The take-up of the many voluntary energy efficiency standards which exist in the UK and internationally has been limited. As a result, governments have recognised the need to introduce mandatory schemes through legislation, e.g. from 2016 all new build homes in the UK will be required to achieve...

The thermal performance of building envelopes is the determinant factor of building energy consumption, and especially envelope retrofitting is an effective way of reducing energy consumptions in existing building. For different climates, there may exist different optimal retrofitting schemes....

Buildings play an important role in greenhouse gas emissions since they constitute a large proportion of the global energy demand. This dramatic scenario is usually a consequence of poor thermal insulation characteristics of building fabric. Among the elements of a typical building envelope,...

We demonstrate the ability to calculate thermal conductance and elastic properties on three-dimensional images of industrial polymer foamed materials. Results for thermal conductivity and elasticity show little scatter and provide the basis for accurate empirical correlations between phase...

Thermal response tests conducted to assess the subsurface thermal conductivity for the design of ground-coupled heat pump systems require a power source of about 7–12kW to heat water circulating in a ground heat exchanger. This high power is commonly supplied with a fuel-fired generator, which...

A kind of heat conduction-enhanced shape-stabilized PCM (HCE-SSPCM) was utilized in the under-floor heating system for house heating in winter. This system charges heat by using cheap nighttime electricity and provides heating needs throughout all day. The effect of thermal conductivity of the...

The cement material adopted for a new geothermal well project in South Korea is specialized as the G-class cement, which is commonly used in the oil-well industry, and regulated by the API (American Petroleum Institute). In order to maintain the optimal generating performance of geothermal...

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) is considered as a viable large-scale renewable energy source to produce electricity. However, current costs to produce electricity from CSP are not cost competitive as compared to the traditional energy generation technologies based on fossil fuels and nuclear. It...

Rooms with concrete slab roofs directly exposed to the sun become unbearably hot during summer and very cold during winter. Huge amounts of energy are required to keep them comfortable. Application of thermal insulation on roofs significantly reduces energy required for heating and cooling. The...

The synergy between highly energy-efficient buildings and low-energy district heating (DH) systems is a promising concept for the optimal integration of energy-saving policies and energy supply systems based on renewable energy (RE). Network transmission and distribution heat loss is one of the...