Investigating the energy demand and supply of a residential neighborhood in Malmö

Abstract

Facing the climate change and the energy crisis, the governments are taking steps to reduce
the energy use and enhance the integration of renewable energy installations. Built
environment is attributed to 40% of the global energy use, and the literature indicates that
integrating the local renewable energy sources to the grid and meanwhile renovating the
buildings can significantly improve the energy performance of the building sector.
This thesis studies the energy performance and the potential to utilize solar energy and wind
of a single-family house and an apartment block in Malmö, South Sweden. The case
buildings were built in the 1940s, with aged construction materials and building services
system.
Through the study, it is noticed that the measured heating supply to the single-family house
is not related to the weather and indoor activity. It can be inferred that there might be
heating energy wasted and indoor discomfort. In high altitude countries like Sweden, it is
possible for Photovoltaic panels facing East and West to have higher annual production than
panels facing the South. Since the electricity flow between panels, grid and user is transient,
most of the solar photovoltaic system is grid-connected distributed system.

Popular Abstract

Popular Abstract
Renewable energy potential of residential buildings in Malmö

Facing the energy crisis and global warming issue, many countries are taking steps towards a sustainable energy market. In terms of renewable energy, Sweden is leading the world. Nuclear power, hydro power and wind contribute to 90% of the electricity supply in Sweden. The solar energy installation market starts to grow since the government provided funding in the recent years. City Malmö aim to power the whole city with renewable energy sources by 2030.
A single-family house and an apartment block in Malmö are studied. The energy performance is simulated in energy simulation tool, Archsim, and then the results are compared with the measured energy demand. The solar thermal, photovoltaic and wind power potential are assessed by analyzing the weather file. The solar thermal collector system and PV system are sized according to the heating and electricity demand from the simulation results of the buildings. Both energy simulation results and measured data indicate that the buildings have high energy demand and the renewable energy installation can be beneficial. If the entire roof is covered with high efficiency PV panels, the annual electricity generation is actually higher than the demand. However, since the electricity is sold and bought from the grid instantly, the occupants still need to buy more than 50% of electricity from the grid. Therefore, the number of grid-connected PVs is growing sharply. The total electricity output of a micro wind turbine with swept area of 12 m2 is equal to the electricity demand of 1000 m2 living area, but it has to be installed above 15 m for the acceptable performance.
In high altitude countries, such as Sweden, solar altitude is relatively low and more solar radiation is from East and West, therefore, it is also possible for PV panels facing East and West to have high production. The heating supply to the single-family house is not determined by the heating load, leading to heat being wasted and low indoor comfort level. Therefore, apart from improving the energy performance of buildings and utilizing renewable energy sources, the energy supply control system can also be adjusted.

• author: Wang, Tianqi
• supervisor: Petter Wallentén
• organization: Division of Energy and Building Design; Department of Architecture and Built Environment
• course: AEBM01 20181
• year: 2018
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• keywords: Building energy performance, Solar energy, Micro wind turbine, Residential buildings.
• language: English
• id: 8955426
• date added to LUP: 2018-08-13 08:50:25
• date last changed: 2018-08-13 08:50:25