A life-cycle energy analysis of building materials in the Negev desert

Environmental quality has become increasingly affected by the built environment—as ultimately, buildings are responsible for the bulk of energy consumption and resultant atmospheric emissions in many countries. In recognizing this trend, research into building energy-efficiency has focused mainly on the energy required for a building's ongoing use, while the energy “embodied” in its production is often overlooked. Such an approach has led in recent years to strategies which improve a building's thermal performance, but which rely on high embodied-energy (EE) materials and products. Although assessment methods and databases have developed in recent years, the actual EE intensity for a given material may be highly dependent on local technologies and transportation distances. The objective of this study is to identify building materials which may optimize a building's energy requirements over its entire life cycle, by analyzing both embodied and operational energy consumption in a climatically responsive building in the Negev desert region of southern Israel—comparing its actual material composition with a number of possible alternatives. It was found that the embodied energy of the building accounts for some 60% of the overall life-cycle energy consumption, which could be reduced significantly by using “alternative” wall infill materials. The cumulative energy saved over a 50-year life cycle by this material substitution is on the order of 20%. While the studied wall systems (mass, insulation and finish materials) represent a significant portion of the initial EE of the building, the concrete structure (columns, beams, floor and ceiling slabs) on average constitutes about 50% of the building's pre-use phase energy.     

基于能耗监测数据的建筑节能改造分析

2005年以前的大型公共建筑在围护结构、用能设备等方面节能设计要求较低,导致其空调系统现在运行能耗较高,对这些老建筑实施节能改造已是迫切的需求。从既有大型公共建筑空调系统节能改造的角度出发,利用建筑能耗实时监测数据,对建筑空调系统的用能情况进行分析,对比计算机能耗模拟结果,分析存在差距的原因,对空调系统能源利用的合理性做出评价,并提出相应的改造建议。     

Fast computer graphics techniques for calculating direct solar radiation on complex building surfaces

Direct solar radiation has a major influence on a building's thermal behaviour. Current simulation engines are not up to the challenge of accurately modelling solar gains for buildings with complex or curved geometry and buildings sited in dense urban areas. Accurate thermal performance prediction for buildings in early stages of design is hindered by excessive computation time and incompatibility between architectural models and building energy simulation software. This paper proposes using a combination of modern computer graphics rendering techniques and parametric B-spline interpolation methods to quickly and accurately calculate solar gains over a full year based on sparse data with a continuous interpolation method. These new procedures accommodate complex building geometries and intricate shadow patterns and can accelerate shading calculations by several orders of magnitude. Faster calculations allow studies to be made at the early stages of design when modifications can have the greatest impact on a building's thermal behaviour.     

Energy conservation and retrofitting potential in Hellenic hotels

Energy consumption data from 158 Hellenic hotels and estimated energy savings that result from the use of practical retrofitting techniques, materials and new energy efficient systems are presented. The data were collected during an extensive energy audit of buildings that was carried out in Hellas, within the frame of a National Energy Programme sponsored by the CEC VALOREN Programme, for energy conservation in buildings. During this short monitoring campaign and on-site visits of a trained panel of engineers to each building, all information related to the building's construction, heating, cooling and lighting systems, and all other mechanical and electrical systems, was collected. The main results and energy characteristics of cooling, heating and lighting on energy consumption and performance are discussed. The annual average total energy consumption in hotels is 273 kWh/m², one of the highest among all categories of buildings. Several scenarios for possible interventions to the building's outer envelope, heating, cooling and lighting systems are proposed and evaluated, in order to assess the effectiveness of various energy conservation techniques. Based on the results from several simulations, it is concluded that it is possible to reach an overall 20% energy conservation.     

An object-oriented energy benchmark for the evaluation of the office building stock

Energy benchmarking is useful for understanding and enhancing building performance. The aim of this research is to develop an object-oriented energy benchmarking method for the evaluation of energy performance in buildings. Statistical analysis of the four-year monitored energy consumption data for office buildings was conducted. The results show that the energy use intensity follows the lognormal distribution with the Shapiro–Wilk normality test. Based on the lognormal distribution, the energy rating system for office buildings has been established. An object-oriented energy use intensity quota determination model has been developed. This research provides practical tools that enable decision-makers to evaluate a building's energy performance and determine the energy benchmark.     

