scholarly journals Lessons Learned from the First Passivhaus Building in Qatar

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
May Khalfan
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Comfort Levels ◽  
New Public ◽  
The Standard Model ◽  
Operational Energy ◽  
High Standards ◽  
New Buildings

Energy efficient models have become the path to reduce energy consumption and Greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment in many developed countries. According to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), new buildings constructed within the European Union (EU) countries are expected to be nearly zero energy buildings (nZEBs) by 2020, while new public buildings are expected to adhere to this target by 2018. The Passivhaus approach has been identified by several researchers as a possible roadmap to achieve nZEBs. The meticulous engineering and high standards of the Passivhaus building fabric, in addition to the high comfort levels, are the main reasons behind the success and widespread of the standard. Recently, in 2013 the Passivhaus principles have been applied to an experimental residential project in the hot and arid climate of Qatar. The project is composed of two identical buildings, one built according to the Passivhaus standard and the other according to normal practices in the country. The thermal performance and comfort levels of both buildings were assessed through dynamic simulation and on-site measurements. Results indicated that at least 50% reduction in annual operational energy, water consumption, and CO2 emissions were achieved in the Passivhaus model in comparison to the standard model. This paper aims to highlight the lessons learned through the Passivhaus project; first by exhibiting the Passivhaus criteria that have been met, second by showcasing the outcomes of the project, and third by displaying the barriers and difficulties that have been associated with building according to the standard in Qatar. Finally, recommendations and general guidelines are suggested towards a possible adoption of the Passivhaus standard in Qatar and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries

The Evaluation of Non-Renewable Primary Energy as Part of Energy Performance Certificates

2014 ◽  
Vol 1041 ◽  
pp. 222-225
Author(s):  
Michal Kraus ◽  
Kateřina Kubenková ◽  
Darja Kubečková
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Czech Republic ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Buildings

The evaluation of non-renewable primary energy expressing the impact of the environment is part of the energy performance certificate. The evaluation is based on factors of primary energy. New buildings or larger modifications of existing buildings must meet the legislative requirements in the Czech Republic, which are consistent with the requirements of the European Union. On the basis of modeling of different energy sources and different number of energy sources for the selected building are set values of non-renewable primary energy.

TECHNICAL-ECONOMIC RESEARCH FOR PASSIVE BUILDINGS FOUNDATION

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruta Miniotaite
Keyword(s):  
Concrete Slab ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Passive House ◽  
New Public ◽  
Multiple Criteria Evaluation ◽  
Slab Foundation ◽  
New Buildings ◽  
Structural Solutions

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) per the 2010 directive of the European Parliament requires all new public buildings to become near-zero energy buildings by 2019 and will be extended to all new buildings by 2021. A passive house is something more than just an energy-saving house. This concept involves sustainable, high-quality, valuable, healthy and durable construction. Foundation is one of the most essential elements of a house. The type of foundation for a private house is selected considering many factors. The article examines technological and structural solutions for passive buildings foundation. The technical-economic comparison of the main structures of a passive house revealed that it is cheaper to install an adequately designed concrete slab foundation than to build strip or pile foundation and the floor separately. The comparison of the main envelope elements efficiency by multiple-criteria evaluation methods showed that it is economically feasible to install concrete slab on ground foundation.

The European Union regulation concerning the energy consumption of buildings — an ecological point of view

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-116
Author(s):  
O. Bányai
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Council Directive ◽  
Final Energy Consumption ◽  
The Right ◽  
New Buildings ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Taking into consideration that more than 40% of the final energy consumption of the EU stems from the residential and commercial building sector, it is not surprising that the community-level regulation strongly focuses on these sectors (Eurostat, 2011). In respect to buildings’ energy performance, the European Parliament and the Council Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings requires from Member States (hereinafter: MS) to ensure that, by 31 December 2020, all new buildings are to be nearly ‘zero-energy’ buildings. Furthermore, MSs shall ensure that energy performance certificates are to be issued for buildings constructed, sold or rented out to a new tenant. Although the concerning regulation is being developed in the right way, several corrections are still required from an ecological point of view.

scholarly journals Improving competences of engineers and workers in the AEC industry for delivering NZEBs

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 2256-2274
Author(s):  
Sanjin Gumbarević ◽  
Bojan Milovanović ◽  
Marina Bagarić ◽  
Mergim Gaši ◽  
Ivana Burcar Dunović
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Integrated Design ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Energy Retrofit ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Integrated Design Process ◽  
Building Life Cycle ◽  
New Buildings

