SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICY-MAKING FOR
AFRICA
Energy Efficiency
Module 18:
ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICY-MAKING FOR
AFRICA
Module overview
• Overview of energy efficiency in buildings and its benefits
• How to approach EE in Buildings
• Different opportunities and measures for improving EE of
Buildings
• Key aspects of suitable policies to support EE in Buildings
• Financing options and mechanisms
• Discussion on the process of developing and
implementing policies on EE in Buildings and summary of
some policy tools
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICY-MAKING FOR
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Module aims
• Introduce the concept and benefits of energy efficiency
(EE) in buildings
• Give an overview of the methodology to determine the EE
of buildings
• Present opportunities and measures for reducing energy
use in buildings
• Describe mechanisms for financing EE measures
• Summarize legislative and policy tools successful in
promoting EE in buildings
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICY-MAKING FOR
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Module learning outcomes
• To appreciate the significance and benefits of EE in
buildings
• To have a general understanding of the methodology used
to determine the EE of buildings and an overview of
different measures for improving energy use in buildings
• To have an overview of the different mechanisms for
financing EE measures
• To have conceptualized an approach to setting out and
implementing policy to support EE in buildings
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICY-MAKING FOR
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Why Buildings?
• Globally the building sector accounts for more electricity
use than any other sector: 42%;
• We spend more than 90% of our time in buildings;
• Africa’s rate of urbanization is 3.5%, the highest in the
world;
• Currently 40 cities in Africa with populations of more than
a million;
• It is expected that by 2015 seventy African cities will have
populations of one million or more.
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What is the Energy Efficiency (EE)
of a Building?
The extent to which the energy consumption per
m2 of floor area of the building measures up to
established energy consumption benchmarks for
that particular type of building under defined
climatic conditions.
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Why is EE in Buildings Important for
Governments?
• Where the demand for energy services is growing rapidly
– Capital costs of efficiency are lower than comparable investments
in increased supply
– No additional operating costs of efficiency measures compared to
substantial operating costs for supply-side options
– Energy efficiency investments have shorter lead times than energy
supply investments
– By setting energy efficiency targets for buildings, governments
share the burden and cost of ensuring the security of energy
supply
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICY-MAKING FOR
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Benefits from EE in Buildings
• Energy efficiency measures are meant to reduce the
amount of energy consumed while maintaining or
improving the level of comfort in the building;
• Among the benefits arising from energy efficiency
investments in buildings are:
– Reducing energy use for space heating/cooling and water heating;
– Reduced electricity use for lighting, office machinery and domestic
appliance’;
– Lower maintenance requirements;
– Enhanced property value.
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Energy in Buildings
Natural Energy Gains
Renewable
Energy
Building Net
Building Gross Energy Use
Energy Needs Delivered
Energy
Internal Heat Gains
Exported
System Losses Energy
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Energy in Buildings (2)
• Natural Energy Gains: Passive solar heating, passive cooling,
natural ventilation flow, and daylight.
• Internal Heat Gain: Thermal energy from people, lighting and
appliances that give off heat to the indoor environment.
• Delivered Energy: Amount of energy supplied to meet the
buildings net energy demand. Could be supplemented by on-site
renewable energy
• Exported Energy: Fraction of delivered energy that, is sold to
external user
• System Losses: System losses result from the inefficiencies in
transporting and converting the delivered energy
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Energy in Buildings (3)
• The amount of energy a building will need to purchase in
order to attain the required indoor climate is dependant on:
– The properties of the building;
– How efficiently the delivered energy is used to meet the buildings
net energy demand;
– How efficiently energy is used by people in the building;
– The percentage of the buildings energy requirement that is
supplied by renewable energy.
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SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REGULATION AND POLICY-MAKING FOR
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Determining Energy Consumption of
Buildings
• The Energy performance of a building is based on the
building properties and the energy required to attain the
indoor climate standard. It is a factor of the:
– Intrinsic Energy Performance - The delivered energy needed
based on the use of the building, the indoor environment, the
external climate, and the buildings properties.
– Actual Energy Performance - The energy used over the last
year, obtained from energy audits, metering and sub-metering.
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Building Energy Consumption
Benchmarks
• Benchmarks are representative values for common
building types against which a building’s actual
performance can be compared;
• The main purposes of benchmarks are:
– To identify if a buildings energy performance is good, average or
poor with respect to other buildings of its type;
– To identify potential savings, shown by the variance between the
actual data and the benchmarks.
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Questions/Activities
What are Energy Efficiency
Benchmarks and what is their role
when determining the Energy Efficiency
of a Building?
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Certifying Energy Efficiency
• An Energy Efficiency Certificate is a summary of a
building’s energy audit. It is meant to give information on
the building’s energy consumption and its energy efficiency
rating.
