Cooling Degree Models and Future Energy Demand in the Residential Sector. A Seven-Country Case Study

The intensity and duration of hot weather and the number of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, are increasing, leading to a growing need for space cooling energy demand. Together with the building stock’s low energy performance, this phenomenon may also increase households’ energy consumption. On the other hand, the low level of ownership of cooling equipment can cause low energy consumption, leading to a lack of indoor thermal comfort and several health-related problems, yet increasing the risk of energy poverty in summer. Understanding future temperature variations and the associated impacts on building cooling demand will allow mitigating future issues related to a warmer climate. In this respect, this paper analyses the effects of change in temperatures in the residential sector cooling demand in 2050 for a case study of nineteen cities across seven countries: Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Israel, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain, by estimating cooling degree days and hours (CDD and CDH). CDD and CDH are calculated using both fixed and adaptive thermal comfort temperature thresholds for 2020 and 2050, understanding their strengths and weaknesses to assess the effects of warmer temperatures. Results suggest a noticeable average increase in CDD and CDH values, up to double, by using both thresholds for 2050, with a particular interest in northern countries where structural modifications in the building stock and occupants’ behavior should be anticipated. Furthermore, the use of the adaptive thermal comfort threshold shows that the projected temperature increases for 2050 might affect people’s capability to adapt their comfort band (i.e., indoor habitability) as temperatures would be higher than the maximum admissible values for people’s comfort and health.

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A Sustainable Approach towards the Retrofit of the Public Housing Building Stock: Energy-Architectural Experimental and Numerical Analysis

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13052881 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 2881

Author(s):

Federica Rosso ◽

Arianna Peduzzi ◽

Lorenzo Diana ◽

Stefano Cascone ◽

Carlo Cecere

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Agricultural Waste ◽

Construction Materials ◽

Residential Building ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Extreme Weather Events ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

The Public

Nowadays, energy retrofit interventions on the existing building stock are of paramount importance towards energy consumption and emissions reductions in the construction sector. Such interventions are also crucial in the view of increasing cities resilience with respect to the intensification of frequent extreme weather events, such as cold spells and heatwaves. Indeed, a wide portion of our cities is dated and lacking with respect to performances. These are the motivations behind the proposed sustainable approach, which deals with the environmental perspective, but also with social and economic ones, by proposing the retrofit of the Public Residential Building stock (Edilizia Residenziale Pubblica, ERP). The objective is to improve the energy performance of ERP stock by means of construction materials coming from local km0 agricultural waste and by-products. The research was conducted by means of in field and numerical analyses of the energy performances of a relevant case study building. Different layers of bio-based, recycled construction materials for the envelope were tested with respect to their efficacy in improving the energy performance of a case study building. The results demonstrate that the most performing envelope solutions and their combination are able to reduce up to 36% of the yearly energy consumption for heating.

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Experimental Data and Simulations of Performance and Thermal Comfort in a Typical Mediterranean House

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14113311 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (11) ◽

pp. 3311

Author(s):

Víctor Pérez-Andreu ◽

Carolina Aparicio-Fernández ◽

José-Luis Vivancos ◽

Javier Cárcel-Carrasco

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Thermal Comfort ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Natural Ventilation ◽

Thermal Characterization ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Stock ◽

Energy Demands ◽

Dwelling House ◽

Account Standard

The number of buildings renovated following the introduction of European energy-efficiency policy represents a small number of buildings in Spain. So, the main Spanish building stock needs an urgent energy renovation. Using passive strategies is essential, and thermal characterization and predictive tests of the energy-efficiency improvements achieving acceptable levels of comfort for their users are urgently necessary. This study analyzes the energy performance and thermal comfort of the users in a typical Mediterranean dwelling house. A transient simulation has been used to acquire the scope of Spanish standards for its energy rehabilitation, taking into account standard comfort conditions. The work is based on thermal monitoring of the building and a numerical validated model developed in TRNSYS. Energy demands for different models have been calculated considering different passive constructive measures combined with real wind site conditions and the behavior of users related to natural ventilation. This methodology has given us the necessary information to decide the best solution in relation to energy demand and facility of implementation. The thermal comfort for different models is not directly related to energy demand and has allowed checking when and where the measures need to be done.

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Residential Energy Conservation using Efficient Home Appliances

International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering - Special Issue ◽

10.35940/ijitee.j9629.019320 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 3457-3465

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Cost Saving ◽

Natural Environment ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Residential Energy ◽

Global Energy ◽

Residential Sector ◽

Modern House ◽

Reducing Energy

Significant hike in global energy demand has laid extra pressure on energy generation plants and natural environment as well. Therefore, methods of reducing the global energy demand are being extensively explored worldwide. In this paper, we have discussed ways of reducing energy consumption in Residential sector. We have taken eight major appliances being used in homes and compared them on the basis of annual energy consumed and cost saving by taking suitable assumptions like running hours, seasons of operation, etc. Finally, Case study of a modern house in Aligarh district of UP is studied for analysing the percentage consumption of each appliance being discussed. The results show that appliances like light bulbs, ceiling fans and refrigerators have the highest potential of energy as well as cost saving by improving their efficiency. Further, by switching all the appliances from conventional to the most efficient models resulted in energy and cost saving of about 37% in the house taken for case study.

