Energy consumption and conservation in the Russian apartment building stock

Energy consumption of buildings in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union has typically been reported in very coarse terms, as annual energy use normalized by weather and floor area. Reported figures, based on estimates derived from available energy-delivery data, have shown that Russian residential buildings consume on the order of twice as much primary energy for space-heating as those in some developed Western countries. Reports have been accompanied with qualitative assertions that higher levels of insulation, reduced air infiltration, and better control of heating systems could reduce energy use. However, there has been a dearth of data that first distinguish Russian buildings by construction type and insulation level, and second attempt to quantitatively pinpoint causes for the relatively high energy use. Such data are needed to focus contemporary energy-conservation efforts in Russia on the most promising areas. This paper presents a preliminary set of information that illuminates these areas, concentrating on the city of Moscow. The analysis breaks down Moscow's district-heated apartment building stock by type and year of construction and by the required thermal standards in force at the time of construction. It aggregates these buildings into three classes according to the type of external wall construction — brick or large block, single-layer panel, and three-layer panel — and estimates overall annual energy use for space-heating via a steady-state model. It then compares predicted and measured energy use, for the aggregation and, more accurately, for a single building for which detailed energy-use data are available. In both cases there is a large discrepancy, with actual space-heating energy use exceeding design predictions by at least 60%. Analytical efforts to reconcile the excess energy consumption for the metered building strongly suggest that the most important cause of relatively high space-heating energy use in the building is poor control of heat delivery from the district heating system.     

1st Environmental conference of Thessaly region, 8–10 September 2012, Hotel Skiathos Palace,Koukounaries, Skiathos Island,Greece

This study was conducted with the aim to assess the potential performance of a photovoltaic thermal mechanical ventilation heat recovery (PV/T MVHR) system. The device is currently considered for the application to the Z-en house project undertaken by Scottish homebuilder. The house’s whole energy demand was calibrated based on the UK Government’s standard assessment procedure for energy rating of dwellings, while the PV/T performance was estimated using an ‘EESLISM’ energy and environmental design simulation tool developed by Kogakuin University. This study concluded that PV generates heat, which makes the fresh air running under the PV roof 10–15?°C warmer than the outside temperature even during the Scottish winter and this warm air extracted from roof-integrated PV modules can be used to help reduce the domestic space-heating demand. Thus, the building-integrated PV/T MVHR system was considered as one of the effective means to assist the net zero energy operation of housing in cool and cold climates, whose dominant domestic energy comsumption derives from space heating.     

Heat requirements and energy use in British houses

Housing data likely ranges of insulation levels are combined to give estimates of the heating requirements for conventional houses and small flats to be built in Britain in 1977–1987. After allowance for non-solar heat gains, requirements of 65–120 kWh/day for 4–6 person houses and of 8–47 kWh/day for small flats are predicted. The 65 kWh/day lower limit for houses will be improved on in the case of very well insulated houses using modified construction techniques.Data are collated showing average incidental heat gains from appliances, water heating, and other sources. The effects of these on annual heating energy use and on mean power requirements are assessed, and annual heating energy use per kW of design heat loss is calculated for a range of levels of incidental gains at three British locations; Pembroke, Croydon and Edinburgh. The typical solar contribution to this heating energy is also calculated.Mean-to-peak power variations are considered, showing that on average a heating system operates at 20–30% of the house design heat loss; this is the level at which energy use efficiency is most significant.The theoretical predictions of heating energy use are shown to give reasonable agreement with actual use as measured in field trials, despite the wide variability of the latter. The variation of total solar heating with orientation of a house with windows on two opposite sides is studied in the Appendix, showing a variation of ±15% in winter and ±6% in spring and summer for a particular house design.     

A solar heating system with annual storage

A heating system is described for a one-family house in Trento, Italy, using solar collectors with buried long-term storage water tanks, made of reinforced concrete and internally water-proofed, assisted by an electrical water—water type heat pump.

The following design parameters are described and evaluated:

a. the annual energy requirement for the house;

b. the solar energy available;

c. the average monthly efficiency of the collectors;

d. the storage tank—ground heat flows, taking storage insulation, water storage temperature and COP to be variable with time;

e. the overall energy balance of the system for the house in question.

