scholarly journals Energy Performance Assessment Framework for Residential Buildings in Saudi Arabia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad AlHashmi ◽  
Gyan Chhipi-Shrestha ◽  
Rajeev Ruparathna ◽  
Kh Md Nahiduzzaman ◽  
Kasun Hewage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Building Type ◽  
Geographical Regions

The residential sector consumes about 50% of the electricity produced from fossil fuels in Saudi Arabia. The residential energy demand is increasing. Moreover, a simple building energy performance assessment framework is not available for hot arid developing countries. This research proposes an energy performance assessment framework for residential buildings in hot and arid regions, which focuses on three performance criteria: operational energy, GHG emissions, and cost. The proposed framework has been applied to three types of residential buildings, i.e., detached, attached, and low-rise apartments, in five geographical regions of Saudi Arabia. Design Builder® was used to simulate the energy demand in buildings over a whole year. Four types of efficiency improvement interventions, including double-glazed windowpanes, triple-glazed windowpanes, LED lighting, and split air conditioners, were introduced in 12 combinations. Overall, 180 simulations were performed which are based on 12 intervention combinations, three building types, and five regions. Three performance criteria were evaluated for each simulation and then aggregated using a multi-criteria decision analysis method to identify the best intervention strategy for a given building type and a geographical region in Saudi Arabia. Each building type with interventions consumes higher energy in the western, central, and eastern regions and consumes a lesser amount of energy in the southern and northern regions. The proposed framework is helpful for long-term planning of the residential sector.

scholarly journals Framework for Developing a Low-Carbon Energy Demand in Residential Buildings Using Community-Government Partnership: An Application in Saudi Arabia

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4954
Author(s):  
Mohammad AlHashmi ◽  
Gyan Chhipi-Shrestha ◽  
Kh Md. Nahiduzzaman ◽  
Kasun Hewage ◽  
Rehan Sadiq
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Geographical Regions

Rapid population growth has led to significant demand for residential buildings around the world. Consequently, there is a growing energy demand associated with increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The residential building energy demand in arid countries such as Saudi Arabia is supplied with fossil fuel. The existing consumption pattern of fossil fuels in Saudi Arabia is less sustainable due to the depletion of fossil fuel resources and resulting environmental impacts. Buildings built in hot and arid climatic conditions demand high energy for creating habitable indoor environments. Enormous energy is required to maintain a cool temperature in hot regions. Moreover, climate change may have different impacts on hot climatic regions and affect building energy use differently. This means that different building interventions may be required to improve the performance of building energy performance in these geographical regions, thereby reducing the emissions of GHGs. In this study, this framework has been applied to Saudi Arabia, a hot and arid country. This research proposes a community–government partnership framework for developing low-carbon energy in residential buildings. This study focuses on both the operational energy demand and a cost-benefit analysis of energy use in the selected geographical regions for the next 30 years (i.e., 2050). The proposed framework primarily consists of four stages: (1) data collection on energy use (2020 to 2050); (2) setting a GHG emissions reduction target; (3) a building intervention approach by the community by considering cost, energy, and GHG emissions using the Technique for Order of Performance by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to select the best combinations in each geographical region conducting 180 simulations; and (4) a clean energy approach by the government using grey relational analysis (GRA) to select the best clean energy system on the grid. The clean energy approach selected six different renewable power generation systems (i.e., PV array, wind turbine, hybrid system) with two storage systems (i.e., battery bank and a combination of electrolyte, fuel cell, and hydrogen tank storage). This approach is designed to identify the best clean energy systems in five geographical regions with thirty scenario analyses to define renewable energy-economy benefits. This framework informs through many engineering tools such as residential building energy analysis, renewable energy analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) techniques, and cost-benefit analysis. Integration between these engineering tools with the set of energy policies and public initiatives is designed to achieve further directives in the effort to reach greater efficiency while downsizing residential energy demands. The results of this paper propose that a certain level of cooperation is required between the community and the government in terms of financial investments and the best combinations of retrofits and clean energy measures. Thus, retrofits and clean energy measures can help save carbon emissions (enhancing the energy performance of buildings) and decrease associated GHG emissions, which can help policy makers to achieve low-carbon emission communities.

scholarly journals Reducing High Energy Demand Associated with Air-Conditioning Needs in Saudi Arabia

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jubran Alshahrani ◽  
Peter Boait
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Smart Control ◽  
Ac Systems

Electricity consumption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has grown at an annual rate of about 7% as a result of population and economic growth. The consumption of the residential sector accounts for over 50% of the total energy generation. Moreover, the energy consumption of air-conditioning (AC) systems has become 70% of residential buildings’ total electricity consumption in the summer months, leading to a high peak electricity demand. This study investigates solutions that will tackle the problem of high energy demand associated with KSA’s air-conditioning needs in residential buildings. To reduce the AC energy consumption in the residential sector, we propose the use of smart control in the thermostat settings. Smart control can be utilized by (i) scheduling and advance control of the operation of AC systems and (ii) remotely setting the thermostats appropriately by the utilities. In this study, we model typical residential buildings and, crucially, occupancy behavior based on behavioral data obtained through a survey. The potential impacts in terms of achievable electricity savings of different AC operation modes for residential houses of Riyadh city are presented. The results from our computer simulations show that the solutions intended to reduce energy consumption effectively, particularly in the advance mode of operation, resulted in a 30% to 40% increase in total annual energy savings.

