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Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction

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A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2023) | Viewed by 29039

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Dr. Paulo Santos

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030 - 788 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: sustainability; thermal behaviour and energy efficiency of buildings; lightweight steel framed (LSF) construction; circular economy; construction safety management; sustainable materials
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, energy and sustainability are two of the major concerns of humankind. Given the relevant energy consumption share of the buildings sector, it is very important to search for innovative design solutions and for the optimal thermal performance of buildings in order to reduce energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions, while maintaining the comfort levels of the occupants. Additionally, given the environmental burdens of the construction sector, seeking more environmentally responsible processes and a more efficient use of resources is currently attracting more attention.

This Special Issue is dedicated to the analysis of the recent advances on the following topics: (1) the thermal behaviour improvement of a building’s elements (e.g., walls, floors, roofs, windows, doors, etc.); (2) energy efficiency in buildings; and (3) sustainable construction. All types of the following research approaches are acceptable: experimental, theoretical, numerical, analytical, computational, case studies, and their combinations. The main criteria for paper acceptance are academic excellence; scientific soundness; and the originality and novelty of applications, methods, fundamental findings, or experiments.

The Special Issue will include the following topics:

Thermal behaviour improvement of a building’s components (e.g., walls, floors, roofs, windows, doors, etc.);
Thermal bridges assessment and mitigation;
Energy efficiency in buildings;
Thermal inertia increase techniques (e.g., use of PCMs—phase change materials);
Building location and climate—air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, ground temperature, daylight hours, and so on;
Building envelope—air tightness, thermal insulation, glazed openings, shading, and so on;
Building services—appliances, illumination, heating, air-conditioning, ventilation, heat recover, hot water production, and so on;
Human factors—occupancy schedule, utilization type, internal heat gains, and so on;
Passive heating and cooling techniques—natural ventilation, solar heat gains, Trombe walls, ground source heat exchangers, and so on;
Renewable energy sources for building applications—solar collectors for domestic hot water production, photovoltaic solar panels, wind turbines, and so on;
Optimization of thermal behaviour and of energy efficiency of buildings;
Environmental life-cycle assessment of buildings and building components;
Life-cycle cost assessment of buildings and building components;
Building’s operational and embodied energy.

Prof. Dr. Paulo Santos
Guest Editor

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Related Special Issue

Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction: 4th Edition in Energies (2 articles)

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

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33 pages, 3913 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermophysical Parameters and Hygrothermal Simulation of Aerogel-Based Fibre-Enhanced Thermal Insulating Renders Applied on Exterior Walls

by Marco Pedroso, Maria da Glória Gomes, José Dinis Silvestre, Ahmed Hawreen and Inês Flores-Colen

Energies 2023, 16(7), 3048; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16073048 - 27 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1872

Abstract

Aerogel-based renders have been the subject of research in the last few years due to their high thermal insulation characteristics and the need for buildings to become more energy-efficient. This study compares the hygrothermal behaviour of an aerogel-based render (reference) with the same base formulation, replacing the powder with three different fibres (aramid 0.5%, sisal 0.1%, and biomass 0.1%, by total volume) that can be used in buildings’ envelopes. The experimental programme allowed us to characterise and compare the thermophysical properties of the different formulations and then simulate the hygrothermal performance of these solutions when applied to walls for different climatic conditions, considering additional parameters such as total water content, drying potential, water content levels, and thermal insulating performance. These thermophysical parameters were then included in hygrothermal numerical simulations. The results allowed us to verify that the incorporation of fibres improved the hygrothermal properties due to lower capillary absorption and higher water vapour permeability. These renderings showed a high potential for application to building envelopes in different climatic conditions, improving their energy efficiency by up to 20% when compared to other conventional solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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30 pages, 5992 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simplified Guidelines for Retrofitting Scenarios in the European Countries

by André Furtado, Hugo Rodrigues and Humberto Varum

Energies 2023, 16(5), 2408; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16052408 - 2 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1730

