Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2020
This entry describes the linkages between "Drawdown solutions" and the targets and goals set out ... more This entry describes the linkages between "Drawdown solutions" and the targets and goals set out by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is proposed that the implementation of these solutions can substantially help to achieve the SDGs by 2030, with even greater gains when implementing actions in parallel as a "system of solutions" enabled by broad-based, effective partnerships at local, regional, and international scales. "Drawdown" is the point in time when concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere begin to decline on a year-to-year basis. GHGs include carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and fluorinated gases specifically chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochloroflurocarbons (HCFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). "Drawdown solutions" are defined as any technology or practice that directly affects the concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere by (a) reducing GHG emissions through lowering demand, (b) avoiding GHG emissions through stopping fossil fuel emissions and replacing with zero-or low-emitting alternatives, and (c) sequestering atmospheric carbon through viable natural and engineered sinks. "System of solutions" refers to the implementation of multiple solutions in parallel across several sectors.
Raising concerns about the effectiveness of the energy poverty policy actions in Poland, such as ... more Raising concerns about the effectiveness of the energy poverty policy actions in Poland, such as Clean Air and Stop Smog, brings forward the need to apply different strategies to identify the energy poor. More than 13.7% of Polish households were energy poor in 2018 according to the ability-to-keep-home-warm indicator. This study proposes enhancing the model-based approach to measure households’ energy poverty. Our goal is to assess regional vulnerability to energy poverty in Poland. The study relies on three national datasets and is conducted in two steps. The Energy Consumption Survey (2018) and the Household Budget Survey (2018) provide data for modeling household’s energy poverty in the first step. The Local Data Bank (2019) gives information on the potential factors increasing regional vulnerability to energy poverty evaluated in the second step. We apply multiple linear regression to identify energy-poor households and principal components analysis to examine the regions’ vuln...
The intensity and duration of hot weather and the number of extreme weather events, such as heatw... more The intensity and duration of hot weather and the number of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, are increasing, leading to a growing need for space cooling energy demand. Together with the building stock’s low energy performance, this phenomenon may also increase households’ energy consumption. On the other hand, the low level of ownership of cooling equipment can cause low energy consumption, leading to a lack of indoor thermal comfort and several health-related problems, yet increasing the risk of energy poverty in summer. Understanding future temperature variations and the associated impacts on building cooling demand will allow mitigating future issues related to a warmer climate. In this respect, this paper analyses the effects of change in temperatures in the residential sector cooling demand in 2050 for a case study of nineteen cities across seven countries: Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Israel, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain, by estimating cooling degree days and hours (CDD...
The UK has an extensive research base in the field of energy poverty, to the extent that other co... more The UK has an extensive research base in the field of energy poverty, to the extent that other countries have based their policy approaches on the UK model. Despite this, there is no common method for measuring this condition across the UK. Additionally, sustaining meaningful reductions in UK energy poverty remains a challenge. While significant regional differences in UK energy poverty have been identified, it is not possible to draw direct comparisons between devolved countries. This paper explores the causes of these regional differences and contests that a common measurement across the UK countries would be insightful for resource allocation and policy design. The potential for applying a common multidimensional method of energy poverty assessment across the UK countries is investigated, with a strong focus on the value and viability of this process. Findings demonstrate that while there is a high level of data availability for input into a high spatial resolution index, this data is not compatible between countries and would have to undergo a process of data and metrics equivalisation before direct comparisons could be drawn. With increasing interest in the potential of multidimensional indexes to guide EU energy poverty policy, this paper provides useful insights into the practicalities of upscaling indexes between varied socio-political contexts.
The reduction of energy consumption and the increase in energy efficiency is currently an importa... more The reduction of energy consumption and the increase in energy efficiency is currently an important cornerstone of EU policy. Energy performance certificates (EPCs) were implemented as one of the tools to promote this agenda, and are used for the energy performance assessment of buildings. In this study, the characteristics of the Portuguese dwelling stock are regionally analysed using data from approximately 523,000 Portuguese residential EPCs. Furthermore, a bottom-up building typology approach is used to assess the regional energy needs impact of retrofitting actions and to estimate the heating and cooling energy performance gaps of the whole dwelling stock, as well as the potential CO2 emissions resulting from the gaps’ potential offset due to increase thermal comfort. The results show that Portuguese residential buildings have very low energy performance, with windows and roofs being identified as the most energy inefficient elements. Roof retrofitting has the highest potential...
