Optimal decarbonization pathways for urban residential building energy services

Leibowicz, Benjamin D.; Lanham, Christopher M.; Brozynski, Max T.; Vázquez-Canteli, José R.; Castejón, Nicolás Castillo; Nagy, Zoltán

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.09.046

Cited by 113 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…heating, cooling and ventilation systems, and lighting, play a pivotal role in energy consumption. Efficiency gains can be realized by utilizing energy-efficient systems and appliances as well as improved construction materials (REN21 2019; Leibowicz et al 2018).…”

Section: Fuel Switch and Efficiency Gainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review

et al. 2020

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Climate change is defined as the shift in climate patterns mainly caused by greenhouse gas emissions from natural systems and human activities. So far, anthropogenic activities have caused about 1.0 °C of global warming above the pre-industrial level and this is likely to reach 1.5 °C between 2030 and 2052 if the current emission rates persist. In 2018, the world encountered 315 cases of natural disasters which are mainly related to the climate. Approximately 68.5 million people were affected, and economic losses amounted to $131.7 billion, of which storms, floods, wildfires and droughts accounted for approximately 93%. Economic losses attributed to wildfires in 2018 alone are almost equal to the collective losses from wildfires incurred over the past decade, which is quite alarming. Furthermore, food, water, health, ecosystem, human habitat and infrastructure have been identified as the most vulnerable sectors under climate attack. In 2015, the Paris agreement was introduced with the main objective of limiting global temperature increase to 2 °C by 2100 and pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 °C. This article reviews the main strategies for climate change abatement, namely conventional mitigation, negative emissions and radiative forcing geoengineering. Conventional mitigation technologies focus on reducing fossil-based CO2 emissions. Negative emissions technologies are aiming to capture and sequester atmospheric carbon to reduce carbon dioxide levels. Finally, geoengineering techniques of radiative forcing alter the earth’s radiative energy budget to stabilize or reduce global temperatures. It is evident that conventional mitigation efforts alone are not sufficient to meet the targets stipulated by the Paris agreement; therefore, the utilization of alternative routes appears inevitable. While various technologies presented may still be at an early stage of development, biogenic-based sequestration techniques are to a certain extent mature and can be deployed immediately.

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Section: Fuel Switch and Efficiency Gainsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review

et al. 2020

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“…The building sector has been identified as one of the main contributors of global energy consumption representing over 40% of the end-use energy in the world [1]. This large amount of energy consumption has resulted in a global trend of green buildings designs which include integrations of low carbon technologies and building facades [2,3].…”

Section: Background and Related Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phase change material blind system for double skin façade integration: System development and thermal performance evaluation

Darkwa

Kokogiannakis

et al. 2019

Applied Energy

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“…It is crucial that improving building energy efficiency and improving building resilience should be considered together. In fact, energy efficiency in buildings has well-established benefits, including driving economic growth, reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions [49][50][51], decarbonizing the grid [52][53][54], and improving indoor air quality, health, and productivity [55][56][57][58][59]. However, the benefits that energy efficiency provide for resilience are less well explored, understood, and valued.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nexus of thermal resilience and energy efficiency in buildings: A case study of a nursing home

Sun

Specian

Hong

2020

Building and Environment

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Extreme weather events become more frequent and severe due to climate change. Although energy efficiency technologies can influence thermal resilience of buildings, they are traditionally studied separately, and their interconnections are rarely quantified. This study developed a methodology of modeling and analysis to provide insights into the nexus of thermal resilience and energy efficiency of buildings. We conducted a case study of a real nursing home in Florida, where 12 patients died during Hurricane Irma in 2017 due to HVAC system power loss, to understand and quantify how passive and active energy efficiency measures (EEMs) can improve thermal resilience to reduce heat-exposure risk of patients. Results show that passive measures of opening windows and doors for natural ventilation, as well as miscellaneous load reduction, are very effective in eliminating the extreme dangerous occasions. However, to maintain safe conditions, active measures such as on-site power generators and thermal storage are also needed. The nursing home was further studied by changing its location to two other cities: San Francisco (mild climate) and Chicago (cold winter and hot summer). Results revealed that the EEMs' impacts on thermal resilience vary significantly by climate and building characteristics. The study also estimated the costs of EEMs to help stakeholders prioritize the measures. Passive measures that may not save energy may greatly improve thermal resilience, and thus should be considered in building design or retrofit. Findings from this study indicate energy efficiency technologies should be evaluated not only by their energy savings performance but also by their influence on a building's resilience to extreme weather events.

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Optimal decarbonization pathways for urban residential building energy services

Cited by 113 publications

References 43 publications

Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review

Strategies for mitigation of climate change: a review

Phase change material blind system for double skin façade integration: System development and thermal performance evaluation

Nexus of thermal resilience and energy efficiency in buildings: A case study of a nursing home

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