• The purpose of Energy Efficiency Certificates is to:
– Inform tenants and prospective buyers on the expected running
costs;
– Create public awareness;
– Acts as a prerequisite of measures to improve its energy efficiency;
– To effect incentives, penalties or legal proceedings
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Certifying Energy Efficiency (2)
• Buildings are given two ratings based on the intrinsic and
actual energy performance:
– Asset Rating: A rating of the standard of the building fabric and
building services equipment and is based on theoretical values.
– Operational Rating. This will be influenced by the quality of the
building (as measured by the Asset Rating), but also by the way
the building is maintained and operated. It is based on the
normalized actual metered energy consumption.
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EE Measures for Buildings
• Approaches through which the energy consumption of a
building can reduced. They can be categorized into:
– Reducing heating demand
– Reducing cooling demand
– Reducing the energy requirements for ventilation
– Reducing energy use for lighting
– Reducing energy used for heating water
– Reducing electricity consumption of office equipment and
Appliances
– Good housekeeping and people solutions
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Reducing Heating Demand
• Heating demand can be reduced by:
– Limiting the exposed surface area of the buildings
– Improving the insulation of the building fabric
– Reducing ventilation losses
– By selecting efficient heating systems with effective controls.
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Reducing Cooling Demand
• Energy use in typical air-conditioned office buildings is
approximately double that of naturally ventilated office
buildings. The need for air-conditioning or the size of the
systems installed can be reduced by:
– Controlling solar gains through glazing;
– Reducing Internal Heat Gains;
– Making use of thermal mass and night ventilation to reduce peak
temperatures;
– By providing effective natural ventilation;
– Reducing lighting loads and installing effective lighting controls.
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Reducing the Energy Requirements
for Ventilation
• The energy required for ventilation can be minimized by:
– A building design that maximizes natural ventilation;
– Effective window design;
– Use of mixed mode ventilation;
– Using efficient mechanical ventilation systems.
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Reducing the Energy Requirements
for Ventilation (2)
The Stack Effect
Cross Ventilation
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Reducing Energy Use for Lighting
• This can be accomplished through:
– Making maximum use of daylight while avoiding excessive solar
heat gain
– Using task lighting to avoid excessive background luminance levels
– Installing energy efficient luminaires with a high light output to
energy ratio
– By providing effective controls which prevent lights being left on
unnecessarily
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Reducing Energy Use for Lighting (2)
• Natural light provides healthier
working conditions than artificial
light - and it is free;
• Large modern buildings often have
many areas being starved of
natural light;
• Therefore the challenge is to
channel natural light to areas
without windows;
• Sunpipes can be used to introduce
daylight to windowless areas.
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Reducing Energy Use for Heating Water
• Installing time controls and setting them to reflect the hours of hot
water requirement;
• Setting sanitary hot water thermostats to the appropriate
temperature;
• Switching off electric heating elements (immersion) when hot
water from the boiler is available;
• Switching off any associated pumps when hot water is not
required
• Replacing damaged or missing insulation from hot water pipe
work and cylinders;
• Identifying a suitable hot water system.
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Reducing Consumption of Office
Equipment and Appliances
• Office equipment currently consumes 15% of the total
electricity used in offices;
• This is expected to rise to 30% by 2020;
• There are also associated costs of increasing cooling and
ventilation requirements to overcome the additional heat
that office equipment produces.
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Reducing Consumption of Office
Equipment and Appliances (2)
• Typical measures to reduce consumption which also
apply to household appliances are:
– Switching off or enabling power down mode reduces the energy
consumption and heat produced by equipment.
– Upgrading existing equipment. Some energy efficient appliances
may cost more but they will recoup savings over their lifetime.
– Matching the equipment to the task. Bear in mind current and
predicted requirements and purchase equipment that meet these.
– Taking advantage of energy labeling schemes
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Good Housekeeping and People
Solutions
• The level of achievable energy savings from office equipment is
down to the everyday management by staff. A simple energy
conservation program for an organization would consider:
– Setting up an energy policy for the organization;
– Appointing an Energy Champion;
– Involving staff;
– Setting targets;
– Using notices and reminders;
– Conducting walk-rounds;
– Taking meter readings.
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Questions/Activities (2)
From the measures mentioned, which are:
1. The easiest to implement in your country.
2. The ones with the highest potential for savings.
Discuss
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Financing EE in Buildings
• Financial appraisal involves finding and evaluating the best
projects to invest in whatever they are and wherever they
arise. It gives energy savings the priority they merit when
compared with other aspects of cost reduction or business
expansion.
