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

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.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Omrany ◽  
Veronica Soebarto ◽  
Ehsan Sharifi ◽  
Ali Soltani

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.


Author(s):  
Matti Kuittinen ◽  
Atsushi Takano

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the energy efficiency and life cycle carbon footprint of temporary homes in Japan after the Great Eastern Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. Design/methodology/approach An energy simulation and life cycle assessment have been done for three alternative shelter models: prefabricated shelters, wooden log shelters and sea container shelters. Findings Shelter materials have a very high share of life cycle emissions because the use period of temporary homes is short. Wooden shelters perform best in the comparison. The clustering of shelters into longer buildings or on top of each other increases their energy efficiency considerably. Sea containers piled on top of each other have superb energy performance compared to other models, and they consume even less energy per household than the national average. However, there are several gaps of knowledge in the environmental assessment of temporary homes and field data from refugee camps should be collected as part of camp management. Originality/value The findings exemplify the impacts of the proper design of temporary homes for mitigating their energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-24
Author(s):  
Martin Jamnický ◽  
Roman Rabenseifer

AbstractThis article proposes to contribute to the discussion on environmental product declarations for buildings. Using a simple life-cycle analysis of a low-energy detached house and CO2-equivalent emissions as a comparative unit, the case study presented illustrates the problems with the initial input data related to embodied energy and a definition of the criteria for an assessment of the environmental quality of buildings. The actual case study compares the expected energy demand of a detached house in the course of its service life and the energy input (embodied energy) necessary for its assembly and for the manufacture of the individual building products. The operation of the building during its service life is described using a computer-aided building performance simulation. The input data related to the embodied energy are based on information from classical works on life cycle analyses. In addition, the article discusses the limits of building envelope improvements in terms of the thickness of thermal insulation and also stresses the increasing significance of embodied energy in the environmental assessment of buildings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 03028
Author(s):  
Nazanin Moazzen ◽  
Mustafa Erkan Karagüler ◽  
Touraj Ashrafian

Energy efficiency of existing buildings is a concept to manage and restrain the growth in energy consumption and one of the crucial issues due to the magnitude of the sector. Educational buildings are in charge of about 15% of the total energy consumption of the non-residential building sector. However, not only operational but also embodied energy of a building should be reduced to get the overall benefits of energy efficiency, where, using energy efficient architectural measures and low emitting materials during every retrofit action can be a logical step. The majority of buildings in Turkey and EU was built earlier than the development of the energy efficiency in the construction sector, hence, without energy retrofit, consume an enormous amount of energy that can be averted significantly by the implementation of some even not advanced retrofit measures. Furthermore, demolishing of a building to construct a new one is not a rational approach concerning cost, time and environmental pollution. The study has been focused on the impact assessment of the various architectural scenarios of energy efficiency upgrading on the Life Cycle Energy Consumption (LCEC) and Life Cycle CO2 (LCCO2) emission. Within the scope of the study, a primary school building is selected to be analysed. Through analysis, the total embodied and operational energy use and CO2 emission regarding the life cycle phase of the building is quantitatively defined and investigated in the framework of life cycle inventory. The paper concentrates on the operation and embodied energy consumption arising from the application of a variety of measures on the building envelope. An educational building with low LCCO2 emissions and LCEC in Turkey is proposed. To exemplify the approach, contributions are applied to a case study in Istanbul as a representative school building. The primary energy consumption of the case study building is calculated with a dynamic simulation tool, EnergyPlus. Afterwards, a sort of architectural energy efficient measures is implemented in the envelope while the lighting and mechanical systems remain constant. The energy used in the production and transportation of materials, which are the significant parts of the embodied energy, are taken into account as well.


Author(s):  
Patxi Hernandez ◽  
Paul Kenny

Building energy performance regulations and standards around the world are evolving aiming to reduce the energy use in buildings. As we move towards zero energy buildings, the embodied energy of construction materials and energy systems becomes more important, as it represents a high percentage of the overall life cycle energy use of a building. However, this issue is still ignored by many regulations and certification methods, as happens with the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), which focuses on the energy used in operation. This paper analyses a typical house designed to comply with Irish building regulations, calculating its energy use for heating and how water with the Irish national calculation tool, which uses a methodology in line with the EPBD. A range of measures to reduce the energy performance in use of this typical house are proposed, calculating the reduced energy demand and moving towards a zero energy demand building. A life-cycle approach is added to the analysis, taking into account the differential embodied energy of the implemented measures in relation to the typical house base-case, annualizing the differential embodied energy and re-calculating the overall energy use. The paper discusses how a simplified approach for accounting embodied energy of materials could be useful in a goal to achieve the lowest life-cycle energy use in buildings, and concludes with a note on how accounting for embodied energy is a key element when moving towards zero energy buildings.


