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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 19893

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Prof. Dr. Dorota Chwieduk

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Institute of Heat Engineering, Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: heat transfer in buildings; solar energy of the building; energy performance of the building
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Special Issue Information

Nowadays, the utilization of fossil fuels has been decreasing every year, and new investments in renewable energy technologies have become a global priority. Utilization of renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal, wind, biomass, and hydro provides people in developing countries access to energy to cover demand for electricity, heating, and cooling energy. In developed countries, it enables the improvement of energy efficiency in the energy sector and reduces environmental pollution. It helps all countries in the world to ensure energy security. Renewable energy systems can be used at micro, small, and large scales. Rapid development of renewable energy technologies means that their availability is becoming more common while their costs are decreasing. Different technologies are dedicated to specific climatic, environmental, local, and social conditions. Research studies have been conducted to increase efficiency of energy conversion in different devices and machines and the total energy performance of renewable energy systems. Many of such studies deal with analyses of operations and the effectiveness of integrated multi-energy source systems, where different renewables are used in a complimentary manner to each other, covering energy demands of different types of energy users. In this Special Issue, potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

the theoretical and technical potential for the utilization of renewable sources for local/regional/global applications
modelling of operations and the energy performance of renewable energy devices and systems for different applications
processes and methods to design/build/apply different renewable energy systems
new achievements in renewable energy technologies for micro or large scale application.
Analysis of the operation and effectiveness of multi-renewable energy source systems applied for different types of users
applications of renewable energy technologies in buildings
economics of renewable energy systems in relation to the scale of their applications and state of economy of the country, regulatory energy market, and other legal entities

Prof. Dr. Dorota Chwieduk
Guest Editor

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Keywords

potential of renewables
operation modelling of RES systems
energy performance of RES systems
advancements in RES technologies
integrated multi-energy source systems
applications of RES in buildings
economics of RES systems

Related Special Issue

Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings, 2nd Edition in Energies

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 5472 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Internal and External Factors Influencing Rural Households’ Investment Intentions in Building Photovoltaic Integration Projects

by Linghui Li and Chunyan Dai

Energies 2024, 17(5), 1071; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17051071 - 23 Feb 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 715

Abstract

Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) contributes to promoting green and low-carbon transformation in rural areas. In order to better guide rural households to invest in BIPV projects and promote the goal of “carbon neutrality” in China’s building sector, this study integrates the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the social cognitive theory (SCT), and the PEST analysis framework. It constructs a theoretical model from the perspective of “External Factors-Internal Psychology-Investment Intention” to investigate rural households’ investment intentions toward BIPV projects and their influencing factors. Basic data were collected from 488 valid questionnaires from rural households in Henan Province, and the theoretical model was empirically tested using structural equation modeling. The results show that the model constructed from both internal and external factors effectively explains rural households’ investment intentions (II) toward BIPV projects (R² = 0.89), with investment attitude (IA) being the strongest psychological motivation leading to their II. All four external factors—policy, economic, social, and technological—positively influence II with diminishing effects. Additionally, the policy factor has the most significant effect on IA, while the economic factor has a more prominent effect on perceived behavioral control (PBC), and the technological factor has a relatively weaker effect on the two psychological factors. Furthermore, the four external factors indirectly influence investment intentions through the two psychological factors of IA and PBC, with the mediating effect of IA being higher than PBC. Based on the findings, this study proposes effective suggestions to enhance rural households’ investment intentions toward BIPV projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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13 pages, 3369 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decarbonizing Energy of a City: Identifying Barriers and Pathways

by Neil J. Hewitt

Energies 2024, 17(1), 267; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17010267 - 4 Jan 2024

Viewed by 801

Abstract

As researchers and ultimately deployers of energy decarbonisation solutions, we collectively see significant but often siloed efforts that in isolation may appear as an appropriate solution to an aspect of energy decarbonisation. However, when systemwide thinking is applied, a former attractive solution may become more challenging and, likewise, a less attractive silo may become more appropriate as part of an energy systemwide approach. Thus, the aim of this paper is to combine proposed energy decarbonisation concepts, e.g., electrification, hydrogen, biogas etc., with the status of the system in which they intend to operate, and then highlight the barriers, opportunities, and alternatives that may come into play when the whole system is taken into account. This is a hypothetical study using the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK as an example and reflects, in part, the city’s desire to decarbonise while enhancing its economic prosperity. The “system” is defined as the region boundaries, i.e., Northern Ireland will supply the energy (all or in part) to the city of Belfast. The methodology deployed here therefore is a framework of energy thinking that is the basis of such energy decarbonisation plans at a city-wide level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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18 pages, 5483 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Experimental Investigation and Numerical Simulation of Photovoltaic Cells with Enhanced Surfaces Using the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ Software

by Magdalena Piasecka, Artur Piasecki and Norbert Dadas

Energies 2023, 16(24), 8047; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16248047 - 13 Dec 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 704

