Search results for: energy efficiency measures

Authors: M. H. Shwehdi, S. Raja Mohammad

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Recently energy savings have become more pronounced as a result of the world financial crises as well the unstable oil prices. Certainly all entities needs to adapt Energy Conservation and Management Strategies due to high monthly consumption of their spread locations and advancements of its telecom systems. These system improvements necessitate the establishment of more exchange centers as well provide energy savings. This paper investigates the impact of HVAC System Characteristics, Operational Strategies, the impact of Envelope Thermal Characteristics, and energy conservation measures. These are classified under three types of measures i.e. Zero-Investment; Low-Investment and High-Investment Energy Conservation Measures. The study shows that the Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) pertaining to the HVAC system characteristics and operation represent the highest potential for energy reduction, attention should be given to window thermal and solar radiation characteristics when large window areas are used. The type of glazing system needs to be carefully considered in the early design phase of future buildings. Paper will present the thermal optimization of different size centers in the two hot-dry and hot-humid Saudi Arabian city of Al Khobar, East province.

Keywords: energy conservation, optimization, thermal design, intermittent operation, exchange centers, hot-humid climate, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Charles Amoo, Joshua New, Bill Eckman

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Buildings in the United States account for a significant proportion of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and this trend is expected to continue as well as rise in the near future. Low-income households, in particular, bear a disproportionate burden of high building energy consumption and spending due to high energy costs. Energy efficiency improvements need to reach an average of 4% per year in this decade in order to meet global net zero emissions target by 2050, but less than 1 % of U.S. buildings are improved each year. The government has recognized the importance of technology in addressing this issue, and energy efficiency programs have been developed to tackle the problem. The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), the largest residential whole-house energy efficiency program in the U.S., is specifically designed to reduce energy costs for low-income households. Under the WAP, energy auditors must follow specific audit procedures and use Department of Energy (DOE) approved energy audit tools or software. This article proposes an expanded framework of factors that should be considered in energy audit software that is approved for use in energy efficiency programs, particularly for low-income households. The framework includes more than 50 factors organized under 14 assessment criteria and can be used to qualitatively and quantitatively score different energy audit software to determine their suitability for specific energy efficiency programs. While the tool can be useful for developers to build new tools and improve existing software, as well as for energy efficiency program administrators to approve or certify tools for use, there are limitations to the model, such as the lack of flexibility that allows continuous scoring to accommodate variability and subjectivity. These limitations can be addressed by using aggregate scores of each criterion as weights that could be combined with value function and direct rating scores in a multicriteria decision analysis for a more flexible scoring.

Keywords: buildings, energy efficiency, energy audit, software

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Authors: Vijayendra Anil Menon, Ashwath Narayan Murali

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The present day vehicles do not reuse the energy expelled in running the vehicle. The energy used to run the vehicle is expelled immediately.This has remained a constant for many decades. With all the vehicles running on non-renewable resources like fossil fuels, there is an urgent need to improve efficiency of the vehicles until a reliable replacement for fossil fuels is found.Our design is based on the concept of Kinetic energy recovery systems. Though our design lies in principle with the KERS, our design can be used in day-to-day driving. With our design, efficiency of vehicles increases and fuel conservation is possible thereby reducing the carbon footprint.

Keywords: KERS, Battery, Wheels, Efficiency.

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Authors: MinHee Chung, BoYeob Lee, Yuri Kim, Eon Ku Rhee

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With an increase in the interest in the energy conservation for buildings, and the emergence of many methods and easily-understandable approaches to it, energy conservation has now become the public’s main interest, as compared to in the past when it was only focused upon by experts. This study aims to help the occupants of a building to understand the energy efficiency and consumption of the building by providing them information on the building’s energy efficiency through a mobile application. The energy performance assessment models are proposed on the basis of the actual energy usage and building characteristics such as the architectural scheme and the building equipment. The university buildings in Korea are used as a case to demonstrate the mobile application.