scholarly journals Adaptability and transferability of flood loss functions in residential areas

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 3485-3527 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Cammerer ◽  
A. H. Thieken ◽  
J. Lammel
Keyword(s):  
Flood Risk ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Loss Functions ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Damage Functions ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Flood Loss ◽  
Loss Data

Abstract. Flood loss modeling is an important component within flood risk assessments. Traditionally, stage-damage functions are used for the estimation of direct monetary damage to buildings. Although it is known that such functions are governed by large uncertainties, they are commonly applied – even in different geographical regions – without further validation, mainly due to the lack of data. Until now, little research has been done to investigate the applicability and transferability of such damage models to other regions. In this study, the last severe flood event in the Austrian Lech Valley in 2005 was simulated to test the performance of various damage functions for the residential sector. In addition to common stage-damage curves, new functions were derived from empirical flood loss data collected in the aftermath of recent flood events in the neighboring Germany. Furthermore, a multi-parameter flood loss model for the residential sector was adapted to the study area and also evaluated by official damage data. The analysis reveals that flood loss functions derived from related and homogenous regions perform considerably better than those from more heterogeneous datasets. To illustrate the effect of model choice on the resulting uncertainty of damage estimates, the current flood risk for residential areas was assessed. In case of extreme events like the 300 yr flood, for example, the range of losses to residential buildings between the highest and the lowest estimates amounts to a factor of 18, in contrast to properly validated models with a factor of 2.3. Even if the risk analysis is only performed for residential areas, more attention should be paid to flood loss assessments in future. To increase the reliability of damage modeling, more loss data for model development and validation are needed.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY RETROFITTING IN MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-136
Author(s):  
Chaitali Basu ◽  
Virendra Kumar Paul ◽  
M.G. Matt Syal
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
A Priority

The energy performance of an existing building is the amount of energy consumed to meet various needs associated with the standardized use of a building and is reflected in one or more indicators known as Building Energy Performance Indicators (EnPIs). These indicators are distributed amongst six main factors influencing energy consumption: climate, building envelope, building services and energy systems, building operation and maintenance, occupants' activities and behaviour, and indoor environmental quality. Any improvement made to either the existing structure or the physical and operational upgrade of a building system that enhances energy performance is considered an energy efficiency retrofit. The main goal of this research is to support the implementation of multifamily residential building energy retrofits through expert knowledge consensus on EnPIs for energy efficiency retrofit planning. The research methodology consists of a comprehensive literature review which has identified 35 EnPIs for assessing performance of existing residential buildings, followed by a ranking questionnaire survey of experts in the built-environment to arrive at a priority listing of indicators based on mean rank. This was followed by concordance analysis and measure of standard deviation. A total of 280 experts were contacted globally for the survey, and 106 completed responses were received resulting in a 37.85% response rate. The respondents were divided into two groups for analysis: academician/researchers and industry practitioners. The primary outcome of the research is a priority listing of EnPIs based on the quantitative data from the knowledge-base of experts from these two groups. It is the outcome of their perceptions of retrofitting factors and corresponding indicators. A retrofit strategy consists of five phases for retrofitting planning in which the second phase comprises an energy audit and performance assessment and diagnostics. This research substantiates the performance assessment process through the identification of EnPIs.

scholarly journals Application of Rough Set Theory (RST) to Forecast Energy Consumption in Buildings Undergoing Thermal Modernization

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomasz Szul ◽  
Stanisław Kokoszka
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Set Theory ◽  
Rough Set ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Rough Set Theory ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Simple Procedure ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Improve Energy Efficiency

In many regions, the heat used for space heating is a basic item in the energy balance of a building and significantly affects its operating costs. The accuracy of the assessment of heat consumption in an existing building and the determination of the main components of heat loss depends to a large extent on whether the energy efficiency improvement targets set in the thermal upgrading project are achieved. A frequent problem in the case of energy calculations is the lack of complete architectural and construction documentation of the analyzed objects. Therefore, there is a need to search for methods that will be suitable for a quick technical analysis of measures taken to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings. These methods should have satisfactory results in predicting energy consumption where the input is limited, inaccurate, or uncertain. Therefore, the aim of this work was to test the usefulness of a model based on Rough Set Theory (RST) for estimating the thermal energy consumption of buildings undergoing an energy renovation. The research was carried out on a group of 109 thermally improved residential buildings, for which energy performance was based on actual energy consumption before and after thermal modernization. Specific sets of important variables characterizing the examined buildings were distinguished. The groups of variables were used to estimate energy consumption in such a way as to obtain a compromise between the effort of obtaining them and the quality of the forecast. This has allowed the construction of a prediction model that allows the use of a fast, relatively simple procedure to estimate the final energy demand rate for heating buildings.

scholarly journals Shortcomings and Suggestions to the EPC Recommendation List of Measures: In-Depth Interviews in Six Countries

