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Abstract: There is concern that rising electricity prices in Western Australia have a particular impact on the standard of living for those with fixed incomes. One group thought to be particularly affected are senior citizens. This paper describes a trial that assessed the impact of SMS tips and voltage optimisation units (VOU) on the ability of low-income, senior citizen households to conserve energy. Baseline electricity consumption data was collected during 2014, and in 2015 electricity use interventions were conducted in 127 households. Three electricity saving approaches were trialled: 1) behaviour change tips, 2) tips with the addition of personalised feedback, and 3) VOU in addition to tips with feedback. A factorial between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the impact of the interventions was affected by the presence of solar photovoltaic (solar-PV). Results show that for households without solar-PV, there was no significant change in electricity use for any of the conditions. For households with solar-PV, the interventions appeared to have an accumulative effect. A survey of respondent attitudes after the trial revealed that despite the perception that seniors would not take well to technological communications, participants indicated that they preferred SMS over other forms of communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A refurbishment project conducted within a municipal public housing complex is described and discussed through Project Ålidhem in northern Sweden. The overall energy efficiency goal within the project was a 40-50% reduction in the supplied energy for domestic hot water, building electricity and space heating. In the pilot study, a 43% improvement was observed. This paper focuses on the performance of four buildings constructed under a Delegation for Sustainable Cities program that specified an energy efficiency goal of 65 kWh/m 2 . This goal was approached, but not attained. Observations of utilization in four free-standing buildings were 68.3, 76.8, 87.2 and 87.6 kWh/m 2 per year respectively, which are described and discussed herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bio-energy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is an important greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technology with the potential to provide significant reductions in atmospheric CO 2 concentration. The power generation efficiency of BECCS can be improved by using heat recovered from flue gas to supply energy requirements of the solvent regeneration process. This paper assesses the influence of solvent selection and biomass co-firing proportion on recoverable heat, energy efficiency and carbon intensity of a 500 MW pulverized fuel BECCS system. The effects of (i) coal type (high and medium sulphur content), (ii) biomass type (wheat straw and clean wood chips, (iii) variable moisture content, and (iv) biomass co-firing % on AFT and emissions of SO X and NO X was evaluated. Compared to firing of coal alone, co-firing low moisture biomass generated higher adiabatic flame temperature. As biomass co-firing proportion increased, SO X emissions decreased, whereas NO X emissions increased with greater AFT. Factors that enhanced BECCS efficiency included the use of high performance solvents and higher heat recovery (higher AFT and flue gas flow rate). These results lead to the development of a performance matrix which summarizes the effect of key process parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper includes description of an experiment where the insulation of 532 m long 1200 mm pipe section was replaced with prefabricated polyurethane (PUR) foam shells. As a result reduction of heat losses in comparison with old insulation by 3.35 times was calculated. After successful experiment full renovation of DH main pipe (total pipe length is 10730 m) insulation was performed. Renovation of main pipeline was finished in summer 2015. The first results show that relative heat losses in Eastern part of Tallinn supplied by renovated DH main pipe were decreased from 20.2% to 16.0%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of heat and electricity systems in the Russian regions nowadays are worn out due to implementation 37 years ago (on average). Thus it seems necessary to accurately assess the duration of their possible failure to reduce possibility of blackouts and to decide upon parallel energy supply system development which might include the shift to alternative sources of energy. Also mentioned assessment would allow predicting energy losses during delivery to the consumer. The number of failures within production and delivery stages results in a decreased amount of energy delivered to the consumer. As losses occur, the amount of raw materials used by energy system remains unchanged or increase as a results of other production units’ involvement, but the amount of energy received by the consumer decreases. In this paper we propose wavelet transform as a tool to predict the level of energy system malfunctioning risk, and thus switch to the other source of energy production/delivery to ensure increase in system's energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at presenting the development of a calibrated building energy simulation model of a school building to study the impact of improving the ventilation system on energy performance. The simulation model was developed with the DesignBuilder / Energyplus software and it was calibrated based on data collected during an energy audit to the school building. Schools need high outdoor airflow rates to remove indoor air contaminants related to occupants and building components, thus requiring mechanical ventilation systems. Due to budget restrictions, school managers decided to schedule the building management system to keep the HVAC systems active only between 6:00 am and 10:00 am. According to the values measured in this school, it was patent that the CO 2 concentration was too high in certain periods. Too high peak values undermine the indoor air quality in the remaining occupancy time of the classroom, harming the work conditions for teachers and students. To solve this problem, an extended usage schedule of the mechanical ventilation was simulated (8:00 am to 5:00 pm) according to the required enhancement of indoor air quality, which together with the adoption of the new calculated fresh air flow rates will enhance air quality while avoiding excessive cost, thus increasing energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exergy factor analysis of the Ludza city district heating system (DHS) in Latvia is performed in the research paper. Calculated results of exergy factor are analysed in order to understand which parameters of district heating mostly affect exergy factor. The algorithm of the exergy analysis for district heating network is elaborated and evaluated. From calculations, it can be concluded that in case of decreasing of ambient temperature, the supply temperature rises and it leads to increasing of exergy factor. The results of the analysis are compared with similar heating system parameters in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Smart City paradigm aims to improve citizens’ quality