AbstractThe energy performance of buildings directive requires from the European Union Member States to ensure that by 31 December 2020 all new buildings are nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) and after 31 December 2018, new buildings occupied/owned by the public authorities should also have the NZEB performance. The large-scale deployment of NZEBs represents a challenge for all the stakeholders involved in the construction sector, where the lack of adequate competences is identified as one of the main obstacles. This article aims to provide a solution to overcome the deficient competences related to NZEB to increase them by using roadmaps derived from Horizon projects – Fit-to-NZEB and Net-UBIEP. Fit-to-NZEB aims to increase the knowledge of architecture, engineering and construction engineers and workers in deep energy retrofit through the education in European qualifications framework levels 3–7, while Net-UBIEP seeks to develop the schemes for using building information modelling (BIM) throughout the whole building life cycle to increase energy performance. The results from both projects show that it is inevitable to act soon to make the energy efficiency targets possible to fulfil. The integrated design process and strengthen control on the construction site should be carried out perfectly as they are the most critical parts in delivering NZEBs and all this managed by BIM to minimise information loss and to improve the design of details. To achieve this, professional competences of all the stakeholders in delivering NZEBs must be improved which could be done by implementing the knowledge from these projects.

scholarly journals Energy Performance Assessment of Innovative Building Solutions Coming from Construction and Demolition Waste Materials

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1226
Author(s):  
Beatriz Fraga-De Cal ◽  
Antonio Garrido-Marijuan ◽  
Olaia Eguiarte ◽  
Beñat Arregi ◽  
Ander Romero-Amorrortu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Flow Analysis ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Construction And Demolition Waste ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
The Impact

Prefabricated solutions incorporating thermal insulation are increasingly adopted as an energy conservation measure for building renovation. The InnoWEE European project developed three technologies from Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) materials through a manufacturing process that supports the circular economy strategy of the European Union. Two of them consisted of geopolymer panels incorporated into an External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) and a ventilated façade. This study evaluates their thermal performance by means of monitoring data from three pilot case studies in Greece, Italy, and Romania, and calibrated building simulation models enabling the reliable prediction of energy savings in different climates and use scenarios. Results showed a reduction in energy demand for all demo buildings, with annual energy savings up to 25% after placing the novel insulation solutions. However, savings are highly dependent on weather conditions since the panels affect cooling and heating loads differently. Finally, a parametric assessment is performed to assess the impact of insulation thickness through an energy performance prediction and a cash flow analysis.

scholarly journals Decision-Making Processes in Controlling Exposure to Sunlight Supported by Simulation Tools: A Case Study in Warm Weather

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4100
Author(s):  
Mariana Huskinson ◽  
Antonio Galiano-Garrigós ◽  
Ángel Benigno González-Avilés ◽  
M. Isabel Pérez-Millán
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Simulation Tools ◽  
Building Information ◽  
The Impact

Improving the energy performance of existing buildings is one of the main strategies defined by the European Union to reduce global energy costs. Amongst the actions to be carried out in buildings to achieve this objective is working with passive measures adapted to each type of climate. To assist designers in the process of finding appropriate solutions for each building and location, different tools have been developed and since the implementation of building information modeling (BIM), it has been possible to perform an analysis of a building’s life cycle from an energy perspective and other types of analysis such as a comfort analysis. In the case of Spain, the first BIM environment tool has been implemented that deals with the global analysis of a building’s behavior and serves as an alternative to previous methods characterized by their lack of both flexibility and information offered to designers. This paper evaluates and compares the official Spanish energy performance evaluation tool (Cypetherm) released in 2018 using a case study involving the installation of sunlight control devices as part of a building refurbishment. It is intended to determine how databases and simplifications affect the designer’s decision-making. Additionally, the yielded energy results are complemented by a comfort analysis to explore the impact of these improvements from a users’ wellbeing viewpoint. At the end of the process the yielded results still confirm that the simulation remains far from reality and that simulation tools can indeed influence the decision-making process.

scholarly journals Energy Rating of Buildings to Promote Energy-Conscious Design in Israel

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Abraham Yezioro ◽  
Isaac Guedi Capeluto
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Architectural Design ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Green Building ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Design Decision ◽  
Rating Systems ◽  
New Buildings

Improving the energy efficiency of existing and new buildings is an important step towards achieving more sustainable environments. There are various methods for grading buildings that are required according to regulations in different places for green building certification. However, in new buildings, these rating systems are usually implemented at late design stages due to their complexity and lack of integration in the architectural design process, thus limiting the available options for improving their performance. In this paper, the model ENERGYui used for design and rating buildings in Israel is presented. One of its main advantages is that it can be used at any design stage, including the early ones. It requires information that is available at each stage only, as the additional necessary information is supplemented by the model. In this way, architects can design buildings in a way where they are aware of each design decision and its impact on their energy performance, while testing different design directions. ENERGYui rates the energy performance of each basic unit, as well as the entire building. The use of the model is demonstrated in two different scenarios: an office building in which basic architectural features such as form and orientation are tested from the very beginning, and a residential building in which the intervention focuses on its envelope, highlighting the possibilities of improving their design during the whole design process.

