Search

The provision of sustainable housing should factor energy efficiency, the use of sustainable building methods and materials and address the current associated barriers. This consideration triggered an ongoing study in UK which has so far conducted a bibliometric analysis of 275 papers using the VOSviewer software. More papers have been published in the last 5 years compared to the previous 15, and the UK is less engaged in successful collaborations in comparison to other economically developed nations. The lesser use of innovation in the UK has been identified. Also, the uses of sustainable methods and materials in residential housing are not fully exploited for achieving energy efficiency. A future research direction emerging is the potential to study the combined impact of using innovative materials and methods to achieve greater energy efficiency in UK housing provision. Through technological innovations and the need to move from fossil fuels (for example, through the use of heat pumps) a new approach can move the UK closer to achieving net-zero in housing provision and operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy saving in buildings is essential as buildings' operational energy use constitutes 30% of global energy consumption. Urban building energy modeling (UBEM) effectively understands urban energy consumption. This paper applied UBEM to assess the potential of peak demand reduction and energy saving in a mixed-use community, using 955 residential buildings, 35 office buildings and 7 hotels in Shenzhen, China, as a case study. The building type and period were collected based on the GIS dataset. Then, the baseline models were generated by the UBEM tool—AutoBPS. Five scenarios were analyzed: retrofit-window, retrofit-air conditioner (AC), retrofit-lighting, rooftop photovoltaic (PV), and demand response. The five scenarios replaced the windows, enhanced the AC, upgraded the lighting, covered 60% of the roof area with PV, and had a temperature reset from 17:00 to 23:00, respectively. The results show that using retrofit-windows is the most effective scenario for reducing peak demand at 19.09%, and PV reduces energy use intensity (EUI) best at 29.96%. Demand response is recommended when further investment is not desired. Retrofit-lighting is suggested for its low-cost, low-risk investment, with the payback period (PBP) not exceeding 4.54 years. When the investment is abundant, retrofit-windows are recommended for public buildings, while PV is recommended for residential buildings. The research might provide practical insights into energy policy formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the most significant solutions suggested for estimating energy consumption and cooling load, one can refer to enhancing energy efficiency in non-residential and residential buildings. A structure's characteristics must be considered when estimating how much heating and cooling is required. To design and develop energy-efficient buildings, it can be helpful to research the characteristics of connected structures, such as the kinds of cooling and heating systems needed to ensure sui interior air quality. As an important part of energy consumption and demand of buildings, the assessment of cooling load conditions from the envelope of large buildings has not been comprehensively understood yet. In the present paper, a new conceptual system has been developed to anticipate cooling load in the sector of residential buildings. Also, the paper briefly describes the major models of the developed system to maintain continuity and concentrate on the prediction model of the cooling load. To predict cooling load, authors have modelled two methods of artificial neural network (ANN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) in conjunction with teaching-learning-based optimization (TLBO). This article aims to illustrate how artificial intelligence (AI) approaches play an essential role in addressing the mentioned necessity and help estimate the optimal design parameters for various stations. The value of the multiple determination coefficient is also determined. The values of the training R² (coefficient of multiple determination) are 0.96446 and 0.97585 for TLBO-MLP and TLBO-ANFIS in the training stage and 0.95855 and 0.9721 in the testing stage, respectively, with an unknown dataset which is acceptable. The training RMSE values for TLBO-MLP and TLBO-ANFIS are 0.0685 and 0.11176 for training and 0.07074 and 0.12035 for testing, respectively, for the unknown dataset, which is acceptable. The lowest RMSE value and the higher R² value indicate the favourable accuracy of the TLBO-MLP technique. According to the high value of R² (97%) and the low value of RMSE, TLBO-MLP can predict residential buildings' cooling load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term load forecasting plays a crucial role in managing the energy consumption of buildings in cities. Accurate forecasting enables residents to reduce energy waste and facilitates timely decision-making for power companies' energy management. In this paper, we propose a novel hybrid forecasting model designed to predict load series in multiple households. Our proposed method integrates multivariate variational mode decomposition (MVMD), the whale optimization algorithm (WOA), and a temporal fusion transformer (TFT) to perform one-step forecasts. MVMD is utilized to decompose the load series into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs), extracting characteristics at distinct scales. We use sample entropy to determine the appropriate number of decomposition levels and the penalty factor of MVMD. The WOA is utilized to optimize the hyperparameters of MVMD-TFT to enhance its overall performance. We generate two distinct cases originating from BCHydro. Experimental results show