Abstract
The world has not been able to achieve minimum greenhouse gas emissions in buildings’ energy consumptions because the energy and emissions optimization techniques have not been fully utilized. Thermal comfort is one of the most important issues for both residential and commercial buildings. Out of the 40% of global energy consumed by buildings, a large fraction is used to maintain their thermal comfort. In this study, a comprehensive review of the recent advancements in building energy conservation and efficiency application is presented based on existing high-quality research papers. Additionally, the retrofit of the heating/cooling and hot water system for an entire community in Cyprus is presented. This study aims to analyze the technical and environmental benefits of replacing existing electric heaters for hot water with heat pump water heating systems and the use of heat pump air conditioners for thermal comfort in place of the existing ordinary air conditioners for space heating and cooling. One administrative building, 86 apartments (including residential and commercial) buildings, and a restaurant building is retrofitted, and the feasibility of the project is determined based on three economic indicators, namely; simple payback period (SPP), internal rate of return (IRR), and net present value (NPV). The electrical energy required by the hot water systems and the heating/cooling system is reduced by 263,564 kWh/yr and 144,825 kWh/yr, respectively. Additionally, the retrofit project will reduce Cyprus’ CO2 emission by 121,592.8 kg yearly. The SPP, IRR, and NPV for the project show that the retrofit is economically feasible.
Highlights
The emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has caused an increase in average temperature known as the ‘greenhouse effect’
Hot water and heating/cooling system energy consumption was identified as the prime opportunity to reduce the energy consumption by the building
The electrical energy required by the hot water systems and the heating/cooling system is reduced by 263,564 kWh/yr and 144,825 kWh/yr, respectively
Summary
The emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has caused an increase in average temperature known as the ‘greenhouse effect’. Scientists posit that the general rise in average temperature is caused principally by emissions [1]. Most of these greenhouse gas emissions are caused by human factors. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels (for energy) and deforestation (for agriculture and construction purposes) are the leading cause of climate changes [2]. As a result of this, climate change keeps worsening because global emissions are galloping. In 2017, global emissions increased by 1.6% and Sustainability 2021, 13, 983.
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