LEED Scores of Residential Buildings in Poor Cities: Kabul City Case

Urbanization and technology have proven to be detrimental to the environment. Buildings contribute a significant portion of this damage. This issue motivated governments, builders, engineers, and architects to seek ways to reduce buildings’ environmental footprints. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is one of the most widely used strategies to ensure energy efficiency and a clean environment in buildings. In Afghanistan, where there are no active regulatory frameworks for energy saving and efficiency for the building sector, it is imperative to promote the transformation of the building industry and practices towards sustainability. In this regard, the role of the residential building sector is of utmost importance due to its major share in the country’s energy consumption and GHG emissions profile. Thus, this study assesses the energy efficiency and environmental impact of existing buildings in Kabul city concerning the LEED rating system. This research suggests practical steps to improve the sustainability of the residential building stock in Kabul city. Robust sets of data on existing residential buildings in Kabul are collected, classified, evaluated, and compared to LEED standards. This research reveals and concludes that most of the existing buildings in Kabul city are in poor conditions and do not meet the minimum requirements to be a candidate for LEED certification. A detailed analysis of the results has led to recommendations on how these buildings could improve to meet the LEED criteria. This is the first study of its kind conducted for Kabul city residential building. Considering the cross-sectoral nature of the building industry, the findings of this study will contribute to many other areas such as water, transportation, ICT, health, energy and the environment.

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Carbon Footprint Reduction through Residential Building Stock Retrofit: A Metro Melbourne Suburb Case Study

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14206550 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (20) ◽

pp. 6550

Author(s):

Seongwon Seo ◽

Greg Foliente

Keyword(s):

Carbon Footprint ◽

Energy Use ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Residential Building ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Embodied Energy ◽

Building Sector ◽

Building Stock

Since existing residential buildings are a significant global contributor to energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, any serious effort to reduce the actual energy and carbon emissions of the building sector should explicitly address the carbon mitigation challenges and opportunities in the building stock. This research investigates environmentally and economically sustainable retrofit methods to reduce the carbon footprint of existing residential buildings in the City of Greater Dandenong as a case study in Metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. By categorizing energy use into various building age brackets and dwelling types that align with changes in energy regulations, we identified various retrofit prototypes to achieve a targeted 6.5-star and 8-star energy efficiency rating (out of a maximum 10-star rating system). The corresponding operational energy savings through different retrofit options are examined while also considering the quantity of materials required for each option, along with their embodied energy and GHG emissions, thus allowing a more comprehensive lifecycle carbon analysis and exploration of their financial and environmental payback times. Results show that when buildings are upgraded with a combination of insulation and double-glazed windows, the environmental benefits rise faster than the financial benefits over a dwelling’s lifecycle. The size or percentage of a particular dwelling type within the building stock and the remaining lifecycle period are found to be the most important factors influencing the payback periods. Retrofitting the older single detached dwellings shows the greatest potential for lifecycle energy and carbon savings in the case suburb. These findings provide households, industry and governments some guidance on how to contribute most effectively to reduce the carbon footprint of the residential building sector.

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The Potential Contribution of Wood in Green Building Certifications

Architectural Research in Finland ◽

10.37457/arf.113262 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chiara Piccardo ◽

Ashraful Alam ◽

Mark Hughes

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Green Building ◽

Life Cycles ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Building Sector ◽

