Changes In Energy Consumption Research Articles

Performance optimization of high-rise residential buildings in cold regions considering energy consumption

With the acceleration of urbanization, high-rise residential buildings has become a significant aspect of urban living. However, while high-rise residential buildings provide much housing, they also bring significant energy consumption. To raise the energy utilization efficiency of high-rise residential buildings, reduce energy consumption, and achieve sustainable development, this study focuses on high-rise residential buildings in cold regions. Through methods such as parametric modeling, joint simulation of building performance, multi-objective optimization algorithms, and improved grey wolf optimization algorithms, multi-objective optimization experiments are conducted to achieve optimal energy-saving effects. The outcomes denote that the average energy consumption of buildings remains at around 20.5 kW h/m2, and the maximum value of the last generation thermal comfort solution set is maintained at 62%, while the minimum value is maintained at 58%. The improved grey wolf optimization algorithm reduces training time, has better predictive ability, and can more accurately characterize changes in energy consumption of high-rise buildings. This study provides practical design methods and strategy references for high-rise residential buildings in the design phase by analyzing data, mining patterns, and summarizing design strategies.

Renewable energy consumption, institutional quality and life expectancy in EU countries: a cointegration analysis

BackgroundAlthough some socioeconomic, environmental, and political factors could impact life expectancy, the economic literature loses sight of the relationship between the widespread adoption of renewable energy technologies and their potential effect on global life expectancy. An insightful analysis of the socio-economic and environmental benefits associated with renewable sources forms the foundation for investigating the broader implications for public health and well-being. Using panel data from 27 European countries over the period 2000–2020, this study examines the effects of renewable energy consumption on human life expectancy as well as how institutional quality and investment in renewable energy projects might promote better health outcomes.MethodsThe methodological approach is carefully selected to address salient estimation issues and includes a qualitative sequential methodology involving empiric analysis that provides coherence and viability for our study, but also quantitative methods, including factor analysis, panel fully modified least squares (FMOLS), unit root tests, and cointegration techniques.ResultsWe find that renewable energy consumption and institutional quality can improve life expectancy in EU countries. Furthermore, the empirical evidence indicates that sustaining longevity as a new government strategy requires strong institutional quality, capable of influencing the status of renewable energy and promoting long-term sustainability.ConclusionsOur findings bear essential policy implications regarding sustaining longevity as new government strategies and exploring the scale of the target to increase healthy life expectancy. The entire EU health policy and the government's recommitment to narrowing the gap in healthy life expectancy should be focused on improving institutional quality and reducing carbon emissions through promoting projects capable of increasing renewable energy consumption. The results suggest that, on average, a 1% change in renewable energy consumption leads to a 0.331 change in life expectancy, and a 1% change in institutional quality leads to a 0.316 change in life expectancy.

Indirect Economic Benefits of Energy Consumption Changes under China's Carbon Neutrality Goal

Indirect Economic Benefits of Energy Consumption Changes under China's Carbon Neutrality Goal

Understanding muscle energy expenditure variations following selective dorsal rhizotomy while maintaining consistent energy consumption.

Increased energy demands during walking is a recurrent issue for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Given the high incidence of spasticity in these children, several authors have analyzed the impact of selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) on energy consumption during walking, typically showing minimal changes post-SDR. To further investigate muscle behavior after SDR, our recent study identified alterations in individual muscle force production without changes in muscle activation during walking. This suggests that children with CP may experience a more favorable dynamic scenario for developing sub-maximal muscle forces after SDR, due to reduced spasticity unlocking joint movement. Thus, this raises questions about whether these changes in muscle force production could lead to increased muscle energy expenditure, which may not be fully reflected in overall energy consumption. The aim of this study was to build upon our previous research on muscle behavior after SDR by evaluating the surgery's impact on individual muscle energy expenditure during walking, using neuro-musculoskeletal simulations. Our research compared two matched groups comprising 81 children with CP: those who underwent SDR and those who did not. Our results showed no significant changes in overall energy consumption or total muscle energy expenditure in either group post-surgery. However, we observed alterations in individual muscle energy expenditure during walking in the SDR group compared to children with CP who received other treatments. Compared to the findings from our first study, we observed a significant decrease in spasticity of the plantarflexor muscles, an improvement in ankle joint angle, an increase in individual muscle force during walking, and no statistically significant changes in energy expenditure of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles post-SDR. These findings, along with the absence of changes in muscle activity post-SDR, support the hypothesis that muscle tissue alterations contribute to energy deficits observed in children with CP during walking.

