Different Climate Regions Of Turkey Research Articles

ASSESSING THE VIABILITY OF HIGH-CAPACITY PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANTS IN DIVERSE CLIMATIC ZONES: A TECHNICAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

Even though Turkey has a high potential in terms of solar energy, installed solar energy has a lower capacity than many European countries. With the new initiatives made in recent years, the share of solar energy among energy sources has increased. Turkey has been categorized into four different climate zones by the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE). The cities covered in this study (Antalya, Istanbul, Ankara, and Erzurum) were selected from different climatic regions by the criteria determined by TSE. High-capacity (3 MW) photovoltaic power plants using different system configurations for cities located in different climatic regions of Turkey have been analyzed in terms of technical, economic, and environmental aspects. PVSyst software was used to conduct simulations on fixed tilted (FT), horizontal single axis tracking system (HSAT), and two-axis tracking system (TAT) configurations in the study. It has been concluded that by using HSAT and TAT instead of FT, there will be an increase of 4-6% and 30-37% in annual energy production, respectively. The maximum performance rate for FT, and HSAT systems was calculated at 83.2% in Erzurum (4th region), and the lowest performance rate for TAT systems was determined at 82.3% in Antalya (1st region). The payback periods for the FT, HSAT, and TAT systems were determined to range between 2.9-4.3 years, 4-6 years, and 5.4-8.4 years, respectively. It has been concluded that there will be 41.8-64.7 ktCO<sub>2</sub>, 40.8-66.8 ktCO<sub>2</sub>, and 50.9-86.4 ktCO<sub>2</sub> fewer emissions for the FT, HSAT, and TAT systems, respectively, in 25 years of operation from an environmental point of view.

The effect of climatic and seasonal factors on the microbial keratitis profile

To compare retrospective data on microbial keratitis (MK) from two different climatic regions in Turkey over 11 years. Retrospective cohort. This retrospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with presumed MK at two referral centers. Center A was located in the subtropical region of Turkey, whereas Center B was located in a continental temperate climate zone. Clinical and laboratory data were also recorded. The results were evaluated for seasonal variations. This study included data from 665 patients with presumed MK (351 and 314 patients from centers A and B, respectively). The most common predisposing factors were ocular trauma in Center A, prior ocular surgery, and systemic disease in Center B. Severe keratitis was related to prior ocular surgery, presence of systemic disease, and fungal infection at presentation. The culture positivity rate was higher in spring and lower in summer at both centers. Gram-positive bacteria were the most commonly isolated bacteria in both centers in all seasons. The fungal and mixed keratitis ratios were higher in Center A than in Center B. In Center A, filamentous fungi were common pathogens that were found year-round, and peaks were observed in July and October. The results of this study show that climatic and seasonal factors may affect the microbial profile of keratitis. Fungal keratitis appears to be a climatic disease. Understanding the regional profile of MK can aid clinicians in their disease management.

Evaluation of the performance of CFSR reanalysis data set for estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET0) in Turkey

Evapotranspiration is a key process and a necessary parameter for hydrological, meteorological, and agricultural studies. However, the calculation of actual evapotranspiration is very challenging and costly. Therefore, reference evapotranspiration (ET0) calculated using meteorological data is generally preferred over actual evapotranspiration. However, it is challenging to get complete and accurate data from meteorology stations in rural and mountainous regions. This study examined the suitability of the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) reanalysis data set as an alternative to meteorological observation stations to compute seasonal reference evapotranspiration for seven different climatic regions of Turkey. The ET0 calculations using the CFSR reanalysis dataset for 1987-2017 were compared to data at 259 weather stations observed in Turkey. As a result of statistical evaluations, it has been determined that the most successful predicted season is winter (C’ = 0.64-0.89, SPAEF= 0.63-0.81). The most successful estimations for this season were obtained from coastal areas with low elevations. The weakest estimations were obtained for the summer season (C’ = 0.52-0.85, SPAEF= 0.59-0.77). These results show that the ET0 estimation ability of the CFSR reanalysis dataset is satisfactory for the study area. In addition, it has been observed that CFSR tends to overestimate the observation data, especially in the southern and western regions. These findings indicate that the results of the ET0 calculation using the CFSR reanalysis data set are relatively successful for the study area. However, the data should be evaluated with observation data before being used, especially in the summer models.

