volume-14-Issue 1 (2018)
Latest Articles
Techno-Economic Study of PV Powered Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant in the Jordan Valley
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 83 - 88
Published: 07 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.010
by Ahmad Alsarayreh, Mohammad Majdalawi, Ramchandra Bhandari from Independent researcher in Renewable Energy, Amman, Jordan University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, Germany
Abstract: Jordan is one of the ten most water scarce countries in the world. In 2014, the share of water per capita per year in Jordan is 120 Cubic Meters (m3 ). The water deficit is estimated to be 160 Million Cubic Meter (MCM) in 2015. This deficit is projected to grow up to 490 MCM by 2025. This study discusses the possibility of using solar energy for brackish water desalination in Jordan Valley (JV) to reduce the pressure on the fresh water and the conventional energy consumption associated with the desalination process, as well as, to reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions associated with the consumption of energy produced from fossil fuels. Photovoltaic (PV) powered brackish water reverse osmosis desalination technology (RO) has been investigated in this study. The PV system has designed using PVSOL software. The economic feasibility study of use PV system has been done using Average Incremental Cost of Water (AICOW), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV) in several scenarios. The results of the analysis showed that using PV systems for brackish water desalination for a small size single plant at current electricity tariff is not economically feasible for the farmers. But it is feasible for a larger size plant for ten farms or more, or with financial support from the government. The feasibility results showed that using PV systems for brackish water desalination for the government side are economically feasible even for a small size plant. read more... read less...
Keywords: Desalination, Brackishwater, Solar Energy, Photovoltaic.
Feasibility and Occupants’ Perception of Double Skin Façade for Historical Buildings in Kuwait
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 71 - 82
Published: 07 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.009
by A. Al Anzi and L. Al-Dihani and A. Al-Ragam from College of Architecture, Kuwait University, Kuwait Kuwait Municipality, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Abstract: The paper focuses on diagnosing the Double Skin Facade (DSF) of the main Kuwait Municipality building complex based on occupants’ perception of different historical and environmental preferences. The case study building complex has a remarkable façade that represents the modern architectural and democratic movement of Kuwait. Unfortunately, due to improper maintenance and operation, the significance and benefits of the DSF in particular have not been utilized in this complex. The objective of this paper is to diagnose the DSF benefits of this building envelope and discuss the feasibility of renovation to improve its sustainable use and operation. Such sustainability includes daylighting, thermal comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ), and acoustic performances. To reach this objective, the study will be carried out using quantitative and qualitative research methods, such as site visits, interviews, questionnaire and literature review. It is found that responses of occupants are positive on the advantages and rehabilitations of the DSF of the complex. And based on the findings of this study, it is also believed by the authors that the preservation of its DSF is a more sustainable choice in this green architectural era. This is so due to its great occupants’ performance expectations and energy savings opportunities. read more... read less...
Keywords: Double Skin Facade, Facade Rehabilitation, Multiple-Skin Façade, Sustainable façade, thermal comfort
Investigation of Performance Characteristics of Hybrid Cars
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 59 - 69
Published: 07 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.008
by B. R. Qawasmeh, A. Al-Salaymeh, A. Swaity, A. Mosleh, S. Boshmaf from Mechanical Engineering Department, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan
Abstract: The study aims to establish a comparison between different cars models (conventional and hybrid) from various manufacturers sold in the local Jordanian market. The aspects covered are the main performance parameters such as the output horsepower, hybrid system type used and the economic parameters including net present prices, miles travelled per gallon (MPG) and the payback period. In addition, we study the environmental aspect such as CO2 gas emissions. Moreover, some special aspects related to hybrid cars are studied to give better view of the new hybrid technology found in the world nowadays .Here, we collect data from previous studies and from the manufacturers’ data sheets as well as from local and international car experts and dealers. Then the data is arranged to deliver a clear view about the hybrid technologies. The study serves as a car selection guide, which contains the main parameters needed for all users and a technical review for researchers interested in the automotive industry of conventional/hybrid cars. As a result, the new hybrid car technology can be categorized into three main types (series, parallel, or series/parallel system), and into four main levels (Micro, Mild, Full, and Plug in). Toyota’s HSD (hybrid Synergy Drive also used by Nissan and Lexus) is a series/parallel hybrid system, while Honda’s IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) system and Hyundai hybrid system are from parallel hybrid type. Economically, over the full models range, Toyota Prius has the largest MPG of 51, which is constant throughout models range, thus having the highest annual saving of 421 JOD/year. However, Honda Insight and Honda Civic hybrid have lower payback periods due to their lower initial prices. Environmentally, Toyota Prius has the least CO2 emissions of 178 g/mile; also, HEVs have lower CO2 emissions than their conventional counterparts over all the models. Comparing HEVs’ output power to their conventional counterparts with the same engine size, HEVs have same or better output power. In summary, HEVs are recommended to replace the conventional cars, due to their ability of reducing CO2 emissions, fuel consumptions, and offering slightly better performance. read more... read less...