Energy consumption and climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)

Energy consumption and climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)

The Coming Systemic Cycle of Accumulation and China

The article treats the current world economic crisis within the systemic cycles of accumulation framework developed by G. Arrighi. The ‘systemic chaos’ manifests the decline of ‘the long twentieth century’ of American hegemony, with countries struggling for dominance in a coming capital expansion cycle. G. Arrighi assumed that China could be a new global leader. However, his arguments were rather general, while modern economics requires more rigourous evidence. The article suggests explicit technological and institutional criteria to capture signs of a rising economic hegemony already in transitory epochs, which are changes in energy consumption and external economic policies. The approach is theoretically grounded and verified with the historic data on the British and the US capital accumulation cycles, and then is taken towards the modern Chinese economy. The findings suggest that China has been improving opportunities to gain world leadership. However, questions remain open about the possibility of a polycentric world, as well as about key institutional parameters and early indicators of ‘long’ cycles. These issues require further research.

Energy Planning and Optimization Model for Campus Buildings: A Case Study of Erciyes University

This study addresses energy consumption and climate change challenges in university campus buildings, focusing on Erciyes University. The research develops a multi-objective optimization model using GAMS software and NEOS Server to enhance campus energy efficiency. The model evaluates various energy-saving measures and their investment costs. Findings indicate that building envelope insulation can reduce heating energy consumption by 35%, while efficient hot water systems and energy-saving technologies can achieve savings up to 75.5%. Model calculations using SCIP and LINDO solvers demonstrate high accuracy, with results differing by only 0.2%. This research provides valuable guidance for university decision-makers in implementing targeted interventions for significant primary energy savings.

Assessing CO2 Reduction Effects Through Decarbonization Scenarios in the Residential and Transportation Sectors: Challenges and Solutions for Japan’s Hilly and Mountainous Areas

Depopulation, aging, and regional decline are becoming increasingly serious issues in Japan’s hilly and mountainous areas. Focusing on mitigating environmental damage and envisioning a sustainable future for these regions, this study examines the potential for reducing CO2 emissions in the residential and transportation sectors by 2050. Bottom-up simulations were used to estimate CO2 emissions. Subsequently, six decarbonization scenarios were formulated, considering various measures from the perspectives of population distribution and technological progress. Based on these scenarios, this study analyzes changes in future population, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions by 2050. The results of this study show the following. (1) Depopulation and aging problems in these regions are expected to become more severe in the future. It is necessary to take action to promote sustainable regional development. (2) Pursuing decarbonization has a positive impact on enhancing regional sustainability; however, maintaining the intensity of measures at the current level could lead to a reduction of only 40% in CO2 emissions per capita by 2050 compared with 2020. (3) Scenarios that strengthen decarbonization measures could achieve a reduction of over 95% by 2050, indicating that carbon neutrality is attainable. However, this will require implementing measures at a higher intensity, especially in the transportation sector.

