International Defense Security & Technology Your trusted Source for News, Research and Analysis
In an era defined by rapid urbanization, environmental challenges, and technological advancements, the concept of smart energy buildings is poised to revolutionize how we construct and inhabit our living and working spaces. These futuristic buildings go beyond mere sustainability; they integrate advanced technologies to optimize energy efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and enhance occupant comfort and productivity. Let’s explore the evolving requirements and cutting-edge technologies driving the future of smart energy buildings.
Addressing the Challenge
Power cuts are becoming increasingly common worldwide as electricity consumption soars and breakdowns in the electrical grid become more frequent. Extreme weather and the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) will add even more load to the grid in the coming years.
The buildings sector accounts for about 76% of electricity use and 40% of all U.S. primary energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making it essential to reduce energy consumption in buildings. This reduction is crucial to meet national energy and environmental challenges and to lower costs for building owners and tenants. This underscores the critical need to curtail energy consumption through innovative solutions in building design, operation, and maintenance.
Major Areas of Energy Consumption
The major areas of energy consumption in buildings are:
- Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC): 35% of total building energy use
- Lighting: 11%
- Major appliances (water heating, refrigerators and freezers, dryers): 18%
- Miscellaneous areas including electronics: 36%
Data Centers and Computational Facilities
Computers and other electronic devices account for about 6% of all building energy use. The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts that energy use in data center servers will increase five-fold by 2040, while energy use in other information technology equipment will more than double. The large energy requirements of computational facilities have led to increased interest in improving energy efficiency and finding ways to reduce their peak power consumption.
Requirements for Future Smart Energy Buildings
New technologies in heating, cooling, and ventilation not only promise significant gains in energy efficiency but also enhance the comfort and well-being of occupants. Innovations such as smart HVAC systems and advanced insulation materials are pivotal in reducing energy wastage and maintaining optimal indoor environments.
Energy Efficiency: The cornerstone of smart energy buildings is their ability to minimize energy consumption while maximizing performance. This includes efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, smart lighting solutions, and building envelope designs that reduce heat loss and gain.
Advancements in HVAC Systems: Air conditioning involves both cooling the air and removing moisture. The traditional approach does both using vapor-compression heat pumps. Smaller systems, including most residential systems, move conditioned air, while most large commercial buildings use central chillers to cool water and transfer heat from water to air closer to the occupied spaces. Dehumidification, which accounts for nearly 3% of all U.S. energy use, is typically achieved by inefficiently cooling moist air until the water vapor condenses out and then re-heating the air to a comfortable temperature. Efficiency improvements in HVAC systems will involve efforts to improve the efficiency of heating or cooling air and technology that can efficiently remove moisture from air.
Utilizing Waste Heat: Refrigeration equipment, clothes dryers, washing machines, and many other building energy systems generate heat that is typically dumped into the ambient air. It is possible to capture and circulate this heat so that it can be reused (possibly after its temperature is increased). Waste heat from refrigeration could be used to help heat hot water.
Enhancing Lighting Efficiency: Lighting quality plays an essential role in the appeal and safety of interior and exterior spaces. Well-designed lighting systems can enhance productivity, while glare and other harsh lighting features can decrease it. Light quality also affects sleep patterns and health and can shape the mood of any space. About 18% of U.S. electricity consumption and 6% of all U.S. energy consumption is used to provide indoor and outdoor lighting.
Key strategies for improving the efficiency and quality of lighting include good building and lighting design, window and window covering technologies (such as blinds and diffusers), lighting sensors and controls (including occupancy sensors and light sensors), and lighting devices (LEDs and others). Good lighting design ensures that light levels are adjusted to user requirements.
Efficient lighting systems, particularly LED technologies, not only reduce energy consumption but also enhance productivity by minimizing glare and optimizing illumination levels. This dual benefit significantly contributes to the overall energy footprint of buildings.
