Emerging Energy-Efficient Technologies in Buildings Technology Characterizations for Energy Modeling

Hadley, SW

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

关键词: Air Conditioners;    Efficiency;    Energy Consumption;    Residential Buildings;    Economics;   

DOI  :  10.2172/885660
RP-ID  :  ORNL/TM-2004/63
RP-ID  :  DE-AC05-00OR22725
RP-ID  :  885660

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

The energy use in America's commercial and residential building sectors is large and growing. Over 38 quadrillion Btus (Quads) of primary energy were consumed in 2002, representing 39% of total U.S. energy consumption. While the energy use in buildings is expected to grow to 52 Quads by 2025, a large number of energy-related technologies exist that could curtail this increase. In recent years, improvements in such items as high efficiency refrigerators, compact fluorescent lights, high-SEER air conditioners, and improved building shells have all contributed to reducing energy use. Hundreds of other technology improvements have and will continue to improve the energy use in buildings. While many technologies are well understood and are gradually penetrating the market, more advanced technologies will be introduced in the future. The pace and extent of these advances can be improved through state and federal R&D. This report focuses on the long-term potential for energy-efficiency improvement in buildings. Five promising technologies have been selected for description to give an idea of the wide range of possibilities. They address the major areas of energy use in buildings: space conditioning (33% of building use), water heating (9%), and lighting (16%). Besides describing energy-using technologies (solid-state lighting and geothermal heat pumps), the report also discusses energy-saving building shell improvements (smart roofs) and the integration of multiple energy service technologies (CHP packaged systems and triple function heat pumps) to create synergistic savings. Finally, information technologies that can improve the efficiency of building operations are discussed. The report demonstrates that the United States is not running out of technologies to improve energy efficiency and economic and environmental performance, and will not run out in the future. The five technology areas alone can potentially result in total primary energy savings of between 2 and 4.2 Quads by 2025, or 3.8% to 8.1% of the total commercial and residential energy use by 2025 (52 Quads). Many other technologies will contribute to additional potential for energy-efficiency improvement, while the technical potential of these five technologies on the long term is even larger.