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With the arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the scientific academia, as well as policymakers, are striving to conceive solutions as an attempt to contain the spreading of contagion. Among the adopted measures, severe lockdown restrictions were issued to avoid the diffusion of the virus in an uncontrolled way through public spaces. It can be deduced from recent literature that the primary route of transmission is via aerosols, produced mainly in poorly ventilated interior areas where infected people spend a lot of time with other people. Concerning contagion rates, accumulated incidence or number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19, Spain, and Italy have reached very high levels. In this framework, a regression analysis to assess the feasibility of the indoor ventilation measures established in Spain and Italy, with respect to the European framework, is here presented. To this aim, ten cases of housing typology were and analyzed. The results show that the measures established in the applicable regulations to prevent and control the risk of contagion by aerosols are not adequate to guarantee a healthy environment indoors. The current Italian guidelines are more restrictive than in Spain, yet the ventilation levels are still insufficient in times of pandemic. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

The main objective of this research was to analyze the passive solutions that help to reduce energy consumption through the use of natural light in buildings. In this case, the analysis focused on the use of natural light in buildings with all façades made of glass. Buildings designed with the criterion of regenerative sustainability, such as glass buildings, consider not only energy efficiency and the use of renewable and/or alternative energies, but also the improvement of the health and well-being of users—very important factors during an era in which the time spent at home has been increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic (disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus). This experimental research was based on the analysis of data collected during a full year of monitoring of two scale models of Farnsworth House, a house with glass façades in all of its orientations. The results allowed us to conclude that these passive elements must be taken into account in the initial design of a building, a solar control sheet is also advisable in this type of glass building because it greatly reduces the illuminance inside the spaces, and the use of overhangs distributes the illuminance inside the rooms more evenly. In addition, the use of scale models provides a more accurate view of the parameters related to light energy.

Reducing energy expenditure in the construction sector requires the implementation of passive strategies in buildings. In Spain, consumption is centered on air conditioning systems associated with the demand for the building’s thermal envelope. A critical point of the enclosures is represented by glazed holes where much of the energy that is consumed is lost, however, homes increasingly tend to have large window openings due to the comfort and visual well-being they provide to users. In this study, we focus on an extreme case, analyzing a fully glazed house in its four orientations. It is necessary to evaluate the most energy efficient passive strategy for this type of construction. The results are based on the temperature analysis obtained during the monitoring of two scale models of a glass house. The results indicate that solar control foil glasses perform better in warmer weather stations. Regarding the cantilever installation, it influences the interior temperature and the central hours of the day, mitigating the increase in temperature as well as slowing the nighttime cooling.

This paper presents a monitored performance study of a bioclimatic educational building with the best Spanish energy performance label. The building is half-buried in the north facade and it has been constructed integrating sunspaces, shading devices, wooden structures, differentiated facades, ventilation strategies, biomass boilers and geothermal conducts. The summer overheating produce by sunspaces was solved with the inclusion of optimize eaves to prevent the solar radiation only during the summer. The highest inner temperatures were reached inside the building during winter. The harnessing of the earth thermal inertia of the half-buried north facade decreased the heating and the cooling energy demand of the building. The post-processing of the registered data highlighted the and exceptional situations. Finally, a review of standardized indices for a long-term evaluation was carried out. The differences between the inlet variables needed by each index resulted in very different thermal comfort percentages. Adaptive models reached the highest values of thermal comfort while regulations based only on temperature set points reached the lowest thermal comfort percentages.

ResumenEn este artículo se describe la estrategia seguida para generar e impulsar procesos de aprendizaje, participación e indagación en el ámbito de las Instalaciones. Se aplica a las asignaturas de Instalaciones I y II del Grado de Edificación impartido en la Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación de Madrid, con el fin de contribuir a la mejora del aprendizaje en niveles superiores de educación.La investigación desarrolla la creación y el estudio del método a seguir, con el análisis de cada una de las partes que lo forman. Este método se basa en un Aprendizaje por Descubrimiento Significativo realizado en cuatro fases: el Descubrimiento, la Investigación, la Visualización y la Ejecución.Se dan a conocer posteriormente los resultados obtenidos hasta la fecha con la metodología desarrollada para, de esta manera, poder desvelar el desarrollo interno de la propia estrategia dando cuenta de los resultados derivados de ella.AbstractThis article describes the strategy followed to generate and promote processes of learning, participation and inquiry in the field of Facilities. It is applied to the subjects of Installations I and II of the Degree of School of Building Engineering imparted in the Superior Technical School of Building of Madrid, in order to contribute to the improvement of learning in higher levels of education.The research develops the creation and study of the method to be followed, with the analysis of each of the parts that form it. This method is based on a Significant Discovery Learning realized in four phases: the Discovery, the Investigation, the Visualization and the Execution.The results obtained to date with the methodology developed to reveal the internal development of the strategy itself, giving an account of the results derived from it, are presented later.