Keywords: energy consumption, energy performance assessment, mobile application, university buildings

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Authors: Archana Soni, Arvind Mittal, Manmohan Kapshe

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Energy has been recognized as one of the key inputs for the economic growth and social development of a country. High economic growth naturally means a high level of energy consumption. However, in the present energy scenario where there is a wide gap between the energy generation and energy consumption, it is extremely difficult to match the demand with the supply. India being one of the largest and rapidly growing developing countries, there is an impending energy crisis which requires immediate measures to be adopted. In this situation, the concept of Energy Intensity comes under special focus to ensure energy security in an environmentally sustainable way. Energy Intensity is defined as the energy consumed per unit output in the context of industrial energy practices. It is a key determinant of the projections of future energy demands which assists in policy making. Energy Intensity is inversely related to energy efficiency; lesser the energy required to produce a unit of output or service, the greater is the energy efficiency. Energy Intensity of Indian manufacturing industries is among the highest in the world and stands for enormous energy consumption. Hence, reducing the Energy Intensity of Indian manufacturing industries is one of the best strategies to achieve a low level of energy consumption and conserve energy. This study attempts to analyse the factors which influence the Energy Intensity of Indian manufacturing firms and how they can be used to reduce the Energy Intensity. The paper considers six of the largest energy consuming manufacturing industries in India viz. Aluminium, Cement, Iron & Steel Industries, Textile Industries, Fertilizer and Paper industries and conducts a detailed Energy Intensity analysis using the data from PROWESS database of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). A total of twelve independent explanatory variables based on various factors such as raw material, labour, machinery, repair and maintenance, production technology, outsourcing, research and development, number of employees, wages paid, profit margin and capital invested have been taken into consideration for the analysis.

Keywords: energy intensity, explanatory variables, manufacturing industries, PROWESS database

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Authors: Ruedee Niyomrath

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The purposes of this research is aim to build the energy saving stove for stew coconut sugar. The research started from explores ceramic raw materials in local area, create the appropriate mixture of ceramic raw materials for construction material of stove, and make it by ceramic process. It includes design and build the energy saving stove, experiment the efficiency of energy saving stove as to thermal efficiency, energy saving, performance of time, and energy cost efficiency, transfer the knowledge for community, stove manufacturers, and technicians. The findings must be useful to the coconut sugar enterprises producing, to reduce the cost of production, preserve natural resources, and environments.

Keywords: ceramic raw material, energy saving stove, stove design, performance of stove, stove for stew coconut sugar

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Authors: Selin Guleroglu, Ilker Kahraman, E. Selahattin Umdu

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In today’s world, the building sector has a significant impact on primary energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. While new buildings must have high energy performance as indicated by the Energy Performance Directive in Buildings (EPBD), published by the European Union (EU), the energy performance of the existing buildings must also be enhanced with cost-efficient methods. Turkey has a high historical building density similar to south European countries, and the high energy consumption is the main contributor in the energy consumptioın of Turkey, which is rather higher than European counterparts. Historic buildings spread around Turkey for four main climate zones covering very similar climate characteristics to both the north and south European countries. The case study building is determined as the most common building type in Turkey. This study aims to investigate energy retrofit measures covering but not limited to passive and active measures to improve the energy performance of the historical buildings located in different climatic zones within the limits of preservation of the historical value of the building as a crucial constraint. Passive measures include wall, window, and roof construction elements, and active measures HVAC systems in retrofit scenarios. The proposed methodology can help to reach up to 30% energy saving based on primary energy consumption. DesignBuilder, an energy simulation tool, is used to determine the energy performance of buildings with suggested retrofit measures, and the Net Present Value (NPV) method is used for cost analysis of them. Finally, the most efficient energy retrofit measures for all buildings are determined by analyzing primary energy consumption and the cost performance of them. Results show that heat insulation, glazing type, and HVAC system has an important role in energy saving. Also, it found that these parameters have a different positive or negative effect on building energy consumption in different climate zones. For instance, low e glazing has a positive impact on the energy performance of the building in the first zone, while it has a negative effect on the building in the forth zone. Another important result is applying heat insulation has minimum impact on building energy performance compared to other zones.

Keywords: energy performance, climatic zones, historic building, energy retrofit measures, NPV

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Authors: Jaroslav Frantík, Jan Najser

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This article deals with increasing the energy efficiency of a plant in terms of optimizing the process. The European Union is striving to achieve the climate-energy package in the area increasing of energy efficiency. The goal of energy efficiency is to reduce primary energy consumption by 20% within the EU until 2020. The objective of saving energy consumption in the Czech Republic was set at 47.84 PJ (13.29 TWh). For reducing electricity consumption, it is possible to choose: a) mandatory increasing of energy efficiency, b) alternative scheme, c) combination of both actions. The Czech Republic has chosen for reducing electricity consumption using-alternative scheme. The presentation is focused on the proposal of a technological unit dealing with the gasification process of processing of biomass with an increase of power in the output. The synthesis gas after gasification of biomass is used as fuel in a cogeneration process of reciprocating internal combustion engine with the classic production of heat and electricity. Subsequently, there is an explanation of the ORC system dealing with the conversion of waste heat to electricity with the using closed cycle of the steam process with organic medium. The arising electricity is distributed to the power grid as a further energy source, or it is used for needs of the partial coverage of the technological unit. Furthermore, there is a presented schematic description of the technology with the identification of energy flows starting from the biomass treatment by drying, through its conversion to gaseous fuel, producing of electricity and utilize of thermal energy with minimizing losses. It has been found that using of ORC system increased the efficiency of the produced electricity by 7.5%.

