Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apenergy

Energy and exergy analyses of space heating in buildings

Abdullah Yildiz *, Ali Gngr
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 14 August 2008
Received in revised form 3 December 2008
Accepted 9 December 2008
Available online 14 January 2009
Keywords:
Energy analysis
Exergy analysis
Space heating
Efciency

a b s t r a c t
In the present study, energy and exergy analyses are presented for the whole process of space heating in
buildings. This study is based on a pre-design analysis tool, which has been produced during ongoing
work for the International Energy Agency (IEA) formed within the Energy Conservation in Buildings
and Community Systems Programme (ECBCSP) Annex 37. Throughout this paper, in all of the calculations
such as heat losses and gains were taken according to Turkish Standards Institution TSE, which is in
accordance with the European Standard TS EN ISO 13789. In the analysis, heating load is taken account
but cooling load is neglected and the calculations presented here are done using steady state conditions.
The analysis is applied to an ofce in Izmir with a volume of 720 m3 and a net oor area of 240 m2 as an
example of application. Indoor and exterior air temperatures are 20 C and 0 C, respectively. It is
assumed that the ofce is heated by a liquid natural gas (LNG) red conventional boiler, an LNG condensing boiler and an external airair heat pump. With this study, energy and exergy ows are investigated.
Energy and exergy losses in the whole system are quantied and illustrated. The highest efciency values
in terms of energy and exergy were found to be 80.9% for external airair heat pump and 8.69% for LNG
condensing boiler, respectively.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In general, energy consumption can be examined under four
main sectors such as industrial, building (residential), transportation and agriculture. In many countries, the energy required for
space heating in buildings has the highest share of all which his
about 40% of total energy consumed in the residential sector [1].
Thus, energy consumption in buildings is quite high and must be
carefully considered.
Calculations for all kinds of energy utilization, including heating/cooling loads of rooms in buildings and temperature distributions, are based on energy balances. This is done in reference to
the rst law of thermodynamics, which states that energy is conserved in every device and process and energy can neither be destroyed nor consumed [2]. There are many studies in the
literature dealing with energy analysis in buildings. Gratia and
Herde [3] studied design of low-energy ofce buildings. Pfafferott
and Herkel [4] evaluated statistical simulation of user behaviour
in low-energy ofce buildings. Yang et al. [5] investigated energy
performance of building envelopes in different climate zones in
China. Sjgren et al. [6] studied on monthly consumption data registered by the property holders for over 100 multifamily buildings
in Sweden. They used an approach, based on the energy signature
method, which was developed for evaluating the energy perfor* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +90 232 3888562.
E-mail address: abdullah.yildiz@ege.edu.tr (A. Yildiz).
0306-2619/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2008.12.010

mance of multifamily buildings in terms of the overall heat loss

coefcient. Chowdhury et al. [7] studied thermal-comfort analysis
and simulation for various low-energy cooling-technologies applied to an ofce building in a subtropical climate. Lam et al. [8]
investigated the thermal and energy performance of ofce buildings and identied major energy-efcient strategies in the different climatic zones in China using energy simulation techniques.
They presented the work and its ndings and discussed the implications for building energy efciency. Durmayaz and Kadoglu [9]
presented calculations of the heating energy requirements for a
chosen apartment building and fuel consumptions in some of the
biggest city centers of Turkey in terms of degreehours depending
on the outdoor weather conditions in the heating season and a predetermined indoor design temperature. Chandel and Aggarwal [10]
studied performance evaluation of a passive solar building in Western Himalayas based on energy analysis. Filippin and Beascochea
[11] studied analysis of the design and technology of residential
and non-residential energy-efcient solar buildings, their thermal
and energy behaviour and their comparison with the thermal
and energy behaviour of conventional, non-solar buildings. Persson
et al. [12] investigated inuence of window size on the energy balance of low-energy houses. Eskin and Turkmen [13] presented how
the energy demands in an ofce building vary with changing conditions and control strategies by energy simulation. They used Energy Plus, an energy simulation program. They examined effects of
parameters like climatic conditions (location), insulation and thermal mass, aspect ratio, color of external surfaces, shading, window

1940

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

Nomenclature
A
b
Cp
COP
E_
_
Ex
f
F
g
I
l
N
nd

area (m2)
temperature factor ()
specic heat (kJ/kg K)
coefcient of performance ()
energy rate (W)
exergy rate (W)
approximation factor ()
factor ()
total transmittance ()
radiation intensity (W/m2)
length (m)
percentage of equipment resistance
air exchange rate (ach/h)

