Dissertations / Theses on the topic '170103 Residential energy efficiency'
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Jeter, Teresa M. "A model residential energy efficiency program." Virtual Press, 1995. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/941726.
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The opportunity for reducing energy expenditures in homes has never been greater nor has the need been more pressing. Based on the current analysis of weatherization programs, millions of houses do not receive energy efficiency measures and houses that are being weatherized are not receiving the kinds of measures that generate the greatest energy savings. Many of these problems are attributed to program policies, regulations and funding limitations. Given these critical issues. The creative project is a model residential energy efficiency program. Its purpose is to serve as a guide for planning, designing, developing and implementing the kinds of residential energy efficiency programs that will maximize services and benefits. More specifically, the model will assist in the design and implementation of programs that are effective, efficient and can deliver the “right” energy measures to “any” house that needs them. A community in a small Midwestern city was selected to help demonstrate the various components of the model program.Department of Urban Planning
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Roswell, David. "Activating Community to Enable Residential Energy Efficiency." Oberlin College Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1387102781.
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Shell, Kara. "Analysis of Energy Efficiency Strategies in Residential Buildings." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1276830510.
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Pavlenko, V., and O. Volianyk. "Efficiency of window recuperator in residential premises." Thesis, Київський національний університет технологій та дизайну, 2019. https://er.knutd.edu.ua/handle/123456789/14631.
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Tramel, Nathan, Jacob Dill, and Hussam Almuqallad. "Remote Monitoring of Residential Energy Usage." International Foundation for Telemetering, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/579583.
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ITC/USA 2013 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Ninth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 21-24, 2013 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NVA substantial amount of the energy usage in developed countries is consumed by climate control of residential and commercial structures. Collecting information on the usage patterns of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems can allow a consumer to better understand the cost and effectiveness of these systems, and allow landlords and others to monitor their use. This paper describes a system which can easily be retrofitted onto legacy HVAC systems to monitor their activity, and then transmit the information over a wireless radio network for archiving and analysis
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Carlson, Derrick R. "Analyzing Residential End-Use Energy Consumption Data to Inform Residential Consumer Decisions and Enable Energy Efficiency Improvements." Research Showcase @ CMU, 2013. http://repository.cmu.edu/dissertations/298.
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While renewable energy is in the process of maturing, energy efficiency improvements may provide an opportunity to reduce energy consumption and consequent greenhouse gas emissions to bridge the gap between current emissions and the reductions necessary to prevent serious effects of climate change and will continue to be an integral part of greenhouse gas emissions policy moving forward. Residential energy is a largely untapped source of energy reductions as consumers, who wish to reduce energy consumption for monetary, environmental, and other reasons, face barriers. One such barrier is a lack of knowledge or understanding of how energy is consumed in a home and how to reduce this consumption effectively through behavioral and technological changes.
One way to improve understanding of residential energy consumption is through the creation of a model to predict which appliances and electronics will be present and significantly contribute to the electricity consumption of a home on the basis of various characteristics of that home. The basis of this model is publicly available survey data from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). By predicting how households are likely to consume energy, homeowners, policy makers, and other stakeholders have access to valuable data that enables reductions in energy consumption in the residential sector. This model can be used to select homes that may be ripe for energy reductions and to predict the appliances that are the basis of these potential reductions. This work suggests that most homes in the U.S. have about eight appliances that are responsible for about 80% of the electricity consumption in that home. Characteristics such as census region, floor space,income, and total electricity consumption affect which appliances are likely to be ina home, however the number of appliances is generally around 8. Generally it takesaround 4 appliances to reach the 50% threshold and 12 appliances to reach 90% ofelectricity consumption, which suggests significant diminishing returns for partiesinterested in monitoring appliance level electricity consumption.
Another way to improve understanding of residential energy consumption isthrough the development of residential use phase energy vectors for use in theEconomic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) model. The EIO-LCAmodel is a valuable scoping tool to predict the environmental impacts of economicactivity. This tool has a gap in its capabilities as residential use phase energy isoutside the scope of the model. Adding use phase energy vectors to the EIO-LCAmodel will improve the modeling, provide a more complete estimation of energyimpacts and allow for embedded energy to be compared to use phase energy for thepurchase of goods and services in the residential sector. This work adds 21 quads ofenergy to the residential energy sector for the model and 15 quads of energy forpersonal transportation. These additions represent one third of the total energyconsumption of the United States and a third of the total energy in the EIO-LCAmodel. This work also demonstrates that for many products such as electronics andhousehold appliances use phase energy demands are much greater thanmanufacturing energy demands and dominate the life cycles for these products.
A final way in which this thesis improves upon the understanding of how usephase energy is consumed in a home is through the exploration of potential energy reductions in a home. This analysis selects products that are used or consumed in ahome, and explores the potential for reductions in the embedded manufacturing anduse phase energy of that product using EIO-LCA and the energy vectors created inChapter 3. The results give consumers an understanding of where energy isconsumed in the lifecycle of products that they purchase and provide policy makerswith valuable information on how to focus or refocus policies that are aimed andreducing energy in the residential sector. This work finds that a majority of theenergy consumed by retail products is consumed in the use phase of electronics andappliances. Consequently the largest potential reductions in residential energy usecan be found in the same area. The work also shows that targeting reductions in themanufacturing energy for many products is likely to be an ineffective strategy forenergy reductions with the exception of a select few products. Supply chain energyreductions may be more promising than manufacturing energy reductions, thoughneither is likely to be as effective as strategies that target use phase energyreductions.
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Joelsson, Anna. "Primary energy efficiency and CO2 mitigation in residential buildings." Doctoral thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Institutionen för teknik och hållbar utveckling, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-7865.
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In order to control climate change it is important to limit the atmosphericconcentration of carbon dioxide (CO2). Increased energy efficiency, as well as ashift from fossil fuels to renewable resources can reduce net CO2 emission. Theenergy required for constructing and operating buildings is significant in manycountries, and it is thus important to design energy efficient buildings and energysupply systems.Improvements in existing buildings are needed in order to achieve short-termemission reductions. The Swedish building stock expanded greatly during the1960s and 1970s. The energy efficiency of these houses was often quite low, andmany of them were built with resistance heating. In this thesis increased energyefficiency in such buildings is studied, as well as conversions from resistanceheating to other heating systems, and various technologies and fuels for theproduction of electricity and heat. The effects of these measures are analysed withrespect to primary energy use, CO2 emission and societal cost. The studies wereperformed using process-based systems analysis in a life-cycle perspective. Thesystem boundaries include energy chains from the natural resources to the usefulelectricity and heat in the houses. The results show that the choice of heatingsystem in the house has a greater effect on the primary energy use than measureson both the house envelope and the energy supply chains. District heating basedon cogeneration of heat and electricity and bedrock heat pumps were found to beenergy-efficient systems. The net emission of CO2 is dependent on the fuel and theCO2 emissions from these systems are comparable to those from a wood pelletboiler, if biomass-based supply chains are used. Conversion from resistanceheating to any of the other heating systems studied is also profitable from a societaleconomic perspective.The decision to implement energy-efficiency measures or install a new heatingsystem in a detached house is taken by the house owner. In order for successfulimplementation the alternatives must either be sufficiently attractive or incentivesor policy instruments that affects this large, inhomogeneous group must beimplemented. In this thesis, the house owners’ economic situation when changingthe heating system and implementing energy-efficiency measures on the buildingenvelope is analysed. The economic analysis includes current Swedish policyinstruments, such as an investment subsidy for heating system conversion, anincome tax deduction for replacing windows, levying a consumer electricity tax and increasing real estate tax. House owners’ perceptions of different heatingsystems are analysed through the results of comprehensive questionnaires. Societaleconomy, private economy and individuals’ perceptions are compared. Theconversion subsidy provides some incentive to house owners to act according tothe national energy policy, as does the electricity tax, which has a significantinfluence on consumer costs. The use of economic instruments seems efficient inpromoting systems in line with environmental goals since environmental factorsare ranked much lower by the home owners. However, the effect on the annualcost of most of the policy instruments studied is smaller than the price variationsbetween different energy suppliers. Energy suppliers thus have considerableopportunity to influence house owners.To achieve long-term changes in the building sector new houses should beconstructed with as low primary energy use and emission as possible, seen overtheir entire life cycle. The primary energy use is analysed for both the productionand operational phase of several types of residential buildings. When the demandfor operational primary energy decreases, due to a high energy standard orenergy-efficient supply, the relative importance of the energy required forproduction will increase. The amount of primary energy required for theproduction of a new low-energy building is significant compared with the primaryenergy required for space heating. One way of reducing both primary energy useand CO2 emission in the production phase is to use constructions with woodframes instead of concrete.The energy supply system is nevertheless still important also for low energybuildings. A new house built to passive standard, heated with fossil-fuel-basedresistance heating gives rise to higher primary energy use and CO2 emission than aconventional detached house from the 1970s that is heated with an energy-efficientbiomass-based heating system. The results thus indicate that wood-framed houseswith a high energy standard, together with efficient energy supply systems, couldbe an option for sustainable residential construction.
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Busic-Sontic, Ante. "Energy efficiency investments in residential buildings : does personality matter?" Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2019. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/284556.
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In recent years, energy efficiency in the built environment has been attracting considerable interest to mitigate energy consumption. A number of scientific studies indicate that rising air pollution, decreasing biodiversity, ocean acidification and other adverse effects on humans and the environment in recent decades are due to greenhouse gas emissions, and a substantial share of the emissions can be attributed to energy usage in residential buildings. Investments in energy-efficient technologies have been made to alleviate such human induced causes contributing to the emissions, but they are still far from widespread, calling for a thorough understanding of individuals' decision-making processes to promote further adoption of energy efficiency investments. Although personality has been widely recognised as an explanatory factor of behaviour, a rigorous discussion of it in the context of energy efficiency investments is missing. As such, to understand the role of personality traits in making high-cost energy efficiency investments in residential buildings, this research applies a multidisciplinary approach to derive theoretical models that are evaluated in subsequent empirical investigations using quantitative methods and data from the UK and Germany. The findings suggest three ways through which personality can influence energy efficiency investments. The first is an indirect impact of personality traits through risk preferences, in which the significance of the personality effects depends on the financial subsidy context. The second is an indirect effect of personality traits through environmental concern. The third way suggests an impact of personality traits through their importance for individuals' capability and willingness to consider peer behaviour.