that our method has achieved excellent performance in both cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing building energy consumption is of paramount significance in sustainability and energy efficiency (EE) studies. The development of an accurate EE prediction model is pivotal for optimizing energy resources and facilitating effective building planning. Traditional physical modeling approaches are encumbered by high complexity and protracted modeling cycles. In this paper, we introduce a novel evolutionary dendritic neural regression (EDNR) model tailored to forecasting residential building EE. Acknowledging the vast landscape and complexity of the EDNR weight space, coupled with the inherent susceptibility of traditional optimization algorithms to local optima, we propose a complex network-guided strategy-based differential evolution algorithm for training the EDNR model. This strategy adeptly strikes a balance between exploration and exploitation during the search process, significantly enhancing the predictive and generalization capacities of EDNR. To our knowledge, this study represents the inaugural application of dendritic neural regression in real-world prediction scenarios. Extensive experimental findings demonstrate the efficacy of EDNR in accurately predicting building EE with commendable performance. Furthermore, the results of two nonparametric statistical tests affirm the validity and stability of EDNR. Consequently, our proposed methodology exhibits high potential and competitiveness in machine learning applications within the energy domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is dedicated to research of the impact of the limited heat source capacity on indoor temperature and energy consumption in serial nZEB residential buildings. This is an innovative aspect as it explores the potential design simplification for different locations, allowing for cost optimization and quicker construction timelines. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of limited heat source capacity by utilizing thermal mass and optimizing the ventilation operation. Numerical results demonstrate that incorporating thermal mass increases heating energy consumption by up to 1%. The study addresses the impact of limited heating capacity on indoor temperatures and the need to manage ventilation's impact during peak temperatures using simulation software IDA ICE. The study reveals that a limited heating capacity reduces energy consumption up to 2.6%, but may result in lower indoor temperatures. By optimizing ventilation strategies, energy consumption can be reduced from 2.4% to 4.4% compared to the suboptimal solution, and from 2.8% to 6.5% compared to the initial case. Parametric analysis reveals optimal ventilation operation change-over point at an outdoor temperature of −17 °C during winter. The research provides practical recommendations for adjusting heating schedules, selecting appropriate heating capacities and implementing optimal ventilation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Research is the property of Sultan Qaboos University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper presents a systematic analysis of energy savings and cost benefits associated with several options for integrating energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The primary goal of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of achieving optimal net-zero energy (NZE) designs for residential buildings in Australia. Specifically, the analysis combines a series of sensitivity analyses and multi-objective optimizations to account for a wide range of design strategies for detached homes in four cities representing different Australian climates. The results indicate that not only are NZE designs technically feasible for all the considered Australian cities, but they are also highly cost-effective. This cost-effectiveness is attributed to the lower installation costs of rooftop PV systems as well as the beneficial interactive effects of proven energy efficiency strategies. Indeed, it is found that the deployment costs of rooftop PV systems can be recovered in less than 4 years. Moreover, the addition of thermal insulation in walls and ceilings can reduce both HVAC capacities and annual energy end-use by up to 59%. Based on an optimization-based design, NZE homes in Australia can have lower construction costs and, ultimately, lower life cycle costs than dwellings built to meet current energy efficiency standards based primarily on stringent building envelope thermal performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a comprehensive methodology for creating diverse layout generation configurations, aiming to address limitations in existing building optimization studies that rely on simplistic hypothetical buildings. This study's objective was to achieve an optimal balance between minimizing the energy use intensity (EUI) in kWh/m2, maximizing the views percentages to the outdoor (VPO), achieving spatial daylight autonomy (sDA), and minimizing annual sunlight exposure (ASE). To ensure the accuracy and reliability of the simulation, the research included calibration and validation processes using the Ladybug and Honeybee plugins, integrated into the Grasshopper platform. These processes involved comparing the model's performance against an existing real-world case. Through more than 1500 iterations, the study extracted three multi-regression equations that enabled the calculation of EUI in kWh/m2. These equations demonstrated the significant influence of the window-to-wall ratio (WWR) and space proportions (SP) on the EUI. By utilizing these multi-regression equations, we were able to fine-tune the design process, pinpoint the optimal configurations, and make informed decisions to minimize energy consumption and enhance the