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Abstract District heating (DH) enables the utilisation and distribution of heating from sources unfeasible for stand-alone applications and combined with cogeneration of heat and power (CHP), has been the cornerstone of Denmark’s realisation of a steady national primary energy supply over the last four decades. However, progressively more energy-efficient houses and a steadily improving heat pump (HP) performance for individual dwellings is straining the competitive advantage of the CHP–DH combination as DH grid losses are growing in relative terms due to decreasing heating demands of buildings and relatively high DH supply temperatures. A main driver for the DH water temperature is the requirements for domestic hot water (DHW) production. This article investigates two alternatives for DHW supply: (a) DH based on central HPs combined with a heat exchanger, and (b) a combination of DH based on central HPs and a small booster HP using DH water as low-temperature source for DHW production. The analyses are conducted using the energyPRO simulation model and are conducted with hourly varying factors; heating demands, DH grid losses, HP coefficient of performance (COP) and spot market prices in order to be able to analyse the relative performance of the two options and their performance over the year. Results are also compared to individual boilers and individual HPs. The results indicate that applying booster HPs enables the DH system to operate at substantially lower temperature levels, improving the COP of central DH HPs while simultaneously lowering DH grid losses significantly. Thus, DH performance is increased significantly. Additionally, performance for the DH HP with booster combination is considerably better than individual boiler or HP solutions.

This paper presents a new method, based on the Smart Energy Systems concept. The aim is to increase the share of renewable energy penetration on islands. The method is applied to the island of Gran Canaria (Spain), considering the entire energy system of the island. Several smart renewable energy strategies are proposed following a cross-sectoral approach between the electricity, heating/cooling, desalination, transport and gas sectors. The different smart renewable energy strategies were applied in a series of steps, while looking for a transition from the current energy system to a nearly 100% renewable energy system. Based on the results, the study concludes that the suggested method is applicable for increasing renewable integration on islands and can potentially be used in helping energy planners to take decisions about priorities in development of the sector to improve such integration. The results indicate that, for the case of Gran Canaria, a 75.9% renewable energy system could be attained with technologies that can be implemented at present. Furthermore, it is shown that a nearly 100% renewable energy system in Gran Canaria is technically feasible and could be achieved if certain technologies acquire greater maturity. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd 443 421 2,048 5,537 Q1 Q1 SCIE

Abstract In this article, we investigate the intergenerational transmission of sustainable consumption practices. Whereas previous studies have used self-reported attitudes and behaviour, this study uses data on actual energy consumption for space-heating and hot water combined with extensive panel data from Danish administrative registers. The paper shows significant intergenerational correlations between the energy consumption patterns of adults and their mothers, also when controlling for the energy consumption of the mother-in-law, where possible. Furthermore, it shows that the intergenerational correlation is slightly stronger for adults with lower income levels. These results suggest that energy consumption practices are shared and reproduced within the family. Following theories of practice, the intergenerational similarities in energy consumption practices refer to bodily learned practices that are indirectly transmitted and negotiated through family relations. In this way, these findings also contribute to a better understanding of how practical understanding regarding how to perform practices is transmitted within more ordinary aspects of consumption that play a less obvious role in distinction. To ensure more sustainable consumption practices in the future, this paper points to the importance of the role of family relations and the transmission of embodied practices.

Abstract The increasing global energy demand, the foreseen reduction of available fossil fuels and the increasing evidence off global warming during the last decades have generated a high interest in renewable energy sources. However, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, have an intrinsic variability that can seriously affect the stability of the energy system if they account for a high percentage of the total generation. The Energy Flexibility of buildings is commonly suggested as part of the solution to alleviate some of the upcoming challenges in the future demand-respond energy systems (electrical, district heating and gas grids). Buildings can supply flexibility services in different ways, e.g. utilization of thermal mass, adjustability of HVAC system use (e.g. heating/cooling/ventilation), charging of electric vehicles, and shifting of plug-loads. However, there is currently no overview or insight into how much Energy Flexibility different building may be able to offer to the future energy systems in the sense of avoiding excess energy production, increase the stability of the energy networks, minimize congestion problems, enhance the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the future energy networks. Therefore, there is a need for increasing knowledge on and demonstration of the Energy Flexibility buildings can provide to energy networks. At the same time, there is a need for identifying critical aspects and possible solutions to manage this Energy Flexibility, while maintaining the comfort of the occupants and minimizing the use of non-renewable energy. In this context, the IEA (International Energy Agency) EBC (Energy in Buildings and Communities program) Annex 67: “Energy Flexible Buildings” was started in 2015. The article presents the background and the work plan of IEA EBC Annex 67 as well as already obtained results. Annex 67 is a corporation between participants from 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and UK.