Energy Poverty (EP) is the inability to attain a socially and materially necessitated level of do... more Energy Poverty (EP) is the inability to attain a socially and materially necessitated level of domestic energy services. In the EU this occurs primarily due to low incomes, poor energy performance of buildings and high energy costs. The impacts of EP range from impaired social lives to unhealthy living conditions, with further consequences in the physical and mental health of energy poor individuals. Member states have been assigned by the EU with the responsibility of dealing with EP within their own territories. This is attainable mainly by creating effective policies, while also encouraging synergies among policies of different fields. However, scientific knowledge is gathered and action is taken on a national level only in a limited number of EU countries. For this reason, this paper aims to fill in the gap and capture snapshots from five EU countries (Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Lithuania) where EP has not been exhaustively examined. The study provides an overview of selected policies and measures directly or indirectly targeting EP alleviation and analyses their history and evolution at an EU level as well as at national level. It considers the different geographical dimensions, conditions and aspects (e.g. national or regional) where EP is encountered, in an attempt to identify any variances or similarities in the approaches adopted. Through this comparative study, strengths and weaknesses of national strategies are identified and analysed. Conclusively, based on this analysis, recommendations are made on how to utilise policy tools and provide the most efficient support to energy poor households in the corresponding countries.
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
European policy has acknowledged the significance of local and regional communities for the deplo... more European policy has acknowledged the significance of local and regional communities for the deployment of new low carbon technologies and their potential for sustainable energy production and use. In this respect a number of initiatives and programmes (e.g. Covenant of Mayors) have been set up to engage European cities in the effort towards a low carbon future. At the same time, there is a critical need to improve comprehensive city planning driven by an integrated and strategic approach and focused on cost benefit assessment towards sustainable energy use. Hence, innovative tools and models to assess and perform in-depth analysis of the various alternative measures, will help pave the way towards more efficient energy use, to fully capture the potential of each city in the most efficient (economically, socially and technically) way. The InSMART concept bring together four European cities: Évora (Portugal), Cesena (Italy), Nottingham (UK) and Trikala (Greece), and scientific organiz...
Ao concluir o presente trabalho, desejo prestar o reconhecimento a todos os que me apoiaram de mo... more Ao concluir o presente trabalho, desejo prestar o reconhecimento a todos os que me apoiaram de modo decisivo, na elaboração da dissertação: À Professora Doutora Maria Júlia Fonseca de Seixas, pela oportunidade que me deu em realizar a minha dissertação na área de energia, pela ajuda na escolha do tema, por toda a orientação, disponibilidade na revisão, interesse, críticas e optimizações sugeridas ao longo da execução da mesma.
Energy poverty, a condition whereby people cannot secure adequate home energy services, is gainin... more Energy poverty, a condition whereby people cannot secure adequate home energy services, is gaining prominence in public discourse and on political and policy agendas. As its measurement is operationalised, metrical developments are being socially shaped. A European Union mandate for biennial reporting on energy poverty presents an opportunity to institutionalise new metrics and thus privilege certain measurements as standards. While combining indicators at multiple scales is desirable to measure multi-dimensional aspects, it entails challenges such as database availability, coverage and limited disaggregated resolution. This article converges scholarship on metrics e which problematises the act of measurement e and on energy poverty e which apprehends socio-political and techno-economic particulars. Scholarship on metrics suggests that any basket of indicators risks silencing significant but hard to measure aspects, or unwarrantedly privileging others. State-of-the-art energy poverty scholarship calls for indicators that represent contextualised energy use issues, including energy access and quality, expenditure in relation to income, built environment related aspects and thermal comfort levels, while retaining simplicity and comparability for policy traction. We frame energy poverty metrology as the socially shaped measurement of a varied, multi-dimensional phenomenon within historically bureaucratic and publicly distant energy sectors, and assess the risks and opportunities that must be negotiated. To generate actionable knowledge, we propose an analytical framework with five dimensions of energy poverty metrology, and illustrate it using multi-scalar cases from three European countries. Dimensions include historical trajectories, data flattening, contextualised identification, new representation and policy uptake. We argue that the measurement of energy poverty must be informed by the politics of data and scale in order to institutionalise emerging metrics, while safeguarding against their co-optation for purposes other than the deep and rapid alleviation of energy poverty. This 'dimensioned' understanding of metrology can provide leverage to push for decisive action to address the structural underpinnings of domestic energy deprivation.
