A New Look into Energy-Optimized Neighborhoods with Energy-Efficient District Energy Systems

Authors

  • Alpha Yacob Arsano Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Shreshth Nagpal Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Christoph Reinhart Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Keywords:

Energy-systems, low-energy systems, low-carbon buildings

Abstract

This manuscript presents a new approach to designing energyefficient supply systems for districts with low-energy and low-carbon buildings. By taking the case of two neighborhoods located in Boston, a heating dominated climate, and Mumbai, a cooling dominated climate, the study investigates alternative energy supply systems for these neighborhoods that meet the projected energy demands when buildings are designed to meet stringent performance standards. The study shows that climatic conditions, performance of buildings, configuration of district system, availability of low-carbon energy sources, and cost of energy are critical factors for a successful realization of neighborhoods with low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and low-operation costs. Taking all factors into account, carbon emissions in Mumbai are found to be higher than emissions in Boston, for same neighborhoods with similar district energy systems. Furthermore, the preferred district systems for high performance neighborhoods in Boston and Mumbai are different for cost-saving and emission-reduction targets. In Mumbai, all gas is the best energy supply scenario in terms of low emissions when compared with baseline and all-electric district systems, but has the highest operational cost. On the other hand, in Boston, all gas has the highest emissions, but the lowest operation cost. The reverse is true for all electric ,where in Boston it has the lowest emissions with the highest operation cost, but in Mumbai it has the highest emissions with the lowest operation cost.

Author Biographies

  • Alpha Yacob Arsano, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Alpha Yacob Arsano, a PhD candidate in architecture and building technology, is an Ethiopian architect focused on maximizing passive building strategies in different climatic conditions. She studies the potential of natural ventilation in buildings, thermal comfort of occupants, and the effect of climate change in regions around the globe. Previously an academic fellow at Transsolar Energietechnik, a climate engineering consultancy in Stuttgart, Germany, Arsano also interned at the architectural firm Allmann Sattler Wappner in Munich. She developed a digital design tool, ClimaPlus, to promote building design that uses less air-conditioning and consumes less energy in pursuit of a more sustainable and healthier environment. The tool can be used by builders and architects in the early stages of design. Arsano earned a BS in architecture from the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture, Building Construction and City Development, and she earned an SM from the MIT School of Architecture and Planning.

  • Christoph Reinhart, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Professor Director, Building Technology Program  

    Christoph Reinhart is a building scientist and architectural educator working in the field of sustainable building design and environmental modeling. At MIT he is leading the Sustainable Design Lab (SDL), an inter-disciplinary group with a grounding in architecture that develops design workflows, planning tools and metrics to evaluate the environmental performance of buildings and neighborhoods. He is also the head of Solemma, a technology company and Harvard University spinoff as well as Strategic Development Advisor for mapdwell, a solar mapping company and MIT spinoff. Products originating from SDL and Solemma are used in practice and education in over 90 countries.

    Before joining MIT in 2012, Christoph led the sustainable design concentration area at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design where the student forum voted him the 2009 Teacher of the Year for the Department of Architecture. From 1997 to 2008 Christoph had worked as a staff scientist at the National Research Council of Canada and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Germany. He has authored over 140 peer-reviewed scientific articles including two textbooks on daylighting and seven book chapters. His work has been supported by a variety of organizations from the US National Science Foundation and the Governments of Canada, Kuwait and Portugal to Autodesk, Exelon, Kalwall, Philips, United Technology Corporation and Sage Electrochromics.

    Christoph’s work has been recognized with various awards among them a Fraunhofer Bessel Prize by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2018), the IBPSA-USA Distinguished Achievement Award (2016), a Star of Building in Science award by Buildings4Change magazine (2013) and seven best paper awards. Mapdwell has been recognized with FastCompany’s Design by Innovation 2015 award for Data Visualization as well as a Sustainia 100 award. Christoph is a physicist by training and holds a doctorate in architecture from the Technical University of Karlsruhe.

      Areas of Interest Alternative Energy, Building Energy, Climate Change, Computation, Daylighting, Environmental Planning, Sustainability, Urban Agriculture, Visualization

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Published

2019-11-16

Issue

Vol. 3 (2019): Buildings, Cities, and Performance I

Section

Articles