Keywords: biomass, efficiency, gasification, ORC system

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Authors: O. A. Akinsanya

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This paper presents the emerging trends in household energy usage in Nigeria for sustainable development. The paper relied on a direct appraisal of energy use in the residential sector and the use of a structured questionnaire to establish the usage pattern, energy management measures and emerging advances. The use of efficient appliances, retrofitting, smart building and smart attitude are some of the benefitting measures. The paper also identified smart building, prosumer activities, hybrid energy use, improved awareness, and solar stand-alone street/security lights as the trend and concluded that energy management strategies would result in a significant reduction in the monthly bills and peak loads as well as the total electricity consumption in Nigeria and therefore it is good for sustainable development.

Keywords: household, energy, trends, strategy, sustainable, Nigeria

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Authors: Jibon Sharma, Alakjyoti Patowary, Moirangthem Nara Singh

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In experimental research it is very much essential to obtain the quality control of the system used for the experiment. NaI (Tl) scintillation detector is the most commonly used in radiation and medical physics for measurement of the gamma ray activity of various samples. In addition, the scintillation detector has a lot of applications in the elemental analysis of various compounds, alloys using activation analysis. In each application for quantitative analysis, it is very much essential to know the detection efficiency and resolution for different gamma energies. In this work, the energy dependence of efficiency and resolution of NaI (Tl) detector using gamma-ray spectroscopy are investigated. Different photon energies of 356.01 keV,511keV,661.60keV,1170 keV,1274.53 keV and 1330 keV are obtained from four radioactive sources (133Ba,22Na,137Cs and 60 Co) used in these studies. Values of full energy peak efficiencies of these gamma energies are found to be respectively 58.46%,10.15%,14.39%,1.4%,3.27% and 1.31%. The values of percent resolution for above different gamma ray energies are found to be 11.27%,7.27%,6.38%,5.17%,4.86% and 4.74% respectively. It was found that the efficiency of the detector exponentially decreases with energy and the resolution of the detector is directly proportional to the energy of gamma-ray.

Keywords: naI (Tl) gamma-ray spectrometer, resolution, full energy peak efficiency, radioactive sources

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Authors: Eric Wilson Santos Cabral, Marta Monteiro Da Costa Cruz, Fabio Luis Maciel Machado, Henrique Andrade, Rodrigo Pirola Pestana, Vivian Andrea Parreira

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The large variation in the price of diesel in Brazil directly affects the variable cost of companies operating in the transportation sector. In rail transport, the great challenge is to overcome the annual budget, cargo and ore transported with cost reduction in relation to previous years, becoming more efficient every year. Some effective measures are necessary to achieve the reduction of the liter ratio consumed by KTKB (Gross Ton per Kilometer multiplied by thousand). This acronym represents the indicator of energy efficiency of some railroads in the world. This study is divided into two parts: the first, to identify using statistical tools, part of the controlled variables in the railways, which have a correlation with the energy efficiency indicator, seeking to aid decision-making. The second, with the use of the train dynamics simulator, within scenarios defined in the operational reality of a railroad, seeks to optimize the train formations and the train stop model for the change of train drivers. With the completion of the study, companies in the rail sector are expected to be able to reduce some of their transportation costs.

Keywords: railway transport, railway simulation, energy efficiency, fuel consumption

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Authors: Bifeng Zhu, Zhekai Wang, Chaoyang Sun, Bart Dewancker

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Under the tide of promoting sustainable development in the world, American universities that have been committed to sustainable practice and innovation, not only have its sustainable campus construction been in the forefront of the world, but also have developed STARS (The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System), which is widely used in the world and highly recognized. At the same time, in the process of global sustainable campus construction, energy problem is often regarded as one of the most important sustainable aspects, even equivalent to the sustainability of campus. Therefore, the relationship between campus energy and sustainability is worth discussing. In this study, four American universities with the highest level evaluated by STARS are selected as examples to compare and analyze the campus energy consumption and the use of new energy, GHG emissions and the overall sustainability of the campus, in order to explore the relationship between campus energy and sustainable construction. It is found that the advantages of sustainable campus construction in the United States are mainly focused on the "software" of management, education, activities, etc. Although different energy-saving measures have been taken in campus energy, the construction results are quite different. Moreover, as an important aspect of sustainable campus, energy can not fully represent the sustainability of campus, but because of the various measures it takes, it can greatly promote the sustainable construction of the whole campus. These measures and construction experiences are worthy of summary and promotion, and have positive reference significance for other universities even communities around the world.