sustainability of residential buildings in hot arid climates. The findings indicated that 61% of the variability in energy consumption can be attributed to changes in the WWR, as highlighted in the first equation. Meanwhile, the second equation suggested that around 27% of the variability in energy consumption can be explained by alterations in space proportions, indicating a moderate correlation. Lastly, the third equation indicated that approximately 89% of the variability in energy consumption was associated with changes in the SP and WWR, pointing to a strong correlation between SP, WWR, and energy consumption. The proposed method is flexible to include new objectives and variables in future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore the rehabilitation strategies for multi-family dwellings on the level of function and techniques. The study employs its own methods of analysis using a sample of selected cases as a reference. Nearly 20% of EU buildings will have to be renovated by 2023, as almost 40% of the existing houses were built before 1980. The environmental impact of construction is among the highest among industrial activities due to the high consumption of resources and the generation of low-value waste at the construction and demolition stages. One way to reduce the environmental impact in this sector is to intervene in the building process, optimising the use of resources and waste generation. The principal objective of refurbishments is to reduce household energy consumption. However, the renovations in the housing sector should not be limited to energy considerations; the functional and technical aspects should also be considered. A new refurbishment model is necessary to focus on providing and improving the habitability of the housing stock and reducing the environmental impact by optimising the use of resources and waste generation. To achieve this, the renovations should be carefully monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential buildings consume a large proportion of global energy consumption. This consumption burdens energy security greatly as it is not proportional to the produced energy. Efficient planning to meet building energy needs requires accurate, high spatial resolution information on energy consumption. To justify the high energy consumption, this study focuses on energy consumption breakdown and evaluates how it affected indoor thermal comfort inside existing residential buildings. As well as, evaluating the proposed retrofitting solution provided by the Egyptian energy code to provide the bases which work on enhancing thermal comfort in existing residential buildings in Egypt. This evaluation was done using building performance simulation tools. The paper's research methodology follows the experimental approach. This approach utilizes energy simulation (DesignBuilder) to evaluate the existing residential building's thermal performance in the current state and post retrofitting solutions. The evaluation is done by analyzing thermal comfort levels according to the acceptable ranges stated by the Egyptian Code for Improving the Efficiency of Energy Use in buildings. Residential buildings are built without taking appropriate design measures to protect the indoor environment from external weather conditions. researchs' importance is to study how this will affect indoor thermal comfort. The paper aims at clarifying the effect the lack of thermal comfort has on energy consumption in the existing residential buildings in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings are significant energy consumers and provide a notable potential to reduce primary energy consumption and increase energy efficiency. Cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency projects is of crucial importance for their implementation. Cost-optimality of different packages of energy retrofit measures is studied across the EU, but Serbia mostly lacks such information. This paper analyzes cost-optimal solutions for Serbian residential buildings connected to district heating systems, considering three different scenarios related to the economic input parameters. Additionally, it considers the potential for primary energy savings beyond cost-optimality and associated costs. The optimal solutions, that correspond to minimal global cost or minimal primary energy consumption, are determined as the results of the combinatorial optimization problems. These problems are solved using the genetic algorithm and local search. The results are compared against the ones obtained with the sensitivity analysis. The global cost can be reduced by 8-43% in the cases of cost-optimal solutions, simultaneously saving 30-76% of primary energy. The potential to save primary energy is higher - it exceeds 70% in all the analyzed cases, but also requires higher global cost, sometimes larger than in the absence of the retrofit. The paper also emphasizes high dependencies of the results on very uncertain economic inputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building design optimization is a highly complex problem, requiring long computational running processes because of the many options that exist when a building is being designed. This paper introduces an integrated approach through which to perform this optimization within an acceptable time frame. The approach includes the methods of variable selection, model simplification, and a sequential optimization process. Using singular value decomposition, a large number of design variables is reduced to a smaller subset that can be solved more quickly through the optimization algorithm. To expedite the variable selection process, a modeling approach that quickly simulates annual energy consumption was developed to replace full annual energy simulations. The developed methodology was applied