Peak load characteristics of Sydney office buildings and policy recommendations for peak load reduction

Growth in peak period electricity demand has driven the requirement for a significant expansion of Sydney's electricity network. Energy efficiency and demand management activities in office buildings may be an alternative to electricity network augmentation, with significant economic and environmental benefits. This paper identifies and characterises trends in electricity peak demand in Sydney's office buildings, comparing a range of high and low energy consuming buildings. The paper assesses the potential for energy efficiency and demand management strategies in office buildings to reduce peak loads and hence defer electricity network augmentation. Base building electricity load data was analysed for a sample of 25 Sydney office buildings, along with Sydney electricity substation and temperature data. Peak loads for buildings with best practice energy performance were found to be 26% lower than for buildings with average energy performance, while annual electricity consumption was 57% lower. With these findings, this paper has assessed the effectiveness of current energy efficiency policy for peak demand management and has recommended strengthening energy efficiency policies in order to capture coincidental peak load reductions, as well as new policies specifically targeting peak demand management. It was found that these measures could offer significant potential to defer network investment.     

基于能耗监管平台的某高校宿舍用能调查分析

建立能耗监测平台作为建筑节能的重要举措已在高校范围内得到一定推广。为调查能耗监测平台在使用过程中是否起到实质节能效果,对比了某建有能耗监测平台的高校留学生宿舍和本科生宿舍各1栋连续3年的电耗情况,发现留学生宿舍用电存在很大浪费。调研了宿管员对用电的管理情况,发现由于难以获得寝室电耗数据,宿管员很少管理学生用电行为。进一步调查了能耗监测平台的普及情况,发现基层宿管员难以获得平台数据。分析调研结果,认为能耗监测平台没有对宿舍用电节能起到应有的促进作用,而电耗监测数据可以帮助宿管员管理宿舍用电,达成节能效果。目前,高校建筑普遍存在不同程度的用电浪费,向高校建筑的基层管理人员开放能耗监测平台,并向其定时推送电耗数据和节能管理意见有助于实现行为管理层面的节能,实现平台的实际节能效果。     

A case study for the evaluation of realistic energy retrofit strategies for public office buildings in the Southern Hemisphere

The building sector offers significant opportunities for reducing the energy consumption with considerable economic, environmental and health benefits. Governments can lead the way by retrofitting existing public buildings to reinforce their commitment to improve energy efficiency. Similar design standards, end-uses and operational profiles are usually established for public buildings based on the services they offer. Retrofitting a public building can therefore serve as an ideal test-bed for energy efficiency measures for other buildings within a particular service category. This study first analysed the current electricity consumption of a public office building in Mauritius, located in the Southern Hemisphere. A complete model of the building was created, validated and then simulated to investigate the impact of realistic retrofit strategies on the electricity consumption. Results showed that lighting retrofit achieved the most significant reduction while measures that improved the thermal envelope of the building resulted in smaller energy savings. The possibility of exploiting solar energy was explored by simulating a 70 kW_p photovoltaic system installed on the roof. An equivalent of 8.5% of the annual electricity consumption of the building could thus be generated. A financial analysis is also presented for all retrofit scenarios in terms of annual return and payback period.     

关于采暖居住建筑节能评价问题

根据JGJ26-95的规定,对目前采用的建筑物能耗评价方法（JGJ132-2001）的测定条件,以及建筑物的评价问题进行了深入地探讨.建议有关部门尽早修订目前执行的建筑节能检验标准,强化建筑物设计过程管理和施工质量监督,不必对建筑体系成熟、施工工艺确定的节能建筑进行节能评价,只需进行节能验收.对采暖居住建筑运行能耗的评价可与热计量收费的改革相配套,利用经济杠杆,促进运行节能.     