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Unéus, Viktor. "Energy efficiency trends in large clusters of residential buildings." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Energiteknik, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-34559.
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The aim of this thesis work is to analyse the trends in heat use among Borlänge Energis district heating customer over the last 20 years. Several reports show that in general the buildings stock get more and more efficient, both in Sweden and other European countries, but will the same trend be seen among Borlänge Energis customer? Data of delivered heat to 324 customers, both single-family houses and multifamily houses, for the period of 1998-2018 is used in this study. The heating that is assumed for domestic hot water is calculated and the heat used for heating is temperature corrected so the heat needed for a normal year could be calculated. The investigated customers are divided into different groups representing various types of buildings with different building years. From this data it’s possible to see trends in heat usage in kWh/building, and year for various types of buildings over the period. Other studies on how trends for heating usage in buildings have report heating usage in kWh/(m2,year). It wasn’t possible in this work to get data of the size of each building, which means that it’s not possible to compare the result from this study with other studies. However, assuming that the building area have been the same and that no extensions of the buildings have been done during the period, the trend in changed heat use should be the same, unless the result is presented in kWh/m2, year and kWh/building, year. The overall results show that there is a reduction in energy use in the buildings in Borlänge during the period 1998-2018. The decrease in heat use are in the order of 0.3 – 0.4 %/year, with larger decrease in multi-family houses. This is considerably less than the decrease of heat use in the buildings stock of 0.9 – 1.2 %/year reported for the entire building stock in Sweden during approximately the same period.
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Kumirai, Tichaona. "Energy efficiency interventions for residential buildings in Bloemfontein using passive energy techniques." Thesis, Bloemfontein : Central University of Technology, Free State, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/124.
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Thesis (M. Tech. (Mech. Eng.)) -- Central University of Technology, Free state, 2010The purpose of this research is to minimize the use of active systems in providing thermal comfort in single-family detached, middle to high income residential buildings in Bloemfontein. The typical case study house was selected according to the criteria as reviewed by Mathews et al., (1999). Measurements were taken for seven days (18 – 24 May 2009). The measurements were carried out in the winter period for Bloemfontein, South Africa. Ecolog TH1, humidity and temperature data logger was used in doing the measurements. These measurements included indoor temperatures and indoor relative humidity. Temperature swings of 8.43 ºC and thermal lag of 1 hour were observed. For the period of seven days (168 hours), the house was thermally comfortable for 84 hours. Thermal analysis for the base case house was done using Ecotect™ (building analysis software) and the simulated results were compared with the measured results. A mean bias error (MBE) of between 10.3% ≤≤11.5% was obtained on the initial calibration. The final calibration of the model yielded error between0.364% ≤≤0.365%. The final calibration model which presented a small error was adopted as the base case. Passive strategies were incorporated to the Ecotect™ model (final calibrated model) singly and in combination; then both thermal and space load simulations were obtained and compared to simulations from the original situation (base case) for assessing improvements in terms of thermal comfort and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) energy consumption. Annual HVAC electricity savings of up to 55.2 % were obtained from incorporating passive strategies in combination. Incorporating passive strategies resulted in small improvements in thermal comfort.
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Howland, Alexis (Alexis Blair). "The residential energy map : catalyzing energy efficiency through remote energy assessments and improved data access." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/81633.
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Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-71).
Although energy efficiency has potential to be a significant energy resource in the United States, many energy efficiency projects continue to go unrealized. This is especially true in the residential sector, where efficiency programs, frequently administered by utilities, see very low participation rates. However, growing access to data and the growing prevalence of mapping technologies provide new avenues for introducing energy performance information in ways that could encourage increased energy efficiency implementation. Renters and homebuyers are increasingly using online interactive maps to inform their housing choices. If energy data is mapped or incorporated into an existing real estate map, energy efficiency could become a valued asset that influences housing decisions and encourages building upgrades by property owners. However, major obstacles remain in accessing the data necessary to create meaningful energy maps. Privacy is the most significant barrier to displaying building-level energy consumption and performance information. This thesis explores how an energy map could catalyze energy efficiency upgrades, specifically in the residential market. This research examines existing energy maps, existing energy assessment platforms and what data they use, and evaluates the state of energy data access in the United States. It seeks to answer what data is necessary to map building level energy performance, what policies are necessary to access that data, and how should energy information be displayed in a map for the most meaningful impact. This research suggests that State mandates may be necessary to access individual residential building energy data; that the Federal government should recommended a standardized platform, such as the Standard Energy Efficiency Data platform, to create a national standard for storing energy data and data taxonomy; and that an energy map will be most effective when displaying a relative energy performance score which could possibly be calculated from energy data and other publicly available building records.
by Alexis Howland.
M.C.P.
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Børke, Ragnhild. "Energy efficiency in non-residential buildings: Motivation, barriers and strategies." Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Industrial Ecology Programme, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-1406.
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In the thesis, causes of the energy efficiency gap, i.e. that seemingly attractive investments in energy efficiency are systematically passed over are explored, and policy instruments and business strategies that can be used to overcome this inefficiency are discussed. The economic literature of the efficiency gap focuses either on factors that are not included in the calculations of the gap, and that may explain why observed behaviour is actually efficient, or market failures that justifies policy intervention. In response to the economic literature, organizational and behavioural approaches have arisen, focusing on factors that preclude some of the assumptions made in economic theory.
A case study of four organizations has been carried out, investigating the decision processes, investment rules and motivation for energy efficiency measures. The main results are that all the organizations work systematically with energy observation and improving practices, while larger investments seem to be less prioritized. The building managers seem to cope with uncertainty by being conservative. Direct economic profitability is considered sufficient motivation for implementing energy-efficiency measures, while at the same time, the choice of investment objects is guided by strategic targets or general desirability. Capital-rationing occurs, but this competition among profitable projects is not considered a problem in the organizations. There is also some evidence of lack of incentives for energy conservation among occupants. A possible connection between emphasis on environmental results centrally in the organization and improvement in energy efficiency is established, and there are some indications that the start-up of an energy program depends on individuals.
The discussion of strategies to increase implementation of energy efficiency measures focuses on how to allow for technological change, and particularly diffusion of technologies. In this regard, looking for positive feed-back loops is important. A combination of market-based and behavioural instruments seems appropriate. Three specific strategies are explored: energy contracting, energy certificates and start-up help for arranging goals and routines for improvement.
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Buffaloe, Barbara. "Factors influencing homeowners' decisions to seek residential energy efficiency knowledge." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/5042.
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Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007 .The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 29, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.
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Martin, Eric Russell 1971. "Understanding the diffusion of energy efficiency technology in residential buildings." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/41422.
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Li, Qian. "Energy efficiency design of residential buildings in North China cities." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2009. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/54484/.
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With the rapid growth of housing development in China, energy inefficiency in domestic architectures is becoming a crucial problem for the nation's sustainable development. At present, the average energy consumption of housings in North China cities is three times that in developed countries. The energy conservation regulation introduced by the government requires 65% heating energy saving in dwellings compared with the 1980's standard. However most of the current buildings cannot meet that regulation the problem is mainly due to the lack of detailed technology and construction requirements, and difficulties in relation to enforcement. The main aim of this research is to investigate the potential of using environmental design strategies to increase the energy efficiency of residential architectures in North China cities while provide reasonable comfort conditions. Literature review, on-site observations, field experiments and computer simulation were used. The field experiments were conducted in five flats in Tianjin and Xi'an cities to assess their thermal performance. Thermal simulations by using the building energy model HTB2 were employed to analysis these designs, and what improvements can be reasonably achieved, in line with China's targets for reducing housing energy demand by adapting certain environmental design strategies. The findings of this work showed that with the adaptation of environmental design strategies, significant improvements of energy efficiency of residential buildings in North China cities can be achieved and considerable portion of energy can be saved. The most effective parameter in heating reduction is improve thermal insulation, having 50mm and 100mm polystyrene insulation achieved reductions of 26.5% and 38.8‰ respectively. Reduce the infiltration rate is the second most effective method, limit the air change rate to 0.5 ach reduced 21.6% of the heating demand from the existing condition. The parameters that reduce most cooling demand are having a reasonable window area and night time controlled ventilation the reduction rate is around 23% and 13% respectively. Moreover, combining appropriate design parameters will maximise their effectiveness in energy reduction. Having parameters including appropriate glazing ratio, improve insulation of the building envelope, reduce infiltration etc. will enable case studies to match the 65% saving regulations straightforward and the cooling load was also substantially reduced. Moreover, by following further modification suggestions, the energy reduction rate reached 90%. Considerable reduction in energy use and carbon emission can be achieved in North China cities and other places experiencing similar climates, by adapting the suggested design strategies. The findings of this research could help the decision-makers and architects to improve thermal performance and energy efficiency of both existing housings and future designs.
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Pisarev, V., and O. O. Kuznetsova. "Energy efficiency retrofits of residential buildings in Ukraine. A case study." Thesis, Київський національний університет технологій та дизайну, 2017. https://er.knutd.edu.ua/handle/123456789/6740.
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Nyatsanza, Kudakwashe. "Effective implementation of energy efficiency in the South African residential sector." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11356.
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Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-93).
Energy efficiency will help South Africa meet some of its socioeconomic goals whilst protecting the environment and using resources effectively. In light of the recent blackouts, South Africa has stepped up its energy efficiency initiatives in order to delay the need for new generation capacity, but human behavioural responses often tend to offset the beneficial effects of such initiatives. Such behavioural changes are called the rebound effects. Energy modelling using LEAP was carried out for the South African residential electricity sector. The results from the LEAP modelling suggest that reducing residential electricity demand by 10% in 2030 will require high penetration rates of efficient appliances and in order to mitigate the rebound effect, efficiency initiatives should be carried out in conjunction with awareness campaigns and price interventions.
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Negrea, Andrei Liviu. "Optimization of energy efficiency for residential buildings by using artificial intelligence." Thesis, Lyon, 2020. http://www.theses.fr/2020LYSEI090.
