scholarly journals The Effect Of Balcony Enclosure Retrofits On The Performance of Murbs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alanna Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Building Structure ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Weak Point ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
The City

The City of Toronto has been undertaking retrofit projects to refurbish an aging building stock and increase performance in multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs). These retrofit considerations include solutions proposed for balconies, a common weak point in the building structure. A balcony enclosure retrofit was one such solution, using overcladding to insulate the exposed balcony slab and parapet, enclosing the open portion of the balcony with glazing. The effect of the balcony enclosure differed depending on the balcony type, varying with characteristics such as balcony to façade ratio, orientation and the projection type of the balcony, whether inset or projecting. When models were retrofit with balcony enclosures, results showed an overall decrease in energy use as the enclosures raised internal air temperatures, lowering demand for heating. The balcony characteristics which showed the largest decrease in energy use when retrofit with balcony enclosures were inset balconies with high balcony to façade ratio.

scholarly journals The Effect Of Balcony Enclosure Retrofits On The Performance of Murbs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alanna Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Building Structure ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Weak Point ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
The City

The City of Toronto has been undertaking retrofit projects to refurbish an aging building stock and increase performance in multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs). These retrofit considerations include solutions proposed for balconies, a common weak point in the building structure. A balcony enclosure retrofit was one such solution, using overcladding to insulate the exposed balcony slab and parapet, enclosing the open portion of the balcony with glazing. The effect of the balcony enclosure differed depending on the balcony type, varying with characteristics such as balcony to façade ratio, orientation and the projection type of the balcony, whether inset or projecting. When models were retrofit with balcony enclosures, results showed an overall decrease in energy use as the enclosures raised internal air temperatures, lowering demand for heating. The balcony characteristics which showed the largest decrease in energy use when retrofit with balcony enclosures were inset balconies with high balcony to façade ratio.

scholarly journals Automated classification metrics for energy modelling of residential buildings in the UK with open algorithms

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Beck ◽  
Gavin Long ◽  
Doreen S Boyd ◽  
Julian F Rosser ◽  
Jeremy Morley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Automated Classification ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Ordnance Survey ◽  
Built Form ◽  
Energy Modelling ◽  
The City

Estimating residential building energy use across large spatial extents is vital for identifying and testing effective strategies to reduce carbon emissions and improve urban sustainability. This task is underpinned by the availability of accurate models of building stock from which appropriate parameters may be extracted. For example, the form of a building, such as whether it is detached, semi-detached, terraced etc. and its shape may be used as part of a typology for defining its likely energy use. When these details are combined with information on building construction materials or glazing ratio, it can be used to infer the heat transfer characteristics of different properties. However, these data are not readily available for energy modelling or urban simulation. Although this is not a problem when the geographic scope corresponds to a small area and can be hand-collected, such manual approaches cannot be easily applied at the city or national scale. In this article, we demonstrate an approach that can automatically extract this information at the city scale using off-the-shelf products supplied by a National Mapping Agency. We present two novel techniques to create this knowledge directly from input geometry. The first technique is used to identify built form based upon the physical relationships between buildings. The second technique is used to determine a more refined internal/external wall measurement and ratio. The second technique has greater metric accuracy and can also be used to address problems identified in extracting the built form. A case study is presented for the City of Nottingham in the United Kingdom using two data products provided by the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain: MasterMap and AddressBase. This is followed by a discussion of a new categorisation approach for housing form for urban energy assessment.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Urban-Scale Building Energy-Use Models and Tools—Application for the City of Fribourg, Switzerland

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1595
Author(s):  
Valeria Todeschi ◽  
Roberto Boghetti ◽  
Jérôme H. Kämpf ◽  
Guglielmina Mutani
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Space Heating ◽  
Engineering Model ◽  
Building Energy Use ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Building energy-use models and tools can simulate and represent the distribution of energy consumption of buildings located in an urban area. The aim of these models is to simulate the energy performance of buildings at multiple temporal and spatial scales, taking into account both the building shape and the surrounding urban context. This paper investigates existing models by simulating the hourly space heating consumption of residential buildings in an urban environment. Existing bottom-up urban-energy models were applied to the city of Fribourg in order to evaluate the accuracy and flexibility of energy simulations. Two common energy-use models—a machine learning model and a GIS-based engineering model—were compared and evaluated against anonymized monitoring data. The study shows that the simulations were quite precise with an annual mean absolute percentage error of 12.8 and 19.3% for the machine learning and the GIS-based engineering model, respectively, on residential buildings built in different periods of construction. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis using the Morris method was carried out on the GIS-based engineering model in order to assess the impact of input variables on space heating consumption and to identify possible optimization opportunities of the existing model.

scholarly journals Water Supply and Energy in Residential Buildings: Potential Savings and Financial Profitability

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramón Barberán ◽  
Diego Colás ◽  
Pilar Egea
Keyword(s):  
Water Supply ◽  
Electric Power ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Town Planning ◽  
Water Network ◽  
The Public ◽  
Planning And Construction ◽  
The City ◽  
Financial Profitability

