Recommended angle of a modular dynamic façade in hot-arid climate: daylighting and energy simulation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyedeh Samaneh Golzan ◽  
Mina Pouyanmehr ◽  
Hassan Sadeghi Naeini
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Arid Climate ◽  
Visual Comfort ◽  
Building Envelopes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Optimum Angle ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Hot Arid Climate

PurposeThe modular dynamic façade (MDF) concept could be an approach in a comfort-centric design through proper integration with energy-efficient buildings. This study focuses on obtaining and/or calculating an efficient angle of the MDF, which would lead to the optimum performance in daylight availability and energy consumption in a single south-faced official space located in the hot-arid climate of Yazd, Iran.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology consists of three fundamental parts: (1) based on previous related studies, a diamond-based dynamic skin façade was applied to a south-faced office building in a hot-arid climate; (2) the daylighting and energy performance of the model were simulated annually; and (3) the data obtained from the simulation were compared to reach the optimum angle of the MDF.FindingsThe results showed that when the angle of the MDF openings was set at 30°, it could decrease energy consumption by 41.32% annually, while daylight simulation pointed that the space experienced the minimum possible glare at this angle. Therefore, the angle of 30° was established as the optimum angle, which could be the basis for future investment in responsive building envelopes.Originality/valueThis angular study simultaneously assesses the daylight availability, visual comfort and energy consumption on a MDF in a hot-arid climate.

Influence of building and indoor environmental parameters on designing energy-efficient buildings

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen O. Eromobor ◽  
Dillip Kumar Das ◽  
Fidelis Emuze
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Width Ratio ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Window Width ◽  
University Buildings ◽  
Building Parameters

PurposeArguments for the design of sustainable university buildings have emerged in South Africa. Energy being a major determinant of the sustainability of buildings, the purpose of this study was to examine the influence of various building and indoor environmental parameters on the energy performance of university buildings in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative survey research method, administered within the context of university buildings in South Africa, was used. Data about 16 buildings from three universities were collected. Relevant, inferential statistical analyses were conducted to examine the relative influence of the building parameters on the energy consumed in the buildings. Also, regression models within building parameters were developed independently and in a combination that could be used to estimate energy consumption in the university buildings.FindingsFindings suggested that building and indoor environmental parameters of humidity, indoor temperature, volume, illumination, and window width ratio (WWR), in that order, influenced energy consumption significantly, and also, had direct empirical relationships.Practical implicationsOptimising the building and indoor environmental parameters in design will enhance energy-efficiency in university buildings in South Africa.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature in terms of understanding the order of influence of building parameters on energy consumption in university buildings in the temperate climatic zone of South Africa. It also established empirical models between building and indoor environmental parameters and energy consumption, both independently and in combination, that could assist in designing energy-efficient and sustainable university buildings.

scholarly journals Modeling and Simulation of a Building towards Energy Efficiency

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1063-1073
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Generation ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Roof Area ◽  
Tool Building

Residential buildings are the significant energy consumer of the India which is about 24% of the total energy consumption. Energy efficient buildings are the ideal solution to reduce energy consumption in the building sector. The energy efficient buildings can be achieved by incorporating passive features or renewable energy systems or both. The current work aims to perform a retrofitting analysis of an existing building into an energy efficient building. For performing the energy analysis REVIT 2017 tool is used. Using the REVIT 2017 tool building model is developed, building information are loaded and energy analyses are performed. The building is analyzed as two cases. The first case is to estimate energy performance of the existing building. The second case is to incorporate passive features and renewable energy system to the building and evaluate the energy performance. Existing building Energy Usage Intensity (EUI) was 193 kWh/m2 /year. When passive features (Insulation, additional window glazing and efficient air conditioning systems) alone incorporated to the building the building EUI is reduced to 138 kWh/m2 /year. Along with Passive features Photovoltaic modules with different efficiencies 16%, 18% and 20% are considered for renewable energy generation. The energy generation for the different PV modules for three different roof area (40%, 60% and 70% of total roof area) is evaluated. The energy usage intensity varies from 11.4 from -150 kWh/m2 /year for the combination of different efficiency of PV module and the different % of roof area covered. The negative sign indicates the energy generation after the required energy usage. The payback period for only incorporating passive features is 6.3 years and while incorporating PV system with passive features is 9 years.