Development of envelope efficiency labels for commercial buildings: Effect of different variables on electricity consumption

After the first federal law on energy efficiency was published in 2001, the Brazilian government promoted several actions on energy efficiency, including the Federal Regulation for Voluntary Labeling of Energy Efficiency Levels in Commercial, Public and Service Buildings. Divided into three parts, lighting system, HVAC and building envelope, it is expected to become mandatory in 2013. This paper describes the criteria adopted to evaluate the envelope efficiency level, focusing on the development of a regression equation which provides an electricity consumption indicator. The envelope label is divided into five efficiency levels, from A (more efficient) to E (less efficient), identified according to the electricity consumption indicator. The linear regression equation considers variables such as window to wall ratio (WWR), SHGC, solar protection angles, building volume indicators and the roof U_value. The U_value of the walls was excluded from the equation due to its non-linearity. Its relation with electricity consumption depends on internal gains, exterior temperatures, building size and thermal capacity of the walls and could not be described by a linear regression equation. Some limitations were identified and shape factor limits were provided. The envelope efficiency label is obtained by the comparison of the electricity consumption indicator of the proposed building with the electricity consumption indicators of two other building envelopes presented.     

天门农村居住建筑能耗分析与思考

通过调研天门农村发展水平及部分典型居住建筑概况,分析了农村居住建筑能耗现状和能源费用情况。结果表明,天门农村居住建筑能源消耗主要集中在炊事、照明及家用电器、生活热水3个方面,能源费用主要为电费。同时提出了适用于天门农村居住建筑的节能技术,如更换外窗,自然通风与太阳辐射得热、太阳能光热利用等,为改善农村生活环境和农民居住条件提供参考和建议。     

民用建筑推行用地用电指标的探讨

针对广东省开展的用电指标工作,分析了当前建筑节能工作的瓶颈,论证了控制建筑用电负荷对新建建筑节能的关键作用,结合既有建筑的耗能统计数据和相关标准,给出了用电指标的建议数值。     

Building codes vs. the existing housing stock‐some guidelines for energy conservation policy

Energy conservation in the housing sector has become a major policy issue since the first oil crisis in 1973–74. When mandatory building codes are used to improve the energy‐efficiency of new buildings, a high growth of construction will create a strong trend towards lower consumption per dwelling. But construction also adds new buildings to the housing stock, which will mean a higher total energy consumption, even if the marginal consumption is falling. These considerations lead to the conclusion that operating with codes is uniquely a long‐term policy in an energy conservation sense. To be able to gain short‐term conservation effects the policy measures should be directed towards existing buildings. This relation of time is not always clearly understood in the policy formulations that have been studied.     

Measurements of occupancy levels in multi-family dwellings—Application to demand controlled ventilation

The occupancy level of dwellings is an important parameter to know to determine the energy efficiency, energy use and indoor air quality, especially in low-energy buildings where the user-related energy uses, such as household electricity and domestic hot water heating, are significant parts of the energy balance in a building. For residential buildings, there is a lack of occupancy level data, which also needs to be resolved over time, in a way so that both short term and long term variations can be described. As a part of an ongoing study, occupancy levels were measured as building average levels in 18 apartment buildings containing 342 apartments in total with readings every 30 min for more than a year. Averages and standard deviations of occupancy level, and variation in occupancy during the year, week and day respectively are presented. The results show a highly varying occupancy level over time, which indicates the potential of demand controlled ventilation in dwellings.     

Using intelligent clustering techniques to classify the energy performance of school buildings

The present paper deals with the energy performance, energy classification and rating and the global environmental quality of school buildings. A new energy classification technique based on intelligent clustering methodologies is proposed. Energy rating of school buildings provides specific information on their energy consumption and efficiency relative to the other buildings of similar nature and permits a better planning of interventions to improve its energy performance. The overall work reported in the present paper, is carried out in three phases. During the first phase energy consumption data have been collected through energy surveys performed in 320 schools in Greece. In the second phase an innovative energy rating scheme based on fuzzy clustering techniques has been developed, while in the third phase, 10 schools have been selected and detailed measurements of their energy efficiency and performance as well as of the global environmental quality have been performed using a specific experimental protocol. The proposed energy rating method has been applied while the main environmental and energy problems have been identified. The potential for energy and environmental improvements has been assessed.     