Sustainable Practices:
Renewable Energy Integration: Smart buildings increasingly rely on renewable energy sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal systems to meet their energy needs. Integration with smart grids allows these buildings to feed excess energy back into the grid, promoting energy autonomy and resilience. The integration of renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines into building designs is crucial for achieving energy autonomy and resilience. Coupled with smart grids, these systems enable buildings to generate and manage their own energy efficiently, reducing dependency on traditional power sources and mitigating the impact of power disruptions.
Sustainable Materials and Practices: From construction materials with low environmental impact to sustainable water management systems, future buildings prioritize eco-friendly practices throughout their lifecycle. This includes reducing carbon emissions during construction and operation.
The Role of Electronics and IT: About 36% of building energy use is distributed across a wide range of systems, the majority of them electric. These include a variety of electronic devices such as computers, televisions, imaging equipment (e.g., printers and multifunction devices), audio/video equipment other than displays, telephony devices, and network equipment. Kitchen and household devices are also included, as are application-specific commercial building systems. Electric vehicle chargers are also included in this category. They are now small, but their importance may grow rapidly in coming years.
Intelligent Automation: Automation and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies play a crucial role in smart energy buildings. Sensors monitor energy usage in real-time, optimizing systems based on occupancy patterns, weather conditions, and energy tariffs. Automated systems can adjust lighting, HVAC settings, and even appliance usage to minimize energy waste.
Data-Driven Insights: Advanced analytics and data processing enable predictive maintenance and energy forecasting. Building managers can proactively identify inefficiencies, optimize energy usage, and plan for future upgrades based on historical data and real-time insights.
User Comfort and Well-being: Smart buildings prioritize occupant comfort and well-being. This includes indoor air quality monitoring, daylight harvesting through smart windows, adaptive lighting systems, and ergonomic design principles that enhance productivity and reduce stress.
Resilience and Adaptability: With climate change impacts becoming more severe, smart energy buildings are designed to withstand extreme weather events and disruptions. Backup power systems, energy storage solutions, and flexible design features ensure resilience and adaptability.
By focusing on these key areas, the buildings sector can significantly reduce its energy consumption, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance the resilience and efficiency of the electrical grid. These improvements will be crucial as the world continues to face growing energy demands and environmental challenges.
Smart Buildings: The Future of Sustainable Infrastructure
A smart building utilizes automated processes to control operations such as ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, heating, security, sanitation, and other core systems. These systems are interconnected via Internet Protocol (IP) to collect data from the building, allowing it to deliver services with minimal energy use, reducing costs and environmental impact. Smart buildings enhance efficiency for business owners, property managers, and occupants, offering more than just energy efficiency.
Core Features of Smart Buildings
Integrated Systems: Lighting, windows, HVAC equipment, water heaters, and other building components are increasingly equipped with smart controllers and wireless communication capabilities. These systems improve building efficiency, manage peak loads, and provide valuable services that control the cost of large utility systems. Beyond energy usage, they offer benefits like improved security, access control, fire and emergency detection, and maintenance issue identification before they become serious problems.
Personalized Control: Low-cost sensors and controls allow individuals to have greater control over thermal and lighting conditions. Self-powered sensors, using available light, vibrations, or AC line fields, simplify installation and enhance convenience.
Smart Building Energy Management System (SBEMS)
A Smart Building Energy Management System (SBEMS) optimizes total building performance by connecting independently operating subsystems into a smart power grid. This integration makes all building operations visible in one place, facilitating computer-based interactions between the building, its equipment, and the operators and occupants.
Key Features of SBEMS:
- Centralized Control: Collects all building data, empowering decision-makers with visibility, control, and actionable information to proactively address potential problems.
- Automation: Sensors, actuators, and microchips generate valuable data needed to automatically control conditions across the building.
- Safety Modules: Handles floods and fire, ensuring comprehensive safety management.
Health and Comfort Improvements
Smart buildings significantly enhance health conditions by using wireless sensors to monitor CO2 levels and harmful particles. These sensors can send warnings to adjust ventilation, replace filters, or turn systems off as needed, ensuring optimal air quality. Continuous air quality monitoring boosts employee cognitive functions and overall health, while optimized cooling and ventilation ensure physical comfort, sanitation, and security, enabling better occupant performance and productivity.