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La consommation, en général, représente le processus d’utilisation d’un type de ressource où des économies doivent être réalisées. La consommation d’énergie est devenue l’un des principaux problèmes d’urbanisation et de crise énergétique, car l’épuisement des combustibles fossiles et le réchauffement climatique mettent en péril l’utilisation de l’énergie des plantes. Cette thèse présent une méthode d’économie d’énergie a été adoptée pour la réduction de consommation d’énergie prévu le secteur résidentiel et les maisons passives. Un modèle mathématique basé sur des mesures expérimentales a été développé pour simuler le comportement d’un laboratoire d’essai de l’UPB. Le protocole expérimental a été réalisé à la suite d’actions telles que : la construction de bases de données sur les paramètres, la collecte de données météorologiques, l’apport de flux auxiliaires tout en considérant le comportement humain. L’algorithme de contrôle-commande du système est capable de maintenir une température constante à l’intérieur du bâtiment avec une consommation minimale d’énergie. Les mesures et l’acquisition de données ont été configurées à deux niveaux différents: les données météorologiques et les données sur les bâtiments. La collection de données est faite sur un serveur qui a été mis en œuvre dans l’installation de test en cours d’exécution d’un algorithme complexe qui peut fournir le contrôle de consommation d’énergie. La thèse rapporte plusieurs méthodes numériques pour envisage la consommation d’énergie, utilisée avec l’algorithme de contrôle. Un cas expérimental basé sur des méthodes de calcul dynamiques pour les évaluations de performance énergétique de construction a été faite à Grenade, en Espagne, l’information qui a été plus tard utilisée dans cette thèse. L’estimation des paramètres R-C avec la prévision du flux de chaleur a été faite en utilisant la méthode nodal, basée sur des éléments physiques, des données d’entrée et des informations météorologiques. La prévision d’énergie de consommation présent des résultats améliorés tandis que la collecte de données IoT a été téléchargée sur une carte à base de système de tarte aux framboises. Tous ces résultats ont été stables montrant des progrès impressionnants dans la prévision de la consommation d’énergie et leur application en énergieConsumption, in general, represents the process of using a type of resource where savings needs to be done. Energy consumption has become one the main issue of urbanization and energy crisis as the fossil depletion and global warming put under threat the planet energy utilization. In this thesis, an automatic control of energy was developed to reduce energy consumption in residential area and passive house buildings. A mathematical model founded on empirical measurements was developed to emphasize the behavior of a testing laboratory from Universitatea Politehnica din București - Université Politechnica de Bucarest - Roumanie. The experimental protocol was carried out following actions such as: building parameters database, collecting weather data, intake of auxiliary flows while considering the controlling factors. The control algorithm is controlling the system which can maintain a comfortable temperature within the building with minimum energy consumption. Measurements and data acquisition have been setup on two different levels: weather and buildings data. The data collection is gathered on a server which was implemented into the testing facility running a complex algorithm which can control energy consumption. The thesis reports several numerical methods for estimating the energy consumption that is further used with the control algorithm. An experimental showcase based on dynamic calculation methods for building energy performance assessments was made in Granada, Spain, information which was later used in this thesis. Estimation of model parameters (resistances and capacities) with prediction of heat flow was made using nodal method, based on physical elements, input data and weather information. Prediction of energy consumption using state-space modeling show improved results while IoT data collection was uploaded on a Raspberry Pi system. All these results were stable showing impressive progress in the prediction of energy consumption and their application in energy field
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Malhotra, Mini. "An analysis of maximum residential energy-efficiency in hot and humid climates." Texas A&M University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/3097.
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Energy-efficient building design involves minimizing the energy use and optimizing the
performance of individual systems and components of the building. The benefits of energyefficient
design, in the residential sector, are direct and tangible, provided that design strategies
with a substantial combined energy and cost-saving potential are adopted.
Many studies have been performed to evaluate the energy-saving potential and the costeffectiveness
of various design options, and to identify conditions for optimizing the performance
of building systems and components. The results of these studies, published in various resources,
were analyzed discretely using different techniques, and were reported using different bases for
comparison. Considering the complex interaction of, and energy flows through various building
components, it is difficult to directly compare/combine the results from various studies to
determine the energy-saving potential of combination of strategies, and to select an appropriate
set of strategies for making design decisions.
Therefore, this thesis develops a comprehensive survey and analysis of energy-efficient
design strategies and their energy-saving potential, in isolation as well as in combination, using a
DOE-2 simulation model of a prototype house in the hot and humid climate of Houston, Texas.
Optimized strategies that included building configuration, materials/ assembly for building
envelop components, and efficient mechanical and electrical systems, equipment and appliances,
were applied in combination that could minimize the annual energy use. Application of these strategies is expected to allow downsizing systems and equipment and to confirm their operation
at their rated performance, resulting in additional installation and operation cost savings.
The study is concluded by outlining the procedures for selecting optimized set of
strategies, and by developing guidelines for achieving maximum energy-efficiency in singlefamily
detached houses in hot and humid climates. Thus, this study will facilitate the selection of
energy-saving measures for their individual or combined application for developing energyefficient
residences in hot and humid climates.
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Lo, Ching-ha, and 盧青霞. "Energy performance contracting : an option of implementing energy efficiency measures by property management in residential estates." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/194938.
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Due to the growing concern on global warming, carbon emissions and environmental conservation and sustainability, energy consumption becomes the critical issue over the world. Energy performance contracting (EPC) is one of the options of implementing energy efficiency measures by property management in the residential estates. EPC is a financing technique based on the amount of energy saving through the project undertaken the risk by energy service companies (ESCOs). EPC has been adopted in the western countries, such as Europe and US, for a long time. Nevertheless, the take up rate in Hong Kong remains low.
In 2001, Davies and Chan have conducted a study regarding the experience of EPC in Hong Kong. After a decade, are there any changes of the perception for the building managers to implement EPC? With the study of the most important factors, benefits, barriers and keys to the success of implementing EPC, it evaluates and explores the implementation of EPC by property management at the residential sector in Hong Kong.
Through the study, it develops practical information for promoting this financial option to housing managers for energy conservation. It can help to promote and facilitate the future uptake in Hong Kong in order to enhance cost and energy efficiency, as well as greenhouse gas emission reductions in the future.published_or_final_version
Housing Management
Master
Master of Housing Management
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Masip-Sanchis, Ximo. "Energetic study of a residential building in Skutskär and savings proposal." Thesis, Högskolan i Gävle, Avdelningen för bygg- energi- och miljöteknik, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-21665.
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This project consists on the Energy audit carried out on a residential building in Skutskär, property of the company Älvkarlebyhus, which is placed in the Älvkarleby municipality, belonging to Uppsala County in Sweden. The aim of the Energy audit is to obtain how much Energy is used, when is it used and how is it used. As well as the costs of the Energy use. The aim of the Energy audit also consists in reduces the Energy use applying efficiency measures. The audit carried out consist on identifying the heat losses and heat gains of the building, thus establishing an Energy balance that will reflect the Energy state of the building and finally propose some efficiency measures that could be applied. With this purpose, a strong method was developed in order to obtain as accurate results as possible. This method studies separately each component of the balance in order to get a better approach. The idea when working and present the results is to manage all the information in an easy way and present it in an easily understandable way for everyone, thus was used a spreadsheet. The expected results have been achieved; the difference between the heat losses and gains is of 0 MWh, which represents the balance 0 and all the values obtained are according to the experience values, which achieve the expected results. The total heat gain of the balance accounts for 1575,23 MWh. It is compounded by the District heating consumption which accounts 742,22 MWh that represents the 47 % of the heat gain and by the free heating which accounts for 832,79 MWh that represents the 53 %. The free heating is compounded by solar radiation which accounts for 643,36 MWh representing 41 % and for Internal heating which accounts for 189,43 MWh that represents 12 %. The total heat loss of the balance accounts for 1575,23 MWh. It is compounded by transmission losses which accounts for 875,46 MWh that represents 56 %, mechanical ventilation which accounts for 369,89 MWh that represents the 23 %, natural ventilation which account for 182,88 MWh that represents 12 % and hot tap water which account for 147 and represents 9 %. The efficiency measures will improve the Energy use in the buildings; especially in the cases were the Energy usage is too high, as in the case of transmission losses. Thus, the efficiency measures will be proposed mainly to alleviate the high values but also to improve other inefficient uses of the Energy. There are some efficiency measures proposed for every component of the balance and there is also some recommendation for the company in order to implement the most attractive ones, taking into account its profitability. These measures are only proposed and not studied deeply because of the main limitation of this thesis. Therefore, it is recommended to continue the study in order to examine and analyse deeply each measure, according to the energetic survey already done.
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Jakob, Martin. "Essays in economics of energy efficiency in residential buildings : an empirical analysis /." Zürich : ETH, 2007. http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/show?type=diss&nr=17157.
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Cai, Zhichang. "From energy efficiency to integrated sustainable urbanism in residential development in China." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Industriell ekologi, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-25233.
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China has adopted Sustainable Development as a national strategy for all industries. In civil construction sector, sustainability is regarded as the development of Green Building in China. Since 2000, China has introduced a series of policies and laws to promote Green Building. Green Building was defined as buildings that are “energy-efficient, land-efficient, water-efficient, and material-efficient” and emit “minimal pollution” in during its entire life cycle, and meets a specified standard for indoor environment at the same time. However, energy efficiency is the central issue of current Green Building development in China, while issues of resources and pollution are neglected, which is partly due to China’s energy structure. Social and economic aspects are also always ignored. The main aim of this thesis is to map pathways towards more comprehensive frameworks for how residential areas in China could be constructed in a more sustainable way in hot –summer and cold-winter area. Case study was the main method used to examine the specifications of Green Residential Building in China. This paper offers a general overview of the current green trend in China and presents a specific analysis on three cases to search for the proper approach for China’s unique situation by three specific cases representing three types of Green Building: Modern Vernacular Architecture, Eco-office and Mass-housing, according to their features in scale, location and function. This paper then presents a specific integrated sustainability analysis of the Landsea Housing Project in Nanjing, a hot-summer/cold-winter zone. Hammarby Sjöstad, a cutting edge project in Stockholm, is also discussed as a reference area from which experiences can be drawn for China. The aim was to improve the framework for construction of residential buildings in China in a more sustainable way, from energy efficiency to integrated sustainability. The paper also discusses the relationship between the economic growth and energy consumption in the fast-growing situation, presents several scenarios depicting energy and comfort and makes suggestions for China. The roles of government, developers and residents are also addressed. The paper argues that an adaptive and holistic approach, which must be expanded from both spatial scale and temporal span, should be established for the Green Residential Building development in China, as an effective way to meet the sustainability goal.QC 20101013
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Ashby, Robert P. "Causes and implications of socio-ecomic differentiation in residential energy efficiency retrofitting." Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 2013. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/19289/.