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Green Roofs as Effective Tools for Improving the Indoor Comfort Levels of Buildings—An Application to a Case Study in Sicily

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10030893 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 893 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Laura Cirrincione ◽

Maria La Gennusa ◽

Giorgia Peri ◽

Gianfranco Rizzo ◽

Gianluca Scaccianoce ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Electric Energy ◽

Simulation Models ◽

Green Roofs ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Comfort Levels ◽

Indoor Comfort ◽

The Impact

In the line of pursuing better energy efficiency in human activities that would result in a more sustainable utilization of resources, the building sector plays a relevant role, being responsible for almost 40% of both energy consumption and the release of pollutant substances in the atmosphere. For this purpose, techniques aimed at improving the energy performances of buildings’ envelopes are of paramount importance. Among them, green roofs are becoming increasingly popular due to their capability of reducing the (electric) energy needs for (summer) climatization of buildings, hence also positively affecting the indoor comfort levels for the occupants. Clearly, reliable tools for the modelling of these envelope components are needed, requiring the availability of suitable field data. Starting with the results of a case study designed to estimate how the adoption of green roofs on a Sicilian building could positively affect its energy performance, this paper shows the impact of this technology on indoor comfort and energy consumption, as well as on the reduction of direct and indirect CO2 emissions related to the climatization of the building. Specifically, the ceiling surface temperatures of some rooms located underneath six different types of green roofs were monitored. Subsequently, the obtained data were used as input for one of the most widely used simulation models, i.e., EnergyPlus, to evaluate the indoor comfort levels and the achievable energy demand savings of the building involved. From these field analyses, green roofs were shown to contribute to the mitigation of the indoor air temperatures, thus producing an improvement of the comfort conditions, especially in summer conditions, despite some worsening during transition periods seeming to arise.

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Optimization of the Energy Performance of a Low Energy House Based on Sensitivity Analysis

Selected Scientific Papers - Journal of Civil Engineering ◽

10.2478/sspjce-2013-0024 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 115-122

Author(s):

Anna Sedláková ◽

Vladimír Geletka

Keyword(s):

Sensitivity Analysis ◽

Thermal Comfort ◽

Simulation Method ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Low Energy ◽

Comfort Zone ◽

Adaptive Thermal Comfort ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Simulation Based ◽

The Difference

Abstract For buildings with for heating requirements, energy balance is based on the difference between two similarly large numbers (heat gain and heat loss) in which the calculation becomes increasingly sensitive to changes in parameters. The output of the hourly simulation method illustrates the temperature in “free-floating” mode, which unlike the requirement for heating provides better information on the thermal behavior of the building itself in order to model the dynamic response of the object to certain changes in the input data. For the purpose of the evaluation the minimum and maximum acceptable temperature and the area within the boundaries called comfort zone. In this paper a low energy house is evaluated in terms of energy performance and thermal comfort, where some parameters are altered in order to determine its sensitivity to fluctuations. The methodology is based on a sensitivity analysis (SA) and Monte Carlo simulation based on a stochastic random selection. Thermal comfort is evaluated using an adaptive thermal comfort.

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Adaptive Comfort Models Applied to Existing Dwellings in Mediterranean Climate Considering Global Warming

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10103507 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 3507 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Daniel Sánchez-García ◽

Carlos Rubio-Bellido ◽

Jesús Pulido-Arcas ◽

Fco. Guevara-García ◽

Jacinto Canivell

Keyword(s):

Global Warming ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Mediterranean Climate ◽

Building Stock ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Adaptive Thermal Comfort ◽

Site Monitoring ◽

Adaptive Comfort ◽

Naturally Ventilated Buildings

Comfort analysis of existing naturally ventilated buildings located in mild climates, such as the ones in the Mediterranean zones, offer room for a reduction in the present and future energy consumption. Regarding Spain, most of the present building stock was built before energy standards were mandatory, let alone considerations about global warming or adaptive comfort. In this context, this research aims at assessing adaptive thermal comfort of inhabitants of extant apartments building in the South of Spain per EN 15251:2007 and ASHRAE 55-2013. The case study is statistically representative housing built in 1973. On-site monitoring of comfort conditions and computer simulations for present conditions have been carried out, clarifying the degree of adaptive comfort at present time. After that, additional simulations for 2020, 2050, and 2080 are performed to check whether this dwelling will be able to provide comfort considering a change in climate conditions. As a result, the study concludes that levels of adaptive comfort can be considered satisfactory at present time in these dwellings, but not in the future, when discomfort associated with hot conditions will be recurrent. These results provide a hint to foresee how extant dwellings, and also dwellers, should adapt to a change in environmental conditions.