Subscripts
aux
auxiliary energy requirement
circ
circulation
const
constant
dis,D
distribution system
dt
design temperature
e
external surrounding, equipment
E,emis
emission system
env
environment
ew
external wall
ex
extra
f
window frame, parameter
G,Ge
generation
gp
generator position
h
heat
heat
heater
i
inside surrounding, surface, counting variable
in
input, inlet
ins
insulation
j
counting variable
l
lighting
no
number ()
P
power (W)
p
specic power, pressure (W/m2, N/m2)
_
m
mass ow (kg/s)

systems including window area and glazing system, ventilation

rates and different outdoor air control strategies on annual building energy requirement. Rey et al. [14] analyzed the different steps
of BEA methodology (heat and cooling load, energy demand, energy consumption and CO2 emission). They presented a practical
study of a small health centre that is analyzed with BEA methodology and they compared it with other energy simulation programs
like Hourly Analysis Program (HAP) and PowerDOE. They found
that the results of energy labeling are very similar for both simulation programs. Wittchen and Aggerholm [15] studied calculation of
building heating demand in EPIQR based on energy analysis. Prager
et al. [16] investigated the effect of painted facades with spectrally
selective properties on the energy balance of a building and compared real measured data from an outdoor test of facade samples
with data calculated using the ESP-r simulation program. Feng
[17] studied the rationale for dening thermal design of energyefcient buildings and made discussions based on results of eld
tests on pilot buildings and calculations for typical buildings.
To obtain a better understanding of the energy ow processes,
in addition to the rst law of thermodynamics, the second law of
thermodynamics, in which the entropy concept plays the key role,
can be applied. It is stated that in every process where energy or

R
T
U
V

pressure drop of the pipe (Pa/m)

temperature (K)
thermal transmittance (W/m2 K)
volume (m3)

Greek symbols
Q_
heat transfer rate (kW)
g
energy or rst law efciency ()
q
density (kg/m3)
w
exergy or second law efciency ()
D
difference
loss
thermal losses
max
maximum
N
netto
no
effect of non-orthogonal radiation
o
occupants
p
primary energy
prim
primary energy
q
quality
ref
reference
renew
from renewable source
ret
return
S
solar, supply and storage
s
source, surface
sh
shading effects
T
transmission
td
temperature drop
tot
total
V
ventilation
w
window
o
reference
Abbreviations
ECBCS
Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme
IEA
International Energy Agency
LNG
liquid natural gas
TSE
Turkish Standard Institution

matter is dispersed, entropy is inevitably generated. All real and

non-ideal processes are irreversible and there is an increase in
the irreversibility of a closed system [2]. Several studies have been
conducted on exergy analyses of buildings. Meester et al. [18] studied exergetic life-cycle assessment (ELCA) for resource consumption evaluation in the built environment. Gong et al. [19]
conducted schemeselection optimization of cooling and heating
source systems of air-conditioning systems for buildings based
on exergy analysis. In the analysis, the product exergy cost is considered as the objective function by which to evaluate the air-conditioning systems cooling and heating sources. Shukuya and
Komuro [20] applied exergy analysis to thermal storage in buildings. They used concepts of entropy and exergy to investigate the
relationship between the building, the passive solar heating system and the environment. Saito and Shukuya [21] reported the results of a pattern of human body exergy consumption related to
the exergy balance of various heating and cooling systems and
found out which were the low exergy systems. Franconi and
Brandemuchl [22] evaluated two HVAC systems using both the
rst and second laws of thermodynamics. They determined the
useful work produced by these systems using exergy analysis
method. Zmeureanu and Wu [23] investigated energy and exergy

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

performance of residential heating systems with separate mechanical ventilation. Chengqin et al. [24] studied principles of exergy
analysis in HVAC and evaluation of evaporative cooling schemes.
In these studies, external wall of buildings were taken as
boundary conditions and energy and exergy analyses were calculated for buildings. But, in the actual analysis, energy and exergy
analyses must be calculated in all of the systems from the primary
energy transformation till the building envelope including the
envelope. Firstly, Schmidt [25] presented a detailed report for the
design of low exergy buildings and gave an example of energy
and exergy analyses of an ofce heated by liqueed natural gas
red high temperature boiler from power plant till building envelope. Balta et al. [26] studied a heating system from the power
plant through to the building envelope and used a ground source
heat pump with a COP of 2.32 as the heating system.
In the literature, only one system such as LNG red high temperature boiler or ground source is analyzed. In this study, exergy
and energy analyses for three different heating systems that are in
_
wide use in Izmir
namely (i) liquid natural gas (LNG) red conventional boiler, (ii) LNG condensing boiler and (iii) an external airair
heat pump are conducted from the power plant through to the
building envelope. The methodology which used in this study
based on a pre-design analysis tool, which has been produced during ongoing work for the International Energy Agency (IEA) formed
within the Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme (ECBCSP) Annex 37. Throughout this paper, design temperatures such as indoor and outdoor temperatures
which are used in calculation of heat losses and gains were taken
according to Turkish Standards Institution TSE, which is in accordance with the European Standard TS EN ISO 13789. Analysis is applied to an ofce which has a dimension of 15 m  16 m  3 m.
Heating load is taken into account but cooling load is neglected.
In these analyses, the systems energy and exergy losses and efciencies were calculated and compared. Further, the best system
is proposed.

