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Buildings
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Building Envelope Design and Performance
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Building Envelope Design and Performance

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Architectural Design, Urban Science, and Real Estate".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2015) | Viewed by 34184

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Fitsum Tariku

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Building Science Centre of Excellence, British Columbia Institute of Technology, 3700 Willingdon Ave., Burnaby, BC, Canada
Interests: building performance optimization; net-zero energy; smart buildings; passive design; energy efficiency; thermal comfort; high-performance materials; whole-building hygrothermal performance; building integrated renewable systems; life-cycle assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Buildings are designed to create an isolated space from the surrounding environment and provide the desired interior environmental conditions for the occupants. In addition to fulfilling the function of creating favorable indoor environmental conditions, buildings are expected to be durable and energy efficient. To achieve these functions, building envelope components need to manage and control the dynamic outdoor and indoor climatic loadings, including heat, air, moisture, light, and noise. Judicious design, material choice, and proper installation are the most practical approach for ensuring adequate long-term performance of building envelope systems.

For this Special Issue, you are invited to submit an original research paper and/or a state-of-the-art review on durability and energy performance of building envelope components, including foundation systems, below-grade wall systems, above grade wall systems, fenestration systems, and roof and attic systems.

Dr. Fitsum Tariku
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


Keywords

  • building envelope
  • hygrothermal performance
  • moisture performance
  • durability
  • energy performance
  • fenestration
  • visual comfort
  • acoustics comfort

