A Handbook On Low Energy Buildings And District Energy Systems

Winner of Choice Magazine - Outstanding Academic Titles for 2007 Buildings account for over one third of global energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Reducing energy use by buildings is therefore an essential part of any strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thereby lessen the likelihood of potentially catastrophic climate change. Bringing together a wealth of hard-to-obtain information on energy use and energy efficiency in buildings at a level which can be easily digested and applied, Danny Harvey offers a comprehensive, objective and critical sourcebook on low-energy buildings. Topics covered include: thermal envelopes, heating, cooling, heat pumps, HVAC systems, hot water, lighting, solar energy, appliances and office equipment, embodied energy, buildings as systems and community-integrated energy systems (cogeneration, district heating, and district cooling). The book includes exemplary buildings and techniques from North America, Europe and Asia, and combines a broad, holistic perspective with technical detail in an accessible and insightful manner.

Winner of Choice Magazine - Outstanding Academic Titles for 2007 Buildings account for over one third of global energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Reducing energy use by buildings is therefore an essential part of any strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thereby lessen the likelihood of potentially catastrophic climate change. Bringing together a wealth of hard-to-obtain information on energy use and energy efficiency in buildings at a level which can be easily digested and applied, Danny Harvey offers a comprehensive, objective and critical sourcebook on low-energy buildings. Topics covered include: thermal envelopes, heating, cooling, heat pumps, HVAC systems, hot water, lighting, solar energy, appliances and office equipment, embodied energy, buildings as systems and community-integrated energy systems (cogeneration, district heating, and district cooling). The book includes exemplary buildings and techniques from North America, Europe and Asia, and combines a broad, holistic perspective with technical detail in an accessible and insightful manner.

This book reviews the history and evolution of district heating networks, with a focus on current and future issues of the district heating sector. Novel developments in the field of low temperature district heating are studied, limitations for safe operation and avoidance of bacteria are considered, and the associated improved performance of the system with fewer network losses is presented. This book showcases how the evolution of district heating networks is linked to the increased use of renewables and de-carbonized heat sources with specific focus to waste heat streams and solar energy systems. Considering the novelty of these technologies, technological developments and funding schemes for these investments are still immature to some extent. For that reason, a comprehensive review of the main aspects of energy planning as well as district heating economics and financing schemes for large-scale investments in renewable energy systems for district energy systems is performed. In the light of digitalization, networks are increasingly monitored, allowing for a drastic change in the approach for network operation. This book also explores the increased digitization and monitoring of networks and how this impacts network operation. This book is of interest to engineers, academics and officials interested in energy systems, presenting readers with the key concepts and tools to adapt to the evolution of district heating into an integrated, digitized and higher performing system.

In the Design Professional's Guide to Zero Net Energy Buildings, Charles Eley draws from over 40 years of his own experience, and interviews with other industry experts, to lay out the principles for achieving zero net energy (ZNE) buildings, which produce as much energy as they use over the course of a year. Eley emphasizes the importance of building energy use in achieving a sustainable future; describes how building energy use can be minimized through smart design and energy efficiency technologies; and presents practical information on how to incorporate renewable energy technologies to meet the lowered energy needs. The book shows the reader through examples and explanations that these solutions are viable and cost effective.

This Handbook is a direct result of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) initiative on Integrated/Sustainable Building Equipment and Systems (ISBES), with the objective of ?lling voids in the literature and motivating advances on integrated mechanical systems for sustainable buildings. The main focus of this Volume I is on integrated energy systems and is organized from the current state of knowledge in areas of energy equipment and building energy modeling tools, to emerging topics in a wide range of areas encompassing combined heat and power, building energy storage systems, and advanced control strategies for mechanical energy systems in buildings. In addition, the integration of renewable energy and passive cooling and heating strategies is particularly addressed, closing with advanced techniques to analyze energy demands at the neighborhood and city scales. The contributors have a diverse set of skills and extensive experience in building engineering. Readers will ?nd the content to be relevant and useful to their practice and insightful to inspire new advances and developments in Energy Systems for Sustainable Buildings.

This book presents 18 in-depth case studies of net zero energy buildings—low-energy building that generate as much energy as they consume over the course of a year—for a range of project types, sizes, and U.S. climate zones. Each case study describes the owner’s goals, the design and construction process, design strategies, measurement and verification activities and results, and project costs. With a year or more of post-occupancy performance data and other project information, as well as lessons learned by project owners and developers, architects, engineers, energy modelers, constructors, and operators, each case study answers the questions: What were the challenges to achieving net zero energy performance, and how were these challenges overcome? How would stakeholders address these issues on future projects? Are the occupants satisfied with the building? Do they find it comfortable? Is it easy to operate? How can other projects benefit from the lessons learned on each project? What would the owners, designers, and constructors do differently knowing what they know now? A final chapter aggregates processes to engage in and pitfalls to avoid when approaching the challenges peculiar to designing, constructing, and owning a net zero energy building. By providing a wealth of comparable information, this book which will flatten the learning curve for designing, constructing, and owning this emerging building type and improve the effectiveness of architectural design and construction.

John Straube, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering and School of Architecture, University of Waterloo, Canada --