2. Denition of ofce structure and system

A plan of the ofce exampled in this study is shown in Fig. 1.
The ofce is heated by an LNG red conventional boiler, an LNG
red condensing boiler and an external airair heat pump. The ofce has one window with double glazing facing the south and its
total conductance Uwindow is 2.2 W/m2 K. The ofce has a one door
made from wood and its total conductance Udoor is 3.5 W/m2 K. The
ofce has a total oor area of 240 m2 and a total volume of 720 m3.
External wall comprises two layers of horizontal bricks, in between
which the insulation material (glass wool) is placed. Both the indoor and outdoor faces of this wall are covered with a layer of plaster and the walls total conductance Uew is 0.816 W/m2 K. In this
study, in all of the calculations such as heat losses from walls, ceilings and gains Turkish building standard was taken as reference
[27,28].
3. Determination of energy demand in the buildings
An important step in the entire analysis is the estimation of the
energy demand of the actual building. The energy demand is a key
gure in the analysis, as it corresponds to the buildings exergy
load. The energy requirement for the service equipment is then
estimated. The calculations presented here are done using steady
state conditions. They provide an instantaneous view of the processes and are not meant for estimations of annual energy demand.
For the balance of energy ows through the building, all possible effects must be taken into account, even the extraction and production of the energy carrier (Fig. 2). The calculation of energy
ows caused by a building starts much earlier during the production of energy by means of primary energy sources.
For a deeper analysis of the energy ows in a building, a closer
focus on the buildings services systems is needed. The entire ow
from the source to the sink, as indicated in Fig. 3, must be taken
into consideration. All energy ows from the left-hand side, i.e.
from the source, via a number of HVAC-components and the building structure itself, to the ultimate sink, the outdoor environment.
Imperfections and losses in the different steps throughout the
building are regarded, as well as the need for auxiliary energy. Energy, mainly in the form of electricity, is needed to drive additional
pumps and fans, for the operation of the system [25].
In the analysis, general project data and boundary conditions
such as internal volume of the ofce (V), the net oor area (AN)
were taken 720 m3 and 240 m2, respectively. The indoor temperature (Ti) and outdoor temperatures (Te) are design temperatures
and were taken as 20 C and 0 C, respectively for Izmir according
to Turkish Standard Institution [27,28].
For the estimation of the design heat demand of a building,
rstly heat losses caused by transmission and ventilation must
be calculated.
Transmission heat losses from buildings occur from external
walls, ceilings, windows, and basements and by inltration. Thermal bridges are neglected in this study. The total transmission heat
loss is the sum of the losses from all surfaces i and may be calculated from Eq. (1)

Q_ T

Fig. 1. Plan of the heated ofce.

1941

X
U i  Ai  1  b  T i  T e

where Q_ T (W) is the total transmission heat loss, Ui (W/m2 K) is the

transmission coefcient of the surface i and Ai (m2) is the transmission area of the surface i. b is temperature factor of the ofce construction elements and it takes into consideration that the
temperature of the external surface of a building construction element can be different from the external temperature. The temperature factor is consequently 0 for construction elements facing the
outdoor air [15].

1942

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

Fig. 2. Energy demand in buildings for different applications from source to sink [25].

Fig. 3. Schematic view of energy utilization in building services equipment [25].

The ventilation heat loss Q_ V (W) can be calculated by using the

following equation:

Q_ V C P  q  V  nd  1  gV  T i  T e

where nd is the air exchange rate (ach/h), gV is the efciency of heat

exchanger if a mechanical balanced ventilation system with heat
recovery has been installed. In this study, since no heat exchanger
is used, efciency of the heat exchanger is taken as zero and since
there is natural ventilation in the ofce, air exchange rate is taken
as 1.5 [25].
After heat loss is calculated, now heat gain must be calculated.
Similar to the heat loss, surpluses or gains of heat have to be taken
into account for the heat balance. They are divided into two major
classes namely; solar gain and internal gain.
The solar gain is