The conclusion is that the proposed system can cover the annual energy required for this house with an electrical consumption equal to 20% of the total.     

Energy saving in existing housing

In one of several pilot projects financed through the Swedish Council of Building Research, the Department of Building Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, showed how energy consumption could be reduced by more than 50 per cent in a typical three-storey block of flats built around 1940. Thermal insulation levels of the building were low by Swedish standards — walls and roofs having U-values of 1.2 W/m². °C — and oil consumption was as high as 60 litres per m² of net dwelling area.     

加拿大卡尔加里市Okotoks小镇太阳能小区建设

简要介绍了北美目前最大的跨季太阳能储存项目——加拿大0kotoks小镇的太阳能小区建设，对其太阳能供热系统的工作原理及利用土壤床作为储能体进行大规模跨季节太阳能储存的方法进行了分析。该项目根据不同季节可利用太阳能数量的不同，分别设置了短期（临时）太阳能储箱（STTS）及跨季节太阳能储存箱（BTES），以提高太阳能的利用率。其中，BTES的效率可达50％以上。小区太阳能家用热水系统（DWH）可满足住户60％的热水需求，而太阳能采暖系统则可满足90％采暖要求；建成后每幢住宅每年可减排5t温室气体，整个小区可减排260t／年。     

The performance of a well insulated house heated by an air-water heat pump

This paper describes the performance of a highly insulated house operated under simulated occupancy and heated by an air-water heat pump during 1978–80. The house, which was one of four BRE low energy house laboratories, was heated continuously to 20°C.

Although underfloor heating coils were employed. (in order to provide a low condensing temperature for the heat pump) the control of internal temperatures was largely satisfactory being within ± 2°C of the mean value on over 85% of occasions.

The seasonal coefficient of performance of the heat pump for space and hot water heating was 2.3 which in primary energy terms corresponds to a natural gas boiler of about 70% efficiency. The heat demand of the dwelling at ?1°C was 3.8 kW which was close to the expected value and the heat pump required backup heating only during some defrosts. The backup heating system was used in the true supplementary mode only on 2 days during the winter of 1978/79.     

Energy-efficient terrace houses in Sweden: Simulations and measurements

Reducing energy use in buildings is essential to decrease the environmental impact. Outside Gothenburg in Sweden, 20 terrace houses were built according to the passive house standard and completed in 2001. The goal was to show that it is possible to build passive houses in a Scandinavian climate with very low energy use and to normal costs. The houses are the result of a project including research, design, construction, monitoring and evaluation. The passive house standard means that the space heating peak load should not exceed 10 W/m² living area in order to use supply air heating. This requires low transmission and ventilation losses and the building envelope is therefore highly insulated and very airtight. A mechanical ventilation system with approximately 80% heat recovery is used. The electric resistance heating in the supply air is 900 W per living unit. Solar collectors on the roof provide 40% of the energy needed for the domestic hot water. The monitored delivered energy demand is 68 kWh/m² a. Energy simulations show that main differences between predicted and monitored energy performance concern the household electricity and the space heating demand. Total delivered energy is approximately 40% compared with normal standard in Sweden.     

Enhanced energy conservation in houses through high performance design

Key design features of high performance houses are investigated for improving energy efficiency in cold climates. Reference dwellings with typical constructions and system designs are compared with high performance houses using the best technology available. The dwellings used for reference are a multi-family apartment building and a single-family detached house, designed according to a mix of Nordic building codes of 2001. The high performance houses designed fulfilled the target requirements of IEA Task 28, Sustainable Solar Housing. Simulations of the buildings are performed using the computer programme DEROB-LTH and results from simulations give the hourly space-heating demand and peak load of the buildings. A comparison of reference houses to high performance solutions shows that the space-heating demand can be reduced by up to 83% for single-family houses and by up to 85% for apartment buildings. The climate data used for all simulations is Stockholm, Sweden. The environmental effects in terms of CO₂ equivalent emissions and use of non-renewable primary energy are quantified for each building type and construction. The energy saving potential of high performance houses in cold climates is demonstrated.     