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

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.887.335 ◽

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.

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The Significance of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort Practice over the Structure Retrofits to Sustain Indoor Thermal Comfort

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14102946 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (10) ◽

pp. 2946

Author(s):

Aiman Albatayneh ◽

Mustafa Jaradat ◽

Mhd Bashar AlKhatib ◽

Ramez Abdallah ◽

Adel Juaidi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Thermal Comfort ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Ventilation System ◽

Minimum Energy ◽

Computer Software ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Indoor Thermal Comfort ◽

Adaptive Thermal Comfort

Any building’s design should sustain thermal comfort for occupants and promote less energy usage during its lifetime using accurate building retrofits to convert existing buildings into low-energy buildings so that the heating and cooling loads can be minimized. Regarding the methodology adopted in this research, an energy model of an educational building located at the German Jordanian University in Jordan was constructed utilizing DesignBuilder computer software. In addition, it was calibrated utilizing real energy consumption data for a 12-month simulation of energy performance. Subsequently, a computerized evaluation of the roles of building envelope retrofits or the adaptive thermal comfort limits in the reduction of the overall building energy consumption was analyzed. The results of the study show that the current building’s external wall insulation, roof insulation, glazing, windows, and external shading devices are relatively energy-efficient but with high cost, resulting in significant financial losses, even though they achieved noticeable energy savings. For instance, equipping the building’s ventilation system with an economizer culminated in the highest financial profit, contributing to an annual energy savings of 155 MWh. On the other hand, in an occupant-centered approach, applying the adaptive thermal comfort model in wider ranges by adding 1 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C to the existing operating temperatures would save a significant amount of energy with the least cost (while maintaining indoor thermal comfort), taking over any retrofit option. Using different adaptive thermal comfort scenarios (1 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C) led to significant savings of around 5%, 12%, and 21%, respectively. However, using different retrofits techniques proved to be costly, with minimum energy savings compared to the adaptive approach.

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Energy Usage Intensity of Bank Building Stock: A Case Study in Pakistan

ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities ◽

10.1115/1.4046521 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Khuram Pervez Amber ◽

Muhammad Waqar Aslam ◽

Anila Kousar ◽

Muhammad Sajid Khan ◽

Ghulam Qadir Chaudhary ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Electricity Consumption ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Energy Usage ◽

Degree Days ◽

Building Stock ◽

Cooling Degree Days ◽

Automatic Teller Machines ◽

Major Factors

Abstract Energy usage intensity (EUI, kWh/m2/year) of a building category helps energy managers and building owners in evaluating the energy performance of their buildings. Banks are energy-intensive buildings, but there is limited research published in this highly energy-intensive building category. In this paper, the energy consumption of 98 bank buildings located in different cities of the AJK region of Pakistan has been critically analyzed and their EUI value has been established. Data were collected through site visits, interviews, and questionnaires. Electricity consumption of each bank branch was normalized using the cooling degree days method and respective annual normalized EUIs were calculated. It was found through analysis that three major factors that drive electricity consumption in bank buildings in Pakistan are building's area, the number of workstations, and the number of automatic teller machines. The EUI of banks in Pakistan has been found to be 222 kWh/m2/yr, which is comparable with the same of eight other countries.

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Building Integrated Shading and Building Applied Photovoltaic System Assessment in the Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort of Office Buildings

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10124670 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 4670 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Georgios Martinopoulos ◽

Anna Serasidou ◽

Panagiota Antoniadou ◽

Agis M. Papadopoulos

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Thermal Comfort ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Specific Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Office Buildings ◽

Photovoltaic System ◽

Energy Status ◽

Building Stock ◽

Consumption Rates

Non-residential and more specifically office buildings are, nowadays, an integral part of the building stock and milestones of urban areas in most of the developed and developing countries all over the world. Compared to other building types, office buildings present some of the highest specific energy consumption rates. In the present study, a typical nine-story office is assessed for a number of different building integrated retrofitting measures. Measurements of indoor environmental conditions were used in order to validate the developed simulation model of the building in EnergyPlus. Then, a number of different building integration options for photovoltaic systems and shading options are examined, in order to evaluate the best option in terms of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and energy consumption. The amount of electricity produced can meet 65% of the building’s annual electricity requirements, while the shading options can reduce energy requirements by as much as 33%. Although this in not a value that can be dismissed easily, it becomes clear that further—and more deeply aiming—measures are needed, if the building is to achieve near zero energy status.

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