Eco-friendly education facilities: The case of a public education building in South Korea

Since the importance and effects of national energy policies, plans, and roadmaps were presented in South Korea, the role of renewable energy resources has received great attention. Moreover, as there is significant reasoning for reducing and minimizing nuclear and fossil fuel usage in South Korean national energy plans, several academic scholars and implementers have expended significant effort to present the potential and feasibility of renewable energy resources in South Korea. This study contributes to these efforts by presenting potential sustainable configurations of renewable energy production facilities for a public building in South Korea. Based on economic, environmental, and technical information as well as the presented simulation results, it proposes an environmentally friendly renewable energy production facility configuration that consists of photovoltaic arrays, battery units, and a converter. Subsidies for installing and renovating such facilities are also considered. The potential configuration indicates $0.464 as the cost of energy, 100% of which is renewable. Potential limitations and future research areas are suggested based on the results of these simulations.