Q_ S

X
Is;j  1  F f  Aw;j  g j  F sh  F no

where Q_ s (W) is the solar gain, Is,j (W/m ) is the solar radiation and
is given for different orientations. As it can be seen from Fig. 1, the
2

ofce has a single window facing the south. For Izmir, the average
value of Is,j in the south orientation can be taken as 44 W/m2 [29].
Ff is the window frame fraction, Aw,j (m2) is the total window area.
gj is the total energy transmittance of the glazing and can be estimated to be 0.75 for double glazing. Fsh is the possible shading effects of other surrounding buildings and the Fno correction for
non-orthogonal radiation on the windowpanes and both of them
can be estimated to be 0.9 for most cases [15,27].
The internal gain is specied by two groups. One group is the
heat gain of occupants, i.e. people staying inside the room, and
the other is the heat gain from equipment, like computers, printers,
or other appliances, like television sets. In this study, it is assumed
that there are 15 people, 15 computers, one refrigerator, one photocopy machine, one television and bulbs with a total power of
200 W in the ofce. Q_ 00i;o is set to 80 W per occupant and with the
number of present occupants, noo; the gain from occupants can
be estimated from Eq. (4). Q_ 00i;e is the gain caused by each equipment. Then, the internal gain caused by equipments can be estimated by Eq. (5). Heat gains per equipment are given Table 1

1943

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

02

Table 1
Heat gains per equipment [30].

T heat

Equipment

Computer

Refrigerator

Photocopy machine

Television

Heat gain (W)

75

150

200

75

Q_ i;o Q_ 00i;o  noo

Q_ i;e

m
X

where Tin and Tret are inlet and return temperatures of the emission
systems and their values are given in Table 2.
Using this temperature, a new quality factor at the heater surface is dened

i1

T ret T i

F q;heat 1 

Q_ 00i;e  ni eo

T0
T heat

10

The exergy load at the heater is calculated by

All heat ows, heat losses via the envelope, and internal gains,
occurring inside the ofce have to be summed up to create the following energy balance which refers to the rst law of
thermodynamics:
(Heat demand) = (sum of heat losses)  (sum of heat gains)

Q_ h Q_ T Q_ v  Q_ S Q_ i;o Q_ i;e

4. Energy and exergy analyses of systems

The calculation must be performed in the direction of the development of demand, in other words from building envelope to primary energy transformation as indicated in Fig. 3. First, the
demand of the last subsystem (building envelope system) must
be satised by the one before (room air system). In this subsystem,
losses may occur and the demand increases, again it must be satised by the next one [25].
4.1. Building envelope system
Firstly, heating load of buildings must be determined from Eq.
(6) which is called energy balance. The quality factor of the room
air Fq,room is estimated by means of the Carnot efciency

F q;room 1 

3
1
T

T
1
ret
in
  5 TiA
@4 
2
ln T in T i

T0
Ti

where T0 and Ti are the reference temperature and room temperature and they are taken as 0 C and 20 C, respectively.
Then, the exergy load, i.e. the exergy demand of the room to be
satised by the following system:

_ room F q;room  Q_ h
Ex

4.2. Room air system

_ heat F q;heat  Q_ h
Ex

11

4.3. Heat energy emission system

Heat energy emission system is a space heater from which heat
is emitted to the space to be heated. Typical emission systems are
radiators, oor heating systems and fan coil units. Heat energy
emission system is a subsystem of the distribution system. For this
reason it is named as the emission subsystem. It has to be designed
so as to satisfy the room air systems energy and exergy demands.
Inlet temperature Tin and return temperature Tret is very important for exergy analysis. There is a thermal efciency value gE and
there can also be auxiliary energy demand Paux,E for each heat energy emission system (for example; radiator or convector) and
characteristic data of heat energy emission systems are given in
Table 2.
The heat losses are calculated for heat energy emission systems
from Eq. (12)

Q_ loss;E Q_ h 

gE


1

12

The demand on auxiliary energy or electricity of the heat energy

emission system is

Paux;E paux;E  Q_ h

13

where paux,E is the specic power for heat energy emission systems
and is given in Table 2.
The exergy demand of the heat energy emission system is derived as given in Eq. (14)

_ emis
DEx


 
Q_ h Q_ loss;E
T in
T in  T ret  T o  ln
T in  T ret
T ret

14

The exergy load of the heat energy emission system is

The room is assumed to be either heated by a warm surface

(radiator) or a warm air (emission for external airair heat pump).
The temperatures of the warm surface or warm air and of the room
also give the exergy content at the heater surface and of the room.
The effects of different surface and air temperatures, and of radiative and convective heat transfer processes between them, are neglected. The surface temperature of the heater is estimated by Eq.
(9) utilizing the logarithmic mean temperature of the carrier medium with the inlet- and return temperature of the emission system
[2].

