A Complex Approach to the Energy Efficiency of Buildings and Processes in Industrial and Municipal Areas

Abstract

This contribution discusses the energy efficiency of buildings and processes in industrial and municipal areas. Standard procedures in energy management have proved insufficient for many industrial facilities and the benefits of implemented energy saving measures are rather limited. There is a lack of procedures for identifying and implementing optimal saving measures in commercial and mid-size industrial facilities, with input from dozens of kW to units of MW. Effective procedure must be valid for a wide rangeof energy systems whilst keeping its practical applicability. Such procedures are difficult to find in the literature. This article provides a complex approach to energy saving projects and thus contributes to closing the existing gap. The complex approach targets three levels: (1) the technological level: all buildings and processes involved in the production and consumption of energy, (2) the time level: in respect to the dynamic behaviour of the systems, and (3) the methodological level: a systematic approach from the initial analysis of the system to the design of the energy saving measures. The article stresses the analytical phase of the project, which deals with acquiring qualified data. Reliable experimental and operational data lead to the use of mathematical models that increase the quality of the final results. The complex approach was applied on various case studies. Its implementation creates new, efficient way to conduct research projects on energy savings.