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The UAE school sector impacts several Sustainable Development Goals of the UAE Vision 2021. The sector is designed according to a standardized system of Model buildings, repeated several times throughout the country, comprising facilities that are often obsolete at both functional and technological level; hence, frequently presenting poor energy performances. The paper presents the first comprehensive review of the energy consumption state-of-the-art of the public-school sector in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, including the first necessary dataset for future upgrade actions. The study was completed by means of a deep mapping, functional, typological, and pedagogical analysis. The collected data of real energy consumption of 69 schools highlighted an average energy consumption of 174 kWh/m2 year, with very consistent results for each educational cycle, even if a larger variance was expected due to difference in size, typology, and working hour. More significant differences can be observed when comparing the result of school with different typologies, stressing the relevance of further investigating the standardized Model system. To quantify their correlation to the buildings' energy consumption, linear regression analyses were conducted on a number of notable factors, such as building age, net floor area, roof area, shape coefficient, number of students, number of classrooms and labs, presence of gyms and multipurpose halls, and implementation of digital technologies. Schools' capacity/occupancy ratio, net floor area and roof area, and the use of energy-demanding devices for novel smart learning techniques were found having the highest impact. The tested multiple regression model, which displays a marginal error of 5–30 % when applied to single buildings and 9 % when used to assess larger clusters, could facilitate the estimation of the energy consumption of schools and support stakeholders' decision making. The outcomes of the study can assist governmental agencies in elaborating suitable refurbishment policies for the energy and functional upgrade of the educational sector, both at the building and urban scale, and school administrator in tackling appropriate actions toward the schools use and resources optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the year 2012 the University of Zagreb started the process of energy audits and energy certification of all university buildings with the intent to improve their energy performance. As a property owner, the University of Zagreb encompasses approximately 130 buildings (465,000 m 2 ). The first phase of this research project involves the audit of 23 faculty buildings, which make up 30% of all faculty buildings area belonging to the university. One of the largest buildings, audited in the first phase, is the building of the former Faculty of Technology in Zagreb built from 1958 to 1964 and designed by the esteemed 20th century Croatian architect Alfred Albini. This classic work is the last of Albini's accomplishments and is a protected cultural heritage monument. Today the building belongs to the Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology and the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum Engineering. The paper presents results of the energy audit and energy certification of Albini's modern architecture building and determines the energy balance in contemporary usage. The paper also suggests possible energy efficient improvement measures and profitability calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Compared to other non-residential buildings that have been widely researched, industrial buildings have higher thermal loads, higher air-change rates, longer operating hours and greater pollution control requirements. This paper presents the results of preliminary audits carried out on a sample of 12 representative small business enterprises in Greece including food, marble, wood, paper, plastic, metallurgical and service companies. Energy intensity varied from 50 to just over 300kWh/m2 with heavier industry buildings having values up to 1300kWh/m2. The successful adoption of energy conservation measures in key energy waste areas was assessed, including: (1) building envelope, (2) artificial lighting, (3) heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems, (4) space and water heating, (5) electrical and mechanical equipment and (6) distribution and transportation. It was found that businesses were more sensitized to energy conservation in the area of air conditioning followed by electromechanical equipment (important energy waste area that may yield the biggest energy conservation results, still in need of great improvement though the cost may be very high) and space/water heating; compliance with energy conservation measures was worst in the areas of artificial lighting (least important energy waste area in the case of most businesses) and the building envelope. A more detailed modeling study on a larger sample is proposed as a next step. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Development of two benchmark models for post-world war II residential buildings. • Average energy use intensity per household (archetypes A and B) were 166 and 155 kWh/m2/year. • Models validated with four-year monitoring data on energy consumption. • Households are dominated by senior adults and their occupancy profiles are presented. • Findings on energy needs and use intensity are useful in temperate and continental climates. In the context of the European carbon neutrality targets, building benchmarks are a key issue for the renovation of existing buildings. Although there are various benchmark methods for energy efficiency characterization, their application to the residential sector is still limited. This paper developed two building simulation models for post-world war II houses in Belgium based on data from post-occupancy measurements and field survey campaigns. The study reports the energy characteristics and occupancy profiled of detached single-family houses. An analysis of energy consumption (electricity and natural gas) and a walkthrough survey were conducted between 2016 and 2019. The benchmark model's validity has been further checked against public statistics and verified through model calibration and monthly energy bill comparison. Two reference models representing 633.702 post-WWII single-family houses in Belgium were created and validated. The first archetype has an