The impact of thermal bridges on the energy demand of buildings with double brick wall constructions

The implementation of the European Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) is a milestone towards the improvement of energy efficiency in the building sector. However, even in cases where impressive measures can be implemented in the densely built urban environment, the less glamorous measure of building's envelope thermal insulation remains a prerequisite towards the improvement of the building's energy efficiency. Despite the insulation requirements specified by national regulations, thermal bridges in the building's envelope remain a weak spot in the constructions. Moreover, in many countries construction practices tend to implement only partially the insulation measures foreseen by regulations. As a result, thermal losses are in practice greater than those predicted during the design stage. This paper presents a study on representative wall thermal insulation configurations used in Greek buildings, in order to investigate the impact of the thermal bridges on the energy consumption. The double wall construction, used widely in Greece and not only there, is rather susceptible to the occurrence of thermal bridges, in contrast to a typical thermal insulating façade, like the one applied in Central Europe. The analysis of the thermal bridges’ impact will in that sense also highlight the potential for energy renovation measures in older buildings.     

Automatic generation of energy conservation measures in buildings using genetic algorithms

Building energy simulations are key to studying energy efficiency in buildings. The state-of-the art building energy simulation tools requires a high level of multi disciplinary domain expertise from the user and many technical data inputs that curb the usability of such programs. In this paper an IT tool is presented, which has the capability of predicting a building's energy utilization configuration based on the reported annual energy and a few non-technical inputs from the user; and correspondingly generates cost effective energy conservation measures for the intended savings.The approach first identifies the system variables that are critical to a building's energy consumption and searches for the combination of these parameters that would give rise to the annual energy consumption as reported by the facility. Genetic algorithms are utilized to generate this database. A statistical fit is formulated between the system variables and the annual energy consumption from the database. Using this correlation, system configuration for the target energy efficiency is determined with corresponding energy conservation measures. A cost analysis is carried out to prescribe the most cost effective energy conservation measures. Competency of the tool is demonstrated in the paper through case studies on three geographies with different climate conditions.     

Are the relative variation rates (RVRs) approximate in different cities with the same increase of shape coefficient?

The influence of the building's shape coefficient on annual heating and cooling energy consumption is significant, therefore, when laying down design standard for building efficiency, each country makes specific limitations to building shape coefficient. This paper takes two types of buildings with great difference of shape coefficient as the study objects and studies the influence rule of the same increase of shape coefficient on the annual cooling and heating energy consumption and its relative variation rates (RVRs) of the two buildings with the same envelope under 14 cities' climatic conditions in China, America and Europe respectively by DOE-2, DeST-h and CTM. It can be found that though the absolute increments of annual cooling and heating needs are obviously different in various cities with the same increase of shape coefficient, the annual relative variation rates (RVRs) of cooling and heating need are approximate in different cities.     

A cost effective approach to design of energy efficient residential buildings

The objective of this study is to identify cost-optimal efficiency packages at several levels of building energy savings. A two-story residential building located in Jordan is selected as a case study. DesignBuilder software is used to predict the annual energy usage of a two-story residence in Irbid, Jordan. Real-time experimental data from a single isolated controlled room was used to verify the proposed model. In addition to energy analysis, the economic, environmental, and social benefits of the proposed design have been investigated. The sequential search optimization approach is used to estimate the minimum cost of the building while considering various design scenarios. In addition, the impact of various energy conservation techniques on residential buildings is assessed, and the payback period for each program is calculated. Ultimately, the optimal combination of design to achieve energy efficiency measures has been identified in several climate regions. The simulations results predict that the annual electricity consumption can be reduced up to 50% if the proper combinations of energy conservation measures are selected at the lowest cost. The payback period is 9.3 years. Finally, energy efficiency measures can lead to a total of 9470 jobs/year job opportunities.The study provide practical framework to link between energy performance criteria and economic goals of building. Linking the energy performance requirements to economic targets provides guidelines for homeowners, contractors, and policymakers for making a suitable decision regarding the retrofitting of existing residential buildings. The study focuses on developing new methodologies that support minimizing costs during a building's lifecycle while maximizing environmental benefits which can not be identified by a series of parametric analyses using individual energy-efficient measures.     