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Analysis of fuel expenditure statistics indicates that for the majority of householders, more fuel efficient homes can explain approximately 15% of fuel demand changes between 2002 and 2008. The analysis suggests that other factors, such as rising fuel costs and warmer winters, account for vast majority of the demand changes during this period. But in upper quartile income households, any demand reduction brought about by energy efficiency was undetectable against the changes caused by price and temperature variations. This thesis provides evidence of disproportionately low insulation retro-fitting rates in upper quartile income homes and suggests two predominant causes. Firstly, approximately 95% of upper quartile income householders were ineligible for retro-fit assistance from the state agencies and secondly, the relative value of energy efficiency is less in the most affluent households, because the proportion of income spent on fuel tends to decline as incomes rise. Fuel expenditure statistics indicate that the household fuel demand reductions delivered by greater household energy efficiency between 2002 and 2008 would have been approximately 30% greater if the most affluent households had retro-fitted basic energy efficiency measures at similar rates to their lower income neighbours. Household surveys in two affluent districts support one of the principal findings from the study of fuel expenditure statistics, that energy efficiency tends to be less valuable to affluent households, which tends to make the fuel rich, collectively, more apathetic towards energy efficiency. However when motivational barriers are removed, the fuel rich tend to accept energy efficiency retro-fits in disproportionately large numbers. The thesis concludes that effective household emission reduction programmes need policies which also stimulate greater energy efficiency by increasing the value of energy efficiency, particularly in affluent homes.
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Danielski, Itai. "Energy efficiency of new residential buildings in sweden : Design and Modelling Aspects." Licentiate thesis, Mittuniversitetet, Avdelningen för ekoteknik och hållbart byggande, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-21933.
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Energy security and climate change mitigation have been discussed in Sweden since the oil crisis in the 1970s. Sweden has since then increased its share of renewable energy resources to reach the highest level among the EU member states, but is still among the countries with the highest primary energy use per capita. Not least because of that, increasing energy efficiency is important and it is part of the Swedish long term environmental objectives. Large potential for improving energy efficiency can be found in the building sector, mainly in the existing building stock but also in newly constructed buildings In this thesis, criteria for energy efficiency in new residential buildings are studied, several design aspects of residential buildings are examined, and possible further analysis from an energy system perspective discussed. Three case studies of existing residential buildings were analysed, including one detached house and multi-storey apartment buildings. The analysis was based on both energy simulations and measurements in residential buildings. The results show that the calculated specific final energy demand of residential buildings, before they are built, is too rough an indicator to explicitly steer society toward lower final energy use in the building sector. One of the reasons is assumptions made during calculation before the buildings is built. Another reason is the interior building design. A design that includes relatively large areas of heated corridors, service and storage rooms will lower the specific final energy demand without improving the building energy efficiency, which might increase both the total final energy demand and the use of construction materials in the building sector. Efficient thermal envelopes are essential in construction of energy efficient buildings, which include the thermal resistance and also the shape of the building. The shape factor of buildings was found to be an important variable for heat demand in buildings located in temperate and colder climates, particularly if they are exposed to strong winds. From a system perspective, energy efficiency measures and the performance of the end use heating technology in buildings should be evaluated together with the energy supply system, including the dynamic interaction between them.
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Kumirai, T. "A review of passive thermal comfort energy efficiency interventions in residential buildings of Bloemfontein." Interim : Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol 8, Issue 2: Central University of Technology Free State Bloemfontein, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/368.
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Published ArticleThe paper presents a critique of passive and active thermal comfort strategies. Extensive review of literature on passive thermal comfort energy efficiency interventions and their benefits was under taken. The paper explains the correlation between climatic comfort and energy efficiency. The applicability of the energy management process in ensuring energy efficiency is presented. Passive thermal comfort energy efficiency interventions have been seen to provide thermal comfort as well as energy efficiency. Their major shortcoming is their disability to work in all kinds of weather, heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. There is need to optimize passive thermal comfort energy efficiency interventions so that they provide heating in the winter and cooling in the summer.
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Chicombo, Adélia Filosa Francisco. "Economic assessment of energy efficiency in residential buildings in Mozambique: case study of Maputo." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13642.
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The world’s energy consumption has been increasing dramatically in recent years. Economic and population growth are said to be the main drivers of this phenomenon. This change is held responsible for the increase in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, the reduced energy security and the negative socio-economic implications, especially in developing countries. From a sectorial perspective, buildings are part of the large energy consumers, especially the residential sector. It is in this view that measures to reduce this sector’s energy demand has been largely recommended. One of these measures is promoting the deployment of energy efficient buildings combined with the use of energy efficient appliances. The aim of this study was to assess the economic feasibility associated with sustainable buildings with emphasis on the energy efficiency component. The study concentrated on residential buildings in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique. The rationale behind the study lies in the need to uncover the main variables involved in the economic feasibility of adopting energy efficient practices within the building sector to help final users, policy makers and other interested groups to better understand and handle energy efficiency matters. A case study research design was used to achieve the main objective of this investigation. In this regard, a survey of households and interviews were conducted to establish the energy consumption pattern in Mozambique and its associated costs. The survey was conducted in the Kampfumo Municipality District of Maputo, and the interviews were conducted with civil engineering companies, electronic engineering, architects and building cost estimators. The questionnaires were answered by 233 households. Findings from the survey were used to perform a comparative analysis of the life cycle cost (LCC) of the buildings of the surveyed households with that of the proposed energy efficient designs, which incorporates buildings energy efficient elements and energy efficient appliances.
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Durak, Tolga. "A Framework for Simplified Residential Energy Consumption Assessment towards Developing Performance Prediction Models for Retrofit Decision-Making." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/77255.
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This research proposes to simplify the energy consumption assessment for residential homes while building the foundation towards the development of prediction tools that can achieve a credible level of accuracy for confident decision making. The energy consumption assessment is based on simplified energy consumption models. The energy consumption analysis uses a reduced number of energy model equations utilizing a critical, limited set of parameters. The results of the analysis are used to develop the minimum set of consumption influence parameters with predicted effects for each energy consumption domain.
During this research study, multiple modeling approaches and occupancy scenarios were utilized according to climate conditions in Blacksburg, Virginia. As a part of the analysis process, a parameter study was conducted to: develop a comprehensive set of energy consumption influence parameters, identify the inter-relationships among parameters, determine the impact of energy consumption influence parameters in energy consumption models, and classify energy consumption influence parameters under identified energy consumption domains.
Based on the results of the parameter study, a minimum set of parameters and energy consumption influence matrices were developed. This research suggests the minimum set of parameters with predicted effects to be used during the development of the simplified baseline energy consumption model.Ph. D.
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Perelman, Jenna. "Increasing Energy Efficiency in Existing Residential Buildings: A Case Study of the Community Home Energy Retrofit Project (CHERP)." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2016. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/793.
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This thesis uses a case study of the Community Home Energy Retrofit Project (CHERP) and it analyzes the larger statewide effort in California to increase energy efficiency in existing residential buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CHERP’s primary strategy is to embed itself into a community, educate residents on the multiple benefits of energy efficiency, and inspire them to take energy-saving actions in their own homes. It then builds its own community by connecting like-minded individuals together and provides an opportunity for them to exercise their political agency. This thesis analyzes CHERP’s effort in the context of the political, social, and economic climate of California. It identifies three obstacles for widespread energy efficiency adoption: one, CHERP’s lack of funding to support permanent staff and pay for collateral materials; two, low access to energy efficiency measures for low-income households and renters; and three, a lack of high quality home performance contractors that perform energy efficiency upgrades utilizing a whole-house energy systems approach. The thesis concludes with five recommendations to overcome these issues.
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Burlinson, Andrew. "The energy efficiency paradox, split-incentives and affordability : the elephants in England's residential sector." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2017. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/92146/.
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The ‘energy efficiency paradox’ poses a significant challenge to the UK Government on three fronts – behavioural failures, agency problems and affordability – inasmuch as failing to address these issues in the residential sector will crucially hinder the nation’s ability to fight against climate change and fuel poverty. This proposition is explored in a three-paper series. The first paper investigates the decision-making process leading residential consumers to adopt district-heating technology, a greener alternative to individual heating systems, contained within a specially designed quasi-experimental survey of 784 households. Exploiting the random variation in prices, the paper utilises an ordered probit model to estimate the discount rate implied by the consumers’ preferences. Nesting the neo-classical approach within a behavioural framework, the paper sheds new light on the prevalence of the energy efficiency paradox. The second paper explores the split-incentives in heterogeneous landlord-tenant arrangements, which may produce a sub-optimal level of energy efficiency in privately rented housing, from an objective and subjective perspective. The analysis is conducted using Ordinary Least Squares regression, applied to a nationally representative sample of households and housing stock. A pseudo-panel analysis with a fractional response is executed to investigate problems of endogeneity. Using the English Housing Survey, the final paper brings together two leading indicators of relative poverty to identify three dimensions of fuel poverty: income-poverty-high-cost, housing-induced-poverty-high-cost and fuel-induced-poverty-high-cost. In doing so an alternative empirical strategy is proposed, utilising a multinomial logit model that helps identify the households most in need of support from energy efficiency schemes. This thesis reveals that a largescale deployment of energy efficient technologies will be hampered if policy does not 1) target consumer inattention and heuristic decision making, 2) promote insulation in the private rented sector, while combatting landlords taking advantage of inattention and vulnerability and 3) adopt a more flexible fuel poverty framework that can pinpoint the socio-economic characteristics of those most in need as we move towards a low-carbon, distributed energy market.
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Chan, Tak-ming Terence. "Energy efficiency use in housing management : a tool towards sustainable development in Hong Kong /." View the Table of Contents & Abstract, 2007. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B40697800.
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Ren, Qingyun. "Quantitative Risk Assessment for Residential Mortgages." Digital WPI, 2017. https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-theses/628.
