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This position paper aims to pave the way for a debate on a few under-explored, at least, perhaps even neglected, challenges we face when trying to improve building overall performance. Specifically, we suggest focusing on how the efforts to increase building energy efficiency, building safety, the home and workplace healthiness, and the comfort perceived by the users can be impaired by budget constraints, especially while operating in critical scenarios. On the one hand, restraints on capital expenditures by property owners and other investors affect the decision-making processes for the construction of new buildings or the renovation of existing ones. More beyond, rapidly developing demographic and other anthropological changes, as well as frequently occurred natural disasters, pose extra burdens on the players in the building industry and the real estate market. It has been a fact that the need to adapt to both budget constraints and challenging situations is seldom fully embedded in the studies focusing on improving building performance. Therefore, we call for attentions in research and publications to advocate for complementing the need.

This position paper aims to pave the way for a debate on a few under-explored, at least, perhaps even neglected, challenges we face when trying to improve building overall performance. Specifically, we suggest focusing on how the efforts to increase building energy efficiency, building safety, the home and workplace healthiness, and the comfort perceived by the users can be impaired by budget constraints, especially while operating in critical scenarios. On the one hand, restraints on capital expenditures by property owners and other investors affect the decision-making processes for the construction of new buildings or the renovation of existing ones. More beyond, rapidly developing demographic and other anthropological changes, as well as frequently occurred natural disasters, pose extra burdens on the players in the building industry and the real estate market. It has been a fact that the need to adapt to both budget constraints and challenging situations is seldom fully embedded in the studies focusing on improving building performance. Therefore, we call for attentions in research and publications to advocate for complementing the need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PRDC) is a promising technology providing a cooling strategy that radiates heat directly into outer space without additional energy consumption, a crucial consideration in controlling construction energy consumption. However, the preparation of PRDC materials with controlled radiative properties is still challenging because the radiative interface must be maintained in a clean environment. Herein, a densely distributed porous hybrid aerogel with controlled radiative properties was fabricated using the wollastonite and cellulose as building blocks for building energy-saving applications. To do this, the cellulose pulp was obtained by using waste paper as raw material. Then, the hybrid aerogels, comprising paper cellulose and wollastonite particles, were fabricated by combining the acrylic acid polymers (PAA) bonding, freeze drying and vapor deposition modification. The radiative cooling hybrid aerogel exhibits high solar reflectivity (94.6%) and high atmospheric emissivity (95.1%), due to the laminated design of wollastonite randomly dispersed in the radiative hybrid aerogel. The excellent PRDC capability is also proven by outdoor tests where practical temperature difference is ~ 6.3 ℃ and the maximum cooling power of 147.4 Wm−2 under direct sun irradiance. Wettability test infers that the hybrid aerogel has a static water contact angle of 144.07° ± 2°, thereby indicating its hydrophobicity. In addition, based on the Energyplus simulation, the hybrid aerogel exhibits an average annual cooling energy saving of 8% in buildings across China. The excellent radiative cooling and self-cleaning properties of hybrid aerogel make it durable for long-term outdoor PRDC applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a representative heat recovery device, the fixed-plate enthalpy exchanger possesses the advantages of high recovery effectiveness, low pressure drop, and small space occupied. Still, indoor contaminants may transfer to fresh air through the enthalpy exchanger simultaneously, causing cross-contamination risk. However, the cross-contamination risk of the fixed-plate enthalpy exchanger has been under-researched in previous studies. As a result, this study experimentally investigates the energy performance, formaldehyde and ammonia transfer rates of paper-based and membrane-based enthalpy exchangers. The results illustrate that the enthalpy recovery effectiveness of the plate exchangers ranges from 60%–85%. The formaldehyde transfer rate through the exchangers varies from 5%–23%, and the ammonia transfer rate is 0–15%. The high effectiveness and low contaminant transfer rates are conducive to the promising application of the fixed-plate enthalpy exchangers. In addition, the energy reclaimed increases with the increase of the absolute indoor-outdoor enthalpy difference. The formaldehyde and ammonia transfer rates and cross-contamination risk slightly decrease with increasing temperature but significantly increase with increasing humidity. Moreover, the experimental results demonstrate that the contaminant transfer rates through the membrane-based exchanger are lower than those of the paper-based exchanger. This study provides a reference for the fixed-plate enthalpy exchanger design in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from the world's building stock while accounting for 40% of global energy use. There is no way to combat global warming or attain energy independence without addressing the inefficiency of the building sector. This sector is the second consumer of electricity after the industrial sector in Morocco and is ranked third emitter after the energy sector and transportation sector. Using Ifrane as a case study, this paper examines and reviews the city's energy use and the initiatives taken to improve building efficiency. The findings showed that, during the analyzed period, i.e., from 2014 to 2022, Ifrane's annual electricity consumption climbed steadily from 35 to 43 GWh. The government of Morocco has implemented effective laws, guidelines and regulations, as well as publicized ways to reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency. However, gathered data and survey results revealed opportunities and challenges for enhancing Ifrane's efficient energy use. The study also evaluates government programs, codes/standards and related actions for the improvement of household energy efficiency. As part of the review, the available literature was analyzed to assess the effectiveness of energy behavior and awareness, the impact of an economical and sustainable building envelope, the impact of building retrofitting programs, the importance of energy-performing devices and appliances, the adoption of smart home energy management systems, the integration of renewable energies for on-site clean energy generation and the role of policies and governance in the building sector in Ifrane. A benchmark evaluation and potential ideas are offered to guide energy policies and improve energy efficiency in Ifrane and other cities within the same climate zone.

