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The solar energy is a free from contamination of green energy, the application of solar energy in building is booming in recent years. Solar water heating system in the building and the organic combination are also getting forward. In order to meet the people of high quality life pursuit, more and more housing are designed with solar water heating system. The paper expounds the necessity and importance about solar water heating system integration and illustrates that residential building solar hot water system of building integrated principle, emphasize we should use the life cycle of the technology economic evaluation methods to speed up the establishment residential building solar water heating system and building integrated evaluation system.

Passive solar energy utilization of rural house is simple to apply, easy to operate, suiting for our country current rural house design conditions in the cold areas. It has great significance to take the appropriate strategy of passive solar energy utilization, according to local conditions and times, the climatic characteristics and level of technology of the cold areas. This paper discussed the layout, collection of solar energy, utilization of solar energy and other aspects of contents, pointing out that the significance of the passive solar energy utilization of rural house is not merely to reduce energy consumption, more importantly, it adopted the environmental passive strategy, interpreted the relationship between man and nature, architecture and nature from a new aspect.

Structure Insulated Panel (SIP) is an wooden structure material with which structure and insulation functions are satisfied. Hence, it would be a cost-effective model to implement low energy house which has higher insulation and structure performance and which the wall thickness is able to be reduced. In this study, performance of thermal insulation and fire resistance were evaluated in order to verify applicability to low energy house. Fire resistance test is performed on vertical load bearing members for partitions, and the test results satisfy one hour of fire resistance condition according to KS F 2257. The members include two layers of fireproof gypsum board with thicknesses of 12.5mm attached to SIP. Thermal insulation performance is satisfied with the 2012 standard (0.225W/㎡·K). As the performance of resistance and thermal insulation are satisfied, SIP is expected to be applied to low energy building materials. In the future, the structural safety will be confirmed by structural performance and seismic performance test and the guidelines for distribution will be drawn up.

In this study we analyse the primary energy implications of thermal envelope designs and construction systems, for a 4-storey apartment building, including the full lifecycle phases and the entire energy chains. We maintain the architectural design of the reference building, and alter the thermal properties of the envelope components and include heat recovery of ventilation air to achieve buildings with thermal properties similar to three existing passive houses in Sweden. We also vary the building frame material from the reference wood case to reinforced concrete, and vary the heat supply system between district heating and electric resistance heating. We follow the lifecycle of the buildings and analyse and compare their lifecycle primary energy use, considering the production, operation and end-of-life energy uses. The results show that the lifecycle primary energy use of a passive house building is substantially lower when it is heated with district heating instead of electricity. A passive house with...

This research covers an analysis of all Viennese housing estates in the Passive House (PH) standard that have been inhabited for more than two years and a comparison with selected housing estates of the same building period. These reference buildings already fulfill the Low Energy House (LEH) standard. Quantitative and qualitative indicators are used for the evaluation of social, ecological and economic aspects of a Sustainable Development. The average value for living comfort in a PH is better than in a LEH. A demand exists for intelligent mediation in the adjustment period by means of a network model between planners, facility management and residents as equally important and learning partners. The target-actual comparison of useful space heating energy showed good consistency and the average energy savings compared to LEHs are 30 kWh/(m2.a) useful energy for space heating per gross floor area and year. The PH standard has several advantages compared with conventional buildings: living comfort, energy e...

In antiquity, people already knew the principles of solar architecture, designing their houses to the south to take advantage of the sun in all seasons. Today, solar architecture is undergoing a true revolution because of the development, among other things, of special facades involved in the processes of heating, ventilation, thermal isolation, shading, electricity generation and lighting of homes: these are called “solar facades”. This paper aims to review the remarkable developments that have occurred during the first decade of this century in this field.

Solar water heater has been heavily used in building, but in high-rise building the application of solar water heating system has many difficulties. In seismic zone, solar energy system has strict design requirements as non-structural elements of the building. These restrictions seriously hinder the application of solar energy system in high-rise buildings. Considering the limitations of the use of solar energy in seismic-zone high-rise building, some measures are taken by architectural building integration, structural measures integration, piping layout integration and by optimizing parameters of the solar water heating system. These measures could solve some technical difficulties of solar water heating system in high-rise building in seismic zone.

Climate characteristics of Shihezi area, present passive solar building planning and design of residential and architectural design requirements; Through the improvement of traditional passive solar heating system, and adopt collection hot wall completely cover housing south wall and other measures to improve thermal efficiency sets. To pilot project as an example, the use of SLR method calculated, the system, in Shihezi the coldest month is January, solar fraction can reach 31%.

