Envelope thermal design for energy savings in mosques in hot-humid climate

Mosques, places of worship for Muslims, are used for five intermittent prayer periods a day with a duration of between 45 and 60 min each. Their unique function and pattern of operation result in unique energy consumption and demand. Although mosques can be characterized as high-occupancy buildings, the thermal design of the exterior envelope can play a major role in their thermal and energy performance particularly in hot-humid climates. The objective of this study is to investigate energy performance and potential energy savings associated with influencing envelope design parameters under hot-humid climatic conditions. The results revealed that envelope parameters such as wall and roof thermal resistance, and air leakage rate are major determinants of mosque energy performance and subsequently, considerable savings can be achieved when properly considered. Recommendations for envelope thermal design are presented to provide architects, engineers, planners, community developers and mosque operators with necessary guidelines for improving mosque energy performance.     

Energy-efficient envelope design for high-rise apartments

The energy required to create a comfortable living environment in high-density cities in hot and humid climates usually demands a substantial electricity usage with an associated environmental burden. This paper describes an integrated passive design approach to reduce the cooling requirement for high-rise apartments through an improved building envelope design. The results show that a saving of 31.4% in annual required cooling energy and 36.8% in the peak cooling load for the BASECASE apartment can be achieved with this approach. However, all the passive strategies have marginal effect on latent cooling load, often less than 1%.     

Thermal behavior and energy saving analysis of a flat with different energy efficiency measures in six climates

This article aims at studying the impact of many construction parameters of a flat on its energy performance and thermal comfort. The studied parameters are: the envelope thermal insulation, the orientation, the floor level, the ground coupling, the roof and the external walls absorption coefficient and the controlled mechanical ventilation. The TRNSYS based numerical study is performed in six different climates ranging from cold to desert one. The numerical model has been validated against experimental results obtained from summer and winter long term monitoring campaigns of the flat located in the Marrakech city, Morocco. The apartment’s heating and cooling loads as well as thermal discomfort indexes are calculated for the possible eleven configurations combining the studied parameters. The results show that high thermal insulation of the walls leads to an apparent summer overheating with an increase in the flat’s total thermal load by up to 18% in all the considered climates, except for the cold one. It was found that the walls’ light thermal insulation resulting from the cavity wall technique is sufficient to reach an acceptable level of thermal comfort thus preventing summer overheating. Similarly, thermal insulation of the slab-on-grade floor was found to perform an increase in thermal load for hot and moderate climates by at least 67%. The best combination of all the studied energy efficiency measures for each climate conditions was evaluated via comparison to a reference case that represents the actual apartment.     

ECOTECT能耗模拟下既有住宅建筑围护结构节能改造的热环境分析研究

目前,既有住宅建筑节能改造主要有围护结构改造和供热计量改造两方面。围护结构节能改造主要包括:外墙节能改造、外窗节能改造、屋面节能改造等技术措施的研究;建筑物围护结构节能改造除了能够降低建筑能耗之外,对建筑物室内热环境也有很大影响。采用ECOTECT能耗模拟软件,对西安市某住宅建筑围护结构不同节能改造方案的热环境进行模拟,深入分析不同节能改造方案的能源消耗、不舒适度、围护结构得热、温度分布和热舒适度情况,以热舒适为前提、节能为目的选择最优的节能改造方案。为既有住宅建筑节能改造方案优选提供依据。     

Low-energy envelope design of residential building in hot summer and cold winter zone in China

With the development of the economy, the demand for energy in hot summer and cold winter zone in China is increasing very fast while the energy supply is going short. Air conditioning both for cooling and heating accounts for more than 50% of the total electricity used in the residential sector. This paper used eQUEST software to analyze envelope design on energy saving of air conditioner (AC) and the effects of energy saving strategies on AC electric consumption of different orientation rooms in hot summer and cold winter zone in China, which included exterior wall thermal insulation, solar radiation absorptance of exterior wall, area ratio of window to wall, categories of glazing and kinds of shading system, and two combined strategies. The results indicate that envelope shading and exterior wall thermal insulation are the best strategies to decrease the AC electric consumption which achieved a saving of 11.31 and 11.55%. The optimization of different strategies can decrease the annual electric consumption of AC by 25.92%, and cooling and heating electric consumption is decreased by 21.08 and 34.77%, respectively.     

