Energy Efficiency Projects Research Articles

Advanced machine learning techniques for building performance simulation: a comparative analysis

Energy consumption predictions for buildings play an important role in energy efficiency and sustainability research. Accurate energy predictions have numerous application in real-time performance monitoring, fault detection, identifying prime targets for energy conservation, quantifying savings resulting from energy efficiency projects, etc. Machine learning-based energy models have proved to be more efficient and accurate where historical time series data is available. This paper presents various machine learning concepts that will aid in the generation of more accurate and efficient energy models. We have shown in detail the development of energy models using extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), artificial neural network (ANN), and degree-day-based ordinary least square regression. We have presented a thorough description of the workflow, including intermediate steps for feature engineering, feature selection, hyper-parameter optimization and the Python source code. Our results indicate that XGBoost produces highly accurate energy models, and the intermediate steps are particularly important for XGBoost and ANN model development.

On the appraisal of “Triple-A” energy efficiency investments

ABSTRACTTraditional investment institutions lack the technical understanding of the essence of energy efficiency investments. This often creates a lack of trust to such investments, which acts as a barrier to including energy efficiency projects in the investment portfolio, even though such investments are often robust and have a guaranteed return. Mainstreaming energy efficiency finance remains still a challenge. This paper proposes a decision support framework for identifying “Triple-A” energy efficiency investments, aiming to reduce the respective time and effort required at the early stage of the project conceptualization as well as increase transparency and efficiency of decision making. The “Triple-A” investments are the ones that successfully pass the proposed three-step approach, namely Assess – Agree – Assign. By elaborating a meta-analysis on the De-risking Energy Efficiency Platform available data, first insights from the adoption of such an approach are derived. Moreover, future directions are presented and discussed.

The role of energy subsidy reform in energy efficiency enhancement: Lessons learnt and future potential for Iranian industries

Abstract Significant energy subsidies are believed to be the main factor that has resulted in high energy intensities of Iranian industries. The Subsidy Reform Act of 2010 was directed at modifying energy consumption pattern and fostering energy efficiency enhancement. This study aims at analyzing the effect of energy subsidy reform on promoting energy efficiency in six energy intensive industries of Iran. In order to do so, the energy efficiency practices that have not been adopted after the implementation of the first phase of energy subsidy reform are investigated. Data analysis reveals that if financially interesting investments are determined as those with payback periods less than three years, there exist more than 80 PJ energy saving potential that have not been realized yet. The large amount of missed energy savings demonstrates that before complete energy subsidy removal, barriers that discourage investors from moving forward with energy efficiency projects should be removed. These barriers can be classified as informational barriers, financial barriers and administrative and regulatory barriers. Inspired from product life cycle, a sequential strategy is proposed to strengthen the positive impacts of increasing energy prices and to weaken the negative effects of barriers. The strategy is composed of an introductory stage in which deployment of energy efficiency solutions starts to grow without further increasing energy prices; a growth stage when viable and interesting energy efficiency solutions are adopted and then the efficiency market becomes mature. Next phases of energy subsidy reform can be implemented at this stage.

Selection of Energy Efficiency Projects for Dwelling Stock to Achieve Optimal Project Portfolio at the Regional Level by Applying LCC. An Analysis Based on Three Scenarios in the South-Muntenia Region of Romania

The joint action of the European directives and the national strategies make the issue of energy efficiency of the dwelling stock one of the main research directions in the field. The purpose of this study is to create and apply a methodology for developing the portfolio of projects to increase the energy efficiency of the dwelling stock at a regional level through the use of life cycle cost. For this, eight types of energy efficiency improvement projects and three implementation scenarios were selected for the dwelling stock. For each project life cycle cost was determined in each county of the South-Muntenia region based on the estimation of the energy requirements, the costs of implementation and exploitation. In all three scenarios, the P3 Energy Efficiency Project (the reference building without shutters under the Romanian normative) had minimal life cycle cost in most counties in the region. For each scenario the life cycle cost was determined for the optimal portfolio of projects at regional level. The maximum scenario was chosen as the optimal scenario for regional implementation.