Courtyard sunspace passive solar house is designed according to architecture structure characteristics of rural courtyard, which is a composite of direct absorption, collected wall and attached greenhouse solar house. Architectural optimization design is carried out in order to improve energy saving effect of courtyard sunspace passive solar house, and evaluation standard of thermal performance test and energy consumption of building test is determined to analyze indoor thermal environment of courtyard sunspace passive solar house. It will provide theoretical foundation to construct courtyard sunspace passive solar house in rural area.

In this article the thought experiment method is used to demonstrate what can result from taking the goal of energy efficiency to extreme measures. The point of departure for this thought experiment is the assumption that in order to minimize energy needs in Norwegian buildings the following three principles are to be followed: minimize building volume per person, maximize building shape compactness and use a well-isolated building envelope with smartly designed windows. The conclusion of the thought experiment applied for single-family houses leads to the building form similar to the arestue, the simplest building shape common in Scandinavian villages up until the 18th century, having an open fireplace in the middle of the floor and an opening in the roof to let the smoke out and the daylight in. The thought experiment exposes a latent wisdom buried here in the old and well-adjusted architecture of the arestue, an anonymous architecture that emerged in times when human beings could not afford to waste re...

This article aimed to introduce a building design method to reduce energy-consumption, improve indoor comfort. The article discussed under the climate condition of the Central Plains area in China , the coefficient ventilation effect of double-roof and atrium, lighting effect of atrium’s skylight and impounding glass-wall, and the utilization of solar PV, wind power generation, biomass power generation, ground-source heat pump, solar air heater and other applications of renewable energy in building designs.

This paper discusses the effects of urban design parameters (street width and orientation) and building design parameters (roof shape and building envelope design) on solar access to the urban canopy, and on the viability of passive solar heating strategies in residential buildings. Solar access to the urban canopy is calculated using trigonometric equations based on the sun's position in the sky and the geometry of the canyon. Secondly, the passive solar heating potential in terms of the heat demand and solar heat gain of a single dwelling in different urban settings is calculated with aid of TRNSYS, a transient simulation tool. The outcomes of both the solar access to the urban canyon and the passive solar heating potential for individual dwellings are analysed to see whether the thermal conditions outdoor and indoor conflict or accord. In addition, this analysis is translated into guidelines for urban designers and architects that propose conditions for favourable solar access outdoors as well as indoors.

This article stresses the importance of building design above technology as a relatively inexpensive way to reduce energy costs for a library. Emphasis is placed on passive solar design for heat and daylighting, but also examines passive ventilation and cooling, green roofs, and building materials. Passive design is weighed against technologies that actively capture renewable energy. Best practice examples include new construction and retrofits. Active technologies for capturing renewable energies, such as photovoltaic panels, can be employed when passive solutions are not realistic due to limitations resulting from site selection. Building or remodeling an environmentally sustainable building is more costly than a conventional equivalent, but long-term savings in energy and maintenance can more than compensate for the initial investment. Passive solar heat is particularly compatible with library functionality because it invites natural light into living spaces and eliminates noise that would otherwise exist with forced-air HVAC systems. Practical suggestions for subtle improvements to existing buildings are offered in addition to more ambitious construction projects.

Renewable energies under are exploited and could be used more actively mainly in the building trade. Work that we present is the study of the thermal behaviour of a house provided with a heating system per solar floor. The heating system functions during the day by using solar energy like source, however, lasting the night period (17h-23 h), one exploits the storage of heat in the concrete slab for the heating of the enclosure.

This paper aims to show a new solar design tool that can be used to optimize the building's shape and solar access in existing urban areas. The presented methodology was used for the analysis of the Surfers Paradise in Queensland, where in the past the urban and buildings development changed completely the morphology of the city. Since in the medium term the Zero Energy building will be the standard for new constructions, urban development should follow the Integrated Sustainable Design approach and the principles of solar design in order to exploit solar radiation using PV modules and Solar thermal collectors in the building envelopes. The tool is based on Matlab algorithm and on RADIANCE-DAYSIM, a dynamic simulation tool, and can help urban designers and architects since the first design phase.

This paper starts from research in characteristics of the direct-gain passive solar house and presents the practical significance for the application of the house in small and midsize public building. The concrete methods are illustrated from location selection, external form, internal room arrangement, ventilation and maintenance structure and so on, which clarify the application way of the direct-gain passive solar house in the building. The purpose of this research is to reduce the energy consumption of the building itself and achieve building energy conservation.