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Financing EE in Buildings (2)
The seven key steps in financial appraisal of energy efficiency
investment in buildings are:
• Locating the buildings which have the potential;
• Identifying the areas where savings can be made ;
• Identifying the measures required to release these savings;
• Establishing the costs and the savings for each measure and calculating the
key financial indicators;
• Optimizing the financial return measured by these indicators;
• Establishing how much investment capital is available and identifying new
sources of capital;
• Deciding which projects make best use of the organization’s available
capital.
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Financing EE in Buildings (3)
Options and mechanisms include:
• Internal funds;
• Debt financing;
• Lease or Lease-Purchase agreements;
• Energy Performance Contracts;
• Utility incentives (equipment rebates, design assistance,
and low-interest loans)
• Local Authority and National Assistance
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Questions/Activities (3)
1. List and describe 4 options/mechanisms for financing
Energy Efficiency in Buildings.
2. Outline how at least 2 of the financing options/
mechanisms discussed could be applied in your
country and highlight how they would be effected and
which organizations would be involved.
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The Formulation of a Policy for EE in
Buildings
• Policy is formulated on needs basis and therefore policy-
makers require a clear picture of:
– The contribution of buildings to the countries total energy
consumption;
– The future impact of urbanization and increase in the number of
new buildings vis-à-vis energy demand;
– The potential for energy savings from large-scale implementation
of energy efficiency measures in existing and future buildings.
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The Formulation of a Policy for EE in
Buildings (2)
• Policy formulation phase should involve key stakeholders
from architectural associations, local authorities, energy
consultants, developers, electricity supply and distribution
companies and other energy service providers.
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The Formulation of a Policy for EE in
Buildings (3)
• The policy should:
– Outline the need for and benefits of EE in buildings;
– Estimate potential savings both in terms of energy use and power
demand;
– Set achievable targets and timelines;
– Outline an approach to achieve the targets and monitor them;
– Consider the requirements for technical and informational support
needed by building owners, building energy managers, developers,
architects and engineers;
– Consider the financial support instruments for undertaking energy
efficiency measures.
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Implementing Policies for EE in
Buildings
• To implement a policy certain bodies need to be set up.
These would consist of:
– An agency to develop and recommend a framework for the policy;
– A regulator to facilitate and enforce the policy;
– An adjudicating body to meet out the penalties;
– An appellate tribunal to hear appeals against the orders of the
adjudicating body.
• These bodies are set up by an act of the parliament which
defines their functions and powers.
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Questions/Activities (4)
1. List 5 functions of an Energy Efficiency Agency
2. What would be the most suitable model in your country
with regard to the bodies required to implement a policy
for EE in Buildings?
3. What would their functions be?
4. How would you set up an EE Fund in your country?
Where would the funds be sourced from and what criteria
would you use to allocate the funds?
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Policy Tools to Promote EE in
Buildings
• The most effective programs are designed:
– To ensure that a particular target level of energy efficiency
improvement is realized;
– To assure that the market is prepared continually to introduce
better technologies for energy efficiency.
• This process of continuous improvement in energy
efficiency should be anticipated in the developmental
process for energy efficiency codes.
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Policy Tools to Promote EE in
Buildings (2)
• Legislative and policy options that have had some record of
success in promoting energy efficiency in buildings include:
– Codes and standards for new construction and performance-based
economic incentives to go beyond the standards.
– Long-term incentives with ambitious energy efficiency targets;
– Normative labels to distinguish the most energy efficient buildings
and equipment:
– Informative labels that provide the information necessary to measure
energy efficiency and annual energy costs for operation.
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Policy Tools to Promote EE in
Buildings (3)
• Legislative and policy options that have had some
record of success in promoting energy efficiency
in buildings include:
– Education and outreach to promote market acceptance
of energy efficiency technologies and energy efficient
designs, most notably efficiency demonstration centers;
– Government-funded research and development on
energy efficiency in buildings.
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Questions/Activities (5)
What incentives would you recommend to
facilitate Energy Efficiency measures in
Buildings in your country and how would you
implement them?
Discuss
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The Potential of EE Savings
• Energy Efficiency in Buildings has considerable potential for energy
savings as evidenced by the California experience
45000
G Wh 15% of Annual Electricity Use in California in 2003
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Appliance Standards Building Standards Ef ficiency Programs
Savings achieved within California’s existing building stock.
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The Potential of EE Savings (2)
• California has held per capita electricity sales steady for the past 30
years while the rest of the US experienced a 50% growth and slower
economic growth.
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CONCLUSIONS
• Technological improvements in buildings design and
appliances offer new opportunities for energy savings;
• Many of these technologies are yet to be adapted in Africa
and other developing countries, suggesting a huge
potential for savings;
• Resistance to change and the cost of implementing
energy savings means that unless a policy and regulatory
framework is set up, it is unlikely there will be any change.
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