Keywords: Hybrid Cars, Conventional Cars, CO2 emission
Techno-Economic Study of PV System for Household Electricity Generation in Almadinah AlMunawwarah
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 49 - 58
Published: 07 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.007
by Khaled S. Al Qdah from Faculty of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Department, Taibah University, Madinah 42435, KSA
Abstract: The aim of this work is to study the technological feasibility and economic viability of the electrification of small house lies in a farm 50km far away from Almadinah AlMunawwarah. Nowadays, solar powered air conditioning has witnessed an increased progress because air conditioning system is almost a must in every building in Saudi Arabia where the outside temperature in summer higher than 45◦ C. therefore, this paper consists of two parts: one to investigate the design and performance of solar powered air conditioning system as a case study integrated with photovoltaic (PV) system which consists of PV panels, solar charger, inverter and batteries. The second part is to study the feasibility to provide electricity for a farm lies in the remote area far 50 km from Almadinah. The first step in this project is the load calculations for the selected space including lighting, cooling and other necessary appliances. Based on the cooling load calculations for the specified room used as a case study, it was found the estimated cooling load about 1-ton refrigeration (3.52 kW), the photovoltaic (PV) system has been constructed and built with the necessary connections. Data logging system has been used to measure the temperatures at the main components in the cycle. The input powers for the system as well as the coefficient of performance (COP) for the system under Almadinah climatic conditions were measured along the day. The COP varies between 2.16 to 4.22 for the system and are in a good agreement with conventional system performance. Economically, the PV system found to be the optimal solution to provide the required load at an initial cost of 187,267 SR. The present work shows that the PV system has the potential to provide electricity for remote homes far from the grids with additional environmental benefit that otherwise not gained when using conventional fossil fuel read more... read less...
Keywords: Performance, PV, COP, Remote Areas, Climatic Conditions
Analysis of an Off-Grid Photovoltaic-Wind Hybrid Power System for Disi Water Pumping Project
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 41 - 48
Published: 07 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.006
by S. Abdul-Rahman, A. Badran from Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Jordan, Amman, 11942 Jordan
Abstract: A standalone hybrid PV/ wind energy system is proposed to be used to continuously power a submersible water pump from a selected well out of 55 production wells located at the Disi aquifer, South of Jordan. Each of these wells has a continuously-operating water flow rate of 288 m3 /h. Excess energy, if any, is to be stored in the form of a pumped water storage at the ground level near the well. Solar radiation and wind speed data for Al-Mudawara border meteorologicalstation, which was taken as a representative of the Disi water aquifer were collected and analyzed. Energy analysis was monthly made on the basis of average daily available energy. The performance of three PV/wind power plant scenarios was analyzed through the study of the underground water pumping wells using Life Cycle Cost (LCC) method. It was found that, for one scenario, the hybridization of a 16.5 MW is produced by PV power plant and 27.5 MW by wind power plant at Al-Mudawara site is the optimal scenario which is economically and technically feasible. It was found that the storage energy covered the load after implementation of the proposed project, the cost of 1 kWh of energy produced was estimated to be 0.16 $/kWh., and the system payback period was 4.5 years. read more... read less...
Keywords: Hybrid system, Off- Grid, Storage tank
Design and Experimental Investigation of Portable Solar Thermoelectric Refrigerator
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 33 - 39
Published: 07 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.005
by S.M.A. Rahman, A. Sara, R. Asmaa, S. Rasha from Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
Abstract: The aim of this project is to design a portable solar thermoelectric refrigerator for people living in remote areas, or outdoor applications where electric power supply is absent. The design of the solar-powered refrigerator based on the principle of the thermoelectric module to create a hot side and cold side. Solar PV module is used to supply electrical energy to the thermoelectric module to generate hot and cold effects for heating and cooling application. A wellinsulated rectangular container made of aluminum is used as a cooling chamber. To enhance the cooling effect, heat sinks and electric fans are added to the hot side to cool down the thermoelectric modules. The system was able to reach 40 C in the cold surface of the TEM and 100 C as the refrigerant temperature and 300 C in hot chamber with 0.66 COP. An economic analysis is carried out to study the viability of this novel technique. Economic analysis reveals that the system has sufficient amount of saving due to renewable source of energy which is free and lower maintenance cost. One more major advantages of the proposed refrigerator is its longer lifetime that might reach up to 40 years read more... read less...
Keywords: Solar PV Module, Refrigerator, Thermoelectric Module, COP, Economic Analysis
Overview of Energy Savings and Efficiency Strategies at the University of Jordan Hospital
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 27 - 32
Published: 07 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.004
by K. Hassouneh, S. Suleiman, and A. Al-Salaymeh from Architecture Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan Mechanical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of Jordan, Amman 11942 Jordan
Abstract: The main objective of this study is to conduct an Energy Auditing of The University of Jordan Hospital. This hospital is quite known, as one of Jordan’s leading hospitals in human resources and equipment; however, the energy consumption of the hospital over the past few years has proven to be highly expensive. This makes the saving on costs of energy consumption a high priority that cannot be ignored. Energy audit covers the three main sections of the hospital: the Emergency Building, the Clinics Building and the Main Hospital Building. The consumption of energy, which costs the hospital a total of 2,778,426 JD/yr., can be categorized into three main parts, the lighting system, the diesel fuel consumption, and the consumption of water. After analyzing the energy invoices, and visiting the site for inspection, a list of recommended solutions that are applicable to cut down the total energy bill were derived. The implementation of renewable energy was suggested and studied of which a solar water heating system was proposed. A study on photovoltaic cells technology was performed for a sample of guest's rooms, the number of panels needed was found. After that, a feasibility study was conducted. The initial costs, annual savings and payback periods of the suggested system were estimated by the current market prices. It is found that the energy auditing and the solutions would be very beneficial as it will save a total annual value of 346,853 JDs (12.5% of the current energy bill). read more... read less...
