Energy and New Economic Approach for Nearly Zero Energy Hotels

Francesco Nocera; Salvatore Giuffrida; Maria Rosa Trovato; Antonio Gagliano

doi:10.3390/e21070639

Energy and New Economic Approach for Nearly Zero Energy Hotels

Entropy ◽

10.3390/e21070639 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (7) ◽

pp. 639 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Francesco Nocera ◽

Salvatore Giuffrida ◽

Maria Rosa Trovato ◽

Antonio Gagliano

Keyword(s):

Energy Security ◽

Southern Italy ◽

Operating Costs ◽

Economic Approach ◽

Existing Buildings ◽

Energy Audit ◽

Zero Energy ◽

Energy Retrofit ◽

Standing Question

The paper addresses an important long-standing question in regards to the energy efficiency renovation of existing buildings, in this case hotels, towards nearly zero-energy (nZEBs) status. The renovation of existing hotels to achieve a nearly zero-energy (nZEBs) performance is one of the forefront goals of EU’s energy policy for 2050. The achievement of nZEBs target for hotels is necessary not only to comply with changing regulations and legislations, but also to foster competitiveness to secure new funding. Indeed, the nZEB hotel status allows for the reduction of operating costs and the increase of energy security, meeting the market and guests’ expectations. Actually, there is not a set national value of nZEBs for hotels to be attained, despite the fact that hotels are among the most energy-intensive buildings. This paper presents the case study of the energy retrofit of an existing historical hotel located in southern Italy (Syracuse) in order to achieve nZEBs status. Starting from the energy audit, the paper proposes a step-by-step approach to nZEBs performance, with a perspective on the costs, in order to identify the most effective energy solutions. Such an approach allows useful insights regarding energy and economic–financial strategies for achieving nZEBs standards to highlighted. Moreover, the results of this paper provide, to stakeholders, useful information for quantifying the technical convenience and economic profitability to reach an nZEBs target in order to prevent the expenses necessary by future energy retrofit programs.

Download Full-text

Outsourcing energy retrofitting of hotel buildings: the decision-making process

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201926601016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 266 ◽

pp. 01016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M.F.F. Fasna ◽

Sachie Gunatilake

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Decision Making Process ◽

Existing Buildings ◽

Energy Retrofit ◽

Energy Efficiency Improvement ◽

Adoption And Implementation ◽

Energy Service ◽

The Right

Poor energy performance of existing buildings worldwide has led to a crucial need to retrofit existing buildings to minimise energy consumption. Among the existing buildings, hotels use as much as 50% of their total expenses on energy and offer significant opportunities for energy efficiency improvement. Yet, comparatively the level of implementation of energy retrofits found to be low, which has attributed to, inter alia, the absence of a clearly defined process for ensuring the delivery of energy retrofit projects and lack of proactive guidance for project teams to ensure that they make the right decisions at the right time to achieve the desired outcomes. Since many energy retrofit projects in existing hotels are carried out with the involvement of an external contractor, or an Energy Service Company (ESCO), this study focuses on investigating the decision-making process in implementing energy retrofits when the project is outsourced to an external party. An in-depth case study is used to obtain insights into the critical decisions to be taken and key activities to be performed throughout the decision-making process. The findings are used to propose a step-by-step decision-making process comprising of three key phases: i.e., pre-retrofit, retrofit implementation and post-retrofit. It is hoped that the decision-making process developed in this study will serve as a roadmap for the effective adoption and implementation of energy retrofits in existing hotel buildings when an external contractor is involved.

Download Full-text

Net Zero Energy Retrofit Shading Strategies of Buildings in Gaza, Case Study: Multi-Storey Residential Buildings

2019 IEEE 7th Palestinian International Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (PICECE) ◽

10.1109/picece.2019.8747198 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Rania Mohammad Ashour ◽

Ahmed S. Muhaisen ◽

Suheir Ammar

Keyword(s):

Residential Buildings ◽

Zero Energy ◽

Energy Retrofit ◽

Net Zero Energy ◽

Net Zero

Download Full-text

Sustainable Urban Regeneration through Densification Strategies: The Kallithea District in Athens as a Pilot Case Study

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12229462 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (22) ◽

pp. 9462

Author(s):

Annarita Ferrante ◽

Anastasia Fotopoulou ◽

Cecilia Mazzoli

Keyword(s):

Seismic Vulnerability ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Construction Sector ◽

