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This paper provides an analysis of challenges and available solutions for exterior insulated panels suitable for deep energy retrofits of existing building envelopes. The analysis covers a review of available technologies that provide flexible retrofit insulated panels suitable for multiple climates and building typologies. Moreover, the paper proposes a new design for insulated retrofit panels that account for the majority of identified technical risks including cost, architectural diversity, climate variations, structural concerns, moisture resilience, air sealing, and water sealing. Additionally, the proposed design can be easily installed with minimal disruption to the occupants. A series of parametric and optimization analyses is carried out to identify the optimal design specifications for insulated panels suitable for deep retrofits of existing US housing stocks. The analysis results show that the optimal design criteria for the insulated panels can reduce heating and cooling energy consumption by up to 80% and HVAC capacities by 70%. Moreover, the results indicate that these insulated panels are highly cost effective for retrofitting US housing units located in cold climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase in global average temperature, mainly due to the high rate of greenhouse gas emissions, has triggered severe global warming and climate change. In Europe, the building sector accounts for a significant portion of emissions and energy consumption, prompting attention on nearly-zero-energy buildings (nZEBs) and zero-carbon buildings, as they play a pivotal role in reaching the goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Passive systems offer a promising solution, optimizing energy usage by better adapting buildings to their local climates. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of passive heating and cooling techniques, exploring their contributions to contemporary architecture and showcasing their features and adaptability across different climates. Furthermore, the link between traditional and bioclimatic architecture is assessed. Recent years have witnessed a surge in publications on bioclimatic solar passive strategies, reflecting an intensified debate on climate change. Europe leads research in this area, aligned with initiatives like the Green Deal and Fit for 55. While dynamic simulation software is widely utilized for energy efficiency analysis, there remains limited integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and life cycle analysis (LCA) tools, which could enhance holistic assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a methodology to forecast electrical demand for the Chilean Electrical Power System considering a national, regional, district and bus spatial disaggregation. The methodology developed was based on different kinds of econometric models and end-use models to represent the massification of low carbon emission technologies such as electromobility, electric heating, electric water heating, and distributed generation. In addition, the methodology developed allows for the projection of the electric demand considering different kinds of clients as regulated and non-regulated clients, and different economic sectors. The model was applied to forecast the long-term electricity demand in Chile for the period 2022–2042 for 207 districts and 474 buses. The results include projections under the base case and low carbon scenarios, highlighting the significant influence of new technologies on future demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study evaluates the impact of behavioral changes resulting from climate awareness on energy consumption and carbon emissions in European households based on the results of a two-stage survey addressed to individuals manifesting pro-ecological attitudes. In the first stage, the author analyzed 67 pro-environmental behaviors declared by the participants, identified a set of new sustainable choices, and compared them to the conservation habits used in Rasch and Campbell's models. The 10 most popular initiatives undertaken by over 50% of participants were selected for further analysis. The influence of these initiatives on energy consumption and CO2 emissions was assessed. A total of 24 impact indicators were identified at the building scale. Energy and carbon savings were calculated for 500 participants from 28 European countries and compared to the results computed for the 100 households used as a reference. The main conclusions from the research concern the significance of individual decisions at the building scale in the context of their actual environmental impact calculated for a larger scale. The comparative analysis showed that the highest annual energy (2292.1 MWh) and emission (267.02 tons of CO2) savings resulted from the car-to-bicycle (or walking) transition on short-distance trips (declared by 79%) and from the transition from non-renewable to renewable energy sources (PV panels installed by 65% of respondents). Annual energy and emission savings reached, respectively, 1300 MWh and 262.6 tons of CO2. The research findings help explain the critical importance of transforming the built environment towards renewable energy sources and supporting pedestrian and sustainable transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are millions of older buildings in the colder climate regions of the world where envelope upgrades are needed to improve the indoor quality of buildings, reduce energy costs, and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This study assessed the global warming potential (GWP) with and without accounting for CO2 uptake in trees (biogenic carbon) for 20- and 100-year timespans of an exterior insulation panel. The panels consisted of six different materials with three-ply cross-laminated timber (CLT) as its main component. The net GWP100-Uptake impact when explicitly accounting for biogenic CO2 uptake over a 100-year time period was 7.2 kgCO2-eq/m2 which was 92.7% lower than if it was not included (GWP100-Fossil of 98.7 