Operating buildings during temporary electricity shortages

The operation of buildings can be temporarily modified to use much less electricity. These actions may be necessary during regional electricity shortages lasting anywhere from days to months. The electricity conservation measures typically involve a combination of technical modifications, temporary changes in occupant behavior, and greatly increased vigilance. At the same time, attempts to drastically reduce a building's electricity use may have unexpected consequences affecting energy use, the indoor environment, and the performance of building materials and equipment. Electricity shortfalls such as those described in this paper may occur more often as a result of climate change and liberalized electricity markets.     

Simulation of coupled heat and moisture transfer in air-conditioned buildings

The simultaneous heat and moisture transfer in the building envelope has an important influence on the indoor environment and the overall performance of buildings. In this paper, a model for predicting whole building heat and moisture transfer was presented. Both heat and moisture transfer in the building envelope and indoor air were simultaneously considered; their interactions were modeled. The coupled model takes into account most of the main hygrothermal effects in buildings. The coupled system model was implemented in MATLAB-Simulink, and validated by using a series of published testing tools. The new program was applied to investigate the moisture transfer effect on indoor air humidity and building energy consumption under different climates. The results show that the use of more detailed simulation routines can result in improvements to the building's design for energy optimisation through the choice of proper hygroscopic materials, which would not be indicated by simpler calculation techniques.     

Intelligent building energy management system using rule sets

The current study presents an intelligent decision support model using rule sets based on a typical building energy management system. In addition, the model's impact on the energy consumption and indoor quality of a typical office building in Greece is presented. The model can control how the building operational data deviates from the settings as well as carry out diagnosis of internal conditions and optimize building's energy operation. In this context, the integrated “decision support model” can contribute to the management of the daily energy operations of a typical building, related to the energy consumption, by incorporating the following requirements in the best possible way: (a) the guarantee of the desirable levels of living quality in all building's rooms and (b) the necessity for energy savings.     

Environmental performance of a naturally ventilated city centre library

To tackle climate change it is essential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. To this end, it is important to reduce the energy demands of non-domestic buildings. Naturally ventilated buildings can have low energy demands but the strategy is difficult to implement in deep plan, urban locations. The Frederick Lanchester Library at Coventry University, UK, incorporates natural ventilation, daylighting and passive cooling strategies. By using lightwells and perimeter stacks to supply and exhaust air, it can be ventilated by natural means despite its deep plan form and sealed façade. This paper describes the building and presents the energy consumption and the internal temperatures and CO₂ levels recorded in 2004/2005. The building's performance is compared to the original design criteria and good practice guidelines. Recommendations for the design of such buildings are made and the likely performance in other UK cities is assessed. It is concluded that the building uses under half the energy of a standard air-conditioned building and yet, in summer, can keep the interior comfortable and up to 5 °C below ambient. The design would perform equally well in the typical weather conditions experienced at 13 other UK cities, but not in London. It is concluded that deep-plan, naturally ventilated buildings with sealed facades, if well designed, could maintain thermal comfort in all but a very few UK locations, whilst consuming much less energy than even good practice standards.     

Risk analysis of energy efficiency investments in buildings using the Monte Carlo method

Demonstrating the economic rationality of investments in energy efficiency is a necessary step in reducing the energy consumption of buildings. Generally, financial instruments are evaluated according to both the return on investment and the risk. However, many previous studies of energy efficiency investments in buildings are based on deterministic scenarios and do not evaluate the risk levels of these investments. Therefore, in this study, we clarify the risk involved in an energy-saving investment by calculating the probability distribution of the energy reduction and evaluating the result using financial engineering methods. We first develop a stochastic model of various conditions that affect the energy consumption of a building. These conditions include weather processes, office worker behavior, tenant characteristics, and tenant replacements. Next, we construct a prediction model of a building's energy consumption, and we use our stochastic model to create the boundary conditions of this prediction model. By repeatedly performing energy consumption predictions using the Monte Carlo method, we can obtain the probability distribution for building energy consumption. Finally, given this probability distribution, we evaluate energy efficiency investments using financial engineering methods. Based on the discounted cash flow distribution, we calculate the risk premium of each energy efficiency investment, and, based on the variance and covariance matrix of the internal rate of return of each energy efficiency investment, we find the optimal investment ratio.     