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Gonzalez Caceres
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Efficiency Measures ◽  
Oil Crisis ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Great Portion ◽  
The Eu

Dwellings built between 1945 and 1980 have the largest energy demand in the EU, which by 2009 represented 70% of the final energy use in buildings. A great portion of these dwellings have not been retrofitted and most of them were not built with any energy efficiency measures, since most of the energy regulations were implemented after the oil crisis in the 70s. To face this issue several actions were taken in the EU, among these, the implementation of Energy Performance Certification, which includes a Recommendation List of Measures (RLMs) to retrofit the property. The main objective of this study is to identify the weaknesses of the RLMs and to suggest changes to improve the quality and impact of this feature. The results indicate that to retrofit an existing building, the RLMs lack information for decision-making. The study suggests important barriers to overcome for achieving potential energy reductions in existing residential buildings, highlighting improvements to the recommendation content and its implementation.

scholarly journals Economic perspective of hybrid wind-diesel technology for commercial loads of Dhahran Saudi Arabia: A step towards sustainable future

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-178
Author(s):  
S.M. Shaahid
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Hybrid Systems ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Commercial Building

The governments world-wide are deliberating to promote renewable energy sources such as wind to mitigate increasing demand of energy and to overcome effects of pollution due to to use of fossil fuels. Integration of wind turbine generators (WTG) with the diesel plants is pursued widely to reduce dependence on fossil-fuels and to reduce carbon emissions. Literature indicates that commercial/residential buildings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A) consume an estimated 10 - 40% of the total electric energy generated. The aim of this study is to analyze wind-speed data of Dhahran (East-Coast, K.S.A.) to assess the economic feasibility of utilizing hybrid wind-diesel power systems to meet the load requirements of a typical commercial building (with annual electrical energy demand of 620,000 kWh). The monthly average wind speeds range from 3.3 to 5.6 m/s. The hybrid systems simulated consist of different combinations of 100 kW commercial WTG supplemented with diesel generators. NREL?s (HOMER Energy?s) HOMER software has been employed to perform the techno-economic analysis. The simulation results indicate that for a hybrid system comprising of 100 kW wind capacity together with 175 kW diesel system, the wind penetration (at 37 m hub-height, with 0% annual capacity shortage) is 25%. The cost of generating energy (COE, $/kWh) from this hybrid wind-diesel system has been found to be 0.121 $/kWh (assuming diesel fuel price of 0.1$/liter). The study exhibits that for a given hybrid configuration, the number of operational hours of diesel gensets decreases with increase in wind farm capacity. Emphasis has also been placed on wind penetration, un-met load, energy production and COE, excess electricity generation, percentage fuel savings and reduction in carbon emissions (relative to diesel-only situation) of different hybrid systems, cost break-down of wind-diesel systems, COE of different hybrid systems, etc.

Solar-Assisted Heat Pump Systems: A Review of Existing Studies and Their Applicability to the Canadian Residential Sector

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Chu ◽  
Cynthia A. Cruickshank
Keyword(s):  
Heat Pump ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
International Energy Agency ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Performance Criteria ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Residential Sector ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
System Configurations

Heat pumps are commonly used for space-heating and cooling requirements. The combination of solar thermal and heat pump systems as a single solar-assisted heat pump (SAHP) system is a promising technology for offsetting domestic hot water, space-heating and cooling loads more efficiently. Task 44 of the Solar Heating and Cooling Programme of the International Energy Agency is currently investigating ways to optimize SAHP systems for residential use. This paper presents a review of past and current work conducted on SAHP systems. Specifically, the key performance data from many studies are highlighted and different system configurations are compared in order to establish insight towards which system configurations are suitable for the Canadian residential sector. It was found that the most suitable configuration for Canadian residential buildings depend on a combination of factors which may include occupant behavior, building characteristics, operation parameters, system components, the performance criteria of interest and climate. A large variety of configurations and parameters exist for SAHP systems and this made analyzing a specific system, comparing differing systems and establishing an optimal design fairly difficult. It was found that different authors used various different performance criterions and this inconsistency also added to the difficulty of comparing the studies of different systems. Overall, a standard performance criterion needs to be established for SAHP systems in order to meaningfully compare different configurations and determine optimal configurations for certain requirements.

scholarly journals Preliminary Investigation on the Use of Exhaust Fans in Dwellings and Their Impact on Energy Balance

Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Jean Rouleau ◽  
Louis Gosselin
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
Quebec City ◽  
Energy Performance Of Buildings ◽  
Canada Data

Exhaust fans in residential buildings generate energy consumption first by the electricity that they require when operating, but also by extracting heat outside of the building. Nonetheless, these appliances are essential to ensure good indoor air quality. It is thus important to study how occupants in residential buildings use exhaust fans and to assess their impact on the energy performance of buildings. In this paper, a preliminary analysis on these two topics is made based on measured data recorded from a multi-residential building located in Quebec City, Canada. Data show that the use of exhaust fans is variable from a household to another. It was estimated that exhaust devices accounted for approximately 14% of the energy demand of the monitored building.

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