The e-SAFE energy and seismic renovation solutions for the European building stock: main features and requirements

Abstract In the framework of the ongoing four-year EU-funded innovation project called e-SAFE (“Energy and seismic affordable renovation solutions”), several solutions for the energy and seismic deep renovation of reinforced concrete (RC) framed buildings in the European countries are going to be developed and demonstrated. These solutions address both the energy performance of the building envelope and the heating and cooling of the indoor spaces, and aim to be prefabricated, customizable, low-disruptive and sustainable in order to boost the decarbonisation of the largely inefficient European building stock. This paper presents the main features of the e-SAFE solutions and the results of a preliminary analysis to verify their effectiveness and compliance with European legislation and standards. The outcomes will be useful for the design and demonstration stage, by identifying issues that need to be tackled.

Download Full-text

Building energy modelling for the energy performance analysis of a hospital building in various locations

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/201911106073 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 06073 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ioan Silviu Dobosi ◽

Cristina Tanasa ◽

Nicoleta-Elena Kaba ◽

Adrian Retezan ◽

Dragos Mihaila

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Building Energy ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

The European Union ◽

Total Energy Consumption ◽

Building Stock ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Key Factor ◽

Hospital Building

The building sector has been identified as having the greatest energy reduction potential and therefore represents a key factor for the European Union climate change combat objectives of achieving an 80-95% greenhouse gas emissions reduction by 2050. Hospitals buildings represent 7% of the nonresidential building stock in the European Union and are responsible for approximately 10% of the total energy consumption in this sector. The design and construction of hospital buildings is a complex and challenging activity for all the involved specialists, especially when energy performance is one of the objectives. This paper discusses the energy performance simulation on an hourly basis of a new hospital building that was constructed in the city of Mioveni, Romania. At this stage of the study, the building energy model solely investigates the performance of the building envelope, without modelling the HVAC system. The complexity of the building model derives from the multitude of thermal zones depending on interior temperature and ventilation air changes conditions. Several simulations are performed investigating the heating and cooling energy need depending on the building location.

Download Full-text

A Comparative Analysis of the International Regulation of Thermal Properties in Building Envelope

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11205574 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (20) ◽

pp. 5574 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

David Bienvenido-Huertas ◽

Miguel Oliveira ◽

Carlos Rubio-Bellido ◽

David Marín

Keyword(s):

Thermal Properties ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

European Countries ◽

General View ◽

South American ◽

Building Stock ◽

Continental Scale ◽

Technical Requirements

To achieve the goals of reducing building energy consumption, regulations are being designed to guarantee the appropriate energy performance of buildings. Both European and South American countries establish requirements of thermal properties of building envelope according to the climate zone, thus implying notable differences in climate classifications and technical requirements. This research provides a general view of advantages and limitations between the different state regulations of three South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile) and three European countries (Spain, Portugal, and France). A total of 792 simulations were conducted with Energy Plus by considering 12 different dwelling typologies in 66 climate zones. Building envelopes were adapted to the regulations of the various countries. Results showed tendencies of performance clearly different between the South American and the European countries, with the latter being those with the lowest energy demands. The cluster analysis of distributions of energy demand revealed that buildings located in similar climates but in different countries present very different energy performances. This research opens up the discussion on the development of more demanding policies related to thermal properties of buildings. Also, the analysis at a continental scale could reduce the differences between countries and guarantee a more sustainable life for the building stock.