Regulation mechanism of optimal bubble diameter for ozone wastewater treatment

Efforts have been made to enhance ozone utilization efficiency and reduce energy costs in ozone-aerated wastewater treatment. Microbubbles, characterized by their large interfacial area and efficient gas-liquid mass transfer, are extensively used to boost ozone utilization. However, generating microbubbles demands significant energy, and their actual efficiency requires careful evaluation due to the absence of universal strategies for designing microbubbles with optimal performance. This study established an integrated mathematical model for ozone oxidation in wastewater treatment, based on comprehensive ozone reaction kinetics, microbubble mass transfer control theory, and mass conservation equations for gas-liquid phase components. Simulation results showed a pollutant removal rate with a prediction error of less than 20%, confirming the model's reliability. Further analysis revealed that although the initial mass transfer rate of 0.5 mm bubbles is lower than that of 0.1 mm bubbles, the total mass transfer quantity is reduced by only 8.7%. This suggests that an optimal bubble diameter can balance mass transfer efficiency and energy consumption. Based on this finding, we integrated ozone production and bubble generation energy consumption to develop a regulation mechanism for optimizing bubble diameter, minimizing total energy consumption while meeting target removal rates. Results indicate that the optimal bubble diameter is closely related to water depth: as depth increases, the optimal bubble diameter also increases. At a depth of 2.1 meters, the optimized bubble diameter reduces energy consumption by 33.5% and 16.2% compared to millimeter-sized and 100-micron bubbles, respectively. Sensitivity analysis shows that total energy consumption is more sensitive to changes in specific ozone energy consumption, while variations in bubble generation energy remain relatively stable. These results underscore the feasibility of using the proposed model to guide energy-efficient bubble size selection.

Temperature Effect of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) Drying on Energy Consumption, Bioactive Composition and Vibrational Changes

Cocoa drying is the post-harvest thermal process used to condition the beans to a moisture content between 6.5 and 7% for storage and further processing. Convective drying is an energy-intensive process where time and temperature are considered critical factors for the degradation of bioactive compounds in edible products. In the present study, the energy parameters, vibrational spectroscopy, and changes in bioactive compounds of cocoa beans were studied during thin-layer hot air drying at 50 °C, 60 °C, and 70 °C. Moisture loss, specific energy consumption (SEC), energy efficiency, total phenolics (TPs), total flavonoids (TFs), and antioxidant activity (DPPH) were determined. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) was used to characterize the samples, and a multivariate analysis was applied to find interactions among the components. The obtained SEC was 18,947.30–24,469.51 kJ/kg, and the energy efficiency was 9.73–12.31%. When the temperature was 70 °C, the best values for SEC and energy efficiency were obtained. The results also showed that the convective drying generated changes in the TP levels for the three temperatures, mainly after 300 min, with maximum levels between 360 and 600 min, at 70 °C; however, it does not have a clear relationship with the TFs and the antioxidant activity. The FT-IR and the multivariate analysis revealed changes in several signals in the 1800 to 400 cm−1 range, confirming the variation in the associated signal with phenolic compounds.

Research on Temporal–Spatial Partition Control Strategies for Luminous and Thermal Environment in High Space of Gymnasiums

The lighting design of large-space buildings in gymnasiums can impact the indoor luminous and thermal environment, resulting in an uneven light and thermal distribution. This paper investigates the luminous and thermal environment control strategies for high spaces in gymnasiums, by simulating the luminous and thermal environment under different lighting forms and establishing a comprehensive evaluation model. The results show that the weights of the indoor luminous environment, thermal environment, and comprehensive energy consumption change with season and time under different lighting forms, which provides a basis for developing a temporal–spatial partition control strategy. The temporal–spatial partition control strategy is proposed for summer and winter, including the shading angle control under the lighting forms of south-facing side windows, west-facing side windows, and top skylights. Under summer conditions, the south-facing side windows have no shading from 8:00 to 10:00 and 14:00 to 16:00, and the shading angle is 0° from 10:00 to 14:00; the west-facing side windows have no shading from 8:00 to 14:00, the shading angle is 0° from 14:00 to 15:00, and the shading angle is 15° from 15:00 to 16:00; and the top skylight has a shade angle of 15° from 8:00 to 9:00, 30° from 9:00 to 11:00, 45° from 11:00 to 13:00, and no shade from 13:00 to 16:00. Under winter conditions, the south-facing side windows have no shading all day; the west-facing side windows have no shading from 8:00 to 14:00, and the shading angle is 30° from 14:00 to 16:00; and the top skylight has no shading from 8:00 to 13:00, a shading angle of 45° from 13:00 to 15:00, and a shading angle of 75° from 15:00 to 16:00. This paper provides a set of scientific and reasonable luminous and thermal environment regulation strategies for large-space buildings, which can help optimize the building energy consumption and improve the indoor environment quality.