Climaps.eu is an online atlas providing data, visualizations and commentaries about climate adaptation debate. It contains 33 issue-maps and 5 issue-stories. Each of the maps focuses on one issue in the adaptation debate and provides.The atlas is addressed to climate experts (negotiators, NGOs and companies concerned by global warming, journalists…) and to citizens willing to engage with the issues of climate adaptation.It employs advanced digital methods to deploy the complexity of the issues related to climate adaptation and information design to make this complexity legible.

How has the contemporary development of sustainable buildings been influenced by the concept of ecological modernization? Ecological modernization is a policy concept describing how environmental considerations are increasingly being integrated into modern society's institutions through, for example, new types of cooperation and new applications of economic and market dynamics. Evidence is based on recent examples from politics and practice in the construction sector in Denmark, where sustainable buildings have gone through great changes – from being primarily isolated cases driven by enthusiasts and grassroots to being a more widespread, generally obtainable, and integrated product. This is considered within the context of ecological modernization, along with the implications of potential benefits and drawbacks. Based on the concepts of governance, standardization, and visibility, it is found that ecological modernization has penetrated in Danish sustainable buildings and has contributed to a positive de...

Decision analysis is often used to help decision makers choose among alternatives, based on the expected utility associated to each alternative as function of its consequences and potential impacts. Environmental impacts are not always among the prioritized concerns of traditional decision making. This has fostered the development of several environmental problems and is nowadays a reason of concern. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can assess an extensive range of environmental impacts associated with a product or service system and support a life cycle perspective on the alternative products or service systems, revealing potential problem shifting between life cycle stages. Through the integration with traditional risk based decision analysis, LCA may thus facilitate a better informed decision process. In this study we explore how environmental impacts are taken into account in different fields of interest for decision makers to identify the need, potential and obstacles for integrating LCA into conventional approaches to decision problems. Three application areas are used as examples: transportation planning, flood management, and food production and consumption. The analysis of these cases shows that environmental impacts are considered only to a limited extent in traditional evaluation of transport and food projects. They are rarely, if at all, addressed in flood risk management. Hence, in each of the three cases studied, there is a clear need for the inclusion of a better and systematic assessment of environmental impacts. Some LCA studies have been conducted in all three research areas, mainly on infrastructures and production systems. The three cases show the potential of integrating LCA into existing decision analysis by providing the environmental profiles of the alternatives. However, due to different goals and scopes of LCA and other decision analysis approaches, there is a general lack of consistency in study system scoping in terms of considered elements and boundaries, in uncertainty treatment, and in applied metrics. In the present paper, we discuss the obstacles arising when trying to integrate LCA with conventional evaluation tools and we propose a research agenda to eventually make such integration feasible and consistent.

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the construction of markets for clean technologies by examining the mechanisms through which new technologies succeed (or fail) to be transformed into goods that are both environmentally and economically valuable. We envisage this process as a particular form of market innovation in which new product qualities are inscribed into market architectures. We focus on the market for clean technologies that emerged as a result of the EU Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) directive that required polluting industries, including livestock farms, to implement the “best available techniques” in order to reduce their emissions. Our case study traces a Danish start-up firm's endeavors to commercialize one such “best available technique:” a solution for reducing ammonia emissions from farms. Building on the literature on the shaping of markets, we show that the construction of a market for clean technologies hinges upon the composition of a complex network of actors with divergent, and sometimes conflicting, interests, in which market devices (in this case, a technology list) play a pivotal role. More generally, the paper contributes to discussions on controversies and performativity in market practices and on the construction of markets designed to address environmental issues.