Download Full-text

Application of Urban Scale Energy Modelling and Multi-Objective Optimization Techniques for Building Energy Renovation at District Scale

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132011554 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (20) ◽

pp. 11554

Author(s):

Fahad Haneef ◽

Giovanni Pernigotto ◽

Andrea Gasparella ◽

Jérôme Henri Kämpf

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Building Energy ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Optimization Techniques ◽

Multi Objective Optimization ◽

Building Stock ◽

Energy Efficiency Measures ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Efficiency Measures

Nearly-zero energy buildings are now a standard for new constructions. However, the real challenge for a decarbonized society relies in the renovation of the existing building stock, selecting energy efficiency measures considering not only the energy performance but also the economic and sustainability ones. Even if the literature is full of examples coupling building energy simulation with multi-objective optimization for the identification of the best measures, the adoption of such approaches is still limited for district and urban scale simulation, often because of lack of complete data inputs and high computational requirements. In this research, a new methodology is proposed, combining the detailed geometric characterization of urban simulation tools with the simplification provided by “building archetype” modeling, in order to ensure the development of robust models for the multi-objective optimization of retrofit interventions at district scale. Using CitySim as an urban scale energy modeling tool, a residential district built in the 1990s in Bolzano, Italy, was studied. Different sets of renovation measures for the building envelope and three objectives —i.e., energy, economic and sustainability performances, were compared. Despite energy savings from 29 to 46%, energy efficiency measures applied just to the building envelope were found insufficient to meet the carbon neutrality goals without interventions to the system, in particular considering mechanical ventilation with heat recovery. Furthermore, public subsidization has been revealed to be necessary, since none of the proposed measures is able to pay back the initial investment for this case study.

Download Full-text

Impact of orientation and building envelope characteristics on energy consumption case study of office building in city of Nis

Thermal Science ◽

10.2298/tsci18s5499v ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (Suppl. 5) ◽

pp. 1499-1509

Author(s):

Miomir Vasov ◽

Jelena Stevanovic ◽

Veliborka Bogdanovic ◽

Marko Ignjatovic ◽

Dusan Randjelovic

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Early Stage ◽

Building Energy ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Office Building ◽

Climatic Data ◽

Building Energy Efficiency ◽

Maximum Difference ◽

Heating And Cooling

Buildings are one of the biggest energy consumers in urban environments, so its efficient use represents a constant challenge. In public objects and households, a large part of the energy is used for heating and cooling. The orientation of the object, as well as the overall heat transfer coefficient (U-value) of transparent and non-transparent parts of the envelope, can have a significant impact on building energy needs. In this paper, analysis of the influence of different orientations, U-values of envelope elements, and size of windows on annual heating and cooling energy for an office building in city of Nis, Serbia, is presented. Model of the building was made in the Google SketchUp software, while the results of energy performance were obtained using EnergyPlus and jEplus, taking into ac-count the parameters of thermal comfort and climatic data for the area of city of Nis. Obtained results showed that, for varied parameters, the maximum difference in annual heating energy is 15129.4 kWh, i. e per m2 27.75 kWh/m2, while the maximum difference in annual cooling energy is 14356.1 kWh, i. e per m2 26.33 kWh/m2. Considering that differences in energy consumption are significant, analysis of these parameters in the early stage of design process can affect on increase of building energy efficiency.

Download Full-text

The application of the EN ISO 52016 standard and its Italian National Annex to assess the heating and cooling needs of a reference office building

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202131206003 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 312 ◽

pp. 06003

Author(s):

Franz Bianco Mauthe Degerfeld ◽

Ilaria Ballarini ◽

Giovanna De Luca ◽

Vincenzo Corrado

Keyword(s):

Building Energy ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Office Building ◽

Dynamic Calculation ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

Building Energy Performance ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Energy Simulations

The EN ISO 52016-1 standard presents a new simplified dynamic calculation procedure, whose aim is to provide an accurate energy performance assessment without excessively increasing the number of data required. The Italian National Annex to EN ISO 52016-1, currently under development, provides some improvements to the hourly calculation method; despite many works can be found in literature on the hourly model of EN ISO 52016-1, the National Annexes application has not been sufficiently analysed yet. The aim of the present work is to assess the main improvements introduced by the Italian National Annex and to compare the main results, in terms of energy need for space heating and cooling. To this purpose, an existing building representative of the Italian office building stock in Northern Italy was selected as a case study. The energy simulations were carried out considering both continuous and reduced operation of the HVAC systems. The options specified in the Italian National Annex were firstly applied one by one, and then all together. The variation of the energy need compared to the international base procedure is finally quantified. For the premises and the scope above discussed, the present work is intended to enhance the standardisation activity towards the adoption of more accurate and trustable calculation methods of the building energy performance.