to two residential buildings in the US, and the results are discussed herein. To assess the accuracy of the integrated optimization methodology, the optimized life cycle costs are compaa variables demonstrating the strongest contributions in the optimization study were identified. The proposed methodology significantly shortened the time requirements for the optimization processes of the two case studies by 74% and 84%; the optimized life cycle costs were within 0.05% and 0.06%, respectively, of the optimum point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Productive facades, consisting of photovoltaic shading and vertical farming systems, have been proposed as a means to improve the thermal and visual status of residential buildings while also maintaining energy performance and providing vegetables. However, how to quickly and accurately predict electricity and vegetable output during the numerous influencing architectural and environmental factors is one of the key issues in the early stages of design, and few studies have investigated the impact of such structures on both indoor environmental qualities and production performance. In this paper, we present a novel prediction method that uses experimental data to train and test an artificial neural network (ANN). The results indicated that using the Bipolar Sigmoid activation function to process the experimental data input to the artificial neuron network gives more accurate predicted results both in the yield of photovoltaic shading and vertical farming systems. In addition, this prediction method was applied to a typical high-rise residential building in Singapore to assess the self-sufficiency potential of high-rise residential buildings integrated with productive facades. The results indicated that the upper part of the building can meet 20.0–23.1% of the annual household electricity demand of a family of four in a four-room residential unit in Singapore and almost the entire year's vegetable demand, while the middle part can meet 18.4–21.2% and 89.1%, respectively. The results demonstrated the importance of a productive facade in reducing energy demand, enhancing food security, and improving indoor visual and thermal comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparative study on the thermal comfort of traditional and contemporary houses in Byblos, Lebanon. With climate change affecting indoor environments and potentially leading to increased energy consumption, achieving optimal thermal comfort is a crucial issue for building research. The study analyzes several environmental parameters and conducts an occupancy survey to assess thermal comfort in both types of houses. The questionnaire used in the survey consists of 46 questions divided into three parts: "Who are you? ", "The environment of your house? ", and "Architectural characteristics of the house. " The results show that traditional houses perform better than contemporary ones in terms of thermal comfort, due to their use of natural and passive methods. However, both types of houses have room for improvement in terms of energy efficiency. This study provides insights into potential solutions for improving indoor thermal comfort while reducing energy consumption in traditional and contemporary houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the challenges of increasing the energy efficiency investments in European Union (EU) residential buildings in the context of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The paper presents the results of the PRIMES buildings model in key energy policy applications to support cost-effective and fair policy making in buildings across Europe. The model covers, in detail, the building sector for all the EU Member States (MS), segmenting the buildings into many categories. The approach proposed includes non-market barriers in conventional microeconomic modelling, which combined with idiosyncratic preferences can capture poor energy efficiency choices and still represent rational behaviours. The model includes a detailed portrayal of policies specific to the sector, comprising economic and regulatory policies as well as institutional measures. The results of the model show that the removal of non-market barriers is of great importance in reducing energy consumption and increasing both the pace and the depth of renovation investment. However, the institutional measures alone are not enough to induce energy efficiency improvement to the scale required to achieve the climate neutrality objectives. Economic (i.e., subsidies) or regulatory measures (i.e., energy performance standards) are also required to decrease emissions and energy consumption in buildings and the paper compares different configurations thereof. The optimum policy mix obviously derives from a compromise among various aims including the cost-effectiveness of the policy budget and the distributional impacts across building and consumer types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a review of the adoption status of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies is presented, specific to US residential buildings. Various technologies are reviewed and categorized as either their relative "higher adoption" or "lower adoption" rates within the US housing stock. More importantly, the review analysis investigates the main factors associated with their high or low adoption rates. Specifically, the paper provides a background of the historical progression of energy efficiency programs as well as sustainability certifications and standards for buildings. The review then analyzes specific building energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies applied to US residential buildings and their adoption rates. The review analysis indicates that building technologies are more frequently adopted for multiple