Daily average relative humidity forecasting with LSTM neural network and ANFIS approaches

Because hurricanes, droughts, floods, and heat waves are all important factors in measuring environmental changes, they can all result from changes in atmospheric air temperature and relative humidity (RH). Besides, climate, weather, industry, human health, and plant growth are all affected by RH. Accurately and consistently forecasting RH is a challenge due to its non-linear nature. The present study tried to predict one day ahead of RH in determined provinces from different climatic regions of Turkey (Ankara, Erzurum, Samsun, Diyarbakır, Antalya, and Bilecik) using long short-term memory (LSTM) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) with fuzzy c-means (FCM)–based machine learning models. As evaluation criteria, root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and correlation coefficient (R) were employed. The outcomes from the forecasting models were also validated using observed data. During the testing stage, the smallest MAE and RMSE values were discovered to be 5.76% and 7.51%, respectively, in Erzurum province, with an R value of 0.892 when using the LSTM method. Moreover, the smallest MAE and RMSE values were obtained to be 5.95% and 7.67%, respectively, in Erzurum province with an R value of 0.887 using the ANFIS model according to the daily RH prediction. The results indicate that both the LSTM and ANFIS approaches performed satisfactory performance in daily RH prediction, with the LSTM and ANFIS approaches producing nearly identical results.

Comprehensive parameters for the definition of nearly zero energy and cost optimal levels considering the life cycle energy and thermal comfort of school buildings

There has been an increasing interest in studying energy efficiency in buildings in the recent years, as they account for a significant portion of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. While most of the studies focus on the buildings' operational phase, a substantial part of buildings' energy consumption is disguised as embodied energy. It is impossible to have a zero energy building, as it is necessary to use materials to build the building, and those materials need to produce and transport energy. Life cycle analysis is the utmost efficient method to assess how a building affects the environment. Notably, the impact of buildings on the environment across their lifespans are determined by some factors, which comprise materials, design, construction, use and demolition.The study aims to present the implementation of a life cycle approach and occupant thermal comfort during the school building's energy efficiency design. The study's principal objective focuses on the energy use and environmental impact linked to various alternatives of building envelopes in different climates. Within this context, a reference building located in three different climatic regions of Turkey is investigated. Two ranges of efficiency comprise the focal points of the study. Cost-optimal and nearly zero energy levels are defined for each city. In the hot climate, the cost-optimal scenario cannot improve the comfort conditions, whereas the nZEB scenario improves slightly in such a context. In temperate and cold climates, both strategies can improve comfort conditions. The share of embodied energy and carbon in the nZEB level can reach higher than 80 percent, whereas it is lower than 15 percent in the cost-optimal level.

Energy Performance Optimization of School Buildings in Different Climates of Turkey

Today, the building sector has a large share in global energy consumption. The building stock, which has increased with the increasing population, contributes more to this consumption day by day. School buildings, which constitute an important part of public buildings, are among the most used building types in the daily cycle and also have a high energy demand for heating, cooling and electricity loads. In Turkey, the implementation of the same type of school projects in different climate regions without considering the context and climatic conditions increases the amount of energy consumption. This study provides a framework for reducing energy loads in school buildings using passive design strategies. Located in two different climatic regions of Turkey, in Istanbul and Ankara, a primary school building is taken into consideration for comparison of type projects in the context of energy performance and single-objective optimization process to minimize energy use intensity (EUI). As a result of the optimization processes carried out depending on the parameters related to the building envelope, the energy performance for the Istanbul climate is improved by 5.05%, while this rate is 4.09% for the Ankara climate. The best solution individual parameters of both climate types have very close values to each other. It is thought that more efficient results can be obtained with the multi-objective optimization processes of the studies to be carried out to evaluate the type school projects on the basis of different climates.

Metabolomic Variation Aligns with Two Geographically Distinct Subpopulations of Brachypodium Distachyon before and after Drought Stress.

Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) is a non-domesticated model grass that has been used to assess population level genomic variation. We have previously established a collection of 55 Brachypodium accessions that were sampled to reflect five different climatic regions of Turkey; designated 1a, 1c, 2, 3 and 4. Genomic and methylomic variation differentiated the collection into two subpopulations designated as coastal and central (respectively from regions 1a, 1c and the other from 2, 3 and 4) which were linked to environmental variables such as relative precipitation. Here, we assessed how far genomic variation would be reflected in the metabolomes and if this could be linked to an adaptive trait. Metabolites were extracted from eight-week-old seedlings from each accession and assessed using flow infusion high-resolution mass spectrometry (FIE-HRMS). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the derived metabolomes differentiated between samples from coastal and central subpopulations. The major sources of variation between seedling from the coastal and central subpopulations were identified. The central subpopulation was typified by significant increases in alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Coastal subpopulation exhibited elevated levels of the auxin, indolacetic acid and rhamnose. The metabolomes of the seedling were also determined following the imposition of drought stress for seven days. The central subpopulation exhibited a metabolomic shift in response to drought, but no significant changes were seen in the coastal one. The drought responses in the central subpopulation were typified by changes in amino acids, increasing the glutamine that could be functioning as a stress signal. There were also changes in sugars that were likely to be an osmotic counter to drought, and changes in bioenergetic metabolism. These data indicate that genomic variation in our Turkish Brachypodium collection is largely reflected as distinctive metabolomes (“metabolotypes”) through which drought tolerance might be mediated.

Energy, exergy and economic (3E) evaluation of the photovoltaic/thermal collector-assisted heat pump domestic water heating system for different climatic regions in Turkey

In this study, the energy, exergy and economic (3E) analyses were performed for the photovoltaic/thermal collector-assisted heat pump domestic water heating system under two different climatic regions (Hakkari and Trabzon) in Turkey. Designed photovoltaic/thermal collector-assisted heat pump domestic water heating system with a storage tank having larger volume and cross-flow heat exchanger in Turkey can be considered as novelty of this study. The system modelled with the help of TRNSYS simulation code by using real weather data and energy analysis was performed based on year-round simulation results. And then, exergy and economic analyses were obtained based on monthly average temperatures. The system considered in this study was also compared economically with conventional natural gas and electricity water heating systems. According to the results, the maximum energy and annual average exergy efficiencies of the considered system were 68% and 22.3%, respectively, for Hakkari, and 67% and 21.4%, respectively, for Trabzon. Although Hakkari has cold climate conditions, the investigated system had lower energy consumption costs than conventional systems. The annual energy consumption costs of the system for Hakkari and Trabzon were calculated as 67.14$ and 135.75$, respectively. The results bring out that although the investment of the system is feasible for Hakkari, it is not feasible for Trabzon.

OPTIMAL ENERGY DESIGN AND RETROFIT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE TURKISH BUILDING SECTOR

ABSTRACT This paper introduces methodologies and optimal strategies to reduce the energy consumption of the building sector with the aim to reduce global energy usage of a given .region or country. Many efforts are underway to develop investment strategies for large-scale energy retrofits and stricter energy design standards for existing and future buildings. This paper presents a study that informs these strategies in a novel way. It introduces support for the cost-optimized retrofits of existing, and design improvements of new buildings in Turkey with the aim to offer recommendations to individual building owners as well as guidance to the market. Three building types, apartment, single-family house and office are analyzed with a novel optimization approach. The energy performance of each type is simulated in five different climate regions of Turkey and four different vintages. For each vintage, the building is modelled corresponding to local Turkish regulations that applied at the time of construction. Optimum results are produced for different goals in terms of energy saving targets. The optimization results reveal that a 50% energy saving target is attainable for the retrofit and a 40% energy saving target is attainable for new design improvements for each building type in all climate regions.

The Effects of Wintering in Different Climatic Regions of Turkey on Some Physiological Characteristic of Caucasian Honey Bee (Apis mellifera caucasica) Colonies

This study was conducted in two locations have different altitudes in the cities which have different climates as Ankara, Ordu, Erzurum, Mersin. The purpose of this work was to define some physiological properties of the bees such as the survivability of colony, wintering ability, usage of stoked honey and to discuss all these data. This study lasted two years and the second year was the continuation of the first year. At the beginning of the year, colonies which has the same genotype were equalized as number of combs covered with bees, stocked honey and brood areas and so on. According to the data analysis, it was obtained that the quantity of the stocked honey was not statistically significant by the region×altitude×year interaction. However, year×region and region×altitude interactions were statistically significant. Similarly, it was obtained that the wintering ability was not statistically significant by the region×altitude×year interaction. The only year×region interaction was statistically significant. Also, descriptive statistics obtained for the survivability of the colonies (%) during the first and second year was added statistically to this application. As a result, this work showed that migratory beekeepers could reevaluate the regions which have the microclimate properties in Aegean, Mediterranean, and the Black Sea. And new research should be made by adding different species of honeybees for the performance of overwintering in different climates.