Existing Buildings ◽

Zero Energy ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

Innovative Methods ◽

European Policies

The current main issue in the construction sector in Europe concerns the energy refurbishment and the reactivation of investments in existing buildings. Guidance for enhancing energy efficiency and encouraging member states to create a market for deep renovation is provided by a number of European policies. Innovative methods and strategies are required to attract and involve citizens and main stakeholders to undertake buildings’ renovation processes, which actually account for just 1% of the total building stock. This contribution proposes technical and financial solutions for the promotion of energy efficient, safe, and attractive retrofit interventions based on the creation of volumetric additions combined with renewable energy sources. This paper focuses on the urban reality of Athens as being an important example of a degraded urban center with a heavy heat island, a quite important heating demand, and a strong seismic vulnerability. The design solutions presented here demonstrate that the strategy of additions, because of the consequent increased value of the buildings, could represent an effective densification policy for the renovation of existing urban settings. Hence, the aim is to trigger regulatory and market reforms with the aim to boost the revolution towards nearly zero energy buildings for the existing building stocks.

Download Full-text

Development of an Energy Saving Strategy Model for Retrofitting Existing Buildings: A Korean Case Study

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12091626 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 1626 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kwonsik Song ◽

Yonghan Ahn ◽

Joseph Ahn ◽

Nahyun Kwon

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Existing Buildings ◽

Energy Retrofit ◽

Strategy Model ◽

Proposed Model

The building sector accounts for approximately 40% of national energy consumption, contributing to the environmental crisis of global warming. Using energy saving measures (e.g., improved thermal insulation, highly energy-efficient electrical and mechanical systems) provides opportunities to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings. Furthermore, if the life cycle cost (i.e., installation, operation and maintenance cost) of the measures is considered with their energy saving potential, it is possible to establish a cost-effective energy retrofit plan. Therefore, this research develops an energy saving strategy model considering its saving potential and life cycle cost of the measures for reducing energy consumption in existing buildings. To test the validity of the proposed model, a case study is carried out on an educational facility in South Korea, in response to its overconsumption of energy. The results demonstrate that in terms of energy saving and life cycle cost, the optimal energy retrofit plan is more cost-effective than the existing plan. Also, the break-even point for the optimal energy retrofit plan is within five years, and then revenue from energy saving continually occurs until 2052. For energy retrofit of existing buildings, using the proposed model would enable building owners to maximize energy savings while minimizing the life cycle cost.

Download Full-text

Achieving Zero Energy potential through Existing Buildings Retrofit Case Study: Center of the Excellency for Research & Development of Biofuel Technology at the faculty of engineering, Mattaria branch, Helwan University.

Engineering Research Journal ◽

10.21608/erj.2021.209790 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 172 (0) ◽

pp. 212-226

Author(s):

ahmed haleem

Keyword(s):

Research Development ◽

Existing Buildings ◽

Zero Energy ◽

Energy Potential ◽

Study Center

Download Full-text

Toward Enhancing The Contribution Of The Passengers In Funding The Operating Costs Of Urban Public Transport Systems : Case Study Of The Tram Of Algiers Algeria

10.34118/0136-000-041-019 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Chakeur Belakhdar ◽

Faries Boubakour

Keyword(s):

Public Transport ◽

Operating Costs ◽

Transport Systems ◽

Urban Public Transport

Download Full-text

SMART NETWORKS FOR DIGITALIZATION OF URBAN ECONOMY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE “SMART CITY”

EKONOMIKA I UPRAVLENIE: PROBLEMY, RESHENIYA ◽

10.36871/ek.up.p.r.2020.08.03.003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (8) ◽

pp. 21-27

Author(s):

S. V. PROKOPCHINA ◽

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Internal Energy ◽

Energy Management ◽

Energy Security ◽

Smart City ◽

Urban Economy ◽

Training Center ◽

Energy Audit ◽

Intelligent Networks ◽

Industrial Energy

The article deals with methodological and practical issues of building Bayesian intelligent networks (BIS) for digitalization of urban economy based on the principles of the “Smart city” concept. The BIS complex as a whole corresponds to the architecture of urban household management complexes for construction and industrial energy purposes for solving the problems of internal energy audit, accounting for energy consumption, ensuring energy security of enterprises and territories, in Addition, the system can become the basis for the implementation of a training center for energy management and housing.

Download Full-text