2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Shen ◽  
Brenda Vale ◽  
Robert Vale

Over the last hundred years the booming exhibition industry has promoted development, which in turn has led to environmental damage. The construction of exhibition buildings has been part of this phenomenon. At first sight improvement in energy efficiency techniques would seem to offset the increased energy demand from both exhibitions and exhibition buildings. However, whether energy efficiency technologies truly help to improve building performance to the point where a building is ‘environmentally friendly’ throughout its whole life-cycle is uncertain. This research is part of investigating whether energy efficiency technologies are really the easiest means to lower costs and energy requirements when the whole useful life of an exhibition building is considered. This article investigates the energy use of three case study buildings based on their operating and embodied energy flows. The results suggest that modern technologies for making exhibition buildings more sustainable may not be as effective as the simpler strategies used over 100 years ago. This suggests a different approach may be needed for sustainable development in the twenty first century.


2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 03052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Khalaf ◽  
Touraj Ashrafian ◽  
Cem Demirci

The energy conversations methods and techniques take a significant role in the energy performance of the buildings. Façade and shading systems are in continuous development, and recent studies are showing the importance of implementation of such systems to reduce energy consumption and enhance the effectiveness of the building performance. School buildings are mostly being used during daytime, hence, require active use of sunlight. A measure that is taken on a school building envelope can prevent overheating and overcooling and reduce the heating and cooling energy consumption but at the same time can increase the lighting energy consumption vice versa. Thus, it is necessary to optimise the energy required for climatisation of a building with lighting energy demand. The main aim of the paper is to provide analysis for façade and shading systems applied to a school building and study the effectiveness of it on energy consumption and conservation. The case study for this paper is a typical building project designed to be located in Istanbul, Turkey and has a traditional façade system which is clear double layer windows without any shading devices. The analyses of the energy efficiency of these systems will be presented. The different glazing types and shading systems alternatives will show the most efficient one to be used as some optimised alternatives for the systems. Findings indicate that proper glazing and shading systems can reduce the needed energy for heating and lightening and thus total energy consumption of a school building significantly.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 366-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phan Anh Nguyen ◽  
Regina Bokel ◽  
Andy van den Dobbelsteen

Purpose Refurbishing houses is considered a key measure to improve the energy efficiency of the built environment. However, little is known about the implementation and outcome of housing renovation for energy upgrades in the Vietnamese practice. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the energy performance of the current housing stock in Vietnam and the potential to reduce energy use in households. Design/methodology/approach The paper is based on a survey with 153 respondents in three major climatic regions of Vietnam. The survey focusses on building characteristics, environmental performance, energy performance and refurbishment activities. Data collected from the survey were statistically analysed to give insight into the current performance of the housing stock and its energy saving potential. Findings This paper concludes that building design and construction, particularly the building envelope, have a significant influence on the occupants’ comfort. However, the energy consumption in houses is not statistically associated with building design and indoor environment. It is suggested that financial status and occupants’ behaviour currently have a strong influence on the household energy use. The survey also showed that refurbishment improves the housing performance, especially if improving the indoor environment was one of the drivers. Originality/value There are very few studies on energy use in households in Vietnam, especially with regards to actual energy consumption. This paper brings insights into the actual energy consumption and reveals the “performance gap” in Vietnamese housing stock.


Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Muataz Dhaif ◽  
André Stephan

In hot and humid climatic conditions, cooling tends to dominate building thermal energy use. Cooling loads can be reduced through the adoption of efficient building envelope materials, such as Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs). This study quantifies the life cycle cost and operational energy of a representative case-study house in Bahrain using SIPs and hollow concrete blocks (HCBs) for the envelope over a period of 50 years. Operational energy is calculated using a dynamic energy simulation tool, operational costs are calculated based on the energy demand and local tariff rates, and construction costs are estimated using market prices and quotations. The life cycle cost is quantified using the Net Present Cost technique. Results show that SIPs yield a 20.6% reduction in cooling energy use compared to HCBs. For SIP costs of 12 and 17 USD/m², the SIP house was cheaper throughout, or had a higher capital cost than the HCB house (breaking even in year 33), respectively. We propose policy recommendations with respect to material pricing, electricity tariffs, and energy efficiency, to improve the operational energy efficiency of houses in Bahrain and similar countries along the Arabian Peninsula.


Author(s):  
Safa Nayır ◽  
Ümit Bahadır ◽  
Şakir Erdoğdu ◽  
Vedat Toğan

Energy efficiency in the construction industry is crucial to reducing increased energy consumption. A significant portion of the energy is consumed in residential buildings. Thermal properties of the materials used in the building envelope can reduce the energy consumed in the buildings and thus contribute to the building economy. For this purpose, in the study, structural lightweight concretes (SLWC) with a lower thermal conductivity than normal weight concrete (NWC) were produced and energy efficiency and life cycle costs were compared between these concretes on a 1 + 1 reference flat. The compressive strength, unit weights and thermal conductivity coefficients of SLWCs and NWC were determined experimentally. Heating and cooling energy consumption and life cycle costs for the flat were calculated using the DesignBuilder simulation program according to the different concrete types produced. The results indicate that the thermal conductivity coefficients of all SLWCs produced were about 37–45 % lower than those of NWC. All mixes of the SLWCs provided energy saving by about 18–25 % compared to the NWC and two SLWCs reduced the life cycle cost by 4 %. In addition, the results showed that the best SLWC about energy was not the best SLWC about life cycle cost.


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