Insulation or Smart Temperature Control for Domestic Heating: A Combined Analysis of the Costs, the Eco-Costs, the Customer Perceived Value, and the Rebound Effect of Energy Saving

Calculating the environmental benefits of energy saving systems in dwellings in a life cycle assessment (LCA) has two major issues, namely: how to deal with the customer behaviour and how to deal with rebound effects. Both issues are important for sustainable strategies. From a user-centred design perspective, two fundamentally different strategies are observed, namely: a ‘passive’ end-user, who invests in insulating the building and maintaining their preferred behaviour routines, versus an ‘active’ end-user; who must change his or her behaviour in order to save energy. A combined analysis of cost, (market) value, and eco-burden is used to compare and evaluate the two strategies; by applying the methods of eco-costs/value ratio (EVR) and eco-efficient value creation. Simulation software is applied to calculate the results for the active end-user approach (by means of home energy management systems [HEMS]). The energy savings for a passive user approach (applying thermal insulation) are calculated with straightforward heat loss calculations. The rebound effect of energy savings is taken into consideration. From the environmental point of view, the optimal insulation thickness is calculated, by comparing the energy savings with the environmental burden of the insulation materials. This analysis shows that HEMS are effective for poorly insulated houses, but not for well insulated houses. Governmental policies that focus only on insulation, however, lack the urgency of greenhouse gas reduction; the HEMS for existing houses is an indispensable tool for a fast transition to less domestic energy consumption.

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The impact of building envelope retrofit measures on postwar MURBS in Toronto

10.32920/ryerson.14649852.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sara Damyar

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Energy Use ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Simulation Software ◽

Energy Simulation ◽

Reduce Energy Consumption ◽

The Impact ◽

Current Standards

Building envelope retrofits is one of the options available to reduce energy consumption of postwar MURBs in Toronto. This study evaluates the impact of building envelope retrofits that meet current standards on energy consumption of a Toronto postwar MURB; utilizing eQUEST energy simulation software. Further upgrades also take place to evaluate how the impact of building envelope retrofits on energy use can be increased and optimized for all assemblies of building envelope and airtightness. Moreover, the retrofit strategies are ranked based on cost and energy-saving effectiveness. The results of the analysis reveal that building envelope retrofit based on OBC-2012 standards can reduce the energy consumption by up to 44%. Furthermore, the optimal RSI values of all building envelope components were found to be equal or less than code requirements which outcomes significant energy savings. Lastly, the ranking of the strategies helps to identify the best option according to the priorities of a project.

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

Latvian Journal of Physics and Technical Sciences ◽

10.2478/lpts-2020-0032 ◽

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.

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Field Study on Energy-Saving Behaviour and Patterns of Air-Conditioning Use in a Condominium

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14248572 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (24) ◽

pp. 8572

Author(s):

Kazui Yoshida ◽

Hom B. Rijal ◽

Kazuaki Bogaki ◽

Ayako Mikami ◽

Hiroto Abe

Keyword(s):

Energy Saving ◽

Air Conditioning ◽

Energy Use ◽

Thermal Environment ◽

Residential Energy ◽

Indoor Thermal Environment ◽

Energy Management Systems ◽

Home Energy Management ◽

Questionnaire Surveys ◽

Floor Heating

In the international movement to combat the threat of climate change, the timely implementation of residential energy-saving practises is becoming an urgent issue. Because the number of apartments is increasing, we analysed data from home energy management systems (HEMSs) and data from questionnaire surveys of 309 households in a condominium. We focused on the seasonal variation in air-conditioning (AC) use in living-dining rooms to determine the tendency of energy use for heating/cooling related to the characteristics of flats, the profiles of residents, and energy-saving behaviours. In winter, 80% of residents mainly used gas floor heating rather than AC and 24% did not use AC in winter. In households where someone stays home for long hours, they prefer gas floor heating rather than AC in winter. These households also tend to engage in energy-saving behaviours to adjust the indoor thermal environment. There are several types of energy-saving lifestyles; therefore, effective energy-saving measures should be considered for both energy efficiency and the thermal comfort of residents.

