scholarly journals A MODEL OF A NEAR-ZERO ENERGY HOME (nzeh) USING PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES AND PV TECHNOLOGY IN HOT CLIMATES

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf T. Syed ◽  
Adel A. Abdou

INTRODUCTION Recent development has seen a drastic increase in energy use trends in Saudi Arabian buildings leading to a demand for an effective course of action for energy conservation and production. A case study-based research initiative exploring near-zero energy potential in Saudi Arabia was undertaken. A 4-bedroom detached single-family faculty residence at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) representing common regional housing design trends was utilized. A base case simulation model of the house was developed and validated using short-term and real-time energy consumption data. Three sets of strategies: passive design strategies, representative codes and standards, and renewable technology were employed in the new design of the house. Passive strategies comprised a green roof, a ventilated wall system, a sloped roof, and insulation for thermal bridges. These alternatives helped reduce the annual energy consumption of the house by 17.2%. The most recent version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC 2012) was also incorporated along with ASHRAE Standard 62.2 for ventilation. The code and standard together reduced the annual energy consumption by 31.1%. Solar PV was then utilized to reduce grid utilization for the remainder of the house energy loads. This strategy provided 24.7% of the total energy consumed annually. A combination of strategies showed a 70.7% energy consumption reduction, thereby decreasing the energy index of the house from 162.9 to 47.7 kWh/m2/yr. The Zero Energy Building (ZEB) concepts and strategies utilized in this study demonstrate a socially responsible approach to achieving near-zero energy performance for an existing house.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 8064
Author(s):  
Ana Paola Vargas ◽  
Leon Hamui

High energy consumption as a result of an inefficient design has both economic and environmental repercussions throughout the life cycle of a building. In Mexico, the residential sector is the third-largest final energy consumer, therefore improving the performance of existing buildings is considered an effective method in achieving energy savings. Moreover, in Mexico warm climate regions predominate, which impacts energy consumption. This article examines a linked, single-family house located in the hot-humid climate city of Villahermosa, Tabasco (México). DesignBuilder software was used to conduct the thermal energy performance simulation of the existing building (base case) and to evaluate the energy-saving potentials by implementing different passive design strategies. As a result, the annual electricity consumption of the base case decreased a maximum of 2.0% with the passive design strategy in exterior windows, 4.9% in walls and, 13.7% reduction in roofs, the latter being the enclosure with the greatest reduction achieved. Nevertheless, a final adaptation proposal with the passive design strategies, whose results represented the highest energy savings, accomplished a total reduction of 23.5% with a payback period of 5.8 years.


2020 ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Kuladeep Kumar Sadevi ◽  
Avlokita Agrawal

With the rise in awareness of energy efficient buildings and adoption of mandatory energy conservation codes across the globe, significant change is being observed in the way the buildings are designed. With the launch of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in India, climate responsive designs and passive cooling techniques are being explored increasingly in building designs. Of all the building envelope components, roof surface has been identified as the most significant with respect to the heat gain due to the incident solar radiation on buildings, especially in tropical climatic conditions. Since ECBC specifies stringent U-Values for roof assembly, use of insulating materials is becoming popular. Along with insulation, the shading of the roof is also observed to be an important strategy for improving thermal performance of the building, especially in Warm and humid climatic conditions. This study intends to assess the impact of roof shading on building’s energy performance in comparison to that of exposed roof with insulation. A typical office building with specific geometry and schedules has been identified as base case model for this study. This building is simulated using energy modelling software ‘Design Builder’ with base case parameters as prescribed in ECBC. Further, the same building has been simulated parametrically adjusting the amount of roof insulation and roof shading simultaneously. The overall energy consumption and the envelope performance of the top floor are extracted for analysis. The results indicate that the roof shading is an effective passive cooling strategy for both naturally ventilated and air conditioned buildings in Warm and humid climates of India. It is also observed that a fully shaded roof outperforms the insulated roof as per ECBC prescription. Provision of shading over roof reduces the annual energy consumption of building in case of both insulated and uninsulated roofs. However, the impact is higher for uninsulated roofs (U-Value of 3.933 W/m2K), being 4.18% as compared to 0.59% for insulated roofs (U-Value of 0.33 W/m2K).While the general assumption is that roof insulation helps in reducing the energy consumption in tropical buildings, it is observed to be the other way when insulation is provided with roof shading. It is due to restricted heat loss during night.