Abstract

This article proposes a passive cooling system for photovoltaic (PV) panels to achieve a reduction in their temperature. It is known that the cooling of PV panels allows for an increase in the efficiency of photovoltaic conversion. Furthermore, reducing the high temperature of the surfaces of PV panels is also desirable to ensure their long-lasting operation and high efficiency. Photovoltaic panels were modified by adding copper sheets to the bottom side of the panels. Two types of modification of the outer surface of the sheet were investigated experimentally, which differed in surface roughness. One was characterised by the nominal roughness of the copper sheet according to its manufacturer, while the other was enhanced by a system of pins. Numerical simulations, performed using the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ software, version 2020.2.1 Build 15.04.010, helped to describe the geometry of the pins and their role in the resulting reduction in the temperature of the PV panel surface. As a result, modifying a typical PV panel by adding a copper sheet with pins helps to achieve a higher decrease in the temperature of the PV panel. The addition of a copper sheet with a smooth surface to the bare PV panel improved the operating conditions by lowering its surface temperature by approximately 6.5 K but using an enhanced surface with the highest number of pins distributed uniformly on the copper sheet surface resulted in the highest temperature drop up to 12 K. The highest number of pins distributed uniformly on the copper sheet surface resulted in the highest temperature drop in its bottom surface, that is, on average by more than 12 K compared to the surface temperature of the bare PV panel surface. The validation of the numerical calculations was performed on data from the experiments. An analysis of the quality of the numerical mesh was also performed using a method based on the grid convergence index. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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19 pages, 5305 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Heat Pumps in New Housing Estates in Cities Suburbs as an Means of Energy Transformation in Poland

by Dorota Chwieduk and Bartosz Chwieduk

Energies 2023, 16(8), 3495; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16083495 - 17 Apr 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1071

Abstract

This paper presents possible applications of heat pumps in buildings during the energy transformation and decarbonization of a country whose energy sector is highly centralized and based on coal. Contemporary cities are spreading beyond the existing borders and new areas cannot be supplied by the existing centralized district heating system. The only form of energy that is available on the outskirts of cities is electricity, which means that it must be used for all energy needs, including heating. In such a case, the use of heat pumps is perfectly justified in terms of energy, economy and environment, especially when they are coupled with photovoltaic systems. Hypothetical micro housing estate energy systems based on photovoltaics and heat pumps are analyzed in the paper. New options for configuration and operation of the energy systems are considered. Results of a simulation study show that by creating a common local electricity network and a local heating network powered by a central heat pump, the direct use of electricity generated in the local photovoltaic systems increases from 25% to at least 35%, thanks to enabling more even storing and consuming of solar energy during a day, compared to the independent operation of energy systems at individual houses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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19 pages, 3062 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adsorption Solar Air Conditioning System for Singapore Climate

by Zacharie Tamainot-Telto, Stephen John Metcalf and Neilson Ng Yande

Energies 2022, 15(18), 6537; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15186537 - 7 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1847

Abstract

The design of an adsorption solar air conditioning system is investigated by using a model with an activated carbon–methanol working pair. This system is analysed with the solar insolation levels and ambient temperatures of Singapore. The proposed design mainly consists of two tubular reactor heat exchangers (TRHEXs) operating out of phase and driven by heat from an evacuated tube solar collector (ETSC). The pair of TRHEXs act as a thermal compressor and contain about 2.275 kg of activated carbon per reactor. The evacuated tube solar collector (ETSC) has better performance and is more cost effective than the flat plate solar collector (FPSC), even though it has a higher cost per unit. On the hottest day of the year, the proposed adsorption system has a maximum cooling power of 2.6 kW and a COP of 0.43 at a maximum driving temperature of 139 °C with a 9.8 m² ETSC area. The system has a total estimated cost of EUR 10,550 corresponding to about SGD 14,800 with a 7-year payback time. At similar cooling capacities, the adsorption air conditioning system is expected to be more cost effective than the conventional system beyond an expected period of 7 years, with an expected lifetime of 15 to 20 years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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20 pages, 9430 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Thermal Response Study of Multilayered, Encapsulated, PCM-Integrated Building Construction Materials

by Atiq Ur Rehman, Shakil R. Sheikh, Zareena Kausar, Michael Grimes and Sarah J. McCormack

Energies 2022, 15(17), 6356; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176356 - 31 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1254