This article examines the suitability of water supply installations in residential buildings for the pressure conditions of the main water network, and evaluates the energy saving possibilities associated with pumping water into homes. It assesses the situation and the options for renovation in a sample of 151 buildings in the city of Zaragoza (Spain), estimating the savings in electric power and the possible financial returns that could be obtained. The results show that in half the buildings, the installations are inadequate and lead to inefficient energy use, which could be avoided by renovation. However, they also show that in many cases, this type of retrofitting would not be profitable for the building owners, meaning that technically viable solutions may not necessarily be financially viable. To mitigate or avoid the energy inefficiency in question, the public sector could step in by informing and financing support for building owners and regulating in the areas of town planning and construction.

scholarly journals Review of Constructions and Materials Used in Swedish Residential Buildings during the Post-War Peak of Production

Buildings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
Björn Berggren ◽  
Maria Wall
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Lightweight Concrete ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Technical Documentation ◽  
Clay Brick ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Existing Building

One of the greatest challenges for the world today is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. As buildings contribute to almost a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, reducing the energy use of the existing building stock is an important measure for climate change mitigation. In order to increase the renovation pace, there is a need for a comprehensive technical documentation that describes different types of buildings in the existing building stock. The purpose of this study is to analyse and describe existing residential buildings in Sweden. The data are based on published reports from 1967 to 1994 that have not been publicly available in a database for other researchers to study until now. Data from the reports have been transferred to a database and analysed to create a reference for buildings and/or a description of building typology in Sweden. This study found that there is a rather large homogeneity in the existing residential building stock. However, it is not possible to use a single reference building or building technique to cover the majority of the existing buildings. In Sweden, common constructions for exterior walls in multi-dwelling buildings which should be used for further studies are insulated wood infill walls with clay brick façades, lightweight concrete walls with rendered façades and concrete sandwich walls. The most common constructions for one- and two-dwelling buildings are insulated wooden walls with clay brick façades or wooden façades. Furthermore, roof constructions with insulated tie beam and roof constructions where the tie beam is a part of the interior floor slab are frequently used and should be included in further studies.

scholarly journals Socio-spatial analysis of the vulnerable urban fabric in the city of Barcelona

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Sara Vima-Grau ◽  
Còssima Cornadó ◽  
Pilar Garcia-Almirall
Keyword(s):  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Urban Fabric ◽  
Resident Population ◽  
Helpful Tool ◽  
Public Investments ◽  
The City

<p class="Abstracttext-VITRUVIOCxSpFirst">Socio-residential vulnerability is one of currently increasing challenges for cities and metropolitan areas in addressing the interaction between the vulnerable resident population and the need to improve the building stock, particularly after the financial crisis of 2008 and the consequent regression of public investments.</p><p class="Abstracttext-VITRUVIOCxSpFirst">Recent studies have measured and described the levels of vulnerability in the city of Barcelona and their results highlight socio-spatial similarities between urban fabrics that happen to be morphologically, historically and geographically very different.</p><p class="Abstracttext-VITRUVIOCxSpFirst">The present research focuses on the assessment of physical and social shortcomings of vulnerable areas in the city of Barcelona. With this purpose, a sample of buildings in some of the most vulnerable neighbourhoods are statistically analysed through a set of variables at building scale related to both the need of improvement of residential existing buildings and the characteristics of their inhabitants.</p><p class="Abstracttext-VITRUVIOCxSpFirst">An extensive sample of cases is described through several profiles according to the simultaneity of indicators both from a physical and social perspective. As a result, the cross-analysis of indicators and profiles according to each neighbourhood and urban fabric, contributes to better understanding the specificities of each area. Moreover, the cartography of results provides information on how certain indicators and profiles manifest geographically in the urban fabric and the city.</p><p class="Abstracttext-VITRUVIOCxSpFirst">The observation of the combination of shortcomings in the different urban fabrics is a helpful tool for the design of future polices that aim for the improvement of living conditions in vulnerable residential buildings from an integral perspective that aims at addressing both physical and social issues.</p>

Climate-responsive design strategy for Erbil city

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-111
Author(s):  
Meltem Vatan Kaptan
Keyword(s):  
Electric Power ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Design Strategy ◽  
Traditional Use ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Limited Access ◽  
Architectural Styles ◽  
The City ◽  
Passive Techniques

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate passive techniques used in traditional and indigenous architecture in order to decrease energy use in the buildings and to increase thermal and users’ comfort. The city of Erbil is explored where in the rapid transformation and import of Western architectural styles and materials have resulted in ignorance of climate-responsive tradition existing in the city since thousands of years. Design/methodology/approach In order to propose a design strategy for modern residential buildings in Erbil city, a descriptive and interpretative approach is used as a methodology of this study. A literature review is done to explore the traditional use of passive techniques, and Waziran district of the city is analyzed and used as a pilot site in this study. Findings Due to the shortage of electric power in the city, residential buildings have limited access to electric power. Therefore, thermal comfort and reduction of the energy use in residential buildings have become vital for Erbil. The use of passive techniques in architectural design will help to reduce energy dependency. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to residential function in Erbil. Waziran district is used for the design proposals where dwellings are in a row context. The proposals are made on a geometrical basis and plan organization; however, the selection of construction materials is not included. Originality/value There is a proposal to reduce the use of electricity, which currently has limited access in Erbil city.