IMPLEMENTATION OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROJECTS IN LATVIA'S HOUSING STOCK AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Development of the housing and utilities sector for provision of necessary living conditions is one of the most significant areas in the national socio-economic transformation. Residential construction, housing services and public utilities, that ensure regeneration and maintenance of housing stock and bring housing and utilities to their direct consumers, are the key industries of the sector. The development of the housing sector in Latvia fails to meet the EU requirements: tasks placed on the sector are not carried out properly thus significantly lowering quality of life of the population. Therefore, the issue of housing and utilities stands to be one of the most pressing social problems in the country. The housing and utilities sector suffers from substantial difficulties due to lack of financing, weak physical infrastructure, an insufficient number of skilled personnel, lack of a forethought housing and utilities policy, and inadequately developed regulations for companies operating within the area of housing services maintenance. To the author, the key issue of the housing services in Latvia is renovation of obsolete housing stock. In the presented scientific paper, based on studies of the economic effect from the implementation and development of energy efficiency projects (renovation) of multi-apartment buildings in Latvia, an analysis is performed of the influence of renovation projects on the construction industry in Latvia. Therefore, the aim of the research is to examine the potential of the energy efficiency (renovation) projects of multi-apartment buildings in Latvia as a tool for development of the construction industry and of the economy of the country in general.Econometric methods as well as methods of sociological research and statistical analysis are applied in this work. In the final part, the author demonstrates that the programmes for raising the energy efficiency of housing stock are an effective tool for development of the construction industry in Latvia.

Public-private partnerships as a policy response to climate change

The negative impacts of climate change on the environment and economic activities are increasingly obvious and relevant. Private response to this threat often proves to be inadequate. For example, empirical evidence reveals a sub-optimal investment by firms in energy efficiency projects capable of reducing energy costs and CO2 emissions, as well as adaptation projects able to reduce the vulnerability of the ecosystem. On the other hand, past public programs that provided financial subsidies to the above-mentioned projects have proven to be not particularly cost-effective or able to enhance final performances.In this paper, as an alternative to public subsidies, we propose and assess the opportunity to implement Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) where the public regulator plays a more active role in the investment choice. Precisely, we model the decision-making process through a Nash bargaining procedure between public and private actors. We end up with two main results: (i) compared to public subsidies, the use of PPPs leads to higher outcomes/performances and allows governments to overcome incompleteness in contracts; (ii) PPPs are optimally chosen only when there is a fair allocation of the bargaining power between the two sides and when bargaining procedures are not perceived as being too lengthy or costly.

Energy Efficiency Improvement in Non-Intensive Energy Enterprises: A Framework Proposal

Generalized renewable energy use and the implementation of energy efficiency are two promising solutions to face global environmental challenges and achieve sustainable development. Government and large enterprises are making efforts in this direction; however, there are bottlenecks to start energy efficiency projects especially in non-intensive energy enterprises (NIEs). The aim of this work is to discuss energy efficiency improvement (EEI) initiatives and analyses a framework proposal to improve the energy efficiency implementation in (NIEs). It was applied the theory of Barrier Model to Energy Efficiency to understand the gap between the levels of opportunities implemented, and what theoretically the industrial sector could achieve. It was found that behavior barriers are relevant to understand the efficiency gap and it is necessary to have an action plan to address them. The analysis has been carried out in the fertilizer industry and the preliminary results demonstrate the advantageous reduction of energy losses.