This paper shows the results of a research aimed at assessing the amount of energy that can be produced by solar envelopes (facades and roofs) in urban contexts. A preliminary set of simulations was carried out, through dynamic yearly analyses on a sample building, to identify the main parameters influencing the availability of solar radiation and to optimize the building’s shape. The general target is to maximise solar radiation available on the external building envelope, in order to exploit it through building integrated solar systems. Furthermore, the effect of reflected solar radiation has been analysed by simulating different finishing materials (green facades, glazed facades, concrete facades and aluminium facades) on the neighbouring buildings. © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of PSE AG

Recently, the concept of net zero energy buildings has become a major topic in the R&D work on future buildings. In order to achieve a zero energy balance on annual level energy saving and energy efficiency measures have to be fully exploited. However, a demand for active heating and/or cooling will remain in most buildings and under most climatic conditions. Solar energy is the main on-site renewable energy source which can be used to achieve a high fraction of renewable energies to cover the remaining energy demand in buildings. Main energy needs in buildings are due to heating and/or cooling, depending on local climatic conditions and type of building. In this paper principle ways of covering part of the demand for heating, cooling and domestic hot water by using solar technologies are discussed and a design study of a solar thermally driven heating and cooling system for a virtual hotel is presented. A model of the same hotel has been investigated under various climatic conditions in order to study the impact of sizing of key components on the overall performance. In addition an analysis of economic performance is presented for the example of the location Malta in Mediterranean Sea.

Designing a low-energy building becomes a challenge for the designer who wishes to achieve solar gains from sunlight in the spring and winter months and reduce the risk of overheating in the summer months. This article is focused on creating an effective shading structure for a given low energy house in order to provide the maximum amount of solar energy in winter and spring months and eliminate overheating in the summer. The solution involved two approaches which were chosen to complement each other. The first is a model of a shading design and optimization model using visualization tools. The second is a graphic which processes the sun's path and subsequent shade proposal for the structure. The result is an optimized shading structure for the particular low energy building according to predefined requirements, taking into account local conditions, building orientation, the purpose of building, investment and construction specifications. The achievement provides a general view into how to design such structures and effectively exploit the potential of solar energy simultaneously. Its use is limited to site specific proposals for each building.

Solar XXI building is a low energy office building where passive and active solar strategies have been applied to reduce the use of energy for heating, cooling and lighting, combining also an extensive photovoltaic facade for electricity production. Solar XXI opened in 2006 and is considered a high efficient building, close to a net zero energy building (NZEB), where the difference between the energy consumed and that produced is 1/10 th of the energy consumed by a Portuguese standard new office building. Its design includes many energy efficiency concepts, such as a high insulated envelope, south sun exposure, windows external shading, photovoltaic panels heat recovery, ground-cooling system, daylighting, stack effect and cross ventilation. The solar gains of the windows and the effectiveness of shading devices were evaluated in order to correlate solar radiation, external and indoor air temperatures. It was also verified that amplitude-dampening of ground-cooled air ranged between 5 and 8 °C, following the trend of the analytical solution for heat diffusion of a cylindrical air/soil heat-exchanger.

As the British has a cold and rainy climate, which is variability, its relatively high energy efficiency standards has been set up. Energy efficient building in the United Kingdom in the technical measures three main areas: 1) use of structural measures to raise the walls, roof and windows of the thermal insulation properties; 2) the use of solar energy; 3) improving the heating system. Currently the United Kingdom to promote passive solar house without external mechanical action, heat-absorbing insulation materials of construction for the media, the use of natural cold and hot air exchange, to the use of solar energy.

Green building, a kind of sustainable development and energy-saving buildings, has a very important significance for alleviating strained resources, protecting the environment to reduce pollution; And the solar energy as a kind of important renewable energy, with features of energy saving, environmental protection and natural, is more and more widely using in the green building. This paper will mainly discusses the actual application of the solar energy technologies in green building.

There are problems of resource allocation and integrating technology with building when utilizing solar energy in a high-rise residential building. In this paper, a new 34-storey residential building with solar energy design is taken for example to probe new ways for solar collectors, energy saving and distribution system. A new system is designed to solve the following problems: inadequate roof area for collecting solar energy, energy loss by long-distance heat transporting, and defacing building appearance by setting solar energy facilities on building surface. And to archive the aim of suitably using solar energy, the integration of solar energy facilities with building facade is also discussed.

Solar energy as a traditional and emerging energy has been great developed in recent years. It has the features of huge reserves, clean, harmlessness which draw the world attention. Imagine if the successful application of solar energy resources in the modern Public buildings will play a great role in reducing their energy consumption levels. This article analyzes the state of office building energy consumption and energy saving way to discuss the application of solar energy technology in the overall design of Public buildings, to mainly discuss the relationship of the overall pattern of office building and the changes of solar radiation. By mathematical analysis methods to target to the questions such as the choice of office building site, shape coefficient one by one, as the fundamental basis for design.