average energy use intensity of 166 kWh/m2/year and represents detached single-family houses built between 1945 and 1969. The second archetype has an average energy use intensity of 155 kWh/m2/year and represents detached single-family houses built between 1970 and 1990. The paper provides a timely opportunity to evaluate the real performance of post-world war II most common archetypes concerning design assumptions and how building professionals can turn the energy performance gap challenge to their advantage. The findings on energy needs and intensity are useful for creating future renovation scenarios for similar archetypes in Western European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-residential buildings like healthcare ones contribute to energy consumption and cause a negative environmental impact. This is mainly due to the age of the buildings, their poor level of energy efficiency and the implementation of only a basic maintenance plan. Owing to the very limited budget available for public administrators, Energy Performance Contracting (EPC), that entails the involvement of an Energy Service Company (ESCo), can provide the entire or part of the capital needed for investments aimed at progressively increasing energy efficiency over their service life. In this paper, three acute hospitals and two community clinics built in Italy are analysed, in order to assess the economic feasibility of several energy renovation actions that can be included within EPC contracts. To this purpose, the outcomes of energy audits carried out in 2014 about these buildings are reported, which involved analyses of consumption measured over the previous three years and assessment of use profiles for the development of models to break down the overall consumption and to estimate potential savings. Diverse improvement strategies were assessed, consisting in either isolated or combined renovation actions and tested on the five buildings, whose comparison was carried out in terms of energy saving, pollution reduction and economic feasibility. As a result, the best combined renovation actions per each hospital were recommended, that included – but were not limited to – the improvement of the control and regulation of existing sub-systems without replacement, partial replacement of other sub-systems and integration of renewables. Finally, each scenario was evaluated through the payback period and other economic performance indexes in order to assess the feasibility of the EPC framework when applied to this case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a method for reliable energy diagnoses, aimed at integrated design of energy refurbishment of existing buildings, with reference to historical architectures. The approach is structured according to three main phases: (a) the building performance assessment, by combining in situ monitoring and documental information; (b) the numerical studies by hourly energy simulations with a deepening about the calibration methodology; (c) the investigation of potential energy savings, environmental benefits and economical profitability of selected energy efficiency measures. The case study is an educational building of the University of Sannio, located in the ancient center of Benevento (Southern Italian city). The knowledge of the historical energy requests, combined with several measurements (e.g., schedules of indoor temperatures, activation of HVAC system) and with in situ investigation (e.g., infrared thermography and heat flow measures) allowed the calibration of the numerical model. Moreover, several actions for the energy rehabilitation have been implemented, by taking into account the historical value of the building and of its context. The achieved results show that the selection of the energy efficiency measures is a multi-objective optimization problem and – even if heritage buildings require respect of several constraints – however satisfactory energy savings are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The article deals with the main problems arising during the sustainable renovation process and energy refurbishment of historical architecture. In particular, it focuses on the feasibility study for a huge historical listed building, aiming at its progressive and complete re-utilization as university campus, respectful of the many cultural values of which it is the depository. The complex of the ‘Albergo dei Poveri’ was built in Genoa between the late seventeenth century and the middle of the nineteenth century, as a monumental structure for charitable purposes. Given its size and location in the heart of the city, it still represents an important urban structure and a great opportunity for urban renewal, even though it is actually almost completely abandoned. Main aim of the research is the definition, from a methodological and technical point of view, of feasibility studies in order to submit the historical monumental heritage to a process of ‘energy efficiency’ and ‘energy production’, even recurring to the most suitable technologies supplied by renewable energies. In this paper, a preliminiary approach and general criteria for the building refurbishment, in relation to the architectural and historical commitments, are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Numerous computer programs are available to calculate the energy efficiency of buildings. Many are based on the use of a reference building to determine the degree of efficiency. However, this methodology presents a major constraint when assessing a building after construction and during the use stage. To assess the energy efficiency of buildings, this paper proposes new indices based on energy consumption during different periods; as well as other parameters of the buildings such as construction area, number of users, and air-conditioned volume. Results are presented as an application for various buildings on the campus of the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While most studies focus on energy savings during occupied hours, this paper shows the shocking quantities of energy wasted during non-occupied hours in commercial buildings. At least five detailed energy audits were carried out in the hot and dry climates of Botswana and South Africa. The work shows that more energy is used during non-working hours (56%) than during working hours (44%). This arises largely from occupants’ behaviour of leaving lights and equipment on at the end of the day, and partly due to poor zoning and controls. There is a