Multi-period energy targeting for Total Site and Locally Integrated Energy Sectors with cascade Pinch Analysis

Total Site (TS) analysis for incorporating short-term or daily energy variation has been introduced in the previous studies as an extension of the Time Slice Model for the Heat Integration of batch processes. However, the energy supply and demand fluctuation could also be affected by changing customer demands due to seasonal climate variations, economic downturn, maintenance, plant turn-around, plant operability issues and raw material availability. This paper extended the cascade energy targeting methodology for TSHI incorporating long- and short-term heat energy supply and demand variation problem. The methodology aims to estimate the energy requirements of the TS system considering seasonal energy storage system as a feasibility study for energy efficiency project. A newly extended algebraic tool, known as Seasonal Total Site Heat Storage Cascade (Seasonal TS-HSC), is introduced in the methodology for modelling the energy flow between process units and storage facilities. The general tool could be used for different storage systems. This proposed tool includes the estimation of energy losses through self-discharge, charge and discharge process based on the energy storage system performance. The methodology is illustrated by a case study, which integrates batch processes, community buildings and space heating system. Implementation of the developed methodology on the case study resulted in 93.4% (low-pressure steam - LPS) and 38.2% (hot water - HW) heating requirement reduction via seasonal energy storage system application at two utility levels. The result shows the energy requirement reduction, which contributes to profitability margin improvement, greenhouse gas emission reduction potential and regional sustainability enhancement, through seasonal energy storage system in the industrial energy system.

Energy efficiency projects

Answers to the question ‘what should we do to improve energy efficiency?’ will have to advance beyond the notion of simply ‘saving energy’ to an enhanced paradigm of policy options as cross-sectoral issue. In this paper we propose to improve rate of successfully performed energy efficiency project. In order to reach target, we need to study and summarize the best practices of improving the energy efficiency level within the economy for developing recommendations, to create risk model for modifying energy policy approaches and working processes with an abstraction level increase for the successful energy efficiency projects realization. Two issues have been addressed in this paper. The links between sustainable development concept analysis and “Green Economy” are defined. The key factors for the sustainable development of energy policy intended for the development of successful energy efficient projects while improving energy efficiency and environmental safety are identified.

A Practical Guide to Gaussian Process Regression for Energy Measurement and Verification within the Bayesian Framework

Measurement and Verification (M&V) aims to quantify savings achieved as part of energy efficiency and energy management projects. M&V depends heavily on metered energy data, modelling parameters and uncertainties that govern the energy system under consideration. M&V therefore requires a stringent handle on the inherent uncertainties in the calculated savings. The Bayesian framework of data analysis in the form of non-parametric, nonlinear Gaussian Process (GP) regression provides a mechanism by which these uncertainties can be quantified thoroughly, and is therefore an attractive alternative to the more traditional frequentist approach. It is important to select appropriate kernels to construct the prior when performing GP regression. This paper aims to construct a guideline for a practical GP regression within the energy M&V framework. It does not attempt to quantify energy losses or savings, but rather presents a case study that could act as a road map for energy managers and M&V professionals to apply the GP regression as a Bayesian alternative to base-line adjustment. Special attention will be given to the selection of appropriate kernels for the application of baseline adjustment and energy savings quantification in a model-independent manner.

The role of tax incentives in encouraging energy efficiency in the largest listed South African businesses

Background: South Africa is faced with a significant challenge of securing the supply of electricity as well as reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. The implementation of energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) measures by energy consumers, especially businesses, is becoming increasingly important and a number of tax incentives have been introduced to promote EE and RE. Objective: The objective of this preliminary study was to determine the role that the available tax incentives play in the decision making of South African businesses regarding investment in RE or EE projects. Aim: To determine this role, the largest South African businesses were selected from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Top 40 Index. Method: The study contained both empirical and non-empirical elements. A literature review was conducted to determine the role of tax incentives globally, while questionnaires were distributed to determine the role in South Africa. Results: Findings highlighted that, while tax incentives do play a role in decision making, various other non-tax factors drive South African businesses’ decisions to invest in EE and/or RE projects. These businesses do not perceive the available tax incentives as effective, nor do they regard them as sufficiently motivating for businesses to change their environmental behaviour. They also feel that the government should reduce the burden of complying with the requirements of Section 12L (the EE allowance). Conclusion: Improving the available RE and EE tax incentives in South Africa might result in more businesses considering the implementation of RE or EE projects. It is therefore recommended that the available tax incentives are expanded and/or the qualifying criteria simplified.

