Decreasing power consumption with energy efficient data aware strategies

Energy efficiency is becoming one of the key paths to transforming the South African economy into low carbon growth. This vision has been accepted by both the government and business community. To this end, the White Paper on Energy, National Energy Efficiency Strategy of 2005 (revised 2008), Energy Efficiency Accord and the National Climate Change Response Green Paper are among key policy documents. The Energy Efficiency Strategy spelt out a target of a national final energy demand reduction of 12% by 2015. Industry and Government agreed that the Energy Efficiency Strategy should be reviewed in three-year cycles. This paper reviews and assesses the energy efficiency policy landscape in South Africa and how this is assisting the nation to transform into a globally recognised low carbon economy. We conclude that South Africa is progressing well in terms of putting in place new as well as refining old pieces of legislation on energy efficiency leading to a low carbon growth path.

This chapter describes energy efficiency and conservation strategies in Japan by showing the historical trends of energy consumption and energy efficiency improvements. The Japanese experience demonstrates that efforts to solve environmental problems have served to improve energy efficiency in various fields. A mitigation scenario to halve global GHG emissions by 2050 is presented, and a comparison is done between effective technologies in Japan and China to achieve the target. Although the model analysis shows that a certain set of technologies can improve energy efficiency by 3 % per year and CO2 intensity with respect to GDP by 3.5 % per year in China by 2050, implementation of the scenario depends on a number of more specific conditions: rates of installation must be achievable; sufficient finance must be mobilised; and barriers to the adoption of low carbon technologies must be overcome. With China’s progress in energy efficiency improvement, there are greater opportunities for the country to take further steps in this area so as to contribute not only to economic development and energy security, but also to global climate stabilisation.

Energy efficiency has become a major concern for manufacturing companies not only due to environmental concerns and stringent regulations, but also due to large and incremental energy costs. Energy-efficient scheduling can be effective at improving energy efficiency and thus reducing energy consumption and associated costs, as well as pollutant emissions. This work reviews recent literature on energy-efficient scheduling in job shop manufacturing systems, with a particular focus on metaheuristics. We review 172 papers published between 2013 and 2022, by analyzing the shop floor type, the energy efficiency strategy, the objective function(s), the newly added problem feature(s), and the solution approach(es). We also report on the existing data sets and make them available to the research community. The paper is concluded by pointing out potential directions for future research, namely developing integrated scheduling approaches for interconnected problems, fast metaheuristic methods to respond to dynamic scheduling problems, and hybrid metaheuristic and big data methods for cyber-physical production systems.

Wireless Sensor Networks, emerged as a promising technology, offering unique benefits and supporting diverse applications, in terms of sensing. The challenging issue in these networks is optimal utilization of energy of its node, which maximizes its lifetime. In this proposed algorithm, energy efficient strategies are focused to optimize the energy consumption of the node. The cross layer approach provides a generic solution to increase the performance and energy efficiency of the wireless sensor networks. The different techniques in energy efficient strategies are energy efficient routing, scheduling the node's sleeping state and reducing the volume of information transferred. Special protocols are proposed for each technique. Multi path routes with multiHop of the data transmission to the destination node with less node failures. We show that extensive simulation is done by shortest path flat routing technique using Network simulator2 and Java. The best energy efficiency will be obtained by combining and following all these techniques. Using an active node set the node participating in several sets may improve network lifetime. (5 pages)

Eco-houses play a pivotal role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To implement such a concept, the current Conventional Design Process (CDP) needs to be improved. Thus, Integrated Design Process (IDP) was recently introduced to the buildings sector. IDP involves early stakeholders in a systematic approach to achieve performance targets. In this study, IDP was implemented in a single-family house, targeting efficient houses with minimum/no cost. Many energy efficiency strategies (EESs), such as envelop insulation, orientation, window properties, and efficient air-conditioning system, have been applied. These energy strategies predicted a substantial energy reduction where the energy use intensity (EUI) would fall from 182 to 72 kWh/m2.year. In addition, solar renewable energy, domestic solar hot water (DSHW), and photovoltaic (PV) panels (10 kW) saved 18.78 MWh/year. Besides, water efficiency strategies (WESs) are anticipated to save 217,581 gallons/year due to the use of a water recycling unit, low flowrate faucets, and efficient shower systems, all of which have been proposed. All the recommended energy efficiency strategies (EESs) and water efficiency strategies (WESs) had a simple payback period of fewer than 10 years and proved their cost feasibility over their life-cycle. Moreover, a considerable CO₂ emission avoidance (117 tons/year) was attained.