Creating competitive advantage by using environment-friendly building processes

As a result of the oil crisis of the 1970s, energy saving in the construction and operation of buildings has been a strategic issue in the building industry. Energy consumption has a significant impact on the environment in terms of the resulting emissions and by-products. However, energy consumption is not the only building item that impacts on the environment. Other items such as site planning, waste management, selection of materials and design for flexibility, together with energy planning form the agenda for sustainable building practices and are a critical factor in addressing the environmental crisis.As strategic as energy saving has been since the oil crisis, environment-friendly building practices today provide competitive advantage for the firms that embrace them. Based on a case study drawn from Botswana, this paper discusses some environment-friendly building practices and the importance of considering the sustainability of the building at the design stage because decisions made here influence all downstream processes. The paper concludes by emphasizing that, although much progress on environmental improvement has been made as a result of legislation and regulations, these efforts need to be complemented with the contribution of the business sector that is compelled by financial gains in adopting environment-friendly practices.     

Enhanced supervision strategies for effective reduction of building energy consumption--A case study of Ningbo

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the reasons for ever growing energy consumption in buildings and to give enhanced supervision strategies for reduction of building energy consumption compared to regular ones. A case study of Ningbo city was used to make a detail analysis. Several factors were determined as the reasons for ever growing building energy consumption including climate change, household electricity load increase, the growth of real estate, fast-growing household electrical appliances, high energy consumption in existing buildings, changes in industrial structure and the lack of enhanced government supervision. Then the discussion of suitable countermeasures shows that only enhanced supervision strategies are currently applicable. Finally, it is concluded that enhanced government supervision strategies, including the establishment of a strict control system for new built buildings through information integration and encryption, establishing an energy efficiency supervision system of large-scale public building and a carrot-and-stick approach with added expert checklist for the building application of renewable energy, showed great advantages in promoting building energy efficiency in Ningbo, compared with other cities. These supervision strategies are applicable in other cities as they are in the similar situations in the enforcement of building energy efficiency.     

基于数字技术的夏热冬冷地区既有宿舍节能减排改造——以重庆大学B区三舍节能改造为例

建筑节能作为我国节能减排中的重点项目,对于现存建筑的节能改造设计则成为建筑节能中不可或缺的一部分。与单纯的绿色建筑设计不同的是,就现存建筑的改造是在受到既有的结构限制和功能要求下进行的;此外,宿舍这一类型建筑已经成为各高校建筑组成中的一个主体部分,直接关系到学生和相关工作人员的生活起居质量。因此,本设计旨在通过改造设计实现对建筑的二次设计,并充分利用现有的被动式设计策略,与相关主动式绿色建筑设计策略相结合,以数字分析技术为辅助手段进行建筑节能设计,实现对建筑内部热环境、风环境等相关物理环境的改善,最终为宿舍等相关类型建筑的节能改造做出指导。     

节能建筑定额编制的意义和内容探讨

建筑节能是我国目前建筑行业的一项重点工作,是建筑行业可持续发展的基础.建筑节能在设计方面已经有了一些标准,为推进建筑节能工作,有必要编制独立成册的"节能建筑定额",既有利于建筑节能的实施,也可以为节能建筑提供计价依据和评价指标,在政策上引导,推动建筑节能工作的开展.     

Building and Environment

This paper investigates the concern that green buildings may promote energy efficiency and other aspects of sustainability, but not necessarily the health and well-being of oc-cupants through better indoor air quality ( IAQ ) . We ask ten questions to explore IAQ challenges for green buildings as well as opportunities to improve IAQ within green buildings and their programs. Our focus is on IAQ, while recognizing that many factors influence human health and the healthfulness of a building. We begin with an overview of green buildings, IAQ, and whether and how green building certifications address IAQ.Next, we examine evidence on whether green buildings have better IAQ than comparable conventional buildings. Then, we identify so-called green practices and green products that can have unintended and unfavorable effects on IAQ. Looking ahead, we offer both immediate and longer-term actions, and a set of re-search questions, that can help green buildings to more effectively promote IAQ. This article supports a growing recognition of the importance of IAQ in green buildings, and the opportunities for improvements. As the World Green Building Council [ 95 ] and others have emphasized, people are the most valuable asset of or-ganizations, and efforts to improve IAQ can improve health, well-being, productivity, and profitability.     