of life in a scenario where the percentage of people living in urban areas is getting higher and higher. In this paper, a new methodological approach is presented to evaluate to what extent the smart cities’ development pursues sustainable development goals. This methodology is called Smartainability. The Smartainability approach allows to estimate, with qualitative and quantitative indicators, how far smart cities are more sustainable (and smart) in environmental, economical, energetic and social fields,thanks to innovative technologies. Moreover, this estimate can be performed before the technologiesdeployment. The methodology has been tested on the case study of the Expo Milano 2015 site. The implementation on the Expo Milano 2015 site, demonstrates that Smartainability methodology is able to give decision makers useful information on benefits generated by smart solutions deployment. This aspect is due to three relevant issues: benefits are expressed with quantitative indicators; indicators are estimated before technologies or solutions implementation; benefits are connected to technologies or solutions deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article studies the matters of Smart Grid concept implementation within outdoor lighting systems. Present work examines technical and economic mechanism of evolutionary modernization of external lighting systems in one of the largest Russian universities on the basis of implementation of intelligent systems of control over LED-illuminants. The goal of the upgrade project, which involves Smart Grid technologies, is stepping up efficiency and operation reliability. This paper evaluates the payback period of the modernization project – the outdoor lighting system of a university campus – based on light emitting diode lamps, which feature enhanced operational reliability. The payback period of initial investment taking into account the repayment target financing is 4 years and 10 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy retrofitting of historic or existing buildings is a challenge that it has not yet been properly fully addressed. Multiple projects and methodologies are published every day but neither of them with the holistic approach that will assure complete success since the design phase. This stock is never considered as a whole. Its components are installed, serviced and maintained by different companies and in different stages without a holistic approach to the overall building operation. The result is a lack of energy efficiency and feedback of the solutions implemented once the buildings are refurbished. Nevertheless, existing buildings play a key role in the achievement of the ambitious energy saving and greenhouse gas reduction targets that Europe has fixed for 2020 and 2050. Research has demonstrated that the impact in terms of decrease of energy use and CO 2 will be strong, considering that, in Europe, 80% of the 2030 building stock already exists and 30% are historical buildings. To achieve these goals, reliable data about energy consumption, building components and systems performance of the existing building stock is needed. This paper presents a pre-assessment methodology to tackle the energy retrofitting of historic and existing residential buildings based on the Maturity Matrix Assessment. The maturity of the implementation of energy efficiency measures in Brussels historic residential stockis evaluated to determine future appropriate implementations. The matrix synthetizes appropriate strategies for this specific stock and provides a global map of the problematic, requirements and solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities represent fundamental hubs in the world's energy-flow network, and their role is expected to gain further relevance in the next decades, following the ongoing urbanization process. Reducing energy use and increasing energy efficiency are crucial aspects for both existing and planned cities, and many policies have been established to pursue these objectives. However, in smart cities, as the ones envisioned in many on-going research projects, energy should also be used in a smart way, that is reducing the energy degradation in terms ofcapacity to generate useful work. Starting from the literature, the paper proposes an analysis method, based on exergy, to support smart city planning, with the aim to provide the decision maker with a useful tool to compare and understand the energy-smartness of different scenarios, and to address future energy urban policies. Possibilities and limitations of the analysis method are discussed via the application to the city of Milano that committed to become a smart city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Public Procurement has always been a demand-side policy measure with great opportunities in terms of spurring innovation at the scale of products and/or services. A support for a sustainable development in the field of energy and buildings may came from different types of Public Procurement: Green Public Procurement (GPP), Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) and Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI). Within this framework, the paper presents a case study where PPI has been used to promote the development of innovative solutions for upgrading school buildings in terms of increased energy efficiency and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-rise apartment buildings in Canada are an integral part of the residential building stock, and their dominance is continuing to grow as their market escalates. Meanwhile, the refurbishment of the existing multi-unit residential building stock is becoming a fundamental step in order to address Canadian energy saving targets. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness for energy saving of increasing the thermal capacity of the building enclosure. In particular, thispaperassesses the benefits ofthe adoption of Phase Change Material (PCM) in lightweight constructions in the climates of Toronto and Vancouver. The main aspect investigatedis the contribution of PCM systems to lower the building cooling demand and to increase the indoor thermal comfort. Building simulations aimed at comparing different PCM systemsfor building elements such as floors, ceilings, and walls are reported.Different orientations and internal gains are considered in order to have a complete understanding of the potential benefits of the adoption of systems with high (latent) thermal energy storage capacity in building retrofits in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a certain approach to optimizing the modes of heat supply to buildings based on real time geoinformation technologies. In order to solve this task of optimization it is proposed to apply the software and hardware complex which includes geoinformation system. This system operates in real time mode along with automated systems of control and adjustment of parameters of heat supply networks, as well as the system for optimizing the modes of heat supply based on mathematical modeling methodologies. Practical implementation of the proposed approach enables to improve the quality of work and reliability of district heating systems, as well as to reduce consumption of heat energy by consumers. A