Abstract

A large part of the European building stock was built before implementing the recent energy and structural codes, resulting in buildings characterized by deficiencies in terms of comfort, energy savings and structural safety. The retrofitting and rehabilitation of the existing building stock need to be adequately performed, aiming to improve the seismic and energy performance simultaneously. The work summarized here is dedicated to defining priority scenarios for buildings’ retrofitting to improve the seismic safety and energy efficiency of the European Union (EU) building stock. First, the state of the EU building stock is analysed in terms of buildings’ age, types of structures, energy efficiency, energy consumption and energy poverty. Then, the EU climate demands are presented, namely the regions with higher temperature variations, i.e., heating or cooling degree days. The EU seismic risk is also presented and discussed in terms of average annual losses, average annual economic losses and average annual life losses. Based on these input parameters, nine seismic–climate regions in the EU are proposed using a simplified approach. Finally, retrofitting scenarios are proposed for two types of buildings (i.e., masonry and reinforced concrete) based on their seismic–climate region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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17 pages, 5226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Design Synthesis: Algorithmic Generation of Building Shape Configurations

by Tamás Storcz, Zsolt Ercsey, Kristóf Roland Horváth, Zoltán Kovács, Balázs Dávid and István Kistelegdi

Energies 2023, 16(5), 2254; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16052254 - 26 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2091

Abstract

The building industry is responsible for a significant degree of energy consumption in the world, causing negative climate changes and energy supply uncertainties due to low energy efficiency as well as the high resource demand of construction. Consequently, energy design optimization has become an important research field. Passive design strategies are one of the most definitive factors concerning energy-related building development. The given architectural problem calls for a method that can create all potentially feasible building geometries, thus guaranteeing the optimal solution which is addressed in the current paper. To reach this requirement, the necessity of a modular space arrangement system and architectural selection rules were determined, focusing on the relationship between the rules and the generation of geometries with mathematical rigor. Next, the architecture-based congruency analysis performed, further reduced the number of simulation cases. With the simulations, it is illustrated how the building shape versions affect the heating energy demands: the performance of the configurations themselves. Results clearly illustrate the importance of the synthesis step of the architectural design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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20 pages, 5024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Machine Learning to Assist a Moisture Durability Tool

by Mikael Salonvaara, Andre Desjarlais, Antonio J. Aldykiewicz, Jr., Emishaw Iffa, Philip Boudreaux, Jin Dong, Boming Liu, Gina Accawi, Diana Hun, Eric Werling and Sven Mumme

Energies 2023, 16(4), 2033; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16042033 - 18 Feb 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1833

Abstract

The design of moisture-durable building enclosures is complicated by the number of materials, exposure conditions, and performance requirements. Hygrothermal simulations are used to assess moisture durability, but these require in-depth knowledge to be properly implemented. Machine learning (ML) offers the opportunity to simplify the design process by eliminating the need to carry out hygrothermal simulations. ML was used to assess the moisture durability of a building enclosure design and simplify the design process. This work used ML to predict the mold index and maximum moisture content of layers in typical residential wall constructions. Results show that ML, within the constraints of the construction, including exposure conditions, does an excellent job in predicting performance compared to hygrothermal simulations with a coefficient of determination, R², over 0.90. Furthermore, the results indicate that the material properties of the vapor barrier and continuous insulation layer are strongly correlated to performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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16 pages, 35082 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Performance of Lightweight Steel Framed Facade Walls Using Thermal Break Strips and ETICS: A Parametric Study

by Paulo Santos, Paulo Lopes and David Abrantes

Energies 2023, 16(4), 1699; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16041699 - 8 Feb 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2311

