The clean energy transition is the transition from the use of nonrenewable energy sources to renewable sources and is part of the wider transition to sustainable economies through the use of ...renewable energy, the adoption of energy-saving measures, and sustainable development techniques. The clean energy transition is a long and complex process that will lead to an epochal change, and it will allow safeguarding the health of the environment in the long term. For its success, it necessitates contribution from everyone, from the individual citizen to large multinationals, passing through SMEs; national and international policies play a key role in paving the way to this process. This Special Issue is focused on technical, financial, and policy-related aspects linked to the transition of industrial and service sectors towards energy saving and decarbonization. These different aspects are interrelated and, as such, they have been analyzed with an interdisciplinary approach, for example, by combining economic and technical information. The collected papers focus on energy efficiency and clean-energy key technologies, renewable sources, energy management and monitoring systems, energy policies and regulations, and economic and financial aspects.
Abstract
Im Zuge der Klimaziele der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ist der Energieverbrauch von Gebäuden stark in den Fokus gerückt. Der Energieverbrauch sowie die energetischen Einsparpotenziale von ...Gebäuden differieren in Abhängigkeit von der Gebäudetypologie. Verlässliche Aussagen diesbezüglich können nur durch die sukzessive Analyse der einzelnen Gebäudetypologien getroffen werden. Die komplexe Gebäudetypologie der Theaterspielstätten war bisher noch nicht Gegenstand der Forschung, sodass keine energetischen Kennwerte für den Gebäudebestand vorlagen. Mittels einer Querschnittserhebung wurde in Deutschland durch die Technische Hochschule Köln eine entsprechende Datenbasis geschaffen. Hierbei wurde festgestellt, dass der durchschnittliche Stromverbrauch des Gebäudebestands von Theaterspielstätten bei 60,5 kWh/(m
2
a) liegt. Der spezifische Verbrauch für Heizung und Warmwasser fällt mit 104,6 kWh/(m
2
a) höher aus. Die Gegenüberstellung mit normativen Referenzwerten hat gezeigt, dass der durchschnittliche Stromverbrauchskennwert der Stichproben diese um ein Vielfaches übersteigt, während der Verbrauchskennwert für Heizung und Warmwasser leicht darunter liegt. Einzelne Faktoren, die das Energieverbrauchsniveau maßgeblich beeinflussen, konnten auf Basis der Stichproben nicht eindeutig identifiziert werden.
Abstract
Energy performance indicators of existing theatre buildings – classification of energy consumption and potential of energy‐related refurbishment
In terms of climate goals, energy consumption of buildings has become a focus of attention. Energy consumption and energy saving potential of buildings differ depending on the building typology. The complex building typology of theatre buildings has not yet been subject of research, so no key energy values for the building stock were available. By means of a cross‐sectional survey, a corresponding database was created. It was found that the average electricity consumption of theatre buildings is 60.5 kWh/(m
2
y). The specific consumption for heating and hot water is higher at 104.6 kWh/(m
2
y). The comparison with normative reference values has shown that the average electricity consumption value of the data collection exceeds these many times over, while the consumption value for heating and hot water is slightly lower. Individual factors that significantly influence the energy consumption level could not be clearly identified.
At nowadays, the operational control of energy performance indicators based on the equivalent occupation method plays a fundamental role in the rational use of energy for the hotel sector, since it ...allows in a competitive way to comply with the quality of the service offered by the company in terms of the thermal comfort of the occupants, minimizing the environmental impact. Within the framework of the energy diagnosis and implementation of the program of efficient energy management under ISO 50001: 2011, based on the method of equivalent occupation for a hotel company on the Colombian Caribbean coast, the line base, target line by 2015, determining performance control indicators such as accumulative trend and base efficiency index 100, to identify potential savings. From the diagnosis, 9.11% of energy savings were obtained by operational control. Through the implementation of corrective action plans, such as the shutdown of unnecessary equipment in the company, installation of LED lighting modules, the configuration of thermostats, in addition to training and sensitization to staff, and reactive energy control in the hotel effective savings were achieved around 8% of primary energy consumption by 2016.
RESUMEN El objetivo de esta investigación fue encontrar modelos de regresión para cuatro indicadores de desempeño energético en una empresa siderúrgica de Chile y proponer una línea base para cada ...uno de ellos. El enfoque metodológico consideró la utilización de la técnica de diseño experimental especificado por el usuario del software Statgraphics, utilización del análisis de varianza y obtención de ecuaciones de regresión. Los resultados permiten obtener ecuaciones de regresión para los indicadores energéticos e identificación de variables estadísticamente significativas en cada modelo, además, propuestas de líneas base para apoyar el control y seguimiento. Las conclusiones indican que las ecuaciones de regresión presentan una correlación aceptable, superiores al 77%. La utilización del análisis de varianzas es una técnica efectiva para identificar variables significativas para los indicadores de desempeño energético y que las líneas base proporcionan una ayuda para monitorear los indicadores de desempeño energéticos en una empresa siderúrgica con mayor certeza. Palabras clave: indicadores de desempeño energético, empresa siderúrgica, línea base, regresión lineal.
The energy consumption in the existing residential building stock accounts for about 40% of the total energy consumption in the built environment. Different types of energy performance indicators to ...assess the energy consumption of buildings were and still are internationally under development. In this paper we compare the methodologies and accuracies of three Dutch energy performance indicators by applying them to eight houses. This application shows that the actual domestic energy use is linearly correlated with the estimated energy consumption given by the energy performance indicators, but 7–25% lower.
