Community Energy Literature Review

          According to the International Energy Agency, “50% of global final energy consumption in 2018” was used in heating, contributing 40% of global CO2 emissions (IEA, 2019). Just under half of the heat “was consumed in buildings for space and water heating and, to a lesser extent, for cooking”. These figures help to explain the interest in retrofitting existing buildings to improve their thermal efficiency. The process can be difficult and expensive, and a variety of approaches has been taken. In the work outlined below, the role of software will be given particular attention. Foda,   El-Hamalawi and Le Dréau (2020) describe “a computational analysis taking a French single family house as a case study” using dynamic thermal modelling to find the optimum balance between annual energy saving and the cost of standardised retrofit measures available on the French market. The house had four occupants; was detached and typical of those built before 1974...

    According to the Corporate Finance Institute, a carbon offset “refers to the units earned by firms that have implemented a greenhouse gases reduction project. It is issued by a board or government authority, and one offset credit is given for every ton of greenhouse gas that is reduced, stored, or avoided.” These offsets may then be sold “to an investor, government, or NGO to offset their emissions or for investment purposes.” The market for such offsets “enables private investors, governments, non-governmental organizations, and businesses to voluntarily purchase carbon offsets to offset their emissions. The largest category of buyers comprises private firms that purchase carbon offsets for resale or investment” (CFI, 2021). Blaufelder et al., (2020) claim that “Natural climate solutions (NCS), a category including project types such as reforestation, avoided deforestation, improved forest management, and agroforestry, have grown faster than any other project catego...