kgCO2-eq/m2). Using a 20-year GWP increased the impact of the GWP fossil by 21.7% and the CO2 uptake scenario by 298%. The major contributor was the energy used for manufacturing panel's materials (53%), with embodied carbon in bio-products primarily responsible for offsetting emissions. The findings will be helpful for policymakers in setting net-zero carbon emission goals for embodied and operational impacts of building materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to provide empirical evidence on whether using renewable and non-renewable energy, CO2 emissions, and the resulting changes in temperature and precipitation can alter cereal yields in European Union countries. To this end, a panel data set covering 1992–2021 has been used to analyse the impact of climate change and economic factors on cereal production in European Union countries. The study employed various analytical techniques to better understand the impact of climate change and economic factors on cereal crop yields. These included using annual average temperature and rainfall to measure climate change, energy consumption, and economic growth to analyse the economic aspects. To achieve the objective, feasible generalised least squares (FGLS) models with robust standard errors and bootstrap and a quantile regression (QR) model with marginal analysis were employed. The Westerlund cointegration test confirmed the presence of cointegration between cereal production and climate variables, economic growth, and energy consumption. The results indicate that increases in temperature and precipitation may contribute to increased cereal production in European Union countries. In contrast, energy consumption, including renewable energy and CO2 emissions, may have a nonlinear effect on cereal production. Quantile regression analysis suggests climate change may impact crop yields most in countries with low and moderate cereal production per hectare. Increased CO2 emissions may increase yields in the initial period, but excessive CO2 may negatively impact cereal production in the long term. It would be advisable for countries with low and moderate crop productivity to consider implementing technological advances and combating global warming by modernising cultivation methods and making greater use of renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global steel industry is rapidly transitioning towards energy decarbonization to address the climate crisis. Sintering is one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions from steel mills. Traditional sintering processes use straight inclined chutes to feed raw materials into the sinter machine. However, this design suffers from insufficient horizontal momentum, resulting in poor segregation of the layered materials. This study proposes an improved charging chute design profile that uses a cycloid curve and rolls to enhance segregation, thus reducing coal consumption and increasing productivity. To achieve this, we first modeled a charging chute using the cycloid curve. Secondly, building upon the cycloid concept, we created a roll-type chute by strategically placing rollers along the cycloid trajectory. Finally, the cycloid roll-type charging chute, integrating the cycloid trajectory with the roll-shaped charging chute, was simulated. Pilot tests comparing the cycloid roll-type and straight chute models demonstrated a significant increase in dispersion for the cycloid roll-type design, with a 65% improvement in the Strand-ward segregation (Sw) index compared to the straight chute. Furthermore, actual filed implementation in a sintering process achieved a 2.9% increase in operational productivity and a 6% reduction in fuel consumption. This study is significant not only for proposing an optimal chute design, but also for successfully implementing it in a full-scale steel mill, contributing to a reduction in fuel consumption and carbon reduction in steel mills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of industrialization and technological developments and the rate of population growth have begun to disrupt the ecological balance in the world. A large share of the deterioration of this balance is due to the rapidly increasing energy demands of people. Fossil fuels and renewable energy sources are used to obtain the energy that is needed by human beings. Most of the world's energy needs are met by fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These resources, which we call fossil fuels, cause many parallel environmental problems, such as global warming, climate change, and carbon emissions, for the world and nature. The most affected by all these experiences, of course, is the entire production sector, which is dependent on energy. However, textile and apparel, which is a pioneer in taking steps towards harmonization with the Green Agreement, is one of the sectors that started the transition to green energy within the scope of the European Union and brands' net-zero targets. Within the scope of the Green Agreement, Turkey has participated and started to work for a 70% carbon reduction, which is the target for 2030, and carbon neutrality, which is the target for 2050. Therefore, within the scope of these targets, the textile sector of Çukurova Region, which has the highest export rate in Turkey, was chosen. Within the scope of this study, carbon emission, which is one of the global problems, was examined within the framework of the ISO 14067-ISO Product Based Carbon Footprint (CF) standard by examining the production of a textile company, and the results were analyzed in detail. The main innovation of this article is to follow all stages of the fabric called Tricia, which is the most produced product in the textile industry, from its entry as fiber to its exit as fabric in the factory, and to calculate and analyze the amount of carbon that is released into nature. The dynamic and experimental results showed that it was determined that 6.00 tons of carbon dioxide carbon were released in the time it took for the fabric to go to the sewing room as a fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]