Renewable Technologies Available in Ireland

Paul Kane

Renewable Energy in Ireland

According to a recent report published by SEAI, Feb 15:

“Renewable Energy in Ireland 2013”, renewable energy contributed to 7.8% of the Gross Final Energy Consumption.

This is almost halfway towards Ireland’s binding 2020 target.

Of this 7.8% total:

• 58% was made up of Renewable Electricity

• 30% was Renewable Heat

• 12% was Renewable Transport Fuels

Why implement Renewables?

What is the driver behind including a Renewable Technology in a project?

• National Energy Policy – policies put in place in order for us to meet Ireland’s obligations for 2020

• Current Building owners want to reduce running costs, reduce Carbon Footprint

• The need for the building to meet a particular Energy Rating

What technology is best suited?

What is the load that needs to be satisfied?

• Thermal - what temperature is required?Heating / Cooling, both? Domestic Hot Water?

What is the distribution system - can the system temperature be designed around the technology in order to achieve the maximum efficiency within the system

• ElectricalWhat is the Electrical load, when is the load greatest and can we

find a technology to match the load profile

Implementation, how to go about it

What needs to be in place in order to install and operate this technology effectively

What is the application – which Renewable Technology fits the application the best?

e.g. A Heat Pump system, low mean system temperatures, but can it handle a high temperature hot water demand?

How does this effect the results in NEAP?

Can we still meet the requirement for an Energy Rating once we bring in more traditional means to meet the balance of the load?

NEAP and SBEM

NEAP is the Non-Domestic Energy Assessment ProcedureLike the DEAP for Domestic applications, NEAP is the methodology for demonstrating compliance

with specific aspects of Part L of the Building Regulations. NEAP is also used to generate the Building Energy Rating (BER) and advisory report for new and

existing non domestic buildings.

SBEM, originally produced by BRE in the UK, accompanied by a basic user interface, iSBEM, calculates monthly energy use and CO2 emissions based on building geometry, construction, use and HVAC and lighting equipment.

Although it can be used as a design aid it was not designed to be a design tool.

System SCOP – takes account of the overall Seasonal Coefficient of Performance of the heating system.

So what's Available?

There are a large number of Technologies available at the moment, what is suitable in a Building Services Capacity:

• SolarMade up of Solar Thermal, Photovoltaic and Thermodynamic Solar

• Heat PumpsGeothermal, Air to Water, Water to Water, Air to Air

• CHP / Biomass / BiogasBiomass primarily made up of waste wood products being used to produce heatBiogas being made up of anaerobic digestion and waste water treatment

• Wind

Solar Thermal

Basic principle – controller monitors temperature in storage vessel and that of the collectors, above a certain temperature difference the system pumps heat exchange fluid from the collectors through a heat exchanger

Advantages:• Relatively simple technology• Tried and trusted throughout the country• Everyone is aware of Solar Thermal and the potential benefits

Disadvantages:• Overall System Costs can be expensive• Limited applications - Commercially within the Service Industry, limited within

the greater Commercial and Industrial sectors• Relatively high cost for potentially low Utilisation Factor• Service and running costs associated

Photovoltaic

What is it, (magic) how does it work?Means of converting Solar Energy into Electrical Energy using

semi-conductive materials that have photovoltaic properties

Advantages:• Relatively simple technology to implement• Offsets a poor Primary Energy Factor • Higher potential Utilisation Factor – typically the electrical

load of the building being higher than the potential output of a Photovoltaic System

• Scale is limited only by space, budget and an electrical load

• No running costs, no service costs

Disadvantages:• Relatively high cost for relatively low return – delivered

Energy kWh / € installed• Relatively Large Areas required

Geothermal Heat Pump

How does the system work?Low temperature refrigerant takes heat out of the ground,

generally either a horizontal or vertical (borehole) collector, the gas is then compressed giving a usable low level heat

Advantages:• Highly efficient heating system when operated at low

temperatures• Maintains good efficiencies throughout the heating season• Can be used effectively in both Heating and Cooling

operations

Disadvantages:• Relatively High costs, equipment and ‘collector’ • Scale is limited to the collector area available• High Flow Temperatures are limited – making the

applications limited•

Air to Water, Air to Air Heat Pump

How does the system work?Low temperature refrigerant takes heat out of the air, usually

by means of a fan blowing air across a finned evaporator, the gas is then compressed giving a usable low level heat

Advantages:• More cost effective solution than GSHP – free heat source

in Air• Efficiencies are getting better and better, approaching

GSHP levels• Can be used effectively in both Heating and Cooling

operations

Disadvantages:• Scale, covering full heat loads at Design Temperatures• Heating Outputs typically fall away the colder the External

Temperature gets• Applications are limited, medium temperature • Some additional heat source, Boiler or Electric is typically

required

Combined Heat & Power, Biomass

How does the system work?Simultaneous generation of electricity and usable power from

the same plant

Advantages:• Running concurrently with the mains electrical supply, can

become the main electrical source on site, giving security of electricity on site

• Available in Large Commercial and Micro-CHP range, in the correct application with high utilisation factor, can have a very quick return on investment

• Biomass and Bio-energy CHP count towards renewable energy sources

• Allows High Output, high temperature output to the building

Disadvantages:• Relatively poor efficiency - approximately 80%• Poor Renewable take up of CHP, majority still being Gas Fired• Electrical and Heat Demand must be simultaneous• High Capital and Maintenance Costs

Summary

• In isolation, all Renewable Technologies and Products available on the market will work effectively when put into the correct application

• The First Step is to look at the application – what needs to be done?

• Look at the Heat Loads, Design Temperatures and Efficiencies required in order to make the system work well and efficiently

• The entire system has to work together – Heat Generator and Heat Distribution have to match up

• Maximise the Utilisation Factor of the Technology that you are looking to apply!

• Its not always about Payback, having a system that works well, offers good savings and comfortable environment within the Building are more important

Thank You

Any Questions?