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This purpose of this paper is to address the problem of reducing energy consumption in existing buildings using advanced noninvasive interventions (NVIs).

The study methodology involves systematically developing and testing 18 different NVIs in six categories (glazing types, window films, external shading devices, automated internal shades, lighting systems and nanopainting) to identify the most effective individual NVIs. The impact of each individual NVI was examined on an exemplary university educational building in a hot climate zone in Egypt using a computational energy simulation tool, and the results were used to develop 39 combination scenarios of dual, triple and quadruple combinations of NVIs.

The optimal 10 combination scenarios of NVIs were determined based on achieving the highest percentages of energy reduction. The optimal percentage of energy reduction is 47.1%, and it was obtained from a combination of nanowindow film, nanopainting, LED lighting and horizontal louver external. The study found that appropriate mixture of NVIs is the most key factor in achieving the highest percentages of energy reduction.

These results have important implications for optimizing energy savings in existing buildings. The results can guide architects, owners and policymakers in selecting the most appropriate interventions in existing buildings to achieve the optimal reduction in energy consumption.

The novelty of this research unfolds in two significant ways: first, through the exploration of the potential effects arising from the integration of advanced NVIs into existing building facades. Second, it lies in the systematic development of a series of scenarios that amalgamate these NVIs, thereby pinpointing the most efficient strategies to optimize energy savings, all without necessitating any disruptive alterations to the existing building structure. These combination scenarios encompass the incorporation of both passive and active NVIs. The potential application of these diverse scenarios to a real-life case study is presented to underscore the substantial impact that these advanced NVIs can have on the energy performance of the building.

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the possible interactions among the three European objectives in the horizon of 2020: the reduction of 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG); the saving of 20 per cent of the European energy consumption; and a share of 20 per cent of renewable energies in the overall energy consumption. Particular focus is, however, placed on the influence of the CO₂ emission reduction targets and on their consequences on the carbon price in 2020.

In order to explore the interactions among the three European objectives and their induced effects, a number of scenarios are tested within a combination of two modeling tools: the POLES world energy model and ASPEN, an auxiliary model dedicated to the analysis of quota trading systems. With reasonable assumptions for the burden sharing among the member states, the energy efficiency objectives and the renewable energy targets are achieved using national quota systems in each European country (white and green certificate systems and their implicit prices), while the CO₂ emission reduction is carried out within the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in line with the objective of 20 per cent emission reduction.

The paper shows, in particular, that the two quota policies (white certificates and green certificates) decrease significantly the European marginal emission reduction cost and consequently, the compliance costs for ETS participants. The high‐renewable target compliance cost could be reduced significantly if carbon price signal and energy saving policies are in place. The paper also shows that the sole carbon price signal has a limited influence for stimulating renewable energies and energy savings and thus concludes on the need for specific policies targeting these two areas.

This paper is a first attempt to comprehensively deal with the economic fundamentals of the 3D regulatory system proposed by the Commission for Energy and Climate and is of value in proposing a comprehensive approach of the economics of the “20/20/20” European policy.

This paper, using energy softwares, designed of Iran and optimized a residential villa in Saman city located in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province.

Having used the ideas of Climate Consultant software, the basic designing was conducted by Design Builder Software, and the cooling and heating loads and lighting tools and equipment were calculated. Then, the amount of consuming of heating, cooling and lighting load of the building was optimized through insulation of walls and ceiling, using green roof, double glazing UPVC windows, light intensity sensor and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system.

Simulation results for the stated scenarios showed an annual reduction in energy consumption of 21.1, 7.9, 26.41, 27.3 and 72.3 per cent, respectively. Also, by combining all the five scenarios, an optimal state was achieved which, from the results, brought about an annual reduction of 86.9 per cent in the energy consumption.

The authors hope that the results of the current paper could be helpful for designers and engineers in reduction of energy consumption for designing a building in similar climatic conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to outline efforts at the University of Johannesburg, a large metropolitan university in Gauteng province, to examine energy efficiency within the context of the green campus movement, through the analysis of electricity consumption patterns. The study is particularly relevant in light of the cumulative 230 per cent increase in electricity costs between 2008 and 2014 in South Africa that has forced institutions of higher education to seek ways to reduce energy consumption.