Download Full-text

Energy Efficient Improvements of Existing Buildings through Building Envelope Upgrade Case Study of High Rise Block of Flats on 76, Boulevard Partizanski Odredi in Karpos IV, Skopje

South East European Journal of Architecture and Design ◽

10.3889/seejad.2016.10020 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-180

Author(s):

Katerina Petrushevska

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Energy Efficient ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Living Room ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

High Rise ◽

Class B

AIM: This research examines the important issue of energy efficient improvements to the existing building stock through building envelope upgrade. To facilitate this, the energy performance characteristics of the existing building stock were identified with a view to establishing an existing building stock type, where building envelope upgrades can contribute to a higher level of energy efficiency improvements. The literature review along with the selected building precedents was used to establish the best current practice for building envelope upgrades.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Established building precedents and identified best practice for building envelope upgrade, a high rise block of flats was identified and used as a case study, with the current and predicted, following building envelope upgrade, energy performance of the building calculated. This has allowed us to identify the possible energy efficiency improvements for this type of building following the building envelope upgrade. RESULTS: In the projected case, the building with energy class - "D" become class "B". In addition, increased quality of the living room in the attic was enabled. It was possible to obtain a decrease of the heating energy from 130.76 kWh/m²a to 37.73 kWh/m²a or to jump in the class "B" of energetic passport.CONCLUSION: This research contributes to the local implementation of the global agenda for sustainable development, design and construction, and it demonstrates the possible way and level of energy efficiency improvements to the least efficient building stock through existing building envelope upgrade.

Download Full-text

Energy Monitoring in a Heating and Cooling System in a Building Based on the Example of the Turówka Hotel

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13081968 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 1968 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marek Borowski ◽

Piotr Mazur ◽

Sławosz Kleszcz ◽

Klaudia Zwolińska

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Management ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Cooling System ◽

Energy Performance ◽

High Energy ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Large Variability ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

And Control

The energy consumption of buildings is very important for both economic and environmental reasons. Newly built buildings are characterized by higher insulation and airtightness of the building envelope, and are additionally equipped with technologies that minimize energy consumption in order to meet legal requirements. In existing buildings, the modernization process should be properly planned, taking into account available technologies and implementation possibilities. Hotel buildings are characterized by a large variability of energy demand, both on a daily and a yearly basis. Monitoring systems, therefore, provide the necessary information needed for proper energy management in the building. This article presents an energy analysis of the Turówka hotel located in Wieliczka (southern Poland). The historical hotel facility is being modernized as part of the project to adapt the building to the requirements of a sustainable building. The modernization proposal includes a trigeneration system with a multifunctional reverse regenerator and control module using neural algorithms. The main purpose is to improve the energy efficiency of the building and adapt it to the requirements of low-energy buildings. The implementation of a monitoring system enables energy consumption to be reduced and improves the energy performance of the building, especially through using energy management systems and control modules. The proposed retrofit solution considers the high energy consumption, structure of the energy demand, and limits of retrofit intervention on façades.

Download Full-text

Retrofitting a Building’s Envelope: Sustainability Performance of ETICS with ICB or EPS

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app9071285 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 1285 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

José D. Silvestre ◽

André M. P. Castelo ◽

José J. B. C. Silva ◽

Jorge M. C. L. de Brito ◽

Manuel D. Pinheiro

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Thermal Insulation ◽

Carbon Footprint ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Expanded Polystyrene ◽

