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One of the main identified causes of energy poverty (EP) is the low energy efficiency of housing. In this line, since 2018, public administrations and NGOs collaborating with the Naturgy Foundation's Energy Renovation Solidarity Fund have implemented several shallow renovation interventions in 3660 Spanish vulnerable households. However, the effects of these measures on domestic energy affordability were not evaluated before because of a lack of a proper method. This paper presents a methodology to objectively assess the impact of these interventions on EP. In particular, this work proposes calculating a hidden EP indicator using data from a primary survey and applies it to a local case study (54 vulnerable households in Catalonia—10% of dwellings renovated by the Fund in the region) by processing their characteristics and energy bills before and after the implementation of the interventions. Considering the whole sample of households analysed, the hidden EP indicator drops by 10% in absolute terms (11.2% in relative terms) after the retrofit, and the average EP gap goes from 423 €/year to 313 €/year, thus marking a significant positive effect of the analysed interventions on the EP situation of this population. Eventually, extrapolating the results to the vulnerable population in Spain, this paper points out a series of recommendations that could be useful for decision-makers and organisations when designing and implementing shallow renovation interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy management systems allow the Smart Grids industry to track, improve, and regulate energy use. Particularly, demand-side management is regarded as a crucial component of the entire Smart Grids system. Therefore, by aligning utility offers with customer demand, anticipating future energy demands is essential for regulating consumption. An updated examination of several forecasting techniques for projecting energy short-term load forecasts is provided in this article. Each class of algorithms, including statistical techniques, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and hybrid combinations, are comparatively evaluated and critically analyzed, based on three real consumption datasets from Spain, Germany, and the United States of America. To increase the size of tiny training datasets, this paper also proposes a data augmentation technique based on Generative Adversarial Networks. The results show that the Deep Learning-hybrid model is more accurate than traditional statistical methods and basic Machine Learning procedures. In the same direction, it is demonstrated that more comprehensive datasets assisted by complementary data, such as energy generation and weather, may significantly boost the accuracy of the models. Additionally, it is also demonstrated that Generative Adversarial Networks-based data augmentation may greatly improve algorithm accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Spain, irrigated agriculture is the most water-intensive sector, consuming around of 80% of water resources. Moreover, irrigation water distribution systems are the infrastructure by which one-third of water resource losses take place. Monitoring and controlling operations in irrigation canals are essential for mitigating leakages and water waste in operational actions. On the other hand, energy consumption by agriculture is around 5% of usage in developed countries and even higher in undeveloped countries. Although it is a small part of the total energy supply for a country, energy waste reduces the competitiveness of the agriculture sector, which continually reduces profit margins in an economic sector with very low profit margins already. The tool developed in this paper aims to increase the efficiency of water and energy management in the agricultural sector and is included in an overall control diagram for scheduled irrigation management. This tool, the optimal pumping flow (OPF algorithm), optimizes the pumping flow from the irrigation canal to the irrigation reservoir in terms of water level at the canal and reservoir, crop flow demand, system constraints, and energy prices. Regarding the results, the OPF algorithm can calculate the optimum pumping operations, being able to optimize water resource usage and energy expenses by ensuring that the water level at reservoirs remains within a specified range and that pump flow never exceeds a threshold. Further, it allows for the management of pump operations outside of peak hours. On the other hand, the OPF algorithm is also integrated into the overall control diagram in a second test. Here, the OPF algorithm collaborates with a control canal algorithm such as the GoRoSo algorithm to optimize canal gates and pump operations, respectively. In this scenario, OPF reduces cumulative energy expenses by 58% compared to the scenario where the pump station operates only when the reservoir water level is below a certain threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) has been identified by the EU as a powerful resource capable of making substantial contributions to energy savings and reducing GHG emissions. Spain's effort to promote CHP has been prolific since the 1980s. In this regard, there have been various Laws, Royal Decrees (RDs) and European Union (EU) Directives addressed to reach the national objectives set for the CHP sector. Despite these attempts, the evolution and growth of installed CHP capacity has been irregular, compared to other technologies. Likewise, the academic treatment of the Spanish CHP evolution has not deserved the same attention as other technologies such as wind, photovoltaic and thermal solar systems. As a result, this article is aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the regulatory frameworks applied to the Spanish CHP sector and analysing the reasons behind the variable evolution of the installed CHP capacity. The study covers the legislative context from 1980 to 2020, describing the evolution during both the pre-liberalization and liberalization periods, highlighting the modifications in economic policies that affected self-producers and the so-called Special Regime (SR) for CHP, and examining the challenges faced during the cost containment measures that followed. The manuscript finds and explains the connection between the regulatory framework and the evolution of installed CHP capacity in Spain. Likewise, the connection between the industrial situation and the promotion of CHP, as well as the influence of the Spanish Electricity Sector (SES)'s liberalization on the CHP sector are also pointed out. The paper intends to provide valuable insights for CHP experts and policymakers by showcasing the importance of aligning regulatory measures with the objectives of energy efficiency. It also serves as a reference for countries in various stages of promoting CHP, and provides evidence for the importance of stable energy-policy control mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dry Mediterranean climate (BShs) is the European region with the highest number of hours of sunshine per year. The high annual solar radiation makes sun shading devices necessary to comply with current energy efficiency standards. However, these standards do not sufficiently consider their effect on the indoor lighting comfort of buildings. The objective is to qualitatively and quantitatively determine how movable sun shading devices jointly influence the energy efficiency, thermal comfort and lighting comfort of buildings in BShs climate. The scientific novelty of the work consists of demonstrating the limitations of the sun shading systems commonly used in southeastern Spain and determining the optimal technical solution in this climate to simultaneously improve thermal and lighting comfort. This research comparatively studies the influence of various movable sun shading systems on the daylighting and thermal performance of an educational building. This study conducted on-site measurements, user surveys and computer simulations to study how to improve the thermal and lighting performances of the building. This work demonstrates that interior solar shading provides little improvement in thermal comfort and reduces the cooling demand by only 25%. External movable sun shading improves thermal comfort and reduces the cooling demand by more than 60%, but only adjustable blinds or awnings achieve adequate and homogeneous illuminance values as they diffuse daylight. The paper concludes that energy efficiency standards should be modified to ensure adequate lighting comfort in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the hhsmmR package, which involves functions for initializing, fitting, and predication of hidden hybrid Markov/semi-Markov models. These models are flexible models with both Markovian and semi-Markovian states, which are applied to situations where the model involves absorbing or macro-states. The left-to-right models and the models with series/parallel networks of states are two models with Markovian and