Architecture as a strategy for reduced energy consumption? An in-depth analysis of residential practices’ influence on the energy performance of passive houses

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solvår Wågø ◽  
Thomas Berker
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Passive Houses ◽  
The One ◽  
Actual Energy Consumption

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss how architectural solutions may influence residential practice and energy consumption. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is part of a larger study based on qualitative investigations of six energy-efficient housing projects in Norway. Here, the authors examine one of these projects, Løvåshagen in Bergen, the first Norwegian passive house flat building. Based on a combination of 14 interviews with household members and energy consumption data for all flats, the authors show how residential practices influence energy consumption. In the discussion and conclusion, the authors focus on the role of the architecture in these practices. Findings – On the one hand, Løvåshagen reflects a mainstreaming approach to sustainable building, attracting a wide array of different occupants. On the other hand, the specific add-ons that are intended to make the buildings energy efficient require new definitions of comfort and new skills to achieve the promised energy savings. This combination can explain why Løvåshagen, after four years of occupation, has a large variation in actual energy consumption. Practical implications – In designing new energy-efficient housing, greater attention should be paid to the level of end-user control and adaptability, the level of system complexity, and the need for adequate information. An alternative to the mainstreaming approach would be to actively use architecture to influence residential practices towards reduced energy consumption. Originality/value – The use of qualitative methods to analyse quantitative energy data is original and provides promising opportunities to understand the significance of residential practices regarding actual energy consumption.

scholarly journals Energy and Economic Analysis of Tropical Building Envelope Material in Compliance with Thailand’s Building Energy Code

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pathomthat Chiradeja ◽  
Atthapol Ngaopitakkul
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Payback Period ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Building Energy Consumption ◽  
Building Envelopes ◽  
Envelope Material

The building envelope has a direct impact on the overall energy consumption of a building. Thus, an improvement in the building envelope using energy-efficient material can yield the desired energy performance. This study is based on the materials and compositions used in building envelopes in compliance with the building energy code of Thailand. The building under study is an educational building located in Bangkok, Thailand. Both the energy and the economic aspects of retrofitted building envelopes are discussed in this study. The energy performance was evaluated by calculating the thermal transfer value and whole building energy consumption using the building energy code (BEC) software. The simulation was done under the assumption that the building envelope in the case study building was retrofitted with different materials and compositions. The study determines the feasibility of retrofitting buildings using energy-efficient material by utilizing the discounted payback period and internal rate of return (IRR) as indicators. The results show that retrofitted building envelopes in every case can reduce the whole building energy consumption. In the best envelope configuration, energy consumption can decrease by 65%. In addition, the economic potential is also high, with an IRR value of approximately 15% and a payback period of 23 less than nine years. These finding indicate that a building envelope made with energy-efficient material can achieve good results for both energy performance and economic feasibility.

scholarly journals A Case Study in Actual Building Performance and Energy Modeling with Real Weather Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherag Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Behavior Modeling ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Monthly Basis ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Heating Degree Days

As part of this study, an issue has been identified with regards to there being a performance gap with energy efficient buildings. This has been validated through literature review in the areas of occupancy behavior, modeling accuracy and reviewing energy consumption of energy efficient buildings. In order to analyze the error generated between predicted and actual energy performance, a case study approach has been adopted. The Ron Joyce Centre is a LEED Gold Certified building that is part of the McMaster University campus in Burlington. Actual energy performance data has been collected along with detailed drawings to analyze its predicted energy performance using real weather data over a two-year period in eQUEST. The results indicate that eQuest is able to predict electrical consumption within 0.72% of actual on an annual basis. However, natural gas consumption is more erratic and inconsistent based on heating degree days and has fluctuating values with differences ranging between 21% to 4.5% on monthly basis. The overall predicted energy consumption for 2012 is 1096133 kWh and 33227 m

scholarly journals A Case Study in Actual Building Performance and Energy Modeling with Real Weather Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherag Mehta
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Behavior Modeling ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Monthly Basis ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Heating Degree Days

As part of this study, an issue has been identified with regards to there being a performance gap with energy efficient buildings. This has been validated through literature review in the areas of occupancy behavior, modeling accuracy and reviewing energy consumption of energy efficient buildings. In order to analyze the error generated between predicted and actual energy performance, a case study approach has been adopted. The Ron Joyce Centre is a LEED Gold Certified building that is part of the McMaster University campus in Burlington. Actual energy performance data has been collected along with detailed drawings to analyze its predicted energy performance using real weather data over a two-year period in eQUEST. The results indicate that eQuest is able to predict electrical consumption within 0.72% of actual on an annual basis. However, natural gas consumption is more erratic and inconsistent based on heating degree days and has fluctuating values with differences ranging between 21% to 4.5% on monthly basis. The overall predicted energy consumption for 2012 is 1096133 kWh and 33227 m

scholarly journals Skills required to deliver energy efficient school retrofit buildings

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (10) ◽  
pp. 3051-3073
Author(s):  
Whitney Bevan ◽  
Shu-Ling Lu ◽  
Martin Sexton
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Building Project