Abstract

The thermal performance of lightweight steel framed (LSF) facade walls depends on many factors, such as the steel studs, the batt insulation, the external thermal insulation composite systems (ETICS), and the sheathing layers. Moreover, the high thermal conductivity of steel could negatively affect their thermal performance due to the consequent thermal bridge effect. Furthermore, in LSF walls, the batt insulation is usually bridged by the steel studs. Thus, some analytical calculation procedures defined in standards (e.g., ISO 6946) are not valid, further complicating their thermal performance quantification. In this research, a parametric study to evaluate the thermal performance of facade LSF walls is presented. Seven relevant parameters are assessed, most of them related to the use of thermal break strips (TBS) and ETICS. The 2D numerical models used to predict the conductive

R

-values were experimentally validated, and their precision was successfully verified. As earlier found in a previous research work for partition LSF walls, it is also more effective for facades to increase the TBS thickness rather than their width, with the

R

-value increments being slightly smaller for facade LSF walls. These features were more pronounced for double TBS and for the smaller stud spacing (400 mm). The major thermal performance improvements were found when increasing the ETICS insulation thickness and decreasing their thermal conductivity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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22 pages, 6406 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Heated Window System to Enhance Indoor Thermal Comfort and Reduce Heating Demands Based on Simulation Analysis in South Korea

by Hyomun Lee, Kyungwoo Lee, Eunho Kang, Dongsu Kim, Myunghwan Oh and Jongho Yoon

Energies 2023, 16(3), 1481; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16031481 - 2 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2111

Abstract

Heated glass can be applied to improve windows’ condensation resistance and indoor thermal comfort in buildings. Although this applied technology has advantages, there are still some concerns in practical applications, such as additional energy consumption and control issues. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a heated window heating (HWH) system in terms of thermal comfort and heating energy performance (HEP). The simulation-based analysis is performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the HWH using a residential building model and to compare it with radiant floor heating (RFH) and hybrid heating (HH) systems (i.e., combined HWH and RFH). This study also investigates the peak and cumulative heating loads using HWH systems with various scenarios of control methods and setpoint temperature. The predicted mean vote (PMV) is used as an indoor thermal comfort index. The ratio of cumulative thermal comfort time to the entire heating period is calculated. The results show that HWH and HH can reduce the heating load by up to 65.60% and 50.95%, respectively, compared to RFH. In addition, the times of thermal comfort can be increased by 12.55% and 6.98% with HWH and HH, respectively. However, considering the social practices of South Korea, HH is more suitable than HWH. Further investigations for HH show that a surface setpoint of 26 °C is proper, considering both heating demands and thermal comfort. In addition, the setpoint temperature should be determined considering HEP and the thermal comfort for HWH, and the optimal setpoint temperature was suggested under specific conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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23 pages, 9213 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Embodied vs. Operational Energy and Carbon in Retail Building Shells: A Case Study in Portugal

by Ana Ferreira, Manuel Duarte Pinheiro, Jorge de Brito and Ricardo Mateus

Energies 2023, 16(1), 378; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16010378 - 29 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2593

Abstract

(1) Background: The embodied energy of building materials is a significant contributor to climate change, in tandem with the energy use intensity (EUI). Yet, studies on the material impacts of European retail buildings, namely with relation to EUI, are missing. Hence, this study set out to: (i) evaluate the embodied energy and carbon emissions for a European retail building; (ii) quantify the material flow in terms of mass; (iii) compare the embodied aspects to the operational EUI and carbon use intensity (CUI); (iv) assess building materials with higher impacts; and (v) investigate strategies to mitigate materials’ impacts. (2) Methods: A Portuguese retail building was selected as a case study. A simplified LCA method was followed (cradle-to-gate), analysing the shell building materials in terms of primary energy demand and global warming potential. (3) Results: the embodied energy represented 32% of total lifecycle energy while the embodied carbon represented 94%. EUI was 1×kWh/m²/y while CUI was 21 kg CO₂eq/m²/y. The embodied energy was 4248 kWh/m², and the embodied carbon was 1689 kg CO₂eq/m². Cement mortar, steel, concrete, and extruded polystyrene were the most intensive materials. (4) Conclusions: The embodied impacts of the analysed store could decrease by choosing stone wool sandwich panels for the facades instead of extruded polystyrene panels and roof systems with metal sheet coverings instead of bitumen materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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18 pages, 5014 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Thermal Break Strips’ Improvement in Facade LSF Walls

by Paulo Santos, Diogo Mateus, Daniel Ferrandez and Amparo Verdu

Energies 2022, 15(21), 8169; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15218169 - 2 Nov 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1754