Architectural market in the world is trying to develop Zero Carbon Buildng that doesn"t use fossil fuel. Residential building that thermal load such as heating and domestic hot water is over 70% in energy consumption is easy to make Zero Carbon Building compared with office building that is mainly electric load. So, As a preliminary for analyzing the effect of Solar thermal system in the building, an annual energy consumption of residential building and total heat loads are calculated. Based on this result, three alternatives of solar thermal system for hot water and heating are applied in the building while installation area is increasing. Solar thermal system is applied on balcony and roof of apartment building as the way to reduce thermal load. In the first case that solar thermal system for hot water is applied on the balcony, optimum installation area is . And you could install of this system in the roof that angle is . In the second case of solar thermal system for heating and hot water, you can install on the roof. As a result of economic evaluation, the most economical application method is to install of solar thermal system for only hot water on the roof of the building. At that time, you can payback the initial investing cost within 10 years. And carbon emission of this method can be reduced until about 4 ton per year.

This paper describes the design and building technology details of a three-storey single family house located in the Pyrenees, in Andorra. The house is owned by the first author, and has been occupied since 2004. A combination of active and passive solar energy systems and night-time electricity are used to supply the heating and cooling demands. The main goal of this paper is to provide detailed design information and an evaluation of performance. Data provided includes site information and climate, basic design options and decisions, energy saving strategies and energy end use data. The house has been in use since 2003. This allows adequate performance data to be presented and evaluated. Some general results and initial design problems are discussed.

In conventional buildings thermal mass is a permanent building characteristic depending on the building design. However, none of the permanent thermal mass concepts are optimal in all operational conditions. We propose a concept that combines the benefits of buildings with low and high thermal mass by applying hybrid adaptable thermal storage (HATS) systems and materials to a lightweight building. The HATS concept increases building performance and the robustness to changing user behavior, seasonal variations and future climate changes. Building performance simulation is used to investigate the potential of the novel concept for reducing heating energy demand and increasing thermal comfort. Simulation results of a case study in the Netherlands show that the optimal quantity of the thermal mass is sensitive to the change of seasons. This implies that the building performance will benefit from implementing HATS. Furthermore, the potential of HATS is quantified using a simplified HATS model. Calculations show heating energy demand reductions of up to 35% and increased thermal comfort compared to conventional thermal mass concepts.

A passive house is a cost-efficient building that can manage throughout the heating period, due to its specific construction design, with more than ten times less heat energy than the same building designed to standards presently applicable across Europe. This paper describes the thermal performance during the cold season of the AMVIC passive office building, located in Bragadiru, a small Romanian town 10 km south of Bucharest. A detailed description of the building structure and the HVAC equipment is made. A time-dependent model (PHTT – Passive House Thermal Transients) is developed and used. Models validation is performed by comparing the outputs with results by the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) developed by Passive House Institute of Darmstadt. Two renewable energy sources are used during the cold season within the building. First, passive solar heating is provided by the large window on the facade oriented south. Second, a ground heat exchanger (GHE) increases the fresh air temperature. Results show that the GHE is the most useful and reliable renewable energy source from November to March, providing heat during the day and the heat flux increases when the weather is colder. The passive solar heating system provides a large part of the heating energy during the cold season. Classical building heating is necessary mainly during December–February.

Each country is giving number one priority to reduction of building energy consumption to reduce national CO2 emissions. Korea has begun to regulate new building's energy performance since 2009, targeting zero energy in 2025. To achieve this goal, the government set goals for each stage, but there has been any concrete model suggested. Thus, this study is to suggest a concrete, feasible residential building model through planning, construction, and performance test of low-energy experimental housing having four stages of 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% energy consumption reduction compared to existing housing. This study selected apartments suitable for the situation in Korea by reviewing domestic and overseas experimental housings, and predicted performance standards, planning of technology application, and according energy performance for four experimental houses. As a result of progressively improving the performance of building envelopes and ventilation and applying high-efficiency system, 100% reduction mode...

With the high proportion of building energy consumption in the total energy consumption, it is of great importance to relieve the shortage of conventional energy resources and improve the building environment by incorporating solar energy into buildings. A new type solar roof panels were designed and tested in the present paper, which perfectly achieves the integration of solar equipment with building envelope. This panel can act as the construction component for building envelope and completely removes the double-skin mode for conventional solar equipment, as well as the functional equipment for heating and cooling collecting. Corrugated colored steel roof panel was tested under various climate conditions and operation conditions. The results show that in a typical sunny day the average heat collecting efficiency is 49% and the average cooling capacity is 100W/m2. In a cloudy day, the average heat collecting efficiency is 41% and the average cooling capacity is 84W/m2.

