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While a number of domains readily employ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with infrared cameras (IR-UAVs), the IR and UAV research directions still need to be bridged in the construction domain. Our research aims to develop a protocol for IR-UAV flights to survey building thermography. Through a series of test flights and a literature study, the protocol was developed. The protocol was verified during a final test flight surveying PV-panels and the thermal shell of a building. By outlining the system, designing a protocol, and reflecting on our experiences, we contribute to the discussion to use IR-UAVs in the construction domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy saving and electricity production schemes for a school building in hot and humid climate were studied by a building energy package eQUEST. High-performance building envelops, energy-efficient air-conditioning systems and lighting fixtures were employed to save energy consumption and building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) panels were adopted to meet the energy needs. The annual electricity demand was 300 MWh, and 97.5% of it can be supplied by the vertical BIPV facades. Further PV installations on the roof can generate more electricity to balance the energy use. The results show that school block is possible to achieve the zero building energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy consumption in Algeria has a fast growing rate 1% per year. The actual reserves of natural gas and oil will be only covering the demand of the Algerian population for the next 50 years in the case of oil, and for the next 70 years in the case of natural gas as Algeria is considered the 3rd country in the world for the natural gas reserve, and in addition to that fossil fuel use is associated with significant environmental impacts such as global climate change, air pollution. Therefore the integration of renewable energies is a vital priority for the third world countries such Algeria. The aim of this paper is to apply and explore a methodology of solar integration in the urban planning in order to reach zero energy buildings (ZEB) target. To achieve the objective several analyses has to be made such as a solar potential, urban and environmental analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Old buildings that are severe energy wasters and provide low indoor environmental quality (IEQ) form a large fraction of the European building stock. These buildings represent nevertheless, an asset that should be re-evaluated in order to promote local communities development. This paper describes the study that supported the design for the zero energy retrofit of a kindergarten as part of a renovated smart district. The work will substantially reduce the energy needs for heating and cooling while improving IEQ. Prefabricated modules, including mechanical ventilation and solar shading are proposed and particular attention is given to natural, mechanical and hybrid ventilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) has built a unique tri-generation system that provides chilled water, hot water, and electricity to their new Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT) building. It integrates parabolic trough collectors, flat plate collectors, photovoltaic panels, and wind power as generators with thermal and chemical energy storage. The heat from the parabolic trough collectors is used to run a small-scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) unit as well as a small-scale ammonia/water absorption chiller to provide either electricity or chilled water, respectively. The condenser heat from both units is fed into the domestic hot water (DHW) supply of the building in addition to the solar heat from the flat plate and the parabolic trough collectors. The design concept including the main system components and the system control strategy are described in detail. Further, the lessons learned during the installation and commissioning of the complex tri-generation system are given. As a novelty in this area, the tri-generation system has been specifically designed to allow students and researchers to work with it, hence this paper also describes the wide range of teaching opportunities for undergraduate and graduate engineering students as well as post-doc researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediterranean climate distinguishes for a mild heating season and a hot (and usually dry) cooling season. All along the year solar radiation is plentiful and the daily range of temperature during the summer is large, due to dry and clear conditions. This environment allowed to design and build a zero energy concept building (a detached single family house) on the basis of passive heating and cooling technologies, supported, when required, by short time active conditioning. The design process was optimized by extensive energy simulations, resulting in an optimal energy balance and favorable thermal comfort conditions along the year. The building is instrumented with an accurate building automation control system, and a number of sensors for a detailed energy and environmental monitoring. The monitoring equipment and framework, have been devised to support further detailed studies to improve the design concept and to provide accurate and comprehensive data to the scientific community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of dynamic building envelope technologies, which are capable of adapting to changing outdoor and indoor environments, is considered a crucial step towards the achievement of the nearly Zero Energy Building target. The main aim of this work is to present a method for defining the ideal/optimal range of adaptive thermo-optical performance of a glazed façades with different reaction time, in order to assess the potential of future adaptive glazed façades. This is achieved by means of a performance-oriented method, making use of single-objective optimisation, based on the minimisation of the total primary energy consumption. The method is applied to the case study of a reference office room with a fixed window-to-wall ratio in three different temperate climates. The results show that, as expected, the energy savings are inversely related to the façade reaction time. The amount of energy savings is a function of the variability of outdoor conditions and their closeness to the comfort range. The results from this study should be particularly useful for guiding future development of adaptive façade technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) have been considered in current EU projects. There is little attention paid to the relationship between barriers in the decision making process and challenges in the retrofitting process of nZEB renovation. To address this gap, a comparative study of Norway and Sweden along with a review of European energy efficient projects is undertaken. Findings indicate common challenges of knowledge dissemination but differences related to ownership in Sweden and Norway. Results here have implications for Nearly Zero Energy Neighborhoods (ZenN) demonstration projects which are aspiring to meet ambitious calls from the EU since 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]