semi-Markovian states. The hhsmm also includes Markov/semi-Markov switching regression model as well as the auto-regressive HHSMM, the nonparametric estimation of the emission distribution using penalized B-splines, prediction of future states and the residual useful lifetime estimation in the predict function. The commercial modular aero-propulsion system simulation (C-MAPSS) data-set is also included in the package, which is used for illustration of the application of the package features. The application of the hhsmm package to the analysis and prediction of the Spain's energy demand is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses, as a case study, various balcony glazing arrangements in a typical tourist apartment building on the Mediterranean coast of south-eastern Spain, and their effects on the energy performance. The glazing of terraces has been very common in this type of flat over the last 40 years. The objective is to determine qualitatively and quantitatively how the glazing of terraces in such buildings influences their energy efficiency and indoor thermal comfort, considering the specific characteristics of the dry Mediterranean climate (BShs) within a warm semi-arid climate (BSh). The scientific novelty of the work consists of demonstrating that the installation of glazed enclosures on terraces allows the houses to be heated for free in winter, taking advantage of the greenhouse effect, and allows excess heat to be dissipated in summer by using natural ventilation. The results of the work enable the determination of appropriate terrace glazing solutions to improve the energy efficiency and thermal comfort of the dwelling, obtaining a reduction of more than 58% in annual energy demand and annual energy consumption. The work demonstrates the advantages that glazing systems for terraces can have in improving the energy efficiency of houses by using systems like glass curtains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric microgrids based mainly on renewable energies have seen a big expansion in recent years due to the great advantages they present against fossil fuels. Nowadays different governments are becoming aware of the use of environmentally friendly energies, so progressive investment has been granted to the consumers in Spain. Many microgrids have been installed in both connected and isolated circumstances, and this fact brings new challenges regarding the technical and economic points of view. This study aims to delve into electrical microgrids based on renewable energies applied in industrial facilities through a review of the literature associated with the study of general microgrids. It later focuses on the relationships between renewable energies and industrial environments. A brief reference is made to the use of energy storage systems in industrial installations depicting the most used systems. This paper presents a review of the state of the art of microgrids from distributed energy resources technologies to industrial microgrids optimization, with the primary objective of providing insight on current trends and directions in research and further identifying areas in need of further development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for eco-products due to the exigency of friendly and environmental production could affect the employment of the firms. This paper tests whether product and process eco-innovations boost employment in Spain differentiating by the environmental goals (material and energy efficiency and environment responsiveness), by the level of qualification of the workers, and by the dirtiness of the industries. We apply a Green Harrison model, using the Technological Innovation Panel (PITEC) for Spain from 2008 to 2016. Results show a positive relationship between all types of product eco-innovations and employment, while the influence of process eco-innovations on employment depends on the environmental goals, the level of skills, and the industry. Specifically, distinguishing by industry there is a labour-saving effect in clean industries and a labour-friendly effect for low-skilled employment in dirty industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a new fuzzy symbolization technique for energy load forecasting with neural networks, FPLS-Sym. Symbolization techniques transform a numerical time series into a smaller string of symbols, providing a high-level representation of time series by combining segmentation, aggregation and discretization. The dimensional reduction obtained with symbolization can speed up substantially the time required to train neural networks, however, it can also lead to considerable information losses that could lead to a less accurate forecast. FPLS-Sym introduces the use of fuzzy logic in the discretization process, maintaining more information about each segment of the neural network at the expense of requiring more space in memory. Extensive experimentation was made to evaluate FPLS-Sym with various neural-network-based models, including different neural network architectures and activation functions. The evaluation was done with energy demand data from Spain taken from 2009 to 2019. Results show that FPLS-Sym provides better quality metrics than other symbolization techniques and outperforms the use of the standard numerical time series representation in both quality metrics and training time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effect of certain factors on electricity consumption in Spain at a sectoral level. An electricity consumption function has been estimated by using panel data, depending on gross value added (GVA), temperatures, capitalization, and human capital. This function is obtained for total productive electricity consumption and for the agricultural, construction, industrial, service, and public administration sectors, referring to the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain for the 2000–2013 period. The obtained results show important sectoral differences in the effect that GVA has on electricity consumption, indicating a positive and increasing effect of temperatures above 22 °C in the total economy and in the tertiary sector, and a negative effect of temperatures below 18 °C in some sectors. These results may indicate that global warming may induce an electricity demand growth in Spain, especially related to cooling needs. The results also highlight the positive effects of capitalization in all sectors, and the negative effects of human capital, except for the public administration sector. In this context, it may be appropriate to carry out policies that mitigate this consumption growth, reinforcing energy efficiency measures, and human capital investments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The San Pedro del Pinatar I and II desalination plants in Spain were constructed near Posidonia oceanica meadows protected at the national and European level. The environmental impact statement for these plants stipulate that the brine discharge from the plant must not impact the meadows. To this end, a 4790 m submerged outfall was constructed to bypass the lower limit of the seagrass meadows, and a diffuser piece, along with an outfall pumping system, was installed at the end of the outfall. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the economic cost of the energy consumed for the brine discharge evacuation process necessary to comply with environmental requirements. The operating time and power consumption data were obtained from the plant's monitoring system, while the energy cost was obtained from energy invoices. The computed results show that it is possible to minimize the environmental impacts of brine discharge on the marine environment of an SWRO plant with a low economic cost. The average energy consumption of the reject effluent pumping system ranged from 19.4 to 1239.3 thousand kWh per year, while the average annual energy cost was 49,329 €, which amounts to only 0.56% of the total energy cost for plant operation. The adoption of these measures provide a cost-effective means to meet environmental protection requirements and minimize the environmental impact associated with the discharged brine. As the demand for desalination operations increase, economically and scientifically viable technologies for mitigating environmental impacts are necessary for sustainability in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing spread of electric sustainable mobility is transforming the local ways of transport in metropolitan areas. This is meant to be extended outside of big cities in the near future thanks to new technological developments. Little towns should adapt to these changes, as they are located geographically far from the big cities and are generally characterized by low economic and demographic indicators. Hence, little towns must keep pace with these changes in mobility to avoid being isolated from the main cities in a country. People living in the countryside usually move toward big cities for various reasons, either related to work or living necessities. Therefore, it