What drives the carbon mitigation in Chinese commercial building sector? Evidence from decomposing an extended Kaya identity

Energy efficiency in the building sector is expected to contribute >50% to the nationwide carbon mitigation efforts for achieving China's carbon emission peak in 2030, and carbon mitigation in Chinese commercial buildings (CMCCB) is an indicator of this effort. However, the CMCCB assessment has faced the challenge of ineffective and inadequate approaches; therefore, we have followed a different approach. Using the China Database of Building Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions as our data source, our study is the first to employ the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) to decompose five driving forces from the Kaya identity of Chinese commercial building carbon emissions (CCBCE) to assess the CMCCB values in 2001–2015. The results of our study indicated that: (1) Only two driving forces (i.e., the reciprocal of GDP per capita of Tertiary Industry in China and the CCBCE intensity) contributed negatively remi to CCBCE during 2001–2015, and the quantified negative contributions denoted the CMCCB values. Specifically, the CMCCB values in 2001–2005, 2006–2010, and 2011–2015 were 123.96, 252.83, and 249.07 MtCO2, respectively. (2) The data quality control involving the CMCCB values proved the reliability of our CMCCB assessment model, and the universal applicability of this model was also confirmed. (3) The substantial achievements of the energy efficiency project in the Chinese commercial building sector were the root cause of the rapidly growing CMCCB. Overall, we believe that our model successfully bridges the research gap of the nationwide CMCCB assessment and that the proposed model is also suitable either at the provincial level or in different building climate zones in China. Meanwhile, a global-level assessment of the carbon mitigation in the commercial building sector is feasible through applying our model. Furthermore, we consider our contribution as constituting significant guidance for developing the building energy efficiency strategy in China in the upcoming phase.

THE PROBLEM OF HYGIENIC REGULATION OF THE PARAMETERS OF THE LIGHT ENVIRONMENT IN THE SPACES OF SHIPS OF THE RUSSIAN NAVY

In the Russian Federation, under the banner of energy efficiency project, new light technologies are preventively introduced. Due to the particular urgency of the energy efficiency problem for Navy ships, saturated with electronic armament, management solutions for equipping ship spaces with diode light sources can be ruled out. Based on the analysis of standards, sanitary rules and test results carried out by organizations of various departments, the medical and technical requirements of the Navy for diode luminaries for ship spaces are proposed.

Social Norms from a Goal-System Point of View: Contributions of Activity Analysis

ABSTRACTIn this article, we used a social injunctive norm to incentivize the elaboration of energy-efficient projects within a building renovation simulation application. We manipulated the norm saliency (presence on the interface) and compared its effect to that of an arbitrary set goal and a no-goal condition (control). Results show that both an injunctive norm and an explicit goal, when salient, led to more energy-efficient designs. Furthermore, participants exposed to the salient injunctive norm identified important parameters more quickly, were more efficient, and were more consistently focused on energy (vs. furnishing). Implications for theory and methodology for further experiments are discussed.

Successfully Implementing Energy Efficiency Projects

Some building owners find that implementing energy efficiency projects may not provide the anticipated energy savings. Why do energy conservation measures (ECMs) sometimes fail to deliver the expected energy savings? This is often due to a predictable set of causes. Some owners rely on contractors, who are proficient in installing technologies, but not necessarily expert at configuring their new equipment to maximize energy savings. When contractors are not provided with a detailed scope of work written by the energy engineer who uncovered the energy savings opportunity, critical knowledge can be lost, and the improvements may not perform as intended. It is important to employ third party commissioning agents who are versed in energy efficiency, to ensure that the new technologies are performing as specified. For the ECMs to be successful in meeting their objectives, the facilities management staff must accept the new technologies. They need to understand how the improvements reduce energy use, how to maintain the new equipment, and how to troubleshoot problems when they occur. These potential problems are avoidable. This article details specific methodologies (e.g., commissioning, measurement and verification and training) that ensure your energy efficiency improvements will perform as intended.