Building Stock ◽

Sustainability Criteria

The building sector has a significant impact on the environment, accounting for 36% of CO2 emissions and about half of material consumption in Europe. Residential buildings dominate the European building stock. In Finland, residential buildings account for up to 80% of the existing buildings and the rate of construction is higher compared to other building types. Therefore, residential buildings play an important role in the transition to a sustainable built environment. A number of studies show that increasing the use of wood can lower the life cycle environmental impacts of buildings. In Scandinavia, the use of wood in small houses is well established, used in 90% of cases. Furthermore, the increasing number of high-rise wooden buildings suggests a growing interest in the potential of wood in large-scale buildings. Green building certification provides criteria to assess the sustainability level of buildings and is expected to influence the building sector in the near future, by promoting the use of sustainable technologies. The aim of this study was to investigate how green building certification schemes assess wood materials and how wood materials can help fulfil sustainability criteria for green buildings. We analyse the sustainability criteria adopted by the most common certification schemes in Finland, BREEAM, LEED and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, as well as the upcoming Level(s) certification promoted by the European Commission. The analysis shows that the contribution of wood materials to the overall score of green building certifications accounts for between 10 and 36%. Wood is advantageous as a renewable and low-carbon material. Furthermore, wood can offer indirect benefits due to its recycling potential and to water saving in the construction stage. However, wood materials have to comply with some requirements, such as sustainable forest management and low volatile organic compound content. The new European certification suggests a comprehensive assessment including circular material life cycles.

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Energy saving strategy for residential buildings: case study in Armenia

International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies ◽

10.1093/ijlct/ctab024 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Atanes Papoyan ◽

Changhong Zhan ◽

Xueying Han ◽

Guanghao Li

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Residential Building ◽

Green Building ◽

Simulation Software ◽

Local Market ◽

Green Technologies ◽

Climate Conditions

Abstract In this article the research is concentrated on defining the possibility and potentials of design to enhance the energy efficiency and refine the climate conditions in the existing residential buildings in Armenia. The digital model of existing residential building is used to calculate the annual energy consumption, by simulation software—Autodesk Green Building Student. The horizontal solar panel systems offered by local market leaders were applied to calculate the annual savings, the required installation area, prices, etc. Consequently, the actual efficiency of energy saving technological process of residential buildings in Armenia is estimated. Based on the applied strategies and obtained fact, some recommendations are made for residential buildings. This article is intended to help and to be stimulus for architects and constructors to consider and include green technologies in their new projects.

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GREEN RESIDENTIAL BUILDING TOOLS AND EFFICIENCY METRICS

Journal of Green Building ◽

10.3992/jgb.8.3.125 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 125-139 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

James Kallaos ◽

Rolf André Bohne

Keyword(s):

Residential Buildings ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Residential Building ◽

Green Building ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Commercial Building ◽

Floor Area ◽

Operational Energy ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

Damage Impact

Residential buildings have the function of providing shelter, comfort, and a host of other amenities to their occupants, yet they are responsible for a large share of global negative environmental impacts. Understanding the need to reduce the negative impacts of buildings has led to an increase in both the quantity and popularity of green building rating schemes in recent years. Within most green building schemes, the common goal generally consists of an attempt at increasing aspects of the efficiency of resource use or environmental damage. Impact quantification is often reduced to modeled operational energy consumption, while the actual function is less simple to define or assess quantitatively. In many green building schemes, consideration of function is basically omitted from the assessment, except for the inclusion of a simple proxy metric. The dominant “function” metric that has emerged is floor area, carried over from commercial building assessments. Not only is floor area not a useful proxy for function provided by residential buildings, but placing it in the denominator of an eco-intensity metric results in a perverse ratio of two impacts. All else equal, increasing floor area gives the impression of increased efficiency, while masking the increased embodied and use-phase energy, GHG emissions, and materials use. This paper provides a review and initial inquiry into environmental assessment of residential buildings, addressing the utility of common metrics.

