Built environment. Embedded generation


In Europe, almost 52% of the energy supplied by the utilities is consumed within the build environment. This implies that strategies for sustainability and energy conservation would be worth the while if it is focused and applied in this area.

The concept of Embedded Generation in the transmission of renewable energy leads to the idea of exploiting all possible renewable resources at a particular site ie. the build environment, in an attempt to meet the demand load. They consists of two generating components, Active and Passive renewables.

Active renewables involves the direct conversion of renewable energy to electricity or heat ie. wind turbines, photovoltaics, hydroelectric, geothermal, etc.

Passive systems on the other hand is the second-hand energy, obtained from waste heat off of PV cells, daylighting or generally, energy obtained through any indirect means.

Some of the advantages of Embedded Generation include:

Embedded generation offers an excellent option for the transmission of energy at the local level and coupled with the growing interest/research in renewable energy within the build environment, it would make a good combination in the way energy is generated and transmitted in the future.