This study aims to determine the right strategy for energy efficiency that can be applied in the campus area. This study uses quantitative methods in a dominant position, while qualitative methods are less dominant. The method of analysis for this study uses Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) with the characteristics of the implementer and the target group consisting of motives, cognition, and strengths. These variables will be the main points for formulating a basic strategy on energy use at the Faculty of Engineering, Bukit Indah campus, Malikussaleh University. Contextual issues are also external factors that influence and become a consideration in determining the level of energy efficiency efforts on campus. Regarding to CIT measurements which have been analyzed, the score of motives from implementer is -0.33, cognitions +0.50, and power +62. Then, overall for target group get positive score which consist of motives +0.75, cognitions +0.54, and power +0.44. The result of type interaction between two actors point out number 10 which is about obstructive. Apart from that, three contextual issues will also be analyzed that affect the characteristics of actors, namely the specific context, the structural context and the broader context. Strategic planning to pursue energy efficiency at the Faculty of Engineering, Bukit Indah Campus, Malikussaleh University consists of increasing motivation with energy-saving campaigns and awarding prizes. Then, improve cognition with energy audits and socialization of energy efficiency. Finally, increasing strength through the implementation of sustainable policies and programs.

The implementation of automation technology in the manufacturing industry has become a critical solution in facing global energy efficiency challenges. Amid increasing demands for reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions, the manufacturing sector is required to adopt innovative solutions in their operations. This study aims to analyze and evaluate energy efficiency strategies through the application of automation technology in the manufacturing sector, with a focus on optimizing energy consumption and increasing productivity. The research methodology uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches, including analysis of historical energy consumption data from 50 manufacturing facilities that have implemented automation systems, in-depth interviews with industry experts, and comparative evaluation of various automation technologies available in the market. The results show that the implementation of automation technology can reduce energy consumption by an average of 27.5% in the first 12 months, with an increase in production efficiency by 35%. Further analysis reveals that automation systems based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence provide optimal results in energy management, with an average return on investment of 2.3 years. The integration of smart sensors and automated control systems has proven to be effective in optimizing energy use in production processes, predictive maintenance, and peak load management. The study also identified key challenges in implementation, including high initial investment costs, personnel training needs, and the complexity of system integration. The study found that key factors for successful implementation include strategic planning, top management support, and a comprehensive training program. In conclusion, the application of automation technology in the manufacturing industry is an effective strategy to achieve long-term energy efficiency, with the potential for significant savings and increased industrial competitiveness.

Building consumes 40% of global energy consumption which contributes for such a majority amount of carbon dioxide emission. Enhancing the energy efficiency strategies in buildings by retrofitting through different approaches is essential for reducing end user on the amount of energy consumption and carbon footprint emission. Previous research shows that only a few studies have been conducted on retrofitting the energy performance on Rest and Service Area yet the result shows that lack of technical feasibility practice was reviewed. Hence, this paper explores the energy efficiency strategy by improving the lighting performance based on 24 hours service building at Rest and Service Area Ayer Keroh Northbound Malaysia. The simulation that was performed in lighting energy consumption was EnergyPLUS software, Autodesk Revit and RELUX Plug in tool in Revit. Preliminary study was conducted to identity the problem on energy performance at Rest and Service Area Ayer Keroh by determine the total energy consumption by sources and Building Energy Intensity [BEI]. The result shows lighting contributes to the most total load consumption due to lack of energy conservation management and energy efficiency strategy practices. The lighting simulation scenarios was created to enhance the energy consumption performance and reduced the irrelevant carbon footprint emission. The simulation in Revit and EnergyPLUS showed 17% and 49% reduction respectively on the end load of lighting energy consumption by reducing the overall time operation and daylight control dimming system.

2-D Convolution is widely used in image and video processing applications. While prior work has focused on the impact of various trade-offs with respect to area, arithmetic resources and throughput, the impact of these on energy efficiency is not well studied. In this work, we propose an energy-efficient parameterized convolution architecture for 2-D separable kernel. Two types of algorithm mapping parameters, namely buffering scheme and level of parallelism, are used to characterize the architecture. By comparing the energy efficiency of architectures with various buffering schemes and parallelism, we demonstrate that the design strategy for high energy efficiency is different from the design strategy for high memory and area efficiency. With the optimized buffering scheme and parallelism, the energy consumption of the on-chip memory and external memory is significantly reduced while achieving high throughput. A DRAM activation schedule is also proposed to reduce the energy consumption of external memory. We implement the energy optimized architecture on a state-of-the-art FPGA for various image sizes. Our design sustains up to 61.8% of the peak energy efficiency of the device. Compared with the state-of-the-art design, our design achieves up to 34.1% energy efficiency improvement.

