Assessing the overall life cycle impact of home energy management systems
S.S. van Dam (TU Delft - OLD Housing Systems)
J.C. Buiter (TU Delft - Design for Sustainability)
C.A. Bakker (TU Delft - Design for Sustainability)
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Abstract
An ever-increasing body of research explores the effectiveness of Home Energy Management systems (HEMS) in achieving energy savings. To date, however, the overall life cycle impact of the HEMS itself has not been taken into account. Thus, no assessment has been made whether the amount of energy saved (esaved) outweighs the energy needed for production, use and disposal (einvested). To determine whether esaved>einvested, a lifecycle assessment was conducted comparing three HEMS in six usage scenarios. The results show that the impact is dependent on the type of HEMS, and that the benefits do not always outweigh the (environmental) costs.