Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Energy Consumption Depending on the Material and Construction Solutions and the Energy Carrier Used—A Case Study

Abstract

The article presents the results of research on the impact of material and construction solutions on energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions. Field research was conducted in an existing free-standing greenhouse located in southern Poland. The research period covered the entire calendar year. The measurement data were used in the next step to validate the computational model using the numerical method of elementary balances. The data distribution was also analyzed in terms of basic statistics. The validated and verified model was used in the further part of the analysis to conduct computer simulations for three variants, differing in terms of material and construction solutions. The variants included: no foundation insulation, extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation and the use of single-chamber polycarbonate panels with thermal insulation of the foundations. The obtained results showed a high agreement between theoretical and real data (85–89% for the coefficient of determination (R2) and 84–88% for the GOF method). In the case of variant 1, which in terms of material and construction solutions corresponded to the actual construction of the greenhouse, it was found that the annual energy demand for heating purposes amounted to 153,234 kWh/year. In variant 2, in which additional thermal insulation relative to the zero state was used, the energy demand for heating purposes was lower and amounted to 147,704 kWh/year. The lowest heat load was characteristic of variant 3, in which 116,294 kWh/year was required to cover heating needs. The variant with polycarbonate and foundation insulation brought energy savings of 24% and a reduction of CO2 emissions by 24%. In addition, replacing fuel from hard coal with natural gas brought significant benefits, reducing pollutant emissions by 51%. The paper is a new approach to the use of the mentioned numerical method for the assessment of gaseous pollutant emissions in this type of building based on numerical simulations of energy consumption.