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The crisis of the mortgage market and the mortgage-backed security (MBS) market in 2008 had dramatic negative effects in dragging down all of the economy on a worldwide scale. Many researches have, therefore, attempted to explore the influencing factors on mortgage default risk. This project, in cooperation with the company EnerScore, revolves around discovering a correlation between portfolios of mortgages to underlying energy expenditures. EnerScore€™s core product provides an internal dataset related to home energy efficiency for American homes and gives their corresponding home energy efficiency rating to every home, which is called an €œEnerScore.€� This project involves discovering a correlation between default within portfolios of mortgages based on underlying energy expenditures. The goal is to show that energy efficient homes potentially have lower default risks than standard homes because the homes which lack energy efficiency are associated with higher energy costs. This leaves less money to make the mortgage payment, and thereby increases default risk. The first phase of this project involves finding a foreclosure dataset that will be used to design the quantitative model. Due to limited availability and constraints related to default data, Google search query data is used to develop a broad based and real-time index of mortgage default risk and establish a meaningful scientific correlation. After analyzing several statistical models to explore this correlation, the regression tree model showed that the EnerScore is a strong predictor for mortgage default risk when using city-level mortgage default risk data and EnerScore data.
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Mnla, Ali Tammam. "Thermal comfort study on a renovated residential apartment in Tjärna Ängar, Borlänge." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Energiteknik, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-37771.
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The Swedish government in the 1960th initiated “The Million Program” to build million residentialunits to cover the housing shortage between 1965 to 1975. Tjärna Ängar neighborhood in Borlängemunicipality was built during the million-program period, where these residential units became old,and the indoor environment is uncomfortable for the residents.Recently, there have been extensive energy-efficient renovations to improving the energyefficiency,indoor air quality, and thermal comfort of these buildings. The renovation project, withcooperation between Dalarna University and the local housing company (Stora Tunabyggen)started in 2015 by renovating three buildings in the Tjärna Ängar neighborhood.This study was conducted at one of these three retrofitting buildings (Kornstigen 25) to investigatethe thermal comfort in the building following energy retrofit. The assessment of the thermalcomfort in this study is based on Fanger's model with the use of predicted mean vote (PMV) andpredicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) to assess the obtained measurements.An online questionnaire survey with building occupants was conducted to give a betterunderstanding of the current situation of the retrofitting building before and after the renovationregarding thermal comfort. Based on the measurement, the thermal sensation of the occupants isslightly cool according to the standard’s sensation scale during the period of the measurement. Anonline questionnaire survey assures that the occupants were feeling slightly cool during someperiods of the day inside the apartments.
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Hill, Daniel R. "Regional determinants of residential energy expendi- tures and the principal-agent problem in Austria." ERSA (European Regional Science Association), 2015. http://epub.wu.ac.at/5279/1/66%2D322%2D1%2DPB.pdf.
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The aim of this paper is twofold: 1) to examine the determinants of residential energy expenditures and compare them on a regional level; and, 2) attempt to identify
and measure the effect of possible principal-agent (PA) problems on residential energy efficiency in Austria. The results of this paper are partially based on findings from a
master's thesis, which focused more directly on the PA problem. This paper expands on those results to include regional aspects in energy expenditures. A conditional demand model is regressed on a large number of variables representing housing characteristics,
socioeconomic factors, occupancy type, and regional characteristics sourced from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions dataset. The analysis indicates that
significant regional differences exist in the determinants of residential energy expenditures and that PA problems appear to be an unimportant factor in energy efficiency in Austria, even at the regional level. The paper concludes with some possible explanations as to why this is the case.
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Lemon, Ian Michael. "An investigation into the relationship between post-occupancy behaviour and energy efficiency in residential buildings." Thesis, University of East London, 2018. http://roar.uel.ac.uk/7683/.
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This research investigated the relationship between post occupancy behaviour and energy efficiency in residential buildings. Occupants remain unique in their behaviour, understanding and beliefs relating to energy conservation in residential buildings. The assessment of the occupants’ behaviour and energy usage was achieved by investigating innovative energy efficient technologies that had been installed in a pilot case study. These technologies included Balco glazing system, air source heat pumps, voltage optimisation units, phase change material, thermodynamics, passivents, energy efficient boilers, solar panels and external structural insulation. The study consisted of 51 dwellings, based on 5 property types, including a mixture of semi-detached houses British Iron and Steel Federation (BISF), semi-detached and mid terraced bungalows and flats, all constructed in the south east of the UK between 1950 -1970. Behaviour traits of occupants along with energy usage were collected over a period of 2 years. Data was collected through questionnaires, before and after the energy efficient retrofitting works had been carried out, supported by interviews and random observations. The analysis concluded that the properties with the most significant reduction in gas usage (20.62%) were the British Iron and Steel Federation (BISF) properties. These properties were characterised by structural insulation, boilers and solar panels. Furthermore, all the occupants living in this type of retrofitted property were employed. They were conversant with maintenance manuals and the use of the internet, familiar with the types of energy efficient technologies that had been fitted and they paid their energy bills by pre-payment card. The outcomes of this investigation could further advance the research in the area of the energy retrofitted residential housing in order to maximise their energy efficiency based on occupants’ behaviour, matched against user-friendly technologies, thus supporting designers, management agents, manufactures as well as responding to the occupants’ needs.
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Wang, Yuxin. "Optimal method to achieve energy efficiency in residential buildings in different climate regions of China." Thesis, KTH, Energiteknik, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-200745.
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Genom att energin är begränsad i världen och att byggsektorn kräver en mycket stor andel så är arbetet att effektivisera i denna sektor ett av de viktigaste målen i denna bransch. Syftet med detta arbete är att finna en bra, effektiv, och billig metod för att snabbt nå målet med energieffektivitet för Kinas bostäder. Beaktat att Kina är ett stort land indelas det i flera delar med olika klimat för att med större säkerhet nå rätt. Ett typhus har antagits i beräkningarna för fem olika klimatzoner. Programmet Designbuilder har använts och data för isolering och ventilation i ett basfall, ett fall med bättre skal d v s U-värden och ett med värmeåtervinning diskuterats vilka tar längre tid att genomföra och kräver större investering men ändå är lönsamma. Dessa kan förordas med statligt stöd.Due to the energy shortage situation of the world and building sector occupies the most significant particle of total energy consumption, promoting the energy efficiency in the buildings has become one of the most urgent goals for energy develop the profession. The purpose of this project is to look for the most reasonable method, which is efficient and can be carried out in a short term with a lower investment, to reach the goal of energy efficiency in residential buildings in China. Considering that China is a vast territory country, the whole mainland is separated into five parts according to the various climate types in order to research accurately. A base building has been modeled in five climate zones at the same time. The software Designbuilder is used to simulate the base scenario, the building envelope improved scenario and the HVAC system improved scenario. The final suggestion is given according to the comparison of these three scenarios.Besides, some other technologies have been given in the thesis. These methods would take a longer time period or more investment, but still are good choices for residential buildings energy efficiency. They should be promoted in the future by the government support.
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Jain, Pranjal, and Khaled Alturkmani. "Improving the Efficiency of Thermal Energy Usage in Residential Buildings by Heat Recovery from Wastewater." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för företagande, innovation och hållbarhet, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-44853.
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This study aims to rationalize the consumption of thermal energy in residential buildings by recovering heat from wastewater inside the building before entering the central sewage network outside the building, by conducting an analytical study for a residential tower in Syria to find out the coverage percentage of the heat energy recovered from wastewater for the heating and domestic hot water loads needed for the tower, and calculating the percentage of reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) gases. It is a simple technology as the thermal recovery system consists of three main components, which are in order: a wastewater tank, heat exchangers, and a heat pump. The research begins with an introduction that consists of the importance of wastewater and the waste heat energy it carries. After that, there are some case studies, research problem, its importance, the aim of the research, and finally the research methodology. In the first chapter, we talked about the concept of heat recovery from wastewater in general, methods of heat recovery, and the most important advantages and disadvantages of this process. It also includes an identification of the main parts used in this technology and how it works, especially the exchangers and the heat pump. This chapter also addresses the problem of forming a layer of biofilms on the surface of heat exchangers from the wastewater side and the most important methods used to treat it. We move on to the second chapter, in which we review the most important facilities for heat recovery from wastewater that have been viewed. Then comes the third chapter in which the heat recovery process was conducted for a nine storey residential tower in Syria, each floor has four apartments, where we first calculated the rate of wastewater flow for the entire tower, and we proposed a heat recovery system (physical model) inside the tower. Then the mathematical equations for heat recovery and the solution of these equations were developed based on some necessary assumptions needed in the solution process to know the most important results desired in this field. It also included the calculation of the coverage ratio of the heat energy recovered from the wastewater for the domestic hot water and heating loads, as well as the calculation of the mass and percentage of the reduction of carbon emitted to the atmosphere. Then simple economic feasibility was also conducted in this chapter to know the daily financial savings as a result of using this technology. The research ends with the most important conclusions and future research that have been reached and the conclusion of the research. The most important results show that the average coverage percentage of heat energy recovered from wastewater for heating load in residential buildings ranges between [30-56%]. It was also found that the average coverage percentage of heat energy recovered from wastewater for domestic hot water load ranges between [65-100%].
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Sparti, Steven E. "Payback Information: It's Effect on Home Buyers Regarding Energy Efficiency." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2006. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/470.
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This study was conducted to find out how payback analysis would affect consumer decision making with regards to home energy efficient upgrade packages. Three different home plans were obtained from a local builder and seven different energy efficient packages were created. Using Hot2000 the heating and cooling loads were calculated for each building, with each energy efficient package, in each of the four major cardinal directions. The averages were taken and the payback information was calculated. The payback information included the increased cost of the package, the increase in the mortgage payment, the annual savings from heating and cooling bills, the monthly savings, the positive or negative monthly cash flow, the amount of time and interest saved if the monthly savings were added to the mortgage principle, the number of years required to pay back the original investment, the rate of return and the increased home value. A survey was taken to see how the subjects would react to viewing the payback information. The subjects were individuals looking to buy a home in the next 12 months somewhere along the Wasatch Front area in Utah. Depending on the size of the home the subjects were looking for, the subjects were shown the different packages with their accompanying cost increase and how that would affect the subjects monthly mortgage payment. The subjects then chose the package they would want for their home, based on their knowledge of construction materials, the additional cost, and how it would affect their mortgage. They were then shown the payback information for the home that was chosen and asked if they would change their mind concerning the previous decision. They were then asked what parts of the payback information they found to be most useful. This study shows that payback information is indeed useful and would help builders to attract new customers, increase profits, and provide customers with powerful information that will empower them to make better decisions about home energy efficiency.