_ emis Ex
_ emis
_ heat DEx
Ex

15

4.4. Distribution system

The distribution is characterized by a specic heat loss or thermal efciency gD and by the possible use of auxiliary energy, regarded as a fraction of the distributed heat and given by an
auxiliary energy factor Paux,D. The thermal efciency of the distribution system is calculated by

Table 2
Characteristic data of heat emission systems [31].
Heat emission system

Design supply temperature, Tin (C)

Return temperature, Tret (C)

Thermal efcient, gE (%)

Auxiliary power, paux,E (W/kW)

Radiator DIN 255 90/70

Radiator DIN 255 70/55
External airair heat pump

90
70
35

70
55
25

0.95
0.95
0.95

0
0
0.81

1944

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

Table 3
Values of parameters of fi [31].
Criteria

Possible choices

Parameter fi

Position of the generator (fgp)

Inside the heated space

Outside the heated space

1.00
0.90

Insulation (fins)

No insulation
Bad insulation
Good insulation

0.70
0.90
1.00

Losses > 32.9 d + 0.22

Losses > 2.6 d + 0.20

Mean design temperature (fdt)

Low
Mid
High

1.00
0.95
0.90

<35 C
<50 C
others

Design temperature drop (ftd)

Low
Mid
High

0.98
0.99
1.00

<5 K
<10 K
others

gD 0:98  fgp  fins  fdt  ftd

16

values of the parameters fi used in Eq. (16) are given in Table 3.

For the electrical auxiliary power demand of the pump in the
distribution system, an approach, which takes the inuence of
the temperature drop and the temperature level of the system into
account, has been chosen.

_ gcirc
paux;D Dp  m=

17

where gcirc can be taken as 0.27 [25]. Pressure drop in the distribution system is calculated from

Dp 1 N  R  lmax  AN pex

18

where N is the percentage of equipment resistances and R is the

pressure drop of pipe with typical values of 0.3 and 100 Pa/m,
respectively. The maximal pipe length of the distribution is given
as specic value lmax per net oor area with a typical value of
0.25 m/m2. pex is the extra pressure losses occurring in the system
[25].
_ can be calcuThe average mass ow under design conditions m
lated from

_
m

 3
m
s

1
 0:0036
1:163  DT dis

19

where temperature difference in the distribution system DT dis is taken as 5 K [25].

The heat loss of the distribution system is calculated from

Q_ loss;D Q_ h Q_ loss;E 

gD

1


20

where gD is the energy efciency of the distribution system and was

calculated to be 0.96 from Eq. (16) .
The demand on auxiliary energy or electricity of the distribution
system is

Paux;D

paux;D  Q_ h Q_ loss;E

21

where paux,D was calculated as 9.31 W/kWheat from Eq. (17).

Exergy demand of the distribution system is similar to emission
system. But the inlet temperature of the distribution system is the

Comments

mean design temperature Tdis and the return temperature is the design temperature minus the temperature drop DTdis

_ dis
DEx




T dis
Q_ loss;D
T dis  T o  ln
DT dis
T dis  DT dis

22

where DTdis and Tdis are taken as 5 K and 308 K, respectively.

The exergy load of the distribution system is

_ dis Ex
_ dis
_ emis DEx
Ex

23

4.5. Storage system

In this study, it was assumed that no energy storage was used.
4.6. Generation system
The generation system has to satisfy the demands of all previous systems such as building envelope, room air, emission, distribution and storage systems. If a seasonal storage is integrated
into the system design, some of the required heat is covered by
thermal solar power with a certain solar fraction FS. The required
energy to be covered by the generator is

1
Q_ Ge Q_ h Q_ loss;E Q_ loss;D Q_ loss;S  1  F S 

24

gG

Since, there was no contribution from solar energy FS was taken

as zero in this study and efciencies of generating systems were given in Table 4.
The demand on auxiliary energy of the generation system to
drive pumps and fans is

Paux;G paux;G  Q_ h Q_ loss;E Q_ loss;D Q_ loss;S paux;G;const

25

The exergy load of the generation is calculated directly as

follows

_ Ge Q_ Ge  F q;S
Ex

26

where Fq,S is the quality factor of source and is given in Table 4.

Table 4
Values of characteristics for heating systems [31].
Heating system

Thermal
efciency/COP

Max. supply temperature,

Ts,max (C)

Auxiliary energy, Paux,G

(W/kWheat)

Auxiliary energy, Paux,G,const

(W) const

Quality factor of
source, Fq,s ()

Primary energy
factor, FP ()

LNG condensing
boiler
LNG conventional
boiler
External airair
heat pump

0.95

90

1.8

20

0.95

1.3

0.80

70

1.8

20

0.95

1.3

3.20

80

10

1.0

3.0

1945

g Energy output in product=Energy input

1  Energy loss=Energy input

30

0.63
0.09
0.41
0.32
0.00
0.00
0.5
0.41
0.00
6.07
6.07
6.07
1.45
0.52
0.41
0.32
0.00
0.00
0.93
0.41
0.00
6.07
6.07
6.07
1.19
0.38
0.41
0.79
0.41
0.00
6.07
6.07
6.07

