Energy-Efficient Retrofit Measures to Achieve Nearly Zero Energy Buildings

Considering the 2021 IPCC report that justly attributes our deteriorating climatic condition to human doing, the need to develop nearly zero energy building (nZEB) practices is gaining urgency. However, rather than the typical focus on developing greenfield net-zero initiatives, retrofitting underperforming buildings could create significant scale climate positive impacts faster. The chapter accordingly discusses energy-efficient retrofitting methods under three categorical sectors—visual comfort (daylight-based zoning, shadings); thermal comfort and ventilation (solar radiation-based zoning, central atrium plus interior openings, insulation, and window replacement); energy consumption (efficient lighting system, and controllers, material and HVAC system optimization, PV panels as the renewable energy source). This chapter further substantiates these theoretical underpinnings with an implemented design scheme—an educational building within a cold semiarid climatic condition—to showcase the on-ground impact of these retrofitting strategies in reducing the energy used for heating and cooling and lighting purposes.

Wooden Facade Renovation and Additional Floor Construction for Suburban Development in Finland

Finnish urban settlements are in the age of restoration, and the suburbs need improvements in Finland. In this sense, wooden facade renovation and additional floor construction are viable and sustainable solutions for this development in the Finnish context. This chapter focuses on these important applications from the Finnish residents’ perspective as ecologically sound engineering solutions through a survey. In doing so, the challenges of facade renovation, as well as the benefits of additional floor construction, were presented. The main purpose of the survey was to get the opinions of the residents, find out which variables are important, make inferences for the planning and improvement of such areas, and determine what will be emphasized in the sustainable suburban development of the future. Therefore, the results were based on this empirical approach—survey—but further research such as energy analysis, wood-based facade renovation, and additional floor solutions will be done as part of other studies. It is believed that this study will contribute to the use of sustainable materials and decarbonization of buildings as well as zero energy building (nZEB) to overcome the challenges posed by climate change by the diffusion of wood in the renovation of buildings.

Introduction of ZEB Technology in Japan

It is necessary to reduce energy consumption in order to combat global warming and stabilize energy supply and demand. In particular, final energy consumption in the business sector (buildings such as office buildings and commercial facilities) accounted for about 16.1% of Japan\'s total in FY2018 database, an increase from about 12.6% in FY1990 database. Therefore, there is a need for the spread of zero-energy building (ZEB), which can significantly reduce the energy consumption in buildings. Since people are active in the building, energy consumption cannot be completely reduced to zero; however, it can be closer to ZEB by reducing the energy used in the building and creating energy in the building as much as possible. This chapter introduces some technologies of energy saving and energy creation to realize ZEB in general buildings in Japan.

Complementary Building Concept: Wooden Apartment Building: The Noppa toward Zero Energy Building Approach

Increasing the construction of wooden apartment buildings has its place as part of preventing climate change. This chapter aims to explore the possibilities of expanding the construction of wooden apartment buildings on plots owned by the City of Helsinki in the Mellunkylä area by developing a series-produced wooden apartment building concept suitable for complementary construction—The Noppa concept. The sustainability of this approach is considered from the perspective of materials, construction methods, adaptability of the designed spaces, and housing design flexibility. In this study, the Noppa wooden apartment building concept with cross-laminated timber (CLT) elements has been developed varying in its facilities and architectural design features through architectural modeling programs to be used for complementary construction. The research findings are based on a theoretical approach that has not yet been practically tested but is proposed considering existing construction practices that need further investigation. It is believed that this chapter will contribute to the spread of wooden apartments to achieve a low-carbon economy as one of the key tools in tackling climate change problems. Particularly, proposed architectural design solutions will contribute to decarbonization of buildings as well as zero energy building (nZEB) approach.

Design and Analysis of In-Pipe Hydro-Turbine for an Optimized Nearly Zero Energy Building

Pakistan receives Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI) exceeding 2000 kWh/m²/annum on approximately 83% of its land, which is very suitable for photovoltaic production. This energy can be easily utilized in conjunction with other renewable energy resources to meet the energy demands and reduce the carbon footprint of the country. In this research, a hybrid renewable energy solution based on a nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) model is proposed for a university facility. The building in consideration has a continuous flow of water through its water delivery vertical pipelines. A horizontal-axis spherical helical turbine is designed in SolidWorks and is analyzed through a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis in ANSYS Fluent 18.1 based on the K-epsilon turbulent model. Results obtained from ANSYS Fluent have shown that a 24 feet vertical channel with a water flow of 0.2309 m3/s and velocity of 12.66 m/s can run the designed hydroelectric turbine, delivering 168 W of mechanical power at 250 r.p.m. Based on the turbine, a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) comprising photovoltaic and hydroelectric power is modelled and analyzed in HOMER Pro software. Among different architectures, it was found that architecture with hydroelectric and photovoltaic energy provided the best COE of $0.09418.

NEW TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS IN UPGRADING HISTORIC BUILDING TO STANDARD OF NEARLY ZERO-ENERGY BUILDING. EXAMPLE OF TENEMENT HOUSE IN POZNAŃ

This article aims at discussing the issue of relation between an existing historic building and modern technology, which may lead to upgrading the historic building to parameters of a nearly zeroenergy building. It focuses on the possibility to adjust the facility to contemporary forms of using without considerable prejudice to its historic substance and identity, on contrary, with due respect for the old tissue in the context of NZEB parametrisation. The adjustment refers to innovative solutions allowing upgrade of the building by using the most effective technologies based on renewable energy, improved power efficiency of the structure, technical equipment, exterior and interior cladding and meeting requirements connected with minimum global cost in the life cycle assessment of the building.

Introductory Review of Energy Efficiency in Buildings Retrofits

Energy-efficient building retrofits must be approached from three perspectives: law regulation approach, financial incentives approach, and practice approach. The concepts of zero energy building and life cycle energy building are presented as the basis for energy retrofits. Multi-criteria boards to assess the decision-making process are reviewed, analysed, and categorised under an architectonic perspective. Some examples are presented, with different packages of measures, from deep to non-invasive energy retrofits. Passive and active energy generation systems, together with control and management strategies, are the physical elements identified with the potential to improve buildings’ energy efficiency. From a practice approach, this literature review identifies the concept of performance-based architectural design to optimise the planning and design of buildings’ energy retrofits. In addition, tools such as Building Information Modelling are described as part of optimisation processes, as they enable designers to rapidly analyse and simulate a building’s performance at the design stage.