A case study for the evaluation of realistic energy retrofit strategies for public office buildings in the Southern Hemisphere

The building sector offers significant opportunities for reducing the energy consumption with considerable economic, environmental and health benefits. Governments can lead the way by retrofitting existing public buildings to reinforce their commitment to improve energy efficiency. Similar design standards, end-uses and operational profiles are usually established for public buildings based on the services they offer. Retrofitting a public building can therefore serve as an ideal test-bed for energy efficiency measures for other buildings within a particular service category. This study first analysed the current electricity consumption of a public office building in Mauritius, located in the Southern Hemisphere. A complete model of the building was created, validated and then simulated to investigate the impact of realistic retrofit strategies on the electricity consumption. Results showed that lighting retrofit achieved the most significant reduction while measures that improved the thermal envelope of the building resulted in smaller energy savings. The possibility of exploiting solar energy was explored by simulating a 70 kW_p photovoltaic system installed on the roof. An equivalent of 8.5% of the annual electricity consumption of the building could thus be generated. A financial analysis is also presented for all retrofit scenarios in terms of annual return and payback period.     

夏热冬冷地区办公建筑降低供暖空调能耗的技术路径

以上海地区某办公建筑为例,基于EnergyPlus能耗模拟,探讨了围护结构性能提升和暖通空调系统优化这2条节能技术路径对夏热冬冷地区办公建筑降低供暖空调全年能耗的有效性.结果 表明:围护结构性能提升的节能潜力较小,经济性较差;单纯提高围护结构保温隔热性能并不能保证降低建筑年耗冷量,应综合分析全年供热供冷能耗确定围护结构...     

Energy simulation for a high-rise building using IDA ICE: Investigations in different climates

In this paper a model of a high-rise building is constructed in the simulation program IDA ICE. The model is based on an IFC-model of a demonstration building constructed in Ljubljana, Slovenia, as part of an EU-project, EE-high-rise. The model’s energy performance was simulated for four cities: Umeå (Scandinavia), Ljubljana (Central Europe), Sibenik (Mediterranean) and Dubai (The Persian Gulf). Furthermore, the climate envelope of the building was modified with the aim to improve the model’s energy performance in each of the regions. The results were evaluated according to the energy requirements of passive house standard by the German Passive House Institute. The analysis suggests that the reference building model, which itself incorporates several energy efficient components, was unable to meet the German passive house standard in none of the four cities (Umeå, Ljubljana, Sibenik and Dubai) studied. By providing a combination of energy saving measures, such as modifications of thermal resistance of building envelope, the building may be able to meet the passive house standard in Ljubljana. The analysis concludes that the reduction in window area results in reduction of both heating and cooling demand. Increase in the thickness of the insulation and the thermal resistance of windows reduces the space heating demand for Umeå, Ljubljana and Sibenik (not applied for Dubai) while increasing the cooling demand for these cities. Increased airtightness has marginal effect on heating and cooling demand for all investigated cities. Reduced thermal resistance of windows will decrease cooling demand for Ljubljana, Sibenik and Dubai (not applied for Umeå). Reduced insulation thickness (not applied for Umeå) will decrease cooling demand for Ljubljana and Sibenik but not for Dubai. Reducing the insulation thickness may often result in reduced cooling demand for moderately warm countries since the average outdoor temperature could be lower than the indoor temperature during part of the cooling season. In those situations a reduced insulation thickness can cause heat flow from the relatively hot inside to the colder outside. However, for hot climates like in Dubai where outdoor temperature is higher than the indoor temperature for most of the year, reducing the insulation thickness will increase the cooling demand. This result suggests that the insulation thickness must be chosen and optimized based on heating and cooling demand, internal heat gain, and outdoor climate     

Natural ventilation strategies for indoor thermal comfort in Mediterranean apartments

Natural ventilation strategies as effective low energy refurbishment solutions are identified within this research study, for an existing urban multi-storey apartment building in Athens, representative of over four-million Greek urban residential buildings. Retrofit strategies were evaluated using occupant comfort criteria and the existing ventilation strategy, for a single apartment using dynamic thermal simulations. These strategies included individual day and night ventilation, a wind-catcher and a dynamic façade. Suitable openings operation in response to environmental parameters provided sufficient day and night ventilation and occupant comfort. The inclusion of a wind-catcher yielded very little improvement to the ventilation performance. However, the combined operation of the wind-catcher and the dynamic façade delivered operative temperature reductions of up to 7 °C below the base-case strategy, and acceptable ventilation rates for up to 65% of the cooling period. The successful performance of the proposed strategies highlights their potential for reducing energy consumption and improving thermal comfort in a large number of buildings in hot climates.     