must be possible to conduct usual displacements through the use of electric vehicles (EVs), i.e., reaching the destinations and supplying the batteries through charging infrastructures. This paper studies the full implementation of electric mobility applied in the case of Cuenca, a city located in middle Spain. A brief geographical context is provided, together with the routes and destinations of interest considered. Then, different EVs are considered and an analytical vehicle model is provided. The model was exploited to simulate the electrical energy demand to reach the destinations chosen; the results allow comparing the performances offered by different types of EVs. This aspect is then considered as the basis to propose further upgrades in the charging infrastructures where needed, to comply with the widespread use of electric mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze the temporal dependence in energy prices and demand using daily data of Portugal and Spain over the period 2007–2017. The methodology used is based on a stochastic Hidden Markov Model and the results indicate first that all significant relationships between energy prices and demands were found to be positive; second, spot prices are only time dependent on future prices and spot energy, while future energy is solely time dependent on spot energy behavior; third, future prices are not only autocorrelated but also time-dependent with spot energy and future energy demands level; and finally, spot energy is autocorrelated and time-dependent with future prices and future energy. Policy implications of the results obtained are presented at the end of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-forest drying of roundwood and biomass (residues) can result in more efficient transport operations from an economical and environmental perspective. On the negative side, in-forest drying may result in dry matter losses (DML), impacting the quantity and quality of residues delivered to energy plants. This paper investigated the impact of roundwood and residues in-forest drying and DML on supply chain costs and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. For the assessment, a short-term optimization planning tool was applied to a supply chain located in Asturias, Spain, consisting of fourteen supply points and two demand points: A pulp mill (demanding roundwood) and a power plant (demanding residues). Four scenarios were included in the analysis comprising different combinations of DML for roundwood and residues resulting from in-forest drying. Our results indicate that in scenarios that include in-forest drying and DML, the negative economic effects are offset by the substantial reductions in transport costs and GHG emissions. In-forest drying of roundwood and residues without DML can result in a 6.5% reduction in supply chain costs, 14.9% fewer truckloads to destination points, and 18.1% less fuel consumption and GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rise in the number of EVs (electric vehicles) in Europe is putting pressure on power grids. At an urban scale, Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are devised as archetypes of (small) urban districts managing a set of interconnected buildings and district elements (lighting system, vehicles, smart grid, etc.). This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of the impact of e-mobility in a PED, simulated using MATLAB-Simulink software. The PED, a small district in northern Spain, is assessed in five scenarios representing varying requirements in terms of energy efficiency of buildings, type of street lighting and number of EVs. The results suggest that the energy rating of the buildings (ranging from A for the most efficient to E) conditions the annual energy balance. A PED with six interconnected buildings (3 residential and 3 of public use) and 405 EVs (as a baseline) only achieves positivity when the buildings have a high energy rating (certificate A or B). In the most efficient case (A-rated buildings), simulation results show that the PED can support 695 EVs; in other words, it can provide nearly 9 million green kilometres. This result represents a potential 71% saving in carbon emissions from e-mobility alone (as compared to the use of fossil-fuel vehicles), thus contributing a reduction in the carbon footprint of the district and the city as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) is a managed aquifer recharge technology that involves the utilization of treated wastewater as a source. Widely implemented in countries like Australia, Israel, and Spain, SAT offers technical (flexibility), economic (lower investment cost), and environmental (lower energy consumption) advantages that invite people in other countries to assess its potential. There have been numerous research studies and experiments conducted on the process level of SAT, focusing on how to eliminate pollutants and improve water quality. However, research at the system level is limited, which hampers its widespread application, especially in developing countries. In this paper, I provide a comprehensive guideline that highlights important factors to consider when implementing SAT as a technology. Proper site selection and careful planning steps, including pretreatment, hydrogeological factors, and economic calculations, can significantly improve the performance of an SAT system. The regulatory component acts as a barrier to the expansion of SAT facilities worldwide due to the lack of harmonization in regulations. This study includes the details and results of an examination of the legal framework and establishes comparative guidelines and water quality parameters that must be met by SAT projects utilizing reclaimed water. The maintenance and monitoring of the SAT system are also essential to anticipating and addressing potential issues such as clogging. Lastly, the social aspect, which is of utmost importance, should be carefully considered. It is advisable to ensure transparent communication with end users from the early stages of the project. These key elements are interconnected, and none should be considered less significant than the others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overheating of solar cells under normal operational conditions highly reduces their energy harvesting efficiency and produces additional problems related to thermal cycling and performance degradation of the modules. In this paper, a novel cooling system for solar photovoltaics, using the underground as a heat sink, is proposed, theoretically described and experimentally validated. A prototype of the technology (including a single-axis sun tracking mechanism) has been designed, manufactured, and rigorously tested in outdoor conditions during summer 2021 in Spain, under different environmental conditions. The excess heat is removed from the backside of the solar module by a close-loop and single-phase cooling system and then dissipated in the underground, which is at a constant temperature of about 16 °C at relatively low depths at the location where tests were performed. A single U-shaped copper tube, 18 mm in diameter, immersed in a 15.5-m-deep borehole naturally filled with water, is used as an underground heat exchanger. As a consequence of the reduction of the cooled module temperature, its net power generation is significantly increased. A promising improvement of the net power generation of the cooled solar module up to 12.4% has been measured for a coolant flowrate of 1.84 l/min per square meter of solar module, proving the technical feasibility of the approach. In addition, a dependency of the power gain with the pump efficiency, the global radiation, and ambient temperature has been observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effectively utilizing low-grade thermal energy is a promising approach to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions while reducing the burden on centralized power grids. Current thermoacoustic heat pumps and power generators face challenges such as high onset temperature differentials and low performance. This paper addresses these challenges by introducing a gas-liquid resonator into a thermoacoustic combined heat and power systems to recover low-grade thermal energy in residential buildings. Through Sage modeling and calculations, the internal characteristics of the proposed system and its output performance under different operating conditions are explored. At a heating temperature of 350 °C, the system can generate 6.4 kW of output thermal power, 0.9 kW of electricity, and overall exergy efficiency is 79.3 %. Combining neural network models with case studies conducted in Spain and Finland, the system can annually save 5.6 MWh and 20.7 MWh in fuel energy, reduce emissions of 1374 kg and 5180 kg of carbon dioxide, and save a total cost of €611 and €2324, respectively. Furthermore, comparisons with other emerging micro-CHP systems highlight the efficiency of the proposed system. These results indicate the high potential of thermoacoustic