Energy efficiency and sustainable design

Heritage ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Khalil ◽  
Naglaa Hammouda ◽  
Khaled El-Deeb

Sustainable design is believed to stand on the opposite side of heritage conservation. This view is supported by the fact that sustainable design requires invasive measures to implement new technologies and treatments that challenge the principle of minimum intervention in heritage conservation. Another point of view sees heritage conservation as an already act of sustainable development that protects and preserves social and cultural resources such as heritage buildings and their intangible values. On the other hand, research and practice have proven that heritage buildings can be the subjects of sustainable design projects that achieve outstanding measures of sustainability and energy efficiency while not compromising the authenticity of the heritage value of the building. This sustainable conservation reaches its peak in adaptive-reuse projects of heritage buildings as reusing the building guarantees its ongoing maintenance and promotes its social, cultural and economic values to society, while giving it the ability to withstand modern users’ comfort and energy efficiency standards. This research presents a case study of the adaptive-reuse project of Villa Antoniadis in Alexandria; a heritage building built in the mid-nineteenth century and in the process of a major adaptive-reuse project. The history and significance of the building will be studied as well as the conservation values of the current project, then some proposals for interventions that could achieve more energy efficiency for the project while conserving the building are discussed. The research included a simulation of the building, using building energy modelling software for the current adaptive-reuse project as a base case, and the hypothetical application of different proposed sustainable interventions such as thermal insulation, double glazing, shading, lighting control, natural ventilation, and photovoltaic energy generation, where the energy savings potentials for each proposed intervention were studied. The simulation proved a possible reduction of 36.5% in the cooling, heating and lighting energy consumption as well as generated 74.7% of the energy required for cooling, heating and lighting from renewable energy sources.


2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 167-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Mansoury ◽  
H. R. Tabatabaiefar

Abstract This study investigates the effectiveness of different energy retrofitting techniques and examines the impact of employing those methods on energy consumption of existing residential buildings. Based on the research findings, the most effective and practical method of retrofitting has been proposed in order to improve energy efficiency of existing buildings. In order to achieve this goal, an existing residential building has been simulated in FirstRate 5 software so as to determine the existing thermal performance of the building. Afterwards, considering sustainable design principles, different insulation layers, glazing, and construction materials have been employed to conduct a comprehensive thermal performance study. Based on the research outcomes, the best technique for increasing energy efficiency of existing buildings and reducing their environmental impact and footprint has been identified and proposed for practical purposes.


Achieving Energy Efficiency in Office Buildings plays a key role in reducing the Environmental Impact of Buildings to a larger extent. The Users in the workplace are often affected by the improper design of HVAC systems. In most of the office buildings the Indoor Environmental conditions were not designed, controlled and maintained which in turn increases the Energy cost of the buildings. Sustainable Design of HVAC Systems includes all the mechanical equipments that efficiently controls, monitors and supplies the Indoor Air. The objective of this paper is to (i) Do a comparative study and analyses the various building Envelope in office buildings for reducing the Energy Cost in designing HVAC systems in Office buildings using Ecotect Modelling.(ii) To compare the Energy cost of Water Cooled Screw Chillers and VRF Systems. The above experimentation was held in ELCOT S office building in salem. The findings of this paper revealed that usage of Porotherm wall construction along with VRF SYSTEMS in office buildings found to be effective in achieving sustainable HVAC design.


2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas F. Bersson ◽  
Thomas Mazzuchi ◽  
Shahram Sarkani

Building owners, designers and constructors are seeing a rapid increase in the number of sustainably designed high performance buildings. These buildings provide numerous benefits to the owners and occupants to include improved indoor air quality, energy efficiency, and environmental site standards; and ultimately enhance productivity for the building occupants. As the demand increases for higher building energy efficiency and environmental standards, application of a set of process models will support consistency and optimization during the design process. Systems engineering process models have proven effective in taking an integrated and comprehensive view of a system while allowing for clear stakeholder engagement, requirements definition, life cycle analysis, technology insertion, validation and verification. This paper overlays systems engineering on the sustainable design process by providing a framework for application of the Waterfall, Vee, and Spiral process models to high performance buildings. Each process model is mapped to the sustainable design process and is evaluated for its applicability to projects and building types. Adaptations of the models are provided as Green Building Process Models.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-20
Author(s):  
Enes Örnek

In the historical process, human being, who has been in constant relationship with the environment that he lived in, has shaped and changed nature according to his own wishes since the day he was there. This form of development was firstly introduced in the form of protection and struggle, and later became permanent and organic by discovering the need for accommodation. Nowadays, the demand for sustainable design, products and services is growing, and the awareness of the importance of energy and fuel savings is increasing. Vernacular structures are constructed with the most suitable materials and components depending on the climatic characteristics they are in. Space organization and orientations are still depending on climate and land conditions have been created in the right way. In this paper, Vernacular Safranbolu Houses were examined in terms of sustainability, and energy efficiency properties were investigated. The layout of the houses, the planning features, the materials used in the houses and the materials resources in the region were examined. Considering the Safranbolu houses within the framework of sustainability, it can be said that these houses provide sustainability conditions in terms of planning and environment. Most of the houses have passive architectural planning features and applications that can be an example of sustainable architecture of sustainable life. The characteristics of these houses can be used in today's buildings.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamaraukuro Amasuomo

