Detailed energy and comfort simulation of integral refurbishment of existing buildings in Catalonia

The energy renovation of buildings is an essential action to achieve the European target of 20/20/20. However, the dynamics of the energy renovation are very slow and the development of urgent policy actions beyond the national energy efficiency action plans is needed. In that context, the main objective of the thesis is to develop a cost-effective analysis for the energy renovation of the main residential building typologies of Catalonia, considering three main criteria: thermal comfort, primary energy use and global costs. The main building typologies of Catalonia are analysed, comparing the current situation with the effect of different energy efficiency measures. Four building typologies are studied, each of them in different climates and locations, in order to evaluate the differences and the particularities of every one. The building model definition is an important task where all the methods and hypotheses to estimate the energy consumption are defined. In that sense, the objective of the building model definition is to go further to the previous studies, trying to improve the detail and the results of the simulation. The emphasis of the PhD is on the following aspects: the building characterization, including information from surveys and monitoring campaigns; the user behaviour and its interaction with the building, using stochastic occupancy profiles; the improvement of the implementation of passive strategies, as natural ventilation and the use of solar protections; and the thermal comfort of the users, as a criteria to choose the appropriate measures. A validation process of the building model is done to obtain reliable results. A pilot site is used to develop the validation of the model. A monitoring campaign has been done to characterize the pilot site and to implement the simulation model. The pilot site is a dwelling representative of one of the typologies analysed under the PhD. The validation of the model confirms that the hypotheses and methods included in the model are appropriate for the residential building simulation. Finally, the simulation process is defined in two-step evaluation: passive and active evaluation. The objective of the passive evaluation is to reduce, as much as possible, the thermal discomfort with the minimum initial investment cost of passive measures. This first step provides information to make a first selection of the appropriate passive measures in each building. In the second step where the passive and active measures are implemented in the building, the active evaluation wants to obtain the cost-effective measures, minimizing the primary energy use and the global costs. For concluding, the PhD provides technical and economic information to help to take decisions for the energy renovation of residential buildings in Catalonia.La rehabilitació energètica dels edificis és una acció essencial per assolir els objectius Europeus 20/20/20. Malauradament, les dinàmiques de renovació energètica són molt lentes i requereixen de accions polítiques urgents emmarcades sota els plans d’acció nacional per l’eficiència energètica. En aquest context, el principal objectiu de la tesi es desenvolupar un anàlisis cost-efectiu per la renovació energètica dels principals edificis residencials de Catalunya, considerant tres criteris principals: confort tèrmic, energia primària i costos globals. Les principals tipologies d’edificis de Catalunya s’analitzen comparant la seva situació actual amb l’efecte de les diferents mesures d’eficiència energètica. S’han estudiat quatre tipologies d’edifici, cada una d’elles en diferents climes i localitzacions, per tal d’avaluar les diferencies i les particularitats de cada una d’elles. La definició dels models d’edifici és una tasca important on s’han de definir tots els mètodes i hipòtesis per estimar el consum energètic. En aquest sentit, l’objectiu de la definició del model d’edifici és anar mes enllà dels estudis previs, intentant millorar el detall i els resultats de la simulació. L’enfoc de la tesis es centra en els següents aspectes: la caracterització de l’edifici, incloent informació obtinguda d’enquestes i campanyes de monitorització; el comportament de l’usuari i la seva interacció amb l’edifici, fent servir perfils d’ocupació estocàstics; la millora en la implementació de estratègies passives, com ara la ventilació natural o les proteccions solars; i el confort tèrmic dels usuaris com a criteri per elegir els mesures adequades. S’ha realitzat la validació del model d’edifici per tal d’obtenir resultats fiables. S’ha utilitzat un habitatge pilot per realitzar la validació del model. S’ha realitzat una campanya de monitorització per tal de caracteritzar el pilot i poder implementar el model. L’habitatge pilot és un habitatge representatiu de una de les tipologies analitzades al PhD. La validació del model confirma que les hipòtesis i mètodes implementats al model son els adequats per la simulació d’edificis residencials. Per concloure, el procés de simulació s’ha definit en dos etapes d’avaluació: avaluació passiva i activa. L’objectiu de l’avaluació passiva és reduir lo màxim possible el desconfort tèrmic amb el mínim cost d’inversió inicial en mesures passives. Aquesta etapa proporciona informació per realitzar una primera selecció de les mesures passives adequades per cada edifici. A la segona etapa, on les mesures passives i actives s’implementen a l’edifici, l’avaluació passiva proporciona les mesures cost-efectives, minimitzant l’energia primària i els costos globals. Finalment, la tesi proporciona informació tècnica i econòmica per ajudar la presa de decisions per la renovació energètica dels edificis residencials de Catalunya.Postprint (published version

