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Environmental and cost life cycle analysis of the impact of using solar systems in energy renovation of Southern European single-family buildings

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  • Mateus, Ricardo
  • Silva, Sandra Monteiro
  • de Almeida, Manuela Guedes

Abstract

Nowadays, in the European Union (EU) the construction rate of new buildings is very low and therefore achieving the EU targets regarding the energy efficiency of the building sector is only possible through the reduction of the energy needs of the existing building stock. A building design based on passive measures is a priority to reduce operational energy consumption but it is not enough to achieve the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) level. Consequently, the design must also consider active systems with high efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources to partially/totally replace the use of non-renewable energy. At this level, solar thermal and photovoltaic panels play an important role, mainly in countries with high levels of solar radiation, as in the Southern European countries. Nevertheless, there are still some barriers to overcome for the broader dissemination of the implementation of these systems. One of the most important is that building owners are not fully aware of the life cycle benefits that these systems have at environmental and economic levels. The best way to raise awareness to these benefits is through the analysis of case studies, highlighting the short or mid-term benefits resulting from the integration of these active solutions. Thus, this paper is aimed at analysing the environmental and life cycle costs of different energy renovation scenarios, assessing the contribution of the solar systems to achieve three levels of energy performance. The study is focused on the energy renovation of a detached single-family house considering the climatic conditions of Porto, Portugal. From the results, it is possible to conclude that, on an annual basis, and for the Portuguese climate, it is possible to overcome, many of the energy needs for acclimatization and preparation of domestic hot water with the integration of these systems. The study also shows attractive economic and carbon payback times resulting from their use.

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  • Mateus, Ricardo & Silva, Sandra Monteiro & de Almeida, Manuela Guedes, 2019. "Environmental and cost life cycle analysis of the impact of using solar systems in energy renovation of Southern European single-family buildings," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 82-92.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:137:y:2019:i:c:p:82-92
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.04.036
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    2. Yuanlong Cui & Shuangqing Tian & Jie Zhu & Stamatis Zoras & Yiming Shao, 2023. "Energy and Stochastic Economic Assessments of Photovoltaic Systems in the East Midlands," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-35, September.
    3. Wenjing Cui & Jingke Hong & Guiwen Liu & Kaijian Li & Yuanyuan Huang & Lin Zhang, 2021. "Co-Benefits Analysis of Buildings Based on Different Renewal Strategies: The Emergy-Lca Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-22, January.
    4. Shaterabadi, Mohammad & Jirdehi, Mehdi Ahmadi & Amiri, Nima & Omidi, Sina, 2020. "Enhancement the economical and environmental aspects of plus-zero energy buildings integrated with INVELOX turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 1355-1367.
    5. Yan Li & Guoshun Wang & Zhaohao Li & Jiahai Yuan & Dan Gao & Heng Zhang, 2020. "A Life Cycle Analysis of Deploying Coking Technology to Utilize Low-Rank Coal in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-17, June.
    6. Ahsan Waqar & Idris Othman & Nasir Shafiq & Hasim Altan & Bertug Ozarisoy, 2023. "Modeling the Effect of Overcoming the Barriers to Passive Design Implementation on Project Sustainability Building Success: A Structural Equation Modeling Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-26, June.
    7. Pengying Wang & Shuo Zhang, 2022. "Retrofitting Strategies Based on Orthogonal Array Testing to Develop Nearly Zero Energy Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-18, April.
    8. Duc Long Luong & Quang Trung Nguyen & Anh Duc Pham & Quynh Chau Truong & Minh Quan Duong, 2020. "Building a Decision-Making Support Framework for Installing Solar Panels on Vertical Glazing Façades of the Building Based on the Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Benefit Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, May.
    9. López-Ochoa, Luis M. & Las-Heras-Casas, Jesús & González-Caballín, Juan M. & Carpio, Manuel, 2023. "Towards nearly zero-energy residential buildings in Mediterranean countries: The implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2018 in Spain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    10. De Luca, Giovanna & Ballarini, Ilaria & Lorenzati, Alice & Corrado, Vincenzo, 2020. "Renovation of a social house into a NZEB: Use of renewable energy sources and economic implications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 356-370.
    11. Genice K. Grande-Acosta & Jorge M. Islas-Samperio, 2020. "Boosting Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy inside the Residential, Commercial, and Public Services Sectors in Mexico," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-24, October.
    12. Almeida, Manuela & Ascione, Fabrizio & Iovane, Teresa & Mastellone, Margherita & Mateus, Ricardo, 2024. "Impact of life cycle assessment analysis on energy efficiency projects in Mediterranean residential buildings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).

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