Economic and Environmental Assessment on Implementing Solar Renewable Energy Systems in Spanish Residential Homes

Abstract

In Europe, buildings are responsible for more than one third of the total final energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions. In the last twenty years, the European Union has published a succession of energy performance of building directives to define and ensure the fulfilment of a series of objectives regarding greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, energy efficiency and energy generation from renewable sources in buildings. For its part, Spain is adapting its legal framework, transposing these directives with the aim of achieving greater energy efficiency and sustainability for buildings. Under this context, an energy, economic and environmental assessment is performed to analyze the impact of these regulatory changes on a single-family home including a photovoltaic installation for self-consumption with surpluses and/or a solar thermal installation for domestic hot water supply, located in each one of the eight thousand one hundred thirty-one municipalities that make up Spain. The energy behavior of the original house is compared with that obtained after it is updated with these new facilities. The transient system simulation tool is used for the energy study. The results show that the European objectives are far exceeded. The energy savings achieved range from 67% to 126%, carbon dioxide emissions decrease by 42% to 100% and energy bills are reduced in cost by 32% to 81%. The findings of this work can be used by policymakers as guidelines for the development of national strategic plans and financial incentives for the promotion of small-scale residential photovoltaic and solar thermal applications, as well as by designers, supervisors, managers and developers to include them in their projects.

A Systematic Literature Review of the Interplay between Renewable Energy Systems and Occupant Practices

“…This design tries to reduce demand and peak consumption while utilizing intermittent renewable energy systems [103]. An example is the development of electrochromic systems for windows to enhance energy efficiency and reduce heating and cooling requirements [119,208]. Feedback systems are often used in research to spark behavioral change within the household [185].…”

External Wall Systems in Passive House Standard: Material, Thermal and Environmental LCA Analysis

“…In 2022, the construction sector will account for 34% of total global energy demand, resulting from both operational emissions from the use of building services and emissions associated with the production of building materials. The share of this sector in global energy consumption is significant, reaching about one third of the total demand [6,7]. A detailed analysis shows that emissions from the operation of buildings account for 26% of total emissions, while emissions from the production of materials such as cement, steel, and aluminium account for 7% [8].…”

Impacto de un aislamiento de altas prestaciones en la rehabilitación energética interior de edificios

“…A continuación, diseñar, modificar y/u optimizar los equipos de frío y calor (Guerrero Delgado et al, 2022). Finalmente, incorporar energías renovables, en la medida que sea necesario seguir aportando energía al edificio (Cerezo-Narváez, Bastante-Ceca, et al, 2021).…”