This research paper examines how multi-angled façade systems improve and optimise energy performance compared to a flat façade and meet sustainability targets for lower energy use to align with UN SDGs 3, 11, 12, and 13. The multi-angled façade system does not tilt up and down. Instead, it employs two different window orientations on a vertical axis (left and right). The large portion orients more to the north to allow more daylight to penetrate inside the room, and the small part is oriented more to the south to provide passive solar heating. The investigations in this research paper were carried out using version 4.8 of the IDA ICE software, and the researchers evaluated the energy consumption, the energy action through the façade, and the building's inside operative temperature. The results of this paper present the simulation findings for primary energy consumption in different scenarios. For example, the researchers explain that one can save 6.3 kWh/(m2·year) when using a multi-angled façade system compared to a flat façade. This is in addition to improving the thermal indoor climate that results from using the façades. The conclusions of the research show that the façade with multiple angles maximises using daylight and optimises solar power, thus avoiding overheating issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TECHNE: Journal of Technology for Architecture & Environment is the property of Firenze University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study develops a novel multi-agent augmented NSGA-II architecture specifically designed to efficiently handle high-dimensional multi-objective optimization challenges in building energy-efficient design. In this paper, the share Q method is abandoned, and a novel crowding evaluation and comparison mechanism is adopted to ensure comprehensive coverage of the quasi-Pareto frontier while maintaining the diversity of the population. After integrating fast non-dominated sorting, the computational pressure of the algorithm can be effectively reduced. The integration of elite strategies further expands the solution space and prevents the omission of optimal solutions, thereby improving the operating efficiency and stability of the algorithm. After an in-depth analysis of 50 actual building examples, the results show that compared with the conventional NSGA-II method, our method optimizes the quality and diversity of Pareto solutions, with an average improvement of 12% and 15% respectively, while significantly shortening the calculation time, bringing an innovative and efficient optimization path to the energy-saving practice of building design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air-source heat pumps (ASHPs), as an active device, are widely used in building heating and cooling processes. However, in severe cold regions, they face reduced heating efficiency and frosting problems in winter. This paper proposes a new heating solution by coupling an ASHP with passive heating systems. It combines an ASHP with passive sunrooms and heat storage systems for heating. Through software simulations and mathematical modeling, the new scheme is compared and analyzed against traditional ASHP solutions to explore the performance of this scheme in rural houses in severe cold regions of China during winter. According to simulation and calculation analysis, on the coldest day of winter, the coupling scheme can provide approximately 99.41 kWh of heat to the indoors, which exceeds the 86.67 kWh required to maintain an indoor temperature of 20 °C. The system's power consumption is 36.96 kWh, which is 66.88% lower than that of traditional heat pump heating. The study shows that the coupling system of an ASHP and passive heating has a good heating effect in severe cold regions. For the situation of insufficient solar energy at night, the design of phase-change materials and heat storage media can meet heating needs throughout the day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero-energy buildings have attracted great attention in China. Limited research about typical high-rise, zero-energy residential buildings in China was found. To figure out the potential of zero-energy buildings in northern China, a techno-economic analysis of a typical residential building adapted to the nearly zero energy building (NZEB) standards in the cold region of China was carried out in detail in this paper. Firstly, the feasibility of different building energy efficiency technologies was figured out in the passive design level. Secondly, the annual energy balance of the nearly zero-energy building model was investigated. Finally, detailed economic and environmental analyses were performed. The results show that the energy consumption of space heating and cooling of a typical high-rise, nearly zero-energy building could decrease to 11.1 kWh/(m2·a) in Beijing. The conclusions could provide a reference and design basis for the development of zero-energy residential buildings in northern China in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a temperature-adaptive radiative cooling (TARC) coating with simple preparation, cost effectiveness, and large-scale application based on a thermochromic powder. To determine the energy efficiency of the proposed TARC coating, the heat transfer on the surface of the TARC coating was analyzed. Then, a typical two-story residential building with a roof area of 258.43 m2 was modeled using EnergyPlus. Finally, the energy-saving potential and carbon emission reduction resulting from the application of the proposed TARC roof in buildings under different climates in China were discussed. The results showed that the average solar reflectivity under visible light wavelengths (0.38–0.78 μm) decreases from 0.71 to 0.37 when the TARC coating changes from cooling mode to heating mode. Furthermore, energy consumption can be reduced by approximately 17.8–43.0 MJ/m2 and 2.0–32.6 MJ/m2 for buildings with TARC roofs compared to those with asphalt shingle roofs and passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) roofs, respectively. This also leads to reductions in carbon emissions of 9.4–38.0 kgCO2/m2 and 1.0–28.9 kgCO2/m2 for the buildings located in the selected cities. To enhance building energy efficiency, TARC roofs and PDRC roofs are more suitable for use on buildings located in zones with high heating demands and high cooling demands, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the trend of achieving both energy efficiency in buildings and occupants' comfort, gamification strategies have started to be developed and applied as incentive mechanisms to increase social interaction and facilitate human energy behavior transformation. In this article, 306 published papers are reviewed, and 21 studies are identified to determine the challenges and potential for the development of gamification strategies to improve building energy efficiency. Specifically, this work reviews the implementation techniques of gamification and methods to assess the impact of gamification mechanisms on human energy behavior changes. This analysis demonstrates that, firstly, the choice of an optimal gamification implementation method should be inherently attuned to the distinct characteristics of the building type and its occupants. Secondly, it is imperative to strike a