某公寓楼太阳能热水系统改造可行性分析

针对某公寓楼热水系统使用现状,拟将原系统单一热源(电热锅炉)改造为以太阳能热水系统为主,电热锅炉为辅的热源.太阳能是最为环保的绿色能源之一.根据该公寓楼建筑特点及具备的改造条件,确定最为合理的太阳能热水系统方案,在实现节能环保的基础上降低运行成本.     

Energy saving potential and repercussions on indoor air quality of demand controlled residential ventilation strategies

Ventilation is ambiguously related to the energy saving rationale originating from the mitigation of global warming, the reaching of peak oil or health concerns related to fossil fuel burning. Since it makes up for about half of the energy consumption in well-insulated buildings, it is an attractive target for energy saving measures. However, simply reducing ventilation rates has unwanted repercussions on the indoor air quality. Two main strategies have been developed to reconcile these seemingly opposing interests: heat recovery and demand control ventilation. This paper focuses on the energy saving potential of demand controlled mechanical exhaust ventilation in residences and on the influence such systems may have on the indoor air quality to which the occupants of the dwellings are exposed. The conclusions are based on simulations done with a multi-zone airflow model of a detached house that is statistically representative for the average Belgian dwelling. Four approaches to demand based control are tested and reported. Within the paper exposure to carbon dioxide and to a tracer gas are used as indicators for indoor air quality. Both energy demand and exposures are reported and compared to the results for a standard, building code compliant, exhaust system, operating at continuous flow rates. The sensitivity of the control strategies to environmental and user variations is tested using Monte-Carlo techniques. Under the conditions that were applied, reductions on the ventilation heat loss of 25–60% are found, depending on the chosen control strategy (with the exclusion of adventitious ventilation and infiltration).     

太阳能采暖系统在云南部分地区的应用探讨

针对云南地区的能源供应和冬季采暖状况,结合该地区的太阳能资源,对太阳能采暖的适用性进行了探讨,并进行了经济性分析和环保效益分析.主要研究内容包括:太阳能采暖系统的选择、太阳能集热器的安装面积及其布置原则、太阳能蓄热水箱大小的确定.结论证明,与其他采暖方式相比,在云南地区推广太阳能采暖系统是可行的.     

多层住宅的太阳能技术一体化设计探讨

针对我国太阳能及其他新能源技术在多层住宅中的利用现状和存在的问题,结合国际太阳能住宅设计竞赛的提案,具体阐述和探讨了多层住宅中的太阳能利用及与建筑一体化设计技术的方法和可能性。     

Energy consumption and ventilation performance of a naturally ventilated ecological house in a cold climate

In this paper, the thermal and ventilation performance of an ecological house in Helsinki, Finland are presented. The single-family dwelling has a well-insulated, wooden frame construction with no plastic vapour retarder. The measured and simulated results show that the energy consumption of the house is low and that the outdoor ventilation rate is generally satisfactory based on the measured CO₂ concentrations. Extrapolating the measured ventilation data shows that, when the operable windows are closed, the ventilation rate is expected to be about 0.45 air-changes-per-hour (ach) in the winter and about 0.25 ach in the summer. The consumption of total primary energy and space heating energy were measured to be 30% less (162 kWh/(m² a)) and 36% less (76 kWh/(m² a)) than in typical Finnish houses, respectively. The paper also uses a numerical model to investigate the sensitivity of energy consumption to the insulation level, household electricity and domestic hot water consumption, window area, ventilation rate and heat recovery effectiveness.     

Thermal performance comparisons between passive solar and conventional housing in an Irish climate

The thermal performance of a passive solar house in Ireland having high energy conservation standards is compared with that of a similar sized conventional dwelling house. In both cases the performance over a meteorological Test Reference Year is assessed using climatically responsive models developed experimentally which predict their internal temperature without heating.