2022 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nedhal Al-Tamimi

This study aims to assess passive design features through the extensive modifications of building envelopes to affect the energy efficiency of residential buildings in hot arid climates. In support of the aim of this research, the annual electric energy bill of a typical residential building in Sharurah was collected and analyzed. Then, the DesignBuilder simulation program was used to investigate how different modifications of building envelopes could affect the energy consumption of the residential buildings under common scenarios. Varied thermal insulation, different types of glass, shading devices, and green roof were investigated with this perspective. The simulation results show that thermal insulation can significantly reduce annual energy consumption by as high as 23.6%, followed by green roofs. In contrast, shading devices and glazing system types were fewer superiors. The results also indicate that the effective combination of certain strategies can reduce total energy consumption by 35.4% relative to the base case (BC) of this research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Joana Aleixo ◽  
Gonçalo Roque Araújo ◽  
Manuel Correia Guedes

Passive design strategies aim at creating comfortable buildings while reducing their energy consumption. Simple strategies such as the correct orientation of the building, the correct design of the building's openings, or the correct sizing of the building's constituent parts (such as walls, ceilings, etc.) according to their material specificities (regarding the region's climate) would greatly improve the performance of a building. This paper intends to show how the application of simple passive techniques in housing design can reduce the energy loads spent annually and improve the house's interior comfort. It translates the results of interior comfort computer simulations into suggestions for the application of passive strategies in housing design, to improve the living conditions in Southern Angola.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 563
Author(s):  
Eduardo Galán Navia-Osorio ◽  
Fernando R. Mazarrón ◽  
César Porras-Amores ◽  
Ignacio Cañas

The industrial sector needs solutions and strategies that allow buildings to reduce their energy consumption and develop their daily business activities. This paper discusses the long-term monitoring measures of indoor thermal conditions in a warehouse with zero energy consumption. The objective is to promote the use of passive design strategies within the industrial sector by analyzing an example of the feasibility of achieving controlled environmental conditions with zero energy consumption. In total, more than a million data points were processed and analyzed in different periods of the year. Experimental measurements showed strong gradients in the vertical distribution of temperature, this being a key aspect of the general behavior of the indoor environment of the warehouse. A standard comparison variable was developed to quantify the monthly and daily evolution of vertical stratification of the air to explain in detail the thermal behavior of the warehouse throughout the year. The results showed the efficacy of the design of these constructions to mitigate the high temperatures typical in a Mediterranean-Oceanic climate. This example of ingenuity in passive design demonstrates how, by combining the right strategies, the desired conditions can be obtained without any energy consumption.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noor Aziah Mohd Ariffin

In hot-humid Malaysia, there are around five million units of housing. Among these, the medium-density terraced are the most built. However, little emphasis was given to designing for thermal comfort and energy efficiency. Consequently, air-conditioning is ubiquitous with ever-rising residential energy consumption. This paper studied passive design systems to improve living conditions and conserve energy through orientation and insulation parameters for terraced housing. Utilizing a triangulation of methods to correlate between thermal comfort and energy performance, findings from the questionnaire survey, data monitoring and computer simulation contended that with the passive design strategies minimum thermal comfort is attainable and energy savings predicted.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 5038
Author(s):  
Goopyo Hong ◽  
Chul Kim ◽  
Jun Hong

In commercial buildings, HVAC systems are becoming a primary driver of energy consumption, which already account for 45% of the total building energy consumption. In the previous literature, researchers have studied several energy conservation measures to reduce HVAC system energy consumption. One of the effective ways is an economizer in air-handling units. Therefore, this study quantified the impact of the outdoor air fraction by economizer control type in cooling system loads based on actual air-handling unit operation data in a hospital. The optimal outdoor air fraction and energy performance for economizer control types were calculated and analyzed. The result showed that economizer controls using optimal outdoor air fraction were up to 45% more efficient in cooling loads than existing HVAC operations in the hospital. The energy savings potential was 6–14% of the differential dry-bulb temperature control, 17–27% of the differential enthalpy control, 8–17% of the differential dry-bulb temperature and high-limit differential enthalpy control, and 16–27% of the differential enthalpy and high-limit differential dry-bulb temperature control compared to the no economizer control. The result of this study will contribute to providing a better understanding of economizer controls in the hospital when the building operates in hot-humid climate regions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 790-816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Fonseca ◽  
Pedro Moura ◽  
Humberto Jorge ◽  
Aníbal de Almeida

Purpose The purpose of this study was to design a renovation plan for a university campus building (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) with the aim to achieve nearly zero energy performance, ensuring a low specific demand (lower than 44 kWh/m2) and a high level of on-site renewable generation (equivalent to more than 20 per cent of the energy demand). Design/methodology/approach The baseline demand was characterized based on energy audits, on smart metering data and on the existing building management system data, showing a recent reduction of the electricity demand owing to some implemented measures. The renovation plan was then designed with two main measures, the total replacement of the actual lighting by LEDs and the installation of a photovoltaic system (PV) with 78.8 kWp coupled with an energy storage system with 100 kWh of lithium-ion batteries. Findings The designed renovation achieved energy savings of 20 per cent, with 27.5 per cent of the consumed energy supplied by the PV system. This will ensure a reduction of the specific energy of the building to only 30 kWh/m2, with 42.4 per cent savings on the net-energy demand. Practical implications The designed renovation proves that it is possible to achieve nearly zero energy goals with cost-effective solutions, presenting the lighting renovation and the solar PV generation system a payback of 2.3 and 6.9 years, respectively. Originality/value This study innovated by defining ambitious goals to achieve nearly zero energy levels and presenting a design based on a comprehensive lighting retrofit and PV generation, whereas other studies are mostly based on envelope refurbishment and behaviour changes.


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