Advancements in Energy Efficiency and Conservation for Sustainable Buildings
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2026 | Viewed by 2508
Special Issue Editor
Interests: energy conservation; energy efficiency in buildings; building energy performance; human-building interaction; building performance optimization; indoor environmental quality; circular economy in the built environment; life cycle assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The green transition of energy systems introduces new challenges for the design and operation of energy-efficient and sustainable buildings. Integrating passive and active building technologies now requires criteria that extend beyond traditional energy efficiency metrics and critical Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) indicators.
A key aspect of this transition is the interface between Front-of-the-Meter (FTM) and Behind-the-Meter (BTM) energy systems, particularly in buildings equipped with on-site energy generation technologies. The interplay between FTM, BTM, and occupant behavior adds complexity to energy optimization strategies during both design and operational phases.
Furthermore, climate change introduces uncertainty into the contextual design of buildings. Strategies—both passive and active, including vernacular approaches—may become suboptimal or inadequate under future climate conditions. Identifying such vulnerabilities and adapting building systems accordingly is essential.
In addition, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and wind-driven phenomena like dust storms, poses significant risks to energy systems and occupant health. This underscores the importance of advancing research into thermal autonomy, the passive survivability of buildings, the interaction between air quality and building energy performance, and the broader concepts of resilience and sufficiency in building design.
This Special Issue invites research on the following topics:
- Interaction between Front-of-the-Meter (FTM) and Behind-the-Meter (BTM) in buildings;
- Occupant behavior and building energy performance;
- Building energy performance gap;
- Interplay between FTM, BTM, and building occupants’ behavior;
- Novel indoor environmental quality indicators, including energy and non-energy related indicators—thermal autonomy, air quality, daylight availability, visual comfort, view access and quality, among others—and their energy implications;
- Building energy resiliency and sufficiency;
- Adaptation of active and passive building systems to future climate scenarios;
- Mitigating the impact of extreme weather events on building energy and environmental systems;
- Material systems to modulate the environmental behavior of buildings and their energy implications.
Dr. Luis Santos
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 energy efficiency
- uncertainty causes in building energy efficiency
- integration of front-of-the-meter and behind-the-meter in building design
- integration of passive and active strategies for building design and operation
- interaction between users and building energy systems
- integration of material and energy systems in building design
- energy efficient buildings for climate transition
- interplay between indoor environmental quality and building energy performance
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