reasons including requirements by codes and standards, incentives through green certifications, low implementation costs, and acceptance and popularity by the public. In contrast, technologies with low adoption rates have higher payback periods, are not required or highly incentivized through codes and certifications, have limited promotion about their benefits, or are not compatible with existing systems. By determining the reasons for the high and low adoption rates, mitigation options can be identified to increase the application of sustainable energy technologies in designing and retrofitting buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current context of joint efforts towards the decarbonisation of buildings, integrating occupants' comfort and health with latest technological advancements for energy efficiency is at the center of the latest development of research, policies and professional practice. Radiant systems are encountering great success since the low-thickness systems can also be used in renovation projects for both heating and cooling, while guaranteeing optimal comfort. However, dehumidification is often required for optimal radiant cooling operation with no condensation risks, and the great potential of mechanical ventilation systems to optimally address the needs for dehumidification, air renewal, health and energy efficiency appears to be far from its full exploitation in the post-COVID-19 era. The present paper aims at providing a quantification of the energy and financial impacts of the implementation of a controlled mechanical ventilation system (CMV) coupled to a radiant system in a typical residential case study building in Italy. The results show that the sole CMV may decrease primary energy demand and energy costs by more than 30% and contribute to an increase in the smart readiness of the building by 8%, but further incentive policies must be developed to cover the still high investment and maintenance cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) methods are widely used for appliance level energy disaggregation in residential buildings. These methods mostly depend on electrical features, and they have not been much successful in applying for commercial buildings. However, recent research has indicated that the accuracy of existing NILM methods can be improved by associating with occupancy data. Therefore, in this paper a novel occupancy detection algorithm is proposed which can detect occupancy status of individuals using the connectivity of their information technology (IT) devices to the local area network of the building. The model is validated using data collected at a university building, with mean errors of 01:23 and 04:02 minutes for the detection of arrival and departure. The occupancy profiles developed by the proposed model can be used to disaggregate energy consumption in a commercial building to appliance and occupant level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building a reliable energy model for old residential buildings with insufficient documentation and user assistance is a challenging and time-consuming task. Nevertheless, the ambitious European decarbonization targets require this building stock to be renovated, making energy assessment a key priority. In line with this goal, the following study explores a more simplified and automatic framework to generate a residential building energy model (BEM). The paper's approach is based on the concept of urban building energy modelling (UBEM) archetypes or building prototypes and is customized according to the principles of dynamic simulations performed in the existing BEM software, Integrated Environmental Solutions Virtual Environment IES VE, and Solemma Open Studio. Therefore, based on three real starting inputs, a prototype database (DB) of assigned inputs is generated, i.e., an input matrix, using Google Maps as a geometry source. Other data are drawn from tabular DB. The proposed approach is evaluated by benchmarking the simulation results with precise models and monitoring the data that come from the Horizon2020 project REZBUILD. Nevertheless, a level of simplification is introduced that creates less accurate results for total or system-level energy consumption; this is compensated for using a set of simple calibration steps. The approach gives promising results for daily indoor temperature, making it a suitable indicator for evaluating further retrofitting alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under rapid urbanization-induced global warming and resource depletion, growing interest in zero-energy building (ZEB) and zero-emission building (ZEB) technologies have emerged globally to improve energy performance in homes and shape sustainable cities. Although several countries have released ZEB-enhanced strategies and set national standards and policies to promote ZEBs, construction projects are still limited to demonstration projects. This paper reviews global ZEB activities and state-of-the-art technologies for energy-efficient residential building technologies [based on an evaluation of 40 residential buildings]. Over 40 residential buildings on different continents were reviewed, and their technical details and performance were evaluated. Our results show that 62.5% of the buildings achieved the +ZEB standard, 25% of the buildings were net-zero energy buildings, and only 12.5% of the buildings were near-zero energy buildings. Solar PV is the most widely used renewable energy source in the studied cases, while in warmer climates, advanced cooling technologies and heat pumps are the preferred technologies. A building envelope and thermal ventilation with heat recovery are essential in cold climates. Our systematic analysis reveals that the thermal performance of the building envelope and solar energy are the most