We assess the importance of the electricity sector in energy security in Portugal. We compare ene... more We assess the importance of the electricity sector in energy security in Portugal. We compare energy security indicators for 2004 and 2011. Strong wind penetration has an important role on the country energy security. Infrastructure is the weaker component in electricity sector supply chain.
This paper briefly illustrates a method to represent national energy systems and the geographical... more This paper briefly illustrates a method to represent national energy systems and the geographical details of CCS infrastructures in the same technical-economic model. In the MARKAL-TIMES modeling framework a model of Morocco, Portugal and Spain with both spatial and temporal details has been implemented. As a function of assumptions on the development to 2050 of mitigation levels, economic growth and CO 2 capture-transport storage characteristics, dozens of scenarios were prepared with the TIMES-COMET model. A few results on optimal levels of CCS contribution to mitigation compared to other energy system options are presented. The results also indicate the least cost lay out of the main capture, transport and storage infrastructures. It is concluded that the availability of CCS after 2020 will reduce the cost of mitigation in the Iberian Peninsula as soon as the EU GHG emissions reduction targets become more stringent than decided so far.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been identified by several studies as a promising option in ... more Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been identified by several studies as a promising option in the greenhouse gas mitigation portfolio of different countries. Since the Iberian Peninsula is a region with a large availability of renewable energy sources (RES), the role of CCS deserves deeper analysis. Using the TIMES_IBERIA optimization model, this paper investigates the contribution of several factors (i.e. climate policy, RES and CCS cost curves, and gas prices) that might promote or constrain the adoption of CCS technologies as part of a portfolio for reducing CO 2 emissions from the power generation and industrial sector, in the medium-long term (2020-2050), within the Iberian Peninsula energy system. CCS becomes cost effective only after mature renewables, namely wind onshore and hydropower, are fully exploited up to their technical-economic potential. An ambitious long term climate target (À50% reduction in 2050 over 1990) contributes to an early penetration of CCS (in 2025). It penetrates more in the power sector (60% of captured emissions) than in industry (40%), and most of it is implemented in Spain (95%), not in Portugal. CCS penetration appears very sensitive to the costs of CCS technologies, while much less sensitive to the costs of renewable technologies.
Projections of energy demand are important for energy security supply and low carbon futures, and... more Projections of energy demand are important for energy security supply and low carbon futures, and usually rely on final energy consumption trends methods, limiting the opportunity for future options. Methods supported by energy services are much preferred to estimate future energy demand, since they are better suited to accomplish end-users needs. Final energy can then be assessed through complementary tools, as technological models, resulting in deeper knowledge on the relation between energy services and technology options.
An aging building stock and low-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) syste... more An aging building stock and low-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems may be preventing the adequate energy performance (EP) of Portuguese dwellings. This study aims to estimate and analyze the EP gap of the occupied main residence Portuguese residential dwelling stock, for thermal comfort attainment, at high geographical resolution scale, i.e. for every civil parish. A building typology approach was applied to estimate the heating and cooling (H&C) theoretical final energy consumption (TFEC) for thermal comfort. An energy consumption statistics-based approach was used to estimate the H&C real final energy consumption (RFEC). The EP gap is the percentual difference between the TFEC and RFEC. Three scenarios were tested, looking deeper into southern European space H&C patterns, considering varied conditioned areas and occupancy schedules. This study provides a methodological framework for zooming in the assessment of the dwelling stock EP for a whole country, allowing for a comparative analysis between regions, as the different regional EP gap drivers are identified. For nominal conditions, every civil parish has an EP gap higher than 60%, for both H&C, related to poor energy efficiency of the building stock and low H&C energy consumptions. The scenarios demonstrated a bridging of several civil parishes' EP gap, possibly resulting from temporal space climatization patterns. High remaining EP gaps suggest the civil parishes in the north and center inland regions are the most vulnerable in the winter and summer seasons, potentially due to significant energy poverty levels.
Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, 2020
This entry describes the linkages between "Drawdown solutions" and the targets and goals set out ... more This entry describes the linkages between "Drawdown solutions" and the targets and goals set out by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is proposed that the implementation of these solutions can substantially help to achieve the SDGs by 2030, with even greater gains when implementing actions in parallel as a "system of solutions" enabled by broad-based, effective partnerships at local, regional, and international scales. "Drawdown" is the point in time when concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere begin to decline on a year-to-year basis. GHGs include carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), and fluorinated gases specifically chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochloroflurocarbons (HCFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). "Drawdown solutions" are defined as any technology or practice that directly affects the concentrations of GHGs in the atmosphere by (a) reducing GHG emissions through lowering demand, (b) avoiding GHG emissions through stopping fossil fuel emissions and replacing with zero-or low-emitting alternatives, and (c) sequestering atmospheric carbon through viable natural and engineered sinks. "System of solutions" refers to the implementation of multiple solutions in parallel across several sectors.
Raising concerns about the effectiveness of the energy poverty policy actions in Poland, such as ... more Raising concerns about the effectiveness of the energy poverty policy actions in Poland, such as Clean Air and Stop Smog, brings forward the need to apply different strategies to identify the energy poor. More than 13.7% of Polish households were energy poor in 2018 according to the ability-to-keep-home-warm indicator. This study proposes enhancing the model-based approach to measure households’ energy poverty. Our goal is to assess regional vulnerability to energy poverty in Poland. The study relies on three national datasets and is conducted in two steps. The Energy Consumption Survey (2018) and the Household Budget Survey (2018) provide data for modeling household’s energy poverty in the first step. The Local Data Bank (2019) gives information on the potential factors increasing regional vulnerability to energy poverty evaluated in the second step. We apply multiple linear regression to identify energy-poor households and principal components analysis to examine the regions’ vuln...
The intensity and duration of hot weather and the number of extreme weather events, such as heatw... more The intensity and duration of hot weather and the number of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, are increasing, leading to a growing need for space cooling energy demand. Together with the building stock’s low energy performance, this phenomenon may also increase households’ energy consumption. On the other hand, the low level of ownership of cooling equipment can cause low energy consumption, leading to a lack of indoor thermal comfort and several health-related problems, yet increasing the risk of energy poverty in summer. Understanding future temperature variations and the associated impacts on building cooling demand will allow mitigating future issues related to a warmer climate. In this respect, this paper analyses the effects of change in temperatures in the residential sector cooling demand in 2050 for a case study of nineteen cities across seven countries: Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Israel, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain, by estimating cooling degree days and hours (CDD...
The UK has an extensive research base in the field of energy poverty, to the extent that other co... more The UK has an extensive research base in the field of energy poverty, to the extent that other countries have based their policy approaches on the UK model. Despite this, there is no common method for measuring this condition across the UK. Additionally, sustaining meaningful reductions in UK energy poverty remains a challenge. While significant regional differences in UK energy poverty have been identified, it is not possible to draw direct comparisons between devolved countries. This paper explores the causes of these regional differences and contests that a common measurement across the UK countries would be insightful for resource allocation and policy design. The potential for applying a common multidimensional method of energy poverty assessment across the UK countries is investigated, with a strong focus on the value and viability of this process. Findings demonstrate that while there is a high level of data availability for input into a high spatial resolution index, this data is not compatible between countries and would have to undergo a process of data and metrics equivalisation before direct comparisons could be drawn. With increasing interest in the potential of multidimensional indexes to guide EU energy poverty policy, this paper provides useful insights into the practicalities of upscaling indexes between varied socio-political contexts.
The reduction of energy consumption and the increase in energy efficiency is currently an importa... more The reduction of energy consumption and the increase in energy efficiency is currently an important cornerstone of EU policy. Energy performance certificates (EPCs) were implemented as one of the tools to promote this agenda, and are used for the energy performance assessment of buildings. In this study, the characteristics of the Portuguese dwelling stock are regionally analysed using data from approximately 523,000 Portuguese residential EPCs. Furthermore, a bottom-up building typology approach is used to assess the regional energy needs impact of retrofitting actions and to estimate the heating and cooling energy performance gaps of the whole dwelling stock, as well as the potential CO2 emissions resulting from the gaps’ potential offset due to increase thermal comfort. The results show that Portuguese residential buildings have very low energy performance, with windows and roofs being identified as the most energy inefficient elements. Roof retrofitting has the highest potential...
