Agent-Based Modeling of a Thermal Energy Transition in the Built Environment

Graciela del Carmen Nava Guerrero, Gijsbert Korevaar, Helle Hvid Hansen and Zofia Lukszo
Additional contact information
Graciela del Carmen Nava Guerrero: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
Gijsbert Korevaar: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
Helle Hvid Hansen: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
Zofia Lukszo: Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-25

Abstract: To reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, an energy transition is taking place in the European Union. Achieving these targets requires changes in the heating and cooling sector (H&C). Designing and implementing this energy transition is not trivial, as technology, actors, and institutions interact in complex ways. We provide an illustrative example of the development and use of an agent-based model (ABM) for thermal energy transitions in the built environment, from the perspective of sociotechnical systems (STS) and complex adaptive systems (CAS). In our illustrative example, we studied the transition of a simplified residential neighborhood to heating without natural gas. We used the ABM to explore socioeconomic conditions that could support the neighborhoods’ transition over 20 years while meeting the neighborhoods’ heat demand. Our illustrative example showed that through the use of STS, CAS, and an ABM, we can account for technology, actors, institutions, and their interactions while designing for thermal energy transitions in the built environment.

Keywords: built environment; residential; thermal; technology; insulation; complex adaptive systems; socio-technical systems; ABM (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: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/5/856/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/5/856/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:5:p:856-:d:211012

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().