Parametric Design to Maximize Solar Irradiation and Minimize the Embodied GHG Emissions for a ZEB in Nordic and Mediterranean Climate Zones

This work presents a validated workflow based on an algorithm developed in Grasshopper to parametrically control the building’s shape, by maximizing the solar irradiation incident on the building envelope and minimizing the embodied emissions. The algorithm is applied to a zero-emission building concept in Nordic and Mediterranean climate zones. The algorithm enables conducting both energy and environmental assessments through Ladybug tools. The emissions embodied in materials and the solar irradiation incident on the building envelope were estimated in the early design stage. A three-steps optimization process through evolutionary solvers, such as Galapagos (one-objective) and Octopus (multi-objective), has been conducted to shape the most environmentally responsive ZEB model in both climates. The results demonstrated the replicability of the algorithm to optimize the solar irradiation by producing an increment of solar incident irradiation equal to 35% in the Mediterranean area, and to 20% in the Nordic climate. This could contribute to compensate the additional 15% of emissions due to the higher quantities of employed materials in the optimized design. The developed approach, which is based on the parametric design principles for ZEBs, represents a support instrument for designers to develop highly efficient energy solutions in the early design stages.

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A review of the Sustainability and Parametric Design Approach of Complex Tall Buildings at an Early Design Stage

10.1109/ieeeconf53624.2021.9668164 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Aiman H. H. Al-Masoodi ◽

F. H. Alkhatib ◽

Nasir Shafiq ◽

Al-Hussein M. H. Al-Aidrous

Keyword(s):

Parametric Design ◽

Tall Buildings ◽

Design Approach ◽

Design Stage ◽

Early Design ◽

Early Design Stage

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The early design stage of a building envelope: Multi-objective search through heating, cooling and lighting energy performance analysis

Applied Energy ◽

10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.04.090 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 154 ◽

pp. 577-591 ◽

Cited By ~ 122

Author(s):

Tomás Méndez Echenagucia ◽

Alfonso Capozzoli ◽

Ylenia Cascone ◽

Mario Sassone

Keyword(s):

Performance Analysis ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Design Stage ◽

Early Design ◽

Early Design Stage ◽

Multi Objective ◽

Lighting Energy

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Optimal Renovation Strategies through Life-Cycle Analysis in a Pilot Building Located in a Mild Mediterranean Climate

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11041423 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1423

Author(s):

José Manuel Salmerón Lissen ◽

Cristina Isabel Jareño Escudero ◽

Francisco José Sánchez de la Flor ◽

Miriam Navarro Escudero ◽

Theoni Karlessi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Mediterranean Climate ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Economic Life ◽

Hot Water ◽

Optimal Solutions ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

The Cost

The 2030 climate and energy framework includes EU-wide targets and policy objectives for the period 2021–2030 of (1) at least 55% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels); (2) at least 32% share for renewable energy; and (3) at least 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency. In this context, the methodology of the cost-optimal level from the life-cycle cost approach has been applied to calculate the cost of renovating the existing building stock in Europe. The aim of this research is to analyze a pilot building using the cost-optimal methodology to determine the renovation measures that lead to the lowest life-cycle cost during the estimated economic life of the building. The case under study is an apartment building located in a mild Mediterranean climate (Castellon, SP). A package of 12 optimal solutions has been obtained to show the importance of the choice of the elements and systems for renovating building envelopes and how energy and economic aspects influence this choice. Simulations have shown that these packages of optimal solutions (different configurations for the building envelope, thermal bridges, airtightness and ventilation, and domestic hot water production systems) can provide savings in the primary energy consumption of up to 60%.

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Metrics for Measuring Sustainable Product Design Concepts

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14123469 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (12) ◽

pp. 3469

Author(s):

Ji Han ◽

Pingfei Jiang ◽

Peter R. N. Childs

Keyword(s):

Product Design ◽

End Of Life ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Conceptual Design ◽

Design Stage ◽

Sustainable Product Design ◽

Early Design ◽

Design Concepts ◽

Concept Evaluation ◽

Sustainable Product

Although products can contribute to ecosystems positively, they can cause negative environmental impacts throughout their life cycles, from obtaining raw material, production, and use, to end of life. It is reported that most negative environmental impacts are decided at early design phases, which suggests that the determination of product sustainability should be considered as early as possible, such as during the conceptual design stage, when it is still possible to modify the design concept. However, most of the existing concept evaluation methods or tools are focused on assessing the feasibility or creativity of the concepts generated, lacking the measurements of sustainability of concepts. The paper explores key factors related to sustainable design with regard to environmental impacts, and describes a set of objective measures of sustainable product design concept evaluation, namely, material, production, use, and end of life. The rationales of the four metrics are discussed, with corresponding measurements. A case study is conducted to demonstrate the use and effectiveness of the metrics for evaluating product design concepts. The paper is the first study to explore the measurement of product design sustainability focusing on the conceptual design stage. It can be used as a guideline to measure the level of sustainability of product design concepts to support designers in developing sustainable products. Most significantly, it urges the considerations of sustainability design aspects at early design phases, and also provides a new research direction in concept evaluation regarding sustainability.

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