Determining economic and environmental impact of insulation by thermoeconomic and life cycle assessment analysis for different climate regions of Turkey

ABSTRACT In this study, economic and environmental impact of thermal insulation have been determined for building wall in the cities of İzmir, İstanbul, Ankara, and Erzurum, located in different climates of Turkey. Three different realistic scenarios have been determined and the analysis have been carried out through these scenarios. The calculations have been made considering four different insulation materials, expanded polystyrene (EPS), glass wool (GW) rock wool (RW) and extruded polystyrene (XPS). Environmental assessments have been carried out by the life cycle assessment (LCA) method for all scenarios. Environmental analysis were carried out by combining 17 environmental effects with the ReCiPe method. The novelty of this study is the determination of environmental payback periods by combining 17 environmental effects using the ReCiPe method. As a result, economic payback times for all scenarios have the lowest value for RW. While the lowest environmental payback period was found as EPS, the highest environmental payback period was found as XPS for all scenarios. The highest economic payback time was assessed at XPS for all scenarios. The thermal insulation material with the highest economic payback period was found as XPS for all scenarios. It has been observed that thermal insulation is more effective in colder climates in terms of economic and annual avoided environmental impact. In all scenarios, environmental payback period was found to be considerably lower than economic payback period.

Impact of a low thermal conductive lightweight concrete in building: Energy and fuel performance evaluation for different climate region

Evaluation of energy performance of a proposed lightweight concrete, a structural component, in a building application is a novel approach and significant attempt for the future of energy-efficient buildings. Buildings are one of the largest energy consumers in the world. Thermal protection in a building is the most effective way for energy saving. Many stimulatory measures for the spreading of energy savings technologies have been recently applied into the building sectors. In this study, an investigation was carried out based upon an experimental investigation to decide the thermal properties of the lightweight concrete with different ratios of vermiculite. Moreover, analytical simulation to evaluate the energy consumption in a real building application was carried out for various fuels and different climate regions of Turkey. The results show that the most significant reduction in the total heat need occurs in the 4th region, with about 5.6 kWh/m2-year for a thickness of 0.2 m. An energy-saving of 7.5% can be achieved in the 1st region. The proposed concrete can provide a significant reduction in energy consumption and can reduce the carbon emission related to the lower energy need of the buildings. The annual saving can increase to 0.61 $/m2 for LPG in the 4th region. The payback period varies between 1.4 years and 9 years, depending on the fuel. Many OECD countries having a high population pay higher prices for electricity and natural gas compared to Turkey. It means that such an energy-efficient material can save more price due to their higher fuel cost.

A comparative study of thermal and fuel performance of an energy-efficient building in different climate regions of Turkey

In this study, energy analysis was carried out to decide the building energy performance for different climate regions and fuels with various novel polyurethane insulation materials. The coal, natural gas, liquefied-petroleum-gas (LPG), fuel-oil and electricity were considered as the fuel. The results show that 3% paper mill sludge (PMS) added polyurethane foam has the best thermal resistance. When 3% PMS added polyurethane is compared with the standard one, the largest heat need reduction occurs in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th regions to be 14.6 %, 13.57 %, 13.14 % and 12.57 %, respectively, for the insulation thickness of about 0.049 m. 3% PMS added polyurethane can provide the largest energy saving cost of 1.456 $/m2.year for LPG in the fourth region for the insulation thickness of 0.0245 m. It is followed by electricity, fuel oil, coal and natural gas to be 1.033 $/m2, 0.97 $/m2, 0.456 $/m2 and 0.23 $/m2, respectively. In the case of 0.0245 m thickness, life-cycle saving varies between 8.86–54.6 $/m2 and the payback period changes between 1.37 years and 8.76 years depending on the fuels. The new polyurethane reduces the required thickness of the insulation materials about almost halve for all region thereby reducing the insulation material cost.

Piecewise wet and dry spell duration-number relationship and possible climate change impact identification in Turkey

Wet (dry) spells correspond to successive surplus (deficit) in hydro-meteorology daily, weekly, monthly, or annual records according to above (below) of a given any threshold parameter value such as arithmetic average, median, mod, or quantile precipitation. Researchers generally consider wet (dry) spell durations and their numbers, but this paper also focuses on the climate change impacts. For this purpose, available hydro-meteorological records, obtained from different climatic and geographic regions of Turkey, are divided into two half parts, and the wet and dry spell (month) durations are plotted versus their numbers, where the scatter points appear as decreasing straight lines on semi-logarithmic paper, and their mathematical expressions are in the form of exponential functions. The slopes of these straight lines provide useful information about the climate change impacts on each meteorology station. The physical interpretations and explanations are provided through relevant tables and figures. The application of this procedure is presented for a set of meteorology station monthly rainfall records from different climate regions of Turkey.