macromodel for the analysis of energy efficiency and optimization of heat supply of buildings has been developed for the South Ural State University. The systemic impact of implementation of the proposed approach by the University translated into the reduction of heat energy consumption during the 2014-2015 heating season by 7.43% as compared with 2013-2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of the major challenges the world is facing today due to global warming and the ever decreasing conventional sources of energy such as fossil fuels, developing methodologies for harnessing all possible forms of renewable energy has become a heavily researched area within the power and energy research communities. Deploying energy storages increases the possibilities of harnessing several sources of renewable energy in a more meaningful manner. Some of the key areas where energy storages could make things better, when it comes to harnessing renewable energy sources are, Wind energy, Bio energy, Geothermal energy, Solar energy and Wave energy. The paper investigates application examples of energy storages in these areas through a thorough review of reported scientific literature. On the other hand, major energy consuming areas such as transportation, manufacturing, electricity consumers etc. could also benefit by the introduction of energy storages. As an example, in transportation, increasing usage of hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in electric vehicles and emerging new concepts in transportation such as electric highways have raised the significant role of energy storage solutions for transportation to its highest level. It is believed that this way of looking at the energy storages will strategically position them with the significance they deserve within the energy and power engineering research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on CFD modeling of Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) which is coupled with co-generation system. The SOFC cogeneration system is a low emission and energy efficient combined heat and power (CHP) is a most promising candidate in the field of electric and thermal energy generation technology for execution in future commercial buildings. Using finite volume approach CFD modeling of SOFC has been carried out by using commercial software COMSOL 4.3.1. The performance characteristic of an SOFC has been examined by performing parametric analysis. The effect of fuel utilization factor, recirculation ratio, operating temperature significantly affects the cell performance. It has been observed that, internal reforming is advantageous over the external reforming system in terms of thermo-economics and power supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a method of improving efficient energy usage in induction motor drive system when operated under high temperature condition. By confining the drive signal to the prospective domain of that compensated by operating temperature range, an optimum point of driving performance and energy efficiency will be met for the given load torque and speed command. In this study, fuzzy logic has been applied as a temperature compensator and incorporated into the system model in MATLAB-Simulink. Simulation results showed that the system can operate and retain its performance together with efficient utilization of energy under high temperature condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Flat Plate Collector (FPC) is a thermal solar collector used in housing or residential applications that allows the conversion of solar radiation to thermal energy (e.g. hot water). In this paper we propose a new approach that improves the hot water production through the combination between a simple and improved architecture model. The optimization of the thermal energy efficiency is guaranteed by using an electronic architecture that controls the mono-axial tracker. Some experimental tests aiming the comparison between the stationary and improved FPC are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, performance of a radiant heating-cooling via air source heat pump was investigated. This study is part of a project funded by European Union's FP7 for research, technological development and demonstration. In the project it is aimed that a holistic retrofitting solution for commercial buildings to reduce primary energy consumption down to less than 80 kWh/m 2 per year. A shopping center called IKVA located in Sopron, Hungary used as a demo building. In that building a heat pump system integrated with a radiant heating and cooling system is used. In this paper, two different cases are compared regarding air source heat pump system; in Case-1 air source of the heat pump is outdoor air, in Case-2 air source of heat pump is return air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on efficiency of electricity consumption in the Portuguese productive sector using stochastic frontier analysis. It accounts for the rebound effect – the extent to which energy efficiency savings are re-spent on energy consumption – since this can significantly alter the interpretation of the data on measured energy efficiency. Conventional stochastic frontier analysis does not allow for autoregressive errors in estimation and the measured efficiency scores can be seriously biased in the presence of error terms that are not identically and independently distributed. Therefore we allow for autoregressive errors by extending the generalized least squares estimator to include an error components model of stochastic frontier analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have shown the impact of urban form on the energy consumption in building and transportation sector. However, due to the difficulty of measuring the urban energy efficiency at the whole urban scale, a systematic study on urban energy efficiency has not been found. To solve this problem, a systematic approach that combines Data Envelope Analysis (DEA) and correlation analysis is proposed in this paper. This approach is further applied to five central districts in Shanghai city, and the results show that both the industry structure and development intensity affect the urban energy efficiency, and there seems to be an optimal FAR value. This approach could be applied to compare the energy efficiency of any urban area with similar scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exhaust gas temperature in natural gas reverberatory furnaces can reach 700 – 900 ∘C at the furnace's chimney exit, carrying 40% to 65% of the total input energy. This study meant to investigate the utilization of the exhaust flue gas waste energy to preheat aluminum billets before homogenization process in batch homogenizers. Currently, the heat from flue gas can be retrieved by installing an extra heat exchanger, at the exit. This paper proposes a novel strategy replace the natural gas fired burners with flue gas waste heat extracted from exit from the recuperator. Also, the flue gas heat can replace the natural gas-fired power, resulting in better energy savings and the reduction of heat treatment cycle times. Thermodynamically case studies based on heat flue gas recycling and re-using through the heat exchanger and preheater into furnaces are performed on billets. The