Residential cooling loads and the urban heat island—the effects of albedo

The urban heat island has become the target of recent research aiming at improving urban climates and energy efficiency of cities. In the warm, mid- and low-latitude cities, the typical heat island intensity averages up to 3–5°C on a summer day, adding to discomfort and increasing the air-conditioning loads, whereas in some temperate and cold, high-latitude cities a 2°C heat island is considered as a mild asset in winter. Some of these cities have been built to retain the urban heat. The objective of our ongoing research is to identify ways to mitigate summer heat islands in hot climates, for example by increasing the urban albedo, expanding evaporative surfaces and vegetation covers, and increasing urban thermal mass. From the energy consumption point of view, simple techniques such as these can be effective in reducing air-conditioning costs by modifying and improving the urban micro- and meso-climates.

In this work, we have correlated the residential cooling energy and power consumption in Sacramento, California, with the urban heat island intensity. The effects of selected strategies, such as the ones mentioned above, upon changing the urban micro-climate and reducing the heat island induced cooling loads were simulated. The main focus in this paper is placed on albedo. The simulations were performed using the DOE-2.1C building energy analysis program in conjunction with micro-climate and planetary boundary layer models that predict the effects of albedo modifications on ambient conditions and micro-climates. The simulations indicate that there exists significant potential energy and peak power savings by using such simple conservation strategies. Simulations for Sacramento indicate that whitewashing the buildings can result in direct savings of up to 14% and 19% on cooling peak power and electrical cooling energy, respectively. Modifying the overall urban albedo, in addition to whitewashing, can result in total savings of up to 35% and 62% respectively.     

Evaluation of energy efficient design strategies for different climatic zones: Comparison of thermal performance of buildings in temperate-humid and hot-dry climate

Since the Kyoto protocol signed in December 1997 the majority of governments around the world have committed themselves to reducing the emission of the greenhouse gases. Thus, efficient use of energy and sustainability has become a key issue for the most energy policies. Sustainability and energy saving terms take place in building construction industry too since buildings are one of the most significant energy consumers. It is known that heating energy demand of a building has a great rate in building total energy consumption. In addition to that, the most of the heating energy has been lost from building envelope. TS 825, Heating Energy Conservation Standard for Buildings in Turkey, aims the reducing of heat loss in buildings through the envelope. But within buildings, one of the fastest growing sources of new energy demand is cooling and especially in hot-humid and hot-dry climatic parts of Turkey cooling season is much longer than the heating season. Moreover in hot-dry climate heat storage capacity of the envelope becomes more important issue than heat insulation for energy efficiency of the building. Since the Turkish standard is considering only heating energy conservation by using degree-day concept, Istanbul and Mardin are considered in the same zone, however those are in temperate-humid and hot-dry climatic zones, respectively. In this study energy efficient design strategies for these climatic zones have been explained and thermal performance of two buildings, which are constructed according to the TS 825 in Mardin and Istanbul cities were evaluated to show the importance of thermal mass in hot-dry climates.     

Potential of emerging glazing technologies for highly glazed buildings in hot arid climates

In order to improve the sustainability of buildings one of the challenges is to address the role of the building envelope as the key climate moderator between the internal and external environments. The envelope is exposed to the elements and needs to control air exchange as well as sunlight and sound passing through to the occupants. Therefore, it has a major impact not only on the energy utilisation within the space it controls but also on the quality of comfort. However, inside highly glazed modern buildings, achieving good comfort is often at the cost of high-energy consumption. Therefore, in the light of ever increasing energy costs, improved façade design can contribute to a reduction of operational costs. The aim of this paper is to explore technical, economic, environmental and indoor comfort implications of emerging glazing technologies for energy control of highly glazed buildings in arid Middle Eastern climates, which is one of the harshest climates for this building type. The work includes predictions through thermal simulation of the impact of electrochromic glazing, holographic optical elements (HOE), aerogel glazing and thin film photovoltaics on two example buildings. Potential reductions in cooling demand are assessed.     