judicious balance between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, in which customization of gamification design elements are based on users' unique personality traits and preferences, to properly tailor gamification mechanisms. Thirdly, integrating a fusion of quantification of energy savings and qualitative interpretation of user behaviors to improve the energy efficiency in buildings is essential for a more holistic understanding of the impact of gamification on users' energy-related behavior change. The findings indicate that gamification techniques can enable the effective reduction of energy consumption in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It difficult for buildings in cold regions to reasonably meet ultra-low energy consumption requirements. To explore the influencing factors of building energy consumption in this type of climatic region, this paper takes a typical public building in Zhengzhou, China as a case study to dynamically simulate an entire building. The influence of the window glass, window-to-wall ratio (WWR), thermal insulation material thickness and other factors on building energy consumption is considered. The sensitivity of envelope design factors to energy consumption is analyzed by the orthogonal test. The results indicate that the effect of changing the technical parameters of the external envelope structure on building energy efficiency is significant. Moreover, range analysis is used to determine the primary and secondary factors with regard to their influence on the energy consumption of the building. The WWR, the type of external window glass and the thickness of the external wall insulation layer should be considered first in energy-saving design; the energy-saving potential of the roof insulation thickness is not as significant as these factors. The results of the study can provide a reference for the energy-saving design of public buildings in Central China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional energy-saving evaluation method for industrial buildings is intended for all industrial buildings; however, substation buildings belong to a special category of industrial buildings, and their energy consumption characteristics are different from those of general industrial buildings. Consequently, it is necessary to establish an energy-saving evaluation system for substation buildings according to the characteristics of their energy consumption. In view of the issue that the energy consumption characteristics of substation buildings are different from those of other industrial buildings, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) are used to establish a more comprehensive energy saving evaluation model that is more applicable to substation buildings. This paper determines 19 quantitative indicators and 13 qualitative indicators through the screening of relevant standards and norms, as well as the literature, and then determines the weight of each indicator by using AHP before finally establishing a secondary evaluation model based on FCE. In this paper, a substation in Shandong, China was selected as a case study to verify the proposed evaluation model, scoring 80.4 points, which falls within the "Good" grade. This method is of great significance for the future establishment of energy-saving evaluation system for substation buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings consume a significant part of the world's resources and energy. The growing environmental awareness and urgent need to reduce energy consumption have highlighted the importance of introducing innovative solutions as nature-based systems in new buildings' construction and retrofitting. In this regard, green façades that integrate vegetation into building envelopes are attractive. This paper presents a bibliographic analysis, based on science mapping, of the available literature on green façades from 1999–2022 with a focus on the thermal effect on the building and on the surroundings. The objective of this study is to reveal the structure and the evolution of the research activity in the field, outlining the main research topics and the future research directions. The analysis was performed on a dataset of 270 documents. The results indicate a growing interest in this topic over the last six years and the multidisciplinary dimension of the studies. The keyword cluster analysis indicates the emergence of three main search topics: thermal behavior and energy modeling; urban design and large-scale effects; sustainable buildings management. A greater future dissemination of green façades could be enabled by further research results based on the application of a multidisciplinary approach and of standardized methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal Architecture & Planning is the property of King Saud University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we propose a novel bilinear observer-based robust fault detection, isolation and adaptive fault estimation methodology to precisely estimate a class of actuator faults, namely bias in damper position and lock-in-place faults, in Variable-Air-Volume (VAV) terminal units of Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) systems. The proposed adaptive fault estimator is robust in the sense that the fault estimates are not affected by the unmeasured disturbance variable and that the effects of measurement noises on fault estimates are attenuated. The fault estimation algorithm with the integrated building control system improves occupants comfort and reduces the operation, maintenance, and utility cost, thereby reducing the impact on the environment. The effectiveness of the methodology for adaptive estimation of multiple or single VAV damper faults is successfully demonstrated through different simulation scenarios with SIMBAD (SIMulator of Building And Devices), which is being used in industries for testing and validation of building energy management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heat exchanger can use shallow geothermal energy to provide regional heating and cooling demand in winter and summer. In this paper, a large-scale public building is taken as the example, and the energy system in the building is taken as the research object. Firstly, through the collection of geothermal drilling geographic information and geothermal data, the geothermal reserves and geothermal recoverable resources are evaluated. Secondly, the cooling and heating demand of the building is calculated by using HVAC simulation software. Then, the heat transfer capacity of a single pile is evaluated and the lay-out scheme of the underground heat exchange pile foundation of the building is given. The actual heating effect of the heat exchange pile foundation system is explored, and the heat transfer characteristics of heat exchange pile foundation under different working conditions are compared and analyzed. Finally, reasonable suggestions for the arrangement of heat exchange pile foundation are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency in the context of building design is a significant concern in Morocco. This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of how various design variables can impact both energy consumption and thermal comfort in the Moroccan context. Rather than isolating individual design variables, we investigate synergistic combinations