Abstract

Thermal bridges may have a significant prejudicial impact on the thermal behavior and energy efficiency of buildings. Given the high thermal conductivity of steel, in Lightweight Steel Framed (LSF) buildings, this detrimental effect could be even greater. The use of thermal break (TB) strips is one of the most broadly implemented thermal bridge mitigation technics. In a previous study, the performance of TB strips in partition LSF walls was evaluated. However, a search of the literature found no similar experimental campaigns for facade LSF walls, which are even more relevant for a building’s overall energy efficiency since they are in direct contact with the external environmental conditions. In this article the thermal performance of ten facade LSF wall configurations were measured, using the heat flow meter (HFM) method. These measurements were compared to numerical simulation predictions, exhibiting excellent similarity and, consequently, high reliability. One reference wall, three TB strip locations in the steel stud flanges and three TB strip materials were assessed. The outer and inner TB strips showed quite similar thermal performances, but with slightly higher thermal resistance for outer TB strips (around +1%). Furthermore, the TB strips were clearly less efficient in facade LSF walls when compared to their thermal performance improvement in load-bearing partition LSF walls. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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Review

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19 pages, 1604 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advanced Active and Passive Methods in Residential Energy Efficiency

by Hessam Taherian and Robert W. Peters

Energies 2023, 16(9), 3905; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093905 - 5 May 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3685

Abstract

Energy efficiency in buildings is very important since it contributes significantly to fossil fuel consumption and consequently climate change. Several approaches have been taken by researchers and the industry to address the issue. These approaches are classified as either passive or active approaches. The purpose of this review article is to summarize a number of the technologies that have been investigated and/or developed. In this technical review paper, the more commonly used active and passive building energy conservation techniques are described and discussed. The pros and cons of both the active and passive energy techniques are described with appropriate reference citations provided. This review article provides a description to give an understanding of building conservation approaches. In the active classification, several methods have been reviewed that include earth-to-air heat exchangers, ground-source and hybrid heat pumps, and the use of new refrigerants, among other methods. In the passive classification, methods such as vegetated roofs, solar chimneys, natural ventilation, and more are discussed. Often, in a building, multiple passive and active methods can be employed simultaneously. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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23 pages, 6669 KiB

Open AccessReview

Energy Efficiency of Tall Buildings: A Global Snapshot of Innovative Design

by Mir M. Ali, Kheir Al-Kodmany and Paul J. Armstrong

Energies 2023, 16(4), 2063; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16042063 - 20 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 7773

Abstract

Design priorities for tall and supertall buildings have for some time shifted to achieving more energy efficiency to address the energy needs of the increasing global population. Engineers and architects aim to achieve energy conservation through active and passive approaches, pursuing technological innovations and adopting climate-responsive design. Because of the green movement currently dominating the building industry, tall buildings that need a massive amount of energy to build and operate, and the practical desire to switch from non-renewable to clean renewable energy resources, intense attention has been given to the energy efficiency of tall buildings in the recent past. Due to the vast array of energy-efficient design features, equipment, and applications available now, it is timely to examine the pros and cons of these issues. This review paper is an attempt to comprehensively present and deliberate these issues. It illustrates and discusses the concepts and applications through a few case studies from several continents worldwide. The review shows that the design of tall buildings focusing on energy conservation is an evolutionary process and there is a need for further research about how to face the associated challenges to improve energy efficiency by developing creative solutions and strategies, as well as applying additional innovative technologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volume III: Thermal Behaviour, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Sustainable Construction)

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