This paper is the first of two papers that describe the modeling, design, and performance assessment based on monitored data of a building-integrated photovoltaic-thermal (BIPV/T) system thermally coupled with a ventilated concrete slab (VCS) in a prefabricated, two-storey detached, low energy solar house. This house, with a design goal of near net-zero annual energy consumption, was constructed in 2007 in Eastman, Quebec, Canada – a cold climate area. Several novel solar technologies are integrated into the house and with passive solar design to reach this goal. An air-based open-loop BIPV/T system produces electricity and collects heat simultaneously. Building-integrated thermal mass is utilized both in passive and active forms. Distributed thermal mass in the direct gain area and relatively large south facing triple-glazed windows (about 9% of floor area) are employed to collect and store passive solar gains. An active thermal energy storage system (TES) stores part of the collected thermal energy from the BIPV/T system, thus reducing the energy consumption of the house ground source heat pump heating system. This paper focuses on the BIPV/T system and the integrated energy concept of the house. Monitored data indicate that the BIPV/T system has a typical efficiency of about 20% for thermal energy collection, and the annual space heating energy consumption of the house is about 5% of the national average. A thermal model of the BIPV/T system suitable for preliminary design and control of the airflow is developed and verified with monitored data.

Solar energy is receiving much more attention in building energy systems in recent years. Solar thermal utilization should be based on integration of solar collectors into buildings. The facades of buildings can be important solar collectors, and, therefore, become multifunctional. In addition, solar collectors can be used to enhance the appearance of the facade when considering their aesthetic compatibility. Currently, installation of collectors on the south tilted roofs, south walls, balconies or awnings of buildings are the feasible approaches for integration of solar collectors into buildings. The most well known solar energy demonstration projects in China are introduced in this paper, which cover different integrated approaches, and solar heating and cooling systems. In China's cities, the process of rebuilding apartment roofs from flat to inclined offers the ideal opportunity to carry out solar renovation in combination with roof-integrated collectors. It can be seen from the demonstration projects over the last twenty years, that, solar cooling systems were mainly used in public buildings for either absorption or adsorption. Besides, nearly all solar cooling systems are multifunctional. They have been used to supply heating and hot water in other seasons for the purpose of high solar fraction. In the 11th Five-year research project (duration 2006–2010), the government has encouraged solar energy researchers to study, develop, and break through the key technologies involved in the integration of solar thermal technologies with buildings.

This paper is the second of two papers that describe the modeling and design of a building-integrated photovoltaic–thermal (BIPV/T) system thermally coupled with a ventilated concrete slab (VCS) adopted in a prefabricated, two-storey detached, low energy solar house and their performance assessment based on monitored data. The VCS concept is based on an integrated thermal–structural design with active storage of solar thermal energy while serving as a structural component – the basement floor slab (∼33 m2). This paper describes the numerical modeling, design, and thermal performance assessment of the VCS. The thermal performance of the VCS during the commissioning of the unoccupied house is presented. Analysis of the monitored data shows that the VCS can store 9–12 kWh of heat from the total thermal energy collected by the BIPV/T system, on a typical clear sunny day with an outdoor temperature of about 0 °C. It can also accumulate thermal energy during a series of clear sunny days without overheating the slab surface or the living space. This research shows that coupling the VCS with the BIPV/T system is a viable method to enhance the utilization of collected solar thermal energy. A method is presented for creating a simplified three-dimensional, control volume finite difference, explicit thermal model of the VCS. The model is created and validated using monitored data. The modeling method is suitable for detailed parametric study of the thermal behavior of the VCS without excessive computational effort.

Currently, the construction of low energy buildings in Europe is promoted. Existing and newly developed design and construction concepts for such buildings are adapted to their national or regional climatic conditions. The European Parliament has assigned the member countries to get ready for the reduction of the energy consumption in buildings. Therefore, Lithuania, like other EU countries, must be examined for the use of the low energy building design and construction experience, the existing concepts of low energy buildings should be adapted or new concepts of low energy building responding to the region's climate should be created. In this article, the most popular European mid‐region passive house concept and the energetic performance of the house, designed and built according to its requirements is analyzed, the main differences of this concept to the normative requirements of Lithuanian building regulations and proposals to improve provisions for the construction of low energy buildings in Lithuania is provided. Santrauka Šiuo metu Europoje skatinama mažai energijos vartojančių namų statyba. Esamos ir naujai kuriamos tokių namų projektavimo ir statybos koncepcijos dažniausiai pritaikytos konkrečios šalies arba regiono klimato sąlygoms. Europos Parlamentas įpareigojo šalis nares pasirengti mažinti pastatuose suvartojamos energijos kiekį. Todėl Lietuvoje, kaip ir kitose ES šalyse, turi būti išnagrinėta mažai energijos vartojančiių pastatų projektavimo ir statybos patirtis, perimtos jau taikomos arba sukurtos naujos koncepcijos, tinkamos šio regiono klimatui. Straipsnyje išanalizuota populiariausia Vidurio Europos regione pasyviojo pastato koncepcija, pagal jos reikalavimus suprojektuoto ir pastatyto namo energiniai rodikliai, nustatyti pagrindiniai šios koncepcijos ir Lietuvos statybos norminių dokumentų reikalavimu skirtumai ir pateikti pasiūlymai gerinti sąlygas mažai energijos naudojančiu pastatu statybai Lietuvoje. First published online: 10 Feb 2011 Reikšminiai žodžiai:pasyvus namas,mažai energijos vartojantis namas,rekuperacinė šildymo sistema,vidiniai išsiskiriančios šilumos kiekiai,išores oro temperatūra,sandarumas,šilumines energijos suvartojimas,sutaupyta šiluminė energija

