Optimal Decision-Making of Renewable Energy Systems in Buildings in the Early Design Stage

Seung Baek,Byung Lee

doi:10.3390/su11051471

Abstract

Renewable energy systems (RES) in buildings should be designed carefully, not only because of the need for an optimal design, but also to comply with related laws. Therefore, the design of RES in the buildings requires close collaboration between architects and engineers from the beginning of the design process. To support such collaboration, this study proposes a simplified design method for RES in buildings during the early design stage. By using the proposed design method, design alternatives that meet the required energy standards as suggested by law are first generated. Further designs are made to evaluate the performance and cost of the design alternatives and to find the optimal types of RES for the building. The study also uses a case study to verify the applicability of the design method to the early design stage. Although the performance and cost of the different design alternatives are similar, the implementation of each type of RES in each design alternative is different. Nonetheless, by analyzing performance patterns and the cost ratio of each type of RES in each design alternative, the study allows the most suitable type of RES to be chosen for the building.

Highlights

To mitigate climate change problems, many countries and industries have made an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [1,2]
A number of design alternatives meet the required Mandatory Renewable Energy Supply Rates (MRESR), i.e., the amount of energy generation in those alternatives is greater than 42,740 kWh
30 with the least energy generation were selected for the analysis

Summary

Introduction

To mitigate climate change problems, many countries and industries have made an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [1,2]. There is growing concern that buildings are one of the most energy-intensive sectors and contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries [3,4]. According to recent reports by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), the building sector has a higher potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions than other sectors [5]. There are many different ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. High-performance buildings have been regarded as one of the most advanced and effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions [6,7,8]. The successful implementation of high-performance building requires the application of renewable energy systems (RES), as well as passive building design approaches [9,10]

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Conclusion