Selection of micro turbines to meet electrical and thermal energy needs of residential buildings in Iran

Micro gas turbines are considered to meet the electrical, domestic hot water, heating and cooling energy needs of a residential building located in Tehran, Ahvaz and Hamedan. The building is 10 stories high and has a total of 8000 m² floor area with the peak demands of electricity of 32.96 kW, DHW of 0.926 kW, heating load of 1590 kW and the cooling load of 2028 kW, when the building is located in Tehran. With these demands, 30 micro turbines of 30 kW (nominal power) are needed to meet all the energy needs of the building. The excess electricity generated by the micro turbines is to be used in a heat pump, and the energy in the exhaust gases is to be used to meet other thermal energy needs of the building. With proper energy conservation measures and the use of ceiling fans in each room, the peak heating and cooling demands of the building were reduced to 225 kW and 760 kW, respectively. With these measures, two micro gas turbines of 30 kW nominal capacity, or one of 40 kW, could meet all the electrical, DHW, heating and a great portion of the cooling needs of the building. The remaining cooling needs of the building during the hot hours of summer could be met by an additional absorption refrigeration, utilizing natural gas as its energy source. It is recommended that with energy conservation measures, the heating and cooling loads of buildings be reduced as much as possible, and micro gas turbines be employed to meet the electrical demands and a portion of heating and cooling needs. The remaining thermal energy needs are to be met through the use of natural gas. Only with these measures, the on-site combined heat and power (OS-CHP) is a viable option for residential buildings in Iran.     

夏热冬冷地区既有公共建筑围护结构节能改造策略研究——以宁波大学建工楼示范项目为例

建筑节能主要通过新建建筑节能和既有建筑节能改造来实现。现今国家对建筑节能的重视和节能规范标准的不断提高,新建建筑节能工作已取得较大进展,而大量既有建筑的高能耗问题却越来越突出。既有建筑中的公共建筑因能耗高,节能改造潜力大,一直是节能改造的重点。以夏热冬冷地区既有公共建筑为研究对象,结合宁波大学建工楼节能改造世行赠款示范项目实体案例,进行围护结构能耗分析,并在此基础上,通过措施优选,提出该地区外围护结构节能改造策略,为夏热冬冷地区同类建筑节能改造提供参考。     

The effect of variations in convection coefficients on thermal energy storage in buildings Part II — Exterior massive walls and simulations

A theoretical study has been performed to determine the effect of variations in convection coefficients on the storage of thermal energy in structural materials in the exterior envelope of buildings. Detailed analytical and numerical analyses have been performed to study the fundamental aspects of the problem for simple geometries. Based on the detailed analyses, a thermal energy storage effectiveness parameter has been defined in terms of the changes in heating and cooling energy requirements of a single-zone building in response to the introduction of mass in its exterior walls. Calculations of the exterior wall effectiveness have been made to investigate the effect of variations in convection coefficients at the interior surface of external envelope materials, as well as the influence of dditional building parameters, such as internal loads, interior air temperature control strategy, and internal mass.To extent the results of the detailed analysis and to study the effects of variable convection coefficients on heating and cooling energy requirements in real buildings, simulations of two prototype residential buildings (in Mexico and the United States) have been performed using the building energy analysis computer program BLAST². Results indicate that the energy consumption of a typical uninsulated Mexican residence is quite sensitive to the variations in convection coefficients commonly occurring in buildings (a difference up to a factor of three over the range 0.5 ⩽ h ⩽ 10.0 W/m²K). Buildings energy consumption of a typical well-insulated U.S. residence is less sensitive to variations in convection coefficients, although for some climates the effects are still significant (up to a 40% increase over the range 0.5 ⩽ h ⩽ 10.0 W/m²K). Since the convection coefficients at interior building surfaces vary quite widely within this range, this work suggests that for some climates and building constructions, improved characterization of convection coefficients is needed to permit reliable calculation of the energy requirements of buildings incorporating large amounts of thermal mass.     

A probabilistic analysis of the future potential of evaporative cooling systems in a temperate climate

The probabilistic projections of climate change for the United Kingdom (UK Climate Impacts Programme) show a trend towards hotter and drier summers. This suggests an expected increase in cooling demand for buildings – a conflicting requirement to reducing building energy needs and related CO₂ emissions. Though passive design is used to reduce thermal loads of a building, a supplementary cooling system is often necessary. For such mixed-mode strategies, indirect evaporative cooling is investigated as a low energy option in the context of a warmer and drier UK climate.Analysis of the climate projections shows an increase in wet-bulb depression; providing a good indication of the cooling potential of an evaporative cooler. Modelling a mixed-mode building at two different locations, showed such a building was capable of maintaining adequate thermal comfort in future probable climates. Comparing the control climate to the scenario climate, an increase in the median of evaporative cooling load is evident. The shift is greater for London than for Glasgow with a respective 71.6% and 3.3% increase in the median annual cooling load.The study shows evaporative cooling should continue to function as an effective low-energy cooling technique in future, warming climates.     

