Smart Buildings for a Sustainable Future

Dear Colleagues,

The global climate system is being affected by rising energy consumption as well as the emission of greenhouse gases, of which the most significant is CO₂. The building sector plays a significant role in achieving 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, since it is the largest energy-consuming sector, accounting for over one-third of final energy consumption globally and being an equally important source of CO₂ emissions. Approximately 85% of the EU’s building stock, corresponding to 220 million building units, was constructed before 2001, and most of this stock will still be occupied until 2050. The majority of these building units rely on fossil fuels for heating and cooling. In addition, technical installations in these buildings are likely to be close to the end of their expected life cycle and need to be replaced. To achieve a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the final energy consumption, energy consumption for heating and cooling, and greenhouse gas emission of buildings in the EU should be reduced by 14%, 18%, and 60%, respectively.

To accelerate the implementation of energy-efficient renovations in buildings, one should comprehensively address sustainability, as energy renovations can present various possibilities and provide numerous social, economic, and environmental benefits. For instance, implementing energy renovations can significantly improve residents’ health and wellbeing. In addition, scaling up energy renovations can provide employment opportunities for construction actors and increases the demand for energy-efficient equipment, thereby providing long-term value for buildings. According to the European Commission, by 2030, about 35 million buildings could be renovated and almost 160,000 jobs generated in the EU. Furthermore, prompting energy renovations can reduce energy poverty in European countries.

The purpose of this Energies (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies) Special Issue on “Smart Buildings for a Sustainable Future” is to publish a set of research articles that demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative concepts, solutions, and materials, to fulfil the maximum building energy demands meeting long-term and changing needs and requirements of building users.

We invite researchers to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to understand the recent advances and innovation in these research fields. We are particularly interested in articles describing recent trends, developments, and applications of new thermal energy management solutions capable of fulfilling the electrical, thermal, and cooling demands of low-energy consumption buildings. Manuscripts combining experimental implementation with theoretical calculations and technoeconomic assessment are welcome.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

• Emerging materials for thermal energy management;
• Smart buildings;
• BIM models;
• Digital building twin;
• Near-zero energy buildings (nZEBs) and zero energy buildings (ZEBs);
• Advanced insulation materials, components, and systems;
• Modeling of advanced materials and technologies in buildings;
• Life cycle assessment (LCA);
• Additive and advanced materials manufacturing/3D printing;
• Sustainable, resource-efficient, and low-carbon technologies in energy-intensive environments;
• Technologies enabling energy-efficient, low environmental impact buildings and systems.

Dr. João M. P. Q. Delgado
Prof. Dr. Ana Sofia Guimarães
Prof. Dr. Adelio Mendes
Guest Editors

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. 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.

• renewable technologies
• energy management
• energy storage systems
• energy efficient buildings
• low/nearly zero and energy positive buildings
• sustainable design (for recycling, for environment, eco-design)
• advanced materials and nanomaterials
• 3d printing
• modeling and simulation
• industry 4.0