La principal motivación para la investigación que justifica esta tesis es la realidad energética y ambiental que estamos viviendo y específicamente, la necesidad urgente de dar una respuesta a este problema desde el sector de la edificación. Dado el gran potencial de ahorro energético del sector de la edificación, la Unión Europea en sus directivas resalta la necesidad de mejorar la eficiencia energética de los edificios y por ende la contaminación que produce. Añadiendo la obligatoriedad de construir edificios de “energía casi nula”, cuya exigencia es tener un muy alto rendimiento energético. En España los edificios son responsables del 30% aproximadamente, del consumo de energía primaria. La mayor parte de esta energía se relaciona con la utilización de los sistemas de climatización y acondicionamiento. Una medida efectiva para reducir la demanda energética es mejorar la envolvente y disponer de elementos pasivos que consigan la mejora de la eficiencia energética de los edificios. Por ello la investigación tiene como objetivo principal la búsqueda de soluciones pasivas que ayuden a la reducción del consumo energético y por consiguiente minimizar las emisiones de CO2 de los edificios. En este caso edificios que tienen todas sus fachadas resueltas con vidrio, pues se confirma en la bibliografía, que los huecos son elementos importantes para el análisis de la demanda energética. Otro objetivo de la tesis es comprobar la viabilidad de los modelos a escala como metodología de estudio del comportamiento térmico y lumínico de los edificios. La metodología seguida para el alcance de los objetivos ha sido: por una parte, una búsqueda bibliográfica para estudiar los distintos ejemplos de edificios acristalados y finalmente seleccionar la casa Farnsworth, que servirá como edificio de referencia. Después, a través de simulaciones previas y de la bibliografía consultada, se han seleccionado los sistemas pasivos a instalar para de este modo poder realizar el estudio de la eficiencia energética de los sistemas pasivos a través de dos métodos. Por un lado, a través de un análisis experimental, se han estudiado los resultados térmicos y lumínicos obtenidos en la etapa de monitorización. Y por otro lado, el estudio computacional a través de un software de simulación, que previamente se valida con los datos recabados en la parte experimental, para poder recrear diferentes escenarios y analizar con detalle las demandas y consumos del edificio. Una vez obtenidos los parámetros energéticos, se analiza el ahorro de energía, de costes de inversión y de emisiones de CO2 emitidas a la atmosfera, en cada uno de los escenarios que se plantean. La conclusión de esta tesis es que estos elementos pasivos deben ser tenidos en cuenta en el diseño inicial del edificio y deben ser analizados inicialmente e instalados según los parámetros energéticos, demostrando ser estrategias adecuadas para lograr el alto desempeño energético requerido para los edificios de energía casi nula. En el análisis térmico se demuestra que la lámina de control solar aporta grandes beneficios a lo largo de todo el año, sin embargo, la incorporación de voladizo obtiene buenos resultados en verano pero es perjudicial para las estaciones frías. En cuanto al análisis lumínico se manifiesta que la lámina de control solar, es aconsejable en este tipo de edificaciones de vidrio, debido a que minora en gran medida la iluminancia en el interior de los espacios. Además, la utilización de modelos a escala conlleva tener una visión más exacta en los parámetros relativos a la transferencia de calor. El poder combinar estos resultados con las simulaciones computacionales, nos aportan datos detallados sobre la capacidad de los sistemas de climatización, consumos energéticos, así como emisiones de CO2. ----------ABSTRACT---------- The main motivation for the research that justifies this thesis is the energy and environmental reality that we are experiencing and specifically, the urgent need to give an answer to this problem from the building sector. Given the great potential for energy saving in the building sector, the European Union in its directives highlights the need to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and therefore the pollution it produces. Adding the obligation to build buildings with "almost zero energy", whose requirement is to have a very high energy performance. In Spain, buildings are responsible for approximately 30% of primary energy consumption. Most of this energy is related to the use of air conditioning and conditioning systems. An effective measure to reduce energy demand is to improve the envelope and have passive elements that improve the energy efficiency of buildings. For this reason the main objective of the research is to search for passive solutions that help reduce energy consumption and therefore minimize CO2 emissions from buildings. In this case buildings that have all their facades resolved with glass, as it is confirmed in the bibliography that the gaps are important elements for the analysis of energy demand. Another objective of the thesis is to verify the viability of scale models as a methodology for studying the thermal and light behavior of buildings. The methodology followed to achieve the objectives has been: on the one hand, a bibliographic search to study the different examples of glass buildings and finally select the Farnsworth house, which will serve as a reference building. Then, through previous simulations and the consulted bibliography, the passive systems to be installed have been selected in order to carry out the study of the energy efficiency of passive systems through two methods. On the one hand, through an experimental analysis, the thermal and light results obtained in the monitoring stage have been studied. And on the other hand, the computational study through simulation software, which is previously validated with the data collected in the experimental part, in order to recreate different scenarios and analyze in detail the demands and consumption of the building. Once the energy parameters have been obtained, energy savings, investment costs and CO2 emissions emitted into the atmosphere are analyzed in each of the scenarios that are proposed. The conclusion of this thesis is that these passive elements must be taken into account in the initial design of the building and must be initially analyzed and installed according to the energy parameters, proving to be adequate strategies to achieve the high energy performance required for almost energy buildings. null. In the thermal analysis it is shown that the solar control sheet provides great benefits throughout the year, however, the incorporation of the cantilever obtains good results in summer but is detrimental for the cold seasons. Regarding the light analysis, it is stated that the solar control sheet is advisable in this type of glass buildings, because it greatly reduces the illuminance inside the spaces. In addition, the use of scale models leads to a more accurate view of the parameters related to heat transfer. Being able to combine these results with computer simulations provides us with detailed data on the capacity of the air conditioning systems, energy consumption, as well as CO2 emissions.

