Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
14
14
Sunny Prospects - Examples
of Sustainable Energy Supply
The previous chapters covered the large spectrum of renewable energies available.
Renewable energies will largely have to replace conventional energy sources during
the next 50 years to keep the consequences of climate change within manageable
limits. The modern use of these energies does not have years of tradition to fall back
upon. Their applications are often new and unusual.
Yet climate-compatible energy supply is not pie in the sky. A life beyond fossil and
nuclear energy sources is already possible today. This chapter shows the truth of
this claim based on examples, some of them quite impressive, from a variety of very
different areas.
14.1 Climate-Compatible Living
Despite the pressing need to protect the climate, low-energy dwellings such as three-
litre houses and passive houses are still the exception rather than the rule. Most
buildings that undergo restoration or renovation also fall short of meeting the stand-
ard for climate compatibility.
It is technically as well as economically easy to incorporate energy supplies that
are low or neutral in carbon dioxide into new buildings in particular. It is far
simpler to do this at the building stage rather than adapting the fi nished house in
the future. Energy-saving adaptations are usually postponed so long that windows,
roofs and outside walls are already due for refurbishment anyway. However,
with well constructed new buildings this can take many years. If energy prices
continue to rise over the next few years, then even new-builds with unnecessarily
high requirements for energy will become very costly to run. Investing in high-
quality insulation and renewable energy supply when a house is being built or
 
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