combined heat and power systems in recovering low-grade thermal energy and achieving energy savings and emission reductions. • Introducing an innovative thermoacoustic micro-CHP system. • Achieving an exergy efficiency of 79.3 % under standard operating conditions. • One system can annually reduce household CO 2 emissions by 5180 kg. • Ideal for households, balancing lower output levels for both heat and electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bottled water consumption has risen despite its economic and environmental costs. This study assesses the level of knowledge about the impact of bottled water consumption and the extent to which it leads to a reduction in consumption. We analyse a sample of 454 students at the University of Granada, Spain, using descriptive analysis, Spearman's correlation and ordinary least squares (OLS). Results indicate that students have a low level of knowledge about the amount of water required to produce bottled water, the energy used to produce it and the water source. The knowledge of the last two issues is negatively associated with bottled water consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the first application of a split-range control technique on a concentrating solar collector to improve an absorption plant production. Solar absorption plants have solar power availability in phase with cooling demand under design conditions. Thus, it is a powerful cooling technology in the context of renewable energy and energy efficiency. These plants need control systems to cope with solar irradiance intermittency, reject irradiation disturbances, manage fossil fuels backup systems and dump closed-loop thermal-hydraulic oscillations. In this work, control techniques are proposed and simulated in an absorption plant in Spain. The plant consists of a concentrating Fresnel solar collector connected to an absorption chiller. The objectives are to operate with 100% renewable solar energy and avoid safety defocus events while reducing temperature oscillations and control actuators effort. Firstly, the current available plant controllers are defined, then two modifications are proposed. The first modification is a split-range controller capable of manipulating both flow and defocus of the Fresnel collector, the second modification is a PI controller to substitute the original chiller on-off controller. The results compare, through validated models, the different control systems and indicate that using both proposed controllers reduces 94% of the sum of actuators effort and 43% of the integral of absolute set-point tracking error compared to the plant's factory pre-set controllers. The suggested controllers increase 66% of energy production and 63% of exergy production. Besides, the split-range technique can be extended to any concentrating solar collector control. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decentralized and small-scale forms of organization are reappearing in Spanish's energy system. Co-operatives have a social approach based on three dimensions: the purpose of the initiative, the form of organization and ownership, and embeddedness. In this paper, we apply this analytical framework to twelve energy co-operatives in Spain. These collectively owned organizations are energy-marketing communities, and they have specific objectives: These are an ecological objective (to reduce energy consumption and generate renewable energy) and a social objective (to propose an alternative to the reality of the energy market and citizen empowerment). Energy co-operatives in Spain have been typified as social enterprises, and these social enterprises have experience in common energy service, with which they may mark their future role in local energy communities. These results show the consolidation of energy co-operatives as a sign of the maturity of Spanish society in the face of energy challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-sectional energy benchmarking in the building domain has become crucial for policymakers, energy managers and property owners as they can compare an immovable property performance against its closest peers. For this, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are formulated, often relying on multiple and heterogeneous data sources which, combined, can be used to set benchmarks following normalization criteria. Geographically delimited parameters are important among these criteria because they enclose entities sharing key common characteristics the geometrical boundaries represent. Linking georeferenced heterogeneous data is not trivial, for it requires geographical aggregation, which is often taken for granted or hidden within a pre-processing activity in most energy benchmarking studies. In this article, a novel approach for Linked Data (LD) generation is presented as a methodological solution for data integration together with its application in the energy benchmarking use case. The methodology consists of eight phases that follow the best principles and recommend standards including the well-known GeoSPARQL Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) for leveraging the geographical aggregation. Its feasibility is demonstrated by the integrated exploitation of INSPIRE-formatted cadastral data and the Buildings Performance Certifications (BPCs) available for the Catalonia region in Spain. The outcomes of this research support the adoption of the proposed methodology and provide the means for generating cross-sectional building energy benchmarking histograms from any-scale geographical aggregations on the fly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal simulations have become increasingly popular in assessing energy efficiency and predicting thermal behaviors in various structures. Calibration of these simulations is essential for accurate predictions. A crucial aspect of this calibration involves investigating the influence of meteorological variables. This study aims to explore the impact of meteorological variables on thermal simulations, particularly focusing on ships. Using TRNSYS (TRaNsient System Simulation) software (v17), renowned for its capability to model complex energy systems within buildings, the significance of incorporating meteorological data into thermal simulations was analyzed. The investigation centered on a patrol vessel stationed in a port in Galicia, northwest Spain. To ensure accuracy, we not only utilized the vessel's dimensions but also conducted in situ temperature measurements onboard. Furthermore, a dedicated weather station was installed to capture real-time meteorological data. Data from multiple sources, including Meteonorm and MeteoGalicia, were collected for comparative analysis. By juxtaposing simulations based on meteorological variables against those relying solely on in situ measurements, we sought to discern the relative merits of each approach in enhancing the fidelity of thermal simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a detailed analysis of thermal comfort and energy consumption in a Passivhaus-certified apartment in Bolueta Tower, Bilbao, Spain, over a period of three years (2020–2022). Utilizing a comprehensive, long-term monitoring approach, the research investigates the effectiveness of the Passivhaus standard in achieving both energy efficiency and occupant comfort in a temperate climate. Using calibrated data loggers to record indoor temperature, humidity, and CO2 levels were used alongside the collection of utility bills to assess energy consumption and thermal comfort, as well as IAQ, against several international standards. Significant issues with overheating were confirmed, in line with previous research. During the warmer months, indoor temperatures frequently exceeded the Passivhaus comfort threshold of 25 °C, reaching as high as 31.3 °C, particularly in the living room and bedroom. This resulted in discomfort during summer, with the percentage of hours above 25 °C reaching 23.21% in 2022. Nighttime temperatures often surpassed 24 °C, impacting sleep quality. Conversely, heating consumption was minimal, corroborating the building's energy efficiency in colder months. The findings highlight a critical gap in the Passivhaus standard when applied in milder climates, where overheating becomes a significant issue. This study suggests the need for an integrated approach in sustainable building design, one that balances energy efficiency with adaptive strategies to mitigate overheating, such as improved natural ventilation and thermal mass. These insights contribute to the ongoing discourse on optimizing energy-efficient buildings for occupant comfort in various climatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study provides an in-depth assessment of the environmental performance of five public schools in the transition towards a low-carbon economy and a more sustainable model of society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used to conduct the study. The school system includes several activities and processes clustered in three subsystems: management of