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The impact of building envelope retrofit measures on postwar MURBS in Toronto

10.32920/ryerson.14649852 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sara Damyar

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Energy Use ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Simulation Software ◽

Energy Simulation ◽

Reduce Energy Consumption ◽

The Impact ◽

Current Standards

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Determining a Practically Optimal Overhang Depth for South-Facing Windows in Hot Summer and Cold Winter Zone

Open House International ◽

10.1108/ohi-02-2017-b0012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 82-88

Author(s):

Jian Yao ◽

Rong-Yue Zheng

Keyword(s):

Total Energy ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Building Energy ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Simulation Software ◽

Design Stage ◽

Cold Winter ◽

Aesthetic Appearance ◽

Daylight Performance

This study investigated the building energy, glare and daylight performance of overhang using building simulation software Energyplus in order to identify an optimal depth in hot summer and cold winter zone. A typical building with different window-to-wall ratios (WWR) was modeled and different overhang depths were considered. Results showed that the optimal overhang depths are 0.9m (WWR=0.15), 1.16m (WWR=0.3) and 1.62m (WWR=0.57), respectively. The total energy savings from overhang design can be ranging from about 3% to 24% depending on WWR and overhang depth. Moreover, the regression relationship between optimal overhang depth and WWR is given to help identify the best overhang dimension at the design stage. The potential energy saving performance for different WWRs then can be roughly inferred according to a total energy saving chart without building energy simulation. In conclusion, to be applicable in buildings, an overhang depth of 0.6-0.8m is suitable in this region since it has a balance in energy performance and aesthetic appearance.

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An Optimal Energy-Saving Strategy for Home Energy Management Systems with Bounded Customer Rationality

Future Internet ◽

10.3390/fi11040088 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 88 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Guoying Lin ◽

Yuyao Yang ◽

Feng Pan ◽

Sijian Zhang ◽

Fen Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Saving ◽

Energy Management ◽

Utility Functions ◽

Management Systems ◽

Real Field ◽

Temperature Sensitive ◽

Energy Management Systems ◽

Optimal Energy ◽

Home Energy Management

With the development of techniques, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing, home energy management systems (HEMS) have been widely implemented to improve the electric energy efficiency of customers. In order to automatically optimize electric appliances’ operation schedules, this paper considers how to quantitatively evaluate a customer’s comfort satisfaction in energy-saving programs, and how to formulate the optimal energy-saving model based on this satisfaction evaluation. First, the paper categorizes the utility functions of current electric appliances into two types; time-sensitive utilities and temperature-sensitive utilities, which cover nearly all kinds of electric appliances in HEMS. Furthermore, considering the bounded rationality of customers, a novel concept called the energy-saving cost is defined by incorporating prospect theory in behavioral economics into general utility functions. The proposed energy-saving cost depicts the comfort loss risk for customers when their HEMS schedules the operation status of appliances, which is able to be set by residents as a coefficient in the automatic energy-saving program. An optimization model is formulated based on minimizing energy consumption. Because the energy-saving cost has already been evaluated in the context of the satisfaction of customers, the formulation of the optimization program is very simple and has high computational efficiency. The case study included in this paper is first performed on a general simulation system. Then, a case study is set up based on real field tests from a pilot project in Guangdong province, China, in which air-conditioners, lighting, and some other popular electric appliances were included. The total energy-saving rate reached 65.5% after the proposed energy-saving program was deployed in our project. The benchmark test shows our optimal strategy is able to considerably save electrical energy for residents while ensuring customers’ comfort satisfaction is maintained.

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The User’s Perspective on Home Energy Management Systems

10.20944/preprints201809.0520.v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Ad Straub ◽

Ellard Volmer

Keyword(s):

Energy Saving ◽

Energy Management ◽

Principal Component ◽

Added Value ◽

Management Systems ◽

Q Method ◽

Single Family ◽

Energy Management Systems ◽

Home Energy Management ◽

Saving Effect

In contrast to physical sustainable measures carried out in homes, such as insulation, the installation of a Home Energy Management System (HEMS) has no direct and immediate energy-saving effect. A HEMS gives insight into resident behaviour regarding energy use. When this is linked to the appropriate feedback, the resident is in a position to change his or her behaviour. This should result in reduced gas and/or electricity consumption. The aim of our study is to contribute towards the effective use of home energy management systems (HEMS) by identifying types of homeowners in relation to the use of HEMS. The research methods used were a literature review and the Q-method. A survey using the Q-method was conducted among 39 owners of single-family homes in various Rotterdam neighbourhoods. In order to find shared views among respondents, a principal component analysis (PCA) was performed. Five different types of homeowner could be distinguished: the optimists, the privacy-conscious, the technicians, the sceptics, and the indifferent. Their opinions vary as regards the added value of a HEMS, what characteristics a HEMS should have, how much confidence they have in the energy-saving effect of such systems, and their views on the privacy and safety of HEMS. The target group classification can be used as input for a way in which local stakeholders, e.g. a municipality, can offer HEMS that is in line with the wishes of the homeowner.