Abstract

Thermal energy storage integration using phase change materials (PCMs) in buildings has great potential for energy conservation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction. Cutting-edge research and innovative ideas are required when using multilayered PCMs within typical construction materials to take advantage of their heat storage capability over a wide temperature range within buildings. This current study was carried out to experimentally test the efficacy of using dual PCMs RT28HC and RT21HC with different melting temperature ranges (28 °C and 21 °C) under variable thermal loading. The transient thermal response of various PCM-based configurations of concrete and cement blocks at different temperature inputs was obtained to determine the effectiveness of dual PCMs and their optimized configuration under experimental laboratory conditions. The range of the temperature input was varied from 22 °C to 50 °C, suitable for hot climatic conditions such as those in Pakistan. Laboratory ambient temperatures remained at ~17 °C for all experimental tests. Moreover, the results were compared using two parameters, i.e., decrement factor (DF) and time lag (TL). With DF and TL values of 0.10 and 5.72, respectively, in the high-temperature heating (HTH) regime and a low DF value of 0.08 and high TL of 5.17 in the moderate-temperature heating (MTH) regime, the RT28HC–RT21HC combination proved to be the most effective. The application of the RT28HC–RT21HC combination provided up to a 54.3% reduction in indoor temperatures in the HTH regime. This research contributes through experimental validation that these novel configurations are capable of providing substantial improvement in indoor thermal comfort. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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22 pages, 6601 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Analysis and Optimization of a Cooling System for Hybrid Solar Panels Based on Climatic Conditions of Islamabad, Pakistan

by Mariyam Sattar, Abdul Rehman, Naseem Ahmad, AlSharef Mohammad, Ahmad Aziz Al Ahmadi and Nasim Ullah

Energies 2022, 15(17), 6278; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176278 - 28 Aug 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2671

Abstract

The unconvertible portion of incident radiation on solar panels causes an increase in their temperature and a decrease in efficiency due to the negative temperature coefficient of the maximum power. This problem is dealt with through the use of cooling systems to lower the temperature of photovoltaic (PV) panels. However, the developments are focused on the loss of efficiency or extract the heat out of the solar panel, rather than optimizing the solution to produce a net gain in the electric power output. Therefore, this study proposes the analytical model for the cell temperature, irradiance and design of absorbers. Furthermore, the cooling systems for the hybrid solar panels were developed through analytical modeling of the solar cell temperature behavior and heat exchange between the fluid and back surface of the PV module in MATLAB. The design parameters such as mass flow rate, input power, solar cell temperature, velocity, height, number of passes and maximum power output were optimized through a multi-objective, multivariable optimization algorithm to produce a net gain in the electrical power. Three layouts of heat absorbers were considered—i.e., single-pass ducts, multi-pass ducts, and tube-type heat absorbers. Water was selected as a cooling medium in the three layouts. The optimized results were achieved for the multi-pass duct with 31 passes that delivered a maximum power output of 186.713 W at a mass flow rate of 0.14 kg/s. The maximum cell temperature achieved for this configuration was 38.810 °C at a velocity of 0.092 m/s. The results from the analytical modeling were validated through two-way fluid-solid interaction simulations using ANSYS fluent and thermal modules. Analyses revealed that the multi-pass heat absorber reduces the cell temperature with the least input power and lowest fluid mass flow rate to produce the highest power output in the hybrid PV system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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19 pages, 4444 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficiency of a Compressor Heat Pump System in Different Cycle Designs: A Simulation Study for Low-Enthalpy Geothermal Resources

by Jakub Szymiczek, Krzysztof Szczotka, Marian Banaś and Przemysław Jura

Energies 2022, 15(15), 5546; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15155546 - 30 Jul 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1558

Abstract

The development of district heating systems results in a search for alternative heat sources. One of these is low-enthalpy geothermic energy, more available than traditional geothermal energy. However, utilization of these resources is difficult, due to the low quality of the produced heat. To utilize them, the heat pump system can be used. Such a system was designed for this case study of a city in a region of the Polish Lowlands. The data necessary for the design came from the project of the borehole and operational parameters of the existing heating plant. Four heat pump-cycle designs were proposed, modeled, and simulated using Ebsilon software. Afterward, the designs were optimized to achieve maximum coefficient of performance (COP) value. As a result of the simulation, the efficiency of each design was determined and the seasonal COP value was calculated with the annual measured heat demand of the plant. The system based on the cascade design proved the most efficient, with a seasonal COP of 7.19. The seasonal COP for the remaining basic, subcooling, and regenerator variants was 5.61, 3.73, and 5.60, respectively. The annual heat production of the designed system (22,196 MWh) was calculated based on the thermal power of the designed system and historical demand data. This paper presents a simulation methodology for assessment of the efficiency and feasibility of a heat pump system in district heating. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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48 pages, 2695 KiB

Open AccessArticle

District Heating of Buildings by Renewable Energy Using Thermochemical Heat Transmission

by Robert E. Critoph and Angeles M. Rivero Pacho

Energies 2022, 15(4), 1449; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15041449 - 16 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1882