Evaluation of tariff structural changes in Spanish households affected by energy poverty

A new structure for regulated tariffs affecting consumers with contracted power up to 15 kW was introduced by the Spanish government in June 2021. According to the National Commission for Markets and Competition the new tariff would impact residential consumers differently, depending on previous contracting conditions. In particular, households under old Time-of-Use tariffs are expected to face a significant increase in their electricity bill, which might be exacerbated by the rising generation costs observed in the Spanish market throughout 2021. This situation becomes more relevant for consumers affected by energy poverty, especially when considering that this group needs to be in a regulated tariff to access social benefits. A set of energy poverty affected households are evaluated during a monitoring campaign carried out in Barcelona’s pilot as part of EmpowerMed H2020 project, whose objective is to tackle energy poverty and help improving people’s health in the coastal areas of Mediterranean countries, with a particular focus on women. Hourly consumption data is downloaded from the customers’ smart-meters, which are accessed through their personal account in the distributor’s website. Using this data, the article presents an evaluation of the potential impact that the new tariff structure might have on energy poverty affected households, considering different price scenarios that reflect the observed rising generation costs and the price mitigation measures enacted by the government in an attempt to reduce its impact on domestic consumers.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No ContaminantObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de GènerePostprint (published version

The uncertainty of the energy demand in existing mediterranean urban blocks

The objective of the paper is to describe a stochastic model that has been developed to obtain load profiles for household electricity. For the study, several profiles have been generated in order to simulate the electrical demand of a residential building block or neighbourhood and evaluate the uncertainty of its energy use. The paper is divided in three different parts: development of the model, validation and determination of the uncertainty demand. In the first parts the basis of the model and how it works is explained. The second one represents the validation of the model, the input data and its results. The last step is focused on a statistical analysis of the electricity demand of a block of dwellings to evaluate minimum number of dwellings needed to estimate the average demand representative of the Mediterranean dwelling with different levels of accuracyPostprint (author’s final draft

Stochastic model for electrical loads in Mediterranean residential building: validation and applications

A major issue in modelling the electrical load of residential building is reproducing the variability between dwellings due to the stochastic use of different electrical equipment. In that sense and with the objective to reproduce this variability, a stochastic model to obtain load profiles of household electricity is developed. The model is based on a probabilistic approach and is developed using data from the Mediterranean region of Spain. A detailed validation of the model has been done, analysing and comparing the results with Spanish and European data. The results of the validation show that the model is able to reproduce the most important features of the residential electrical consumption, especially the particularities of the Mediterranean countries. The final part of the paper is focused on the potential applications of the models, and some examples are proposed. The model is useful to simulate a cluster of buildings or individual households. The model allows obtaining synthetic profiles representing the most important characteristics of the mean dwelling, by means of a stochastic approach. The inputs of the proposed model are adapted to energy labelling information of the electric devices. An example case is presented considering a dwelling with high performance equipment.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft version

Analysis through smart meters of the effects of energy poverty in the consumption of households