Decision Support for Planning Techniques in Energy Efficiency Projects

Factory operators can select from a multitude of measures to improve their energy efficiency. Despite the variety of planning techniques intended to help investigating the energy flows, little assistance is available for determining the most efficient approach to pursue in a specific project. This paper presents decision support procedures for making appropriate selections during planning, focusing on the selections of an energy model and a matching energy data acquisition method. They build on problem-independent decision models and systematize available alternatives. The models are solved independently by applying the Analytic Hierarchy Process that allows the integration and quantification of different criteria.

ULOGA GEODEZIJE U PROJEKTIMA ENERGETSKE EFIKASNOSTI

Energy is, according to its nature, the cause and trigger of many changes. Adequately used, it is a very important factor in the rise of man and his progress. Today, there is a worldwide trend in the growth of the implementation of renewable energy, especially the sun light. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of geodesy in energy efficiency projects, in the example of mounted solar panels on flat roofs of one specified area. The paper focuses on the positioning of that panels and the amount of energy they produce, taking into account their location, orientation, inclination, surface and sun radiation period.

Reorienting Finance Towards Energy Efficiency: The Case of UK Housing

This paper examines the challenges associated with stimulating large-scale investment in energy efficiency and demand management measures, using residential energy efficiency improving retrofits in the UK as a case study. We consider how issues of energy policy, consumer choice and financial systems intersect, drawing on recent literature including energy policy documents and research reports, and on interviews with stakeholders from the finance sector, energy efficiency practitioners and more. We suggest that following the withdrawal of the Green Deal, there is a need to reconsider the framing of policy for household energy efficiency improvements, and examine three potential aspects of a new framing: energy efficiency as infrastructure; new business and financing models for energy efficiency provision; and decentralised financing institutions for energy efficiency investment. This would require a long-term commitment from government on energy efficiency, and a need to ensure that projects are attractive and investable from both householders and investors’ perspectives. We conclude that there are important roles for government in any large scale initiative for energy efficient retrofitting of UK homes, even if the mechanisms are market based. These includes signalling long-term policy consistency and reducing risks for financial investment, and intermediating between finance and energy efficiency projects.

An Empirical Comparison of Carbon Credit Projects Under the Clean Development Mechanism and Verified Carbon Standard

Carbon credit trading regimes put a cost-efficient price on carbon emissions and foster investments in clean and low carbon technologies. As there are new carbon credit mechanisms evolving and old ones struggling we concentrate on the question what determinants make a carbon credit project successful. We focus on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) as the leading carbon markets. We define success as the fulfilling of the ex-ante emission abatement estimation and apply regression analyses to explain its variation on project level by technology, location, scale, duration and participation. The results are discussed in detail on technology-level for wind power, energy efficiency, hydro power and biomass projects and are compared with regard to CDM and VCS. Our main results indicate that large scale projects often compensate their under-performance due to economies of time. Further, the duration of projects, the projects' location and structure of participants have significant influence on the projects' success.

Organizational and financial mechanisms for implementation of the projects in the field of increasing the energy efficiency of the regional economy

Nowadays budgetary funds still prevail among sources of financing of the projects in the area of increasing the energy efficiency of the regional economy in the Russian Federation. For example, in the Tver region in 2016, 82% of the projects for the modernization of the heat supply infrastructure and 100% for the modernization of the electricity supply infrastructure were implemented at the expense of the budget. At the same time, there is a decrease in the total amount of state financing of energy efficiency projects due to a high proportion of the budget deficit of the subjects of the Russian Federation. According to the agency ACRA (information dated April, 12, 2017 at www.acra-ratings.ru), 58 out of 85 regional budgets for 2017 were accepted with a total deficit of 193 billion rubles. At the same time, the urgency of applying organizational and financial mechanisms for the implementation of energy efficient projects involving alternative financing is growing. The article systematizes the views on the perspective mechanisms for implementing projects in the field of increasing the energy efficiency of the regional economy, including taking into account the analysis of problems of their application in the example of the Tver region. The authors studied existing organizational and financial mechanisms for energy-efficient projects, including public private and municipal private partnerships, and the Local Initiatives Support Program.