Decoupling effect and socioeconomic drivers of energy consumption: A case study of the top five urban agglomerations in China

The sustainability of energy consumption in urban agglomerations has become a growing concern. This study investigates the decoupling effect and socioeconomic factors of energy consumption in the top five urban agglomerations in China from 2011 to 2020. First, the decoupling relationship between energy consumption and economic development was assessed. Subsequently, the logarithmic mean Divisia index method was used to decompose the change of energy consumption into five factors. The main findings show the following: (1) The decoupling status of the five major urban agglomerations was unstable during the whole period, and expansive negative decoupling was prominent in five urban agglomerations. (2) The main factors that contributed to the energy consumption growth were investment effect (ΔCI), energy intensity effect (ΔCEI), per urban population gross domestic product effect (ΔCPG), and urbanization rate effect (ΔCUR), while the only factor that hindered energy consumption growth was investment population support coefficient effect (ΔCIP). Finally, the policy recommendations aim to help the Chinese policymakers and practitioners achieve a win–win balance between energy-saving and economic growth in the Chinese context, such as promoting low-carbon, economic, and green urban investment construction modes, reducing energy intensity, and promoting urbanization in an orderly manner.

Impact of urbanization on water-energy-carbon nexus system: The case of Zhengzhou, China

Exploring the impact of urbanization on water-energy‑carbon nexus system is helpful to discover the inherent interaction mechanism and co-evolutionary pattern of water-energy‑carbon nexus in urban expansion. Based on the calculation of water-energy‑carbon of different land use types, the impact of urbanization on water-energy‑carbon nexus system in Zhengzhou was analyzed, and the future evolution of water-energy‑carbon nexus system under different urbanization scenarios was simulated. The results showed that land use change during urbanization was affected by the industrial pattern and the intensity of human activities, which further caused the increases in water and energy consumption and carbon emissions. There was a positive correlation between urbanization level and coupling coordination degree of water-energy‑carbon nexus system. Especially, the changes in water and energy consumption caused by land use change during urbanization largely determined the coupling coordination level of water-energy‑carbon nexus system. Additionally, different urbanization scenarios would lead to different growth rates of water and energy consumption and carbon emissions, in which the impact of land urbanization on urban water-energy‑carbon nexus system was greater than that of the economic and population urbanization. In the future, urban expansion control and land use regulation based on collaborative optimization of water-energy‑carbon should be adopted.

Cell rupture of Tetradesmus obliquus using high-pressure homogenization at the pilot scale and recovery of pigments and lipids