Using an Urban Building Energy Modelling Towards a Carbon-Neutral Neighbourhood: A case study of Dublin Ireland

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niall Buckley ◽  
Gerald Mill s ◽  
Christoph Reinhart
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Level Energy ◽  
Energy Policies ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Urban Energy ◽  
Energy Use Intensity

&lt;p&gt;The EU&amp;#8217;s Green Deal has a goal of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. Achieving this goal will require a comprehensive set of actions across all economic sectors, especially the building sector, which currently accounts for 40% of the energy consumed.&amp;#160; Residential energy use is a significant contributor, much of it due to the poorly insulated building stock. Making a &amp;#8216;just transition&amp;#8217; to more energy-efficient cities requires a spatial approach that can address the correspondence of poor housing and people and the potential for energy innovation at a neighbourhood-scale. In this study, a geographic database of building archetypes is developed for use by the Urban Modelling Interface (Umi) to perform simulations of urban energy use intensity and test the efficacy of energy policies. Umi is applied to a neighbourhood of residential buildings in Dublin (Ireland), many of which perform poorly. Simulated annual energy use intensity is evaluated favourably using energy performance certificate data. Umi is used subsequently to design and test the efficacy of district-level energy policies; the results indicate that the most cost-effective mix of envelope retrofit and onsite energy production to achieve the Green Deal&amp;#8217;s target of 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 100% by 2050. The methodology shown here employs data and software that is publicly available for many EU countries.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Climate Change Scenarios and Their Implications on the Energy Performance of Hellenic Non-Residential Buildings

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13005
Author(s):  
Kalliopi G. Droutsa ◽  
Simon Kontoyiannidis ◽  
Constantinos A. Balaras ◽  
Athanassios A. Argiriou ◽  
Elena G. Dascalaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Baseline Scenario ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
The Future

It is important to understand how the climate is changing in order to prepare for the future, adapt if necessary, and, most importantly, take proper precautionary measures to alleviate major negative impacts. This work investigates the potential impacts of climate change on the anticipated energy performance of the existing Hellenic building stock until the end of the century. The assessment considers average climatic projections for two future time periods, one for the near and one for the distant future, following two representative concentration pathways (RCPs). The first one is a baseline scenario (RCP8.5) representing the highest greenhouse gas emissions. The second is an intermediate stabilization scenario (RCP4.5), assuming the imposition of conservative emissions mitigation policies. The future climate data are generated for 62 cities throughout Greece. As a case study, the work focuses on Hellenic non-residential (NR) whole buildings, analyzing available data collected during about 2500 energy audits of real NR buildings. The available data are used to assess the buildings’ heating and cooling demand and energy use. The annual average air temperature for Greece in 2050 is projected to increase by 1.5 K for the RCP4.5 scenario and by 1.9 K for the RCP8.5 scenario. In 2090, the increase is estimated to reach 1.7 K and 4.2 K, respectively. Accordingly, if the existing NR buildings are not renovated, the average heating energy use is expected to decrease by 22–26% in 2050 and by 23–52% in 2090. On the other hand, the average cooling energy use is expected to increase by 24–30% in 2050 and by 28–66% in 2090.

scholarly journals MAPPING AN URBAN CITY CENTRE FOR SEISMIC RISK ASSESSMENT: APPLICATION TO VALENCIA (SPAIN)

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIV-M-1-2020 ◽  
pp. 817-824
Author(s):  
L. Basset-Salom ◽  
A. Guardiola-Víllora
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Seismic Vulnerability ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Urban City ◽  
Historical Archive ◽  
The City

Abstract. Seismic risk in urban city centres may be high, even when the city is in low to moderate seismic areas, due to the vulnerability of the residential buildings. To assess the seismic vulnerability and estimate the expected damage in case of occurrence of an earthquake, an up-to-date detailed and comprehensive information of the residential building stock, such as number of dwellings, location, age, geometry, stiffness irregularities, structure, constructive system and practices, among others, is needed. This paper presents the authors experience, describing the step by step procedure followed to obtain the required information to classify and catalogue the residential buildings of the historical neighbourhoods of the city of Valencia into a database. Official sources, like the Cadastral Database, the website of the Urban Planning Service of the city of Valencia, the Municipal Historical Archive of Valencia, and the Historical Archive of the Valencian Architects Society, but also unexpected references are shared, pointing out the information that has been retrieved and its reliability. Additionally, relevant information must be obtained with an on-site data collection. This field work is essential not only to prove the accuracy of the abovementioned data but also to define some of the parameters related to the building vulnerability.The built database, included in a GIS system, has been used by the authors for seismic risk studies. This procedure can be implemented in future assessments at an urban scale.

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