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Home Energy Management System Incorporating Heat Pump Using Real Measured Data

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s19132937 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (13) ◽

pp. 2937 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Cao ◽

O’Rourke ◽

Lyons ◽

Han

Keyword(s):

Energy Management ◽

Heat Pump ◽

Measured Data ◽

Management Systems ◽

End User ◽

Energy Management Systems ◽

Comfort Levels ◽

Home Energy Management ◽

The Cost ◽

User Comfort

The demand for electricity has been rising significantly over the past years and it is expected to rise further in the coming years due to economic and societal development. Smart grid technology is being developed in order to meet the rising electricity requirement. In order for the smart grid to perform its full functions, the Energy Management Systems (EMSs), especially Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) are essential. It is necessary to understand the energy demand of the loads and the energy supply either from the national grid or from renewable energy technologies. To facilitate the Demand Side Management (DSM), Heat Pumps (HP) and air conditioning systems are often utilised for heating and cooling in residential houses due to their high-efficiency power output and low CO2 emissions. This paper presents a program for a HEMS using a Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) algorithm. A HP is used as the load and the aim of the optimisation program is to minimise the operational cost, i.e., the cost of electricity, while maintaining end-user comfort levels. This paper also details an indoor thermal model for temperature update in the heat pump control program. Real measured data from the UK Government’s Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme was utilised to generate characteristic curves and equations that can represent the data. This paper compares different PSO variants with standard PSO and the unscheduled case calculated from the data for five winter days in 2019. Among all chosen algorithms, the Crossover Subswarm PSO (CSPSO) achieved an average saving of 25.61% compared with the cost calculated from the measured data with a short search time of 1576 ms for each subswarm. It is clear from this work that there is significant scope to reduce the cost of operating a HP while maintaining end user comfort levels.

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SAVING ENERGY: A REVIEW ON ENERGY SAVINGS IN LIGHTING BUILDINGS IN AN INSTALLATION

International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH ◽

10.29121/granthaalayah.v5.i11.2017.2355 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (11) ◽

pp. 290-294

Author(s):

Vijayant Kumar

Keyword(s):

Energy Saving ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Operating Time ◽

Lighting System ◽

End User ◽

Light Production ◽

Significant Achievement ◽

Energy Saving Technology ◽

Lighting Systems

The fossil fuel reserves in India are rapidly exhausting with the country's development. To cope with the energy crisis, end-user efficiency plays an important role. This paper deals with energy saving in lighting systems with the replacement of lighting programs, as in India there is in all sectors a growing demand for energy. A number of commonly used lighting sources and their comparison in light production were discussed. The campus lighting system consisting of a T12 fluorescent lamp for monitoring the residential and institutional area of an existing device can be replaced by proposed LED lighting with equivalent performance, but has greater efficiency to reduce light energy consumption, This improvement Endbenutzereffizienz reduce the peak and the average demand of electricity, which reduces the load on the power grid. The annual energy savings through the proposed system are about 65% over current costs, which is a significant achievement of the energy saving technology. The retrofit period for the proposed lighting system installation is a little over three years. The initial investment for a short-term rating is slightly higher, but at a long-term valuation, the initial investment for the proposed regime is reduced by 50%, as the operating time of the proposed system is approximately five times higher higher than the current regime.

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Energy Saving and Charging Discharging Characteristics of Multiple PCMs Subjected to Internal Air Flow

Fluids ◽

10.3390/fluids6080275 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (8) ◽

pp. 275

Author(s):

Ahmed J. Hamad

Keyword(s):

Phase Change ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Air Temperature ◽

Temperature Control ◽

Phase Change Materials ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Heating System ◽

Air Heating ◽

Room Model ◽

Model Temperature

One essential utilization of phase change materials as energy storage materials is energy saving and temperature control in air conditioning and indirect solar air drying systems. This study presents an experimental investigation evaluating the characteristics and energy savings of multiple phase change materials subjected to internal flow in an air heating system during charging and discharging cycles. The experimental tests were conducted using a test rig consisting of two main parts, an air supply duct and a room model equipped with phase change materials (PCMs) placed in rectangular aluminum panels. Analysis of the results was based on three test cases: PCM1 (Paraffin wax) placed in the air duct was used alone in the first case; PCM2 (RT–42) placed in the room model was used alone in the second case; and in the third case, the two PCMs (PCM1 and PCM2) were used at the same time. The results revealed a significant improvement in the energy savings and room model temperature control for the air heating system incorporated with multiple PCMs compared with that of a single PCM. Complete melting during the charging cycle occurred at temperatures in the range of 57–60 °C for PCM1 and 38–43 °C for PCM2, respectively, thereby validating the reported PCMs’ melting–solidification results. Multiple PCMs maintained the room air temperature at the desired range of 35–45.2 °C in the air heating applications by minimizing the air temperature fluctuations. The augmentation in discharging time and improvement in the room model temperature using multiple PCMs were about 28.4% higher than those without the use of PCMs. The total energy saving using two PCMs was higher by about 29.5% and 46.7% compared with the use of PCM1 and PCM2, respectively. It can be concluded that multiple PCMs have revealed higher energy savings and thermal stability for the air heating system considered in the current study.

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