Microalgae are promising sources of intracellular metabolites such as proteins, polysaccharides, pigments, and lipids. Thus, this study applied high-pressure homogenization (HPH) techniques on a pilot scale to disrupt the cells of Tetradesmus obliquus. The effects of pressure (P; 150, 250, and 350 bar), suspension concentration (Cs; 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 % w/v), and number of cycles (Nc; 5, 15, and 25) were evaluated in HPH via a Box–Behnken experimental design. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the recovery rate (dTr) of pigments and lipids. The specific energy consumption (SEC) and color change gradient (ΔE) of the biomass during HPH were also assessed. The optimal HPH conditions for pigment extraction with 1.5 % Cs (w/v) were as follows: P = 312 bar and Nc = 22 for chlorophyll-a (0.83 g/100 g; dTr = 69 %; SEC = 47.50 kJ/g dry matter); P = 345 bar and Nc = 24 for chlorophyll-b (0.63 g/100 g; dTr = 80 %; SEC = 57.30 kJ/g dry matter); P = 345 bar and Nc = 24 for total carotenoids (0.53 g/100 g; dTr = 79 %; SEC = 54.12 kJ/g dry matter); and P = 350 bar and Nc = 25 for β-carotene (299 µg/g; dTr = 58 %; SEC = 62.08 kJ/g dry matter). The optimal HPH conditions for lipid extraction were P = 350 bar and Nc = 23, with a lipid recovery rate of ≥28 %. Cell disruption during HPH caused a change in the color of the biomass (ΔE) due to the release of intracellular biocompounds. Increasing P and Nc led to higher SECs, ΔE gradients, and pigment and lipid contents. Thus, the levels of recovered pigments and lipids can be indicators of cell disruption in T. obliquus.

GWO-ANFIS-RD3PG: A reinforcement learning approach with dynamic adjustment and dual replay mechanism for building energy forecasting

Reliable prediction of building energy consumption is essential for effective and sustainable energy management. Traditional forecasting methods, however, face challenges when dealing with sudden changes in energy consumption. To address the above-mentioned issue, we introduce the GWO-ANFIS-RD3PG prediction model in this paper. This model aims to ensure global forecasting accuracy while minimizing prediction errors at sudden change points. A Grey Wolf Optimization (GWO) algorithm with the Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is proposed to predict the energy consumption type and its fluctuation magnitude for the next time step. Within the Recurrent Dual Experience Replay Buffer DDPG (RD3PG) prediction module, we employ Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), as the actor network in the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG), to account for long-term dependencies in time series data. Notably, we introduce an adaptive action modification mechanism that allows the agent to optimize actions based on the output of the aforementioned ANFIS, enabling real-time adjustments during sudden change. To further enhance the model’s performance, we adopt a dual experience replay mechanism to store data samples from sudden change points, capturing insight information during these anomalies. Experimental results on two real-world datasets demonstrate that this method reduces MAE by 5.81% and 13.47%, and RMSE by 5.69% and 15.21% compared to the state-of-art models, showing the significance of the proposed method for energy efficiency improvement in real-world building operations.

Impact of energy consumption patterns on peak emissions in China's carbon neutralisation process

The investigation of the impact of energy consumption patterns on peak emissions in China is pertinent and crucial for achieving global climate goals. The study aims to form a forecast of carbon emissions in China and diagnose the achievement of established decarbonization goals based on structural changes in primary energy consumption until 2030. To achieve the goal, the study formed a Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model with the implementation of Markov chains. The obtained research results yield important insights into the influence of various scenarios on carbon emissions in China by the year 2030. Specifically, considering structural transformations, an increase in emissions by 15 % can be anticipated, which is 7 % less than predicted by the classical scenario. Among the proposed scenarios, the Net Zero scenario is deemed the most efficient, where emissions could reach a level of 8509.5 million tons of CO₂. Conversely, the New Momentum scenario proves to be the most precarious, as it entails an escalation in coal usage, leading to a 4 % increase in emissions, amounting to 13264.84 million tons of CO₂. The contribution of this study is the approach to conducting carbon emission projections, which is based on the DSGE model with the implementation of Markov chains. This makes it possible to assess the adequacy of the set targets for carbon reduction based on alternative scenarios, which in crisis conditions can overlap and thus complement each other.