Calculation of optimum insulation thickness of external walls in residential buildings by using exergetic life cycle cost assessment method: Case study for Turkey

AbstractEnergy is one of the most fundamental event of the universe and it is impossible to imagine an area where energy is not used. The energy demand is also increasing with the ever‐increasing population of the world. We also use energy to meet our heating and cooling needs. Heat loss from the exterior walls of buildings is important, so thermal insulation on the wall is very critical. In this study, optimum insulation thickness is determined for four provinces and two different insulation materials selected from four different climatic regions of Turkey. In order to calculate insulation thicknesses, the number of the degree‐day and exergetic environmental impact factor have been used. Natural gas is used as fuel. By using exergetic life cycle cost assessment method for rock wool and glass wool as insulation materials, the changes of CO2 emission values, the environmental impact factor, and energy saving values are determined for optimum insulation thickness. The optimum insulation thickness, which are calculated by using the number of the degree‐day and exergetic environmental impact factor for glass wool and rock wool is 0.1103 m and 0.04375 m for Antalya, 0.1667 m and 0.07292 m for Isparta, 0.1667 m and 0.0625 m for Bursa, and 0.2188 m and 0.1021 m for Erzurum, respectively. The reduction of carbon dioxide emission values for glass wool and rock wool 86% and 64% for Antalya, 90% and 76% for Isparta, 92% and 82% for Erzurum, and 90% and 73% for Bursa, respectively. Net exergetic environmental impact saving values for glass wool and rock wool: 589 mPts/m2‐yr and 342 mPts/m2‐yr for Antalya, 1,318 mPts/m2‐yr and 642 mPts/m2‐yr for Bursa, 1,315 mPts/m2‐yr and 878 mPts/m2‐yr for Erzurum, and 2,248 mPts/m2‐yr and 1,687 mPts/m2‐yr for Isparta, respectively.

Numerical and experimental investigation of the effect of foam concrete as filler on design thermal conductivity of lightweight masonry block

The thermal conductivities of many building materials are defined in the TS 825 standard. In this standard, the thermal conductivity of wall units such as brick and lightweight block was determined depending on the mass per unit volume and their configurations. Additionally, these values are used in the heat loss calculations of the buildings. The thermal conductivities of walls built with lightweight masonry block at 450–700 kg m−3 are given between 0.28 and 0.36 W m−1 K−1 in TS 825 standard. The insulation thicknesses of building’s external wall are directly affected by these values in different climatic regions of Turkey. In this study, the effect of foam concrete as filling material on thermal conductivity of lightweight masonry block was investigated. For this purpose, thermal conductivities of non-filling block and foam concrete-filled block were determined. The thermal conductivities of the block matrix and foam concrete were measured with HFM device. Then, thermal resistance and thermal conductivity values of blocks were analyzed by using computer program. Finally, the design thermal conductivities of external walls were calculated. When the analysis results were interpreted, it was found that the thermal conductivities of foam concrete-filled blocks are 4 times lower than the non-filling blocks. As a result, it was found that the use of foamed concrete at a density of 300 kg m−3 in order to improve the thermal insulation performance of hollow blocks was found to be extremely effective.

Evaluation of Optimum Building Envelope Materials in Different Climate Regions of Turkey