of these variables. To achieve this, we develop multiple building design scenarios, each employing different combinations of design options, focusing on building orientation, window-to-wall ratio, building envelope construction, and window shading. We use EnergyPlus to conduct energy simulations for all scenarios under the hypothesis of air-conditioned houses and free-running houses with and without natural ventilation. Our results reveal that building design has the potential to significantly enhance energy efficiency and thermal comfort, but not for the same design strategies. In comparison to the most energy-efficient design scenario, the least favorable design scenario can lead to an increase in energy consumption between 237% in Agadir and 130% in Ifrane. Meanwhile, design scenarios favoring comfort can increase the number of comfortable hours by 85% in Agadir and 59% in Ifrane. We identify optimal building design scenarios that simultaneously offer the highest comfort levels with the lowest energy requirements. The findings provide valuable guidance for architects, allowing them to design high-performance buildings in all climate zones in Morocco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabricated building construction is an effective way to improve construction process, productivity, quality and cost-effectiveness. However, many developers cannot actively respond to the existing policies, so giving full play to the government's guiding role and stimulating market enthusiasm is the key to the development of prefabricated buildings. Based on fairness theory, this paper constructs an evolutionary game model between the government and prefabricated building developers. It analyses the energy-saving and emission-reduction behaviour of developers. The results show that the government should combine positive and negative incentives. Most importantly, incentives and fees should be set taking into account the developer's fairness preferences and profitability. Finally, based on the research results, this paper provides suggestions for the government to improve targeted incentive policies and contributes to the promotion of prefabricated buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we will model a light-weight building made of phase change materials (PCMs) to analyze the impact of the building volume, window orientation, and air infiltration on the PCM performance. This is done by calculating the energy savings attained by the use of PCM across all of Morocco. We'll use the commercial Rubitherm panels with RT28HC as a phase change material in this work. Typically, the EnergyPlus simulation engine is chosen to perform the modeling. The impact of building volumes is also evaluated on the PCM activation for light-weight square buildings with different side lengths of 10 m, 9 m, 8 m, and 7 m. Also, we looked at how well the PCM performed in terms of energy savings and thermal regulation at different window orientation placements (south, north, west, and east) and various air infiltration rates (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 3 ACH). This paper's primary objective is to determine the energy savings for the PCM-enhanced building in Morocco, as well as the effect of building volume, window orientation, and infiltration on the PCM capabilities for stabilizing the indoor room temperature. The results show good indoor temperature stabilization during the summer, for the light-weight square building with a south-facing window and no air infiltration. This configuration was able to achieve a total fluctuation reduction of 1303.3 °C for the 10 m building in a semi-arid environment. Besides, a high energy savings percentage of 69.56% was achieved for the PCM-enhanced building with the south-oriented window and air infiltration of 0.5 air change per hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-side natural ventilation is a commonly used means of ventilation to effectively regulate the thermal environment in building interiors without any fossil energy consumption. To achieve most of the potential for the efficiency of single-side natural ventilation, research needs to be undertaken into the forces that drive single-side natural ventilation. This paper examines the single-side natural ventilation of a single vertical single opening (SSO) and a vertical double opening (SDO) in a freestanding building under wind and thermal pressure. The change in the trajectory of vortex shedding when the building is leeward as well as the frequency of vortex shedding in square buildings was investigated by large eddy simulation (LES), and computational fluid dynamics was used to analyze the difference in the air exchange rate of single-side natural ventilation of SSO and SDO in the windward and leeward conditions of the building. Both of these methods were used in conjunction with one another. According to the findings, the creation of vortices at SSO and SDO in the presence of low wind speeds reduces the ventilation effect of thermal pressure under windward circumstances. Consequently, the influence of thermal stress and wind stress ultimately cancel each other out, and this phenomenon finally disappears as the wind blowing from the outside of the structure increases. The shedding of vortices in the leeward state accomplishes a form of air supply pumping with a particular periodicity of airflow fluctuations in the lateral direction. The Strouhal number computed using the LES simulation acts in a manner consistent with the experimental findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PCMs are attractive for the future generation of buildings, where energy efficiency targets and thermal comfort expectations are increasingly prioritized. Experimental analysis of local thermal processes in these dynamic components and whole-building energy consumption predictions are essential for the proper implementation of PCMs in buildings. This paper discusses the experimental analysis of the thermophysical characteristics of both a latent heat storage material (PCM) and a product containing this PCM. The prototype product under investigation is a panelized PCM technology containing inorganic, salt-hydrate-based PCM. The thermal analysis includes studies of melting and freezing temperatures, enthalpy changes during phase change processes, nucleation intensity, sub-cooling effects, and PCM stability. The PCM's stability is also investigated, as is the ability of PCM products to control local temperatures and peak load transmission times. Two inorganic PCM formulations based on calcium chloride hexahydrate (CaCl2.6H2O) were prepared and tested in laboratory conditions. Material-scale testing results were compared with outcomes from the system-scale analysis, using both laboratory test methods as well as field exposure in test huts. This work demonstrates that PCM technologies used in buildings can effectively control both the magnitude of thermal storage capacity as well as the time of the peak thermal load. It was found that commonly used material-scale testing methods may not always be beneficial in assessing the dynamic thermal performance characteristics of building technologies containing PCMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Renovation Wave for Europe highlighted the role of the public building stock for which Directive 2012/27/EU has set an annual renewal rate