the school building, training and learning activities (T&L) and mobility and transport (M&T). A detailed primary data inventory of energy and resources consumption was collected in five schools located in Spain and Portugal. Findings on climate change (CC), water depletion (WD), particular matter (PM), acidification (Ac), and human health (HH), as well as associated external cost (EC), are reported per student in one school year as reference unit, allowing the schools' individual performance comparison and identify the potential improvements. Considering the sample of schools, findings reveal that peculiarities of the schools, such as location, specialization, and level of education, are crucial for the environmental performance. Buildings are a relevant contributor to CC as well as heating and electricity needs, although their relevance is dependent on multiple factors. The M&T subsystem also has relevant weight on the metrics evaluated. Educational activities have a lower impact in absolute terms but, in some schools, it becomes the main contributor to HH due to paper and electricity consumption and manufacturing of equipment. External costs results are in the range of 11 to 38 EUR/student·year mainly caused by heating, electricity and wastes from the building subsystem, and the M&T subsystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operation of solar photovoltaic installations for many years may lead to problems such as reduced energy efficiency and aging of components. Under this framework, replacing certain components in the facility to extend the service life of the power plant is viewed, in some cases, as a feasible strategy. However, despite its enormous strategic interest for the solar PV industry, we find that revamping PV installations has been the focus of very few scientific publications, and even less so when it comes to analyzing real facilities. Thus, this paper performs a techno-economic analysis of three revamping strategies at a real PV power plant located in the south-east of Spain. The strategies consist of substituting, in each case, the PV modules, the inverter, and both components. The simulated results show that the highest production value by installed power is obtained when both the modules and the inverter are replaced. In the same vein, the economic analysis reveals this scenario as the most favorable in terms of profitability. Based on the results obtained, an interesting future line of research would be focused on the extension of the analysis at country level to study the joint impact of numerous revamping actions. • Techno-economic analysis of revamping projects of a real solar PV power plant. • Replacing modules and inverter emerges as the most feasible strategy. • Study's applicability extends to other revamping initiatives and geographical regions. • Economic outcomes allow the most cost-effective alternatives to be determined. • This research can contribute to efficient and sustainable energy planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We present a novel integration for reducing CO 2 emissions in blast furnaces. • It combines top gas recycling, oxy-fuel regime, power to gas and biomass pyrolysis. • The integration was modelled using the extended operating line methodology. • The best performance was found for pyrolysis at 700 °C. • The CO 2 emissions were reduced by 58% (9.8 MJ/kg CO2 energy consumption) The paper introduces a novel approach for mitigating CO 2 emissions in blast furnaces by integrating top gas recycling, an oxy-fuel regime, power to gas, and biomass pyrolysis. Various case studies were conducted, involving the adjustment of pyrolysis temperatures (300 °C, 500 °C, 700 °C, and 900 °C) and varying the quantity of blast furnace gas directed to methanation for carbon recycling. Pinus radiata, abundant and cost-effective in Chile and Spain, was chosen as the biomass source. The integration was modeled using the extended operating line methodology and evaluated through 12 key performance indicators, such as flame temperature, coke consumption, CO 2 emissions, and specific primary energy consumption per unit of CO 2 avoided. Optimal performance was observed with pyrolysis at 700 °C and no blast furnace gas recycled through methanation. This configuration achieved a 58 % reduction in CO 2 emissions, with an energy consumption of 9.8 MJ/kg CO2 , and obviated the need for geological storage. Comparing this innovative proposal with other oxygen blast furnace approaches from the literature revealed a 13 percentage point improvement in CO 2 reduction over the second-best alternative. Additionally, the required electrolysis capacity, influencing capital expenditure, was 57 % lower, and energy consumption was reduced by 44 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a model for optimizing the life cycle economic and environmental impacts of a hybrid renewable energy and battery storage system – as energy supply technologies (EST) for off-grid farms. Micro-hydropower and photovoltaics represent the primary renewable energy (RE) sources, with batteries and a diesel generator considered as possible back-up systems. A modified Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) was developed and applied to a case study farm in Southern Spain and provided different EST solutions to optimize a design based on economic (life cycle costing or LCC) and environmental (life cycle assessment or LCA) constraints. The results highlighted that cases with a strong dependence on batteries could achieve minimum costs and lower impacts for climate change and energy resources (non-renewable fuels). In contrast, the optimal system for minimizing the consumption of material resources (metals/minerals) resulted in higher fuel use, which was up to 25% more expensive. The optimal EST solutions used up to 37% of the total energy generated; however, the results were sensitive to energy production-demand distributions. This methodology can help identify the most cost-effective solutions with the lower environmental impacts for decarbonizing the agricultural sector. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy crisis and the exacerbation of climate change, along with the associated geopolitical tensions, including the war in Ukraine, are accelerating the energy transition in Europe. A transition from fossil energy sources to renewable energy sources that have a low Energy Return Rate, involves, among many other issues, the use of wide areas to locate the necessary infrastructure for production, transport and storage, altering territories with agricultural, cultural and ecological values. This process is based on the deployment of renewable energy megaprojects in peripheric areas of the continent, mostly in the southern states creating a wide range of social conflicts and resistances. We analyse this process in the case study of the province of Granada, a peripheric territory of south-east Spain considering the category of energy colonialism and the six dimensions that characterise it, arguing that this is a proper approach to address internal colonialism related to the corporate energy transition. We also want to demonstrate the importance of using participatory methodologies for this analysis, so we have developed an online survey, semi-structured interviews and participatory cartography workshops, always focusing on the citizens and stakeholders who are resisting the deployment of renewable energy megaprojects in the province of Granada. The obtained results allow us to confirm the necessity of using participatory methodologies and the colonial aspect of this deployment, including the characteristics of social resistance, the territorial impacts, the land-grabbing process and the inequalities in the production, distribution and use of energy. We conclude with the need to articulate a decolonial energy transition where participatory methods constitute a fundamental tool both to attend the resistances and to build the alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing environmental impacts in transport motivates many studies to offer more sustainable freight services. However, most methodologies focus on impacts from fuel consumption, and approaches trying to integrate other transport components have not facilitated its application to actual and specific transport services. In this study, we present a harmonized approach to address the transport services with a holistic way to increase the knowledge about hotspots of the transport sector based on the life cycle assessment methodology. In this framework, vehicle manufacturing, fuel production, and infrastructure construction are the key transport components around the traffic process. Besides fuel usage, the operation and maintenance of vehicles and infrastructures are also included. We developed a tool to create the life cycle inventories for each transport component to be applied to specific transport services in any location with a comprehensive view and low uncertainty in the results. This approach was applied to road-freight services in