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Ghasemi, Milad. "Behavior Related Energy Use in Single-Family Homes : A Study on residential houses in Sweden." Thesis, KTH, Uthålliga byggnadssystem, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-175882.
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Complete overview of energy use in a residential building is depends on many different factors. When analyzing proper and effective ways for energy reducing/conserving systems, often times only technological solutions for households appliances are considered. Human behavior has been shown to be an important factor affecting the overall energy use in the household. Many aspects of energy use are directly connected to user behavior and are affected by how the user utilizes available systems. This paper focuses on describing the mean influencing causes of human environmental psychology based on study on a Swedish suburb community, called Fårdala. User behaviors and actions affecting residential energy use are analyzed and presented in form of eleven (11) abstract triggers to households energy use. Finally an energy monitoring system based on the findings are purposed. What is found from study on human psychology, shows that human behavior is mainly controlled by three (3) key categories of behavior. Conscious/voluntary behavior, Socio-environmental/cultural based behavior and Systemic/learned behavior. Out of the three, while the last one poses as most influential on behavior related energy use, it is also the hardest to affect and change. To effectively counteract the negative effects of user behavior on residential energy use, energy saving devices should react more accordingly to the users and offer engagement. Such a system is an energy monitoring device, which allows for a “double-sided” communication with the user. The user is presented with relevant information about real-time energy use of all of the systems and is able to make changes on the fly. The system should also be able to learn and apply energy saving actions based on user behavior.
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Wilson, Charles. "Understanding and influencing energy efficient renovation decisions." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2388.
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This thesis is an investigation of why and how homeowners decide to renovate their homes. Energy efficient renovations are of particular interest given their potential contribution to public policy goals including greenhouse gas emission reduction. Policies seeking to improve energy efficiency in existing homes have to influence homeowners’ decisions. This requires a psychologically and behaviourally realistic understanding of the renovation decision process. Different research traditions offer competing models. These are tested through a series of hypotheses on the form and content of the renovation decision. The empirical dataset used combines both stated and revealed preference data. 809 homeowners in British Columbia were surveyed at three different cross-sections of the renovation decision process. The sample included both energy efficient (e.g., windows, insulation) and amenity renovators (e.g., kitchens, bathrooms), and was broadly representative of the population of renovating homeowners in British Columbia. Survey responses were calibrated using actual energy consumption data, and a supplementary survey of realtors. Calibration allowed homeowners’ expectations of the financial costs and benefits of renovating to be evaluated. Firstly, sampled homeowners systematically over-estimated their energy costs. Secondly, these estimates were subject to common information processing and recall biases. Thirdly, even homeowners in the middle of energy efficient renovations had expectations of capital costs, energy cost savings, and property value impacts that were largely unknown or unreliable. More generally, sampled homeowners lacked the basic knowledge necessary to appraise energy efficient renovations as financial investments. Homeowners’ motivations for renovating were more likely to be emotional and aesthetic in the case of amenities, but related to functional outcomes like thermal comfort in the case of energy efficiency. Social norms were influential in both cases but were underreported by homeowners. This was consistent with rationalisation biases which help individuals maintain self-esteem by emphasizing instrumental explanations for their actions. This psychologically realistic characterisation of the renovation decision suggests a range of design criteria for policy, and questions the effectiveness of narrowly-targeted information and incentive policies in their current form. However, policy implications should be generalised with caution given the low energy price and appreciating real estate market characteristics of the study region.
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Högberg, Lovisa. "Incentives for energy efficiency measures in post-war multi-family dwellings." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Bygg- och fastighetsekonomi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-35259.
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Energy efficiency is an important question to society as well as to individuals and firms. Improving energy efficiency in the building sector is considered an important means to climate mitigation. For real estate owners energy is also a central expenditure item and reducing energy consumption may directly reduce operation costs while at the same time serve as insurance against future energy price increases. Since new buildings only add a few percent annually to the building stock, the potential to reduce total energy consumption primarily lies within the existing building stock. The building stock is ageing and the post-war part of the stock that is in need of renovation is growing. This has been suggested as a window of opportunity to improve energy efficiency, but so far the results have been few. Several factors have been put forward to explain the so called energy efficiency gap – the difference between actual and optimal energy efficiency – one of which is split incentives. What adds to complexity in this case is that distinct differences have been observed in the level of ambition between the real estate companies that have renovated so far. Some companies have undertaken extensive renovation and energy efficiency measures, whereas other companies have done little more than urgent maintenance measures. It seems that real estate owners in general don´t have strong economic incentives to improve energy efficiency in connection to renovation – but what can then explain the differences between strategies? This licentiate thesis examines the incentives among real estate owners to improve energy efficiency, particularly in post-war, multi-family buildings in need of renovation. The purpose is to add knowledge about decisions concerning measures that improve energy efficiency - in terms of incentives, barriers and different motives for real estate owners’ strategies and actions. Results show that real estate owners lack strong economic incentives to invest in energy efficiency in multi-family buildings and the level of investment is dependent on the different motivations, grouped in three levels of ambition, that real estate companies have. One important conclusion is that the heterogeneity between companies that was exposed in the interviews and survey implies that they will not respond similarly to policy stimuli. The heterogeneity should thus be considered when designing policy measures so that public and company resources can be allocated as efficiently as possible, as there are many challenges facing owners of post-war residential buildings. Another conclusion is that from an economic point of view it is important to take the interaction between different measures into account, e.g. between physical measures and measures focusing on changing household behavior.QC 20110630
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Wanjiru, Evan. "Optimal energy-water nexus management in residential buildings incorporating renewable energy, efficient devices and water recycling." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/61465.
Full textAbstract:
Developing nations face insurmountable challenges to reliably and sustainably provide energy and water to the population. These resources are intricately entwined such that decisions on the use of one affects the other (energy-water nexus). Inadequate and ageing infrastructure, increased population and connectivity, urbanization, improved standards of living and spatially uneven rainfall are some of the reasons causing this insecurity. Expanding and developing new supply infrastructure is not sustainable due to sky high costs and negative environmental impact such as increased greenhouse gas emissions and over extraction of surface water. The exponentially increasing demand, way above the capacity of supply infrastructure in most developing countries, requires urgent mitigation strategies through demand side management (DSM). The DSM strategies seek to increase efficiency of use of available resources and reducing demand from utilities in the short, medium and long term.
Renewable energy, rooftop rain water harvesting, pump-storage scheme and grey water recycling are some alternatives being used to curb the insecurity. However, renewable energy and rooftop water harvesting are spasmodic in nature hampering their adoption as the sole supply options for energy and water respectively.
The built environment is one of the largest energy and water consuming sectors in the world presenting a huge potential towards conserving and increasing efficiency of these resources. For this reason, coupled with the 1970s energy challenges, the concept of green buildings seeking to, among other factors, reduce the consumption of energy and water sprung up. Conventionally, policy makers, industry players and researchers have made decisions on either resource independently, with little knowledge on the effect it would have on the other. It is therefore imperative that optimal integration of alternative sources and resource efficient technologies are implemented and analysed jointly in order to achieve maximum benefits. This is a step closer to achieving green buildings while also improving energy and water security.
A multifaceted approach to save energy and water should integrate appropriate resource efficient technology, alternative source and an advanced and reliable control system to coordinate their operation.
In a typical South African urban residential house, water heating is one of the most energy and water intensive end uses while lawn irrigation is the highest water intensive end use occasioned by low rainfall and high evaporation. Therefore, seamless integration of these alternative supply and most resource intensive end uses provides the highest potential towards resource conservation. This thesis introduces the first practical and economical attempt to integrate various alternative energy and water supply options with efficient devices. The multifaceted approach used in this research has proven that optimal control strategy can significantly reduce the cost of these resources, bring in revenue through renewable energy sales, reuse waste water and reduce the demand for grid energy, water and waste water services.
This thesis is generally divided into cold and hot water categories; both of which energy-water nexus DSM is carried out. Open-loop optimal and closed-loop model predictive (MPC) control strategies that minimize the objective while meeting present technical and operational constraints are designed. In cold water systems, open-loop optimal and MPC strategies are designed to improve water reliability through a pump storage system. Energy efficiency (EE) of the pump is achieved through optimally shifting the load to off-peak period of the time-of-use (TOU) tariff in South Africa. Thereafter, an open-loop optimal control strategy is developed for rooftop rain water harvesting for lawn irrigation. The controller ensures water is conserved by using the stored rain water and ensuring only the required amount of water is used for irrigation. Further, EE is achieved through load shifting of the pump subject to the TOU tariff. The two control strategies are then developed to operate a grey water recycling system that is useful in meeting non-potable water demand such as toilet flushing and lawn irrigation and EE is achieved through shifting of pump's load. Finally, the two control strategies are designed for an integrated rain and grey water recycling for a residential house, whose life cycle cost (LCC) analysis is carried out. The hot water category is more energy intensive, and therefore, the open-loop optimal control strategy is developed to control a heat pump water heater (HPWH) and an instantaneous shower, both powered by grid-tied renewable energy systems. Solar and wind energy are used due to their abundance in South Africa. Thereafter, the MPC strategy is developed to power same devices with renewable energy systems. In both strategies, energy is saved through the use of renewable energy sources, that also bring in revenue through sale of excess power back to the grid. In addition, water is conserved through heating the cold water in the pipes using the instantaneous shower rather than running it down the drain while waiting for hot water to arrive. LCC analysis is also carried out for this strategy.
Each of the two control strategies has its strengths. The open loop optimal control is easier and cheaper to implement but is only suitable in cases where uncertainties and disturbances affecting the system do not alter the demand pattern for water in a major way. Conversely, the closed-loop MPC strategy is more complicated and costly to implement due to additional components like sensors, but comes with great robustness against uncertainties and disturbances. Both strategies are beneficial in ensuring security and reliability of energy and water is achieved. Importantly, technology alone cannot have sustainable DSM impact. Public education and awareness on importance of energy and water savings, improved efficiency and effect on supply infrastructure and greenhouse gas emissions are essential. Awareness is also important in enabling the acceptance of these technological advancements by the society.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
National Hub for Energy Efficiency and Demand Side Management (EEDSM)
University of Pretoria
Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
PhD
Unrestricted
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Brazeau, Randi Hope. "Sustainability of Residential Hot Water Infrastructure: Public Health, Environmental Impacts, and Consumer Drivers." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/26537.