Keywords: Energy saving, energy audit, payback period
Performance Study of a Multi-Objective Mathematical Programming Modeling Approach for Energy Optimization in Building Envelopes
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 17 - 26
Published: 04 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.003
by Hussain H. Alzoubi, Mustafa Z. Ali, Yara M. Al Manaseer from College of Architecture and Design, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan Faculty of Information Technology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan Faculty of Architecture and Design, Amman Al Ahliyya University, Amman 19328, Jordan
Abstract: Architecture is very responsive to the environmental and climatic factors which affect the built environment with unsteady state. Technology can be used to keep these factors under control by optimizing building design to fit with the surrounding environment and the energy needs. In addition, building envelopes play a major role in achieving thermal comfort for occupants and reducing energy consumption. Building envelopes energy optimization became a leading approach in the architectural research and implementation. This study hypothesizes that using solar shading devices with suitable design decisions of the fenestration affects the daylight level, solar heat gain, visual comfort, and thermal comfort for users. The main objective of this study is to examine the relationships between building envelope design and building energy efficiency through research and simulations. In addition, it explores which combinations of the design elements are the most efficient in terms of lighting and HVAC loads which gives the designers a variety of optimum design solutions to choose the architectural from. This research focuses on the implementation and effectiveness of shading devices, glass type, and window-wall ratio (WWR) in energy optimization through building envelope. The study used MATLAB software for the mathematical model simulation while Revit software was used for the model validation. The study found that south orientation for buildings associated with horizontal shading elements is the best solution in terms of cooling loads in summer. In winter, however, the optimal solution was south orientation with vertical shading elements in terms of heating loads and illuminance levels. read more... read less...
Keywords: Building envelope, Simulation, Energy efficiency.
The impact of increasing temperatures in transition zones on energy demand
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 11 - 16
Published: 04 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.002
by T. Kansara from UCL Energy Institute, London, UK
Abstract: This paper describes the transitional zones of modern buildings and the impact of raising their temperature. A transitional zone is described as none steady-state spaces like entrance lobbies, corridors, lift-lobbies and landings, which allow occupants to transition through to more steady-state spaces. This paper presents the results of a dynamic simulation, where a typical case study building is used for an intervention of 1-5ºC increases in indoor temperature on energy demand. The results show raising the temperature in the transitional zones can result in a saving of 0.63% per ºC reduction of cooling for the whole building. The recommendation of this paper is to investigate a broadening of the thermal comfort parameters of these communal areas not serviced by the ASHRAE-55: 2-13, or any other standard, in order to identify the potential for reducing electricity used for cooling. Applying sensible engineering design load calculations will ensure comfort conditions and energy use are treated separately to occupied zones. read more... read less...
Keywords: Transition Zones, Thermal Comfort, Energy Demand Reduction
Wind Catcher and Trans-evaporative Cooling Residential Integration in Arid Region
IJTEE, volume-14, Issue 1 (2018) , PP 1 - 9
Published: 23 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5383/ijtee.14.01.001
by Isam Janajreh, Kamel Adouane, Mohammed Hussain from Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Abstract: The wind catcher potential for providing occupants comfort conditions is been investigated under trans-evaporative cooling for two-level simple dwelling in arid region. The wind catcher runs on the reverse chimney concept in which the upper wind is captured (by means of passive or active louvers) and is impregnated with moisture that consequently reducing its temperature and increasing its density. This results in a cold downdraft stream in the tower which is used to the conditioning of the dwelling space. This work uses a high fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of multiple species and two-phase flow to examine the performance of the wind catcher subjected to water injection in the form of mist of 10micron droplet size. The air flow is governed by the none-isothermal Navies-stokes equations which are coupled with energy equation in a conjugated heat transfer in accounting to the inner building walls and the convective conditions for the rest of the building. The water droplet is governed by the discrete phase that also in direct coupling with the continuous phase representing the wind. Flow parameters including velocity, temperature, relative humidity and droplets dispersion are evaluated and their distribution is presented. The setup is tested at different regional conditions manifested in the incoming wind speed, present relative humidity level and temperature sensitivity. Results show that in the average UAE summer conditions (42o C and 50% R. humidity) the role of wind catcher in evaporative cooling was deemed unimportant. However under pre-dehumidification near 25% R. humidity a significant temperature drop of 10 o C and reasonable R. humidity of near 60% can be obtained when integrating wind catcher to isolated dwellings. read more... read less...
Keywords: Wind catcher, cool tower, trans-evaporative cooling