scholarly journals Monitoring Data Study of the Performance of Renewable Energy Systems in a Near Zero Energy Building in Spain: A Case Study

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Rey-Hernández ◽  
Eloy Velasco-Gómez ◽  
Julio San José-Alonso ◽  
Ana Tejero-González ◽  
Sergio González-González ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Monitoring Data ◽  
Substantial Part ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Zero Energy Building

The building sector is responsible for a substantial part of the energy consumption and corresponding CO2 emissions. The European Union has consequently developed various directives, among which the updated Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2018/844/EU stands out, aiming at minimizing the energy demand in buildings, improving the energy efficiency of their facilities and integrating renewable energies. The objective of the present study was to develop an analysis on the energy performance, related CO2 emissions and operating costs of the renewable energy technologies implemented within a multipurpose near Zero Energy Building (nZEB). The target building is an existing nZEB called LUCIA, located in Valladolid (Spain). Monitoring data provides the required information on the actual needs for electricity, cooling and heating. It is equipped with solar energy photovoltaic systems, a biomass boiler and a geothermal Earth to Air Heat Exchanger (EAHX) intended for meeting the ventilation thermal loads. All systems studied show favourable performances, but depend significantly on the particular characteristics of the building, the control algorithm and the climate of the location. Hence, design of these strategies for new nZEBs must consider all these factors. The combined use of the PhotoVoltaic PV System, the biomass and the EAHX reduces the CO2 emissions up to 123 to 170 tons/year in comparison with other fuels, entailing economic savings from the system operation of up to 43,000–50,000 €/year.

Sustainability in university campus: options for achieving nearly zero energy goals

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 790-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Fonseca ◽  
Pedro Moura ◽  
Humberto Jorge ◽  
Aníbal de Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Lithium Ion ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Photovoltaic System ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pv Generation

Purpose The purpose of this study was to design a renovation plan for a university campus building (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) with the aim to achieve nearly zero energy performance, ensuring a low specific demand (lower than 44 kWh/m2) and a high level of on-site renewable generation (equivalent to more than 20 per cent of the energy demand). Design/methodology/approach The baseline demand was characterized based on energy audits, on smart metering data and on the existing building management system data, showing a recent reduction of the electricity demand owing to some implemented measures. The renovation plan was then designed with two main measures, the total replacement of the actual lighting by LEDs and the installation of a photovoltaic system (PV) with 78.8 kWp coupled with an energy storage system with 100 kWh of lithium-ion batteries. Findings The designed renovation achieved energy savings of 20 per cent, with 27.5 per cent of the consumed energy supplied by the PV system. This will ensure a reduction of the specific energy of the building to only 30 kWh/m2, with 42.4 per cent savings on the net-energy demand. Practical implications The designed renovation proves that it is possible to achieve nearly zero energy goals with cost-effective solutions, presenting the lighting renovation and the solar PV generation system a payback of 2.3 and 6.9 years, respectively. Originality/value This study innovated by defining ambitious goals to achieve nearly zero energy levels and presenting a design based on a comprehensive lighting retrofit and PV generation, whereas other studies are mostly based on envelope refurbishment and behaviour changes.

scholarly journals Design of Renewable Energy System for a House in St. John’s, Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uday Khadodra ◽  
Md Habibur Rahaman ◽  
Mohsin Jamil
Keyword(s):  
Energy Source ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
System Modeling ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Solar Irradiation ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Utility Companies

During this period of rising energy demand, utility companies are at a certain point in time, unable to satisfy the overall requirements of their entire consumer population. During this kind of situation, the system, which is, at a micro-scale, can also refer to a zero-energy building, which can also be very prominent in solving this problem. Another thing is that cries of non-renewable energy sources and most of the utility companies are majorly dependent on that kind of energy source, and it keeps along with issues of global warming. A renewable energy-based power system can solve this issue.  In this paper, the solution to this problem by introducing the microscale installation of a renewable energy source at the residential level has been presented. For that here, the area selected for this project is located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, CANADA. Newfoundland is an island; hence, the proposed system would be beneficial here. Building this kind of system is the process of designing, selecting, and calculating the energy demand of equipment and, at last, synchronizing it with the grid to make it as zero energy building. This process depends upon a range of variables, including geographical location, load requirement, and solar irradiation. The required demand, system modeling, simulation, and techno-economic analysis are carried out by BEopt, HOEMR, and MATLAB software.

