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The industrial sector accounts for 17% of end-use energy in the UK, and 54% globally. Therefore, there is substantial scope for simulating and assessing potential energy retrofit options for industrial buildings. Building Energy Modelling (BEM) applied to industrial buildings poses a complex but important opportunity for reducing global energy demand, due to years of renovation and expansion. Large and complex industrial buildings make modelling existing geometry for BEM difficult and time consuming. This paper presents a potential solution for quickly capturing and processing as-built geometry of a factory to be utilized in BEM. Laser scans were captured from the interior of an industrial facility to produce a Point Cloud. The existing capabilities of a Point Cloud processing software were assessed to identify the potential development opportunities to automate the conversion of Point Clouds to building geometry for BEM applications. In conclusion, scope exists for increasing the speed of 3D geometry creation of an existing industrial building for application in BEM and subsequent thermal simulation.

The industrial sector accounts for 17% of end-use energy in the UK, and 54% globally. Therefore, there is substantial scope for simulating and assessing potential energy retrofit options for industrial buildings. Building Energy Modelling (BEM) applied to industrial buildings poses a complex but important opportunity for reducing global energy demand, due to years of renovation and expansion. Large and complex industrial buildings make modelling existing geometry for BEM difficult and time consuming. This paper presents a potential solution for quickly capturing and processing as-built geometry of a factory to be utilized in BEM. Laser scans were captured from the interior of an industrial facility to produce a Point Cloud. The existing capabilities of a Point Cloud processing software were assessed to identify the potential development opportunities to automate the conversion of Point Clouds to building geometry for BEM applications. In conclusion, scope exists for increasing the speed of 3D geometry creation of an existing industrial building for application in BEM and subsequent thermal simulation.

Abstract The need to increase energy system flexibility, alongside the need to lower fossil fuel use in the food sector, and the importance of refrigeration infrastructure presents an opportunity for Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) integrated with refrigerated warehouses. To quantify this opportunity in Europe we analyse energy scenarios and existing refrigeration infrastructure for four countries with diverse energy systems (UK, Spain, Bulgaria and Germany). We find that with growing levels of electricity generation from variable renewable sources and numerous refrigerated warehouses, LAES has the potential to provide value in many areas of the EU through the 2020s. However, LAES is still pre-commercial, and with the proportion of electricity from variable renewable sources still low in many countries it is likely that LAES will not be deployed widely alongside refrigerated warehouses under current market conditions. Countries such as the UK and Spain, which have the greatest need for additional energy system flexibility and the most refrigerated warehouses are likely to gain the most value initially.

Abstract The need to increase energy system flexibility, alongside the need to lower fossil fuel use in the food sector, and the importance of refrigeration infrastructure presents an opportunity for Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) integrated with refrigerated warehouses. To quantify this opportunity in Europe we analyse energy scenarios and existing refrigeration infrastructure for four countries with diverse energy systems (UK, Spain, Bulgaria and Germany). We find that with growing levels of electricity generation from variable renewable sources and numerous refrigerated warehouses, LAES has the potential to provide value in many areas of the EU through the 2020s. However, LAES is still pre-commercial, and with the proportion of electricity from variable renewable sources still low in many countries it is likely that LAES will not be deployed widely alongside refrigerated warehouses under current market conditions. Countries such as the UK and Spain, which have the greatest need for additional energy system flexibility and the most refrigerated warehouses are likely to gain the most value initially.

Abstract In the electricity production sector, geothermal energy is considered a reliable energy source because of its independence of seasonal, climatic and geographical conditions. Low-temperature geothermal wells present a huge potential of exploitation, as the development of binary cycles and the technological improvement in drilling make this heat source a competitive solution for electricity generated distribution and self-consumption. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is currently the best solution to convert heat into electricity using low enthalpy heat sources. The ORC technology is already mature and widespread for medium and large-scale power plants, applying for geothermal, solar, biomass or waste heat recovery exploitation. Micro-scale ORC applications are still not diffused in the market: the system layout, the working fluid selection and the expander architecture can significantly vary depending on the specific realization requirements, thus a standard configuration has not established yet. In this paper, a particular case study of a micro-ORC power system using a geothermal well is presented. The application in analysis is a plug-and-play ORC facility, currently installed and operating in a pool centre. The system layout and the main components are described. The heat source is a geothermal well, which continuously supplies (by pressure difference) liquid water at a temperature lower than 60 °C to a binary Rankine cycle working with R134a. The ORC system is driven by a prototypal radial-piston expander and adopts an external-gear feed pump and a recuperative cycle. It is developed for working continuously, delivering the generated electricity directly into the grid. The facility is provided with temperature, pressure and electric power sensors for monitoring the operation and for a preliminary evaluation of the performance. The global efficiency of expander and feed pump and the ORC net efficiency have been evaluated at the regular working conditions of the geothermal well, showing values equal to, respectively, 53 %, 41 % and 4.4 %.

Abstract In the electricity production sector, geothermal energy is considered a reliable energy source because of its independence of seasonal, climatic and geographical conditions. Low-temperature geothermal wells present a huge potential of exploitation, as the development of binary cycles and the technological improvement in drilling make this heat source a competitive solution for electricity generated distribution and self-consumption. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is currently the best solution to convert heat into electricity using low enthalpy heat sources. The ORC technology is already mature and widespread for medium and large-scale power plants, applying for geothermal, solar, biomass or waste heat recovery exploitation. Micro-scale ORC applications are still not diffused in the market: the system layout, the working fluid selection and the expander architecture can significantly vary depending on the specific realization requirements, thus a standard configuration has not established yet. In this paper, a particular case study of a micro-ORC power system using a geothermal well is presented. The application in analysis is a plug-and-play ORC facility, currently installed and operating in a pool centre. The system layout and the main components are described. The heat source is a geothermal well, which continuously supplies (by pressure difference) liquid water at a temperature lower than 60 °C to a binary Rankine cycle working with R134a. The ORC system is driven by a prototypal radial-piston expander and adopts an external-gear feed pump and a recuperative cycle. It is developed for working continuously, delivering the generated electricity directly into the grid. The facility is provided with temperature, pressure and electric power sensors for monitoring the operation and for a preliminary evaluation of the performance. The global efficiency of expander and feed pump and the ORC net efficiency have been evaluated at the regular working conditions of the geothermal well, showing values equal to, respectively, 53 %, 41 % and 4.4 %.

AbstractThe use of thermal insulating plasters represents an effective solution in energy retrofit of existing buildings. Thermal properties are usually improved through the addition on the plaster formulation of Light Weight Aggregates, as expanded polystyrene and perlite. The drawback of these thermal plasters is the higher environmental impact, especially when added to natural binders, as natural hydraulic lime.Within a research activity a process of optimization was followed in order to get the most effective blend, applying iteratively the LCA methodology, measuring the thermal conductivity and testing the environmental impact in terms of Volatile Organic Compounds and formaldehyde emission rates.