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

1098 KiB  
Article
Quantifying Change in Buildings in a Future Climate and Their Effect on Energy Systems
by David P. Jenkins, Sandhya Patidar and Sophie A. Simpson
Buildings 2015, 5(3), 985-1002; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings5030985 - 28 Aug 2015
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4578
Abstract
Projected climate change is likely to have a significant impact on a range of energy systems. When a building is the centre of that system, a changing climate will affect the energy system in several ways. Firstly, the energy demand of the building [...] Read more.
Projected climate change is likely to have a significant impact on a range of energy systems. When a building is the centre of that system, a changing climate will affect the energy system in several ways. Firstly, the energy demand of the building will be altered. Taken across the entire building stock, and placed in context of technological and behavioural changes over the same timescale, this can have implications for important parameters such as peak demand and load factors of energy requirement. The performance of demand-side, distribution/transmission and supply-side technologies can also alter as a result of changing temperatures. With such uncertainty, a flexible approach is required for ensuring that this whole energy system is robust for a wide range of future scenarios. Therefore, building design must have a standardised and systematic approach for integrating climate change into the overall energy assessment of a building (or buildings), understanding the implications for the larger energy network. Based on the work of the Low Carbon Futures (LCF) and Adaptation and Resilience In Energy Systems (ARIES) projects, this paper overviews some of the risks that might be linked to a changing climate in relation to provision and use of energy in buildings. The UK is used as a case-study but the outputs are demonstrated to be of relevance, and the tools applicable, to other countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Envelope Design and Performance)
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1659 KiB  
Article
Moisture Performance of Energy-Efficient and Conventional Wood-Frame Wall Assemblies in a Mixed-Humid Climate
by Samuel V. Glass, Vladimir Kochkin, S. Craig Drumheller and Lance Barta
Buildings 2015, 5(3), 759-782; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings5030759 - 01 Jul 2015
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 6718
Abstract
Long-term moisture performance is a critical consideration for design and construction of building envelopes in energy-efficient buildings, yet field measurements of moisture characteristics for highly insulated wood-frame walls in mixed-humid climates are lacking. Temperature, relative humidity, and moisture content of wood framing and [...] Read more.
Long-term moisture performance is a critical consideration for design and construction of building envelopes in energy-efficient buildings, yet field measurements of moisture characteristics for highly insulated wood-frame walls in mixed-humid climates are lacking. Temperature, relative humidity, and moisture content of wood framing and oriented strand board (OSB) structural panel sheathing were measured over a period from mid-November 2011 through March 2013 in both north- and south-facing orientations in test structures near Washington, DC, USA. Wall configurations varied in exterior cladding, water-resistive barrier, level of cavity insulation, presence of exterior continuous insulation, and interior vapor retarder. The combination of high interior humidity and high vapor permeance of painted gypsum board led to significant moisture accumulation in OSB sheathing during winter in walls without a vapor retarder. In contrast, wintertime moisture accumulation was not significant with an interior kraft vapor retarder. Extruded polystyrene exterior insulation had a predictable effect on wall cavity temperature but a marginal impact on OSB moisture content in walls with vinyl siding and interior kraft vapor retarder. Hygrothermal simulations approximately captured the timing of seasonal changes in OSB moisture content, differences between north- and south-facing walls, and differences between walls with and without an interior kraft vapor retarder. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Envelope Design and Performance)
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1510 KiB  
Article
Modeling a Decision Support Tool for Buildable and Sustainable Building Envelope Designs
by Natee Singhaputtangkul and Sui Pheng Low
Buildings 2015, 5(2), 521-535; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings5020521 - 19 May 2015
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6204
Abstract
Sustainability and buildability requirements in building envelope design have significantly gained more importance nowadays, yet there is a lack of an appropriate decision support system (DSS) that can help a building design team to incorporate these requirements and manage their tradeoffs at once. [...] Read more.
Sustainability and buildability requirements in building envelope design have significantly gained more importance nowadays, yet there is a lack of an appropriate decision support system (DSS) that can help a building design team to incorporate these requirements and manage their tradeoffs at once. The main objective of this study is to build such a tool to facilitate a building design team to take into account sustainability and buildability criteria for assessment of building envelopes of high-rise residential buildings in Singapore. Literature reviews were conducted to investigate a comprehensive set of the sustainability and buildability criteria. This also included development of the tool using a Quality Functional Deployment (QFD) approach combined with fuzzy set theory. A building design team was engaged to test the tool with the aim to evaluate usefulness of the tool in managing the tradeoffs among the sustainability and buildability criteria. The results from a qualitative data analysis suggested that the tool allowed the design team to effectively find a balance between the tradeoffs among the criteria when assessing multiple building envelope design alternatives. Main contributions of using this tool are achievement of a more efficient assessment of the building envelopes and more sustainable and buildable building envelope design. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Envelope Design and Performance)
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1539 KiB  
Article
Natural Ventilation with Heat Recovery: A Biomimetic Concept
by Zulfikar A. Adamu and Andrew D.F. Price
Buildings 2015, 5(2), 405-423; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings5020405 - 08 May 2015
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 10940
Abstract
In temperate countries, heat recovery is often desirable through mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). Drawbacks of MVHR include use of electric power and complex ducting, while alternative passive heat recovery systems in the form of roof or chimney-based solutions are limited to [...] Read more.
In temperate countries, heat recovery is often desirable through mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). Drawbacks of MVHR include use of electric power and complex ducting, while alternative passive heat recovery systems in the form of roof or chimney-based solutions are limited to low rise buildings. This paper describes a biomimetic concept for natural ventilation with heat recovery (NVHR). The NVHR system mimics the process of water/mineral extraction from urine in the Loop of Henle (part of human kidney). Simulations on a facade-integrated Chamber successfully imitated the geometry and behaviour of the Loop of Henle (LoH). Using a space measuring 12 m2 in area and assuming two heat densities of 18.75 W/m2 (single occupancy) or 30 W/m2 (double occupancy), the maximum indoor temperatures achievable are up to 19.3 °C and 22.3 °C respectively. These come with mean relative ventilation rates of 0.92 air changes per hour (ACH) or 10.7 L·s−1 and 0.92 ACH (11.55 L·s−1), respectively, for the month of January. With active heating and single occupant, the LoH Chamber consumes between 65.7% and 72.1% of the annual heating energy required by a similar naturally ventilated space without heat recovery. The LoH Chamber could operate as stand-alone indoor cabinet, benefitting refurbishment of buildings and evading constraints of complicated ducting, external aesthetic or building age. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Envelope Design and Performance)
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574 KiB  
Article
Field Observation of Cooling Energy Savings Due to High-Reflectance Paints
by Hideki Takebayashi and Chihiro Yamada
Buildings 2015, 5(2), 310-317; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings5020310 - 20 Apr 2015
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4264
Abstract
Cooling energy savings in a building with the roof coated with high-reflectance paint are examined. It is difficult to recognize such savings using the data observed hourly. Among the factors assumed to affect cooling energy load are: (1) internal heat generation, (2) set [...] Read more.
Cooling energy savings in a building with the roof coated with high-reflectance paint are examined. It is difficult to recognize such savings using the data observed hourly. Among the factors assumed to affect cooling energy load are: (1) internal heat generation, (2) set temperature, and (3) weather conditions. By analyzing the relationship between indoor-outdoor air temperature difference (averaged) and electric power consumption (integrated) of the air conditioner in the building over a day, the reduction in electric power consumption due to the use of a high-reflectance paint coating is estimated at approximately 72 Wh·m−2·day−1. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Building Envelope Design and Performance)
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