exhaust flue gas temperature on billets preheating process and efficiency is studied, as well as the effects of aluminum billets preheating process on homogenizing cycle time. The results indicate an excellent performance of the novel strategy, with a decrease in energy loss and improvement in heat transfer characteristics. The use of the heat flue gas equivalent of the novel approach can save nearly 32% of time compared to the system using conventional process. Our achievements provide a promising heat recovery method of the utility flue gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles (EVs) are often thought to be an important means for reducing both the greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption of global transport, particularly for road passenger transport. They are potentially more fuel efficient than comparable internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), particularly in urban areas, because of regenerative braking. It is well-recognised that the energy efficiency of EVs decreases with the range the batteries must provide (because of rising battery mass), and that greenhouse gas comparisons with ICEVs depend on the grid electricity source. However, this paper argues that comparing EVs and ICEVs is much more complex than generally recognised. Uncertainties occur in both primary energy use and greenhouse gas emission calculations. Further, it may not be legitimate to evaluate these terms on a simple vehicle-km basis, because of spillover effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing nations such as South Africa are energy insecure despite their high potential for renewable energy sources such as solar. This has forced various governments to initiate energy efficiency and conservation programs. Water heating contributes to a significant percentage of the electricity consumption in domestic and office buildings. Therefore, integration of efficient water heating systems and renewable energy would ensure energy efficiency in these buildings hence lowering the electricity cost and greenhouse gas emissions. This paper introduces an optimal control strategy for heat pump and instant water heaters powered using integrated energy systems. The control strategy can lead to 35% of power-not-delivered, 7.5 kWh energy sold back to the grid while lowering the energy cost by about 19% in a day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal conveying systems mainly includes belt conveyors and crushers. On the basis of conveyor and crusher energy models, this paper presents an energy efficiency optimization strategy for coal conveying systems by taking feed rate, belt speed and rotational speed of crusher as optimization variables. Furthermore, the energy efficiency optimization problem takes energy cost as objective function and introduces various constraints as upper and lower limits of coal bins, total coal quantity, upper limits of feed rate, belt speed and rotational speed of crusher. A coal conveying system in a coal-fired power plant is the taken as case for verification study. In simulation study, it uses nonlinear programming to get optimal solutions. The results demonstrate that the energy efficiency optimization strategy is able to promote energy efficiency, reduce service power rate and realize energy-saving while satisfying the constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As energy consumption by cooling data center IT equipment can be over 40% of total energy consumption, efficient cooling for large data centers is essential for reducing operation costs. Modern data centers are complex systems involving IT facilities, power system, cooling and ventilation systems. In our previous work, literature study was made to investigate available data center energy consumption models; and energy consumption models for data center IT room with distributed air flow control were developed. In this paper, the models are further extended and developed to cover the combined distributed air flow control and vertical placed servers in raised floor ventilation system. Simulation of the three types of ventilation systems with Even load , Idle server and Uneven load scenarios showed that significant cooling energy consumed by a traditional ventilation system can be saved by applying the proposed new concept and method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study of a live combined heat and power (CHP) system at the author's university campus. The system comprises a 1 MWe gas engine which is operating continuously to provide electricity, as well as a heat recovery system that recovers heat from both engine jacket water and exhaust gas to provide heat to the campus. The analysis shows that the electricity generation is stable during the year but the heat recovered fluctuates considerably at different time of the year due to the different heat demand. This results in an inefficient use of the available energy. Exergy analysis is conducted for a better understanding of the components performance of the system. An absorption chiller is finally proposed to make a better utilization of the energy and the pay-back time for the chiller is found to be approximately 22 months which is economically viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency is a key target of the European Union policy. The “Europe 2020 strategy” quantitative targets account an increase by 20% of the energy efficiency by the end of 2020. The attention to power sources optimization and energy waste reduction leads European Countries to develop subsidy strategies to drive the energy market towards efficiency enhancement. According to this trend, energy efficiency of residential buildings has significantly grown in Italy in the last years. Combined production of electric and thermal power is a notable example of efficiency enhancement awarded by the CAR ( Cogenerazione ad Alto Rendimento ) Italian subsidies system. In these circumstances, the optimization of the ensemble between power generators and thermal storages becomes crucial to satisfy in an efficient way thermal power requirement independently from electric power production. The purpose of this paper is to find the optimal power plant design of power generators and thermal storages in order to minimize daily management costs and environmental impact. The power plant layout in analysis consists in a micro-CHP (Combined Heat and Power) and an absorption chiller both coupled with respective thermal storages. Through this evaluation, it is possible to identify the optimal coupling of the devices as a function of the load requirements and understand the great influence of their sizing on the energy management benefits. The analysis is performed with reference to cold and warm thermal load required by a residential case study. The performance analysis takes place in representative days of different seasons and the results are extended on an annual base. The power request profiles are developed on the basis of literature data. The results are compared on an economic basis considering the NPV (Net Present Value) index, evaluated using as the benchmark a standard plant layout composed by a water boiler and an electric chiller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, Power-to-Gas technologies are considered viable solutions to face the onset problems associated with renewable capacity firming. Indeed, carbon-free hydrogen production converting renewable electricity excess and its injection into natural gas pipelines is considered a short- to medium-term solution. In this way, the so-called H 2 NG blends can be fired within internal combustion engines and micro gas turbines operating in CHP mode, offering better environmental-energy performances in machines. As regards the distributed energy generation scenario, the local H 2 production by means of electrolysis for methane enrichment will be more cost-effective if the oxygen is fruitfully used instead of venting it out like a by-product, as usually occurs. This study focuses on the usefulness of using that oxygen to enrich the air-fuel mixture of an internal combustion engine for micro-CHP applications, once it has been fuelled with H 2 NG blends. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to provide a set of values for benchmarking, in which H 2 NG blends, ranging in 0%-15% vol., burn within an ICE in partial oxy-fuel conditions. In particular, a preliminary energy analysis was carried out based on experimental data, reporting the engine operating parameters, gains and losses in both electrical and heat recovery efficiency. The oxygen content in the air varies up to 22% vol. A Volkswagen Blue Tender CHP commercial version (19.8 kW el. of rated electrical power output) was considered as the reference machine and its energy characterization was reported when it operated under those unconventional conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing need for energy and cost efficient solutions for thermal and electric supply is giving new life to CHP plants, even for small power sizes. It is renowned that the optimal application of a CHP plant is to satisfy as much as possible both the electricity and the thermal requirements of the loads, but the frequent applicative context, especially for residential and/or tertiary buildings, is unbalanced towards the thermal needs, so that the sizing of the CHP is determined by the electric loads, at least in the Italian tariff structure context, with the consequence that the generator is relatively small and, consequently, the installation costs represent a consistent part of the capital investment. The increasing level of the performance of the electric heat pump can sensitively minimize the former issue: the combination between a CHP and an EHP can led to a larger size of the co-generative unit, whose exceeding power output can feed the heat pump so that to efficiently satisfy most of the thermal loads of the plant. In this paper an application case referred to an office building is presented: the optimal size of the system will be discussed, and the economic results (in terms of PBT and NPV) of the management of the plant compared with other commonly exploited solutions: • Conventional supply, with the heat produced by a gas boiler, the cooling from an electric chiller, and the electricity purchased by the grid; • Optimal sizing of the CCHP based on the heating loads duration curve, with the engine operated in thermal-led; • Optimal sizing of the CCHP based on the electric loads duration curve, with the engine operated in power-led. The environment performance will be discussed as well, focusing on the comparison between the different solutions in terms of equivalent CO 2 emissions and primary energy consumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Architectural constraints are a crucial aspect in energy retrofitting of historic buildings. Usual global interventions are often not allowed since preserving historical values of the building stock is mandatory. In this paper, the authors provide an alternative procedure by identifying the most profitable local interventions in order to maintain the architectural values during the restoration and energy retrofitting operations. So, thermal zones prioritization is the key element considered in this study. Its aim is to analyse which energy efficiency measures could be applied to a listed building, but at certain technological elements rather than a unique choice for the entire building envelope. Thus it will prove that you can work with individual elements of the building without compromising the protection of architectural good. The attention was placed in promoting single measures and improving the quality of the built environment. The case study is an historical building in Rome, currently used for university purposes. The analysis was carried out through a building simulation model so that to assess the building energy performance before and after the selected interventions. The chosen software is TRNSYS. This approach shows how interventions, usually not applicable at the building scale, would be beneficial if applied at local scale such as a single thermal zone or a single technological unit. The authors built a reference scenario and, for each identified thermal zone, tested the energy efficiency improvement in terms of heating demand reduction coming from the hypothesized local intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pump-as-Turbine (PaT) technology is taking the field in different small-hydro or energy recovery applications. These machines can be installed in water distribution grids to have pressure levels adjustment and electrical energy production. A PaT working in turbine mode has a different best efficiency point due to a variation of the fluid-dynamic operating conditions. In this paper, laboratory tests are performed to investigate its performances in pump and turbine mode. Hydraulic efficiency, torque and mechanical power are evaluated in several load conditions. In conclusion, an energy evaluation is shown considering a test case of a water distribution grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the influence of heat transfer in industrial human hair depigmentation is studied together with some suitable solutions for optimizing the industrial process and the efficient energy use. In particular, the analysis was conducted by implementing the current process and the proposed solutions in Comsol Multiphysics. The fiber's damage and the energy loss are mainly due to a non-isothermal uncontrolled process. In order to implement an efficient energy use and to reduce the energy loss we propose a modification of the tank, where the depigmentation occurs, from a rectangular to an octagonal-shape configuration, characterized by the presence of located thermal sources. It will be shown that the depigmentation process realized with the heated octagonal tank structure significantly reduce the energy use. By reducing the thermal stress, arising in an invasive chemical procedure such as depigmentation, we obtain also a significant reduction of the hair-fibers damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sassi of Matera are a unique example in the world of rock settlements, developed from natural caves carved into the rock and molded into increasingly complex structures inside two large natural amphitheaters. Research focuses on the compatibility of the energy efficiency measures applied in Sassi buildings with the recent MiBACT guidelines on “Energy efficiency improvements in cultural heritage” and AiCARR