Architectural Elements with Respect to the Energy Performance of Buildings

2014 ◽  
Vol 1020 ◽  
pp. 561-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rastislav Ingeli ◽  
Katarína Minarovičová ◽  
Miroslav Čekon
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Architectural Elements ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Very High Energy ◽  
Building Operation

Buildings account for 40% of the primary energy use and 24%of the generation of green house gases worldwide. Therefore, a reduction of the specific energy demand of buildings and increased use of renewable energy are important measures of climate change mitigation. On the 18th of May 2010 a recast of the EPBD was approved which further clarifies the intention that buildings shall have a low energy demand. The recast of the EPBD specifies that by the end of 2020 all new buildings shall be “nearly zero-energy buildings”. A nearly zero-energy building is defined as a building with a very high energy performance and very simple shape. The current focusing on the energy efficiency of the building operation may lead to uniform cuboid architecture with heavy insulated building envelopes. The paper deals with the influence of energy concept on architectural elements (and their properties as shape, material, colour, texture etc.)

scholarly journals Building Energy Performance Analysis after Changing Its Form of Use from an Office to a Residential Building

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 564
Author(s):  
Przemysław Markiewicz-Zahorski ◽  
Joanna Rucińska ◽  
Małgorzata Fedorczak-Cisak ◽  
Michał Zielina
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Office Building ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Simultaneous Increase ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Zero Energy

Lowering energy consumption is one of the most important challenges of the modern world. Since the construction sector accounts for 40% of total energy consumption worldwide, the Parliament of the European Union has developed a Directive, according to which all newly designed and thermally upgraded buildings should meet the requirements of almost zero energy demand (nZEBs) from 1 January 2021. At the same time, in Poland, but also in many other countries in the world, there is a growing oversupply of office space in large cities with a simultaneous increase in demand for apartments, which is caused, among other things, by the increase in the share of remote work and the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, this is forcing owners to change the use of buildings from office to residential. This article analyses the possibilities of changing the function of an office building to a multi-family residential building. For both functional solutions, a comparative energy analysis was carried out, taking into account different work schedules and the requirements for new buildings with zero energy demand. The analyses have shown that changing the form of use of an office building to a multi-family building without significant financial and technical costs is possible. On the other hand, the reverse change of the form of use is much more difficult and, in many cases, practically impossible. Due to the fact that many offices are now multinational corporations, this issue is global.

scholarly journals Potential Reconstruction Design of an Existing Townhouse in Washington DC for Approaching Net Zero Energy Building Goal

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakdirat Kaewunruen ◽  
Jessada Sresakoolchai ◽  
Lalida Kerinnonta
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero Energy Building ◽  
Net Zero

The concept of the Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) has received more interest from researchers due to global warming concerns. This paper proposes to illustrate optional solutions to allow existing buildings to achieve NZEB goals. The aim of this study is to investigate factors that can improve existing building performance to be in line with the NZEB concept and be more sustainable. An existing townhouse in Washington, DC was chosen as the research target to study how to retrofit or reconstruct the design of a building according to the NZEB concept. The methodology of this research is modeling an existing townhouse to assess the current situation and creating optional models for improving energy efficiency of the townhouse in Revit and utilising renewable energy technology for energy supply. This residential building was modeled in three versions to compare changes in energy performance including improving thermal efficiency of building envelope, increasing thickness of the wall, and installing smart windows (switchable windows). These solutions can reduce energy and cost by approximately 8.16%, 10.16%, and 14.65%, respectively, compared to the original townhouse. Two renewable energy technologies that were considered in this research were photovoltaic and wind systems. The methods can be applied to reconstruct other existing buildings in the future.

scholarly journals Achieving near Zero Energy Building in Albania: An Approach for the Retrofit of a Public-School Building

2021 ◽  
Vol 312 ◽  
pp. 02005
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Belussi ◽  
Ludovico Danza ◽  
Matteo Ghellere ◽  
Italo Meroni ◽  
Francesco Salamone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Market ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Candidate Country ◽  
Carbon Intensity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Zero Energy Building

Since its introduction in 2010, the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) concept has known a large diffusion in European countries. Albania, an aspiring candidate country to join the European Union EU, is paving the way towards its introduction by transposing EU directives in the fields of energy efficiency into the national legislation. Most of the national building stock includes buildings with low thermal and energy performance but with high refurbishment potential, too. The country can become an important contributor in the EU decarbonization strategy due to the high percentage of electricity produced by hydropower stations, making it one of the least carbon-intensity countries in the electricity production point of view. The article focuses on the evaluation of the energy performance of an existing school located in Tirana and the potentialities to reach the nZEB target, analysing both the suitable technological solutions and the energy market situation. The Primary Energy Factors PEF for the local electricity market are estimated referring to statistical data and in comparison, with neighbouring countries, Italy and Greece, in order to investigate the potential of the achievement of the nZEB target in Albania.

scholarly journals Applying Renewable Energy Technologies in an Integrated Optimization Method for Residential Building’s Design

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Aparicio-Ruiz ◽  
José Guadix-Martín ◽  
Elena Barbadilla-Martín ◽  
Jesús Muñuzuri-Sanz
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Integrated Optimization ◽  
Zero Energy Building