Colombia, Malaysia, and Spain. The main results showed the nature and origin of the environmental impacts, which are highly influenced by the emissions control technologies, road characteristics, and traffic volume. The contribution of atmospheric pollutants per tonne-km can decrease by a quarter when Euro VI trucks on highways instead of conventional trucks on single-lane roads are used. However, these contributions are highly affected by fuel production due to the origin of biofuels. The proposed methodology provides relevant information to estimate transport impacts in the life cycle assessment of products with superior precision and identify strategies for systemically improving sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Basque Y High Speed Rail connection between Madrid and the Basque Autonomous Community is, quite exceptionally, a mixed freight and passengers HSR line, that has been presented as a fundamental step towards a more sustainable mobility. In this paper, a life-cycle assessment (LCA) is conducted to assess the environmental performance of the line throughout its lifetime, based on the latest data available, including both construction and maintenance burdens. Results show that this new corridor is not justified in terms of reducing emissions and energy consumption, mainly due to its low transport density. It also has a negligible impact on Spanish current low rail freight traffic. We conclude, therefore, that Spain needs to reconsider its AVE network expansion if aiming at increasing rail's modal share and meeting the emissions targets set by the EU. From a policy perspective, many information inconsistencies have been found regarding the demand projections of freight transport, which cast serious doubt about the decision-making process behind Trans-European transport projects. [Display omitted] • Life-cycle assessment (LCA) of the Basque Y high-speed rail line under construction in 2023. • It verifies whether this project is justified in terms of environmental impacts reductions. • Net balance of the Basque Y high-speed rail is very modest, when not detrimental. • This project would not be justified in terms of environmental impacts reductions. • Alternatives to high-speed rail in the transport hierarchy provide better environmental balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy Communities analysis and review in Europe and, more specifically, in Spain. • Promoting energy poverty reduction and cooperation through Energy Communities. • Real case study focused on reducing energy poverty in the city of Getafe (Spain). • Selection of public buildings to implement energy community in two neighborhoods. • Significant electricity bill reductions for energy poverty households. Advancements in renewable energy technologies, a growing awareness of the need for sustainable energy solutions, and the emergence of new business models in the energy sector, have contributed to the growth of Energy Communities. Public entities can find in energy communities today an opportunity to tackle energy poverty, to increase the cooperation among citizens and to empower them to be a more active player within the energy sector. This paper analyzes energy communities in Europe and focuses specifically on Spain; considering the three beneficial aspects previously mentioned. It aims to obtain ground truth about the applications of these new citizens' arrangements. A citizen-led initiative at the city of Getafe (Madrid, Spain) is included and discussed in detail. This case study focused on reducing energy poverty of its participants. An energy community was designed and implemented as a collective PV solar self-consumption infrastructure. The roofs of various public buildings in the two case study neighborhoods were selected for locating the PV installations. Real metered data were used to evaluate the solution. A public building was selected for the energy community, considering generation on roof and dwellings proximity. The results provided that out of the 77% PV generations could be used to contribute to the demand of 100 residences; while the resulting 23% would provide approximately 60% of the energy demand of the public building. The setting up of the Energy Community not only had the technical part but also included workshops seminars and information sessions, to ensure that people prone to benefit and maximize its impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of a CSP tower system with a PV solar field, sharing a thermal energy storage, is modeled and discussed. The tower system uses a new-design solid particle fluidized bed receiver integrated with a thermal storage, where hot particles are directly collected to store daily energy for overnight production of electricity. The PV solar field is aimed to supply the daily energy demand; when there is a surplus of PV energy production, the electric energy is converted to heat and accumulated in the thermal storage too. The integration of the two energy systems is modeled, building efficiency functions for all the sub-components of the integrated plant (heliostat field, receiver, storage, power block, PV field). Yearly simulations are performed for two different locations, Spain and Australia, obtaining that a system with a peak power of 10 MWe CSP + 15 MWe PV can supply—with a limited curtailment—a fraction of more than 60% (respectively, 62% and 68%) of a realistic electric load with a peak demand around 10 MW, to be compared with the 45/47% of the same load obtained adopting a PV-only system with the same overall peak power. In the integrated system, PV directly supplies 40/41% of the load, the remaining 23/28% being produced by the power block (mainly fed by the CSP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the energy benefits of switchable insulation systems (SIS) are assessed when applied as shades for windows as well as dynamic insulation for exterior walls of residential buildings located in European countries including Belgium and Spain. A series of analyses is performed for detached houses and apartments representing common Belgian residential buildings to determine the energy performance of SIS when deployed to windows and exterior walls and operated using simplified rule-based controls. The analysis results indicate that SIS-integrated windows can achieve significant energy savings for both dwelling types in Belgium, including the elimination of any mechanical cooling and a reduction of up to 44% of heating energy end-use. Moreover, the results show that SIS can offer even more energy efficiency and thermal comfort benefits when deployed to both windows and exterior walls for residential buildings. These energy efficiency benefits are higher, especially for reducing heating needs, for the milder climates of Belgium and Spain. However, it should be noted that the energy performance of SIS could be affected substantially by windows' orientation and occupants' behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been growing concern regarding energy efficiency in the building sector with energy requirements increasing worldwide and now responsible for about 40% of final energy consumption in Europe. Previous research has shown that ventilated façades help to reduce energy use when cooling buildings in hot and temperate climates. Of the different ventilated façade configurations reported in the literature, the configuration of ventilated façade with window rarely has been studied, and its 3D thermodynamic behavior is deserving of further analysis and modeling. This paper examines the thermal behavior of an opaque ventilated façade with a window, in experimentally and numerical terms and its impact in energy savings to get indoor comfort. Field measurements were conducted during the winter, spring and summer seasons of 2021 using outdoor full scale test cells located in Seville (southern Spain). The modeling of the ventilated façade was carried out using a three-dimensional approach taking into account the 3D behavior of the air flow in the air cavity due to the presence of the window. The validation and comparison process using experimental data showed that the proposed model provided good results from quantitative and qualitative point of view. The reduction of the heat flux was assessed by comparing the energy performance of a ventilated façade with that of an unventilated façade. Both experimental and numerical results showed that the ventilated façade provided a reduction in annual total energy consumption when compared to the unventilated façade, being compensated the winter energy penalization by the summer energy savings. This reduction is about 21 % for the whole typical climatic year showing the ability of the opaque ventilated façade studied to reduce energy consumption to insure indoor comfort, making its suitable for use in retrofitting the energy-obsolete building stock built in Spain in the middle decades of the 20 century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the influence of thermal parameters—conductivity, transmittance, and thermal mass—in