Keywords: sustainable campus, energy consumption, STARS assessment, GHG emissions

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Authors: Onur Elma, Giray E. Kıral, Ugur S. Selamoğuları, Mehmet Uzunoğlu, Bulent Vural

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Electrical energy has become indispensable for people's lives and with rapidly developing technology and continuously changing living standards the need for the electrical energy has been on the rise. Therefore, both energy generation and efficient use of energy are very important topics. Smart grid concept has been introduced to provide monitoring, energy efficiency, reliability and energy quality. Under smart grid concept, smart homes, which can be considered as key component in smart grid operation, have appeared as another research area. In this study, first, smart grid research in the world will be reviewed. Then, overview of smart grid applications in Turkey will be given.

Keywords: energy efficiency, smart grids, smart home, applications

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Authors: Eudes Vera

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In this paper, a theoretical evaluation is carried out of the performance of a forthcoming fuel-less clean energy generation device, the Air Motor. The underlying physical principles that support this technology are succinctly described. Examples of the machine and theoretical values of input and output powers are also given. In addition, its main features like portability, on-site energy generation and delivery, miniaturization of generation plants, efficiency, and scaling down of the whole electric infrastructure are discussed. The main component of the Air Motor, the Thermal Air Turbine, generates useful power by converting in mechanical energy part of the thermal energy contained in a fan-produced airflow while leaving intact its kinetic energy. Due to this fact an air motor can contain a long succession of identical air turbines and the total power generated out of a single airflow can be very large, as well as its mechanical efficiency. It is found using the corresponding formulae that the mechanical efficiency of this device can be much greater than 100%, while its thermal efficiency is always less than 100%. On account of its multiple advantages, the Air Motor seems to be the perfect device to convert energy consumers into energy producers worldwide. If so, it would appear that current national electrical grids would no longer be necessary, because it does not seem practical or economical to bring the energy from far-away distances while it can be generated and consumed locally at the consumer’s premises using just the thermal energy contained in the ambient air.

Keywords: electrical grid, clean energy, renewable energy, in situ generation and delivery, generation efficiency

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Authors: Habib Alshuwaikhat, Nahid Hossain

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Residential sector consumes more than half of the produced electricity in Saudi Arabia, and fossil fuel is the main source of energy to meet growing household electricity demand in the Kingdom. Several studies forecasted and expressed concern that unless the domestic energy demand growth is controlled, it will reduce Saudi Arabia’s crude oil export capacity within a decade and the Kingdom is likely to be incapable of exporting crude oil within next three decades. Though the Saudi government has initiated to address the domestic energy demand growth issue, the demand side energy management policies and programs are focused on industrial and commercial sectors. It is apparent that there is an urgent need to develop a comprehensive energy efficiency strategy for addressing efficient energy use in residential sector in the Kingdom. Then again as Saudi Arabia is at its primary stage in addressing energy efficiency issues in its residential sector, there is a scope for the Kingdom to learn from global energy efficiency practices and design its own energy efficiency policies and programs. However, in order to do that sustainable, it is essential to address local contexts of energy efficiency. It is also necessary to find out the policies and programs that will fit to the local contexts. Thus the objective of this study was set to identify globally best practice energy efficiency policies and programs in residential sector that have replication potential in Saudi Arabia. In this regard two sets of multi-criteria decision analysis matrices were developed to evaluate the energy efficiency policies and programs. The first matrix was used to evaluate the global energy efficiency policies and programs, and the second matrix was used to evaluate the replication potential of global best practice energy efficiency policies and programs for Saudi Arabia. Wuppertal Institute’s guidelines for energy efficiency policy evaluation were used to develop the matrices, and the different attributes of the matrices were set through available literature review. The study reveals that the best practice energy efficiency policies and programs with good replication potential for Saudi Arabia are those which have multiple components to address energy efficiency and are diversified in their characteristics. The study also indicates the more diversified components are included in a policy and program, the more replication potential it has for the Kingdom. This finding is consistent with other studies, where it is observed that in order to be successful in energy efficiency practices, it is required to introduce multiple policy components in a cluster rather than concentrate on a single policy measure. The developed multi-criteria decision analysis matrices for energy efficiency policy and program evaluation could be utilized to assess the replication potential of other globally best practice energy efficiency policies and programs for the residential sector of the Kingdom. In addition it has potential to guide Saudi policy makers to adopt and formulate its own energy efficiency policies and programs for Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia, residential sector, energy efficiency, policy evaluation