Real world heart failure epidemiology and outcome: a population-based analysis of 1,990,162 heart failure patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P Leszek ◽  
M Zaleska-Kociecka ◽  
D Was ◽  
K Witczak ◽  
K Bartolik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Real World ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Funding Source ◽  
Newly Diagnosed ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Ministry Of Health ◽  
The Real ◽  
Incidence Prevalence

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of death and hospitalization in developed countries. Most of the information about HF is based on selected cohorts, the real epidemiology of HF is scarce. Purpose To assess trends in the real world incidence, prevalence and mortality of all in-and outpatients with HF who presented in public health system in 2009–2018 in Poland. Methods It is a retrospective analysis of 1,990,162 patients who presented with HF in Poland in years 2009–2018. It is a part of nationwide Polish Ministry of Health registry that collects detailed information for the entire Polish population (38,495,659 in 2013) since 2009. Detailed data within the registry were collected since 2013. HF was recorded if HF diagnosis was coded (ICD-10). Results The incidence of HF in Poland fell down from 2013 to reach 127,036 newly diagnosed cases (330 per 100,000 population) in 2018 that equals to 43.6% drop. This decrease was mainly driven by marked reduction in females (p<0.001; Fig. 1A) and HF of ischaemic etiology (HF-IE vs HF-nonIE, Fig. 1B. p<0.001). The HF incidence per 100,000 population decreased across all age groups with the greatest drop in the youngest (Table 1). The prevalence rose by 11.6% to reach 1,242,129 (3233 per 100,000 population) in 2018 with significantly greater increase in females and HF-IE (both p<0.0001, Fig. 1C and D, respectively). The HF prevalence per 100,000 population increased across all age groups except for the 70–79 years old. (Table 1). Mortality increased by 28.5% to reach 142,379 cases (370 per 100,000 population) in 2018. The rise was more pronounced among females (p=0.015, Fig. 1E) and in HF-IE (p<0.001, Fig. 1F). The HF mortality per 100 000 population increased across all age groups, except for the 50–59 subgroup (Table 1). Conclusions Heart failure incidence plummeted in years 2013–2018 in Poland due to drop in newly diagnosed HF-IE. Despite that fact, the prevalence and mortality increased with rising trends in HF-IE. Figure 1. Incidence, prevalence, mortality trends Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development and it is being carried out by the Analyses and Strategies Department of the Polish Ministry of Health

scholarly journals UNDERSTANDING THE EMBEDDED CARBON CHALLENGES OF BUILDING SERVICE SYSTEMS

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 3279-3288
Author(s):  
Maria Hein ◽  
Darren Anthony Jones ◽  
Claudia Margot Eckert
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Cooling System ◽  
Current System ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Service Systems ◽  
Carbon Footprints ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Operational Energy

AbstractEnergy consumed in buildings is a main contributor to CO2 emissions, there is therefore a need to improve the energy performance of buildings, particularly commercial buildings whereby building service systems are often substantially over-designed due to the application of excess margins during the design process.The cooling system of an NHS Hospital was studied and modelled in order to identify if the system was overdesigned, and to quantify the oversizing impact on the system operational and embodied carbon footprints. Looking at the operational energy use and environmental performance of the current system as well as an alternative optimised system through appropriate modelling and calculation, the case study results indicate significant environmental impacts are caused by the oversizing of cooling system.The study also established that it is currently more difficult to obtain an estimate of the embodied carbon footprint of building service systems. It is therefore the responsibility of the machine builders to provide information and data relating to the embodied carbon of their products, which in the longer term, this is likely to become a standard industry requirement.

Net zero carbon: Energy performance targets for offices

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-369
Author(s):  
Robert Cohen ◽  
Karl Desai ◽  
Jennifer Elias ◽  
Richard Twinn
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Minimum Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Net Zero ◽  
Extensive Consultation ◽  
Operational Energy ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
The Uk

The UKGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework was published in April 2019 following an industry task group and extensive consultation process. The framework acts as guidance for achieving net zero carbon for operational energy and construction emissions, with a whole life carbon approach to be developed in the future. In consultation with industry, further detail and stricter requirements are being developed over time. In October 2019, proposals were set out for industry consultation on minimum energy efficiency targets for new and existing commercial office buildings seeking to achieve net zero carbon status for operational energy today, based on the performance levels that all buildings will be required to achieve by 2050. This was complemented by modelling work undertaken by the LETI network looking into net zero carbon requirements for new buildings. In January 2020 UKGBC published its guidance on the levels of energy performance that offices should target to achieve net zero and a trajectory for getting there by 2035. This paper describes the methodology behind and industry perspectives on UKGBC’s proposals which aim to predict the reduction in building energy intensity required if the UK’s economy is to be fully-powered by zero carbon energy in 2050. Practical application: Many developers and investors seeking to procure new commercial offices or undertake major refurbishments of existing offices are engaging with the ‘net zero carbon’ agenda, now intrinsic to the legislative framework for economic activity in the UK. A UKGBC initiative effectively filled a vacuum by defining a set of requirements including energy efficiency thresholds for commercial offices in the UK to be considered ‘net zero carbon’. This paper provides all stakeholders with a detailed justification for the level of these thresholds and what might be done to achieve them. A worked example details one possible solution for a new office.

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