scholarly journals Energy and thermal modeling of building façade integrated photovoltaics

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (Suppl. 3) ◽  
pp. 921-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos Ordoumpozanis ◽  
Theodoros Theodosiou ◽  
Dimitrios Bouris ◽  
Katerina Tsikaloudaki
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Finite Volume Model ◽  
Volume Model ◽  
Urban Buildings ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Integrated Performance

Electricity generation on site is a design challenge aiming at supporting the concept of energy-autonomous building. Many projects worldwide have promoted the installation of photovoltaic panels on urban buildings, aiming at utilizing a large area to produce electricity. In most cases, photovoltaics are considered strictly as electricity generators, neglecting their effect to the efficiency and to the thermal behaviour of the building envelope. The integrated performance of photovoltaic ventilated fa?ades, where the photovoltaics are regarded as part of a complicated envelope system, provides design challenges and problems that cannot be overlooked within the framework of the Nearly Zero Energy Building concept. In this study, a finite volume model for photovoltaic ventilated fa?ades is developed, experimentally validated and found to have a significant convergence to measured data.

Villa Castelli - Transformation of Historical Building into Nearly Zero Energy Building

2019 ◽  
Vol 887 ◽  
pp. 148-155
Author(s):  
Paola Penna ◽  
Oscar Stuffer ◽  
Alexandra Troi ◽  
Valentina Carí
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Uniform Structure ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Historical Building ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Heritage Building

What Americas Cup and a heritage building have in common? They both aim at innovative technologies and cutting-edge solutions. The owner of the project, an ex-crew member of the most famous sailing match race in the world, pushed the planning team to develop extraordinary solutions for his house. The house, Villa Castelli, is an historical listed building located on the Como lake. During its history, it has been transformed many times, giving as results a non-uniform structure composed by different construction technologies. The aims of the owner were: an overall refurbishment particularly focused on energy efficiency, the exploitation of renewable energy sources based on-site production and a fixed budget. To reach these goals, the energy needs have been reduced improving the performance of the thermal envelope. Then, the building's technical systems have been re-developed in order to exploit as much as possible available renewable energy sources. From the very beginning, it was clear that, for finding optimal solutions, a multidisciplinary approach was necessary. The design approach should be the result of a shared approach integrating different fields, such as creative design, technology, knowledge of material properties, building physics. The great synergy among building envelope retrofitting, innovative technological solutions and the deployment of renewable energy sources allows the transformation of this historical listed building into an outstanding example of a nearly zero energy building (nZEB).

scholarly journals From Nearly Zero Energy to Carbon-Neutral: Case Study of a Hospitality Building

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 10148
Author(s):  
Francesco Causone ◽  
Anita Tatti ◽  
Andrea Alongi
Keyword(s):  
Operational Definition ◽  
Explicit Calculation ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Carbon Neutrality ◽  
Urban Buildings ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Carbon Neutral ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The City

In recent years, many cities around the world have pledged to upgrade their building stocks to carbon-neutral. However, the literature does not yet provide a shared definition of carbon-neutral building (CNB), and the assessment objectives and methodological approaches are vague and fragmented. Starting from the available standards and scientific literature on life cycle assessment (LCA), this paper advances an operational definition for CNB on the basis of an explicit calculation approach. It then applies the definition to an urban case study, comparing it against a state-of-the-art nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) scenario, with the intent of highlighting the major practical limitations connected to the application of a methodologically sound carbon neutrality calculation. The case study shows that carbon neutral objectives can hardly be achieved by single urban buildings because of the lack of spaces that can provide onsite carbon offsetting actions. Carbon neutrality may be better approached at the city, regional, or national scales, where overarching policies may be defined.

scholarly journals An Innovative Trombe Wall for Winter Use: The Thermo-Diode Trombe Wall

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerzy Szyszka ◽  
Piero Bevilacqua ◽  
Roberto Bruno
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Cold Climates ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Viable Option ◽  
Building Envelopes ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Trombe Wall