crying need for building occupants to learn to switch off what they do not use. The golden rule is: “If you don’t need it, don’t use it!” This is the simplest and cheapest lesson with amongst the biggest savings. Apart from the above, the work also contributes to several other fields of scientific research: it helps in development of benchmarks from sub-hourly field data; it contributes apportionment of energy amongst sub-systems of HVAC, lighting and office equipment; it provides a picture from cooling dominated climates, which normally differs from the largely researched heating dominated climates; it contributes to development of diversity profiles necessary for improvement of simulation accuracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Estimation of energy performance indexes, like the heating curve or the energy signature, requires robust regression of the heating losses on the outdoor temperature. The solution proposed in this paper is to use the range between the 1st and the 3rd quartile of the quantile–quantile (q–q) plot to check if the heating losses and the outdoor temperature have the same distribution and, if yes, to perform the regression in this range of the q–q plot. The result is a model that conserves its prediction performance for data sets of the outdoor temperature different of those used for parameter identification. The robust model gives the overall heat transfer coefficient and the base temperature, and it may be used to estimate the energy consumption for data sets of the outdoor temperature coming from different time—space locations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Through a case study, this research explores an approach, which uses computer simulation technology, to evaluate different energy conservation alternatives and to assist facility managers to select reliable and feasible solutions. The subject facility is located in the Southeast region of the United States. One of the major challenges and operation goals of the General Services Administration, who manages the facility, is for that facility to achieve the Energy Star designation. However, due to the complexity of the facility, the requirements from building occupants, as well as other difficulties, finding a path for optimizing the operation of the facility in order to achieve the Energy Star designation is not always easy. This project uses eQuest, a simulation software tool, to create a “virtual environment”, in which the operations of the HVAC (heating ventilation air-conditioning) system and the lighting of the facility are studied. Subsequently, recommendations initially made by experts through traditional energy audit approaches are evaluated in the “virtual environment” in order to determine the best solution to achieve the goal of the facility managers. This paper discusses major aspects of the project, including the challenges, the values and the limitations of applying computer simulation techniques in such a facility with complicated structural, occupancy and operation features. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The impacts of COVID lockdown on six aged care communities' energy and peak demand are studied. • The lockdown period was compared with the same period of similar temperature in previous years. • The impacts of COVID lockdown varied enormously in different climate regions. • Effectiveness and limitations of existing energy KPIs are discussed. In late March to April 2020 residential aged care facilities (RAC) in Australia were under COVID-19 lockdown. This paper explores whether the resultant restrictions on entry and exit and elimination of site group activities within RACs impacted on the total electricity use, peak demand and electrical load profiles. Six RACs in four different climate zones are analysed, comparing historical electricity load and demand profiles with the lockdown period. The facilities in warm regions showed largest reductions in energy use and peak demands. There was a peak demand timing shift in temperate regions and hot regions' changes were negligible for energy use or peak demands. This study revealed the limitations of using aggregate data as the key performance indicator (KPI) – energy use per bed. Also, KPIs in relation to cooling degree days (or total cooling and heating degree days) have been examined and are not recommended for temperate regions or temperate seasons. The potential CO 2 emission reduction from onsite renewable generation is quantified. Further research is to investigate energy use changes at circuit levels under lockdowns, and develop more nuanced KPIs that include the rate of energy use and the timing of that use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Comparative analyses of design and measured parameters for old and new kindergarten. • New recommended parameters for design and energy audit of kindergartens. • Performing measurements as a mandatory for the energy audit of old buildings. • Determining energy performance indicators for kindergartens. • Kindergartens are a specific type of buildings for the energy certification. Research analyzed the influence of parameters derived from urban planning, architecture, building materials and technology, building physics, users and patterns of use, the measured thermal performance of the envelope and thermal comfort parameters on the energy performance indicators of two representative kindergartens. The paper presents an energy performance indicator through design and measured parameters of representative samples of old and new kindergartens located in the temperate climate zone of Banja Luka (northern Bosnia and Herzegovina). When the data presented in EN 13790 concerning the patterns of use and design temperatures for residential buildings or educational and cultural buildings is compared with the measured, surveyed, analyzed and estimated kindergarten data, the design parameters are found to deviate from the measured parameters. On the basis of the presented analysis, it is recommended that measurement of the thermal performance of envelopes of old buildings become a mandatory part of energy audit, and that an appropriate set of parameter values be used in the calculation of the energy performance indicator of kindergartens. Kindergartens must be introduced as a specific type of buildings in policies related to the minimum requirements for the energy performance of buildings and rational use of energy, energy audit and certification of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]