2.3 Energy utilization, storage and distribution

• Embodied Energy


  It is the sum of all energy need to produce and maintain a product or service.

  LCA are a commonly used tool to do this.
• Components of Embodied Energy


  • Materials
  • Transport
  • Assembly
  • Recurring
  • Recycling
• Materials


  Energy used to extract and produce materials used in the product or building.
• Transports


  Energy used to transport the materials to the factory or the building site.
• Recurring


  Energy used to maintain parts of the building, or to use the product.
• Assembly 


  Energy used to construct the building or create the product.
• Recycling


  Energy used to recycle the components or parts of the build at the end-of-life.
• Strategies for reducing embodied energy

  1. Use less material
  2. Make choices in design and process that minimize scrap material
  3. Select low-embodied-energy materials
  4. Select low-energy construction systems
  5. Use naturally available materials or organic renewables
  6. Use durable materials and components
  7. Use materials with more reusable and recyclable potential
• Distributing Energy: National and International Grid Systems


  The energy grid is the system for distributing energy. It includes energy generation (power stations), powerlines over which electricity travels, and connections to homes, businesses and factories.

  
• Local combined heat and power (CHP)

  A technology that uses a single fuel source to produce both heat and electricity. This type of system means a consumer does not have to purchase energy from a local utility in addition to burning a fuel on-site to generate heat.

  Advantages:

  • reduced costs
  • reduced emissions

  because heating and energy production are combined into one system.

  Excess heat generated by a factor is distributed back to the local community to heat homes in the winter.
• Systems for individual energy generation

  These are systems for the small-scale production of energy.

  Homeowners install solar panels or wind turbines to sell any excess energy back into the grid, so they'll regain the cost of the system through the sale of excess energy.

  • used for single households with the goal of a zero- or low-carbon footprint.
  • Less expensive than connecting to far power-grid
  • accessible without power-grid
• Systems for individual energy generation - Benefits

  • supplement to grid-power system
  • lower environmental impact (see below)
  • Typically use renewable energy such as solar or wind
  • can be scaled to meet the needs of a single user
  • possible to live "off-grid" (no connection to power distribution infrastructure)
• Systems for individual energy generation - Considerations

  • high initial cost
  • may require owner to carry out maintenance
• Quantification and mitigation of carbon emissions

  Almost every process in the life cycle generates CO2.

  As climate change increase, focus on minimizing carbon emissions.

  Account for the sources of carbon-quantification, product's carbon footprint.

  LCA measures the carbon emissions and the overall environmental impact of a product.

  Carbon offsetting is the practice of compensating for the carbon that is produced.

  Ex. planting trees to compensate for the carbon produced in the manufacture of a product. 
• Batteries and Capacitors


  It allow devices and machines to be portable. Them in mobile phones allow them to be portable and be used for long periods of time without being recharged.

  It convert chemical energy into electrical energy.  

  It contain heavy metals, which when disposed of improperly can cause pollution, soil, air, and water contamination, as well as health problems. 

  
• Designers should consider several things when selecting a powersource:

  • Power demands for the design
  • Physical size of the battery
  • standard battery sizes
  • rechargability
  • environmental impact of disposal of the battery.
• Life-Cycle-Analysis (LCA)


  A tool used to assess the environmental impact of a design.
• Factors considered when selecting powersource:

  • Power demands for the design
  • Physical size of the battery
  • Standard battery sizes
  • Rechargeability
  • Environmental impact of disposal of the battery.
• Embodied Energy


  Sum of all energy need to produce and maintain a product or service.