Based on the energy performance indicators and actual energy use, we offer a methodology to incorporate additional revenues within the financial analysis of energy saving techniques. These revenues are related to the value of the dwelling in which the techniques are installed. We use the same houses to analyse the financial returns on energy saving investments. By assigning the value increase of real estate to two popular specific energy saving techniques, namely wall and roof insulation, it is found that the payback period could be 40–50% shorter than when it is solely based on investment costs and energy prices.
The provision of energy efficient real estate has become increasingly important from an ecological and economical perspective. Focusing on heating energy consumption of schools and sport facilities, ...this study introduces a standardized but flexible estimation model for the practice of real estate management. This allows significant parameters to be identified in order to accurately benchmark and forecast heating energy consumption. An explorative data analysis forms the basis of the investigation. In particular, the study examines the standard and condition of building characteristics, buildings' utilization and location for a random sample of 105 properties within Stuttgart (Germany). Based on statistical pre-analysis and an evaluation of different linear and non-linear regression models, the most appropriate model to explain differences in final heating energy consumption is presented. The transferability of the introduced model is evaluated, conducting a validation test and performing a post-hoc power analysis to discuss the probability of inferences about examined population parameters. The investigation verifies that the presented model provides consistent, unbiased and efficient estimates and allows conclusive inferences beyond the underlying random sample. In addition, the different application fields of the presented model are described and the practical significance of delineate factors are demonstrated by various scenarios.
Global energy sources are gradually becoming scarce and prices are continually rising. Governments and businesses in various countries are actively developing technologies for energy management and ...developing new sources of energy. On 15 June 2011, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced the ISO 50001 standard for energy management systems. Organizations and enterprises are confronted with challenges associated with enhancing energy performance indicators, continuing to improve energy consumption efficiency, and managing third-party international certifications. This study conducted cases studies of businesses that have introduced an ISO 50001 energy management system by using an integration-energy-practice model to improve energy performance indicators and to complete the international auditing and certification procedures for ISO 50001 energy management systems. Based on case study results, the achievement rates for annual energy performance indicators increased, thereby enhancing the energy intensity efficiency. Establishing an integration-energy-practice model for introducing an ISO 50001 energy management system can efficiently meet demands for energy performance indicators and pass the international certification for ISO 50001 energy management systems. The proposed model efficiently provides enterprises with methods for developing sustainable energy management. It integrates internal and external technical resources to establish energy technology think tanks, for promoting successful technology and experiences to various sectors, thereby allowing enterprises to integrate energy management, increase energy efficiency, and meet the ISO 50001 international standard for energy management systems.
The growing attention towards environmental sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry and increased awareness of the potential for improving energy performance are justified by the fact that the ...sector is energy intensive. However, the variety of the processes and the lack of data about production and energy consumption make it difficult to calculate Energy Performance Indicators (EnPIs) as much as to list Energy Performance Improvements Actions (EPIAs). This work elaborates data, such as final energy consumption and site characteristics, from 84 mandatory Italian Energy Audits (EAs) to calculate the mean and standard deviation of site-level EnPIs. Additionally, the suggested and implemented EPIAs are analyzed to describe achieved and potential savings. The results show what follows. In the typical pharmaceutical plant, around 70% of energy is used in auxiliary services, and its use is not related to production. For this reason, EnPIs calculated both with respect to mass production and plant surfaces have a mid-to-wide standard deviation; the mean primary energy EnPI calculated with respect to plant surface area is 0.38 ± 0.22 toe/m2. Most suggested EPIAs regard cold and hot energy production, as well as on-site energy production, from renewables and Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants. The payback time is less than 4 years for many EPIAs, including both technical and managerial ones. According to the results, plant energy managers should calculate site EnPIs with respect to the site surface and increase monitoring of energy consumption at the process level. The last recommendation is also likely to be associated with more effective planning of EPIAs, allowing their introduction where the saving potential and economic indicators are more promising.
Global energy consumption has risen enormously over the past century due to population growth and increasing energy use per person. Industrial production consumes a significant portion of global ...energy resources. Thus, industrial sector’s investment in energy efficiency is critical to a sustainable future. For most global enterprises the consumption of energy and natural resources represents a major overhead and developing sustainable energy policies can represent a significant competitive advantage due to the growing price of energy and volatility of supply. This symbiotic relationship can lead to the mutual benefits of increasing industrial efficiency whilst allowing the transition to a sustainable renewables-based energy future and needs to be significantly harnessed. This paper describes a decision support framework to help industrial organisations make positive investment decisions on energy performance improvement projects.
In this paper, a predictive tool for the energy consumption of wheat milling process using Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and a new Energy Performance Indicator (EnPI) is proposed. This EnPI does ...not only consider the production of flour but also the particle size of flour and added water for softening wheat. The results of the study, carried out in a wheat mill plant in Cuba, show a good coincidence between the predicted and real energy consumption for the developed model. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of EnPI proposed as a tool for management and energy savings in the company under study. Due to the complexity of the proposed model, for obtaining the baseline and estimating the energy saving potential, a probabilistic method was used. It was statistically demonstrated by the determination index (R2), that the new proposed model is superior to the conventional model of energy vs. production.