Increasing Building Energy Efficiency Through Advances in Materials
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creasing Building Energy Efficiency Through Advances in Materials
Construction Materials
Ron Judkoff (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA)
Super-Green Factory
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Abstract Materials advances could help to reduce the energy and environmental impacts of buildings. Globally, buildings use about 20% of primary energy and account for 20% of atmospheric emissions. Building energy consumption emanates from a variety of sources, some of which are related to the building envelope or fabric, some to the equipment in the building, and some to both. Opportunities for reducing energy use in buildings through innovative materials are therefore numerous, but there is no one system, component, or material whose improvement alone can solve the building energy problem. Many of the loads in a building are interactive, and this complicates cost/benefit analysis for new materials, components, and systems. Moreover, components and materials for buildings must meet stringent durability and cost/performance criteria to last the long service lifetimes of buildings and compete successfully in the marketplace.
Energy and Environmental Impact of Buildings The buildings sector accounts for about 40% of primary energy consumption, 70% of electricity use, and 40% of atmospheric emissions in developed countries.1 Globally, buildings account for about 20–30% of primary energy use and emissions.2 The disparity can be explained because many buildings in less developed countries do not provide the levels of thermal and luminous comfort common in developed nations. Also, many buildings in less developed countries have little or no access to electricity. The correlation between primary energy use and carbon emissions depends on the mix of energy sources and climate in any given country. For example, the carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants are very different from those of gas-fired plants. Currently, total annual world primary energy consumption from human activities is about 450 quadrillion BTU (quads) (470 EJ). Table I lists annual global building primary energy use projected to the year 2030.3,4 World building energy use is projected to grow by about 38 quads (40 EJ) by 2030. The current rate of total annual world anthropogenic carbon emissions is about 6,500 million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year5 (MMTCE/year). Under a business-as-usual scenario, carbon emissions will grow at least linearly with primary
energy consumption. A rough estimate of the current carbon emissions from the world’s building stock would be about 1300 to 2200 MMTCE/year. Figure 1 shows the relative average disaggregated end uses and losses of energy in buildings (i.e., the separate contributions of individual factors to energy consumption).4,6 For example, in winter, heat leaks through walls and windows by conduction, radiation, and convection. Energy is also provided to the end uses of heating water, powering electrical devices, and heating the building, among others. These splits are most
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