scholarly journals uhuMEBr: Energy Refurbishment of Existing Buildings in Subtropical Climates to Become Minimum Energy Buildings

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Gómez Melgar ◽  
Miguel Ángel Martínez Bohórquez ◽  
José Manuel Andújar Márquez

Today, most countries in the world have mandatory regulations, more or less strict, regarding energy efficiency in buildings. However, a large percentage of the buildings already built were constructed under lax or non-existing regulations in this regard. Therefore, many countries are facing the energy refurbishment of their existing buildings to reduce their carbon footprint. Depending on ambient weather conditions where a building settles, its operation with respect to the achievement of maximum energy efficiency should usually be different. This happens in subtropical climates when, during the year and depending on the season, the building needs to conserve heat, evacuate it or even make an exchange with the outside to take advantage of favorable environmental conditions. This paper presents a complete methodology for conducting building energy efficiency refurbishments in subtropical climates in order to convert them into minimum energy buildings. The proposed methodology is illustrated by a case study in a dwelling that includes all the stages, from the analysis of the existing dwelling to the refurbishment works, showing the final results and the subsequent dwelling operation.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Geissler ◽  
Doris Österreicher ◽  
Ene Macharm

In Nigeria, there is an estimated deficit of 17 million housing units. Power supply is insufficient, and the electricity supply for about 60 million Nigerians relies on private generators, causing noise, pollution, and high expenditures for mainly imported fuel. Altogether, current challenges clearly demonstrate the need for effective energy efficiency policies targeting also the building sector. The Nigerian Energy Support Program began in 2013, among others, with the objective being to support the Nigerian Government in developing the Nigerian Building Energy Efficiency Code. This paper presents two preparatory activities carried out in order to come up with suggestions for a legal framework well suited for the situation on the ground: the Case Study Building Analysis carried out in collaboration with a Nigerian developer and the Nigerian Building Energy Efficiency Guideline, elaborated together with stakeholders. The results of preparatory activities pointed out that the code must put emphasis on climate adaptive design and must define requirements and procedures in a clear and simple way to allow for effective enforcement. Only then can energy-efficient mass housing be feasible in Nigeria. The paper concludes with a description of the Nigerian Building Energy Efficiency Code (BEEC), officially approved and launched by the Federal Minister of Power, Works and Housing on 29 August 2017.


2020 ◽  
pp. 014459872095251
Author(s):  
Yaolin Lin ◽  
Wei Yang ◽  
Xiaoli Hao ◽  
Changxiong Yu

About one-third of the primary energy in the world is consumed by buildings. A large amount of CO2 emission due to building energy consumption has threatened the sustainable development of the world. Improvement on the building energy performance, especially by integration with renewable energy resources has attracted interest worldwide to reduce greenhouse gas emission to make our society more sustainable. This Special Issue on building integrated renewable energy was open to all contributors in the field of building energy efficiency. The original experimental studies, numerical simulations, and reviews in all aspects of renewable energy utilization, management, and optimization have been considered. In the event, all these topics were covered in the extensive submissions accepted, but interesting papers on other aspects of building energy efficiency were also received. The purpose of this editorial is to summarize the main research findings of accepted papers in this Special Issue, including the use of renewable energy and energy saving technologies in buildings and identify a number of research questions and research directions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morshed Alam ◽  
Pathmanathan Rajeev ◽  
Jay Sanjayan ◽  
Patrick X. W. Zou ◽  
John Wilson

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 589
Author(s):  
Seon Gyeong Baek

This study examines strategies for energy efficiency in public buildings in Korea and the implementation of certification systems. It also identifies the actual plan status and discusses improvements at the institutional level. The target is the national sports centers, where the discussion on energy efficiency has been assiduous, as they have recently expanded regionally in Korea. Among the 541 national sports centers in Korea, 90 facilities for which a preliminary review was performed on the plan by the National Public Building Center were analyzed. The energy efficiency plan is realized through Building Energy Efficiency, Zero Energy Building, and Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design certifications. As a result of analyzing the plan status, omissions or errors in certification were confirmed in about 10% of each, even though more than 80% of the facilities were subject to mandatory application. In Korea’s condition, to revitalize the practice of the system, it is necessary to expand the government’s publicity and support initiatives, use differential application of evaluation items, and strengthen incentives. This study provides meaningful results and suggestions for implementing an energy efficiency system at the national level under similar conditions in the future.


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