Sensitivity Study on the Parameters of a Hygrothermal Transfer Model of Air, Heat and Mass Transfer

The energy performance of buildings represents a major challenge in terms of sustainable development. The buildings and buildings construction sectors combined are responsible for over one-third of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions. In order to reduce the energy consumption of buildings and their harmful impact on the environment, special attention has been paid in recent years to the use of bio-based materials. Several works have been carried out in the last decades in order to model the coupled heat, air and moisture transfers in the building envelope but the difficulties lies in the identification of numerous parameters that the HAM proposed models use. In the present paper, a sensitivity study regarding the HAM parameters is implemented in order to apprehend the most determining parameters during the transfer processes. A reduced model based on these parameters is then determined.

Introduction of ZEB Technology in Japan

It is necessary to reduce energy consumption in order to combat global warming and stabilize energy supply and demand. In particular, final energy consumption in the business sector (buildings such as office buildings and commercial facilities) accounted for about 16.1% of Japan\'s total in FY2018 database, an increase from about 12.6% in FY1990 database. Therefore, there is a need for the spread of zero-energy building (ZEB), which can significantly reduce the energy consumption in buildings. Since people are active in the building, energy consumption cannot be completely reduced to zero; however, it can be closer to ZEB by reducing the energy used in the building and creating energy in the building as much as possible. This chapter introduces some technologies of energy saving and energy creation to realize ZEB in general buildings in Japan.

Legal aspects of the use of bioenergy in the European Union

The article explores the features of the legal regulation of bioenergy in the European Union, analyses the concepts of bioenergy and biofuels in Ukrainian and European legislation and highlights the main provisions of the European Union Directives, concerning the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, including biomass. In particular, bioenergy has been identified in the EU as the leading source of renewable energy for heating and cooling (88 per cent of all RES), representing 16 per cent of the total European final energy consumption in this sector. Consequently, in view of the demand for and the need to use such a resource, the EU legislative framework contains a number of principles (bases) and mandates for regulating the relationship in the area of manufacturing, handling and decontamination of waste biofuels as a primary feedstock for bioenergy. In particular, the fundamental principles of the EU bioenergy legislation are, first, the principle of sustainable production and consumption of biomass, and second, the prevention of reduction of negative impacts from the use of this resource, Third, increasing the share of alternative energy sources to 75 % of final energy consumption by 2050. Keywords: bioenergy, permanence, alternative energy sources, biofuels

The environmental and resource productivity as the key element of green economy in EU

The purpose of this study was to analyze the indicators of environmental and resource productivity of European countries to identify leaders and outsiders and study their trends over recent decades. The results of the analysis showed that the indicators are characterized by uneven development, due to the characteristics of countries and their green policies. The key indicators of the Europe 2020 policy have been used for the analysis, namely resource productivity, greenhouse gas emissions per capita, recycling rate of municipal waste, eco-innovation index, final energy consumption in households. Linear trends for the period 1995-2019 with indication of trend equations were constructed for each indicator. The slope of the functions has been analyzed in order to identify the dynamics of trends. According to the results of the analysis, all indicators except greenhouse gas emissions per capita were characterized by positive dynamics, ie increased. It has been determined that the problematic indicator for EU countries is final energy consumption in households, which requires further detailed research.

Evaluation of linear and nonlinear system models in hierarchical model predictive control of HVAC systems

Buildings are responsible for one third of the global final energy consumption. Model predictive control (MPC) can reduce their energy consumption and improve thermal comfort. However, designing the required models can be time consuming. Splitting the control problem into smaller subproblems could make the modeling process more modular and therefore cheaper. A hierarchical MPC structure is proposed in this work, where the building model is divided into a lower layer consisting of the producer side and an upper layer consisting of the consumers. Linear and non-linear model equations as well as a cost-based and a control quality-based cost function for a building energy system are developed. In a simulation, the nonlinear controller outperforms the linear controller in both constraint satisfaction and energy costs.

Implementation of the 2030 sustainable development goals - affordable and clean energy in the European Union

One of the most important goals of the European Union is to provide citizens of the Member States security and stability in fuel and electricity sectors. The United Nations has defined 17 goals and 169 actions to achieve sustainable development of the world. The goals were to improve the quality of life, reduce the level of poverty, inequalities in the world and sustainable development in terms of climate and environmental protection. The article presents an analysis of the implementation of one of the assumed goals, i.e., sustainable development in the field of Affordable and clean Energy in the European Union. This goal is to ensure that every citizen has access to stable, sustainable, and modern energy at an affordable price. Among others, indicators such as energy import dependency, energy productivity, share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption, final energy consumption in households per capita were analysed. The authors analysed the trends of the above-mentioned indicators in the European Union, with particular emphasis on Poland. In order to be able to predict how the analysed phenomena will develop until 2030, the authors built forecasts. For this purpose, among others, ARIMA models were used. The authors created several dozen models, from among which model with the smallest ex post errors and the lowest value of information criteria were selected. The models allowed to determine the degree of achievement of the set goals. They also allowed the designation of scenarios for the potential development of the analysed indicators.