Energy Poverty (EP) is the inability to attain a socially and materially necessitated level of do... more Energy Poverty (EP) is the inability to attain a socially and materially necessitated level of domestic energy services. In the EU this occurs primarily due to low incomes, poor energy performance of buildings and high energy costs. The impacts of EP range from impaired social lives to unhealthy living conditions, with further consequences in the physical and mental health of energy poor individuals. Member states have been assigned by the EU with the responsibility of dealing with EP within their own territories. This is attainable mainly by creating effective policies, while also encouraging synergies among policies of different fields. However, scientific knowledge is gathered and action is taken on a national level only in a limited number of EU countries. For this reason, this paper aims to fill in the gap and capture snapshots from five EU countries (Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Lithuania) where EP has not been exhaustively examined. The study provides an overview of selected policies and measures directly or indirectly targeting EP alleviation and analyses their history and evolution at an EU level as well as at national level. It considers the different geographical dimensions, conditions and aspects (e.g. national or regional) where EP is encountered, in an attempt to identify any variances or similarities in the approaches adopted. Through this comparative study, strengths and weaknesses of national strategies are identified and analysed. Conclusively, based on this analysis, recommendations are made on how to utilise policy tools and provide the most efficient support to energy poor households in the corresponding countries.
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
European policy has acknowledged the significance of local and regional communities for the deplo... more European policy has acknowledged the significance of local and regional communities for the deployment of new low carbon technologies and their potential for sustainable energy production and use. In this respect a number of initiatives and programmes (e.g. Covenant of Mayors) have been set up to engage European cities in the effort towards a low carbon future. At the same time, there is a critical need to improve comprehensive city planning driven by an integrated and strategic approach and focused on cost benefit assessment towards sustainable energy use. Hence, innovative tools and models to assess and perform in-depth analysis of the various alternative measures, will help pave the way towards more efficient energy use, to fully capture the potential of each city in the most efficient (economically, socially and technically) way. The InSMART concept bring together four European cities: Évora (Portugal), Cesena (Italy), Nottingham (UK) and Trikala (Greece), and scientific organiz...
Ao concluir o presente trabalho, desejo prestar o reconhecimento a todos os que me apoiaram de mo... more Ao concluir o presente trabalho, desejo prestar o reconhecimento a todos os que me apoiaram de modo decisivo, na elaboração da dissertação: À Professora Doutora Maria Júlia Fonseca de Seixas, pela oportunidade que me deu em realizar a minha dissertação na área de energia, pela ajuda na escolha do tema, por toda a orientação, disponibilidade na revisão, interesse, críticas e optimizações sugeridas ao longo da execução da mesma.
Energy poverty, a condition whereby people cannot secure adequate home energy services, is gainin... more Energy poverty, a condition whereby people cannot secure adequate home energy services, is gaining prominence in public discourse and on political and policy agendas. As its measurement is operationalised, metrical developments are being socially shaped. A European Union mandate for biennial reporting on energy poverty presents an opportunity to institutionalise new metrics and thus privilege certain measurements as standards. While combining indicators at multiple scales is desirable to measure multi-dimensional aspects, it entails challenges such as database availability, coverage and limited disaggregated resolution. This article converges scholarship on metrics e which problematises the act of measurement e and on energy poverty e which apprehends socio-political and techno-economic particulars. Scholarship on metrics suggests that any basket of indicators risks silencing significant but hard to measure aspects, or unwarrantedly privileging others. State-of-the-art energy poverty scholarship calls for indicators that represent contextualised energy use issues, including energy access and quality, expenditure in relation to income, built environment related aspects and thermal comfort levels, while retaining simplicity and comparability for policy traction. We frame energy poverty metrology as the socially shaped measurement of a varied, multi-dimensional phenomenon within historically bureaucratic and publicly distant energy sectors, and assess the risks and opportunities that must be negotiated. To generate actionable knowledge, we propose an analytical framework with five dimensions of energy poverty metrology, and illustrate it using multi-scalar cases from three European countries. Dimensions include historical trajectories, data flattening, contextualised identification, new representation and policy uptake. We argue that the measurement of energy poverty must be informed by the politics of data and scale in order to institutionalise emerging metrics, while safeguarding against their co-optation for purposes other than the deep and rapid alleviation of energy poverty. This 'dimensioned' understanding of metrology can provide leverage to push for decisive action to address the structural underpinnings of domestic energy deprivation.