of 3%, which should rise to reach the goal of decarbonization by 2050. In this paper, the energy retrofit of an educational building—at the academic level—in Southern Italy was investigated. The aim was to evaluate the incentive share, which could accelerate the energy efficiency process, to achieve a cost-effective nZEB. The results show that the highest incentive rate is required for interventions on the opaque building envelope, which are also those that allow the least energy savings. An incentive rate of about 45% for the energy efficiency of the transparent envelope is necessary to reduce the payback time by about 7 years. The efficiency of the plants and the installation of a PV system are energetically and economically convenient even without forms of economic incentive. Finally, if the building is brought to high energy standards—a primary energy saving of 46% and energy class A3—an incentive rate of 40% is required to repay the intervention in about 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-third of all greenhouse gas emissions come from the world's building stock while accounting for 40% of global energy use. There is no way to combat global warming or attain energy independence without addressing the inefficiency of the building sector. This sector is the second consumer of electricity after the industrial sector in Morocco and is ranked third emitter after the energy sector and transportation sector. Using Ifrane as a case study, this paper examines and reviews the city's energy use and the initiatives taken to improve building efficiency. The findings showed that, during the analyzed period, i.e., from 2014 to 2022, Ifrane's annual electricity consumption climbed steadily from 35 to 43 GWh. The government of Morocco has implemented effective laws, guidelines and regulations, as well as publicized ways to reduce energy consumption and increase energy efficiency. However, gathered data and survey results revealed opportunities and challenges for enhancing Ifrane's efficient energy use. The study also evaluates government programs, codes/standards and related actions for the improvement of household energy efficiency. As part of the review, the available literature was analyzed to assess the effectiveness of energy behavior and awareness, the impact of an economical and sustainable building envelope, the impact of building retrofitting programs, the importance of energy-performing devices and appliances, the adoption of smart home energy management systems, the integration of renewable energies for on-site clean energy generation and the role of policies and governance in the building sector in Ifrane. A benchmark evaluation and potential ideas are offered to guide energy policies and improve energy efficiency in Ifrane and other cities within the same climate zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of New Architecture is the property of New Architecture Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It has been suggested in the literature that by reducing the incoming voltage at a distribution feeder head or at the supply side of buildings, significant electricity savings can be achieved. This technique is called Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR). Data-based analysis with and without CVR is primarily used to support such assertions, which does not explain the physics behind reduction in energy consumption with CVR. This paper presents a new approach for evaluating the impact of CVR on cooling equipment. In this approach, a thermal-electric model of the cooling process is developed in MATLAB's SIMSCAPE toolbox that can be used to explain the physics behind energy reduction with CVR. This model includes an accurate model of a compressor coupled to an induction motor whose supply voltage can be varied to simulate CVR. Simulations performed using this model show that the Coefficient of Performance (COP) of cooling equipment improves with a reduction in supply voltage. However, the energy lost in the motor windings may nullify the impact of the improvement in the COP and render the CVR programs ineffective if the range of speed change is small over the allowable voltage change. The simulation results show an increase in energy consumption of 4% at 90% rated voltage compared to the energy consumed at the rated voltage. However, if variable frequency drives-based cooling equipment is appropriately controlled, it is possible to reduce their net energy consumption using CVR. Simulations performed keeping the ratio of the supply voltage and the frequency constant showed a reduction in energy consumption of 2.5% at 90% rated voltage compared to the energy consumed at the rated voltage. Thermal-electric modeling of building cooling equipment is, therefore, vital to accurately evaluating the benefits of CVR as smart, power electronics-based end-use equipment is globally adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Control Theory & Applications / Kongzhi Lilun Yu Yinyong is the property of Editorial Department of Control Theory & Applications and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Since approximately 75% of Europeans currently live in cities, and this number will rise, urban areas are the most important testbeds for energy transition, climate change adaptation measures, and decarbonisation models, on which studies and efforts for concrete change must focus. The teaching of mitigation and adaptation measures to climate change and decarbonisation models has gradually taken up space within university courses. However, the complexity of the decarbonisation issue is raising awareness on the urgency of an interdisciplinary approach that can be conveyed by spatial planning. Currently, this approach is not widespread in Higher Education Institutions in Europe but is nonetheless necessary to let new professional profiles emerge who are able to coordinate different stakeholders, data, and information sources. The Erasmus+ project CITY MINDED (2020–2022) has worked in this direction, by developing and testing a methodology for the design of a structured ordinary practice for teaching urban decarbonisation to students in Higher Education. This practice (at the same time, interdisciplinary, collaborative, experiential, and place-based) aims to offer students a combination of different approaches and working methods to investigate and improve urban neighbourhoods and districts, resulting in the definition of an operative roadmap for decarbonisation in the medium-to-long-term. The aim of this article is to highlight the learning-by-doing experience developed by the project consortium, with reference to the testing of the methodology conducted within an Intensive Course in the City of Valletta (Malta). In particular, the paper illustrates how this experience succeeded in stimulating students with different academic backgrounds to establish connections across disciplines, in raising their awareness about the complexity of city decarbonisation processes. Overcoming the strict time and budget constraints of an EU-funded project, such an approach can be further developed, replicated on theoretical grounds, and implemented within different degree programmes dealing with urban sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The architectural form of buildings is determined by many factors, one of the most important is construction technology. It