Building envelope simulation for sustainable built environment

Development of a Surface Temperature Sensor to Enhance Energy Efficiency Actions in Buildings

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s18093046 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 3046 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lia Mota ◽

Alexandre Mota ◽

Cláudia Pezzuto ◽

Marcius Carvalho ◽

Marina Lavorato ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Energy Efficiency ◽

Built Environment ◽

Surface Temperature ◽

Remote Monitoring ◽

Temperature Sensor ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Low Cost ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Rating Systems ◽

Urban Centers

The air temperature increase in urban centers can lead to problems such as increased energy consumption associated to air conditioning, the intensification of pollution, human discomfort and health problems. In this context, the building envelope plays an important role in urban thermal equilibrium. Energy efficiency rating systems for buildings (LEED—Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, AQUA—High Environmental Quality, PROCEL Edifica, etc.) stimulate energy efficiency actions in the built environment, considering, for example, the envelope and energy efficiency initiatives in buildings. Research carried out recently has shown that monitoring of buildings can provide important information about building performance, supporting building control strategies and enabling actions aimed at improving energy efficiency and thermal comfort. More specifically, wireless sensors are also being used to monitor buildings. This work proposes and presents the development of a surface temperature sensor that can support actions to enhance energy efficiency in the built environment, meeting the requirements proposed by the energy efficiency rating systems of buildings. This sensor must have characteristics such as low cost, the storage capacity of a large amount of data and the possibility of remote monitoring of the collected temperatures. Computer simulations and validation tests were carried out showing that the proposed sensor allows the remote monitoring (using a wireless transmission system) of the surface temperature in buildings, respecting the requirements of high storage capability and low cost.

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Systems Integration for Cost Effective Carbon Neutral Buildings: A Masdar Headquarters Case Study

ASME 2010 4th International Conference on Energy Sustainability, Volume 1 ◽

10.1115/es2010-90335 ◽

2010 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jeffrey L. Boyer ◽

Mehdi Jalayerian ◽

Andrew Silverstein ◽

Mohamad T. Araji

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Natural Ventilation ◽

Cooling System ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Integrated Approach ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Positive Energy ◽

Low Carbon ◽

Building Stock ◽

Carbon Neutral

Essential to the development of a low carbon economy will be the advancement of building product and process to reduce the capital and whole lifecycle cost of low, zero and net-positive energy buildings to allow these structures to be realized at a greater rate. On the whole, the built environment is responsible for one of the largest fractions of global energy consumption and thus anthropomorphic climate change, a result of the greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. When one also considers the energy required to design, fabricate, transport and construct the materials necessary to bring new building stock online, keeping pace with the rapid trend towards urbanization, the importance of the built environment in the energy sustainability equation is clearly evident. Yet, while technologically feasible, the realization of carbon neutral buildings is encumbered by the perception of increased annualized costs for operation and a greater upfront investment. This paper will review the design case of the Masdar International Headquarters, the flagship building of the net-zero carbon emission Masdar city currently being developed within the Abu Dhabi Emirates. Specifically, how an integrated approach enabled by computer simulation early within the design process allowed for improvements in economy and efficiency, setting a model for future high performance buildings. The five-story, 89,040-square-meter office building will incorporate eleven sculpted glass environmental towers to promote natural ventilation and introduce daylight to the interior of the building. These towers will also serve as the structural support for one of the world’s largest building integrated photovoltaic arrays, sized to supply 103% of the building’s total annual energy requirements while protecting the building and roof garden from intense heat and solar gains. Moreover, by integration into a separate structural trellis system, clean energy can potentially be generated to offset construction requirements while dually shading workers below during the heat of the day. This, along with other key sustainability design strategies such as a solar powered central district cooling system, thermoactive foundation piling, underfloor air distribution, desiccant dehumidification, a nanotechnology enabled building envelope and smart grid enabled facilities management infrastructure will allow the Masdar Headquarters to reach carbon neutrality within a decade, allowing for the remaining century of its operation to serve as a platform for clean energy generation.

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Design Determinants of Building Envelope for Sustainable Built Environment: A Review

International Journal of Built Environment and Sustainability ◽

10.11113/ijbes.v3.n2.127 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Gireendra Kumar ◽

Gaurav Raheja

Keyword(s):

Built Environment ◽

Indoor Environment ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Building Envelopes ◽

Built Form ◽

Form Design ◽

Environment Study ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact

Building envelope separates indoor environment form outside environment as well as provides a comfortable indoor environment through an appropriate balance of passive and active technologies. Building envelopes and its components are designed with respect to environmental, technological, socio-cultural, functional and aesthetic determinants. In contemporary scenario a major concern is to get a comfortable indoor environment in respect of thermal, visual and psychological comfort. Further innovation in designing and construction of contemporary building envelope and its components is likely to be developed rapidly. Designing of buildings and its envelope have a major focus on making buildings sustainable by reducing energy consumption without compromising on user’s comfort. This creates a challenge to the designer and engineers to study and monitor the impact on performance of built form design determinants. This paper aims to describe and highlight the role of design determinants in building envelope and in its various components to achieve sustainable built environment. Study has described the difference in terms “energy efficiency and sustainability” in buildings and built spaces for users through the review of definitions and past researches. Further design concept and technology discussed through relevant examples of various typologies of building envelope system and described the parameters of building envelope’s transparent and opaque components for evaluation. This study is an attempt to describe the integration of design determinants like environmental, technological, socio- cultural, functional and aesthetic in building envelope and its components in making efficient and sustainable built form and space as per user comfort. The paper concludes with meaningful recommendations for sustainable development in designing future building envelopes.

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Effect of controlling airflow in a solar chimney on thermal load in a built environment

Journal of Engineering Design and Technology ◽

10.1108/jedt-04-2014-0023 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 286-309 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Amos Madhlopa

Keyword(s):

Renewable Energy ◽

Built Environment ◽

Thermal Load ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Energy Resources ◽

Cooling Load ◽

Renewable Energy Resources ◽

Solar Chimney ◽

Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate a wall-integrated solar chimney for passive ventilation of a building cavity. Ventilation is required to improve the circulation of air in the built environment. This can be achieved through natural or forced convection. Natural circulation can be driven by renewable energy, and so it promotes sustainable exploitation of energy resources. Solar energy is one of the promising renewable energy resources. Design/methodology/approach The chimney was designed to face the Equator on the wall of a room which required ventilation. Mean monthly daily heating and cooling loads of the room were computed with and without a solar chimney by using hourly meteorological data from nine different weather sites at low, medium and high latitudes. The chimney was implemented with and without airflow control, and simulated by using the ESP-r software. Findings Results show that the solar chimney with airflow control marginally reduced the heating load in the building envelope, with a similar effect being exhibited by the chimney with uncontrolled airflow. The cooling load was reduced by the controlled airflow at all the nine sites. In contrast, the uncontrolled airflow increased the cooling load at some sites. In addition, the chimney with airflow control reduced the annual total thermal load at all the sites, while the chimney with uncontrolled airflow raised the total thermal load at some locations. Originality/value The performance of solar chimneys designed with and without airflow control systems has been investigated under the same prevailing meteorological conditions at a given site. Findings show that controlling airflow in a solar chimney reduces the total thermal load in the built environment. This information can be applied in different parts of the world.

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