Future Energy

Effect of thermal and cool paints on energy consumption of residential buildings

Mokhtar Ahmadzadeh, Amirhossein Fathi — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The paper aims to evaluate the technical and economic impact of cool and thermal paints on cooling and heating loads in different climates. To study the effect of thermal and cool paints, DesignBuilder software has been chosen. The sample under examination is a standard five-story residential building in Iran, where the ratio of painted wall area to total surface area is 49. In this building, the heating system is natural gas-based, and the cooling system is electricity-based, each with different prices and tariffs. The cooling and heating loads for three paint colors—black, gray, and white—on this building were examined in four cities: Bushehr, Shiraz, Tehran, and Tabriz, which have hot desert (BWh), hot semi-arid (BSh), and cold semi-arid (BSk) climates, respectively. According to the simulation results, cool paints have resulted in a 3% to 10% reduction in cooling load. The white paint has the highest percentage reduction in cooling load, and its impact on cooling load is greater in colder regions. Thermal paints have led to a 7% to 50% reduction in heating load, and according to the simulation results, the percentage reduction in heating load energy is greater in warmer regions.

Stochastic energy management strategy for microgrid-connected electric vehicle charging infrastructure

Bhagyashri Govindrao Sherkhane, Sudarshan L. Chavan, Aishwrya A. Apte — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ensuring the reliability and stability of standalone microgrids (MGs) is fundamental to the effective integration of renewable energy sources, which are inherently uncertain. This work presents a stochastic optimization model using mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) to determine the optimal operation of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) with transactive control, emphasizing the balance between economic efficiency and system reliability. As a result, deploying EVCS will become a vital strategy for integrating renewable energy. An innovative method for supplying electric power from EV fleets involves using transportation networks as additional infrastructure. This article proposes that transportation networks, EVCS, and MGs can be optimally scheduled under uncertain photovoltaic (PV) generation using transactive control. The stochastic optimization problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear program and implemented in a moving-horizon framework for real-time onboard operation. The framework is tested on the IEEE 30-bus transmission network. The results show the efficiency of the proposed framework as an improvement tool for economic performance and operational stability in renewable-integrated power markets, and it reduces peak loads through the coordinated charging and discharging of vehicles.

Global review of the ISO 50001 standard and provision of a framework for improving energy management systems for Iran

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Energy management has become an essential tool for addressing the challenge of sustainable development, driven by rising demand, price volatility, and concerns about global warming. ISO 50001 has emerged as an excellent methodological tool that uses the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle to enhance an enterprise's energy efficiency. This article provides a systematic, methodical literature review of quantitative effects and case studies on the application of ISO 50001 in developed and developing nations from 2000 to 2025. By conducting a comprehensive literature search of Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore, the article provides a factual description of the ISO 50001 application, which can annually decrease the energy intensity by 41-26%, support long-term efficiency over a period of 12 years, and provide significant cost savings as a byproduct of the reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The article emphasizes the critical success factors (CSFs), such as senior management support, organizational values and behavior change, the development of technical capacities, and the development of a supportive policy structure. However, a wide range of constraints still exist, including a lack of funds, technical competencies, organizational resistance, and supportive infrastructure. The article considers a special case of the Iranian nation, which has shown higher values than the global average due to lower energy consumption costs, outdated technology, a lack of management systems, and an abundance of Iranian energy resources. This article encourages the application of a methodological model that includes the PDCA tool, barrier management structured analysis, and the structured maturity development model, among others, by adapting it to the specific case of the Iranian nation.

Integrated energy, exergy, and techno-economic analysis of an off-grid hybrid solar-battery-generator system for disaster-relief container homes in Ankara, Türkiye

Kadir Aydin — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes (Mw 7.7 and Mw 7.6) left more than three million people homeless in Türkiye and, as of February 2025, over 649,000 people still reside in container settlements, for which reliable grid-independent energy provision remains an unsolved challenge. This paper presents the integrated design, first- and second law (energy and exergy) thermodynamic analysis, annual simulation, and techno-economic and environmental assessment of a mobile hybrid energy production, storage, and management system built for a 21 m² disaster-relief container home in Ankara (39.93°N), using commercially procured equipment. The system couples a 3.57 kWp array of six 595W glass–glass modules, with a planned roll-bond photovoltaic–thermal retrofit, a 5.12 kWh LiFePO₄ battery, an 8.2 kW dual-MPPT inverter, a 7.5 kVA dual-fuel generator with exhaust heat recovery, a 3.42 m² aluminium flat-plate solar-thermal field charging a 185 L (net) double-wall chromium boiler for domestic hot water and supplementary heating, and a single 12,000 BTU A++ inverter air conditioner dedicated to cooling (heat-pump heating retained only as emergency backup), all under a PLC-based EMS/SCADA. A 35° sawtooth mounting structure is designed, and its tilt optimization and inter-row shading are analyzed under the constraint of a 3 m roof depth. The annual electricity yield is 4,430 kWh (parallel-mounted), rising to 4,960 kWh at the 35° optimum, against ~1,740 kWh electrical demand, giving full summer autonomy and 60–85 h of winter generator run-time. The combined first-law efficiency reaches 68% in cogeneration mode; the overall second-law efficiency is ~24% (sustainability index 1.32), the low-temperature collector and the indirect double-wall boiler being the principal exergy-destruction sites. Against a continuous generator baseline, the system pays back in ~6 years and avoids ~2,770 kg CO₂/yr (~69 t over 25 years).

Oil, labor, and the fraying social contract: a review of energy justice and future energy transition in Trinidad and Tobago

Randy Ramadhar Singh — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This review explores the history of Trinidad and Tobago's hydrocarbon sector through the lens of energy justice. The unresolved issue in Trinidad and Tobago, as in many petro states, is achieving a democratic transition that genuinely includes affected people. Energy justice is the starting point for sustainable transition. It considers future energy systems, decarbonization, and sustainable policies. Drawing on peer-reviewed literature, government archives, and comparative studies with other nations, the review covers 169 years of oil and gas, from the first drilled Merrimac well in 1857 to current plans for cross-border gas cooperation with Venezuela and a 30% renewable-energy electricity target by 2030. Adopting a three-level energy justice approach of distributional, procedural, and recognition justice, the paper analyses four events: the 1937 labor unrest, OWTU campaigns (1960-1985), the Alutrint case, and the Petrotrin refinery closure in 2018. The study finds a degradation of the extractive social contract: a weaker state-citizen relationship driven by rent-based governance rather than democratic accountability. Unlike Norway, Nigeria, Venezuela, Alaska, and Scotland, Trinidad and Tobago is characterized by procedural and recognition justice problems of distressed petro-states rather than transition countries. This paper proposes a new social contract model that emphasizes participatory energy governance, transparent benefit distribution, planning for a just transition and energy democracy, and a path to decarbonization through 2065. In accordance with PRISMA 2020, the paper employs the Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and UWI Library Repository databases, analyzing 61 documents out of 1256. The key innovation lies in combining historical political economy with future-oriented policy, connecting energy justice diagnostics to practical institutional reforms, and overcoming political economy obstacles that have prevented reforms in Trinidad and Tobago.