The use of passive solutions for building envelopes represents an important step toward the achievement of more efficient and zero-energy building targets. Trombe walls are an interesting and viable option for the reduction of building energy requirements for heating, especially in cold climates. This study presents the experimental analysis of an innovative Trombe wall configuration, named a thermo-diode Trombe wall, which was specifically designed to improve the energy efficiency by providing a proper level of insulation for the building envelope. Such a design is essential in cold climates to limit the thermal losses whilst increasing solar heat gains to the heated spaces. An experimental campaign was conducted from December to March that involved monitoring the external climatic conditions and the main thermal parameters to assess the thermal performance of the proposed solution. The results demonstrated that in the presence of solar radiation, the thermo-diode Trombe wall was able to generate significant natural convection inside the air cavity, with temperatures higher than 35 °C in the upper section, by providing consistent heat gains for the indoor environment, even on cold days and for hours after the end of the daylight. The efficiency, relative to the incident solar radiation, reached 15.3% during a well-insolated winter day.

Double plus-zero energy historic building and improvement of hygrothermal conditions for the Palaeontology Museum of Naples

2020 ◽  
pp. 174425912092301
Author(s):  
Diana D’Agostino ◽  
Filippo de’ Rossi ◽  
Concetta Marino ◽  
Francesco Minichiello ◽  
Francesco Russo
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Photovoltaic System ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Air Conditioning System ◽  
Current Configuration ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Energy Simulations

The theme of the energy requalification of historic buildings is addressed considering the Palaeontology Museum of Naples (Southern Italy). It is assessed whether, through non-invasive methods and without intervening on the building envelope, it is possible to obtain internal hygrothermal parameters suitable to allow both occupants’ thermal comfort and satisfactory conservation conditions for the archaeological finds. In addition, a relevant reduction of energy requirements and CO2 equivalent emissions is required. Dynamic energy simulations are conducted regarding both the current configuration and the various possible modifications concerning the air conditioning system; the model is calibrated by comparison with real energy consumption data. The electric and primary energy are compared for the various cases. Furthermore, the internal hygrothermal conditions for occupants’ thermal comfort and for conservation of the archaeological finds are analysed. Finally, the possibility of inserting a suitable and minimally invasive photovoltaic system is evaluated and an almost ‘Double Plus-Zero Energy Building’ is obtained.

scholarly journals Potential Reconstruction Design of an Existing Townhouse in Washington DC for Approaching Net Zero Energy Building Goal

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakdirat Kaewunruen ◽  
Jessada Sresakoolchai ◽  
Lalida Kerinnonta
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Net Zero Energy ◽  
Net Zero Energy Building ◽  
Net Zero

The concept of the Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) has received more interest from researchers due to global warming concerns. This paper proposes to illustrate optional solutions to allow existing buildings to achieve NZEB goals. The aim of this study is to investigate factors that can improve existing building performance to be in line with the NZEB concept and be more sustainable. An existing townhouse in Washington, DC was chosen as the research target to study how to retrofit or reconstruct the design of a building according to the NZEB concept. The methodology of this research is modeling an existing townhouse to assess the current situation and creating optional models for improving energy efficiency of the townhouse in Revit and utilising renewable energy technology for energy supply. This residential building was modeled in three versions to compare changes in energy performance including improving thermal efficiency of building envelope, increasing thickness of the wall, and installing smart windows (switchable windows). These solutions can reduce energy and cost by approximately 8.16%, 10.16%, and 14.65%, respectively, compared to the original townhouse. Two renewable energy technologies that were considered in this research were photovoltaic and wind systems. The methods can be applied to reconstruct other existing buildings in the future.

scholarly journals Commissioning of thermal performance of prefabricated timber frame insulation elements for nZEB renovation

2019 ◽  
Vol 282 ◽  
pp. 02004
Author(s):  
Peep Pihelo ◽  
Targo Kalamees
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Performance ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Timber Frame ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Air Tightness ◽  
Frame Insulation ◽  
Internal Convection