remains in a close and inseparable relationship with architectural design. Contemporary technologies in construction are constantly subject to improvements, streamlining, changes aimed at increasing all kinds of efficiency (cost, thermal efficiency, labor input, etc.). One of today's widely discussed determinants of changes in the way buildings are designed and constructed is environmental issue. An awareness of environmental degradation and climate change and their consequences prompts the search for increasingly sustainable solutions. This paper summarizes the research on prefabricated solutions and their implementation, especially in single-family residential architecture. This article presents pre-design, design, and post-design experiences related to planning and realization of single-family houses with prefabricated wall technology made of light expanded clay concrete. The authors implemented comparative qualitative and quantitative research through case studies, the method also uses experiences from their own research by design practice. The advantages and disadvantages of prefabrication in the selected technology are presented. The authors attempt to answer the question of whether the individual architectural design approach is reflected in the relevant environmental considerations, including, first, those related to the mitigation of climate change and adaptation to its consequences, and to what extent the discussed technology fits into the assumptions of climate and environmentally responsible design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India's fossil-fuel-based energy dependency is up to 68%, with the commercial and residential sectors contributing to the rise of building energy demand, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions. Several studies have shown that the increasing building energy demand is associated with increased space-cooling ownership and building footprint. The energy demand is predicted to grow further with the conditions of global warming and the phenomenon of urban heat islands. Building designers have been using state-of-the-art transient simulation tools to evaluate energy-efficient envelopes with present-day weather files that are generated with historical weather datasets for any specific location. Designing buildings with historical climatic conditions makes the buildings vulnerable to the predicted climate change impacts. In this paper, a weather file generator was developed to generate Indian future weather files using a geo-filtering-based spatial technique, as well as the temporal downscaling and machine learning (ML)-based bias correction approach proposed by Belcher et al. The future weather files of the three representative concentration pathways of 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 could be generated for the years 2030, 2050, 2070, 2090, and 2100. Currently, the outputs of the second-generation Canadian Earth System Model are being used to create future weather files that will aid architects, urban designers, and planners in developing a built environment that is resilient to climate change. The novelty lies in using observed historical data from present-day weather files on the typical meteorological year for testing and training ML models. The typical meteorological weather files are composed of the concatenation of the monthly weather datasets from different years, which are referred to for testing and training ML models for bias correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper examines how multi-angled façade systems improve and optimise energy performance compared to a flat façade and meet sustainability targets for lower energy use to align with UN SDGs 3, 11, 12, and 13. The multi-angled façade system does not tilt up and down. Instead, it employs two different window orientations on a vertical axis (left and right). The large portion orients more to the north to allow more daylight to penetrate inside the room, and the small part is oriented more to the south to provide passive solar heating. The investigations in this research paper were carried out using version 4.8 of the IDA ICE software, and the researchers evaluated the energy consumption, the energy action through the façade, and the building’s inside operative temperature. The results of this paper present the simulation findings for primary energy consumption in different scenarios. For example, the researchers explain that one can save 6.3 kWh/(m2·year) when using a multi-angled façade system compared to a flat façade. This is in addition to improving the thermal indoor climate that results from using the façades. The conclusions of the research show that the façade with multiple angles maximises using daylight and optimises solar power, thus avoiding overheating issues.

Taking a prefabricated project as an example, this paper establishes a calculation and evaluation model of prefabricated building in the physical and chemical stages, and compares the carbon emission reduction between prefabricated buildings and cast-in-place concrete buildings, proposes the ways of carbon emission reduction and calculates them to determine the emission reduction effect. The results show that, compared with cast-in-place buildings, the carbon emissions of prefabricated buildings can be reduced by 2.65 kg/m² in the physical and chemical stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With passive fabricated photovoltaic roof construction as the research object, elaborated the basic principle of passive home, combining with the Tianjin Huzhangzhuang zero energy renovation project design practice, this paper introduces the structure of the prefabricated building, doors and windows energy saving, no hot and cold bridge, air tightness and zero carbon garden design, explores the difficulties that may be encountered in the construction of passive ultra-low energy consumption prefabricated building photovoltaic roof and their corresponding solutions. According to the requirements of photovoltaic roof in prefabricated buildings, four solutions are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces an innovative method for making cement-based composites from corn straw plants, and investigates the strength, thermal conductivity, and hydration characteristics of the composites. Corn straw is a natural, renewable, and breathable thermal insulation composite that contains cellular sealed pores. Corn straw contains a large amount of soluble cellulosic sugar, which hinders the hydration reaction of Portland cement and affects the use of corn straw as a building material. In this study, a 3 wt.% siliceous solution was used for surface treatment of corn straw particles to prevent cellulosic sugar from affecting the hydration performance of Portland cement. The composition of added cement-based composite materials with treated corn straw at the dosage of 11–20 wt.