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Authors: Marriette Sakah, Christoph Kuhn, Samuel Gyamfi

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Global electricity demand of households in 2005 is estimated to double by 2025 and nearly double again in 2030. The residential sector promises considerable demand growth through infrastructural and equipment investments, the majority of which is projected to occur in developing countries. This lays bare the urgency for enhanced efficiency in all energy systems combined with exploitation of local potential for renewable energy systems. This study explores options for reducing energy consumption, particularly in residential buildings and providing robust, decentralized and renewable energy supply for African cities. The potential of energy efficiency measures and the potential of harnessing local resources for renewable energy supply are quantitatively assessed. The scale of research specifically addresses the city level, which is regulated by local authorities. Local authorities can actively promote the transition to a renewable-based energy supply system by promoting energy efficiency and the use of alternative renewable fuels in existing buildings, and particularly in planning and development of new settlement areas through the use of incentives, regulations, and demonstration projects. They can also support a more sustainable development by shaping local land use and development patterns in such ways that reduce per capita energy consumption and are benign to the environment. The subject of the current case study, Tema, is Ghana´s main industrial hub, a port city and home to 77,000 families. Residential buildings in Tema consumed 112 GWh of electricity in 2013 or 1.45 MWh per household. If average household electricity demand were to decline at an annual rate of just 2 %, by 2035 Tema would consume only 134 GWh of electricity despite an expected increase in the number of households by 84 %. The work is based on a ground survey of the city’s residential sector. The results show that efficient technologies and decentralized renewable energy systems have great potential for meeting the rapidly growing energy demand of cities in developing countries.

Keywords: energy efficiency, energy saving potential, renewable energy integration, residential buildings, urban Africa

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Authors: Abdulrahman M. Homadi

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As a great source of renewable energy, solar energy is considered to be one of the most important in the world, since it will be one of solutions cover the energy shortage in the future. Photovoltaic (PV) is the most popular and widely used among solar energy technologies. However, PV efficiency is fairly low and remains somewhat expensive. High temperature has a negative effect on PV efficiency and cooling system for these panels is vital, especially in warm weather conditions. This paper presents the results of a simulation study carried out on silicon solar cells to assess the effects of elevation on enhancing the efficiency of solar panels. The study included four different terrains. The study also took into account the direction of the wind hitting the solar panels. To ensure the simulation mimics reality, six silicon solar panels are designed in two columns and three rows, facing to the south at an angle of 30 ^o. The elevations are assumed to change from 10 meters to 200 meters. The results show that maximum increase in efficiency occurs when the wind comes from the north, hitting the back of the panels.

Keywords: solar panels, elevation, wind direction, efficiency

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Authors: Kremena Ivanona, Bistra Kunovska, Jana Djunova, Desislava Djunakova, Zdenka Stojanovska

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In recent decades, the general public has become increasingly interested in the impact of air pollutions on their health. Currently, numerous studies are aimed at identifying pollutants in the indoor environment where they carry out daily activities. Internal pollutants can be of both natural and artificial origin. With regard to natural pollutants, special attention is paid to natural radioactivity. In recent years, radon has been one of the most studied indoor pollutants because it has the greatest contribution to human exposure to natural radionuclides. It is a known fact that lung cancer can be caused by radon radiation and it is the second risk factor after smoking for the onset of the disease. The main objective of the study under the National Science Fund of Bulgaria, in the framework of grant No КП-06-Н23/1/07.12.2018 is to evaluate the indoor radon as an important air pollutant in school buildings in order to reduce the exposure to children. The measurements were performed in 48 schools located in 55 buildings in one Bulgarian administrative district (Kardjaly). The nuclear track detectors (CR-39) were used for measurements. The arithmetic and geometric means of radon concentrations are AM = 140 Bq/m3, and GM = 117 Bq/m3 respectively. In 51 school rooms, the radon levels were greater than 200 Bq/m3, and in 28 rooms, located in 17 school buildings, it exceeded the national reference level of 300 Bq/m3, defined in the Bulgarian ordinance on radiation protection (or 30% of the investigated buildings). The statistically significant difference in the values of radon concentration by municipalities (KW, р < 0.001) obtained showed that the most likely reason for the differences between the groups is the geographical location of the buildings and the possible influence of the geological composition. The combined effect of the year of construction (technical condition of the buildings) and the energy efficiency measures was considered. The values of the radon concentration in the buildings where energy efficiency measures have been implemented are higher than those in buildings where they have not been performed. This result confirms the need for investigation of radon levels before conducting the energy efficiency measures in buildings. Corrective measures for reducing the radon levels have been recommended in school buildings with high radon levels in order to decrease the children's exposure.