This chapter contains sections titled: Climate-Compatible Living Working and Producing in Compatibility with the Climate Climate-Compatible Driving Climate-Compatible Travel by Water or Air Carbon-Free Electricity for an Island All's Well that Ends Well

The concept of solar energy conscious design has emerged worldwide with the growing number of high-rise apartment buildings. It is important to think of maximizing solar energy utilization in buildings through architectural design strategies. This should lead to the setting up of mandatory regulations on both urban and building design levels. This study analyzes the current building regulations of Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) from the standpoint of solar accessibility. It suggests new regulations that ensure adequate solar accessibility in new constructions of residential apartments in Amman. Computer simulations associated with sun masks analyses have been conducted to obtain a firm judgment towards setting up new dimensions of setbacks and building heights for apartment blocks in Amman. The study gives clear and flexible guidelines for urban and architectural designers to determine the number of sunlit floors based on the desired distances between apartment blocks. To achieve the goals of this study, the authors suggest that the current urban regulations in Jordan be modified on energy-based design strategies.

This paper introduces and evaluates a novel heating and cooling concept employing thermo-active building systems and environmental energy, harnessed from two 11-m 3 rainwater cisterns for a 285-m 2 residential building in passive house standard in Germany. The building strives for a significantly reduced primary energy use with carefully coordinated measures, such as high quality building envelope, by means of vacuum insulated panels, supply and exhaust air system with heat recovery, reduced solar heat gains (solar shading), and the integration of thermal solar collectors and photovoltaic in the plant system. On this premise, a comprehensive long-term monitoring in high time-resolution was carried out for the building for two years with an accompanying commissioning of the building performance. Measurements comprise the energy use for heating, cooling, and ventilation, as well as the auxiliary equipment, the performance of the environmental heat source and sink (rainwater cistern), thermal comfort, and local climatic site conditions. The analysis focuses on the performance and the efficiency of rainwater cisterns as natural heat source and sink as well as the heat pump system. The paper discusses the performance of thermo-active building systems, investigates the thermal comfort, determines the efficiency of the heating/cooling system, and evaluates the total end and primary energy use of the building.

Possible solutions for zero energy building design in UK are discussed in this paper. Simulation software (EnergyPlus and TRNSYS 16) are employed in this study, where EnergyPlus simulations are applied to enable facade design studies considering building materials, window sizes and orientations and TRNSYS is used for the investigation of the feasibility of zero energy houses with renewable electricity, solar hot water system and energy efficient heating systems under Cardiff weather conditions. Various design methods are compared and optimal design strategies for typical homes and energy systems are provided.

The low energy approach should be the key concept in any long-term strategy aiming to build sustainability. For Madrid climate, action should be taken to reduce energy demand for heating and cooling in residential buildings. The performance of a passive cooling system was developed as a part of design work for the project of a low cost residential building. The passive cooling systems incorporate a solar chimney and precool the air by using the sanitary area of the building. The natural ventilation is enhanced with the help of the solar chimney and fresh air is cooled down by circulation within the sanitary area. The application of this system to the living rooms of a low cost residential building was evaluated and implemented. This cooling system incorporated to a residential building is the third prototype developed since 1991 by the designers. A model was developed to allow to predict the temperature of the air in the living room. The performance of the passive cooling system was evaluated based on the energy balance for a typical summer day. To reduce the energy demand in winter, a new design and window orientation has been developed and evaluated using DOE-2 simulation tool. The building has been constructed and monitored during 2006–2007.

A zero energy house (ZEH) was built side by side with a baseline house in suburban Las Vegas. Actual energy performance measurements were carried out on the incorporated energy saving features and solar applications. The data show that a radiant barrier and a water-cooled air conditioner are major contributors to the energy savings, while an insulated floor slab and thermal mass walls are not effective for energy-conservation during cooling periods. Photovoltaic roof tiles produce enough green power to cover the use in the ZEH, and the solar water heater can reach a peak efficiency of 80%. The energy saving contribution of each incorporated component was obtained using Energy10 and eQUEST3.6 models, and then these codes were used for economic application evaluation. The two analysis codes yield similar results that compare well with the actual building performance data. Four items are clearly economically valuable for these applications: high performance windows, compact fluorescent lights, highly-insulated roofs and air conditioners with water-cooled condensers. PV tiles show a good financial return when rebates are considered. The Integrated Collector Storage (ICS) unit has a high efficiency but with a little higher thermal price. Thermal mass walls are too costly to have wide market appeal.