Implementation of the 2030 sustainable development goals - affordable and clean energy in Poland

One of the most serious challenges facing the world, including the European Union and Poland, is the climate crisis and environmental pollution. The article presents an analysis of the implementation of sustainable development goals in the field of Affordable and clean Energy in Poland. The Sustainable Development Goals have replaced the Millennium Goals and enable their continuation. They were defined at the United Nations Conference in 2012. 17 goals and 169 actions were set. Sustainable Development Goals are a set of activities, the implementation of which is to lead to the development of sustainable development in the environmental, social and economic terms. Achieving the goals will be possible among others through changes in the field of climate, education, poverty or the natural environment. The study analyses, inter alia, such indicators related to the discussed objectives like energy import dependency by products, energy productivity, share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption by sector, final energy consumption in households per capita were analysed. This made it possible to indicate the level of achievement of the set goals, as well as to determine the possibility of achieving the goals set by 2030. The authors also presented the results of the generated for the analysed indicators forecasts. The presented results were obtained with the use of mathematical models, which were finally selected by the authors after the validation process. The time horizon of the forecasts was adjusted to the requirements of sustainable development goals. Countermeasures that can be taken to accelerate the deadline for achieving the targets were also outlined.

Analysis of Energy Consumption and Energy Efficiency in Government Office Buildings of Bengkulu, Indonesia

This article aimed to analyze the energy consumption and energy efficiency in government office buildings of Bengkulu, Indonesia. This research was conducted using a quantitative descriptive method. The research step begins by observing the initial conditions of Energy Consumption Intensity (ECI) to determine the category of buildings that are efficient or not in terms of energy use, then collecting data on the profile of the use of the building and its rooms, recapitulation of the use of energy sources (both electrical energy and other chemical energy), a list of equipment that consumes electrical energy (lighting, air conditioning, and others). Furthermore, measuring the performance of systems and equipment that consumes energy and conducting efficiency analysis to then make recommendations with operating settings, to replace inefficient equipment with more efficient equipment. The final step is to draw conclusions about the final Energy Consumption Intensity (ECI) obtained based on the results of the analysis and recommendations obtained on the previous Energy Consumption Intensity (ECI) value. It can be concluded that the final Energy Consumption Intensity (ECI) of government office buildings of Bengkulu based on the results of the analysis and recommendations such as performing preventive maintenance on air conditioners, the temperature of the air conditioner is set to always be at 24°C, replacing the type of lamp in the artificial lighting system that still uses TLD lamps with LED lamps, and efforts in organizing energy management systems will decrease around 13 percent from the previous Energy Consumption Intensity (ECI) or down from 40.9 kWh/m2/year to be 35.6 kWh/m2/year.

Assessing Energy Descent Scenarios for the Ecological Transition in Spain 2020–2030

A global energy consumption reduction is essential to address the many dimensions of the current ecological crisis. In this paper we have compiled the reasons that justify the necessity to start this energy descent process in the countries of the global North, where the annual per capita final energy consumption was 118 GJ in 2017. Based on recent research, we approach the necessary redistribution of energy consumption at the global level and the elements that should be present in energy descent strategies. We establish an approximate threshold of minimum and maximum per capita final energy consumption, between 15.6 GJ and 31.0 GJ for the year 2050, which serves as a reference for evaluating scenarios. We continue with an analysis of two ecological transition scenarios for Spain between 2020 and 2030, Green New Deal and Degrowth. Based on a schematic calculation model defined in “Labor Scenarios in the Ecosocial Transition 2020–2030” report, we evaluate the variations in energy consumption for 86 sectors of economic activity. Results show an annual final energy consumption per capita in 2030 of 44.6 GJ and 36.8 GJ for each scenario. We conclude by analyzing the hypothetical main drivers of this sharp decline in energy consumption.

Bottom-Up Initiatives Undertaken by Local Governments to Support Entrepreneurship

The present paper deals with issues related to activities undertaken by local government. The article focuses on the identification and assessment of the significance of local government’s different bottom-up initiatives that support development of local entrepreneurship. The article also indirectly discusses the importance of activities referring to energy efficiency. Through the digitization process and by using digital tools, LGs realize projects, improve local actors’ awareness, and finally achieve new challenges such as a higher proportion of gross final energy consumption being from renewable sources. The aim of the paper is to present the relationship between the LGs’ entrepreneurial activities, which we call bottom-up initiatives, and the local entrepreneurship level, understood as the number of entrepreneurs active on the territory of a LG. This paper presents the results of research carried out on the bottom-up initiatives undertaken by Polish local governments to support entrepreneurship. The research was based on survey and statistical tools and stepwise regression analysis. In the paper, bottom-up initiatives undertaken by local governments (such as organizing events at the national or regional scale that enable networking among entrepreneurs or establishing departments for supporting local entrepreneurship that offer cooperation with local entrepreneurs) were found to influence the number of entrepreneurs active in local government territories. The paper concludes that local governments and their bottom-up activities are an important factor influencing local entrepreneurship development. The presented research results have implications for policy makers and may be useful for local governments in Poland and in other countries in the context of supporting entrepreneurship by undertaking bottom-up initiatives at the local level.