Abstract
It is well-known fact that air conditioning systems are responsible for a significant part of all energy systems in building energy usage. In EU buildings, the building HVAC systems account for ca 50% of the energy consumed. In the U.S., air-conditioning accounts on average about 12% of residential energy expenditures. The proper choice of air distribution systems and sustainable energy sources to drive the electrical components have a vital impact to achieve the best requirements for indoor climate including, hygienical, thermal, and reasonable energy-saving goals. The building energy system components that have a considerable impact on the demand for final energy in the building are design, outdoor environment conditions, HVAC systems, water consumption, electrical appliances, indoor thermal comfort, and indoor human activities. For calculation of the energy balance in a building, we need to consider the total energy flows in and out from the building including ventilation heat losses, the perimeters transmission heat loses, solar radiation, internal heat from occupants and appliances, space and domestic water heating, air leakage, and sewage heat losses. However, it is a difficult task to handle the above time-dependent parameters therefore an energy simulation program will always be used. This chapter aims to assess the role of ventilation and air-conditioning of buildings through the sustainability approaches and some of the existing renewable energy-based methods of HVAC systems are presented. This comprehensive review has been shown that using the new air distribution systems in combination with renewable energy sources are key factors to improve the HVAC performance and move toward Nearly Zero Carbon Buildings (NZCB).
Highlights
The generation and use of energy is the largest contributor to anthropogenic CO2 emissions and the most important factor to tackle greenhouse gases and climate change issues
It is estimated that heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are responsible for almost 50% of the total energy use in buildings which is about 10-20% of the national energy use in most developed countries
Studies involving Impinging Jet ventilation (IJ) and Confluent Jets ventilation (CJ) systems have shown that these methods of room air distribution methods are capable of providing considerably better air quality performance and at the same time require less energy than the mixing ventilation (MV) system and a higher cooling capacity than displacement ventilation (DV) systems, see [24–26]
Summary
The generation and use of energy is the largest contributor to anthropogenic CO2 emissions and the most important factor to tackle greenhouse gases and climate change issues. The air distribution systems in buildings are of vital importance to achieving the best requirements for indoor climate including, hygienical, thermal, and reasonable energy-saving goals. It is worth mentioning that globalization, economic development, and population growth will be among the factors that will increase energy use worldwide in the future. According to Gustafsson [4], solar systems, including both thermal and solar cells, can be applied to reduce the environmental impact of buildings He pointed out that without an input tariff for surplus electricity and government subsidies for the Central and Northern European buildings, it is still not economically feasible. We tried to show that using the new air distribution systems in combination with renewable energy sources are key factors to improve the HVAC performance and move toward the EU’s directives for Nearly Zero Carbon Buildings (NZCB)
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