% was investigated. The test results showed that the corn straw cement-based composite (CSCC) had an optimal thermal conductivity of 0.102–0.112 (W/(m·K)) and a minimum compressive strength of above 1 MPa. The hydration performance of four typical CSCCs was examined using XRD, SEM, and EDS. The experimental results of this study may help to increase the comprehensive utilization of corn straw. The manufacturing method of the composite materials is simple, effective, and convenient for popularization and application, and it provides a new important technical measure to solve the problem of high energy consumption in rural houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is recognized as a major cause of environmental pollution, and it is important to quantify and evaluate building energy. As interest in big data has increased over the past 20 years, research using big data is active. However, the links and contents of much literature have not been summarized, and systematic literature studies are insufficient. The objective of this study was a holistic review of building energy efficiency/reduction based on big data. This review study used a holistic analysis approach method framework. As a result of the analysis, China, the Republic of Korea, and the USA had the most published papers, and the simulation and optimization area occupied the highest percentage with 33.33%. Most of the researched literature was papers after 2015, and it was analyzed because many countries introduced environmental policies after the 2015 UN Conference on Climate Change. This study can be helpful in understanding the current research progress to understand the latest trends and to set the direction for further research related to big data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for energy in the building sector drives the need for change from fossil fuels to environment-friendly power sources which can also mitigate the effect of global warming and climate change. One of the initiatives to knock down the peak load and energy demand in buildings is stepping toward energy-efficient buildings for a sustainable future. This paper aims to review the fundamental aspects for approaching net zero energy consumption buildings (nZECB) keeping into consideration the effect of building physics and challenges faced in the pathway and its feasibility. Also, it addresses various policies and plans that can dramatically change the future of developing nations like India toward a zero-emissions energy system. Considering all the facts, this study suggests inflating our focus beyond direct energy use and opt for hybridized clean energy sources and enhance the constructional parameters for a better, greener, and cleaner future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant portion (ca. 40%) of the world's total energy is utilized in buildings. Cooling of large buildings worldwide is done by centrifugal chiller systems, where the compressors, pumps, and fans are driven by ac motors. These motors are energy hungry parts of the chiller. All-variable speed chillers, taking into account load variations, reduced the energy demand significantly compared to the constant speed ones. Induction motors (IMs) are commonly used in modern chillers. However, as the efficiency of the IM decreases with the speed, the overall efficiency drops, as the chiller operates most of the time in part-load condition. In this paper, SimulationX software is used to quantitatively investigate about the energy efficiency improvement by using synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) in all-variable speed centrifugal chillers. The system was tested for three distinct building load profiles. The results are judged in comparison with the state-of-the-art IE2 IMs. The results provide quantitative evidence that SynRM can significantly increase the energy efficiency in the chiller systems and has a big potential to substitute IMs in these applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Proper design of a chiller plant is considered as one of the most effective ways to reduce the energy consumption of commercial buildings. Due to the improper treatment of uncertainty and reliability, existing design methods in practice often result in oversized systems. This paper proposes a design optimization method for chiller plants based on life-cycle total cost minimization with quantified analysis of uncertainty and reliability. It can ensure a chiller plant operates at its high efficient region under various cooling load conditions and provide sufficient cooling capacity even some equipment/systems with failures. Conventional and most optimal design methods for chiller plants often address the annual cooling load distribution of buildings and their peak cooling loads based on typical meteorological year (TMY) data, while the peak cooling load only appears a few times during the life-cycle and the sized chiller plant usually operates within its low efficient region. In this paper, a robust optimal design method based on life-cycle total cost was employed to optimize the design of a chiller plant with quantified analysis of uncertainty and reliability. By using the proposed design method, the optimized chiller plant can operate at its highly efficient region under various cooling load conditions, and provide sufficient cooling capacity even alongside some equipment/systems with failures. The minimum life-cycle total cost, which consists of the capital cost, operation, and availability-risk cost, can be achieved through optimizing the total cooling capacity and the numbers/sizes of chillers. A case study was conducted to illustrate the detailed implementation process of the proposed method. The performance of this design method was evaluated by comparing with that of other design methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ratio of Exergy consumption to Energy consumption (REXE) of the building is defined in the paper. The building life cycle REXELC provides a full understanding of high-quality energy consumption during the building life cycle. It is proposed as a new thermodynamic parameter to evaluate the building life cycle energy efficiency. It also can be applied as a simplified way to calculate the building life cycle exergy consumption. Five public buildings in China are taken as the study cases. The energy consumption, exergy consumption, and cost per construction area of the five cases are calculated to study the parameter REXELC. It is concluded that the building life cycle REXELC mainly depends on the energy consumption proportion and REXE of the building material’s production stage and building running stage. The economic analysis of the buildings shows that the building with too large or too small REXELC would not be the economic one. At last 2 mathematical regression models are established to investigate the relation between building life cycle energy consumption and REXELC. According to the regression model, all the buildings can be divided into four zones. The REXELC would be an important instruction in optimizing the design of building envelope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Unlike many previous studies that often focus on optimizing energy efficiency for buildings when detailed design drawings are available, this paper introduces a newly integrated model for energy-efficient building envelope design in the early stages (when detailed design drawings are not yet available). The newly developed model includes three main components: a simulation model, a predictive model, and an optimization model. The simulation model simulates the building's energy performance, considering different values for various envelope parameters. The predictive model employs machine learning algorithms, including RF, ANN, DNN, SVM, GENLIN, and GB (in which GB has been identified as the most