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Residential water heating is linked to the primary source of waterborne disease outbreaks in the United States, and accounts for greater energy demand than the combined water/wastewater utility sector. To date, there has been little research that can guide decision-making with regards to water heater selection and operation to minimize energy costs and the likelihood of waterborne disease.
We have outlined three types of systems that currently dominate the marketplace: 1) a standard hot water tank with no hot water recirculation (STAND), 2) a hot water tank with hot water recirculation (RECIRC), and 3) an on-demand tankless hot water system with no hot water recirculation (DEMAND).
Not only did the standard system outperform the hot water recirculation system with respect to temperature profile during flushing, but STAND also operated with 32 – 36% more energy efficiency. Although RECIRC did in fact save some water at the tap, when factoring in the energy efficiency reductions and associated water demand, RECIRC actually consumed up to 7 gpd more and cost consumers more money. DEMAND operated with virtually 100% energy efficiency, but cannot be used in many circumstances dependent on scaling and incoming water temperature, and may require expensive upgrades to home electrical systems.
RECIRC had greater volumes at risk for pathogen growth when set at the lower end of accepted temperature ranges, and lower volumes at risk when set at the higher end when compared to STAND. RECIRC also tended to have much lower levels of disinfectant residual (40 -850%), 4-6 times as much hydrogen, and 3-20 times more sediment compared to standard tanks without recirculation. DEMAND had very small volumes of water at risk and relatively high levels of disinfection.
A comparison study of optimized RECIRC conditions was compared to the baseline modes of operation. Optimization increased energy efficiency 5.5 – 60%, could save consumers 5 – 140% and increased the disinfectant residual up to 560% higher disinfectant residual as compared to the baseline RECIRC system. STAND systems were still between 3 – 55% more energy efficient and could save consumers between $19 - $158 annual on water and electrical costs. Thus, in the context of “green” design, RECIRC systems provide a convenience to consumers in the form of nearly instant hot water, at a cost of higher capital, operating and overall energy costs.Ph. D.
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Mtshabe, Nomawabo. "Residential energy efficiency lighting initiatives : a case of Hlomendlini, Matatiele of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4972.
Full textAbstract:
Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-80).
A thesis is presented on the efficacy of the residential energy efficient lighting initiative, as part of the demand-side management in a rural village of Hlomendlini in the Eastern Cape. The focus of this thesis is to identify barriers of implementing CFLs in the South African context, with the aim of finding ways of removing the barriers. It attempts to understand the drivers, both in theory and in practise, of efficient lighting initiatives in South Africa and globally, as well as lessons learned. It explores the impacts of CFLs at the household level in terms of household budget and general quality of life especially to poor people. The assessment of the CFL initiative in Hlomendlini provides a unique window of how energy efficiency measures up to sustainable development in practice.
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Demdoum, Sofian. "Exploring the technological potential for improving energy efficiency of residential space heating in the UK by 2050." Thesis, KTH, Industriell ekologi, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-210755.
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The UK has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels. With the residential sector accounting for roughly a quarter of the UK's total carbon emissions, and with space heating accounting for roughly two thirds of residential energy consumption, addressing heating demand will prove instrumental for the UK to reach its targets. The large-scale deployment of low-carbon heating technologies, combined with signicant improvements in energy efficiency, is seen as the primary way of reducing both energy demandand carbon emissions. In this thesis, the technical potential for energy efficiency improvements in the UK's residential space heating sector is explored. Three areas of improvement are identied: the thermal performance of the building envelope, the efficiency of heating equipment, and the use of smartheating devices. In all three areas, signicant potential exists to further reduce energy demand for space heating, and the associated carbon emissions. To understand the effects of different technology adoption patterns on energy demand for spaceheating by 2050, a selectively disaggregated bottom-up model of the UK's building stock is developed. The model projects energy demand for space heating for four different technologyadoption scenarios, based on projections of future total heated oor area. In the `Minimal effort' scenario, which assumes that the least possible amount of effort is made to improve the effciency of the space heating sector, energy demand by 2050 increases slightly, by 4.3 %. In this scenario, the achieved minor effciency improvements are not able to offset the increase in the total heated oor area, leading to this small increase in space heating energydemand. In the `Efficiency focus' scenario, which assumes that signicant effort is made to improve the efficiency of the space heating sector, energy demand by 2050 decreases by 34.5 %. Despite these signicant efficiency improvements, fossil fuels still make up roughly three quarters of the fuel mix, as no major shift to cleaner energy sources has been achieved. In contrast, in the `Renewables focus' scenario, which focuses on shifting towards renewable heating options, energy demand decreases slightly less, by only 32 %, but fossil fuels make up only around 46% of the fuel mix, due to the uptake of low-carbon options such as heat pumps, district heat, and biomass. The analysis carried out in this thesis shows that the UK's residential sector consists of manyold and inefficient buildings, still heavily relies on fossil fuel-fired heating equipment, and makes nearly no use of smart heating devices to further reduce energy demand for space heating. Clearly, the technical potential for achieving energy eficiency improvements is signicant, in all three of the identified improvement areas. However, achieving the targets set forth by policymakers will require strong efforts, given the relatively bad current condition of the residential space heating sector. Existing barriers to achieving these improvements should be identifiedand addressed immediately, to ensure timely efforts are possible.
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Adi, Maimun Nurul Hana. "Price and rent effects of energy efficiency in residential properties: evidence from the Belfast Metropolitan area." Thesis, Ulster University, 2016. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.694234.
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The core response to the Kyoto protocol policy is reflected in the Energy Performance of Building Directives due to the recognition of built environment as being one of the major contributors to the global Greenhouse Gases emission. In Europe, the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) has become a mandatory requirement for all buildings including dwelling stocks. The perceived benefits of sustainable buildings have resulted in increased interest in measuring the implicit price and rent impacts of green/energy labels. However, the relationship between energy performance and residential property remains under-researched, geographically diverse, and inhibited by a paucity of data. This research aims to establish whether there is a green premium associated with residential buildings within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Hedonic pricing models are used to establish the complex relationship between property characteristics, energy performance ratings, and green features. The study has assembled 6,671 and 3,928 datasets consisting of property characteristics for sales and rental markets respectively from quarter one 2013 to quarter two 2014. Modelling techniques are specified in linear, semi-log, and price/rent per square metre to measure the implicit prices and rents of energy performance ratings in monetary, percentage, and monetary/percentage per square metre respectively. The resu Its illustrate evidence of a green premium effect. Using EPC scores as a measure of energy efficiency, an additional price of £435 or 0.3% or £4.32 psm per EPC score was evidenced for the owner- occupied market. Meanwhile, a premium of £1.39 or 0.2% or £0.02 psm per EPC score was observed for the private-rented market. Comparative models with banded EPC scores illustrated increased premium from energy inefficient to efficient houses. The largest magnitude of increase was observed for B rated houses (compared to D rated houses) with 26% and 16% of premiums observed in the owneroccupied and private-rented market respectively. Nonetheless, the premium is complicated by the heterogeneity of the existing property stock. Diminishing premium effect observed for new houses reflect no-bid factor for sustainability as they were assumed integrated into the houses by the market. In addition, the analysis suggested the potential for retrofitting of dwellings with existing low energy performance. In particular, the results from this thesis suggest that thermal features should be prioritised in retrofit measures. Specifically, current policies should target to improve energy efficiency of stocks through double-glazed windows, floor insulation, roof insulation, and wall insulation.
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Du, Preez Catharina. "Development of an interactive energy management web application for residential end users." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/71926.
