The most significant threat that mankind faces in the 21th century is global warming. Buildings, which account for 40% of global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, play a pivotal role in global warming. Estimates show that their destructive impact will grow by 1.8% per year through 2050, which indicates that future consumption and emissions will be worse than today. Therefore, the impact of cooling systems cannot be ignored, as they, along with ventilation and heating systems, account for 60% of the energy consumed in buildings. Passive cooling techniques are a promising alternative to conventional cooling systems. Of the various passive cooling strategies, thermal energy storage by means of latent heat is an efficient way to increase the thermal inertia of building envelopes, which would reduce temperature fluctuations, leading to the improved thermal comfort of occupants. Phase change materials (PCMs) with high density for thermal energy storage can be efficiently employed to this purpose. This paper reviews recent studies of the application of PCMs for passive cooling in buildings. From the literature, a comprehensive list of different organic, inorganic and eutectic PCMs appropriate for passive cooling in buildings are reviewed. Full-scale testing and numerical modeling were found to be the most popular investigative methods used for experimental and theoretical analysis of PCMs. The combination of these two methods can provide a detailed and valid technique for PCM investigations. Finally, incorporating PCMs into building walls with macro encapsulation was also a dominant interest in previous studies.

A review on phase change material (PCM) for sustainable passive cooling in building envelopes

Energy systems across the globe are going through a radical transformation as a result of technological and institutional changes, depletion of fossil fuel resources, and climate change. At the local level, increasing distributed energy resources requires that the centralized energy systems be re-organized. In this paper, the concept of Integrated community energy systems (ICESs) is presented as a modern development to re-organize local energy systems to integrate distributed energy resources and engage local communities. Local energy systems such as ICESs not only ensure self-provision of energy but also provide essential system services to the larger energy system. In this regard, a comparison of different energy system integration option is provided. We review the current energy trends and the associated technological, socio-economic, environmental and institutional issues shaping the development of ICESs. These systems can be applied to both developed and developing countries, however, their objectives, business models as well as composition differs. ICESs can be accepted by different actors such as local governments, communities, energy suppliers and system operators as an effective means to achieve sustainability and thereby will have significant roles in future energy systems.

/pdf/energetic-communities-for-community-energy-a-review-of-key-5cyrkfy2mz.pdf

Energetic communities for community energy: A review of key issues and trends shaping integrated community energy systems

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source that can be found in abundance on our planet. Only a small fraction of it is currently converted to electrical power, though in recent years installed geothermal capacity has increased considerably all over the world. This review focuses on Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), which represent a path for turning the enormous resources provided by geothermal energy into electricity for human consumption efficiently and on a large scale. The paper presents a general overview of this ever-expanding technology from its origins to the current state of the art. The Geodynamics plant in Habanero (Australia), which started up on 2 May 2013, is the first privately-run commercial EGS plant to produce electricity on a large scale. Thanks to the technological development of EGS in recent years, the future looks bright for such plants in the decades to come.

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS): A review

Zhangning Jiang

Papers

Recent research and applications of ground source heat pump integrated with thermal energy storage systems: A review

Modeling and simulation on the performance of a novel double shape-stabilized phase change materials wallboard

Numerical study on ground source heat pump integrated with phase change material cooling storage system in office building

Case study of performance evaluation of ground source heat pump system based on ANN and ANFIS models

Coupling optimization study of key influencing factors on PCM trombe wall for year thermal management