Keywords: air pollution, indoor radon, children exposure, schools

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Authors: Ayalew Tadese Kibret, Belayneh Sisay Alemu, Amare Kassaw Yimer

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Intelligent reflecting surfaces (IRSs) are considered to be a key enabling technology for sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. IRSs are electromagnetic (EM) surfaces that are fabricated and have integrated electronics, electronically controlled processes, and particularly wireless communication features. IRSs operate without the need for complex signal processing and the encoding and decoding steps that improve the signal quality at the receiver. Improving vital performance parameters such as energy efficiency (EE) and spectral efficiency (SE) have frequently been the primary goals of research in order to meet the increasing requirements for advanced services in the future 6G communications. In this research, we conduct a comparative analysis on single and multi-IRS wireless communication networks using energy and spectrum efficiency. The energy efficiency versus user distance, energy efficiency versus signal to noise ratio, and spectral efficiency versus user distance are the basis for our result with 1, 2, 4, and 6 IRSs. According to the results of our simulation, in terms of energy and spectral efficiency, six IRS perform better than four, two, and single IRS. Overall, our results suggest that multi-IRS-assisted wireless communication systems outperform single IRS systems in terms of communication performance.

Keywords: sixth-generation (6G), wireless networks, intelligent reflecting surfaces, energy efficiency, spectral efficiency

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Authors: Margarida Plana

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One of the most important energy challenge of the European policies is the transition to a Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) model. A NZEB is a new concept of building that has the aim of reducing both the energy consumption and the carbon emissions to nearly zero of the course of a year. To achieve this nearly zero consumption, apart from being buildings with high efficiency levels, the energy consumed by the building has to be produced on-site. This paper is focused on presenting the results of the analysis developed on basis of real projects’ data in order to quantify the impact of end-users behavior. The analysis is focused on how the behavior of building’s occupants can vary the achievement of the energy savings targets and how they can be limited. The results obtained show that on this kind of project, with very high energy performance, is required to limit the end-users interaction with the system operation to be able to reach the targets fixed.

Keywords: end-users impacts, energy efficiency, energy savings, NZEB model

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Authors: Young-Kwan Choi, Gang-Wook Shin, Sung-Taek Hong

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Water supply system consumes large amount of power load during water treatment and transportation of purified water. Many energy conserving high efficiency materials such as DC motor and LED light have recently been introduced to water supply system for energy conservation. This paper performed empirical analysis on BLDC, AC motors, and comparatively analyzed the change in power according to DC power supply ratio in order to conserve energy of a next-generation water treatment system called vertical water treatment system. In addition, a DC distribution system linked with photovoltaic generation was simulated to analyze the energy conserving effect of DC load.

Keywords: vertical water treatment system, DC power supply, energy efficiency, BLDC

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Authors: R. Nasrin, M. Ferdows

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Among the renewable energy sources, photovoltaic (PV) is a high potential, effective, and sustainable system. Irradiation intensity from 200 W/m2 to 1000 W/m2 has been considered to observe the performance of PV module. Generally, this module converts only about 15% - 20% of incident irradiation into electrical energy and the rest part is converted into heat energy. Finite element method has been used to solve the problem numerically. Simulation has been performed by considering the ambient temperature 30°C. Higher irradiation increase solar cell temperature and electrical power. The electrical efficiency of PV module decreases with the variation of solar radiation. The efficiency of PV module can be increased if cell temperature is reduced. Thus the effect of irradiation is significant to enhance the efficiency of PV module if the solar cell temperature is kept at a certain level.