Impact of refrigerant undercharge faults on building indoor conditions and HVAC system operation in residential Buildings: A simulation study

This study investigates the impact of refrigerant undercharge on indoor temperature and HVAC system performance in residential buildings. Simulation models for typical residential buildings in Orlando, FL and Indianapolis, IN were developed using the ResStock database. A refrigerant undercharge fault model was then applied to the simulations with varying levels of fault intensity. The paper offers an extensive analysis, revealing that variations in supply air temperature, equipment runtime, and cooling energy consumption due to the level of refrigerant undercharge faults are notably significant on a summer representative day. Similarly, on a winter representative day, changes in supply air temperature and runtime are significant as well as changes in supplemental heat energy consumption. We find that occupants may remain oblivious to these faults during the cooling season, particularly when the HVAC system is oversized; in that case, supply air temperature data could help detect a fault. Another challenge is that during the heating season, when the supplemental heater operates, it is difficult to identify a refrigerant undercharge fault using only indoor and supply air temperature data. This study finds that supply air temperature, equipment runtime, and supplemental heater energy consumption data can help in detecting refrigerant undercharge faults.

Climate change and the impact of religious tourism in Saudi Arabia’s energy landscape

ABSTRACT This study aims to illuminate the intricate dynamics among religious tourism, energy consumption, and climate change within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which stands as one of the globe’s principal reservoirs of petroleum energy resources. To accomplish this, we employ an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, utilizing a dataset that spans a pivotal political transition in the KSA. Notably, we undertake an examination of two temperature specifications, linear and non-linear, to discern their influence on the relationship between Islamic tourism, temperature variations, and electricity consumption. Our findings reveal a noteworthy contrast between the linear and non-linear models, bolstering the significance of our investigation. Furthermore, the results establish a robust long-term connection among these variables. Importantly, our analyses indicate that a surge in tourist numbers during periods of elevated temperatures positively correlates with heightened energy consumption, thereby contributing to environmental degradation. These findings bear significant implications for energy and tourism policies within Saudi Arabia, particularly in the context of the nation’s 2030 vision. By shedding light on these intricate interrelations, our study offers a valuable perspective for steering sustainable practices in the realms of energy consumption and tourism in the KSA.

Cutting Characteristics and Reliability Analysis of Conical Picks Containing Prefabricated Grooved Rocks

When a roadheader breaks hard rock in a roadway, the excessive cutting load causes the conical pick to experience abnormal wear, which impacts equipment stability. To improve the reliability of hard rock cutting equipment, the dynamic characteristics of prefabricated grooved rocks during cutting were investigated using a single pick cutting experimental bench in rock crushing experiments, and a conical pick cutting rock breaking finite element model was established. The rock stress state under different cutting depths and spacing conditions was analyzed, and the cutting force and the trend of the change in the specific energy consumption were elucidated. The results show that prefabricated grooves can effectively reduce the cutting load and specific energy consumption, the cutting depth and conical pick–groove spacing are the key factors affecting the cutting characteristics, and a reasonable choice of spacing and depth can help reduce the wear of conical picks and improve the working reliability of roadheaders.

Integrating Topographical Map Information in SUMO to Simulate Realistic Micromobility Trips in Hilly and Steep Terrains

Nowadays, shared micromobility has become a trend in cities as an alternative to conventional automotive vehicles, especially for short-distance travel. It also plays an important role in the reduction of the number of automotive vehicles which results in a decrease of air pollution and traffic congestion. Shared micromobility is, however, influenced by the terrain characteristics. Varying elevation within a fleet operational area can cause imbalances in the use of micromobility stations if a steep terrain lies between stations. It also impacts the energy consumption of electric micromobility vehicles such as e-bicycles and e-scooters. Therefore, to simulate the state of charge (SOC) of traction batteries for micromobility close to reality, it is essential to include elevation data into the simulation model. This paper proposes a workflow for Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO) comprising several steps with concrete implementation and validation in order to prepare and define the simulation model with micromobility stations and the integration of elevation data using a REST API. The integration of elevation and bike station data is validated with a defined vehicle type following a route in the hilly part of Stuttgart, Germany. A comparison of micromobility trips, with and without elevation data, was performed through a simulation by recording changes in energy consumption and driven altitude differences. The proposed workflow provides a basis for more complex use cases such as analysing micromobility business areas, improving vehicle.