0.32
0.00
0.00

0.00
0.22
0.00
1.12
1.35
1.13
7.51
6.39
0.00
0.14
0.00
0.38
2.52
2.38
6.77
6.39
0.00
0.14
2.12
1.98
6.76
6.39

0.00
0.37

0.96
5.01
1.35
7.51
5.38
1.69
2.52
6.77
4.53
2.12
6.76

0.39

0.00
5.00
7.5
2.31
7.5
2.5
0.00
2.81
0.00
2.79
10.71
7.90
11.25
8.46
0.00
2.44
0.00
2.39

LNG conventional boiler

Total energy
rate (kW)
Relative energy
loss (kW)

Relative exergy
loss (kW)
Total energy
rate (kW)

Component

Energy analysis is the traditional method of assessing the way

energy is used in an operation involving the physical or chemical
processing of materials and the transfer and/or conversion of energy. This usually entails performing energy balances, which are
based on the rst law of the thermodynamics, and evaluating energy efciencies. This balance is employed to determine and reduce waste exergy emissions like heat losses and sometimes to
enhance waste and heat recovery. However, an energy balance
provides no information on the degradation of energy or resources
during a process and does not quantify the usefulness or quality of
the various energy and material streams owing through a system
and exiting as products and wastes [32].
The exergy method of analysis overcomes the limitations of the
rst law of the thermodynamics. The concept of exergy is based on
both the rst law of the thermodynamics and the second law of the
thermodynamics. Exergy analysis clearly indicates the locations of
energy degradation in a process and can therefore lead to improved operation or technology. Exergy analysis can also quantify
the quality of heat in a waste stream. A main aim of exergy analysis
is to identify meaningful (exergy) efciencies and the causes and
true magnitudes of exergy losses [32].
Energy and exergy balances can be written for steady state
(Energy in) = (Energy output in product) + (Energy emitted with
waste)
(Exergy in) = (Exergy output in product) + (Exergy emitted with
waste) + (Exergy loss)
The energy efciency is calculated from

Table 5
Total energy/exergy ow and energy/exergy losses rate of the system components.

4.8. Denitions and efciencies of the energy and exergy

LNG condensing boiler

29

9.09
6.65

Relative energy
loss (kW)

In this study, when external airair heat pump is used for heat
generation Frenew is taken as 2.20. If a boiler is used as heating system, Frenew is equal to zero.
Quality factor of energy source Fq,s needed for exergy analysis
are specied for energy source in the primary energy conversion
and its value is given in Table 4. Finally, total exergy load for building is calculated from

_ tot E_ prim;tot  F q;S E_ renew  F q;renew

Ex

Total exergy
rate (kW)
Relative exergy
loss (kW)

28

Total exergy
rate (kW)

E_ renew Q_ Ge  F renew E_ env

External airair heat pump

where Fp is the primary energy factor and is given in Table 4. Auxiliary energy used in the generation as electricity needed for driving
pump is effective in the part of heat generation. This effect is given
by auxiliary energy factor Paux,G. The typical maximum supply temperature of the boiler Ts,max is needed to check the consistency of the
overall system design. Pl and PV are specic power of specic lighting and specic ventilation, respectively, in Eq. (27) and they are taken as zero in this study. Values of characteristics for systems of
heat production are given in Table 4. Fp,electricity is primary energy
factor for electricity and it can taken as three [25].
If the generation utilizes a renewable energy source or extracts
heat from the environment, as heat pumps do, the additional
renewable energy load is

Total energy
rate (kW)

27

Total exergy
rate (kW)

 F p;electricity

Relative energy
loss (kW)

E_ prim;tot Q_ Ge  F P Pl PV Paux;G Paux;S Paux;D P aux;E

9.54
7.15

The overall energy and exergy loads of the building are expressed in the required primary energy and exergy inputs. For
the fossil or non-renewable part of the primary energy, the result is

Input
After power
plant
After heating
system
After storage
After
distribution
After emission
After room
After envelope

Relative exergy
loss (kW)

4.7. Primary energy transformation system

0.00
5.19

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

1946

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

The exergy efciency w can be written as

w Exergy output in product=Exergy input

1  Exergy loss=Exergy input

31

5. Results and discussion

The results for the numerical examples of energy utilizations
and exergy consumptions for the whole process of space heating
are given in Table 5. The process begins with the power plant, then
continues sequentially with the following steps; generation of heat
(the boiler and external airair heat pump), storage and distribution, heat emission and transmission of heat via the room air and
across the building envelope to the outside environment. For this
ofce, project data and boundary conditions are as follows: the

volume and the net oor are of the ofce are 720 m3 and 240 m2,
respectively. Indoor and exterior air temperatures are 20 C and
0 C, respectively, which are reference temperatures of TSE for
Izmir.
The transmission and ventilation are calculated to be 3.33 kW
and 7.23 kW, respectively, using Eqs. (1) and (2). Solar and internal
heat gains are found to be 0.275 kW and 4.22 kW, respectively,
using Eqs. (35). According to these data, heat demand of the ofce
is calculated to be 6.07 kW from Eq. (6).
The graphical presentations of the calculated results are shown
in Figs. 46, which indicate where losses occur. In Fig. 4, the useable ow of energy and exergy through the space heating process
from source to sink is presented. The largest input energy of system occurs when the LNG conventional boiler is used and its value
is 11.25 kW. The lowest input energy of system occurs when the
external airair heat pump is used and its value is 7.5 kW. As a

