OPTIMAL WINDOW GEOMETRY FACTORS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN PORTUGAL

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge S. Carlos

INTRODUCTION With respect to thermal performance, windows are the weakest component of the building envelope, essentially because the U-value is usually higher than the opaque envelope. This would allow the highest heat conductance of the building envelope. However, it also helps buildings to gain useful solar heat during winter. Therefore, it has been generally accepted that passive buildings would have small windows towards the poles and large windows facing the equator (Persson, Roos, and Wall 2006). In spite of this guideline, large or fully glazed facades have been used in modern architecture. The intensive use of air conditioning is the result of overheating and high thermal loss problems, which otherwise would lead to thermal discomfort. This extensive use of large windows associated with high energy consumption has motivated researchers to study this building component. Window areas were investigated by Persson et al. (Persson, Roos, and Wall 2006) on 20 terraced houses with larger windows facing the equator and built in Gothenburg. The building envelope was well insulated and fitted with energy efficient windows. It was found that energy efficient windows do not have a major influence on the heating demand in the winter, but it is relevant for the cooling need in summer. Therefore, reduced indoor illuminance due to small windows can be solved by enlarging them in order to obtain relevant daylighting conditions. When efficient windows are designed for a warm climate, as in Mexico, reducing heat flux and solar transmittance indoors was the best option for energy savings (Aguilar et al. 2017). However, reducing solar transmittance influences the indoor illuminance, which was not analyzed.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3.32) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Arita Hanim Awang ◽  
Zuraini Denan ◽  
Noor Hanita Abdul Majid

Office environment has become crucial in providing comfort for the workers and in maintaining the sustainability of an office.  Office environmental comfort is significant to office workers life as the office has become their second home. Almost half of the five working days were spend in the office.  Air conditioning and lighting are among the most significant contributors to high energy consumption in office building in Malaysia. In promoting an energy efficient building, consumption of electrical lighting and air condition in office from morning till evening requires an investigation. The aim of the research is to explore the environmental condition of office which occupied by design related field employees. The environmental air condition and lighting preference are among the significant variables tested.  A controlled experiment of a mock-up office with combination of those variables was conducted. The findings indicate that the office workers can still perform their task in extreme conditions which are low level of lighting below 200 lux with highest or lowest temperature between 16 to 32 Degree Celsius, however, the percentage of completion (POC) of the AutoCAD drafting task relatively decreasing. This scenarios show that the designers’ office environmental conditions have significant impact towards task performance. The optimum office environmental setting is needed in order to increase employee’s task performance.  


Designs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Alessandro Pracucci ◽  
Sara Magnani ◽  
Oscar Casadei

The European Commission has identified the building industry as one of the key sectors to achieve its 2020 strategy to create conditions for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth. In this frame, the aim of Horizon 2020′s Eensulate project is the development of innovative lightweight and highly insulating energy efficient unitized building façades, suitable for both new and existing buildings. The Eensulate façade module integrates two components developed within the project: Vacuum Insulated Glass (VIG) for architectural purposes, with a U-value of 0.3 W/sqm∙K; a highly insulating foam for automated manufacturing and insulation for the spandrel part. This article presents the Eensulate façade system design simulations and achievements related to VIG integration to solve issues that emerged by the utilization of its innovative components (sealant thermal bridge and getter strips). VIG design and testing have gradually changed the façade module and consequently, façade components have been progressively designed to achieve the expected target of 0.641 W/sqm∙K for thermal transmittance. The results demonstrate that the target can be achieved by aluminum profiles, Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) thermal bridge, and additional insulating components, obtaining a new product for unitized façades able to reduce energy consumption in buildings with large glass surfaces.


Author(s):  
Fadi Salah ◽  
Merve Tuna Kayılı

Reducing the energy needs of existing buildings has a significant place in reducing global energy demands. High energy savings can be achieved with passive renovation suggestions in existing buildings. In this study, the effect of the proposed renovations for an educational structure in Safranbolu on the heating and cooling demands of the building was determined with a simulation program. Energy improvements of up to 70 percent have been achieved through passive improvement designs in orientation and insulation material. The highest energy saving (69.31 %) was realized through a scenario of rearranging spaces from the north side to the south side where the number of users is relatively high and selecting a 20 cm aerogel thermal insulation material. While the heating and cooling load, in accordance with the definition of a zero-energy building, could not be reached in this scenario, the study showed the importance of holistic decisions taken in the design phase of the building with respect to energy-efficient building design.


Proceedings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Paul Motzki

The versatility of the form factors of thermal shape memory alloys (SMA) in combination with their unique actuation and sensing abilities allow for the design and construction of innovative multifunctional systems. Despite the considerable number of advantages, such as their exceptional energy density, only a few SMA-based actuator systems are commercially available. One of the main reasons for this is their inefficient thermal activation and the resulting high energy consumption. The efficiency of SMA-based actuator systems can be improved by innovative design and control approaches. In the first part of this paper, the intelligent combination of SMA actuator wires with bi-stable, nonlinear spring elements is described. This combination eliminates the commonly quoted disadvantages of SMAs—slow actuation and energy inefficiency—for a wide range of applications. In particular, two energy-free actuator configurations are realized, which can be applied to any non-proportional actuation tasks. The second approach for the realization of high-speed actuation and energy efficiency is the activation of SMA wires with high voltage pulses, which leads to actuation times in the millisecond range and energy savings of up to 80% in comparison to the suppliers’ recommendations. It is shown that even high AC voltages such as typical mains supplies can be directly used for highly efficient SMA activation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 03-17
Author(s):  
Gazal Dandia ◽  
◽  
Pratheek Sudhakaran ◽  
Chaitali Basu ◽  
◽  
...  