The Building Code of Australia (BCA) 5 star benchmark substantially rewards passive solar design and makes it difficult for non-passive solar designs to be approved in Perth. This study shows that winter heating loads are substantially reduced in passive solar designed houses, but external wall material is not a significant factor. On the other hand, a reduction of summertime air conditioning use is dominated by internal thermal mass more than by passive solar design strategies. The application of heating and cooling caps are not recommended as part of a regulatory mechanism, because they may adversely affect on passive solar design in some Perth houses and may eliminate some houses that otherwise perform well in the summertime. The BCA works with passive solar design to identify minimum thermal performance standards that apply to all dwellings and is the appropriate national approach to regulating residential energy efficiency standards. Passive solar design is recommended as the path beyond minimum BCA standards to deliver best practice in the future.

Improvement of the energy performance of buildings and achievement of indoor comfort conditions can be attained by passive cooling techniques and energy efficient measures. Natural ventilation is one of the simplest and most widely applied cooling strategies, achieved by permitting air to flow through the building. The solar chimney is a construction on the building's envelope that exploits solar energy to promote ventilation through the building. The typical configurations of a solar chimney and the principles of its operation are presented in this chapter. An overview is given of past and ongoing research on experimental work and modelling of the performance of different solar chimney configurations. The work is concluded by identifying the main advantages and disadvantages of solar chimneys.

Under the Passive Solar Building Programme, more than 100 buildings have been constructed in the high altitude region of the Indian State of Himachal Pradesh. A policy decision has been taken by the State that all government/semi-government buildings are to be designed and constructed as per passive solar housing technology. The evaluation studies of some of these buildings have been carried out by our group. In the present study, the thermal performance of a passive solar bank building at Shimla, has been evaluated. This solar building incorporates a heat-collecting wall and a roof-top solar air heater with an electric heating backup, sunspaces and double-glazed windows. The monitoring of the building shows that the solar passive features in the building results in comfortable living conditions. The study shows that the high cost central electric/gas/wood-fired heating systems can be replaced by a low cost solar heating system with backup heaters. This will result not only in reducing higher installation costs of these systems but also the annual running and maintenance costs. It is shown that the solar passive features save electricity required for space heating and reduce the heat losses in the building by about 35%. The strategy to be followed for the propagation of passive solar technology on large scale in this Himalayan State or in any other cold hilly region is also presented.

In subtropical Hong Kong, solar heat gain via glazing contributes to a significant proportion of the building envelope cooling load. The principal fenestration design includes eliminating direct sunlight and reducing cooling requirements. Daylighting is an effective approach to allow a flexible building facade design strategy, and to enhance an energy-efficient and green building development. This paper studies the lighting and cooling energy performances for a fully air-conditioned open-plan office when solar control films together with daylight-linked lighting controls are being used. Measurements were undertaken at two stages including the electricity expenditures for the office using photoelectric dimming controls only (first stage) and together with the solar control film coatings on the windows (second stage). Electric lighting and cooling energy consumption, transmitted daylight illuminance and solar radiation were systematically recorded and analysed. The measured data were also used for conducting and validating the building energy simulations. The findings showed that the solar film coatings coupled with lighting dimming controls cut down 21.2% electric lighting and 6.9% cooling energy consumption for the open-plan office.

The green buildings of Shanghai Research Institute of Building Science include an office building for the demonstration of public building and two residential buildings, which are for the demonstration of flat and villa, respectively. Here, a solar-powered integrated energy system including heating, air-conditioning, natural ventilation and hot water supply was designed and constructed for the office building. However, only solar hot-water systems were installed for the flat and villa. All the three solar thermal systems have continuously run for 2 years. Two different integrated approaches have been put into practice in the two green residential buildings. It is shown that, for new buildings, solar collectors can be mounted on balconies and awnings besides roofs, on condition that solar systems become part of the general building design. The solar-powered integrated energy system has the advantage of high utilization ratio with different functions according to different seasons. It is testified to be capable of taking on about 70% of the yearly building load regarding the involved space under the weather condition of Shanghai.