We assess the importance of the electricity sector in energy security in Portugal. We compare ene... more We assess the importance of the electricity sector in energy security in Portugal. We compare energy security indicators for 2004 and 2011. Strong wind penetration has an important role on the country energy security. Infrastructure is the weaker component in electricity sector supply chain.
This paper briefly illustrates a method to represent national energy systems and the geographical... more This paper briefly illustrates a method to represent national energy systems and the geographical details of CCS infrastructures in the same technical-economic model. In the MARKAL-TIMES modeling framework a model of Morocco, Portugal and Spain with both spatial and temporal details has been implemented. As a function of assumptions on the development to 2050 of mitigation levels, economic growth and CO 2 capture-transport storage characteristics, dozens of scenarios were prepared with the TIMES-COMET model. A few results on optimal levels of CCS contribution to mitigation compared to other energy system options are presented. The results also indicate the least cost lay out of the main capture, transport and storage infrastructures. It is concluded that the availability of CCS after 2020 will reduce the cost of mitigation in the Iberian Peninsula as soon as the EU GHG emissions reduction targets become more stringent than decided so far.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been identified by several studies as a promising option in ... more Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been identified by several studies as a promising option in the greenhouse gas mitigation portfolio of different countries. Since the Iberian Peninsula is a region with a large availability of renewable energy sources (RES), the role of CCS deserves deeper analysis. Using the TIMES_IBERIA optimization model, this paper investigates the contribution of several factors (i.e. climate policy, RES and CCS cost curves, and gas prices) that might promote or constrain the adoption of CCS technologies as part of a portfolio for reducing CO 2 emissions from the power generation and industrial sector, in the medium-long term (2020-2050), within the Iberian Peninsula energy system. CCS becomes cost effective only after mature renewables, namely wind onshore and hydropower, are fully exploited up to their technical-economic potential. An ambitious long term climate target (À50% reduction in 2050 over 1990) contributes to an early penetration of CCS (in 2025). It penetrates more in the power sector (60% of captured emissions) than in industry (40%), and most of it is implemented in Spain (95%), not in Portugal. CCS penetration appears very sensitive to the costs of CCS technologies, while much less sensitive to the costs of renewable technologies.
Projections of energy demand are important for energy security supply and low carbon futures, and... more Projections of energy demand are important for energy security supply and low carbon futures, and usually rely on final energy consumption trends methods, limiting the opportunity for future options. Methods supported by energy services are much preferred to estimate future energy demand, since they are better suited to accomplish end-users needs. Final energy can then be assessed through complementary tools, as technological models, resulting in deeper knowledge on the relation between energy services and technology options.
An aging building stock and low-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) syste... more An aging building stock and low-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems may be preventing the adequate energy performance (EP) of Portuguese dwellings. This study aims to estimate and analyze the EP gap of the occupied main residence Portuguese residential dwelling stock, for thermal comfort attainment, at high geographical resolution scale, i.e. for every civil parish. A building typology approach was applied to estimate the heating and cooling (H&C) theoretical final energy consumption (TFEC) for thermal comfort. An energy consumption statistics-based approach was used to estimate the H&C real final energy consumption (RFEC). The EP gap is the percentual difference between the TFEC and RFEC. Three scenarios were tested, looking deeper into southern European space H&C patterns, considering varied conditioned areas and occupancy schedules. This study provides a methodological framework for zooming in the assessment of the dwelling stock EP for a whole country, allowing for a comparative analysis between regions, as the different regional EP gap drivers are identified. For nominal conditions, every civil parish has an EP gap higher than 60%, for both H&C, related to poor energy efficiency of the building stock and low H&C energy consumptions. The scenarios demonstrated a bridging of several civil parishes' EP gap, possibly resulting from temporal space climatization patterns. High remaining EP gaps suggest the civil parishes in the north and center inland regions are the most vulnerable in the winter and summer seasons, potentially due to significant energy poverty levels.
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