scholarly journals Influence of Atlantic Microclimates in Northern Spain on the Environmental Performance of Lightweight Concrete Single-Family Houses

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 4337
Author(s):  
Daniel González-Prieto ◽  
Yolanda Fernández-Nava ◽  
Elena Marañón ◽  
Maria Manuela Prieto
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Lightweight Concrete ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Northern Spain

The use of lightweight concrete for the construction of single-family houses has become increasingly popular in Spain. In this paper, single-family houses with different shape factors and window-to-wall ratios are analysed from both a thermal and environmental perspective using Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) software to calculate the energy demand. The study has been carried out for different Atlantic microclimates (coastal, inland, and mountain) in northern Spain. What most affects the thermal energy used for air conditioning is the variation of the microclimates, so the study focuses mainly on this aspect. Operational energy for heating has decreased greatly via the use of high degree of insulation and hence the next task is to decrease the total energy consumed taking into account the embodied energy. Impacts on Primary Energy and Global Warming Potential are calculated using a cradle-to-grave approach. The energy use for heating and domestic hot water is analysed for different thicknesses of insulation under three energy supply scenarios: electricity only (for 2018 and with the Spanish decarbonisation plan for 2030); heat pump plus electricity; and natural gas boiler. Even for houses with a good level of insulation, the ratio of operational-to-total impacts varies significantly: from 46% to 87% for primary energy and from 31% to 75% for global warming potential, depending on the shape factor of the house, the microclimate and the heat supply scenario. By applying future environmental policies, electricity can become a more environmentally friendly option than natural gas.

Heat Integration and Storage Concepts for Increasing the Energy Efficiency in Domestic Households

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 50-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Beck ◽  
Karsten Müller ◽  
Wolfgang Arlt
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Heat Integration ◽  
Heat Sources ◽  
Single Family

A promising approach for increasing the energy efficiency of domestic households and buildings is to optimize the whole energy system by coupling of different heat sources and sinks. This procedure, known as heat integration, is state of the art in the industrial sector and is now applied to the residential sector. In this work several options for increasing the energy efficiency and for recovering waste heat are discussed. In order to reduce the primary energy demand different waste heat sources like domestic hot water or household appliances (refrigerators or freezers) were evaluated. The first step is the development of an advanced form of the stationary Pinch Analysis. This was subsequently applied to determine the thermodynamically possible energy saving for a single family home.

scholarly journals Influence of technical and electrical equipment in life cycle assessments of buildings: case of a laboratory and research building

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Hoxha ◽  
D. Maierhofer ◽  
M.R.M Saade ◽  
A. Passer
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Electrical Equipment ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Electronic Equipment ◽  
Detailed Result ◽  
Detailed Calculation ◽  
System Boundary ◽  
Operational Energy

Abstract Purpose A detailed assessment of the environmental impacts of the building requires a substantial amount of data that is time- and effort-consuming. However, limitation of the system boundary to certain materials and components can provide misleading impact calculation. In order to calculate the error gap between detailed and simplified assessments, the purpose of this article is to present a detailed calculation of the environmental impacts of the building by including in the system boundary, the technical, and electrical equipment. Method To that end, the environmental impacts of a laboratory and research building situated in Graz-Austria are assessed following the EN-15978 norm. Within the system boundaries of the study, the material and components of building fabric, technical, and electronic equipment for the building lifecycle stages of production, construction, replacement, operational energy and water, and end-of-life are considered. The input data regarding the quantity of materials is collected from the design and tendering documents, invoices, and from discussion with the head of the building’s construction site. Primary energy and global warming potential indicators are calculated on the basis of a functional unit of 1 m2 of energy reference area (ERA) per year, considering a reference building service life of 50 years. Results and discussion The primary energy indicator of the building is equal to 1698 MJ/m2ERA/year. The embodied impacts are found to be responsible for 28% of which 6.4% is due to technical and electronic equipment. Furthermore, the embodied impacts for the global warming potential, equal to 28.3 kg CO2e/m2ERA/year, are responsible for 73%. Together, technical and electrical equipment are the largest responsible aspects, accounting for 38% of the total impacts. Simplified and detailed result comparisons show a gap of 29% and 7.7% for global warming and primary energy indicators. These differences were from the embodied impacts and largely from the exclusion of electrical equipment from the study’s system boundary. Conclusions Technical and electrical equipment present a significant contribution to the overall environmental impacts of the building. Worthy of inclusion in the system boundary of the study, the environmental impacts of technical and electrical equipment must be calculated in detail or considered with a reliable ratio in the early design phase of the project. Further research is necessary to address the detailed impact calculation of the equipment and notably the minimization of their impacts.