guidelines on “Energy efficiency of historical buildings”. The paper aims to analyze energy and environmental performance of different building typologies and monuments of the Sassi site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase Change Materials (PCMs) have the ability to absorb and release thermal energy, in the form of latent heat, during the melting or solidifying processes respectively. Thus, they may be used as additives in the production of thermally efficient composite building materials, such as plasters. This paper focuses on the design and production of PCM-enhanced lime plasters with significantly low thermal conductivity and increased specific heat capacity. The aforementioned plasters are appropriate for application in southern European climatic conditions. Due to their compatibility with traditional substrate materials, they may also be used for the renovation and retrofitting of existing structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year governments of the European Member States invest several billion Euros in maintenance and upkeep of their schools. With 17% of non-residential buildings in the European Union being educational buildings, there is a substantial opportunity for setting examples of integrated refurbishment actions, which address functional and energy-related aspects in a joint view. Currently these potentials are not fully exploited. The reasons for the few numbers of truly holistic school refurbishment projects can be found in the limited budgets, the political and institutional framework conditions as well as the lack of innovative and holistic building refurbishment concepts. The assumption for research was that refurbishment in educational buildings focuses mostly on single measures in respect of maintenance and adaptation of the building structure. Energy efficiency measures are only selectively considered and functional changes are rarely implemented in existing buildings. This paper summarizes the results of the research project SchulRen+ [5] that analyzed school buildings in an integrated approach: Considering structural, functional and energy-related aspects in a joint view – the project reveals high performance refurbishment actions that have the potential for the development of ‘Nearly Zero Energy’ or ‘Plus Energy’ buildings. Based on the example of the school building stock of the city of Vienna, a nationally funded project analyzed these constraints with the goal of providing workable solutions for integrated school refurbishments. In an interdisciplinary approach, stakeholders from the city municipality, schools as well as building professionals provided input for the development of a methodology for replicable energy- and functionally optimized school refurbishment concepts. Structural, functional and energy relevant framework conditions were summarized and synergetic potentials of comprehensive school refurbishments were highlighted. Following the requirements of the stakeholders, different scenarios (light, intermediate, advanced) were subsequently tested in terms of functionality, energy efficiency and life cycle costs. For one case study a typical end of 19 th century building was selected - similar building types can be found across central Europe. It demonstrated the required changes in prospective school refurbishment projects. The emphasis was on the energetic optimization in synergy with the optimization of the functional room concepts in order to give justice to the changed requirements in new teaching types and methods. The case study resulted in concrete recommendations for decision support and showed how portfolio management and a holistic refurbishment approach could be undertaken for larger educational building stocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the CO2 cost pass-through to electricity prices of the Baltic market, as well as CO2 prices effect on merit order of generation sources and consequently marginal changes of CO2 emissions in response to changes in electricity demand. Authors use multiple regression analysis to demonstrate that a 1 EUR change in the price of CO2 emissions would increase the price of the Nordic power market by 0.55 EUR and in the Baltic countries by 0.67 EUR. Additionally, it has been shown that CO2 prices significantly impact merit order of electricity generators and consequently marginal emissions of CO2 due to reduction of electricity consumption in case of energy efficiency measures. Based on analysis, it can be concluded that, in the low price scenario (7.5 EUR per ton of CO2), combined heat and power plants are marginal generators emitting 0.25 tons of CO2 per 1MWh in cogeneration mode. If CO2 prices are above 20 EUR, the marginal emitter will become oil shale power plants that emit around 1 ton of CO2 per 1 MWh of electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, Kazakhstan has a growing interest in sustainable and energy effective combined supply for decentralized energy consumers. This is due to the development of the regions and the desire of consumers to obtain modern energy services. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the energy efficiency of a combined energy autonomous system constructed on the basis of cogeneration (CHP) and trigeneration (TG) (involving low-potential heat of the earth (LPH)) low and domestic size power plants. Method of the research is mathematical modeling and simulation of combined heating, cooling and power supplying in the system that combines a thermodynamic cycle in the internal combustion engine (ICE) and a geothermal heat pump with direct mechanical drive compressors (DMGHP). Parametric adjustment and calibration of mathematical models are implemented on the basis of experimental research on a prototype for a trigeneration plant. The research has established that the application of cogeneration plants for autonomous objects in extreme continental climate in Kazakhstan with a large seasonal variation in outdoor temperatures are significantly inferior to the energy efficiency of trigeneration plants. Thus, if the average annual energy efficiency of cogeneration systems based on internal combustion engines does not exceed 50–60%, and the usage of TGP, which includes (DMGHP), allows to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel 3–4 times by involving source of renewable energy low-potential heat of the earth. It should be noted, that LPH is available in all regions of Kazakhstan and practically does not depend from climate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most developing countries are facing energy shortage and this impacts the social and economic development. Reliable electrical networks are absolutely necessary for energy supply. Unfortunately, the energy access has become a major problem in developing countries. When electricity is available, in large cities for instance, the grid is not reliable. Additionally, power cuts, power interruptions and electricity rationing are frequent, causing social tensions. This work focuses on a solution for lighting during electricity rationing. The use of a dual-voltage LED lamp can be an alternative solution to expensive kerosene and candles. A dual-voltage LED lamp can give the same light output at 240 VAC, 20 VAC or 24 VDC. Here is proposed