<p><b>This thesis investigates Nigerian architects’ and building owners’ perceptions of Environmentally Sustainable Design Methods (ESD) to identify barriers preventing ESD adoption for providing thermal comfort and energy efficiency in Nigerian residential buildings. Most of the surveyed architects and building owners agree on the problem of thermal discomfort in Nigerian residential dwellings. However, the results show that architects and building owners opt for non-sustainable methods for addressing this problem. This study aims to understand why architects and building owners are choosing non-sustainable methods. To achieve this aim, the study investigates barriers preventing the widespread adoption of ESD in Nigeria to understand why ESD is not generally adopted as a preferred solution for addressing the problem of thermal discomfort.</b></p> <p>The thesis reports on a three-stage evaluation of current barriers to environmentally sustainable design methods in four Nigeria states (Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Bayelsa) and concludes by providing basic ways through which ESD could be adopted for ensuring thermal comfort and energy efficiency. A mixed-method research approach was utilised due to its robustness in addressing the research objectives. Stage 1 involved the distribution and analysis of questionnaires from 130 architects; stage 2 undertook semi-structured interviews with 21 architects; stage 3 undertook the distribution of questionnaires to 142 building owners and a visual physical examination of their respective buildings. The results showed that the barriers preventing the adoption of ESD in Nigeria include: a lack of technological development, cost of building construction and operation, public perception, poor governance, and most importantly, a lack of knowledge on the means of adopting ESD. The results from the interview with architects on the main obstacles to ESD showed that a lack of knowledge had the highest citing of 85%, poor governance a citing of 66%, economic factors 57%, and social factors 52%, respectively. These figures were similar to the results from the building owner’s survey.</p> <p>Given the lack of knowledge on adopting ESD, the thesis provides an explicit but straightforward set of ESD strategies that would add to the existing body of knowledge on ESD, resolve the lack of knowledge, and make ESD easily applicable. It is recommended that the Nigerian government and related institutions set a clear strategy for educating the public on the benefits and means of adopting a pro-sustainable culture. This strategy would include highlighting the importance of environmental protection and ESD, the possible environmental and health implications of environmental degradation, and the long-term economic benefits of sustainable design. Such a strategy should include a structured system of information dissemination through formal and informal mediums such as public campaigns and social media to reach a wide-ranging audience. The research findings identify the range of possible barriers preventing the attainment of a sustainable environment in Nigeria and other countries with similar issues. They also form the basis for an action plan.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamaraukuro Amasuomo

<p><b>This thesis investigates Nigerian architects’ and building owners’ perceptions of Environmentally Sustainable Design Methods (ESD) to identify barriers preventing ESD adoption for providing thermal comfort and energy efficiency in Nigerian residential buildings. Most of the surveyed architects and building owners agree on the problem of thermal discomfort in Nigerian residential dwellings. However, the results show that architects and building owners opt for non-sustainable methods for addressing this problem. This study aims to understand why architects and building owners are choosing non-sustainable methods. To achieve this aim, the study investigates barriers preventing the widespread adoption of ESD in Nigeria to understand why ESD is not generally adopted as a preferred solution for addressing the problem of thermal discomfort.</b></p> <p>The thesis reports on a three-stage evaluation of current barriers to environmentally sustainable design methods in four Nigeria states (Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Bayelsa) and concludes by providing basic ways through which ESD could be adopted for ensuring thermal comfort and energy efficiency. A mixed-method research approach was utilised due to its robustness in addressing the research objectives. Stage 1 involved the distribution and analysis of questionnaires from 130 architects; stage 2 undertook semi-structured interviews with 21 architects; stage 3 undertook the distribution of questionnaires to 142 building owners and a visual physical examination of their respective buildings. The results showed that the barriers preventing the adoption of ESD in Nigeria include: a lack of technological development, cost of building construction and operation, public perception, poor governance, and most importantly, a lack of knowledge on the means of adopting ESD. The results from the interview with architects on the main obstacles to ESD showed that a lack of knowledge had the highest citing of 85%, poor governance a citing of 66%, economic factors 57%, and social factors 52%, respectively. These figures were similar to the results from the building owner’s survey.</p> <p>Given the lack of knowledge on adopting ESD, the thesis provides an explicit but straightforward set of ESD strategies that would add to the existing body of knowledge on ESD, resolve the lack of knowledge, and make ESD easily applicable. It is recommended that the Nigerian government and related institutions set a clear strategy for educating the public on the benefits and means of adopting a pro-sustainable culture. This strategy would include highlighting the importance of environmental protection and ESD, the possible environmental and health implications of environmental degradation, and the long-term economic benefits of sustainable design. Such a strategy should include a structured system of information dissemination through formal and informal mediums such as public campaigns and social media to reach a wide-ranging audience. The research findings identify the range of possible barriers preventing the attainment of a sustainable environment in Nigeria and other countries with similar issues. They also form the basis for an action plan.</p>


2011 ◽  
Vol 71-78 ◽  
pp. 621-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhan Tang Miao ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Jia Liang Wang

Adaptive Building Envelope was discussed in recent years and became a possible solution for energy efficiency. We conducted a study of kinetic building envelopes for energy efficiency in the context of an interdisciplinary design & modeling course in 2010 Fall. The goals of these experimental design & modeling projects are to explore the possibilities of motion modes, the integration with whole envelopes and the potentials of applications, and to provide insight into sustainable design. This paper provides an experimental account of kinetic logics and products, and summarizes kinetic motion patterns and potential applications.


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