With environmental protection posing as the number one global problem, man has no choice but to reduce his energy consumption. One way to accomplish this is to resort to passive and low-energy systems to maintain thermal comfort in buildings. The conventional and modern designs of wind towers can successfully be used in hot arid regions to maintain thermal comfort (with or without the use of ceiling fans) during all hours of the cooling season, or a fraction of it. Climatic design is one of the best approaches to reduce the energy cost in buildings. Proper design is the first step of defence against the stress of the climate. Buildings should be designed according to the climate of the site, reducing the need for mechanical heating or cooling. Hence maximum natural energy can be used for creating a pleasant environment inside the built envelope. Technology and industry progress in the last decade diffused electronic and informatics’ devices in many human activities, and also in building construction. The utilisation and operating opportunities components, increase the reduction of heat losses by varying the thermal insulation, optimise the lighting distribution with louver screens and operate mechanical ventilation for coolness in indoor spaces. In addition to these parameters the intelligent envelope can act for security control and became an important part of the building domotic revolution. Application of simple passive cooling measure is effective in reducing the cooling load of buildings in hot and humid climates. Fourty-three percent reductions can be achieved using a combination of well-established technologies such as glazing, shading, insulation, and natural ventilation. More advanced passive cooling techniques such as roof pond, dynamic insulation, and evaporative water jacket need to be considered more closely. The building sector is a major consumer of both energy and materials worldwide, and that consumption is increasing. Most industrialised countries are in addition becoming more and more dependent on external supplies of conventional energy carriers, i.e., fossil fuels. Energy for heating and cooling can be replaced by new renewable energy sources. New renewable energy sources, however, are usually not economically feasible compared with the traditional carriers. In order to achieve the major changes needed to alleviate the environmental impacts of the building sector, it is necessary to change and develop both the processes in the industry itself, and to build a favourable framework to overcome the present economic, regulatory and institutional barriers. This article describes various designs of low-energy buildings. It also, outlines the effect of dense urban building nature on energy consumption, and its contribution to climate change. Measure, which would help to save energy in buildings, is also presented.

When it comes to making buildings energy efficient the use of light is fundamental to success. This paper deals with the manipulation of light that has always been fundamental to the architect. Past emphasis for the lighting engineer has been on artificial lighting, but nowadays both lighting engineers and architects are grappling with natural light as a passive solar energy saver. The challenge is to capture and use daylight, without glare and without subjecting interiors of buildings to solar overheating. The last condition does not mean that it should not also admit sunlight, especially when thermally advantageous, as a useful passive solar gain. Provided glare does not interfere with particular activities, dynamic patterns of sunlight and shade with buildings can be emotionally very satisfying - at least to the same extent as any artificially introduced lighting drama.

Solar energy is receiving much more attentions in building energy systems in recent years. Solar thermal utilization should be based on the integration of solar collectors into buildings. The facades of buildings can be important solar collectors, and therefore become multifunctional. In addition, solar collectors can be used to enhance the appearance of the facade when considering aesthetic compatibility. Currently, the feasible approach for integration of solar collectors into buildings is to install collectors on the south tilted roofs, south walls, balconies or awnings. Experiences on solar thermal utilization were mainly introduced in this paper, which included solar hot water systems with different design methods in residential buildings and solar-powered integrated energy systems in public buildings. Then the suggestions were given. In the cities of China, an ideal opportunity to carry out solar renovation with roof-integrated collectors is in combination with the rebuilding of apartment roofs from flat to be inclined. With regard to multi-storied residential buildings, central hot water supply system and central-individual hot water supply system are more appropriate in view of aesthetic compatibility of solar collectors with building roof and convenience of management. As for public buildings, it is highly recommended to design solar-powered integrated energy systems for the purpose of high solar fraction.

Solar energy conversion systems and daylighting schemes are recognized as important strategies to generate clean energy, reduce peak electrical and cooling demands, and save overall building electricity expenditures. A solar façade is a building component generating electricity via photovoltaic (PV) modules and allowing daylight entering into the interior spaces to reduce electric lighting use. A key design issue for such façades is determining the overall energy benefits. The work for estimating building energy performances and savings using these building components is presented. The computer simulation tool, EnergyPlus, was used to demonstrate the likely electricity generation and saving, peak air-conditioning load, and electrical demand reductions for the façades with various window and PV panel areas. The weather database in 1989 was employed for the analysis. Important features for daylighting schemes and implications for building integrated photovoltaic designs were highlighted and elaborated. The environmental benefits and cost indications were also considered. The findings showed that proper solar façade designs could significantly contribute to environmental, energy, and economic aspects.

As the energy demand used for space heating accounts for 78% of EU15 household delivered energy consumption, significant reductions in energy demand can be achieved by promoting low-energy buildings. Our study investigates three building types: the standard house, the low-energy house and the passive house. As more far-reaching measures concerning energy savings usually lead to higher investments, the aim of our study is to perform an economic analysis in order to determine the economic viability of the three building types.