Economic Benefits
Smart building solutions reduce everyday spending by identifying underutilized resources and maximizing the potential of unused spaces. They can receive signals from utility companies to alter electricity usage, resulting in substantial energy cost savings.
Energy Efficiency: Smart buildings learn user needs, remember preferences, and make predictions. This learning capacity is crucial for adjusting settings like room temperatures, lighting, shading, and energy and water utilization, providing an efficient and user-friendly environment.
Smart buildings represent a transformative approach to building management, combining energy efficiency with enhanced security, health, and user comfort. By integrating advanced technologies and automated systems, smart buildings pave the way for sustainable and cost-effective infrastructure, meeting the growing demands for energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.
Technologies Shaping the Future
Central to the evolution of smart energy buildings is the adoption of Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) and Smart Building Energy Management Systems (SBEMS). These systems leverage IoT and AI technologies to monitor, analyze, and optimize energy usage in real-time. By providing actionable insights and automating responses, SBEMS empower building managers to enhance operational efficiency and preemptively address maintenance needs.
1. Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS): BEMS integrate HVAC, lighting, and energy monitoring systems into a centralized platform. They enable real-time monitoring, automated control, and optimization of energy usage based on occupancy and external conditions.
2. Renewable Energy Systems: Solar photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines, and geothermal heat pumps are key renewable energy technologies integrated into smart buildings. Energy storage solutions such as batteries or thermal storage systems complement these renewables, ensuring round-the-clock energy availability.
3. IoT and Connectivity: IoT devices, including smart thermostats, occupancy sensors, and smart appliances, communicate with BEMS to optimize energy usage. Connectivity via wireless networks enables seamless data exchange and remote management of building systems.
4. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning: AI algorithms analyze vast amounts of data to optimize building operations in real-time. AI-driven predictive maintenance identifies potential equipment failures before they occur, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
5. Data-Driven Insights: The proliferation of data analytics and machine learning further refines building operations. Predictive maintenance models help anticipate equipment failures, optimize energy consumption patterns, and streamline building management strategies. These insights not only reduce operational costs but also extend the lifespan of building infrastructure.
6. Advanced Building Materials: Innovations in building materials include smart glass that adjusts its tint based on sunlight intensity, phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage, and sustainable insulation materials that enhance energy efficiency.
7. Blockchain Technology: Blockchain enhances energy efficiency and transparency by enabling peer-to-peer energy trading among buildings. Smart contracts automate transactions based on predefined conditions, facilitating energy sharing and reducing costs.
Transformative Technologies: Microturbines Leading the Charge
A notable example of innovation driving sustainable building practices is the development of microturbine technology by TurboGen. These microturbines efficiently generate electricity, heat, and cooling using natural gas or potentially renewable fuels like solar and biogas. With efficiency levels nearing 90%, these systems not only slash energy costs but also fortify buildings against power outages and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making them a cornerstone of future-proof building solutions.
One innovative solution for buildings to create their own energy is the use of microturbines. TurboGen, an Israeli company, has introduced efficient, small, lightweight, and easy-to-maintain microturbines that simultaneously generate electricity, heat, and cooling. These microturbines can replace traditional boilers and air conditioners in multifamily residential buildings, public buildings, hotels, hospitals, and offices.
How TurboGen Microturbines Work
Based on proprietary jet-propulsion technology developed at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, TurboGen’s microturbines utilize Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power (CCHP) from natural gas. CEO Yaron Gilboa explains that these microturbines can also be powered by renewable solar, biogas, and hydrogen fuels in the future.
- Electricity Generation: Natural gas is used to fuel the microturbine, generating electricity.
- Heat Recovery: The process produces extremely hot air as a byproduct. This hot air is collected and passed through a recuperator and then a heat exchanger to heat water for bathrooms and kitchens. During winter, this system also provides heating for the building.
- Cooling: In summer, a dedicated chiller converts the hot air into air conditioning and refrigeration.