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Assessment of Green Practices in Residential Buildings: A Survey-Based Empirical Study of Residents in Kazakhstan

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10124383 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 4383 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Serik Tokbolat ◽

Ferhat Karaca ◽

Serdar Durdyev ◽

Farnush Nazipov ◽

Ilyas Aidyngaliyev

Keyword(s):

Carbon Emissions ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Residential Building ◽

Green Building ◽

Building Stock ◽

Carbon Emissions Reduction ◽

Residential Building Stock ◽

Nationally Determined Contributions ◽

The Government

In the lead-up to the Paris climate change conference, the majority of the UN Member States submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions on carbon emissions reduction to be met by 2030. Kazakhstan is no exception. The government made pledges and, therefore, has to adapt its national policies and regulations to meet the set ambitious goals. In this regard, the role of residential building sector is of the utmost importance due to its significant share in the country’s energy consumption and carbon emissions profile. Thus, this study presents the types of residential buildings available and assesses how far they are from meeting the green building (GB) indicators set in various certification schemes and standards. This would help in suggesting practical steps to improve the sustainability levels of the residential building stock of Kazakhstan. This study collected a robust set of data on existing residential buildings in Astana, chosen as a case study location, classified them and, based on a developed checklist, evaluated their performance compared to GB standards. The study has found that old buildings tend to have a rather poor level of sustainability, whereas the sustainability of new buildings depends on the class of the building—steadily increasing from economy to premium class in all categories of the checklist. A detailed analysis of the results has led to the development of recommendations on how each type of building should be improved to meet the GB standards.

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Evaluating Energy Demand and Energy Efficiency Programs in Saudi Residential Buildings

10.30573/ks--2020-mp05 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mohammad Aldubyan ◽

Moncef Krarti ◽

Eric Williams

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Housing Stock ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Residential Building ◽

Residential Energy ◽

Building Stock ◽

Residential Building Stock ◽

The Impact ◽

Existing Housing

This paper describes the development of the Residential Energy Model (REEM) for Saudi Arabia using an engineering bottom-up approach. The model can assess energy demand for the current residential building stock and the impact of energy efficiency and demand-side management programs. It accounts for the makeup and features of the Kingdom’s existing housing stock using 54 prototypes of residential buildings defined by three building types, three vintages, and six locations representing different climatic zones.

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Energy models for cost-optimal analysis: Development and calibration of residential reference building models for Northern Cyprus

Indoor and Built Environment ◽

10.1177/1420326x211013076 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1420326X2110130

Author(s):

Manta Marcelinus Dakyen ◽

Mustafa Dagbasi ◽

Murat Özdenefe

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Mean Squared Error ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Mean Bias Error ◽

Bias Error ◽

Sampled Data ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Building Stock ◽

Northern Cyprus

Ambitious energy efficiency goals constitute an important roadmap towards attaining a low-carbon society. Thus, various building-related stakeholders have introduced regulations targeting the energy efficiency of buildings. However, some countries still lack such policies. This paper is an effort to help bridge this gap for Northern Cyprus, a country devoid of building energy regulations that still experiences electrical energy production and distribution challenges, principally by establishing reference residential buildings which can be the cornerstone for prospective building regulations. Statistical analysis of available building stock data was performed to determine existing residential reference buildings. Five residential reference buildings with distinct configurations that constituted over 75% floor area share of the sampled data emerged, with floor areas varying from 191 to 1006 m2. EnergyPlus models were developed and calibrated for five residential reference buildings against yearly measured electricity consumption. Values of Mean Bias Error (MBE) and Cumulative Variation of Root Mean Squared Error CV(RMSE) between the models’ energy consumption and real energy consumption on monthly based analysis varied within the following ranges: (MBE)monthly from –0.12% to 2.01% and CV(RMSE)monthly from 1.35% to 2.96%. Thermal energy required to maintain the models' setpoint temperatures for cooling and heating varied from 6,134 to 11,451 kWh/year.

