Exergetic Performance Assessment of Different Building Heating Systems

Exergy is an energy quality measure used to determine the sustainability of a system and its efficiency. The low exergy (Lowex) approach is useful to get sustainability goal in building sector. The energy and exergy flow from primary energy source to the building envelope from the are determined by this approach which is beneficial for improving energy and exergy use at all stages of the heating system in a building. In this study, a comparative evaluation of the energy and exergy performances of the different heating system alternatives for a three storey building, which has the same architectural features but is considered to be in Izmir and Paris, was made by the help of Lowex approach. The considered six heating system options are bio-mass/wood, a standard boiler, an electric boiler, a solar thermal collector, a ground source heat pump, and an air source heat pump. Various indicators such as energy and exergy efficiency, sustainability index and flexibility ratio are used in analyses and evaluations. In terms of total energy and exergy efficiency, it has been seen that the solar collector heating system alternative is the best option for both cities.