This research analyzes the durability of mineral wool waste from insulation materials used in the construction industry as reinforcement elements in cements matrices . In order to do this, an experimental plan was drawn up, detailing the production of cement mortar samples containing different types of fibers from insulation waste, on which freeze-thaw, salt crystallization , water vapor permeability, occluded air content and workability period tests were performed, in order to assess their use as raw materials. The test results show that the properties of these new mortars, containing insulation waste, remain optimal over time making them a sustainable alternative for use in outdoor settings.

The current imperative to reduce energy consumption in the building sector calls for the implementation of energy-saving strategies. Existing building stock also needs to be adapted to meet today's requirements. In Spain, consumption focusses on domestic heating systems, and since most energy is lost through the building's envelope, improving these structures is a priority strategy. Renovating façades using external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS) is currently one of the most effective strategies available. However, studies are needed to evaluate their real performance in order to quantify these improvements. In this article, we analyse the thermal performance of the façade of a dwelling situated in a building in Madrid by monitoring surface temperatures before and after renovation with ETICS. The results show the extent to which the thermal performance of the façade is improved with respect to its original status in this type of building in the climatic conditions found in Madrid. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

This research is focused on the use of gamification as a strategy to enhance students' motivation, effort and concentration in the classroom. For this, mobile platforms - allowing online questionnaires-were proposed, as nowadays all students have a cell phone in their pockets. Also, this type of activity was chosen because students are digital natives and the use of platforms in which a dynamic competition is presented in real time makes them actively participative in activities, which generally require an effort. The main objective of this research is to verify the level of satisfaction from students after applying gamification technique in the classroom and explore the motivation, predisposition and the approach of the student to the most tedious subjects. The research was carried out in the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Edificacion of the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid. The methodology was to implement several knowledge tests using Kahoot platform, once the theoretical explanations were completed. This process was done in different groups of students in the same subject. Once the Kahoot's questionnaires were completed, a satisfaction survey was carried out in order to obtain data and make a quantitative evaluation of the experience.