Insulation Material ◽

Economic Dimension ◽

Heating And Cooling

This paper analyses the environmental, energy, and economic performances of the External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) using agglomerated insulation cork board (ICB) or expanded polystyrene (EPS) as insulation material applied in the energetic renovation of the building envelope during a 50-year study period. A comparison between ETICS using ICB and EPS, for the same time horizon, is also presented. The environmental balance is based on “Cradle to Cradle” (C2C) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), focusing on the carbon footprint and consumption of nonrenewable primary energy (PE-NRe). The characteristics of these products in terms of thermal insulation, the increased energy performance provided by their installation for retrofit of the buildings’ envelope, and the resulting energy savings are considered in the energy balance. The estimation of the C2C carbon and PE-NRe saved is considered in the final balance between the energy and environmental performances. ETICS with ICB is environmentally advantageous both in terms of carbon footprint and of PE-NRe. In fact, the production stage of ICB is less polluting, while EPS requires lower energy consumption to fulfil the heating and cooling needs of a flat, due to its lower U-Value, and its lower acquisition cost results in a lower C2C cost. Comparing both ETICS’ alternatives with reference solutions, it was found that the latter only perform better in the economic dimension, and only for an energy consumption to fulfil less than 25% of the heating and cooling needs. This paper represents an advance to the current state-of-the-art by including all the life-cycle stages and dimensions of the LCA in the analysis of solutions for energy renovation of building envelopes.

Download Full-text

Dynamic Energy Modelling as an Alternative Approach for Reducing Performance Gaps in Retrofitted Schools in Denmark

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app10217862 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (21) ◽

pp. 7862

Author(s):

Muhyiddine Jradi

Keyword(s):

Public Schools ◽

Process Evaluation ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Building Stock ◽

Performance Gap ◽

Existing Building ◽

Alternative Approach ◽

The Impact ◽

Retrofit Design

When considering that over 80% of buildings in Denmark were built before the 1980′s, a holistic energy retrofitting of the existing building stock is a major milestone to attain the energy and environmental targets of the country. In this work, a case study of three public schools is considered for post-retrofit process evaluation. The three schools were heavily retrofitted by September 2018 with energy conservation and improvement measures that were implemented targeting both the building envelope and various energy systems. A technical evaluation of the energy retrofit process in the schools was carried out, when considering one year of operation after the completion of the retrofitting work. Actual data from the heating and electricity meters in the schools were collected and compared with the pre-retrofit design numbers which rely majorly on static tabulated numbers for savings evaluation. It was shown that the retrofit design numbers largely overestimate the attained savings, where the average performance gap between the expected and real numbers for the three schools is around 61% and 136% for annual heating and electricity savings, respectively. On the other hand, an alternative approach was proposed where calibrated dynamic energy performance models, which were developed for the three schools in EnergyPlus, were used to simulate the impact of implementing the retrofit measures. It was shown that implementing this approach could predict much better the impacts of the retrofit process with an average gap of around 17% for heating savings and 21% for electricity savings. Based on the post-retrofit process evaluation in the three schools, it was concluded that using dynamic model simulations has the potential of lowering the performance gap between the promised and real savings when compared to static tabulated approaches, although the savings are still generally over-estimated in both approaches.

Download Full-text

A Case Study on the Verification of Passive Office Energy Performance Comparing Actual Energy Consumption to Simulation Result

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.361-363.427 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 361-363 ◽

pp. 427-430 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Young Sun Ko ◽

Sang Tae No

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Office Building ◽

Simulation Accuracy ◽

Existing Building ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Insulation Thickness ◽

Actual Energy Consumption ◽

Heating And Cooling Load

The objective of this study is to verify energy performance of passive office building compared to existing building using computer simulation tool, EnergyPlus. S building was selected as a passive office building, which is the first passive office building in KOREA, and the building satisfy the passive house standard. The annual energy consumption data were compared to the heating and cooling load result of EnergyPlus, to verify simulation accuracy. The conditions of existing building were selected from Korean envelope standard and the categories of the conditions are the insulation thickness and glazing composition. As a result, the passive office showed 28% reduced energy consumption, compared to the existing building, with ordinary envelope under Korean building envelope standard.

Download Full-text