Introduction: High energy consumption by buildings is a great threat to the environment and one of the major causes of climate change. With a population of 1.4 billion people and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, India is extremely vital for the future of global energy markets. The energy demand for construction activities continues to rise and it is responsible for over one-third of global final energy consumption. Currently, buildings in India account for 35% of total energy consumption and the value is growing by 8% annually. Around 11% of total energy consumption are attributed to the commercial sector. Energy-efficient retrofitting of the built environments created in recent decades is a pressing urban challenge. Presently, most energy-efficient retrofit projects focus mainly on the engineering aspects. In this paper, we evaluate various retrofitting options, such as passive architectural interventions, active technological interventions, or a combination of both, to create the optimum result for the selected building. Methods: Based on a literature study and case examples, we identified various energy-efficient retrofit measures, and then examined and evaluated those as applied to the case study of Awas Bhawan (Rajasthan Housing Board Headquarters), Jaipur, India. For the evaluation, we developed a simulation model using EQuest for each energy measure and calculated the resultant energy savings. Then, based on the cost of implementation and the cost of energy saved, we calculated the payback period. Finally, an optimum retrofit solution was formulated with account for the payback period and ease of installation. Results and discussion: The detailed analysis of various energy-efficient retrofit measures as applied to the case study indicates that the most feasible options for retrofit resulting in optimum energy savings with short payback periods include passive architecture measures and equipment upgrades.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-49
Author(s):  
Thanh Van Tran ◽  
Ha Thi Ngoc Ho ◽  
Hai Thanh Le

Coconut processing is one of a typical industral sector of Ben Tre Province. Due to the high energy consumption chaterization, it has been selected to perform the pilot projects of promoting cleaner production and energy efficiency. Energy audit is a suggested measure to identifine opportunities and solutions for energy savings. However it is quite an expertise-demanding and timeconsuming procedure, therefore still a few number of plants have applied energy audit for their production processes. For all those reasons, there is a need of an automatic energy audit toolkit which can help enterprises in self–assessment of the energy using and performing of energy saving measures. This reseach aims at proposing a systematic method for creating an energy audit toolkit for copra processing enterprises which is expected to be a development initiative for coconut processing industry.


Author(s):  
Johannes Wagner ◽  
Mirko Schäfer ◽  
Long Phan ◽  
Alexander Schlüter ◽  
Jens Hesselbach ◽  
...  

Many industries have significant requirements regarding temperature control, air humidity and air pollution which must be strictly adhered to avoid bacterial formation and contamination. High refrigeration specifications are only required in certain areas. However, these specifications are often applied across the whole production hall which results in unnecessarily high energy demand and usage. A more energy efficient approach is the localized cooling of the product, which conditions the direct environment of the product only. This leads to the consideration of separating or localizing the products specifically requiring refrigeration in the production hall. In this paper, localized product cooling systems are analyzed in order to identify the savings potential associated with a localized refrigeration system. The study shows the energy savings potential for a manufacturing company located in three different locations: in Germany, Canada and the USA.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-56
Author(s):  
I. V. Yarmoshenko ◽  
A. D. Onishchenko ◽  
G. P. Malinovsky ◽  
A. V. Vasilyev ◽  
E. I. Nazarov ◽  
...  

A comparative analysis of the radon concentrations in modern multi-storey residential buildings of high energy efficiency class and buildings typical for urban areas of the twentieth century was carried out. The study was conducted in Russian cities located in various climatic zones – Ekaterinburg, Krasnodar, St. Petersburg, Salekhard, Chelyabinsk. The radon concentration in samples of buildings was measured using integrated radon radiometers based on nuclear track detectors according to a single method. The surveyed sample included 498 apartments in multi-apartment buildings. Among all the examined building types, the highest average radon concentration is observed in modern energy-efficient houses – 43 Bq/m3. In other types of buildings, the following average radon concentrations were obtained: brick 2–5 floors – 35 Bq/m3; panel 5 floors – 32 Bq/m3; panel 7–12 floors 1970-1990 years of construction – 22 Bq/m3; brick> 5 floors 1970–1980 years of construction – 20 Bq m3; panel, built since 1990 – 24 Bq/m3. The results of the study confirm the assumption that radon concentration in modern multi-storey energy-efficient houses is on average higher than in typical residential buildings of the Soviet period. The increased accumulation of radon in energy-efficient buildings is associated with a decrease in the building envelope permeability and the contribution of fresh air to the general air exchange. Despite the fact that there were no cases of exceeding hygienic standards for the indoor radon concentration in the framework of this study, the higher radon concentration in buildings of increased energy efficiency requires attention from the point of view of implementing the principle of optimization of radiation protection. In the future, extensive construction of energy-efficient buildings may increase the average and collective doses to the urban population in the Russian Federation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 71-78 ◽  
pp. 1824-1830
Author(s):  
Yi Zhong Zhang ◽  
Chao Yan

For the construction of a building was insulated and energy efficient effect, zhengzhou have evaluated the building, construction and the flat roofs structure raging indicators and energy conservation of heat transfer is far below the effect of the relevant provisions. In the heat of the environment, the building runs high energy consumption, raise the roof insulating structure of the insulator, "flat" to "slope" and adopt a ceiling on the roof insulating materials of energy conservation measures for reforming and feasibility of energy conservation raging technical analysis.


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