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Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Energy efficiency, as the effective use of energy, is recognized as one of the simplest ways to improve the sustainable use of resources and by implication involves the end-user. The 2008 power crisis which South Africa experienced, highlighted supply exigencies and prompted a subsequent emphasis on affordable, rapidly scalable solutions, notably energy efficiency. As the establishment of new supply capacity is both costly and time-consuming, the logical alternative has been to focus intervention on the demand side. Residential electrical end-use has been identified as an area where the potential for change exists and strategies to address residential demand have gained momentum. The vulnerability of energy systems affects energy security on technical, economic and social levels. South African consumers are confronted with rising living costs and a substantial increase in electricity prices according to the Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity (2010-2030). Integral to addressing end-use is the ensuing behaviour of the end-user. End-use analysis aims to grasp and model customer usage by considering the electric demand per customer type, end-use category, appliance type and time of use. This project has focussed on the development of an interactive web application as a tool for residential end-users to improve energy efficiency through modified consumption behaviour and the adoption of energy efficient habits. The objectives have been aimed at educating an end-user through exposure to energy efficient guidelines and consumption analysis. Based on a Time Of Use-framework, a consumer’s understanding of appliance usage profiles can help realize the cost benefits associated with appliance scheduling. In order to achieve the desired functionality and with extendibility and ease of maintenance in mind, the application relies on the provision of dynamic content by means of a relational database structured around end-use categories and appliance types. In an effort to convey only relevant information in the simplest way, current web technology was evaluated. The resulting design has favoured an interactive, minimalistic, graphic presentation of content in the form of a Rich Internet Application. The development process has been divided into two phases. The residential energy consumption context has been substantiated with a case study of which the main objective and outcome has been to devise a methodology to generate usage profiles for household appliances. Phase one of the development process has been completed, as well as the case study. The conceptualization and framework for phase two has been established and the recommendation is to incorporate the methodology and usage profile results from the case study for implementation of the second phase. The effectiveness of the tool can only be evaluated once phase two of the application is complete. A beta release version of the final product can then be made available to a focus group for feedback.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Energie effektiwiteit, gesien as die effektiewe aanwending van energie, word herken as een van die eenvoudigste maniere om die volhoubare gebruik van hulpbronne te bevorder en betrek by implikasie die verbruiker. Die 2008 kragvoorsieningskrisis wat Suid-Afrika beleef het, het dringende tekorte aan die lig gebring en ’n gevolglike klemverskuiwing na bekostigbare, maklik aanpasbare oplossings, vernaamlik energie effektiwiteit. Aangesien die daarstelling van nuwe voorsieningskapasiteit beide duur is en baie tyd in beslag neem, was die voor die hand liggende alternatief om te fokus op vraag-kant toetrede. Huishoudelike elektriese verbruik is geïdentifiseer as ’n area waar die potensiaal vir verandering bestaan en strategieë om residensiële aanvraag aan te spreek het momentum gekry. Die kwesbaarheid van energiestelsels affekteer energie sekuriteit op tegniese, ekonomiese en sosiale vlakke. Suid-Afrikaanse verbruikers word gekonfronteer met stygende lewenskoste en ’n aansienlike toename in elektrisiteitspryse volgens die Geïntegreerde Hulpbron-Plan vir Elektrisiteit (2010-2030). Eie aan die aanspreek van verbruik is die voortvloeiende gedrag van die verbruiker. Verbruiksanalise poog om verbruik te begryp en te modelleer deur die elektriese aanvraag na gelang van verbruikerstipe, verbruikskategorie, toesteltipe en tyd van verbruik in aanmerking te neem. Hierdie projek het gefokus op die ontwikkeling van ’n interaktiewe web-toepassing as ’n instrument vir residensiële verbruikers om energie effektiwiteit te verbeter deur gewysigde verbruiksgedrag en die ingebruikneming van energie effektiewe gewoontes. Die doelwitte is gerig op die opvoeding van ’n verbruiker deur blootstelling aan riglyne vir energie effektiewe verbruik en verbruiksanalise. Gebaseer op ’n Tyd-Van-Verbruik-raamwerk, kan ’n verbruiker se begrip van toestelle se verbruiksprofiele ’n bydrae lewer om die koste-voordele geassosieer met toestel-skedulering te realiseer. Om sodoende die verlangde funksionaliteit te bewerkstellig en met verlengbaarheid en gemak van onderhoud voor oë, steun die toepassing op die verskaffing van dinamiese inhoud deur middel van ’n relasionele databasis wat gestruktureer is rondom verbruikskategorieë en toesteltipes. In ’n poging om slegs toepaslike informasie in die eenvoudigste vorm weer te gee, is teenswoordige web tegnologie geevalueer. Die vooruitspruitende ontwerp is ’n interaktiewe, minimalistiese, grafiese aanbieding van die inhoud in die vorm van ’n sogenaamde "Rich Internet Application". Die ontwikkelingsproses is ingedeel in twee fases. Die huishoudelike energieverbruikskonteks is bevestig deur middel van ’n gevallestudie waarvan die vernaamste doelwit en uitkoms was om ’n metodologie daar te stel om verbruiksprofiele van huishoudelike toestelle te genereer. Fase een van die ontwikkelingsproses is voltooi asook die gevallestudie. Die konsepsuele onwikkeling en raamwerk vir fase twee is reeds gevestig en die aanbeveling is om die metodologie en verbruiksprofielresultate van die gevallestudie te inkorporeer vir implementering van die tweede fase. Die effektiwiteit van die toepassing kan eers geevalueer word sodra fase twee afgehandel is. ’n Beta-weergawe vrystelling van die finale produk kan dan beskikbaar gestel word aan ’n fokusgroep vir terugvoer.
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Urban, Graeme John. "Probabalistic load modelling of electrical demand of residential water heating." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/20071.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Energy efficiency and the move to renewable energy resources are of vital importance in growing profitable and sustainable economies. In recent years, greater emphasis has been placed on institutions, companies and individuals to reduce their electrical energy demand through energy management. In an attempt to reduce the demand, the electrical power utility in South Africa, Eskom, has introduced Demand Side Management programs and substantial increases in electricity tariffs. In addition to these, tax incentives have been offered to help off-set the capital costs associated with the investments made in replacing old electrical equipment with new electrically efficient equipment. Thus the need for accurate Measurement and Verification of electrical energy demand reduction, to substantiate fiscal claims, has become imperative. The main purpose of Measurement and Verification is to investigate the actual monetary performance of an energy savings project. Energy savings assessments, based on purely deterministic baseline demand, do not adequately represent the statistical nature of the savings impacts of many practical load systems, as disclosed in a reporting period. This thesis presents the development of a generic probabilistic methodology to determine the demand profiles of preand post-Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) for practical load systems. The difference between the simulated demand of the pre- and post-ECMs for a particular set of variables represent the electrical demand impact. The electrical demand of the pre- and post-ECMs is defined in terms of Probability Density Functions, and derived using a multivariate kernel density estimation algorithm. The approach is tested using a simulation model of a waterheating geyser implemented in MATLAB. Three different ECMs are simulated using the geyser model and demand density estimation. The results of the demand impacts of the ECMs are presented and evaluated. With regards to possible future research this methodology could be applied to the evaluation of the demand impacts of heat pump technologies and solar water heaters.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: en die skuif na hernubare energiebronne is van deurslaggewende belang vir die ontwikkeling van winsgewende en volhoubare ekonomieë. Onlangs is meer klem geplaas op instansies, maatskappye en individue om hul aanvraag na energie te verminder met behulp van energiebestuur. In ‘n poging om die aanvraag te verlaag, het Eskom, Suid-Afrika se elektrisiteitsverskaffer, aansienlike elektrisiteitstariefverhogings ingelyf en Aanvraagbestuursprogramme van stapel gestuur. Bykomend hiertoe is belastingaansporings ook aangebied, waarteen kapitale kostes, geassosieer met die vervanging van ou elektriese toerusting met nuwe elektries doeltreffende toerusting, afgeset kan word. Derhalwe het die behoefte aan akkurate Meting en Verifikasie van elektriese energie aanvraagvermindering, om finansiële eise te staaf, noodsaaklik geword. Die hoofdoel van Meting en Verifikasie is om die werklike finansiële prestasie van energiebesparingsprojek te ondersoek soos bekend gemaak word tydens ’n verslagdoeningstydperk. Energiebesparingassesserings wat slegs gebaseer word op die suiwer deterministiese basislyn aanvraag na elektrisiteit, verteenwoordig nie die werklike statistiese aard van die besparingsimpakte van baie praktiese lasstelsels nie. Hierdie tesis stel die ontwikkeling van generiese waarskynlikheids-metodologie voor, om die voor- en na- Energiebesparings-maatreëls se aanvraagprofiele vir sulke praktiese lasstelsels, vas te stel. Die verskil tussen die gesimuleerde aanvraag van die voor- en na- Energiebesparings-maatreëls vir spesifieke stel veranderlikes verteenwoordig die elektriese aanvraag impak. Die voor- en na- Energiebesparings-maatreëls van die energieverbruik profieldata word gedefinieer in terme van Waarskynlikheidsdigtheidsfunksies en afgelei deur gebruik te maak van meerveranderlike kerndigtheidafskattingsalgoritme. Die benadering is getoets deur gebruik te maak van simuleringsmodel van warmwaterstelsel geïmplimenteer in MATLAB. Drie verskillende voor- en na- Energiebesparings-maatreëls is gesimuleer met behulp van die warmwaterstelselmodel en aanvraag digtheidafskatting. Die resultate van die elektriese aanvraag impakte van die voor- en na- Energiebesparings-maatreëls word vervolgens bespreek en geëvalueer. Met betrekking tot moontlike toekomstige navorsing kan hierdie metodologie toegepas word om die aanvraag impakte van hittepomp- en sonwaterverwarmingstegnologieë te evalueer.
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Kruger, Abraham J. "The impact of filter loading on residential hvac performance." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/50344.
Full textAbstract:
Buildings are the primary user of energy in the USA. Within homes, the heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) system is the largest energy consumer. This study: (i) developed a new methodology for simulating filter loading in-situ; (ii) observed the impact of filter loading on AC performance in-situ; and (iii) provided a greater understanding of when a filter is “dirty” and should be replaced. Six central AC systems in the Atlanta metro-region were evaluated. Filter loading was simulated by installing the TrueFlow® airflow metering device and partially taping off the face at 3 different increments. This resulted in measurements at 5 discrete static pressures (no filter, TrueFlow, TrueFlow Taped one, TrueFlow Taped two, and TrueFlow Taped three). The pilot study found that as filter pressure drop increased, airflow rates generally decreased, resulting in higher differences in temperature across the evaporator coil (∆T). There was no observed correlation between absolute humidity across the evaporator coil and either filter pressure drop or system airflow. Overall, as airflow decreased so did sensible, latent, and total capacity. This research can inform decisions about filter replacement and be used to evaluate computer simulation models of HVAC performance.
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LU, JIE. "Energy-Efficient Refurbishment of Existing and Aging Residential Buildings in China - A Case Study Based Research." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för geovetenskaper, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-201200.
Full textAbstract:
Nowadays, the strategy of improving the energy conserving situations of existing buildingshas been playing a more and more important role of further promoting the worldwide sustainabledevelopment paths, especially in China. This thesis presents the results of a case study based researchwhere several different building Energy Conservation and Efficiency Refurbishment (ECER) options toimprove the energy performance of two representative Chinese Residential Multi-Family Buildings(RMFBs) of two very different climate conditions are evaluated and compared, which have been seenas the typical case buildings of existing and aging less energy efficient urban residential building inthat regions (i.e. one in Urumqi belongs to north cold winter region; and other one in Shanghai belongsto south cold winter and hot summer region). In order to provide a scientific base to present the detailenergy conserving improvements in a quantity and quality way, the research methods are including: therelevant literature reviews; the real case data based interview data collections from the professionalworkers in building ECER field; the simulation and analysis processes are based on the building energysimulation computer program – VIP-Energy (Version 2.0.7). The study results are presented in acomprehensive yet straightforward way, and allow for later interesting comparisons between thedifferent building ECER measures for improvement. In a broader perspective, this research will help toexplore a comparative long-term perspective point of view on the existed and most commonly usedresidential building envelope refurbishment measures in a more comprehensive way, and identify thepotential opportunities for further promoting the building energy consumption reductions to meet thefuture increasingly restrict national building energy conservation standards. In addition, the researchalso suggested the optimal RMFB envelope refurbishment strategy based on the case buildings’ statusquo and subject ECER measures, which is introducing an advancing system thinking pattern to theexisting conventional ECER measures, implementing the combined building ECER options to the casebuildings are put forward. And the separate considerations of environmental and economic benefits thatobtained by the subject ECER measures are both presenting simultaneously in the end.