Keywords: PV module, solar radiation, efficiency, cell temperature

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Authors: Marco Morini, Nicolandrea Calabrese, Dario Chello

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Despite the international commitment of Algeria towards the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy in the country, the internal energy demand has been continuously growing during the last decade due to the substantial increase of population and of living conditions, which in turn has led to an unprecedented expansion of the residential building sector. The thermal building regulation is the technical document that establishes the calculation framework for the thermal performance of buildings in Algeria, setting up minimum obligatory targets for the thermal performance of new buildings. An update of this regulation is due in the coming years, and this paper discusses some proposals in this regard, with the aim to improve the energy efficiency of the building sector, particularly with regard to social housing. In particular, it proposes a methodology for drafting an energy performance label of new Algerian residential buildings, moving from the results of the thermal compliance verification and sizing of technical systems as defined in the RTB. Such an energy performance label – whose calculation method is briefly described in the paper – aims to raise citizens' awareness of the benefits of energy efficiency. It can represent the first step in a process of integrating technical installations into the calculation of the energy performance of buildings in Algeria.

Keywords: building, energy certification, energy efficiency, social housing, international cooperation, Mediterranean region

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Authors: T. Tulwin, M. Gęca, R. Sochaczewski

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Recent improvements in electric propulsion systems and energy storage systems allow for the electrification of many sectors where it was previously not feasible. This analysis proves the feasibility of electric propulsion in aviation applications reviewing recent energy storage developments. It can be more quiet, energy efficient and more environmentally friendly. Numerical simulations were done to prove that energy efficiency can be improved for rotorcrafts especially in hover conditions. New types of aircraft configurations are reviewed and future trends are presented.

Keywords: aircraft, propulsion , efficiency, storage

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Authors: Margarida Plana

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The end-users behavior has been identified in the last years as one of the main responsible for the success degree of the energy efficiency improvements. It is essential to create tools to limit their impact on the final consumption. This paper is focused on presenting the results of the analysis developed on the basis of real projects’ data in order to quantify the impact of end-users behavior. The analysis is focused on how the behavior of building’s occupants can vary the achievement of the energy savings targets and how they can be limited. The results obtained show that the management systems are one of the main tools available to control and limit the end-users interaction with the equipment operation. In fact, the results will present the management systems as ‘a must’ on any energy efficiency project.

Keywords: end-users impacts, energy efficiency, energy savings, management systems

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Authors: Mahsa Karimpour, Martin Belusko, Ke Xing, Frank Bruno

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Traditionally the embodied energy of design choices which reduce operational energy were assumed to have a negligible impact on the life cycle energy of buildings. However with new buildings having considerably lower operational energy, the significance of embodied energy increases. A life cycle assessment of a population of house designs was conducted in a mild and mixed climate zone. It was determined not only that embodied energy dominates life cycle energy, but that the impact on embodied of design choices was of equal significance to the impact on operational energy.

Keywords: building life cycle energy, embodied energy, energy design measures, low energy buildings

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Authors: G. Kaur, A. P. Kulkarni, S. Giddey

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Production of fuels and chemicals using renewable energy is a promising way for large-scale energy storage and export. Solid oxide electrolysers (SOEs) integrated with renewable source of energy can produce 'Syngas' H₂/CO from H₂O/CO₂ in the desired ratio for further conversion to liquid fuels. As only a waste CO₂ from industrial and power generation processes is utilized in these processes, this approach is CO₂ neutral compared to using fossil fuel feedstock. In addition, the waste heat from industrial processes or heat from solar thermal concentrators can be effectively utilised in SOEs to further reduce the electrical requirements by up to 30% which boosts overall energy efficiency of the process. In this paper, the electrochemical performance of various novel steam/CO₂ reduction electrodes (cathode) would be presented. The efficiency and lifetime degradation data for single cells and a stack would be presented along with the response of cells to variable electrical load input mimicking the intermittent nature of the renewable energy sources. With such optimisation, newly developed electrodes have been tested for 500+ hrs with Faraday efficiency (electricity to fuel conversion efficiency) up to 95%, and thermal efficiency in excess of 70% based upon energy content of the syngas produced.