树冠透射率对微气候和建筑能耗的 综合影响

现阶段中国城镇化率已超60%,城镇建筑运行能耗约占全国能源消耗总量的16.5%。老旧小区作为城镇建筑的重要存量,推动其绿化改造对改善建筑周围微气候和降低建筑能耗具有重大意义。目前,微气候和建筑能耗的模拟仿真分别基于不同的应用软件,且进行能耗模拟时并未考虑微气候因素对建筑能耗的影响。为定量评价和预测住区绿化改造对建筑周围微气候和建筑能耗的综合影响,基于Grasshopper平台,集合了微气候软件ENVI-met和建筑能耗软件EnergyPlus的模拟计算内核,开发了一种基于单平台耦合2类性能分析算法的协同工作流。研究结果表明,改变树冠透射率可使老旧小区建筑周围局部微气候的时空分布发生明显变化,从而显著改变建筑各楼层的夏季制冷能耗需求;长沙市城镇老旧小区绿化改造宜种植树冠透射率达0.05的树种,可使住宅建筑夏季制冷能耗日降幅最高至29.49kWh。     

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.     

Benchmarking energy consumption and CO2 emissions from rainwater‐harvesting systems: an improved method by proxy

Life cycle analyses (LCAs) show the main operational energy contribution for rainwater‐harvesting (RWH) systems come from ultraviolet (UV) disinfection and pumping rainwater from tank to building. Simple methods of estimating pump energy consumption do not differentiate between pump start‐up and pump‐operating energy or include pump efficiency parameters. This paper outlines an improved method incorporating these parameters that indirectly estimates pump energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions using system performance data. The improved method is applied to data from an office‐based RWH system. Comparison of the simple and improved methods identified the former underestimates pump energy consumption and carbon emissions by 60%. Results of the improved method corresponded well to directly measured energy consumption and energy consumption represented 0.07% of an office building's total energy consumption. Consequently, the overall energy consumption associated with RWH systems is a very minor fraction of total building energy consumption.     

Beyond the code: Energy, carbon, and cost savings using conventional technologies

As states in the U.S. adopt new energy codes, it is important to understand the benefits for each state and its building owners. This paper estimates life-cycle energy savings, carbon emission reduction, and cost-effectiveness of conventional energy efficiency measures in new commercial buildings using an integrated design approach. Results are based on 8208 energy simulations for 12 prototypical buildings in 228 cities, with 3 building designs evaluated for each building-location combination. Results are represented by easy-to-understand mappings that allow for regional and state comparisons. The results show that the use of conventional energy efficiency technologies in an integrated design framework can decrease energy use by 15-20% on average in new commercial buildings, and over 35% for some building types and locations. These energy reductions can often be accomplished at negative incremental life-cycle costs and reduce a building's energy-related carbon footprint by 9-33%. However, generalizing these results on energy use, life-cycle costs, and carbon emissions misses exceptions in the results that show the importance of location-specific characteristics. Also, states do not appear to base energy code adoption decisions on either potential energy savings or life-cycle cost savings.     

西部地区地域性低能耗住房设计研究

我国农村居住建筑所消耗的市场能耗程逐年递增的趋势,由于漫长的冬季采暖期长,使得这一问题在我国西部地区尤为严重。很有必要研究适应这一地区的乡村低能耗住房。在青海游牧民族定居点的设计中,为了达到低能耗的设计目标和解决使用者的文化需求,选择西部传统民居藏式碉楼和黄土高原的窑洞为研究对象,借鉴其民族传统特征和气候适应性策略,结合场地条件和设计要求提出了"双层聚落"、"生态中庭"来解决设计中的问题;利用Climate Consultant 6.0和Ecotect分析当地气候特征,优化建筑设计策略和布局;使用Energy Plus模拟建筑能耗,结果表明达到德国低能耗建筑的设计标准。     

Energy simulations for glazed office buildings in Sweden

Highly glazed buildings are designed by architects to be airy, light and transparent with more access to daylight. Their energy efficiency, however, has become questioned. Therefore, energy simulations of single skin office buildings in Sweden were carried out, using a dynamic energy simulation tool. In order to study the impact of glass on the energy use during the occupation stage, office building alternatives with 30, 60 and 100% window to external wall area were studied. Other varied parameters were the building's orientation, the plan type (open and cell plan offices), the control set points and the façade elements (type and size of windows, type and position of shading devices, etc.). The main conclusion is that careful design is needed to ensure low energy use and good thermal comfort, especially for highly glazed office buildings. Careful design of glazed office buildings has to be based on detailed thermal simulations. Especially in fully glazed buildings (in which the façade is more “sensitive” to climatic conditions), proper combination of control set points, glazing and solar shading are crucial for the energy performance.