An analysis of stochastic properties of room temperature, cooling load and air-conditioning systems

Exact prediction of the heating and cooling load, proper sizing of the HVAC systems and the optimal control of the HVAC systems are essential to minimize energy consumption. Since external climates which are the main factors affecting cooling loads fluctuate randomly, calculation of the cooling load must take account of the stochastic nature of these processes.

This paper proposes methods of thermal calculation which give the density function of the HVAC system load considering the stochastic properties of the external climates. Simple HVAC systems are analysed for illustration of the applicability of these methods to many practical problems.     

Impacts of vegetation on residential heating and cooling

Computer simulation has been used to test the effects of irradiance and wind reductions on the energy performance of similar residences of 143 m² in four U.S. cities — Madison, Salt Lake City, Tucson and Miami — representing four different climates. Irradiance reductions from vegetation were modeled using SPS, which simulates shade cast from plants on buildings, and MICROPAS, a microcomputer-based energy analysis program. Space cooling costs were found to be most sensitive to roof and west wall shading, whereas heating costs were most sensitive to south and east wall shading. Irradiance reductions were shown to substantially increase annual heating costs in cold climates ($128 or 28% in Madison), and reduce cooling costs in hot climates ($249 or 61% in Miami). Dense shade on all surfaces reduced peak cooling loads by 31% – 49% or 3108 – 4086 W. A 50% wind reduction was shown to lower annual heating costs by $63 (11%) in Madison, and increased annual cooling costs by $68 (15%) in Miami. Planting designs for cold climates should reduce winter winds and provide solar access to south and east walls. This guideline also applies for temperate climates, however it is also important to avoid blocking summer winds. In hot climates, high-branching shade trees and low ground covers should be used to promote both shade and wind.     

The effects of roof covering on the thermal performance of highly insulated roofs in Mediterranean climates

While the EU Directive 2002/91/CE on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) clearly establishes regulations for the thermal insulation of buildings for saving energy in winter, the summer strategy is described by a little more than qualitative provisions. As a consequence, in the national requirements, the high insulation of the building envelope is considered as the principal strategy to control energy consumption even in summer, regardless of the different climates. This approach leads to a homologation of the building trade, and imposes construction technology and materials which do not adhere to the traditional way of making buildings, like in Southern Europe. Here, the “over insulation” of buildings runs the risk of reducing the effectiveness of traditional passive cooling strategies (thermal mass, air permeability of the roof covering, roof ventilation) and could have adverse effects on internal comfort. In this paper, we focus on the effects of over insulation on the thermal performance of roofs in summer, by analyzing experimental data from monitoring a full-scale mock-up in Italy. Results show how an increase in insulation thickness reduces the effectiveness of traditional passive cooling strategies, as an effect of the thermal decoupling between the interior and the upper layers of the roofs.     

Air movement acceptability limits and thermal comfort in Brazil's hot humid climate zone

In hot humid climates, natural ventilation is an essential passive strategy in order to maintain thermal comfort inside buildings and it can be also used as an energy-conserving design strategy to reduce building cooling loads by removing heat stored in the buildings thermal mass. In this context, many previous studies have focused on thermal comfort and air velocity ranges. However, whether this air movement is desirable or not remains an open area. This paper aims to identify air movement acceptability levels inside naturally ventilated buildings in Brazil. Minimal air velocity values corresponding to 80% and 90% (V80 and V90) air movement acceptability inside these buildings. Field experiments were performed during hot and cool seasons when 2075 questionnaires were filled for the subjects while simultaneous microclimatic observations were made with laboratory precision. Main results indicated that the minimal air velocity required were at least 0.4 m/s for 26 °C reaching 0.9 m/s for operative temperatures up to 30 °C. Subjects are not only preferring more air speed but also demanding air velocities closer or higher than 0.8 m/s ASHRAE limit. This dispels the notion of draft in hot humid climates and reinforce the broader theory of alliesthesia and the physiological role of pleasure due to air movement increment.