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TOPOI RESOURCES: Quantification and Assessment of Global Warming Potential and Land-Uptake of Residential Buildings in Settlement Types along the Urban–Rural Gradient—Opportunities for Sustainable Development

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13084099 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 4099

Author(s):

Ann-Kristin Mühlbach ◽

Olaf Mumm ◽

Ryan Zeringue ◽

Oskars Redbergs ◽

Elisabeth Endres ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sustainable Development ◽

Global Warming ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Global Warming Potential ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Residential Building ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Building Stock ◽

Residential Building Stock ◽

Urban Rural

The METAPOLIS as the polycentric network of urban–rural settlement is undergoing constant transformation and urbanization processes. In particular, the associated imbalance of the shrinkage and growth of different settlement types in relative geographical proximity causes negative effects, such as urban sprawl and the divergence of urban–rural lifestyles with their related resource, land and energy consumption. Implicitly related to these developments, national and global sustainable development goals for the building sector lead to the question of how a region can be assessed without detailed research and surveys to identify critical areas with high potential for sustainable development. In this study, the TOPOI method is used. It classifies settlement units and their interconnections along the urban–rural gradient, in order to quantify and assess the land-uptake and global warming potential driven by residential developments. Applying standard planning parameters in combination with key data from a comprehensive life cycle assessment of the residential building stock, a detailed understanding of different settlement types and their associated resource and energy consumption is achieved.

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DECISION-MAKING MODEL SUPPORTING THE PROCESS OF PLANNING EXPENDITURES FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDING RENOVATION

Technological and Economic Development of Economy ◽

10.3846/20294913.2016.1213208 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 1200-1214 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Robert BUCOŃ ◽

Michał TOMCZAK

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Residential Building ◽

Point Of View ◽

Existing Buildings ◽

Suggested Model ◽

Building Maintenance ◽

Building Assessment ◽

Decision Making Model ◽

Building Condition

The problem of multi-family building maintenance is complex and comprises numerous issues, one of which is the process of planning expenditures for residential building renovation. This task is important from the manager’s point of view as their responsibility is to maintain a building in a non-deteriorated condition. To fulfil this task, the authors of this paper suggest utilising a decision-making model aimed at defining renovation activities making it possible to retain the maintenance standard (as regards newly commissioned residential buildings) or improve it (as regards existing buildings). The suggested model is based on a multi-criteria building assessment including seven requirements. The calculations conducted using the suggested model enable us to define the costs and scope of renovation taken to ensure the assumed building condition or, by assuming various rates paid to the renovation reserve, to define the period in which the above-mentioned goals may be achieved.

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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF TECHNICAL BUILDING SERVICES OF LARGE RESIDENTIAL BUILDING STOCKS USING SEMANTIC 3D CITY MODELS

ISPRS Annals of Photogrammetry Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-annals-vi-4-w1-2020-85-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol VI-4/W1-2020 ◽

pp. 85-92

Author(s):

H. Harter ◽

B. Willenborg ◽

W. Lang ◽

T. H. Kolbe

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Residential Building ◽

Building Stock ◽

3D City Models ◽

Methodical Approach ◽

Operational Energy ◽

City Models

Abstract. Reducing the demand for non-renewable resources and the resulting environmental impact is an objective of sustainable development, to which buildings contribute significantly. In order to realize the goal of reaching a climate-neutral building stock, it must first be analyzed and evaluated in order to develop optimization strategies. The life cycle based consideration and assessment of buildings plays a key role in this process. Approaches and tools already exist for this purpose, but they mainly take the operational energy demand of buildings and not a life cycle based approach into account, especially when assessing technical building services (TBS). Therefore, this paper presents and applies a methodical approach for the life cycle based assessment of the TBS of large residential building stocks, based on semantic 3D city models (CityGML). The methodical approach developed for this purpose describes the procedure for calculating the operational energy demand (already validated) and the heating load of the building, the dimensioning of the TBS components and the calculation of the life cycle assessment. The application of the methodology is illustrated in a case study with over 115,000 residential buildings from Munich, Germany. The study shows that the methodology calculates reliable results and that a significant reduction of the life cycle based energy demand can be achieved by refurbishment measures/scenarios. Nevertheless, the goal of achieving a climate-neutral building stock is a challenge from a life cycle perspective.

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