The current study contains a commissioning of thermal performance of highly insulated building envelope, located in cold and humid Estonian climate. The focus is on the renovation of old apartment building to nearly-zero energy building with prefabricated timber frame insulation elements with designed thermal transmittances U=0.10-0.12 W/(m2∙K). Air tightness, heat flux and temperatures were measured after renovation. Results of commissioning are showing some deviations from designed values, possibly caused by internal convection, improper tightening of joints of elements and poor quality of sealing of layers which must be kept airtight. The results have shown that analysis of designed solutions before, during and after renovation is worthwhile. Thorough inspection and strict rules of quality control on work site are essential for high-quality, sustainable outcomes of renovation with timber frame insulation elements and to guarantee designed thermal performance.

EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS OF A VIRTUAL DESIGN STUDIO ON ZERO-ENERGY BUILDING DESIGNS: THE CASE OF THE U.S. SOLAR DECATHLON DESIGN CHALLENGE

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-261
Author(s):  
Jeehwan Lee ◽  
Myoungju Lee
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Educational Effectiveness ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Virtual Design ◽  
Solar Decathlon ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Positive Tendency ◽  
Integrated Performance

ABSTRACT Ongoing global architectural agendas span climate change, energy, a carbon-neutral society, human comfort, COVID-19, social justice, and sustainability. An architecture studio allows architecture students to learn how to solve complicated environmental issues through integrated thinking and a design process. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Design Challenge enables them to broaden their analytic perspectives on numerous subjects and strengthen their integrated thinking of environmental impacts, resilience, sustainability, and well-being. However, the unprecedented impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic transformed the physical studio-based design education system into an online-based learning environment. Mandatory social distancing by the global COVID-19 pandemic restricted interactive discussions and face-to-face collaborations for the integrated zero-energy building design process, which requires features of architecture, engineering, market analysis, durability and resilience, embodied environmental quality, integrated performance, occupant experience, comfort and environmental quality, energy performance, and presentation. This study emphasizes the educational effectiveness of virtual design studios as a part of the discourse on architectural pedagogy of zero-energy building (ZEB) design through integrated designs, technological theories, and analytic skills. The survey results of ten contests show educational achievement with over 90% of the highest positive tendency in the categories of embodied environmental quality and comfort and environmental quality, whereas the positive tendency of educational achievement in the categories of integrated performance, energy performance, and presentation were lower than 70%. The reason for the low percentage of simulation utilization and integrated performance was the lack of a proper understanding of and experience with ZEB simulations and evaluations for undergraduate students. Although VDS is not an ideal pedagogical system for the iterative design critique process, it can support the learning of the value of architectural education, including integrative design thinking, problem-solving skills, numerical simulation techniques, and communicable identities through online discussions and feedback during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study of effective factors in the design of zero energy buildings in arid climate (case of Isfahan City)

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-221
Author(s):  
Negar Aminoroayaei ◽  
Bahram Shahedi
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Arid Climate ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Cost Of Energy ◽  
Current Century ◽  
Increase Productivity ◽  
Save Energy ◽  
Zero Energy Buildings

In the current century, a suitable strategy is concerned for optimal consumption of energy, due to limited natural resources and fossil fuels for moving towards sustainable development and environmental protection. Given the rising cost of energy, environmental pollution and the end of fossil fuels, zero-energy buildings became a popular option in today's world. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the design of zero-energy buildings, in order to reduce energy consumption and increase productivity, including plan form, climatic characteristics, materials, coverage etc. The present study collects the features of zero-energy building in Isfahan, which is based on the Emberger Climate View in the arid climate, by examining the books and related writings, field observations and using a descriptive method, in the form of qualitative studies. The results of the research showed that some actions are needed to save energy and, in general, less consumption of renewable energy by considering the climate and the use of natural conditions.

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