Analysis of Energy Sources on Energy Indicators Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 861 ◽  
pp. 198-205
Author(s):  
Anton Pitonak ◽  
Martin Lopusniak
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Energy Class ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Total Consumption ◽  
Minimum Requirements ◽  
Global Indicator

In the members states of the European Union, portion of buildings in the total consumption of energy represents 40%, and their portion in CO2 emissions fluctuates around 35%. The European Union is trying to protect the environment by reducing energy demand and releasing CO2 emissions into the air. Energy performance is the quantity of energy, which is necessary for heating and domestic hot water production, for cooling and ventilation and for lighting. Based on results of energy performance, individual buildings are classified into energy classes A to G. A global indicator (primary energy) is the decisive factor for final evaluation of the building. The new building must meet minimum requirements for energy performance, i.e. it must be classified to energy class A1 since 2016, and to energy class A0 since 2020. The paper analyses effect of the use of different resources of heat in a family house designed according to requirements valid since 2020, and its subsequent classification into an energy class.

scholarly journals A GIS-Based Planning Approach for Urban Power and Natural Gas Distribution Grids with Different Heat Pump Scenarios

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 4052 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolando M. Kisse ◽  
Martin Braun ◽  
Simon Letzgus ◽  
Tanja M. Kneiske
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Slight Reduction ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Gas Distribution ◽  
Public Data

Next to building insulation, heat pumps driven by electrical compressors (eHPs) or by gas engines (geHPs) can be used to reduce primary energy demand for heating. They come with different investment requirements, operating costs and emissions caused. In addition, they affect both the power and gas grids, which necessitates the assessment of both infrastructures regarding grid expansion planning. To calculate costs and CO2 emissions, 2000 electrical load profiles and 180 different heat demand profiles for single-family homes were simulated and heat pump models were applied. In a case study for a neighborhood energy model, the load profiles were assigned to buildings in an example town using public data on locations, building age and energetic refurbishment variants. In addition, the town’s gas distribution network and low voltage grid were modeled. Power and gas flows were simulated and costs for required grid extensions were calculated for 11% and 16% heat pump penetration. It was found that eHPs have the highest energy costs but will also have the lowest CO2 emissions by 2030 and 2050. For the investigated case, power grid investments of 11,800 euros/year are relatively low compared to gas grid connection costs of 70,400 euros/year. If eHPs and geHPs are combined, a slight reduction of overall costs is possible, but emissions would rise strongly compared to the all-electric case.

scholarly journals Advanced Control of a District Heating System with High Residential Domestic Hot Water Demand

2020 ◽  
Vol 160 ◽  
pp. 01004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislav Chicherin ◽  
Lyazzat Junussova ◽  
Timur Junussov
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
District Heating ◽  
Heating System ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
District Heating System ◽  
Domestic Hot Water ◽  
Extreme Load ◽  
Flow Controller

Proper adjustment of domestic hot water (DHW) load structure can balance energy demand with the supply. Inefficiency in primary energy use prompted Omsk DH company to be a strong proponent of a flow controller at each substation. Here the return temperature is fixed to the lowest possible value and the supply temperature is solved. Thirty-five design scenarios are defined for each load deviation index with equally distributed outdoor temperature ranging from +8 for the start of a heating season towards extreme load at temperature of -26°C. All the calculation results are listed. If a flow controller is installed, the customers might find it suitable to switch to this type of DHW supply. Considering an option with direct hot water extraction as usual and a flow controller installed, the result indicates that the annual heat consumption will be lower once network temperatures during the fall or spring months are higher. The heat load profiles obtained here may be used as input for a simulation of a DH substation, including a heat pump and a tank for thermal energy storage. This design approach offers a quantitative way of sizing temperature levels in each DH system according to the listed methodology and the designer's preference.