Fig. 4. Total energy and exergy rates of systems.

Fig. 5. Relative energy losses.

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

1947

Fig. 6. Relative exergy losses.

result of the energy analysis, energy production of the external

airair heat pump is remarkable. According to the rst law of thermodynamics, energy production is impossible but explanation
here is that renewable environmental heat is included in the process. In the generation section, an increase in the energy ow is
due to the external airair heat pump, which produces 5.01 kW.
Exergy is consumed in each component till it reaches dead state.
While the ow of energy leaves the building envelope, there is still
a remarkable amount of energy left, but this is not the same for
exergy. At the ambient environment, energy has no potential of
doing work, so all exergy has been consumed. The exergy ow
on the right side of the diagram has to be zero.
Relative energy and exergy losses occurring in each component
are presented in Figs. 5 and 6, respectively. The largest energy
losses occur in the primary energy transformation. The lowest energy loss occurs the in the primary energy transformation when
LNG condensing boiler is used and its value is 2.39 kW. The largest
energy loss occurs in the primary energy transformation when
external airair heat pump is used and its value is 5.00 kW. As
mentioned above, an energy production of 5.01 kW is subject in
the external airair heat pump heating system due to added
renewable environmental heat and this shown below the x-coordinate in the diagram. Unlike the energy losses, the largest exergy
losses do not occur in the primary energy transformation, but
occur in the heating system due to the combustion process which
consumes a lot of exergy that is indispensable when extracting
thermal exergy from the chemical exergy contained in LNG.
The largest exergy loss occurs when using LNG conventional
boiler and its value is 5.38 kW. The lowest exergy loss in the heating system occurs when using the heat pump and its value is
0.96 kW.
6. Conclusions
As shown in this paper, through analyses and examples, the energy conservation concept alone is not adequate in gaining a full
understanding of all the important aspects of energy utilization
processes. Thus, a method for exergy analyses based on a combination of the rst and second laws of thermodynamics is presented
here for a better understanding and design of energy ows in

buildings. The advantages of the analyses and the difference between energy and exergy analyses are demonstrated.
We can extract some concluding remarks from this study as
follows:
(a) While a part of energy leaves from building envelope, some
of it still remains. However, all of the exergy is consumed in
the building envelope.
(b) When the external airair heat pump is used as the heating
system, input energy to the generation system is 2.50 kW
but output energy is 7.51 kW. Therefore, the added renewable environmental heat is 5.01 kW.
(c) The largest exergy loss occurred during the combustion process when the boilers are used as the heating systems, but
when the external airair heat pump is used as the heating
system, the largest exergy loss occurred in the primary
energy transformation.
(d) Total energy efciencies of systems using LNG condensing
boiler, LNG conventional boiler and external airair heat
pump (energy demand room/total energy input) are calculated to be 63.6%, 53.9% and 80.9%, respectively.
(e) Total exergy efciencies of systems using LNG condensing
boiler, LNG conventional boiler and external airair heat
pump (exergy demand room/total exergy input) are calculated to be 8.69%, 8.68% and 6.66%, respectively.
(f) The best system in respect of environmental aspects is the
system with the heat pump. There is no combustion in this
system and the lowest input energy to power plant is in this
system.
(g) For the optimum system choice not only the environmental
aspects but also economical aspects must be taken into
account.
(h) The exergy load and auxiliary energy demand of each system
is affected by its subsystem characteristics such as heat
emission, distribution and heat generation subsystem characteristics. These values are given in Tables 24.
(i) For the future studies, an ergonomic analysis, which is a
combination of energy and economic analyses, and exergonomic analysis, which is a combination of exergy and economic analyses are recommended.

1948

A. Yildiz, A. Gngr / Applied Energy 86 (2009) 19391948

(j) In this period where global warming is a hot issue, it is very

important to take not only the building envelope but the
whole system into account during the energy consumption
analyses of buildings which has a big share in the global
energy use.