The results indicate that the conventional house required over three times as much auxiliary heating as the passive solar house. Solar gain accounted for over half the gross heat demand in the solar house compared to 13% in the bungalow. An added advantage of the increased utilization of solar gain was the estimated reduction in the heating season from nine to six months.     

Appropriate energy efficient building envelope technologies for social housing in the Irish climate

Extensive dynamic thermal simulation parametric analyses have been undertaken of energy efficient fabric alterations to social housing in Northern Ireland culminating in priorities for deployment. Five ȁ8basecaseȁ9 simulation models were used to represent the predominant characteristics of the existing social housing stock. The majority of technologies studied provided annual space-heating energy savings of more than 10%. The variation of energy savings and economic performance across the basecases highlights the value of a dwelling specific approach to selecting energy efficient building envelope technology solutions for energy rehabilitation programmes. The paper further outlines a framework for prioritising appropriate energy efficient building envelope technological solutions for a large regional building stock, i.e. existing social housing stock in Northern Ireland, highlighting influential parameters. An energy efficient building envelope inter-technology ranking approach provides a method of comparison across the various different dwellings in the regional housing stock. Airtightness ranked consistently highest across the dwellings studied with some solar technologies performing better than more technologically mature solutions such as insulation.     

Overcoming barriers to implementation of carbon reduction strategies in large commercial buildings in China

With an economic growth in GDP of around 10% per annum in recent years, energy consumption in the building sector in China now accounts for 25% of the total energy use in the whole nation. In large buildings in Beijing and Shanghai the consumption rate, at approximately 190 kWh/m² per annum, is around five times the energy use in residential buildings in those cities. Addressing this ever increasing energy consumption and the consequential green house gas (GHG) emissions must be a priority to achieve low carbon sustainability in China.     

Energy efficient retrofit of an end of the row house: Confronting predictions with long-term measurements

Looking to the EU's 20/20/20 program, energy efficient retrofitting will be a key element in the 20% less primary energy in 2020 compared to business as usual. Within that context, field studies that put realizable efficiency in perspective are urgently needed.The dwelling evaluated was built in 1957. In those days energy efficiency was no concern. Houses got no insulation, ventilation was adventitious and heating systems scored badly. The retrofit started in the early eighties, stepwise as to follow the impact of separate measures on heating energy consumed. A solar boiler was installed in 2004. PV followed in 2009. The first 19 years a family of five inhabited the dwelling, then the parents only. Monitoring started in 1978.In the paper, predicted annual energy for space heating is compared with monitored result. The measured data, though showing a net decrease, consistently underscore predictions. Main reason is direct rebound. The benefits of the solar boiler and PV-panels are minimal compared to the energy avoided by better insulation, energy efficient windows, better air-tightness and upgraded ventilation and central heating. However, targeting passive house and zero energy quality is beyond optimal in terms of net present value and not doable in the dwelling.     

The cooling potential of earth–air heat exchangers for domestic buildings in a desert climate

A theoretical model of an earth–air heat exchanger (EAHE) is developed for predicting the outlet air temperature and cooling potential of these devices in a hot, arid climate. The model is validated against other published models and shows good agreement. A sub-soil temperature model adapted for the specific conditions in Kuwait is presented and its output compared with measurements in two locations. A building model representative of a typical Kuwaiti dwelling has been implemented and all the models have been encoded within the TRNSYS-IISIBAT environment. A typical meteorological year for Kuwait was prepared and used to predict the cooling loads of the air-conditioned dwelling with and without the assistance of the EAHE. Simulation results showed that the EAHE could provide a reduction of 1700 W in the peak cooling load, with an indoor temperature reduction of 2.8 °C during summer peak hours (middle of July). The EAHE is shown to have the potential for reducing cooling energy demand in a typical house by 30% over the peak summer season.     

全热交换器节能与经济效益分析实例

武汉大学实验动物中心净化空调系统原设计为全新风系统．能量消耗巨大。笔者建议在此系统中配置热回收设备，被业主采纳。工程实施后．节省直接工程投资38.24万元．节省间接工程投资63.9万元．每年节约用电38.87万kWh，节约运行电费26.51万元．文测结果表明．回收的热量约为513.6MJ／h.