scholarly journals Life-Cycle Energy Demand and Global Warming Potential of Computational Logic

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (19) ◽  
pp. 7303-7309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah B. Boyd ◽  
Arpad Horvath ◽  
David Dornfeld
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Computational Logic

III. Energy

1972 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
G.F. Ray
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Degree Of Protection ◽  
The North ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Term Energy ◽  
Energy Forecast

When we last made a medium-term energy forecast, in 1967, we said that it was ‘highly speculative to express any view about the division of …. energy demand between primary fuels and in particular about the demand for coal’ because of two factors: the emergence of natural gas and the degree of protection given to coal. Meanwhile natural gas has been adopted on a substantial scale—it already accounted (in terms of coal equivalent) for about 5 per cent of the supply of primary energy in 1970—and significant deposits of petroleum have been discovered in the North Sea. The flow of oil from this source seems sure to have begun by 1975, and by 1980 a large part of crude oil requirements will be covered by ‘domestic’ supplies, though the quantity available remains uncertain. Social considerations apart, this could throw a different light also on the question of protecting coal. Moreover the EEC might well be operating a common energy policy by the end of the decade and in the meanwhile there are in our view a number of other aspects of present United Kingdom energy policy which in any case call for re-examination. Thus our present forecasts are no less speculative than the earlier ones, though for rather different reasons.

scholarly journals Environmental Impacts Evaluation of Sorbitol Production from Glucose

Eksergi ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rifkah Akmalina
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Global Warming Potential ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Sustainable Improvement ◽  
Photochemical Oxidants ◽  
Main Consumer

A life cycle assessment (LCA) has been performed on sorbitol production from glucose, which aims to quantify and evaluate the environmental impacts that produced from the process. SuperPro Designer software was employed to perform the process simulation, while SimaPro was used to quantify the LCA.Potency of global warming, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical oxidants creation, abiotic depletion, and ozone layer depletion were evaluated. A gate-to-gate LCA study of sorbitol production showed that global warming potential (GWP) had the largest impact to environment with the value of 3.551 kg CO2 eq/kg sorbitol. Glucose and electricity consumption were known as two major contributors to GWP, and hydrogen reactor was the main consumer of electricity. The use of glucose were responsible for more than 50% of total environmentalimpact in each category. Performing heat integration in sorbitol processing is highly recommended for gate-togate system to reduce energy demand, thus decreasing the environmental impacts. Therefore, this LCA study may be applied to perform a sustainable improvement on sorbitol production process.Keywords: sorbitol; life cycle assessment; global warming potential

scholarly journals Energy Performance Optimization in a Condensing Boiler

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Diego Fernández-Cheliz ◽  
Eloy Velasco-Gómez ◽  
Juan Peral-Andrés ◽  
Ana Tejero-González
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Performance Optimization ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Hot Water ◽  
Operating Parameters ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Lower Heating Value

In Europe, primary energy consumption in buildings accounts for up to 25–40%, depending on the climate conditions. Space heating and Domestic Hot Water (DHW) contribute significantly to this energy consumption. Among the most common sources for heat generation in these appliances is natural gas. Condensing boilers can surpass the 100% energy performance over the lower heating value, if the operating conditions enable the water vapor in the exhaust gases to condensate. Consequently, optimizing the operating parameters of condensing boilers is necessary to decrease fuel consumption without hindering water heating needs. The present work presents an experimental approach to the operating parameters of a condensing boiler that works with natural gas. The aim is to develop a theoretical model that relates the energy performance to the water temperature set by the final user and the excess air set by the maintenance staff.

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