ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the energy aspects related to sustainable communities aimed... more ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the energy aspects related to sustainable communities aimed at becoming smart. In particular, the paper discusses optimal strategies for the management of renewable energy systems (RES) and fossil fuel energy systems. Marche Region, one of the 21 Italian administrative divisions, has been taken as a reference case in order to compare different strategies. The area is characterized by a high percentage of electricity imported from the grid, suggesting the importance of increasing the local production to become sustainable. The year 2020 has been taken as the target year. An energy model of the area has been built considering RES potential and energy saving initiatives defined in the Regional Energy Master Plan. The model has been developed with EnergyPLAN, an optimization tool developed by Aalborg University and used to assess energy systems Three different solutions for the integration of RES and the minimization of fossil fuel consumption have been considered: i) a Demand Side Management technique related to the introduction of heat pumps seeking to use the excess of electricity derived from renewable production; ii) the use of micro-CHP systems in buildings to compensate for the variability of RES production; iii) the introduction of EVs with dump and smart charge. The best results come from HPs and EVs with smart charge, which are able to reduce the electricity in excess and minimize the primary energy consumption, in particular when a high share of intermittent renewable is introduced. Keywords: energy planning, renewable energy system, demand side management, heat pumps, electric vehicles, micro-CHP plants.
Environmental Economics and Investment Assessment III, 2010
ABSTRACT The present work investigates the potential energy savings coming from a careful and det... more ABSTRACT The present work investigates the potential energy savings coming from a careful and detailed local energy policy. The paper analyzes and assesses from technical, economic and environmental viewpoints different initiatives in the energy sector aimed at increasing energy efficiency in end-uses and reducing overall carbon emissions. The results are based on energy planning for five Italian urban areas sized at about fifty thousand inhabitants. The analysis has been developed with the aim of reaching generally applicable criteria suitable for evaluating the local energy policy contribution to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. Several initiatives for the private and public sectors have been considered, such as: (i) the introduction of combined heat and power generation based on useful thermal demand, suitable for the industry and service sectors (swimming pools, large distribution organizations); (ii) generation of electricity from renewables (solar energy, biomass); (iii) thermal insulation of private and public buildings, such as schools; (iv) introduction of micro-combined heat and power generation in the residential sector. For each solution the primary energy reduction and the consequent reduction in GHG emissions have been evaluated and a feasibility analysis has been developed in order to assess the profitability of the investment. Great attention has been paid to the public sector, which has an important role in providing leadership and driving changes in other sectors; furthermore, a rational use of energy combined with the exploitation of country-based incentives is able to reduce the public administrative expenditure. The results show that local energy policy can give an important contribution to gas emission reduction targets, and underline the fundamental role of public sector initiatives. Keywords: municipal planning, energy policy, renewable, energy savings, micro-CHP.
ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the energy aspects related to sustainable communities aimed... more ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the energy aspects related to sustainable communities aimed at becoming smart. In particular, the paper discusses optimal strategies for the management of renewable energy systems (RES) and fossil fuel energy systems. Marche Region, one of the 21 Italian administrative divisions, has been taken as a reference case in order to compare different strategies. The area is characterized by a high percentage of electricity imported from the grid, suggesting the importance of increasing the local production to become sustainable. The year 2020 has been taken as the target year. An energy model of the area has been built considering RES potential and energy saving initiatives defined in the Regional Energy Master Plan. The model has been developed with EnergyPLAN, an optimization tool developed by Aalborg University and used to assess energy systems Three different solutions for the integration of RES and the minimization of fossil fuel consumption have been considered: i) a Demand Side Management technique related to the introduction of heat pumps seeking to use the excess of electricity derived from renewable production; ii) the use of micro-CHP systems in buildings to compensate for the variability of RES production; iii) the introduction of EVs with dump and smart charge. The best results come from HPs and EVs with smart charge, which are able to reduce the electricity in excess and minimize the primary energy consumption, in particular when a high share of intermittent renewable is introduced. Keywords: energy planning, renewable energy system, demand side management, heat pumps, electric vehicles, micro-CHP plants.
