Energy and Economic Assessment of Energy Efficiency Options for Energy Districts: Case Studies in Italy and Egypt

Francesco Calise, Francesco L. Cappiello, Maria Vicidomini, Jian Song, Antonio M. Pantaleo, Suzan Abdelhady, Ahmed Shaban and Christos N. Markides
Additional contact information
Francesco Calise: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Francesco L. Cappiello: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Maria Vicidomini: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, P.le Tecchio 80, 80125 Naples, Italy
Jian Song: Clean Energy Processes Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Antonio M. Pantaleo: Clean Energy Processes Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Suzan Abdelhady: Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Fayoum University, 63514 Fayoum, Egypt
Ahmed Shaban: Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Fayoum University, 63514 Fayoum, Egypt
Christos N. Markides: Clean Energy Processes Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-24

Abstract: In this research, a technoeconomic comparison of energy efficiency options for energy districts located in different climatic areas (Naples, Italy and Fayoum, Egypt) is presented. A dynamic simulation model based on TRNSYS is developed to evaluate the different energy efficiency options, which includes different buildings of conceived districts. The TRNSYS model is integrated with the plug-in Google SketchUp TRNSYS3d to estimate the thermal load of the buildings and the temporal variation. The model considers the unsteady state energy balance and includes all the features of the building’s envelope. For the considered climatic zones and for the different energy efficiency measures, primary energy savings, pay back periods and reduced CO 2 emissions are evaluated. The proposed energy efficiency options include a district heating system for hot water supply, air-to-air conventional heat pumps for both cooling and space heating of the buildings and the integration of photovoltaic and solar thermal systems. The energy actions are compared to baseline scenarios, where the hot water and space heating demand is satisfied by conventional natural gas boilers, the cooling demand is met by conventional air-to-air vapor compression heat pumps and the electric energy demand is satisfied by the power grid. The simulation results provide valuable guidance for selecting the optimal designs and system configurations, as well as suggest guidelines to policymakers to define decarbonization targets in different scenarios. The scenario of Fayoum offers a savings of 67% in primary energy, but the associated payback period extends to 23 years due to the lower cost of energy in comparison to Naples.

Keywords: space heating; space cooling; energy efficiency; renewable energy; energy and economic assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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