PurposeThe prevailing literature argues the need for “new” skills to deliver energy-efficient buildings. The concept of new skills, however, has not been subject to empirical investigation. This paper aims to provide insight on the required new skills, and their development and application, for the successful delivery of energy-efficient school retrofit buildings.Design/methodology/approachThe research employed a case study approach of a school retrofit building project in the early stages of the adoption of energy-efficient measures. Through the application of the socio-technical network approach (STNA) as the data collection and analysis framework, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations and a review of relevant organisational documentation and were analysed using thematic coding.FindingsThe findings reveal key actors (i.e. the local authority, energy contractors and school end-users), their principal interests and the required communication, project management, energy management, technical and research skills during their interactions in the successful delivery of the school retrofit building project. The results further reinforce the crucial role of the local authority in driving energy performance improvement of school buildings.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates empirical evidence of the principal actors and skills required for the delivery of energy-efficient school retrofit buildings, contributes to new theoretical insights at the identification of key micro-level development of construction skills through the project network and evidences on how the STNA can be mobilised in construction skills research.

scholarly journals BIM and BEM Methodologies Integration in Energy-Efficient Buildings Using Experimental Design

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 491
Author(s):  
Jorge González ◽  
Carlos Alberto Pereira Soares ◽  
Mohammad Najjar ◽  
Assed N. Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Design ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Climatic Zones ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Energy Modelling ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Energetic Performance

Linking Building Information Modelling and Building Energy Modelling methodologies appear as a tool for the energy performance analysis of a dwelling, being able to build the physical model via Autodesk Revit and simulating the energy modeling with its complement Autodesk Insight. A residential two-story house was evaluated in five different locations within distinct climatic zones to reduce its electricity demand. Experimental Design is used as a methodological tool to define the possible arrangement of results emitted via Autodesk Insight that exhibits the minor electric demand, considering three variables: Lighting efficiency, Plug-Load Efficiency, and HVAC systems. The analysis concluded that while the higher the efficiency of lighting and applications, the lower the electric demand. In addition, the type of climate and thermal characteristics of the materials that conform to the building envelope have significant effects on the energetic performance. The adjustment of different energetic measures and its comparison with other climatic zones enable decision-makers to choose the best combination of variables for developing strategies to lower the electric demand towards energy-efficient buildings.

scholarly journals Understanding the Reasons behind the Energy Performance Gap of an Energy-Efficient Building, through a Probabilistic Approach and On-Site Measurements

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (19) ◽  
pp. 6178
Author(s):  
Pierryves Padey ◽  
Kyriaki Goulouti ◽  
Guy Wagner ◽  
Blaise Périsset ◽  
Sébastien Lasvaux
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Probabilistic Approach ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Performance Gap ◽  
Post Evaluation ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Energy Efficient Building

The performance gap, defined as the difference between the measured and the calculated performance of energy-efficient buildings, has long been identified as a major issue in the building domain. The present study aims to better understand the performance gap in high-energy performance buildings in Switzerland, in an ex-post evaluation. For an energy-efficient building, the measured heating demand, collected through a four-year measurement campaign was compared to the calculated one and the results showed that the latter underestimates the real heating demand by a factor of two. As a way to reduce the performance gap, a probabilistic framework was proposed so that the different uncertainties of the model could be considered. By comparing the mean of the probabilistic heating demand to the measured one, it was shown that the performance gap was between 20–30% for the examined period. Through a sensitivity analysis, the active air flow and the shading factor were identified as the most influential parameters on the uncertainty of the heating demand, meaning that their wrong adjustment, in reality, or in the simulations, would increase the performance gap.

scholarly journals The Performance Gap in Energy-Efficient Office Buildings: How the Occupants Can Help?

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qadeer Ali ◽  
Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem ◽  
Fahim Ullah ◽  
Samad M. E. Sepasgozar
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Office Buildings ◽  
Occupant Behavior ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Performance Gap ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings

Rising demand and limited production of electricity are instrumental in spreading the awareness of cautious energy use, leading to the global demand for energy-efficient buildings. This compels the construction industry to smartly design and effectively construct these buildings to ensure energy performance as per design expectations. However, the research tells a different tale: energy-efficient buildings have performance issues. Among several reasons behind the energy performance gap, occupant behavior is critical. The occupant behavior is dynamic and changes over time under formal and informal influences, but the traditional energy simulation programs assume it as static throughout the occupancy. Effective behavioral interventions can lead to optimized energy use. To find out the energy-saving potential based on simulated modified behavior, this study gathers primary building and occupant data from three energy-efficient office buildings in major cities of Pakistan and categorizes the occupants into high, medium, and low energy consumers. Additionally, agent-based modeling simulates the change in occupant behavior under the direct and indirect interventions over a three-year period. Finally, energy savings are quantified to highlight a 25.4% potential over the simulation period. This is a unique attempt at quantifying the potential impact on energy usage due to behavior modification which will help facility managers to plan and execute necessary interventions and software experts to develop effective tools to model the dynamic usage behavior. This will also help policymakers in devising subtle but effective behavior training strategies to reduce energy usage. Such behavioral retrofitting comes at a much lower cost than the physical or technological retrofit options to achieve the same purpose and this study establishes the foundation for it.

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