Designing a Zero Energy Building (ZEB) requires an optimal choice of the materials of a building envelope. Different material properties and window areas could be selected to generate a set of possibilities of the design of a building, being the demand defined by its thermal characteristics. The energy demand of a building could be produced with renewable systems such as photovoltaic. Moreover, the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems could be selected considering the system cost. The present methodology focuses on finding a balance between investment and low energy consumption for a building, based on an integrated optimization method. Such methodology applies a Tabu search algorithm and a simplified model to select the passive design. Afterwards, active elements of the design, as photovoltaic systems, are selected. Therefore, the methodology faces the problem of estimating the annual energy demand and the life cycle cost. The goal is the design of a building with a large amount of energy generated by renewable energy, to have a ZEB, and in the worst case, a nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB). This methodology reduces investment, reduces the energy demand and selects the best construction materials, renewable energy, and air conditioning system. The present paper analyzes a set of case studies considering different climatic zones in Spain. The results conclude that the methodology could help builders in the design stage, to find a new design that allows a ZEB with the optimal life cycle cost.

scholarly journals Energy Performance Assessment of Innovative Building Solutions Coming from Construction and Demolition Waste Materials

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1226
Author(s):  
Beatriz Fraga-De Cal ◽  
Antonio Garrido-Marijuan ◽  
Olaia Eguiarte ◽  
Beñat Arregi ◽  
Ander Romero-Amorrortu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
The Impact

Prefabricated solutions incorporating thermal insulation are increasingly adopted as an energy conservation measure for building renovation. The InnoWEE European project developed three technologies from Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) materials through a manufacturing process that supports the circular economy strategy of the European Union. Two of them consisted of geopolymer panels incorporated into an External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) and a ventilated façade. This study evaluates their thermal performance by means of monitoring data from three pilot case studies in Greece, Italy, and Romania, and calibrated building simulation models enabling the reliable prediction of energy savings in different climates and use scenarios. Results showed a reduction in energy demand for all demo buildings, with annual energy savings up to 25% after placing the novel insulation solutions. However, savings are highly dependent on weather conditions since the panels affect cooling and heating loads differently. Finally, a parametric assessment is performed to assess the impact of insulation thickness through an energy performance prediction and a cash flow analysis.

scholarly journals Modeling Energy Efficiency Performance and Cost-Benefit Analysis Achieving Net-Zero Energy Building Design: Case Studies of Three Representative Offices in Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5201
Author(s):  
Kittisak Lohwanitchai ◽  
Daranee Jareemit
Keyword(s):  
High Efficiency ◽  
Energy Gap ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Investment Cost ◽  
High Investment

The concept of a zero energy building is a significant sustainable strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The challenges of zero energy building (ZEB) achievement in Thailand are that the design approach to reach ZEB in office buildings is unclear and inconsistent. In addition, its implementation requires a relatively high investment cost. This study proposes a guideline for cost-optimal design to achieve the ZEB for three representative six-story office buildings in hot and humid Thailand. The energy simulations of envelope designs incorporating high-efficiency systems are carried out using eQuest and daylighting simulation using DIALux evo. The final energy consumptions meet the national ZEB target but are higher than the rooftop PV generation. To reduce such an energy gap, the ratios of building height to width are proposed. The cost-benefit of investment in ZEB projects provides IRRs ranging from 10.73 to 13.85%, with payback periods of 7.2 to 8.5 years. The energy savings from the proposed designs account for 79.2 to 81.6% of the on-site energy use. The investment of high-performance glazed-windows in the small office buildings is unprofitable (NPVs = −14.77–−46.01). These research results could help architects and engineers identify the influential parameters and significant considerations for the ZEB design. Strategies and technical support to improve energy performance in large and mid-rise buildings towards ZEB goals associated with the high investment cost need future investigations.

scholarly journals Optimization of Performance Parameter Design and Energy Use Prediction for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolong Xu ◽  
Guohui Feng ◽  
Dandan Chi ◽  
Ming Liu ◽  
Baoyue Dou
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Saving ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Maximum Relative Error ◽  
Performance Parameters ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Saving Ratio ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Artificial Neural ◽  
Zero Energy Buildings

Optimizing key parameters with energy consumption as the control target can minimize the heating and cooling needs of buildings. In this paper we focus on the optimization of performance parameters design and the prediction of energy consumption for nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB). The optimal combination of various performance parameters and the Energy Saving Ratio (ESR)are studied by using a large volume of simulation data. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are applied for the prediction of annual electrical energy consumption in a nearly Zero Energy Building designs located in Shenyang (China). The data of the energy demand for our test is obtained by using building simulation techniques. The results demonstrate that the heating energy demand for our test nearly Zero Energy Building is 17.42 KW·h/(m2·a). The Energy Saving Ratio of window-to-wall ratios optimization is the most obvious, followed by thermal performance parameters of the window, and finally the insulation thickness. The maximum relative error of building energy consumption prediction is 6.46% when using the artificial neural network model to predict energy consumption. The establishment of this prediction method enables architects to easily and accurately obtain the energy consumption of buildings during the design phase.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document