Keywords: carbon dioxide, steam conversion, electrochemical system, energy storage, fuel production, renewable energy

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Authors: Berhane Gebreslassie

Abstract:

Conventional commericial buildings are among the highest unwisely consumes enormous amount of energy and as consequence produce significant amount Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Traditional/conventional buildings have been built for years without consideration being given to their impact on the global warming issues as well as their CO2 contributions. Since 1973, simulation of Green Building (GB) for Energy Efficiency started and many countries in particular the US showed a positive response to minimize the usage of energy in respect to reducing the CO2 emission. As a consequence many software companies developed their own unique building energy efficiency simulation software, interfacing interoperability with Building Information Modeling (BIM). The last decade has witnessed very rapid growing number of researches on GB energy efficiency system. However, the study also indicates that the results of current GB simulation are not yet satisfactory to meet the objectives of GB. In addition most of these previous studies are unlikely excluded the studies of ultimate building energy efficiencies simulation. The aim of this project is to meet the objectives of GB by design, modeling and simulation of building ultimate energy efficiencies system. This research project presents multi-level, L-shape office building in which every particular part of the building materials has been tested for energy efficiency. An overall of 78.62% energy is saved, approaching to NetZero energy saving. Furthermore, the building is implements with distributed energy resources like renewable energies and integrating with Smart Building Automation System (SBAS) for controlling and monitoring energy usage.

Keywords: ultimate energy saving, optimum energy saving, green building, sustainable materials and renewable energy

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: Nico Fuchs, Fabian Wüllhorst, Laura Maier, Dirk Müller

Abstract:

The decarbonization of building stocks necessitates the modernization of existing buildings. Key measures for this include reducing energy demands through insulation of the building envelope, replacing heat generators, and installing solar systems. Given limited financial resources, it is impractical to modernize all buildings in a portfolio simultaneously; instead, prioritization of buildings and modernization measures for a given planning horizon is essential. Optimization models for modernization pathways can assist portfolio managers in this prioritization. However, modeling and solving these large-scale optimization problems, often represented as mixed-integer problems (MIP), necessitates simplifying the operation of building energy systems particularly with respect to system dynamics and transient behavior. This raises the question of which level of simplification remains sufficient to accurately account for realistic costs and emissions of building energy systems, ensuring a fair comparison of different modernization measures. This study addresses this issue by comparing a two-stage simulation-based optimization approach with a single-stage mathematical optimization in a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation. The simulation-based approach serves as a benchmark for realistic energy system operation but requires a restriction of the solution space to discrete choices of modernization measures, such as the sizing of heating systems. After calculating the operation of different energy systems in terms of the resulting final energy demands in simulation models on a first stage, the results serve as input for a second stage MILP optimization, where the design of each building in the portfolio is optimized. In contrast to the simulation-based approach, the MILP-based approach can capture a broader variety of modernization measures due to the efficiency of MILP solvers but necessitates simplifying the building energy system operation. Both approaches are employed to determine the cost-optimal design and dimensioning of several buildings in a portfolio to meet climate targets within limited yearly budgets, resulting in a modernization pathway for the entire portfolio. The comparison reveals that the MILP formulation successfully captures design decisions of building energy systems, such as the selection of heating systems and the modernization of building envelopes. However, the results regarding the optimal dimensioning of heating technologies differ from the results of the two-stage simulation-based approach, as the MILP model tends to overestimate operational efficiency, highlighting the limitations of the MILP approach.

Keywords: building energy system optimization, model accuracy in optimization, modernization pathways, building stock decarbonization

Procedia PDF Downloads 36

Authors: Marriette Sakah, Samuel Gyamfi, Morkporkpor Delight Sedzro, Christoph Kuhn

Abstract:

Ghana is experiencing rapid economic development and its cities command an increasingly dominant role as centers of both production and consumption. Cities run on energy and are extremely vulnerable to energy scarcity, energy price escalations and health impacts of very poor air quality. The overriding concern in Ghana and other West African states is bridging the gap between energy demand and supply. Energy efficiency presents a cost-effective solution for supply challenges by enabling more coverage with current power supply levels and reducing the need for investment in additional generation capacity and grid infrastructure. In Ghana, major issues for energy policy formulation in residential applications include lack of disaggregated electrical energy consumption data and lack of thorough understanding with regards to socio-economic influences on energy efficiency investment. This study uses a bottom up approach to estimate baseline electricity end-use as well as the energy consumption of best available technologies to enable estimation of energy-efficiency resource in terms of relative reduction in total energy use for Tema city, Ghana. A ground survey was conducted to assess the probable consumer behavior in response to energy efficiency initiatives to enable estimation of the amount of savings that would occur in response to specific policy interventions with regards to funding and incentives provision targeted at households. Results show that 16% - 54% reduction in annual electricity consumption is reasonably achievable depending on the level of incentives provision. The saved energy could supply 10000 - 34000 additional households if the added households use only best available technology. Political support and consumer awareness are necessary to translate energy efficiency resources into real energy savings.

Keywords: achievable energy savings, energy efficiency, Ghana, household appliances

Procedia PDF Downloads 216