A quantitative research design was adopted for the analysis of municipal electricity consumption records using a case study approach to identify trends and patterns in consumption. The largest campus of the University of Johannesburg, which is currently one of the largest residential universities in South Africa, was selected as a case study. Average diurnal consumption profiles were plotted according to phases of the academic calendar, distinguished by specific periods of active teaching and research (in-session); study breaks, examinations and administration (out-of-session); and recesses. Average profiles per phase of the academic calendar were constructed from the hourly electricity consumption and power records using ExcelTM pivot tables and charts.

It was found that the academic calendar has profound effects on energy consumption by controlling the level of activity. Diurnal maximum consumption corresponds to core working hours, peaking at an average of 2,500 kWh during “in-session” periods, 2,250 kWh during “out-of-session” periods and 2,100 kWh during recess. A high base load was evident throughout the year (between 1,300 and 1,650 kWh), mainly attributed to heating and cooling. By switching off the 350 kW chiller plant on weekdays, a 9 per cent electricity reduction could be achieved during out-of-session and recess periods. Similarly, during in-session periods, a 6 per cent reduction could be achieved.

Key strategies and recommendations are presented to stimulate energy efficiency implementation within the institution.

Coding of consumption profiles against the academic calendar has not been previously done in relation to an academic institution. The profiles were used to establish the influence of the academic calendar on electricity consumption, which along with our own observation were used to identify specific consumption reduction opportunities worth pursuing.

Approximately 700 colleges and universities have committed to climate neutrality, which will require significant reductions in energy consumption. This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of an Annual Energy Challenge in curtailing electricity use by changing consumption behaviors at one liberal arts college.

From 2010 to 2014, Allegheny College (Meadville, PA, USA) ran four-week energy challenges. Electricity consumption was measured and compared to a baseline year of 2008. An alternate baseline, more granular data for 20 sub-metered buildings and historic utility bill consumption trends were further analyzed to identify any persisting change and understand the impact of behavior change separate from efficiency retrofits, changes in population and normal seasonal shifts.

Electricity consumption during the challenge period dropped an average of 9 per cent compared to the 2008 baseline and 6 per cent compared to the baseline of the 4 weeks preceding each challenge. Consumption trends changed in the years during challenge implementation compared to the years before engaging the campus community. All analyses reinforce that the challenge reduces electricity consumption. However, results must be analyzed in multiple ways to isolate for behavior change.

The analyses used to isolate energy challenge results due to behavior change are replicable at other institutions and would allow campuses to compare results and share proven strategies.

While many campuses organize energy challenges, few have published details about the results both during the challenge and continuing afterwards. Nor has a research explored the need to put results into contexts such as natural seasonal trends to isolate the impacts of behavior change.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of countries has some of the highest electricity consumptions and carbon dioxide emissions per capita in the world. This poses a direct challenge to the GCC government’s ability to meet their CO₂ reduction targets. In this review paper the current household electricity consumption situation in the GCC is reviewed.

Three scenarios for reducing energy consumption and CO₂ emissions are proposed and evaluated using strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) as well as the political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental (PESTLE) frameworks.

The first scenario found that using solar Photovoltaic (PV) or hybrid solar PV and wind system to power household lighting could save significant amounts of energy, based on lighting making up between 8% to 30% of electricity consumption in GCC households. The second scenario considers replacement of conventional appliances with energy-efficient ones that use around 20% less energy. The third scenario looks at influencing consumer behavior towards sustainable energy consumption.

Pilot trials of these scenarios are recommended for a number of households. Then the results and feedback could be used to launch the schemes GCC-wide.

The proposed scenarios are designed to encourage responsible electricity consumption and production within households (SDG12).

All three proposals are found viable for policymakers to implement. However, to ensure successful implementation GCC Governments are recommended to review all the opportunities and challenges associated with these schemes as laid out in this paper.

This paper aims to identify all variables and parameters related to business and emission within the petrochemical industry. The variables and parameters specified will be modeled into a system dynamic model that will be a baseline for the proposed best scenario(s) to address the business issue related to emission reduction in the petrochemical industry.

Literature review and stakeholder interviews were conducted to define the key factors contributing to the emission reduction of the petrochemical industry. The key factors are then developed into a system dynamic model to measure the quantitative impact of changes in those variables on emission and industry profitability.

