Fuel Poverty and Comfort in Modern Residential Apartments in Developing Countries： A Case from Jordan

Energy is one of the most important resources in the economy of developing countries. Jordan depends mainly on imported oil and gas at international prices. This creates a heavy burden upon Jordanian national economy, which is reflected in the same time on other sectors of the Jordanian society. The ever increasing fuel prices make it very necessary to look for new renewable energy resources. Jordan as a developing country with its fast growing urban development and construction projects will be studied. It is worthy to study the dynamic relationship between end user, fuel and comfort in the residential sector. Energy is a chronic problem in Jordan, due to lack of non renewable energy resources, the end consumer is influenced by this fact, in achieving his basic energy needs. This study tries to shed light on the fuel poverty line, definitions and parameters of fuel poverty. And to study what has been done in this regard on both international and local level. No studies have been identified in Jordan which, explore the problem of fuel poverty, especially after the vast and recent increase in fuel prices internationally and locally. This study will follow theoretical and field survey to understand the relationship between comfort, energy and building fabric. Method will depend mainly on field survey and statistical data, and necessary measurements, questionnaires will be adopted when necessary to explore comfort levels related to fuel consumption. Summary and recommendations will be concerned with how thermal comfort could be achieved within the ranges of fuel accessibility, building fabric, minimum pollution and cost.

Fuel poverty and low carbon emissions: a comparative study of the feasibility of the hybrid renewable energy systems incorporating combined heat and power technology

Fuel poverty is most prevalent in North East England with 14.4%of fuel poor households in Newcastle upon Tyne.The aim of this paper was to identify a grid connected renewable energy system coupled with natural gas reciprocating combined heat and power unit,that is cost-effective and technically feasible with a potential to generate a profit from selling energy excess to the grid to help alleviate fuel poverty.The system was also aimed at low carbon emissions.Fourteen models were designed and optimized with the aid of the HOMER Pro software.Models were compared with respect to their economic,technical,and environmental performance.A solution was proposed where restrictions were placed on the size of renewable energy components.This configuration consists of 150 kW CHP,300 kW PV cells,and 30 kW wind turbines.The renewable fraction is 5.10%and the system yields a carbon saving of 7.9%in comparison with conventional systems.The initial capital investment is$1.24 million which enables the system to have grid sales of 582689 kWh/a.A conservative calculation determined that 40%of the sales can be used to reduce the energy cost of fuel poor households by$706 per annum.This solution has the potential to eliminate fuel poverty at the site analyzed.

Energy poverty in Greek mountainous areas： a comparative study

The paper studied the energy poverty in the mountainous areas of Greece through parallel primary surveys, in comparison with the country-level conditions. The surveys are based on objective financial and expenditure data as well as on subjective views about housing conditions. The objective approach showed that mountainous areas of Greece are burdened with much higher energy expenditure while also having lower annual incomes. Under these circumstances, the energy poverty rate skyrocketed to73.5%. The subjective indicators reveal significant aspects of the problem, such as the intense problem of damp walls and mold growth at home or the restriction of other basic needs in order to cover heating needs. However, despite the proven high vulnerability of Greek mountainous areas, current energy policy actually ignores the special features of mountainous areas, implementing horizontal policies.Therefore, a specialized energy plan targeted to alleviating energy poverty in mountainous areas in Greece is an urgent imperative.