Determination of the Energy Performance of a Solar Low Energy House with Regard to Aspects of Energy Efficiency and Smartness of the House

Abstract

The paper shows how difficult it is to prove technically that a building really is both low energy and smart, and that all aspects of energy efficiency have been treated equally. Regulations connected to the determination of the energy performance of residential buildings take into account only space and hot water heating energy consumption and define the indices of maximal primary energy consumption, but not energy needs based on the architecture of the building. A single family house designed and constructed as a low energy solar house in Warsaw’s suburbs is considered. Availability of solar energy and its influence on the architecture of the house is analyzed. A specific solar passive architectural concept with solar southern and cold northern buffer spaces incorporated into the interior of the house is presented. Parameters of the building’s structure, construction materials, as well as operation parameters of equipment and heating systems based on active use of solar energy, ground energy (via a heat pump) and waste heat from a ventilation system are described. Results of calculations give values of final and primary energy consumption index levels of 11.58 kWh/m2 and 25.77 kWh/m2, respectively. However, the official methodology for determination of energy performance does not allow for presenting how energy efficient and smart the building really is.

Energy Efficiency: Determinants and Roles on Sustainable Development in Emerging Country

“…The findings of this research coincide with some in the current literature that adoption of improved technologies has positive impact on energy efficiency (Oikonomou et al, 2009;Mrówczyńska et al, 2018); initiatives on energy use has significant impact on energy efficiency (Chwieduk and Chwieduk 2020); construction and design positively drive energy efficiency (Chwieduk and Chwieduk 2020); appliances and equipment has positive effect on energy efficiency (Stagnitta et al, 2020) and management practices of firm positively drive energy efficiency (Boyd and Curtis, 2014;Martin et al, 2012;Bloom et al, 2010). Accordingly, results indicated that management practice plays the most important role for driving energy efficiency.…”

“…According to Chwieduk and Chwieduk (2020), design and construct of building are perceived as important for saving energy or use energy efficiently. The cleverness of the building's design and architecture demonstrates its ability to optimize the ambient surrounding to minimize energy demands for space heating or space cooling, simultaneously being able to utilize renewable energy and waste heat available to the building.…”

“…Furthermore, driving towards a low carbon economy is a clear opportunity for global economy, jobs and sustainable growth. There are numerous studies related to energy efficiency but the approaches, perspectives and contexts are very diverse such as Mrówczyńska et al (2018) with "Social and infrastructural conditioning of lowering energy costs and improving the energy efficiency of buildings in the context of the local energy policy" for building sector; Chwieduk and Chwieduk (2020) with "determination of the energy performance of a solar low energy house with regard to aspects of energy efficiency and smartness of the house" which typically household sector; Dato (2018) "investment in energy efficiency, adoption of renewable energy and household behavior" for household sector; Cini et al (2017) "Energy Efficiency Projects of Budget Beneficiaries And Its Impact On Regional Economy" for economic related; Strielkowski et al (2019) with "innovative policies for energy efficiency and the use of renewables in households" for household sector; Cristescu et al (2017) with "increasing energy efficiency and optimizing the operation of systems that produce clean energy from renewable sources"; Stagnitta et al (2020) with "A complementary approach to traditional energy balances for assessing energy efficiency measures in final uses: The case of space heating and cooling"; Lenzi et al (2013) with "From energy balance to energy efficiency indicators including water losses"; Benavente-Peces (2019) with "On the energy efficiency in the next generation of smart Buildings Supporting technologies and techniques" for building sector; Han et al (2017) with "measuring energy efficiency in China's transport sector" for transport sector. However, research on specific factors affecting energy efficiency are still unclear.…”

Analysis of the Return on Investment in Solar Collectors on the Example of a Household: The Case of Poland

“…The greatest amount of solar energy in Poland reaches the collector surface in June when the sky is cloudless, when the sun is at its highest point above the horizon (62.4°). In December, on the other hand, this energy is much lower because the Sun is at the lowest point (15.5°) (Global solar Atlas, 2020; NASA Solar Radiation, 2020; Chwieduk and Chwieduk, 2020;Zelazna et al, 2020;The World Bank, 2020). Summer months are characterized by the greatest number of hours of insolation; direct radiation may constitute 90% of the total radiation reaching the earth and thus reach 1,050 W/m 2 .…”

Modelling of Solar Irradiance Incident on Building Envelopes in Polish Climatic Conditions: The Impact on Energy Performance Indicators of Residential Buildings

“…Heating and cooling energy consumption of a building results from thermal balance governing heat gains and losses [23] and may be lowered using solar energy. Recently, different methods to control solar energy flow in connection with a building's energy performance have been presented, such as windows with different thermal (U) and solar energy (g) transmittances [24,25], shading strategies [26], and inclination angles of windows [27].…”