Energy-related issues have been in the centre of the policies of many governments. Increasing the energy production or decreasing the energy consumption can provide significant economic support to countries. Thus, developments in energy industry are of prime importance for countries, especially for Turkey, where improving the energy efficiency is one of the key components of the 2023 national strategy objectives and energy policies. Energy efficiency in residential buildings can be obtained by a number of ways such as optimizing the building envelope. Design of a building envelope depends on a number of parameters including the window, wall, basement, and ceiling properties. The insulation properties of such components can radically impact the energy efficiency of a building. Selecting the optimum materials in designing the building envelope has been one of the fundamental issues in the academic field in the last decade. Providing cost efficient envelope design while satisfying relevant standards has been the common goal. The aim of this study is to find optimum materials for the building envelope design of a residential building in Turkey. Genetic algorithm is utilized for the optimization purposes. The decision variables are determined as the window type and the insulation materials to be applied on the exterior walls, ceiling, and basement. The properties and costs of the materials are obtained from the unit price list prepared by Republic of Turkey Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The objective function is expressed as the minimization of the total cost of the building envelope materials. The constraints are stated as the limitations indicated by the Turkish Standard 825 (TS 825), “thermal insulation requirements for buildings”. The optimization environment including the genetic algorithm and heating energy calculations is generated in Matlab. A total of 30, 20, 60, and 27 alternatives are identified for the exterior walls, basement, ceiling, and window types, respectively. Optimum design solutions are determined for four climate regions of Turkey as defined by TS 825. The optimization environment could identify optimum design solution among thousands of combinations for each climate region separately. The optimization environment can be utilized by homeowners or designers to determine the building envelope with minimum cost satisfying the relevant standard. Also, the study is expected to encourage professionals in the construction industry to utilize such optimization tools to deal with design-related decisions.

Heating design temperatures, freezing degree-hours and number of freezing hours for selected cities in Turkey

In this study, the heating design temperatures (HDTs), the freezing degree-hours (FDHs) and the number of freezing hours (NFHs) were examined for the selected cities in Turkey. Eight cities were selected for the analyses, which represent the different climatic regions of Turkey. In the analyses, the typical meteorological year (TMY) data was used. According to the results, the yearly minimum and maximum FDHs were calculated as 27.2 and 13,842.5 for Adana and Sivas, respectively. The minimum and maximum NFHs were obtained as 25 and 2,355 for Adana and Sivas, respectively. Sivas had the highest FDH and NFH values for all the cases. Therefore, Sivas had the highest risk of freezing and icing. Additionally, there was not a significant risk of freezing and icing in Adana, Denizli, Istanbul and Trabzon. The HDTs were calculated with the most current data for Turkey.

The performance evaluation of R744 transcritical ejector and R290/R744 cascade refrigeration systems for Turkey

In this study, performance of two different environmentally friendly systems with natural refrigerant solutions, R744 transcritical booster system with ejector and a R290/R744 cascade system are examined theoretically by using engineering equation solver software. Operating conditions are determined to represent different climatic regions in Turkey using summer dry bulb temperatures of various cities. The transcritical and the cascade system are assumed to operate at two different evaporation temperatures of ?10?C and ?32?C. The overall energy efficiency ratio values for each system with respect to the same ambient and evaporation conditions are compared and evaluated. Finally, performance of both systems has been compared and the appropriate solution for each city has been suggested. For cold and mild climate regions of Turkey, the performance of transcritical alternative is found better than the proposed cascade system. Moreover, the performance of transcritical system is observed slightly lower than those of the cascade system in hot climate regions of Turkey such as Aegean, Mediterranean, and South-East Anatolian regions. It is also found that the performance of the transcritical system is better in regions having lower ambient conditions such as near the Black Sea and eastern regions of Turkey. Therefore, for the mild and cold regions of Turkey, the transcritical ejector option is the better alternative due to having higher performance compared to the cascade system.

Determination of optimum insulation thicknesses, energy savings and environmental impacts with respect to heating and cooling degree-days for different climate regions of Turkey

Choosing the most appropriate insulation material on the external walls of a building deserves serious attention. The present work is concerned with the economic and environmental assessment of using different insulation materials on the external walls of buildings located in four different degree-day regions. For this purpose, optimum insulation thicknesses were investigated for fibreglass, expanded polystyrene, glass wool and phenolic foam. Consequently, energy savings over a period of 10-years, payback periods, fuel consumptions and CO2 and SO2 emissions are determined for natural gas, coal and LPG. The annual heating and cooling energy required were estimated by using heating and cooling-degree days methodology. It is deduced that the cities of Antalya and Şanlıurfa positioned in the first and second degree-day regions in Turkey, respectively, were not able to save energy for fibreglass as an insulation material with natural gas as fuel. The result demonstrated that the amount of energy savings fluctuates from 1.91 to 368.58 TL/m2 in the event of employing different fuel types for heating, change between 2.74 and 399 TL/m2 in case heating and cooling requirements are provided together at externally insulated walls of buildings. Payback period ranges from 0.081 to 3.28 years for heating and cooling together. Reductions in emissions fluctuate between 45.65-86.81 % for coal, 31.03-83.21 % for natural gas and 69.64-92.49 % for LPG.