ABSTRACT Triple point data are important in the refrigerating industry, defining the lowest tempe... more ABSTRACT Triple point data are important in the refrigerating industry, defining the lowest temperature limit at which a refrigerant may circulate in a fluid state. For several refrigerants, triple point data present in the literature are extremely scarce or inaccurate. A recently developed Solid- Liquid Equilibria (SLE) apparatus was used to measure the triple point temperature of 16 of the most widely applied alternative refrigerants, namely three methane derivatives (fluoromethane, R41; difluoromethane, R32; trifluoromethane, R23), four ethane derivatives (pentafluoroethane, R125; 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, R134a; 1,1,1-trifluoroethane, R143a; 1,1-difluoroethane, R152a), five propane derivatives [1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane, R227ea; 1,1, 2,3,3,3- hexafluoropropane, R236ea; 1,1,1,3,3-Pentafluoropropane, R245fa; 1,1,2,2,3-pentafluoropropane, R245ca; 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane, R236fa), and four hydrofluoro- olefines (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene, R1234yf; trans-1,3,3,3 tetrafluoropropene, R1234ze(E); 3,3,3-trifluoropropene, R1243zf; 1,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropene, 1225 ye(Z)]. The experimental setup, that was recently adopted for the SLE estimation of binary systems containing carbon dioxide (J Therm Anal Calorim 105:489-493, 2011), comprises a measuring cell and a system for drawing the liquid nitrogen directly from its insulated tank with the aid of compressed air: the carrier fluid circulating in the circuit is thus the refrigerant itself. The measurements were performed both in the heating and in the cooling mode. In order to confirm the functional efficiency and fine adjustment of the apparatus, the already available triple point literature data for carbon dioxide, dimethyl ether, and nitrous oxide were also compared with the ones measured by the present setup, confirming the validity of the setup. The measured triple point data for the refrigerants revealed generally good agreement with the literature, excepting a few fluids that revealed some discrepancies.
ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the energy aspects related to sustainable communities aimed... more ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the energy aspects related to sustainable communities aimed at becoming smart. In particular, the paper discusses optimal strategies for the management of renewable energy systems (RES) and fossil fuel energy systems. Marche Region, one of the 21 Italian administrative divisions, has been taken as a reference case in order to compare different strategies. The area is characterized by a high percentage of electricity imported from the grid, suggesting the importance of increasing the local production to become sustainable. The year 2020 has been taken as the target year. An energy model of the area has been built considering RES potential and energy saving initiatives defined in the Regional Energy Master Plan. The model has been developed with EnergyPLAN, an optimization tool developed by Aalborg University and used to assess energy systems Three different solutions for the integration of RES and the minimization of fossil fuel consumption have been considered: i) a Demand Side Management technique related to the introduction of heat pumps seeking to use the excess of electricity derived from renewable production; ii) the use of micro-CHP systems in buildings to compensate for the variability of RES production; iii) the introduction of EVs with dump and smart charge. The best results come from HPs and EVs with smart charge, which are able to reduce the electricity in excess and minimize the primary energy consumption, in particular when a high share of intermittent renewable is introduced. Keywords: energy planning, renewable energy system, demand side management, heat pumps, electric vehicles, micro-CHP plants.
Environmental Economics and Investment Assessment III, 2010
ABSTRACT The present work investigates the potential energy savings coming from a careful and det... more ABSTRACT The present work investigates the potential energy savings coming from a careful and detailed local energy policy. The paper analyzes and assesses from technical, economic and environmental viewpoints different initiatives in the energy sector aimed at increasing energy efficiency in end-uses and reducing overall carbon emissions. The results are based on energy planning for five Italian urban areas sized at about fifty thousand inhabitants. The analysis has been developed with the aim of reaching generally applicable criteria suitable for evaluating the local energy policy contribution to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. Several initiatives for the private and public sectors have been considered, such as: (i) the introduction of combined heat and power generation based on useful thermal demand, suitable for the industry and service sectors (swimming pools, large distribution organizations); (ii) generation of electricity from renewables (solar energy, biomass); (iii) thermal insulation of private and public buildings, such as schools; (iv) introduction of micro-combined heat and power generation in the residential sector. For each solution the primary energy reduction and the consequent reduction in GHG emissions have been evaluated and a feasibility analysis has been developed in order to assess the profitability of the investment. Great attention has been paid to the public sector, which has an important role in providing leadership and driving changes in other sectors; furthermore, a rational use of energy combined with the exploitation of country-based incentives is able to reduce the public administrative expenditure. The results show that local energy policy can give an important contribution to gas emission reduction targets, and underline the fundamental role of public sector initiatives. Keywords: municipal planning, energy policy, renewable, energy savings, micro-CHP.
ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the energy aspects related to sustainable communities aimed... more ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on the energy aspects related to sustainable communities aimed at becoming smart. In particular, the paper discusses optimal strategies for the management of renewable energy systems (RES) and fossil fuel energy systems. Marche Region, one of the 21 Italian administrative divisions, has been taken as a reference case in order to compare different strategies. The area is characterized by a high percentage of electricity imported from the grid, suggesting the importance of increasing the local production to become sustainable. The year 2020 has been taken as the target year. An energy model of the area has been built considering RES potential and energy saving initiatives defined in the Regional Energy Master Plan. The model has been developed with EnergyPLAN, an optimization tool developed by Aalborg University and used to assess energy systems Three different solutions for the integration of RES and the minimization of fossil fuel consumption have been considered: i) a Demand Side Management technique related to the introduction of heat pumps seeking to use the excess of electricity derived from renewable production; ii) the use of micro-CHP systems in buildings to compensate for the variability of RES production; iii) the introduction of EVs with dump and smart charge. The best results come from HPs and EVs with smart charge, which are able to reduce the electricity in excess and minimize the primary energy consumption, in particular when a high share of intermittent renewable is introduced. Keywords: energy planning, renewable energy system, demand side management, heat pumps, electric vehicles, micro-CHP plants.
ABSTRACT Triple point data are important in the refrigerating industry, defining the lowest tempe... more ABSTRACT Triple point data are important in the refrigerating industry, defining the lowest temperature limit at which a refrigerant may circulate in a fluid state. For several refrigerants, triple point data present in the literature are extremely scarce or inaccurate. A recently developed Solid- Liquid Equilibria (SLE) apparatus was used to measure the triple point temperature of 16 of the most widely applied alternative refrigerants, namely three methane derivatives (fluoromethane, R41; difluoromethane, R32; trifluoromethane, R23), four ethane derivatives (pentafluoroethane, R125; 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, R134a; 1,1,1-trifluoroethane, R143a; 1,1-difluoroethane, R152a), five propane derivatives [1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane, R227ea; 1,1, 2,3,3,3- hexafluoropropane, R236ea; 1,1,1,3,3-Pentafluoropropane, R245fa; 1,1,2,2,3-pentafluoropropane, R245ca; 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane, R236fa), and four hydrofluoro- olefines (2,3,3,3-tetrafluoroprop-1-ene, R1234yf; trans-1,3,3,3 tetrafluoropropene, R1234ze(E); 3,3,3-trifluoropropene, R1243zf; 1,2,3,3,3-pentafluoropropene, 1225 ye(Z)]. The experimental setup, that was recently adopted for the SLE estimation of binary systems containing carbon dioxide (J Therm Anal Calorim 105:489-493, 2011), comprises a measuring cell and a system for drawing the liquid nitrogen directly from its insulated tank with the aid of compressed air: the carrier fluid circulating in the circuit is thus the refrigerant itself. The measurements were performed both in the heating and in the cooling mode. In order to confirm the functional efficiency and fine adjustment of the apparatus, the already available triple point literature data for carbon dioxide, dimethyl ether, and nitrous oxide were also compared with the ones measured by the present setup, confirming the validity of the setup. The measured triple point data for the refrigerants revealed generally good agreement with the literature, excepting a few fluids that revealed some discrepancies.
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