Energy efficiency labeling of buildings: An assessment of the Brazilian case

This paper addresses the application of Energy Efficiency Rating Technical Quality Regulations for Commercial, Service and Government Buildings - RTQ-C in order to ascertain whether the conventional construction system for buildings complies with these requirements. Additionally, it investigates the contribution of labeling to reducing electricity consumption by the building. To do so, the RTQ-C was applied to two buildings in order to calculate the efficiency levels of their envelopes and possible alterations are proposed for upgrading the envelope performance where pertinent. It is noted that conventional buildings adopting measures such as painting the walls and roof white, in addition to using smoked glass, are sufficient to bring the rating up to an A grade. As no specific concern was noted in the architectural designs for the buildings studied, making use of design strategies that minimize the use of electricity in these buildings, the findings of these case studies may well indicate that the RTQ-C has adopted technical requirements that are not particularly stringent. Consequently, it is believed that these requirements should be reviewed during a second stage, in order to make them more restrictive and attain further improvements in the constructed environment with better energy efficiency for buildings.     

绿色建筑节能浅析

在当今人类面临能源危机与可持续发展重大问题的环境下,绿色建筑节能是世界建筑发展的基本趋向,也是贯彻各国家可持续发展战略的重要组成部分.主要从建筑物本体节能、建筑用能系统(设备)节能和可再生能源在建筑中的应用3个方面系统介绍了建筑节能的主要技术措施和存在的一些问题,并提出了关于我国建筑节能领域的一些现点.     

发泡复合材料在建筑节能领域的应用

在全球能源危机和倡导低碳经济的背景下,人们的节能意识在不断提高。随着科学技术的发展,催生了一系列的节能设备、节能技术、节能材料等。在全球能源消耗体系中,建筑的能源消耗占有较大的比重,因此建筑节能显得尤为重要,节能建筑已成为未来建筑业发展的重点。建筑节能是缓解我国能源紧缺矛盾、减轻环境污染、促进经济可持续发展的一项最有效、最直接的措施。建筑节能首先从设计选材方面,选择保温性能良好的材料,减少热量的传递。发泡复合材料不失为一种价格低廉、保温性能优越、减轻环境污染的新型复合防火材料,其在建筑节能领域必将得到广泛应用。     

西安酒店建筑能耗调查与节能潜力分析

课题组对西安市数十栋酒店建筑进行能耗调查,获得2009年—2011年全年耗电量、耗气量、耗水量统计数据。引用能质系数计算方法,将所有的终端能源按一定折算系数转化为电。以总耗电量表示建筑能耗量,以单位面积建筑能耗作为标准。针对室内环境参数测试值分析室内环境质量。分析总结酒店建筑能耗现状:普遍存在的问题,亟待改善的问题,并分析节能潜力。     

Analysis of hourly price granularity implementation in the Brazilian deregulated electricity contracting environment

Brazil’s electricity market is the largest in Latin America and the ninth largest in the world. It has been implemented as a mixed market in which regulated and deregulated contracting environments coexist. The volume of transactions in the deregulated market has experienced steep growth over the last few years and is expected to surpass the regulated market. Different programs to diversify the country’s energy matrix have been devised, especially by integrating intermittent renewable sources to address the deregulated market expansion. Consequently, such an energy policy path has prompted the need to increase the granularity of the Brazilian deregulated market’s spot price, namely the Difference Settlement Price (DSP). The DSP had been weekly defined accounting for three loading levels and four submarkets, and, as of 2021, it has been hourly defined accounting for four submarkets; the weekly DSP is inefficient in actually signaling prices based on ex-ante marginal cost of operation of the interconnected Brazilian power system. Besides such granularity alteration, Brazil has also undergone a severe hydrological crisis in 2021 that led to significantly lower water inflows into major hydrographic watersheds and, as a result, most hydroelectric power plant reservoirs hit a 91-year low. The described scenario is relevant in utility policies and energy economics since it depicts a significant paradigm shift experience in such a large electricity market. This study presents the first hourly DSP behavior analysis since its implementation in the Brazilian electricity market and explores its statistical characteristics and relationships with exogenous variables throughout 2021. Additionally, we discuss the hourly DSP’s volatility observed in the year 2021 and how it has resulted in price spikes. At last, we compare the behavior of the Brazilian hourly DSP with the energy prices of five other countries’ electricity markets. Despite being a significant market improvement, the DSP granularity increase per se could not accurately represent the actual marginal cost of operation over the year 2021 since, besides instabilities observed in the hourly DSP, market intervention mechanisms had to be applied by Brazilian regulatory agencies to minimize the hydrological crisis’ impacts.