Prioritising energy efficiency measures in Maltese restaurants

The 2018 Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2018/844, focuses on building energy renovation. With the increase in tourists and working opportunities in Malta, the restaurants’ sector is experiencing a business boom. Despite this sector being a major energy consumer, the energy performance of restaurants in Malta has been given little attention. This paper investigates the energy performance of four representative restaurants in Malta. Refrigeration accounted for the highest share of 40% electricity consumption, followed by kitchen exhaust ventilation, domestic hot water and space cooling, which accounted for about 50%, while lighting consumed only 6%. Energy saving potential was primarily identified for refrigeration, water heating and air-conditioning. Although, the fuel sources used for cooking equipment accounted for more than 50% of the overall energy used in these restaurants, electricity is the fuel of primary concern as on average it contributes to 70% of total carbon emissions and results in the highest operational cost. The total potential of carbon emission savings was found to be 17%, when the recommended energy efficiency measures are applied. A benchmark of 14.51 kWh primary energy per person served was established for energy-efficient restaurants. This paper provides evidence-based results that are useful for policy makers to introduce fiscal incentives to support the transition of Maltese restaurants to nearly-zero energy status.peer-reviewe

Feasibility study of a heat recovery system in an office building in Malta

The new Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2018/844 has brought about a new drive to renovate existing buildings, especially for heating and cooling systems, whereby heat recovery techniques have become the order of the day. However, the real energy and financial benefits of applying such techniques have not been studied in Malta, which has a temperate Mediterranean climate. Thus, this study has performed a technical and financial analysis of using different heat recovery options for the most common office type, that is a medium-sized flatted office, using EnergyPlus dynamic simulation tool and multiple linear regressions. Results showed that the coefficient of performance of the air-conditioners, the window to wall ratio and the cooling set-point temperatures, have the greatest impact, while heat recovery has an insignificant contribution to energy efficiency, thus making it rank low in the list of energy efficiency priority measures for medium-sized offices in Malta.peer-reviewe

EPBD cost-optimal analysis for non-residential buildings in Malta

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) 2010/31/EU requires EU Member States to calculate the cost-optimal levels of minimum energy performance requirements for new buildings and buildings that undergo major renovation. The European Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 244/2012 and accompanying Guidelines 2012/C 115/01 establish a comparative methodology with regards to number of reference buildings for each building category, number of energy efficiency measures to be implemented in the study and the minimum level of cost analysis that is required. This paper fulfils the above requirements but also introduces an innovative approach that goes beyond the minimum requirements for the cost-optimal study, whereby a two-stage optimisation approach was undertaken. The first stage focuses on choosing a representative set of combined building envelope measures that cover the full range of possible energy performance levels, in such a way that these lie along the line of minimum space conditioning costs, known as the Pareto Front. While the second stage applies combinations of energy systems’ upgrades to the selected iterations of stage 1. The scope is to minimize the time cost of these cost-optimal studies without sacrificing on their effectiveness or creating biased results. Cost optimal and nearly-zero energy levels were found for homes for the elderly, hotels, offices, restaurants, shops and sports complexes. Results showed that cost optimal levels are best achieved through upgrades of energy systems and solar shading rather than building envelope U-value upgrades for all building categories. This is primarily a result of the mild Mediterranean climate of Malta. Solar water heating and solar photovoltaics have shown to be cost optimal for all categories, except where these cannot be installed such as in shops and restaurants. Shading, heat pump water heaters and high efficiency air-conditioning systems have also been identified as cost-optimal measures.peer-reviewe

Green travel plans for workplaces : incentives for modal shift in the Maltese public sector

In line with the 2050 National Transport Strategy and the 2025 National Transport Master Plan, the Maltese Government is promoting initiatives to encourage modal shift. The Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects (MTIP) is conducting a pilot project with the primary objective to introduce and promote sustainable modes of travel amongst its employees and encouraging them to use more environmentally friendly forms of transport instead of using their own car. As part of this project a user survey was carried out to establish the current modes of transport used for the daily commute and to determine the users’ willingness to shift to more sustainable modes of transport. This paper gives an overview of commuter behaviour and the reasons for their propensity to shift to greener modes of transport. At the time of the survey, 78% of respondents used the private car to commute, whilst around 10% used the bus. Employees are most willing to shift to an electric vehicle and are least interested in bicycle sharing initiatives. Based on the survey findings the MTIP is currently formulating a set of incentives, forming part of a Green Travel Plan, which shall be piloted at a Ministry level and which may later be adopted across the Maltese Public Sector.Ministry for Transport Infrastructure and Capital Projectspeer-reviewe

Household energy consumption and solar PV energy generation : a case study in Malta

The household energy consumption is an essential parameter to design renewable energy generation systems, to carry out demand response studies and to optimize the operation of energy management systems. Nevertheless, only few studies in literature analyze the user’s electrical consumption profile in detail. Hourly data are often used and the electrical loads are typically assumed to operate at their rated power. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the electrical consumption profile of a dwelling located in Malta. The electrical demand was monitored for over one year at a resolution of 30 seconds. Measurements of the electricity generated by a photovoltaic system installed on the roof-top of the dwelling, have also been performed and a parametric analysis has been carried out to evaluate the effect of different solar PV system sizes. Moreover, different strategies to increase the self-consumed electricity and reduce the excess electricity injected into the grid are described.peer-reviewe