Building Energy by Simon Taylor
Postwar office buildings have been modelled using EnergyPlus to determine the effect on thermal c... more Postwar office buildings have been modelled using EnergyPlus to determine the effect on thermal comfort of a range of energy-saving refurbishment measures. The native buildings were found to be thermally uncomfortable in the winter due to low operative temperatures arising from their concrete construction and single glazing. When the building envelope was refurbished, the energy performance improved markedly and the buildings became thermally comfortable in the winter. However, in the summer they were prone to overheating, though the impact was mitigated by shading and night cooling. It is concluded that a wider range of refurbishment techniques needs to be investigated to achieve simultaneous energy reduction and year-round thermal comfort.
GCB Bioenergy, 2014
ABSTRACT Maps of energy demand from buildings in Great Britain have been created at 1 km square r... more ABSTRACT Maps of energy demand from buildings in Great Britain have been created at 1 km square resolution. They reveal the spatial variation of demand for heat and electricity, of importance for energy distribution studies and particularly for bioenergy research given the significant distance-based restrictions on the viability of bioenergy crops. Maps representing the spatial variation of energy demand for the year 2009 were created using publicly available sub-national gas and electricity consumption data. A new statistical model based on census data was used to increase the spatial resolution. The energy demand was split into thermal energy (the heat energy required for space heating and hot water) and electricity used for purposes other than heating (non-heating electricity or NHE), and was determined separately for the domestic and non-domestic sectors. “Scenario factors”, representing the fractional change at national level in the demand for heat and NHE, were derived from scenarios constructed by UKERC. These scenarios represent a range of pathways from the present day to 2050. The present work focused on the two cases of greatest relevance, the “Low Carbon” (LC) and “Additional Policies” (ADD) scenarios, and factors for both were derived, for the demand types described, for every five years between 2000 and 2050. Approximate future spatial energy demands can be obtained by applying the scenario factors to the base mapping data for 2009. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
GCB Bioenergy, 2013
The paper presents a model system, which consists of a partial equilibrium model and process-base... more The paper presents a model system, which consists of a partial equilibrium model and process-based terrestrial biogeochemistry models, to determine the optimal distributions of both Miscanthus (Miscanthus 9 giganteus) and short rotation coppice willow (SRC) (Salix. viminalis L. x S. viminalis var Joruun) in Great Britain (GB), as well as their potential contribution to meet heat and electricity demand in GB. Results show that the potential contribution of Miscanthus and SRC to heat and electricity demand is significant. Without considering farm-scale economic constraints, Miscanthus and SRC could generate, in an economically competitive way compared with other energy generation costs, 224 800 GWh yr À1 heat and 112 500 GWh yr À1 electricity, with 8 Mha of available land under Miscanthus and SRC, accounting for 66% of total heat demand and 62% of total electricity demand respectively. Given the pattern of heat and electricity demand, and the relative yields of Miscanthus and SRC in different parts of GB, Miscanthus is mainly favoured in the Midlands and areas in the South of GB, whereas SRC is favoured in Scotland, the Midlands and areas in the South of GB.
Building and Environment, 2014
In the UK, 87% of dwellings and 60% of non-domestic buildings that will be standing in 2050 have ... more In the UK, 87% of dwellings and 60% of non-domestic buildings that will be standing in 2050 have already been built. Therefore, the greatest energy savings and emissions reductions will be achieved through retrofit of existing buildings. This usually involves decision-making processes targeted at reducing operational energy consumption and maintenance bills. For this reason, retrofit decisions by building stakeholders are typically driven by financial considerations. However, recent trends towards environmentally conscious design and retrofit have focused on the environmental merits of these options, emphasising a lifecycle approach to emissions reduction. Building stakeholders cannot easily quantify and compare the sustainability impacts of retrofit options since they lack the resources to perform an effective decision analysis. In part, this is due to the inadequacy of existing methods to assess and compare the cost, operational performance and environmental merit of the options. Current methods to quantify these parameters are considered in isolation when making decisions about energy conservation in buildings.
Building Research & Information, 2014
ABSTRACT
Energy and Buildings, 2013
ABSTRACT Global awareness of environmental impacts such as climate change and depletion of ozone ... more ABSTRACT Global awareness of environmental impacts such as climate change and depletion of ozone layer has increased significantly in the last few years and the implication for emissions reductions in buildings are widely acknowledged. The goal, therefore, is to design and construct buildings with minimum environmental impacts. Lifecycle emissions resulting from buildings consist of two components: operational and embodied emissions. A great deal of effort has been put into reducing the former as it is assumed that it is higher than the latter. However, studies have revealed the growing significance of embodied emissions in buildings but its importance is often underestimated in lifecycle emissions analysis. This paper takes a retrospective approach to critically review the relationship between embodied and operational emissions over the lifecycle of buildings. This is done to highlight and demonstrate the increasing proportion of embodied emissions that is one consequence of efforts to decrease operational emissions. The paper draws on a wide array of issues, including complications concerning embodied emissions computation and also discusses the benefits that come with its consideration. The implication of neglecting embodied emissions and the need for an urgent policy framework within the current climate of energy and climate change policies are also discussed.
A flaw has been identified in the calculation of the cost-effectiveness in marginal abatement cos... more A flaw has been identified in the calculation of the cost-effectiveness in marginal abatement cost curves (MACCs). The problem affects " negative-cost " emissions reduction measures – those that produce a return on investment. The resulting ranking sometimes favours measures that produce low emissions savings and is therefore unreliable. The issue is important because incorrect ranking means a potential failure to achieve the best-value outcome. A simple mathematical analysis shows that not only is the standard cost-effectiveness calculation inadequate for ranking negative-cost measures, but there is no possible replacement that satisfies reasonable requirements. Furthermore, the concept of negative cost-effectiveness is found to be unsound and its use should be avoided. Among other things, this means that MACCs are unsuitable for ranking negative-cost measures. As a result, MACCs produced by a range of organizations including UK government departments may need to be revised. An alternative partial ranking method has been devised by making use of Pareto optimization. The outcome can be presented as a stacked bar chart that indicates both the preferred ordering and the total emissions saving available for each measure without specifying a cost-effectiveness.
Non-domestic buildings account for approximately 20% of UK carbon dioxide emissions and reducing ... more Non-domestic buildings account for approximately 20% of UK carbon dioxide emissions and reducing these is a government policy commitment. Bottom-up modelling of the energy consumption of large numbers of non-domestic buildings is problematic due to the heterogeneity of the stock. Detailed energy surveys are time-consuming and costly and access to detailed energy consumption data is limited. Energy meters record when and how much energy is used, but generally not what is consuming the energy or where in the building, thus limiting understanding of intervention scenarios.
Building and Environment, 2010
The feasibility of halving greenhouse gas emissions from hotels by 2030 has been studied as part ... more The feasibility of halving greenhouse gas emissions from hotels by 2030 has been studied as part of the Carbon Vision Buildings Programme. The aim of that programme was to study ways of reducing emissions from the existing stock because it will be responsible for the majority of building emissions over the next few decades. The work was carried out using detailed computer simulation using the ESP-r tool. Two hotels were studied, one older and converted and the other newer and purpose-built, with the aim of representing the most common UK hotel types.
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Building Energy by Simon Taylor