Achieving environmental sustainability has become a global priority, with energy efficiency (EE) emerging as a critical pathway. This study examines the influence of information and communication technology service exports (ICT) on EE by integrating the moderating role of regulatory quality. We employ a super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM) and generalized least squares models in G20 economies throughout 2001–2023. The findings show that the average EE is 0.855, which indicates a potential for further improvement of 14.50%. The findings further show that ICT is positively related to EE, and regulatory quality delivers a conducive environment for the adoption of technologies to optimize energy usage. The findings also indicate a synergistic effect between ICT and regulatory quality, which can lead to substantial improvements in EE, emphasizing the importance of governance in facilitating technological advancements. The findings highlight the role of renewable energy and economic openness in shaping EE. Furthermore, Argentina and South Africa achieved the highest EE, reflecting their proximity to the efficient frontier. In robust tests, this study verifies its results using the generalized method of moments, panel-corrected standard error, and feasible generalized least squares models. The findings suggest that ICT and governance perspectives can provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to enhance energy sustainability through digital transformation and institutional reforms.

3 - Building as an energy system

Buildings are one of the highest energy consumption contributors in the construction sector in Malaysia. Some parameters are acknowledged as the factors that influence the efficiency of building energy, including climate conditions, location and type of buildings. Optimizing the energy efficiency of buildings is a more economical strategy to reduce energy consumption, especially for tropical climates, and Malaysia naturally has plenty of sunlight and consistency throughout the year. Therefore, this paper discusses Malaysia different building designs and policies to improve energy consumption and efficiency of office buildings in Malaysia. In addition, the limitations encountered and the initiatives implemented by the Malaysian government in improving energy usage in the office building are also included. This review is expected to provide a framework and explanation that can be used as a guide to identify which approach is most appropriate to help optimize energy efficiency for buildings in developing and tropical countries such as Malaysia.

This paper provides an overview on our research on energy-efficient resource optimization and transmission strategies for hyper-cellular systems over the past five years. It summarizes the fundamental relationship between energy efficiency (EE) and spectral efficiency (SE), as well as the impact of physical resources on the relationship, such as time, frequency, antenna, and cache, and reviews the energy-efficient transmission strategies adapted to dynamic channels and traffic. It is in the context of key technologies in fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems, including massive centralized/distributed antenna systems, ultra-dense networks (UDNs), device-to-device (D2D) communications, and coordinated multi-point transmission (CoMP). It is shown that the EE-SE relationship in all representative systems exhibits a “bell-shaped curve”, meaning SE and EE increase simultaneously when SE is low while there is a tradeoff between SE and EE otherwise. Furthermore, the SE loss in EE-optimal policies is low, but the EE loss in SE-optimal policies is high. EE approaches zero with an increase in the number of antennas. Universal frequency reuse can maximize EE when the base station (BS)-to-user density ratio is large while partial frequency reuse is better for EE otherwise. Caching at BSs can improve EE and EE gain is high in scenarios with weak interference, low-capacity backhaul, and large content popularity skewness.

The social housing sector is of great importance in Brazil due to the housing deficit and the need to provide housing for people in situations of economic vulnerability. Recently, the sector has improved its public policies by including requirements to enhance the thermal energy performance of housing. However, given the need for decarbonisation of the residential sector, it is necessary to better understand the performance of these housing units across the different bioclimatic regions in the country. The main goal of this article is to evaluate the influence of more energy-efficient designs for social housing in Brazil, considering CO 2 emissions over the life cycle, in comparison to climate justice-related indicators, such as thermal resilience (thermal autonomy) and energy efficiency (energy consumption over the building’s lifespan). Three representative typologies for social housing in Brazil (single-family, terrace single storey and multi-family) were used to develop several cases considering three possibilities: typical constructions, cases with energy efficiency strategies in the envelope and with cost-benefit optimisation. A total of around 5.500 cases were simulated for the 8 Brazilian bioclimatic zones, resulting in total energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in the life cycle (embodied and operational) of the cases. The methodology considered the use of macro-components and a 50-year building lifespan. Results showed significant differences in the indicators for single-family and multi-family typologies as well as across the different bioclimatic zones. The study provides an initial basis to support the advancement of public policies related to decarbonising the social housing sector in Brazil, a country with significant social inequality and a need for climate justice.

To assist in the implementation of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in China, due to the contradiction between the increasing energy consumption of residential buildings in China and the higher energy efficiency goals, this paper illustrates that the energy consumption constitution of residential buildings in the whole life cycle and then puts forward comprehensive energy efficiency strategies. With literature and statistical data, the main part of building energy consumption lies in the materialization and use phases, which both will be continually increasing, and divided into energy utilization and waste. By inducing the energy consumption in the use phase, the energy consumption of residential buildings can be further classified into the energy consumption of indoor environments, residential behavior, and public facilities, where the internal factor of continuous increase are all elaborated. Via the analysis of energy waste causes, this paper constructs a model of energy consumption in residential buildings, reveals that the key to energy efficiency in residential buildings lies in scientific decision-making, lifestyle improvement, and appropriate energy efficiency technologies and measures adoption, and points out that promoting building energy efficiency through the whole life cycle of buildings and building activities is needed to achieve carbon compliance and carbon neutrality.