Abstract

The decarbonisation of building heating in urban areas can be achieved by heat pumps connected to district heating networks. These could be ‘third-generation’ (85/75 °C), ‘fourth-generation’ (50/40 or 50/25 °C) or ‘fifth-generation’ (near ambient) water loops. Networks using thermochemical reactions should require smaller pipe diameters than water systems and be more economic. This work investigates thermochemical transmission systems based on liquid–gas absorption intended for application in urban district heating networks where the main heat source might be a MW scale heat pump. Previous studies of absorption for heat transmission have concentrated on long distance (e.g., 50 km) transmission of heat or cold utilizing waste heat from power stations or similar but these are not directly applicable to our application which has not been investigated before. Absorbent-refrigerant pairs are modelled using water, methanol and acetone as absorbates. Thermodynamic properties are obtained from the literature and modelling carried out using thermodynamic analysis very similar to that employed for absorption heat pumps or chillers. The pairs with the best performance (efficiency and power density) both for ambient loop (fifth-generation) and high temperature (fourth-generation) networks use water pairs. The next best pairs use methanol as a refrigerant. Methanol has the advantage of being usable at ambient temperatures below 0 °C. Of the water-based pairs, water–NaOH is good for ambient temperature loops, reducing pipe size by 75%. Specifically, in an ambient loop, heat losses are typically less than 5% and the heat transferred per volume of pumped fluid can be 30 times that of a pumped water network with 10 K temperature change. For high temperature networks the heat losses can reach 30% and the power density is 4 times that of water. The limitation with water–NaOH is the low evaporating temperature when ambient air is the heat source. Other water pairs perform better but use lithium compounds which are prohibitively expensive. For high temperature networks, a few water- and methanol-based pairs may be used, but their performance is lower and may be unattractive. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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16 pages, 6248 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of the Renewable Energy Sources at District Scale—A Case Study of the Suburban Area

by Marcin Zygmunt and Dariusz Gawin

Energies 2022, 15(2), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15020473 - 10 Jan 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1905

Abstract

The protection of the natural environment and countering global warming are crucial worldwide issues. The residential sector has a significant impact on overall energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is extremely important to focus on all of the activities that can result in more energy efficient and sustainable city scale areas, preventing global warming. The highest improvement in the energy efficiency of existing buildings is possible by combining their deep refurbishment and the use of renewable energy sources (RES), where solar energy appears to be the best for application in buildings. Modernizations that provide full electrification seem to be a trend towards providing modern, energy efficient and environmentally friendly, smart buildings. Moreover, switching from an analysis at the single building level to the district scale allows us to develop more sustainable neighborhoods, following the urban energy modelling (UEM) paradigm. Then, it is possible to use the energy cluster (EC) concept, focusing on energy-, environmental- and economic-related aspects of an examined region. In this paper, an actual Polish suburban district is examined using the home-developed TEAC software. The software is briefly described and compared with other computer codes applied for UEM. In this study, the examined suburban area is modernized, assuming buildings’ deep retrofitting, the application of RES and energy storage systems, as well as usage of smart metering techniques. The proposed modernizations assumed full electrification of the cluster. Moreover, the examined scenarios show potential electricity savings up to approximately 60%, as well as GHG emission reduction by 90% on average. It is demonstrated that the proposed approach is a valid method to estimate various energy- and environment-related issues of modernization for actual residential clusters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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17 pages, 46948 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improvement of BIPV Efficiency by Application of Highly Reflective Surfaces at the Building Envelope

by Dominika Knera, Pablo Roberto Dellicompagni and Dariusz Heim

Energies 2021, 14(21), 7424; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217424 - 8 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1886

Abstract

The use of concentrated solar irradiation for the improvement of electric generation improvement has been implemented on different scales, mainly in photovoltaic systems. High-concentration Fresnel lenses are widely chosen for this approach in large installations, while low-concentration systems are rather applied in medium-low scales. For the latter, the improvement on electric performance was revealed, even when no solar tracking was implemented. The presented work aims to analyse a low-concentration photovoltaic installation by a numerical approach. First, the reflective surfaces were designed geometrically considering the optimal slope determined for each month. Subsequently, different simulation techniques were used separately for prediction of solar irradiation and energy production. Three criteria were selected to analyze power generation: the highest increase in total annual solar irradiance on panels with reflective surfaces, the highest total annual solar irradiance collected, and the optimal slope of panels for the entire year. The increase in energy was found to not exceed 10% in the winter months. Whereas in the spring and summer months the energy improvement is about 15–20%. Moreover, it was observed that the temperature of the proposed concentration photovoltaic system increased significantly, reaching more than 90 °C, while for traditional PV panels it did not exceed 75 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Renewable Energy Sources (Solar, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Hydro Energies) in Buildings)

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