Efficiency and Environmental Impact
While standard generators typically achieve 35 to 40 percent efficiency, TurboGen’s prototype has achieved 90% efficiency by utilizing the heat from the turbine as an energy source. This high efficiency means less natural gas is needed to achieve the same level of energy output.
Benefits of TurboGen Microturbines
- Cost Reduction: The system lowers electricity and heating costs in buildings.
- Resilience: Provides resistance to power outages, ensuring continuous energy supply.
- Environmental Impact: Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by replacing traditional boilers.
- Economic Advantage: The technology can lower real estate and rental prices for apartments and offices due to reduced energy costs.
TurboGen’s microturbines are designed to produce independent electricity and heat for five years before requiring maintenance, making them a reliable and sustainable solution for modern buildings. This innovative approach not only supports energy self-sufficiency but also contributes to the reduction of environmental impact, aligning with global goals for sustainability and efficiency.
Transforming Buildings into Energy Storage Giants: The Cenosphere Breakthrough
Researchers from the University of Alabama and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have made significant strides towards integrating buildings into the renewable energy grid by leveraging a novel technology involving cenospheres—lightweight, hollow, ceramic microspheres derived from coal-burning power plants.
Cenospheres, traditionally a byproduct of coal combustion, are now at the forefront of transforming buildings into dynamic energy storage units. These microscopic spheres possess remarkable properties ideal for enhancing the efficiency and strength of thermal energy storage systems. Unlike conventional polymer-based microcapsules, which often lack durability and strength, the silica-coated cenospheres offer a breakthrough solution.
The application of silica coatings on cenospheres represents a bioinspired advancement that significantly enhances the thermal performance and fire resistance of microcapsules. This innovation not only boosts the capability of storing excess renewable energy but also ensures that the microcapsules can be seamlessly integrated into building materials without compromising structural integrity. This is crucial for scaling up distributed energy storage capabilities across urban landscapes.
Professor Jialai Wang from the University of Alabama highlights the transformative potential of these enhanced thermal energy storage materials. By integrating them into building components or HVAC systems, buildings can effectively serve as decentralized energy storage units. During periods of high renewable energy generation, surplus energy can be stored within these structures. Subsequently, during low renewable output or peak demand periods, stored energy can be released back into the grid.
The ability of buildings equipped with cenosphere-based energy storage to act as resilient power sources during grid outages underscores their multifaceted benefits. These distributed storage systems play a pivotal role in stabilizing the grid, mitigating fluctuations in power supply and demand. Moreover, their integration enhances overall grid resilience by providing a reliable backup during emergencies.
Looking ahead, the development of cenosphere-based energy storage technology not only aligns with global efforts to increase renewable energy penetration but also contributes significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By optimizing energy usage and storage within buildings, societies can achieve greater energy independence and sustainability goals.
Future Perspectives: From Retrofitting to Innovation
As buildings typically endure for decades, retrofitting existing structures with energy-efficient technologies assumes paramount importance. Innovative solutions tailored for retrofits, such as smart controllers for appliances, enhanced insulation materials, and IoT-enabled sensors, present cost-effective avenues to enhance energy efficiency in older buildings.
Conclusion
The future of smart energy buildings promises a paradigm shift towards sustainable, resilient, and user-centric urban environments. By integrating advanced technologies like IoT, AI, renewable energy systems, and intelligent automation, these buildings not only reduce carbon footprints but also enhance comfort, productivity, and economic efficiency. Embracing these innovations will not only meet regulatory requirements but also position buildings at the forefront of energy innovation in the 21st century.
As we move towards a greener and smarter future, the evolution of smart energy buildings will continue to shape urban landscapes, improve quality of life, and pave the way for sustainable development globally. As stakeholders continue to innovate and collaborate, the vision of energy-efficient, resilient, and adaptive smart buildings will play a pivotal role in shaping a sustainable future for generations to come. Embracing these technologies today will lay the foundation for a resilient and energy-efficient built environment tomorrow.
References and Resources also include:
https://www.israel21c.org/welcome-to-a-world-where-buildings-can-create-their-own-energy/