suitable algorithm), boasting a very high R 2 (0.994) to assess energy consumption. The optimization model which uses AI optimization algorithms (such as NSGA II, DSE, and MOPSO) integrates the machine learning predictive model into the evaluation function during the evolutionary process, efficiently searching for Pareto-optimal building envelope solutions. Results show simultaneous savings in cost and energy, with savings of 7.52 % in cost and 8.48 % in energy, or 21.17 % in cost and 0.4 % in energy, for a case study in Vietnam. This model establishes a foundation by providing design solutions for stakeholders to assess, and can incorporate additional objectives at later stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building climatic zoning is a prerequisite for implementing building energy efficiency technology, which can help code makers and architects have an accurate understanding of the local climatic conditions. It takes the extreme monthly average temperature as the zoning index in the existing climatic zoning of rural areas in China. There will be unreasonable design phenomena of insufficient or excessive thermal insulation for a building envelope in rural areas. Aiming at the above problems, this paper modifies the current zoning. This research established the cooling and heating degree-day indexes HDD14 and CDD30 based on the thermal comfort characteristics of rural occupants and used the threshold method to subdivide rural areas into eight sub-zones. The results show that the problem of insufficient or excessive thermal insulation in rural areas can be effectively solved by replacing the extreme monthly average temperature index with the degree day index and the annual cumulative building load can be reduced by 6.4% on average without increasing the insulation cost. After more detailed zoning, the variance within the group is reduced and it accurately describes climate diversity, which is conducive to implementing climate-responsive energy-saving design in each subzone. Practical application : The major purpose of this paper is to solve the problem of unreasonable climate zone boundaries specified in the existing Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Rural Residential Buildings. The existing zoning has led to conflicts between the actual heating demand and the building envelope thermal parameter limits specified in the standard. This work redefines the boundaries of the existing map using more up-to-date weather data to provide the right guidance for architectural designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- Building energy efficiency is an inescapable part of the solution to Africa's sustainable development; its implementation can result in cost effective ways that can contribute to economic and social development as well as environmental sustainability. Despite this, a number of factors including financial barriers and market barriers are perceived by policy makers and building designers to influence the efficient use of energy in buildings. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions of architects in relation to the challenges of building energy efficiency in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach -- From a review of pertinent literature 18 factors were identified as challenging. Empirical investigation was carried out using survey questionnaire. The consideration of overlapping aspects of the study largely motivated the use of factor analysis to analyse the data which made it possible to make scientific deductions and built explanations from the results. Findings -- The study derives five brands of uncorrelated variables that better explains challenges faced in implementing building energy efficiency in Ghana. These variables include financial barriers, information barrier, private sector participation, behavioural barriers and production barrier. The study provides insight on the contextual provision of realities faced in implementing building energy efficiency in Ghana. Originality/value -- Key contribution of the paper to the body of knowledge is manifested in the use of the principal component analysis. This has rigorously provided understanding into the complex structure and the relationship between the various knowledge areas of building energy efficiency barriers in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the energy and environmental impacts of a passive retrofit action, involving the installation, on an office building, of a second-skin system with the external layer made of a PVC-coated polyester fabric, were evaluated in terms of primary energy saving and carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. The primary energy consumption and the carbon dioxide equivalent emissions associated with the considered case studies were evaluated through the dynamic simulation software TRNSYS, across a whole year. The study was carried out considering five cities (Athens, Barcelona, Lisbon, Marseille and Naples) in five different countries in southern Europe upon varying the orientation of the two main façades of building (north-south and east-west orientation were considered). The office building was modeled in detail considering different construction characteristics upon varying the country. The simulation results highlight that the best results in terms of PES (equal to 22.4%) in Naples, while the best results in terms of CO2 (equal to 32.0 MgCO2,eq) were obtained when the building is located in Athens. In addition, the adoption of the proposed passive lightweight retrofit solution allowed the reduction of both cooling and thermal yearly energy demand up to 57.7% (Marseille) and 17.8% (Barcelona), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first part of the article presents the upcoming changes in the regulations regarding energy consumption by single-family housing. Current and forthcoming requirements in 2021 for building insulation and maximum EP primary energy demand factor were indicated. The second part of the paper presents the results of research aimed at determining what type of heat source for heating purposes and the type of ventilation will be able to meet the latest requirements. The analysis was based on the determination and comparison of the EP factor in the considered single-family building for selected heating variants assuming two different types of ventilation: gravitational and mechanical supply-exhaust with a heat recovery system. Based on the results obtained, an attempt was made to determine the tendency of changes in the design of single-family buildings in terms of choosing the type of heating and ventilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doors and windows are an important part of the building envelope, the weatherability of doors and windows can directly affect the performance of external windows, thus affecting the overall energy-saving performance of the building. Based on the weatherability evaluation method and equipment of the subject, this paper studies the weatherability test scheme, conducts the weatherability test on the high-performance plastic energy-saving window developed by the subject,analyzes the performance of the energy-saving window before and after the weatherability test, analyzes the reasons that affect the weatherability of the window, and proposes improvement methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]