This paper provides an analysis of system dynamic model. It suggests that process optimization can lead to a slight amount reduction in emissions. In contrast, a significant reduction shows in the simulation result of bio-based feedstock utilization and implementation of advanced technology. To sustain the emission reduction, strong commitment from stakeholders and support from the government will play an important role.

This research is limited to problem analysis of the primary product (high-value chemical) of the petrochemical industry by only considering the changes in the key factors of emission reduction.

This paper includes implications for interventions that can be imposed to reduce emission while retaining the business profitability.

The contribution of this study is to find the best scenario that can boost emission reduction within Indonesia’s petrochemical industry.

Using building information modelling (BIM) technology, a conventional structure in this study was converted into a green building to measure its energy usage and CO2 emissions.

Digital images of the existing building conditions were captured using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and were fed into Meshroom to generate the building’s geometry for 3D parametric model development. The model for the existing conventional building was created and converted to an energy model and exported to gbXML in Autodesk Revit for a whole building analysis which was carried out in the Green Building Studio (GBS). In the GBS, the conventional building was retrofitted into a green building to explore their energy consumption and CO2 emission.

By comparing the green building model to the conventional building model, the research found that the green building model saved 25% more energy while emitting 46.8% less CO2.

The study concluded that green building reduces energy consumption, thereby reducing the emission of CO2 into the environment. It is recommended that buildings should be simulated at the design stage to know their energy consumption and carbon emission performance before construction.

Occupant satisfaction, operation cost and environmental safety are essential for sustainable or green buildings. Green buildings increase the standard of living and enhance indoor air quality.

This investigation aided in a pool of information on how to use BIM methodology to retrofit existing conventional buildings into green buildings, showing how green buildings save the environment as compared to conventional buildings.

The inappropriate lighting methods can have irreversible effects on artworks available in museums and exhibitions. Several factors affect the choice of the lighting system in the museums. By surveying all possible elements, this paper aims to propose a sustainability-based solution, as it relates to the development of artwork conservation, visual perception and energy efficiency during operation and maintenance (O&M).

The paper elicits optimal solutions out of the method presented based on functions and expert opinion to improve lighting quality in existing museums. To study the optimization, the energy consumption and life cycle cost (LCC) in both the proposed lighting and the existing lighting system are compared using HoneyBee and LadyBug plugins in GrassHopper, as well as BLCC5 energy cost estimation software.

The results indicated a practical method to select the most suitable solution for museum lighting. By applying the proposed solutions obtained from the case study, a significant reduction in energy consumption and LCC were achieved. Besides, greenhouse gases were remarkably decreased.

Providing the proper lighting systems for each museum is the issue that is given special attention during the facilities management. The quality of the lighting, energy consumption and costs are analyzed by the simulation software. It is recommended that the validity considerations of the practice are examined.

The present study tried to present an optimal method to choose the best lighting system by the simultaneous utilization of theoretical and practical aspects. The functional model is also introduced for performing the most effective method to enhance the lighting techniques in the art museums.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of green strategies as a combination of energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction for improving environmental sustainability at logistics sites. Such measures are examined by discussing the related impacts, motivations and barriers that could influence the measures' adoption. Starting from the framework, directions for future research in this field are outlined.

The proposed framework was developed starting from a systematic literature review (SLR) approach on 60 papers published from 2008 to 2022 in international peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings.

The framework identifies six main areas of intervention (“green strategies”) towards green warehousing, namely Building, Utilities, Lighting, Material Handling and Automation, Materials and Operational Practices. For each strategy, specific energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction are further pinpointed. In most cases, “green-gold” measures emerge as the most appealing, entailing environmental and economic benefits at the same time. Finally, for each measure the relationship with the measures' primary impacts is discussed.

From an academic viewpoint, the framework fills a major gap in the scientific literature since, for the first time, this study elaborates the concept of green warehousing as a result of energy-efficiency measures and solutions towards environmental impact reduction. A classification of the main areas of intervention (“green strategies”) is proposed by adopting a holistic approach. From a managerial perspective, the paper addresses a compelling need of practitioners – e.g. logistics service providers (LSPs), manufacturers and retailers – for practices and solutions towards greener warehousing processes to increase energy efficiency and decrease the environmental impact of the practitioners' logistics facilities. In this sense, the proposed framework can provide valuable support for logistics managers that are about to approach the challenge of turning the managers' warehouses into greener nodes of the managers' supply chains.