Spain is Pioneer in implementing Smart meters in Europe, having spread them in almost all territory. Presumably, this allows to increase the knowledge in the energy consumption of households, providing information to contract the most suitable power and tariff and to adjust consumption habits. Consequently, Smart meters are said to be useful to mitigate energy poverty. As a result of this presumption, Barcelona’s pilot site in the H2020 EmpowerMed Project developed a tool for diagnosis and energy audits that, from data collected through Smart meters, provides recommendations and knowledge for future decisions. The study presents the common difficulties found to get access to remote data from commercial smart meters, focusing on the particularities that affect vulnerable collectives. Moreover, the study characterizes and compares the energy consumption of energy poverty affected and nonaffected households to contrast the stereotypes this collective is subjected to and to put in evidence that their consumption is lesser and that they generally contract a power and tariff more suitable to their reality than those of non-affected households.Peer ReviewedObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::5 - Igualtat de GènereObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::7 - Energia Assequible i No ContaminantPostprint (published version

Rehabilitación energética de edificios públicos en base a niveles coste-óptimos y NZEB

El artículo presenta el trabajo realizado en el marco del proyecto RePublic_ZEB, el cual tiene como objetivo promover la rehabilitación de edificios públicos hacia niveles de consumo casi nulo. Se describe cómo el análisis coste-óptimo puede establecerse como metodología para definir los requisitos mínimos que se deberían alcanzar para rehabilitar un edificio público con criterios de consumo casi nulo. En este contexto, en el artículo se presenta el análisis del parque de edificios públicos de Cataluña, así como los criterios para seleccionar las categorías de referencia: oficinas y hospitales. Para el edificio de referencia de la oficina, se implementa la metodología completa, que consta de dos etapas principales: (a) definición técnica y económica de medidas de eficiencia energética; (b) análisis coste-óptimo en base a los estándares europeos de la Norma EN-UNE. Del análisis de los resultados preliminares se proponen cuáles serían los requerimientos mínimos para rehabilitar la oficina con criterios de consumo casi nulo. Por último, se evalúa la incertidumbre asociada a los costes de inversión, viendo como ésta puede tener una repercusión sobre las medidas que cumplen los requerimientos de una rehabilitación hacia niveles de consumo casi nulo.Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de Españ

Distributed experiment for the calculus of optimal values for energy consumption in buildings

Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Health and related economic effects of residential energy retrofitting in Spain

More than 50% of the existing housing stock in Spain is over 50 years old and was built according to the construction standards of its time, and nowadays shows poor energy performance compared to the current standards, meaning higher energy consumption due to the lack of energy retrofitting interventions (no insulation materials, low window performance, high infiltration and thermal bridges). The link between homes and health has been well established by the scientific community and research results illustrate how the condition of existing buildings is one of the most decisive influences on population's health. However, the role of energy retrofitting in improving health of occupants has still to be thoroughly and comprehensively documented. Normally, benefits of energy retrofitting are calculated only in terms of energy savings and associated economic savings. Long pay-back periods and high investment make energy retrofitting not attractive enough to many homeowners. Highlighting the health benefits may help to improve the rate at which the housing stock undergoes energy retrofitting. The aim of this research is to estimate the effect that energy efficiency improvements made to vulnerable housing has on the health of the occupants and to assess the potential economic savings for the Spanish healthcare system. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

La Integració de la demanda turística en la planificació i la gestió de la mobilitat : apunts des de la destinació Barcelona

En aquest article es reflexiona sobre les característiques i les particularitats de la mobilitat turística i sobre la seva importància en la configuració de la realitat urbana i del territori metropolità, i ho fa a través de l'anàlisi global realitzada en el marc de l'Estratègia de Mobilitat Turística (EMT), impulsada per l'Ajuntament de Barcelona. Així doncs, es presenten els principals resultats d'aquest exercici inèdit de coneixement de la mobilitat turística i es presenten les estratègies que han de donar resposta als principals reptes detectats per tal d'assolir un mode de visita responsable i compatible amb la mobilitat quotidiana, que garanteixi l'ús racional i coherent dels sistemes de transport i que, alhora, doni resposta a l'estratègia de gestió de la destinació