References
[1] Bolattrk A. Determination of optimum insulation thickness for building walls
with respect to various fuels and climate zones in Turkey. Appl Therm Eng
2006;26(11,12):13019.
[2] Moran MJ, Shapiro HN. Fundamentals of engineering thermodynamics. 3rd
ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons; 1998.
[3] Gratia E, Herde AD. Design of low energy ofce buildings. Energy Build
2003;35:47391.
[4] Pfafferott J, Herkel S. Statistical simulation of user behaviour in low-energy
ofce buildings. Sol Energy 2007;81:67682.
[5] Yang L, Lam JC, Tsang CL. Energy performance of building envelopes in
different climate zones in China. Appl Energy 2008;85(9):80017.
[6] Sjgren JU, Andersson S, Olofsson T. An approach to evaluate the energy
performance of buildings based on incomplete monthly data. Energy Build
2007;39:94553.
[7] Chowdhury AA, Rasul MG, Khan MMK. Thermal-comfort analysis and
simulation for various low-energy cooling-technologies applied to an ofce
building in a subtropical climate. Appl Energy 2008;85:44962.
[8] Lam JC, Wan KKW, Tsang CL, Yang L. Building energy efciency in different
climates. Energy Convers Manage 2008;49(8):235466.
[9] Durmayaz A, Kadoglu M. Heating energy requirements and fuel consumptions
in the biggest city centers of Turkey. Energy Convers Manage
2003;44:117792.
[10] Chandel SS, Aggarwal RK. Performance evaluation of a passive solar building in
Western Himalayas. Renew Energy 2008;33(10):216673.
[11] Filipin C, Beascochea A. Performance assessment of low-energy buildings in
central Argentina. Energy Build 2007;39:54657.
[12] Persson M, Roos A, Wall M. Inuence of window size on the energy balance of
low energy houses. Energy Build 2006;38:1818.
[13] Eskin N, Trkmen H. Analysis of annual heating and cooling energy
requirements for ofce buildings in different climates in Turkey. Energy
Build 2008;40:76373.

[14] Rey FJ, Velasco E, Varela F. Building energy analysis (BEA): a methodology to
assess building energy labelling. Energy Build 2007;39:70916.
[15] Wittchen KB, Aggerholm S. Calculation of building heating demand in EPIQR.
Energy Build 2000;31:13741.
[16] Prager C, Khl M, Heck M, Herkel S. The inuence of the IR reection of painted
facades on the energy balance of a building. Energy Build 2006;38:136979.
[17] Feng Y. Thermal design standards for energy efciency of residential buildings
in hot summer/cold winter zones. Energy Build 2004;36:130912.
[18] Meester BD, Dewulf J, Verbeke S, Janssens A, Langenhove HV. Exergetic lifecycle assessment (ELCA) for resource consumption evaluation in the built
environment. Build Environ 2009;44(1):117.
[19] Gong G, Zeng W, Chang S, He J, Li K. Scheme-selection optimization of cooling
and heating sources based on exergy analysis. Appl Therm Eng
2007;27:94250.
[20] Shukuya M, Komuro D. Exergyentropy process of passive solar heating and
global environmental systems. Sol Energy 1996;58(13):2532.
[21] Saito M, Shukuya M. The human body consumes exergy for thermal comfort.
LowEx News 2001;2:67.
[22] Franconi EM, Brandemuehl MJ. Second law study of HVAC distribution system
performance. ASHRAE Trans 1999;10(1):123746.
[23] Zmeureanu R, Wu XY. Energy and exergy performance of residential heating
systems with separate mechanical ventilation. Energy 2007;32:18795.
[24] Chengqin R, Nianping L, Guangfa T. Principles of exergy analysis in HVAC and
evaluation of evaporative cooling schemes. Build Environ 2002;37:104555.
[25] Schmidt D. Design of low exergy buildings-method and a pre-design tool. Int J
Low Energy Sustain Build 2003;3:147.
[26] Balta MT, Yildiz Kalinci Y, Hepbasli A. Evaluating a low exergy heating system
from the power plant through the heat pump to the building envelope.
Energy Build 2008;40(10):17991804.
[27] TS EN ISO 13789. Thermal performance of buildings transmission heat loss
coefcient calculation method. Turkish Standard Institution; 2000 [in
Turkish].
[28] TS 825. Thermal insulation in building. Turkish Standard Institution; 1998 [in
Turkish].
[29] Tamer S. Air conditioning and ventilation. Meteksan (AS
); 1990 [in Turkish].
[30] Kreider JF, Curtiss PS, Rabl A. Heating and cooling of buildings design for
efciency. Mc-Graw Hill; 2002.
[31] Zirngibl J, Francois C. Exergy analysis tool, various contributions. Internal
working documents IEA Annex 37. Paris, France: CSTB; 2002.
[32] Dincer
I,
Rosen
MA.
Energy
environment
and
sustainable
development. Elsevier Ltd.; 1988.