a design of a small electrical grid encompassing dual voltage lamps and energy storage. This solution can be implemented in single family homes and in renewable energy mini-grids, and as well as in whole cities. Successful trials have been carried out at the Open University and in Cambridge, UK and results are presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research of five educational institution buildings and three municipality department buildings were carried out in Liepāja municipality, Latvia. Aim of the study is to draw attention to finding balance among energy efficiency, thermal comfort and indoor air quality dilemma. The research of recently renovated public sector buildings was done. The combination of factors that form microclimate and indoor air quality are described in the paper. Emphasis is put on a person's ability to perform mental tasks in regards of changes in thermal comfort and air quality. Surveys of buildings’ inhabitants and economic aspects of human productivity changes were carried out in the research. Also four ventilation scenarios have been modelled and economic benefits of each scenario have been assessed. Different air exchange rates can make 19% human productivity improvement. Using ventilation systems as it is designed already gives economic benefit and not all the buildings need additional investments for new system implementation. The economic benefit in four buildings is more than 20 000 euro already in second year. The priority for planning, designing and managing education institution buildings should be indoor environment and thermal comfort of inhabitant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing importance of sustainability and passive house design requires the reconsideration of integrating the solar PV modules in both buildings and architectural design processes. The architectural integration of photovoltaic systems is one of the fundamental themes of contemporary architecture to optimize efficiency while taking into account the proportions, morphology and aesthetics of the project. The direct conversion of solar energy into electrical energy using photovoltaic systems appears to be a consolidated technology of exploitation of renewable energy sources. In addition to the availability of the source, its characteristics are its reliability and that it needs low maintenance. In this paper, we present, as a case study, a solar canopy specially designed for the Liv-lib’ project at Solar Decathlon Europe 2014. Canopy's shape was designed to maximize the performance of the solar conversion by integrating in series two innovative solar technologies, Luminescent Solar Concentrators (LSC) and Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) solar cells. LSC are constituted by slabs of transparent materials (PMMA) doped with a fluorescent dye that captures a fraction of the sun rays passing through the panel. The dye molecules then re-emit light at a longer wavelength inside the slab which, due to the total internal reflection, traps and guides this light toward its edges. Strips of solar cells are optically coupled to the edges and convert into electric energy the light gathered by the slab. Liv-lib’ is a self-sustainable passive house run by University Paris-Est, thanks to the joint work of staff and students from “ENSA Paris-Malaquais”, “ESTP”, “ESIEE Paris”, and “Chimie ParisTech” with academic and industrial partners, among which, for the LSC, the Department of Physics and Earth Sciences of the University of Ferrara. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstracts The paper presents a review of indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) operating conditions and performances. This cooling technology is promising to develop in the near future due to its very low energy consumption and high efficiency in its range of applications. The review is presenting in details: operating conditions and performances. Having very low energy consumption comparing to classic cooling, the IEC technology is environmental friendly and has very low global warming impact. The single disadvantage of IEC is the water consumption. The review also includes a study concerning the limits of IEC for different locations world-wide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents actual knowledge concerning the indirect evaporative cooling (IEC). This cooling technology is promising to develop in the near future due to its very low energy consumption and high efficiency in its range of applications. The review is presenting in details: theory, working principles, flow and construction. The IEC equipment and technology is suitable in different air conditioning applications: commercial, industrial, residential or data centres. The IEC technology is completely environmental friendly and has very low global warming impact. The single disadvantage of IEC is the water consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High energy consumption problem has become increasingly acute human needs. Domestic heating in winter involves considerable expenses, so the idea of energy conservation and the need to implement reliable and innovative solutions in the field of energy in constructions emerged. Given these constrains, a judicious approach of the built environment is the study of energy consumption starting from the concept phase. This paper presents a parametric study regarding impact on energy consumption for different factors and the weighing associated. The analysis has been performed using an energy simulation program, which is able to provide a complex analysis of the thermal behavior of the building for different cases. The thermal behavior of a building should be the result of a multi-criteria optimization, considering both thermal comfort and energy savings. The purpose was to determine for each climatic zone when it is ineffective to increase the thermal resistance of the envelope element and the gain in energy economy begins to be insignificant. From these results we have chosen the optimal case for certain characteristics of glazed and opaque elements analyzing which is the best orientation for this case, considering both, heating and cooling load. The study indicated an optimal configuration of the envelope elements and optimal orientation of the building in order to reach the passive house level, demonstrating the necessity of such a step from the design phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern societies buildings largely contribute to the energy demand and account in some countries for up to 45% of the primary energy consumption. Detailed consumption data can be used to offer advanced services and provide new business opportunities to all participants in the energy supply chain. In recent years, the intensified research effort by the scientific community and companies from the energy sector has led to an improved estimation of the building energy consumption. This paper proposes a tool that combines on one hand architectural characteristics and, on the other, user interactions with a building to precisely estimate its energy consumption and supply costs. The tool also determines the sensitivity of the energy consumption and the related costs for any variations applied in the building configuration or in the energy