviour of buildings. Other studies based on regulatory systems which classify and label energy use also generally make their assessments through the use of software. In Spain, there is an authorised procedure for certifying the energy performance of buildings, and software (LIDER-CALENER unified tool) which is used to demonstrate compliance of the performance of buildings both from the point of view of energy demand and energy consumption. The aim of this study is to analyse the energy behaviour of an office building and the variability of the same using the software in terms of the following variables: climate zone, building orientation and certain surrounding wall types and encasements typical of this type of construction.

A comparative meta-analysis of residential green building policies and their impact on overall energy consumption patterns

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naim Jabbour
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Residential Energy ◽  
Residential Energy Consumption ◽  
The Eu

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

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.

Assessment of the Life Cycle Energy Efficiency of a Primary School Building in Turkey

2019 ◽  
Vol 887 ◽  
pp. 335-343
Author(s):  
Nazanin Moazzen ◽  
Mustafa Erkan Karaguler ◽  
Touraj Ashrafian
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Embodied Energy

Energy efficiency has become a crucial part of human life, which has an adverse impact on the social and economic development of any country. In Turkey, it is a critical issue especially in the construction sector due to increase in the dependency on the fuel demands. The energy consumption, which is used during the life cycle of a building, is a huge amount affected by the energy demand for material and building construction, HVAC and lighting systems, maintenance, equipment, and demolition. In general, the Life Cycle Energy (LCE) needs of the building can be summarised as the operational and embodied energy together with the energy use for demolition and recycling processes.Besides, schools alone are responsible for about 15% of the total energy consumption of the commercial building sector. To reduce the energy use and CO2 emission, the operational and embodied energy of the buildings must be minimised. Overall, it seems that choosing proper architectural measures for the envelope and using low emitting material can be a logical step for reducing operational and embodied energy consumptions.This paper is concentrated on the operating and embodied energy consumptions resulting from the application of different architectural measures through the building envelope. It proposes an educational building with low CO2 emission and proper energy performance in Turkey. To illustrate the method of the approach, this contribution illustrates a case study, which was performed on a representative schoold building in Istanbul, Turkey. Energy used for HVAC and lighting in the operating phase and the energy used for the manufacture of the materials are the most significant parts of embodied energy in the LCE analyses. This case study building’s primary energy consumption was calculated with the help of dynamic simulation tools, EnergyPlus and DesignBuilder. Then, different architectural energy efficiency measures were applied to the envelope of the case study building. Then, the influence of proposed actions on LCE consumption and Life Cycle CO2 (LCCO2) emissions were assessed according to the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method.

scholarly journals Energy, Economic, and Environmental Performance of a Single-Family House in Chile Built to Passivhaus Standard

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1199
Author(s):  
Camilo Bravo-Orlandini ◽  
José M. Gómez-Soberón ◽  
Claudia Valderrama-Ulloa ◽  
Francisco Sanhueza-Durán
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Environmental Performance ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Passive Strategies ◽  
Heating Energy Demand

The energy consumption of buildings accounts for 22% of total global energy use and 13% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, this study aims to evaluate the energy, economic, and environmental performance of housing in Chile built according to the Passivhaus (PH) standard. The standard was applied to housing in eight representative climate zones with a single-family residence as reference. The analysis incorporated passive strategies, which are considered as pillars of the PH. The energy performance was analyzed using the Passive House Planning Package software (PHPP), version 9.6a. The results showed that when every passive strategy is implemented, the heating energy demand decreases by 93%, while the refrigeration demand is nonexistent. These results were achieved through a 37% increase in the overall initial budget investment, which will be amortized over an 11-year period. In this way, the primary energy consumption is reduced by 32% and, correspondingly, CO2 emissions are reduced by 39%. In modern Chile, it is difficult (but not impossible) to incorporate PH. However, governmental programs and aids could represent an initial step. Therefore, this research will help to identify strategies for incorporating PH in Chile, with the aim of improving the energy performance of housing.

scholarly journals Empirical and Numerical Analysis of an Opaque Ventilated Facade with Windows Openings under Mediterranean Climate Conditions

Mathematics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Carlos-Antonio Domínguez-Torres ◽  
Ángel Luis León-Rodríguez ◽  
Rafael Suárez ◽  
Antonio Domínguez-Delgado
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Total Energy Consumption ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Ventilated Facade ◽  
Indoor Comfort

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.

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