scholarly journals China's Building Energy Use: A Long-Term Perspective based on a Detailed Assessment

Author(s):  
Jiyong Eom ◽  
Leon E. Clarke ◽  
Son H. Kim ◽  
G. Page Kyle ◽  
Pralit L. Patel
Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2152
Author(s):  
Wahiba Yaïci ◽  
Karthik Krishnamurthy ◽  
Evgueniy Entchev ◽  
Michela Longo

This paper summarises a literature review on the applications of Internet of Things (IoT) with the aim of enhancing building energy use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). A detailed assessment of contemporary practical reviews and works was conducted to understand how different IoT systems and technologies are being developed to increase energy efficiencies in both residential and commercial buildings. Most of the reviewed works were invariably related to the dilemma of efficient heating systems in buildings. Several features of the central components of IoT, namely, the hardware and software needed for building controls, are analysed. Common design factors across the many IoT systems comprise the selection of sensors and actuators and their powering techniques, control strategies for collecting information and activating appliances, monitoring of actual data to forecast prospect energy consumption and communication methods amongst IoT components. Some building energy applications using IoT are provided. It was found that each application presented has the potential for significant energy reduction and user comfort improvement. This is confirmed in two case studies summarised, which report the energy savings resulting from implementing IoT systems. Results revealed that a few elements are user-specific that need to be considered in the decision processes. Last, based on the studies reviewed, a few aspects of prospective research were recommended.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1595
Author(s):  
Valeria Todeschi ◽  
Roberto Boghetti ◽  
Jérôme H. Kämpf ◽  
Guglielmina Mutani

Building energy-use models and tools can simulate and represent the distribution of energy consumption of buildings located in an urban area. The aim of these models is to simulate the energy performance of buildings at multiple temporal and spatial scales, taking into account both the building shape and the surrounding urban context. This paper investigates existing models by simulating the hourly space heating consumption of residential buildings in an urban environment. Existing bottom-up urban-energy models were applied to the city of Fribourg in order to evaluate the accuracy and flexibility of energy simulations. Two common energy-use models—a machine learning model and a GIS-based engineering model—were compared and evaluated against anonymized monitoring data. The study shows that the simulations were quite precise with an annual mean absolute percentage error of 12.8 and 19.3% for the machine learning and the GIS-based engineering model, respectively, on residential buildings built in different periods of construction. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis using the Morris method was carried out on the GIS-based engineering model in order to assess the impact of input variables on space heating consumption and to identify possible optimization opportunities of the existing model.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6753
Author(s):  
Moiz Masood Syed ◽  
Gregory M. Morrison

As the population of urban areas continues to grow, and construction of multi-unit developments surges in response, building energy use demand has increased accordingly and solutions are needed to offset electricity used from the grid. Renewable energy systems in the form of microgrids, and grid-connected solar PV-storage are considered primary solutions for powering residential developments. The primary objectives for commissioning such systems include significant electricity cost reductions and carbon emissions abatement. Despite the proliferation of renewables, the uptake of solar and battery storage systems in communities and multi-residential buildings are less researched in the literature, and many uncertainties remain in terms of providing an optimal solution. This literature review uses the rapid review technique, an industry and societal issue-based version of the systematic literature review, to identify the case for microgrids for multi-residential buildings and communities. The study describes the rapid review methodology in detail and discusses and examines the configurations and methodologies for microgrids.


Biomimetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 50
Author(s):  
Negin Imani ◽  
Brenda Vale

The initial aim of the research was to develop a framework that would enable architects to look for thermoregulation methods in nature as inspiration for designing energy efficient buildings. The thermo-bio-architectural framework (ThBA) assumes designers will start with a thermal challenge in a building and then look in a systematic way for how this same issue is solved in nature. The tool is thus a contribution to architectural biomimicry in the field of building energy use. Since the ThBA was created by an architect, it was essential that the biology side of this cross-disciplinary tool was validated by experts in biology. This article describes the focus group that was conducted to assess the quality, inclusiveness, and applicability of the framework and why a focus group was selected over other possible methods such as surveys or interviews. The article first provides a brief explanation of the development of the ThBA. Given the focus here is on its validation, the qualitative data collection procedures and analysis results produced by NVivo 12 plus through thematic coding are described in detail. The results showed the ThBA was effective in bridging the two fields based on the existing thermal challenges in buildings, and was comprehensive in terms of generalising biological thermal adaptation strategies.


Author(s):  
George A. Mertz ◽  
Gregory S. Raffio ◽  
Kelly Kissock

Environmental and resource limitations provide increased motivation for design of net-zero energy or net-zero CO2 buildings. The optimum building design will have the lowest lifecycle cost. This paper describes a method of performing and comparing lifecycle costs for standard, CO2-neutral and net-zero energy buildings. Costs of source energy are calculated based on the cost of photovoltaic systems, tradable renewable certificates, CO2 credits and conventional energy. Building energy simulation is used to determine building energy use. A case study is conducted on a proposed net-zero energy house. The paper identifies the least-cost net-zero energy house, the least-cost CO2 neutral house, and the overall least-cost house. The methodology can be generalized to different climates and buildings. The method and results may be of interest to builders, developers, city planners, or organizations managing multiple buildings.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document