tariffs. The identification of critical parameters allows building managers to adopt appropriate measures to improve energy efficiency of the considered building. For the demonstration and validation of the proposed approach the developed tool is then applied to a case of an office building located in Madrid (Spain). It is explained in detail how the estimates of the building energy consumption and the costs were calculated and the sensitivity analysis performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article deals with the problem of dispatching control of facility energy consumption. This work describes the energy consumption model, which includes the properties of periodic loads common for any type of the processing industry. Therefore it can be employed for all the branches of industry, working with time tariffs. The paper proposes the principle of hourly rate setting and forecasting energy consumption for complex industrial facilities. The hourly chart of equipment load of the iron and steel plant's melting shop is designed in accordance with the proposed principle. The designed chart has been evaluated based on the index of the energy consumption cost reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the economic crisis, the impact of industry sector share on the total primary energy demand in Italy is still significant. The certification of companies according to the standard ISO 50001:2011 ("Energy management systems - Requirements and guidelines for use"), can represent a key element in the achievement of objectives set in the 20-20-20 Climate-Energy Package. This paper illustrates the state of implementation of ISO 50001 certifications in Italy, reporting on the results of a questionnaire carried out as a part of a master's thesis project at Sapienza, University of Rome in collaboration with FIRE (Italian Federation for the Rational Use of Energy) that included the major certification bodies, certified companies and consultants. The purpose is to outline the current situation, identify the perspectives and highlight the pros and cons related to the implementation of an Energy Management System (EnMS). The big picture shows that Italy, one of the leading countries in energy efficiency policies, suffers from a significant delay in the implementation of the EnMS in industry with respect to Germany. The results of the survey also show that the definition of energy performance indicators, as well as the individuations of an energy baseline and a monitoring plan constitute the requirements most critical to comply with for companies than for consultants. It also appears that more than 35% of companies already ISO 50001 certified have received benefits in terms of cumulative energy saving above 5%, and that the main reason why they have implemented an EnMS is related to the potential impact on increasing the competitiveness of the core business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency is nowadays a subject deeply discussed in several fields, with a large potential in industry. Here proper process and energy management routines turns out to be essential to reduce the energy demand while keeping the control of the product quality. In this respect the bread baking, one of the pillar of food related industry, is an energy intensive process irrespective to the adopted oven technology or to the primary energy nature. Baking is the fundamental step of the bread production process and it entails a number of complex chemical and physical phenomena, critical to the final physical properties of bread, i.e. crust colour, crumb texture and taste. A careful balance throughout all the steps of the "manufacturing" cycle is vital to ensure the processes synchronization, in order to produce a consistent and satisfactory loaf of bread. A proper energy management of this process needs to consider such features to ensure a high quality product. As such process monitoring can not be conveniently described using customary specific energy metric (correlating the energy demand to the amount of processed material) or full three-dimensional (3D) physic-based modeling as in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this paper, the energy analysis of the system is carried out with a methodology rooted in the family of non parametric approaches. The aim of the study is to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) able to assess the effectiveness of the energy "use" along the baking process. Specifically, the identification of KPIs is carried out using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the available datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the energy design and the optimization of a non-residential NZEB conceived for Mediterranean climates are discussed. The presented NZEB will be built up in Naples (South-Italy).The building will include offices, expo spaces and a conference room. Different innovative energy efficiency strategies, regarding the building envelope and plants are taken into account. Their benefit in terms of energy performance is assessed by a novel in-house developed building energy performance simulation code (DETECt 2.2) written in MatLab. An optimization procedure and a sensitivity analysis of the pivotal design and operating parameters are carried out from both the energy and economic points of view. The obtained numerical results show that interesting energy and economic savings can be achieved. Results can be useful for stakeholders working on non-residential NZEBs in temperate climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the economic crisis, the impact of industry sector share on the total primary energy demand in Italy is still significant. The certification of companies according to the standard ISO 50001:2011 (“Energy management systems - Requirements and guidelines for use”), can represent a key element in the achievement of objectives set in the 20-20-20 Climate-Energy Package. This paper illustrates the state of implementation of ISO 50001 certifications in Italy, reporting on the results of a questionnaire carried out as a part of a master's thesis project at Sapienza, University of Rome in collaboration with FIRE (Italian Federation for the Rational Use of Energy) that included the major certification bodies, certified companies and consultants. The purpose is to outline the current situation, identify the perspectives and highlight the pros and cons related to the implementation of an Energy Management System (EnMS). The big picture shows that Italy, one of the leading countries in energy efficiency policies, suffers from a significant delay in the implementation of the EnMS in industry with respect to Germany. The results of the survey also show that the definition of energy performance indicators, as well as the individuations of an energy baseline and a monitoring plan constitute the requirements most critical to comply with for companies than for consultants. It also appears that more than 35% of companies already ISO 50001 certified have received benefits in terms of cumulative energy saving above 5%, and that the main reason why they have implemented an EnMS is related to the potential impact on increasing the competitiveness of the core business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]