the estimation of comfort and energy demand of a building with rammed earth walls, and consequently, the compliance with standards. It is known that nominal design data does not match in situ measured values, especially in traditionally constructed buildings. We have therefore monitored a room in a building with rammed earth walls, designed a computerised model, and compared four different alternatives where we have changed the value for the thermal conductivity (in situ vs. estimated) and the consideration of thermal mass. When we then analyse the compliance with the Spanish energy saving code, using measured values would result in lower differences with the standards' limits and even comply with the global thermal transmittance (K-value) requirement. This would mean a more realistic approach to the restoration of traditional buildings leading to the use of thinner and more suitable insulation and retrofitting systems, encouraging the use of rammed earth in new buildings, and therefore reducing the carbon footprint due to materials used in construction. Results show that the building model that uses in situ values and considers thermal mass (S1) is closer to reality when assessing thermal comfort. Finally, using nominal data would result in requiring 43% more energy in the selected winter period and 102% more energy in the selected summer period to keep the same comfort conditions as in the alternative where measured values are used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Advanced climate-resilient energy retrofit technology reduces the use of non-renewable energy in the building sector. • Renewable District Heating as an optimal technology in deep energy renovation strategies. • Sustainable cities and buildings are feasible by Centralised District Heating system powered by biomass. • Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), to achieve nZEB performances established in the European legislations. This paper presents the implementation of a biomass-fuelled District Heating System (DHS), as a part of a deep energy renovation exercise to achieve a climate-resilient campus with minimum carbon dioxide emissions. The case study is carried out for the University of Valladolid, an average-sized university in Spain, with a continental weather climate. Prior to renovation, the different building blocks had a wide-ranging level of fossil fuel consumption for space heating and domestic hot water ranging between 60 and 430 kWh/m2·year. The application of this centralised heating system allows to achieve the minimum threshold for near zero-energy buildings (nZEB) of 100–120 kWh/m2, in accordance with the Spanish Standards. These values correspond to the maximum European indicators for offices in continental weather conditions. Results of this comprehensive study show that 15 out of the 19 buildings reached the nZEB target, due to the proposed strategy. The overall carbon dioxide emissions have dropped by 92.69% as compared to the original fossil-fuel powered boiler, thus bringing carbon dioxide emissions down to 1.57 kgCO 2 /m2·y. Therefore, it is shown that deep energy renovation strategies through renewable energy DHS have the potential of achieving nZEB for universities in continental weather conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low energy efficiency of the European building stock is both a social and environmental issue. However, plans and studies on energy retrofitting interventions do not usually evaluate the impact of these measures on households' energy affordability. This paper analyses and compares the effect of alternative retrofitting strategies on thermal energy services' affordability in Spanish vulnerable households. This analysis was carried out by applying the Required Thermal Energy Expenditure model proposed in previous studies to several 2030 residential building stock scenarios, setting 2020 as a baseline. Therefore, this work proposes a methodological approach to assess the impact of the considered energy efficiency interventions on energy poverty in winter (WEP) and summer (SEP) and carries out both a 'social cost' and a cost-benefit analysis. The dwelling's thermal-enclosure retrofitting stands out as a very WEP-reduction and social-cost effective measure. Instead, replacing old thermal systems with more efficient ones would have a higher impact on SEP. Combining both kinds of retrofitting measures could reduce heating and cooling required expenditures by, respectively, 49% and 59%, and decrease the WEP and SEP share, correspondingly, by 35% and 63%. These results might inform policymakers to enhance the targeting and design of energy efficiency programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change will have a great impact on the hottest climates of southern Europe and the existing residential stock will be extremely vulnerable to these future climatic conditions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to update this building stock considering imminent global warming by applying climatic files that predict future conditions in building performance simulations. This research makes use of the two most applied tools (Meteonorm and CCWorldWeatherGen) for generating future climate hourly datasets for 2050 and 2080 in southern Spain. The results predicted for outdoor and indoor thermal conditions and cooling and heating demands are evaluated for two different scale simulation models: a test cell and a multi-family building located in southern Spain. The main aim of this work is the development of a comparative analysis of the results to highlight their potential differences and raise awareness of the influence of the climate data projection method on the simulation outcome. The results show that the projection method selected for producing future climatic files has relevant effects on the analysis of thermal comfort and energy demand, but it is considerably reduced when an annual evaluation is developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy-supply crisis, aggravated by the war in Ukraine, has prompted EU governments to approve urgent energy-saving measures. The new Spanish energy-saving standard aims to reduce energy consumption by changing the regulatory limits for indoor hygrothermal conditions in buildings. This regulation has provoked a great social debate about its real effectiveness and its impact on user comfort. This work explores the hygrothermal performance of an office building in southeastern Spain. The objective of this research is to determine qualitatively and quantitatively how the new energy-saving standard in Spain influences energy efficiency and indoor thermal comfort, by considering the characteristics of the dry Mediterranean climate (BShs) within a warm semi-arid climate (BSh). The scientific novelty of the study is to demonstrate that the new Spanish standard not only reduces energy costs but also makes the indoor comfort of buildings much worse; for this reason, an improvement in the standard is also proposed. The study methodology consists of a comparative study between the thermal performance, thermal comfort, and energy demand of the building, considering both the new and previous standards' requirements. It also includes the evaluation of a proposal to improve the current standard. The results showed that the new energy-saving standard reduced energy consumption by 21.78% in comparison to former standards, but the new comfort ranges were not acceptable for 60% of the users. The proposed improvement does achieve acceptable comfort for most users (75%) and an additional reduction in energy demand of 48.76% compared to current standard. We conclude that the thermal comfort requirements of the current energy standard should be modified to better adapt the design criteria to the dry Mediterranean climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet water demands, pressurised irrigation networks often need pumping devices, whose power demand varies with the pump head, the flow rate delivered and the pump efficiency. To satisfy the energy demand of pumps, solar photovoltaic panels can be used as a renewable energy source. Since the electricity supply of a solar photovoltaics plant depends on irradiance, the energy that powers the pump varies with the time of the day. This study presents a strategy for scheduling water delivery by irrigation pumps, synchronising energy production in solar photovoltaic modules and minimising the installation size. An optimisation algorithm is proposed, which changes the energy required by pumping devices and adjusts them to the available solar energy supply, minimising the number of panels required. This problem applies to a pressurised irrigation network, where the utility manager may irrigate crops at all hours of the day. By adopting the proposed algorithm, irrigation will follow a rigid rotation schedule to follow the new irrigation plan. This approach improves earlier studies by employing a least-square scheduling algorithm with little computing time. This results in a tool for managers and decision-makers when evaluating the possibility of converting their irrigation network into a stand-alone system supplied by photovoltaic panels. A case study handling this issue in the University of Alicante's pressurised irrigation network in Spain is proposed to find potential energy savings by connecting the recommended scheduling irrigating plan to the present operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than 50% of the world's population lives in cities. Its buildings consume more than a third of the energy and generate 40% of the emissions. This makes cities in general and their buildings in particular priority points of attention for policymakers and utilities. This paper uses population density as a variable to know its influence on energy consumption and emissions produced in buildings. Furthermore, to show its effect more clearly, the influence of the climate was eliminated. The usual energy consumption in buildings is thermal and electrical. The study was carried out at the city level, both per inhabitant and per household. The area actually occupied by the city was considered. The proposed method was applied to the case of Spanish cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The results show that the higher the population density, the higher the energy consumption per inhabitant and household in buildings. The consumption of thermal energy is elastic, while that of electrical energy is inelastic, varying more than 100% between extreme groups. Regarding CO2 emissions, the higher the population density, the higher the emissions. Emissions of electrical origin barely vary by 2% and are greater than those of thermal origin. In addition, the proportion of emissions of electrical origin, with respect to the total, decreases with increasing population density from 74% to 55%. This research aims to help policymakers and utilities to take the appropriate measures that favor the use of renewable energies and reduce CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermostatic load control systems are widespread in many countries. Since they provide heat for domestic hot water and space heating on a massive scale in the residential sector, the assessment of their energy performance and the effect of different control strategies requires simplified modeling techniques demanding a small number of inputs and low computational resources. Data-driven techniques are envisaged as one of the best options to meet these constraints. This paper presents a novel methodology consisting of the combination of an optimization algorithm, two auto-regressive models and a control loop algorithm able to virtually replicate the control of thermostatically driven systems. This combined strategy includes all the thermostatically controlled modes governed by the set point temperature and enables automatic assessment of the energy consumption impact of multiple scenarios. The required inputs are limited to available historical readings from smart thermostats and external climate data sources. The methodology has been trained and validated with data sets coming from a selection of 11 smart thermostats, connected to gas boilers, placed in several households located in north-eastern Spain. Important conclusions of the research are that these techniques can estimate the temperature decay of households when the space heating is off as well as the energy consumption needed to reach the comfort conditions. The results of the research also show that estimated median energy savings of 18.1% and 36.5% can be achieved if the usual set point temperature schedule is lowered by 1 °C and 2 °C, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and energy cost in the building sector largely relies on effective energy management. Yet, when it comes to heating or cooling, energy savings may translate to uncomfortable conditions for the building users. To ensure thermal comfort with a minimal energy consumption, in this paper we propose a modular methodology that dynamically schedules the operating hours of the heating/cooling system of the building using thermal comfort forecasts. To decide on the time and mode of operation, our approach utilizes indoor air temperature and relative humidity forecasting models, as well as a data-driven algorithm that predicts thermal comfort level based on said forecasts and employs pre-heating/cooling when necessary. Our empirical evaluation, conducted in the Casal Mira-sol culture center of Sant Cugat, Spain, suggests that our approach can improve the satisfaction of the building users, while achieving significant energy savings. • A method to handle heating and cooling systems based on thermal comfort forecasts. • Optimization of the HVAC operation using indoor temperature and humidity forecasts. • A dynamic algorithm that simulates thermal comfort to pre-heat/cool the building. • Demonstration of the approach through an application to a public building in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Many European nations, including Spain, are having difficulties achieving their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) objectives. Resultantly, the current research discusses the development of an SDG framework for Spain, which can be utilized as a model for other EU nations. This research examines whether GDP growth, technological innovation, and energy sources (renewable and non-renewable) have any effect on CO2 emissions utilizing data from 1980 to 2018. The study applied the non-linear ARDL (NARDL) to investigate these interrelations. The outcomes from the NARDL revealed that positive (negative) shocks in renewable energy improve environmental quality in Spain. Furthermore, positive (negative) shocks in technological innovation lead to a decrease (increase) in CO2. Lastly, positive (negative) shocks in energy consumption lead to an increase (decrease) in CO2. The results reveal that Spain is on the right path towards decarburization. This research has important policy ramifications for the policymakers and government of Spain as well as neighbouring countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeting output growth is among one of the prime concerns of any economy in both the developing and developed world. Energy utilization and exports are important drivers that would help in boosting production activities in any economy. Therefore, beyond labor force and capital formation, exports and energy utilization can be among the important inputs for accelerating economic growth in any economy. This research is conducted to investigate the linear impact of exports and the non-linear effect of energy consumption on economic growth considering the production function approach in the Spanish economy. After considering the bounds test for a period from 1980 to 2019, the study provides evidence of the inverted-U-shaped effect of energy consumption on economic growth. The findings also expose that exports, labor force and capital formation significantly accelerate economic growth in Spain. These findings are consistent with the diagnostics applied in the study. This research proposes that energy consumption should not be increased beyond a certain threshold for reaping the positive fruits of economic growth. Beyond that cutoff, it will become harmful to economic growth. Policy advisors may consider exports to target economic growth in Spain as it helps in expanding production activities in the Spanish economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using an alternative input-output analysis based on the responsibility of the production of the total output of each sector, we determine the relevant sectors in energy consumption in Spain. Our approach offers a different and complementary vision to the usual analyses based on the responsibility of the final demand to help guide environmental and energy policies. The analysis also enables us to observe the importance of final energy consumption by type for the different sectors. We use the input-output table for 2015 from INE and data on energy consumption from EUROSTAT. The most relevant sectors in terms of the energy consumption that their total production induces in other sectors are "Food, beverages and tobacco products" and "Construction," while various service sectors also stand out for inducing energy consumption in other sectors. In these sectors, policy measures aimed at improving the efficiency in the use of energy-intensive inputs and the substitution of these inputs by others less energy intensive would be effective. The most relevant sectors for being induced to consume energy by the production of other sectors are "Electricity and gas" and "Land Transport." The incorporation of technological improvements aimed at improving energy efficiency, as well as the adoption of best practices, would be more effective in these sectors. Finally, the most important sectors due to their own final demand are "Electricity and gas," and "Coke and refined." In these sectors, policies aimed at reducing their final demand would be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]