effective mechanisms for achieving energy efficiency and shaping sustainable cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Sciences is the property of Faculty of Engineering - Assiut University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Featured Application: Calculation of total primary energy savings per year (MW/h) of a building stock in Mediterranean countries following the cost-optimal methodology. Improving energy efficiency in buildings has a key role to play in achieving the ambitious goal of EU-wide climate neutrality by 2050, set out in the European Green Deal. This paper describes a cost-optimal analysis of residential buildings of Valencian Community, Spain. Thus, an assessment of the contribution of total primary energy savings per year (MW/h) of the social dwellings managed by EVha, Entitat Valenciana d'Habitatge i Sòl (eng. Valencian entity for dwelling and ground) towards the national contribution is presented in this paper. To assess it, the MedZEB cost-optimal methodology has been applied to optimise the performance of the building's envelope. This means that Optimal Renovation Strategies through Life-Cycle Analysis have been applied to obtain the Packages of Optimal Solutions of the different reference buildings in a reference climate. First, the renovation scenario with 100% of the building stock being renovated has been calculated. Then, the renovation scenario of 1%, being the current European rate of renovation and, finally the renovation scenario of 2%, given that the objective of the Renovation Wave is to at least double the annual energy renovation rate of residential and non-residential buildings by 2030 and to foster deep energy renovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key design strategies that reduce the energy demand of buildings are not present in most thermal codes in many countries. Therefore, modeling techniques offer an alternative to combine the architects' modus operandi with the energy efficiency in the early stages of architectural design and with higher speed and precision. However, a review of the scientific literature using modeling techniques shows that most researchers use a relatively large sample of thermal simulations. This paper proposes a simplified method based on the linear regression modeling technique and considers a relatively smaller sample of thermal simulations. A total of 6 key building design strategies were identified, related to the urban context, building envelope, and shape factor. A simulation protocol containing 60 possible combinations was designed by random selection. In the present study, the Pleiades software was used to estimate the annual energy demand for heating and cooling for a typical dwelling in a humid climate zone. A parametric study and sensitivity analysis to identify the most efficient parameters was performed in SPSS 21. The resulting model predicts the annual energy demand with an accuracy of 93.7%, a root mean square error (RMSE) of 5.88, and a scatter index (SI) of 8.59%. The models performed could efficiently and quickly assist architects while designing the buildings in the architectural practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering Sciences is the property of Faculty of Engineering - Assiut University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of the study was to identify the state of residential buildings in terms of energy consumption and modernisation in Poland against the background of the EU, and to determine factors and activities increasing households′ interest in net-zero energy buildings. In the European Union, we are observing a tendency to increase the energy efficiency of buildings, including residential, and decarbonise building stock by 2050. The objective of the undertaken activities is to reduce energy use and the negative impacts of the use of buildings on the environment. Attaining this objective requires modernising many buildings. This dissertation includes an investigation into the condition of buildings in Poland from the aspect of energy use and the kind of carriers of this energy, and also into another issue: what factors and activities may increase society′s interest in net-zero energy buildings, and in the use of energy from renewable sources in residential buildings. The studies were conducted with the use of the data provided by the Central Statistical Office and EUROSTAT, and also of the reports of the European Commission, the data of the Central Emission Register of Buildings (CERB) and the Odysse–Mure database. An important source of information was also surveys conducted with the application of CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview), and also of PAPI (Paper and Pencil Interview), among 387 households in Poland. For the purpose of analysing the results of the studies, the methods of descriptive statistics, the chi-square test of independence, the ANOVA test of Kruskal–Wallis and the Mann–Whitney U-test were used. The analysis gives rise to the conclusion that, in residential buildings, household′s annual primary energy demand is dependent on the year in which a building was commissioned. Newer buildings can boast smaller heat energy use. Simultaneously, ever more households are undertaking activities that will result in the thermal modernisation of residential buildings. The studies have shown that the development of net-zero energy buildings requires undertaking activities in the scope of introducing allowances and subsidies, and also increasing social awareness in the scope of this kind of building. Interest in buildings using solely renewable energy sources is contributed to by raising energy prices, and also the falling prices of required installations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to assess the energy efficiency of residential buildings in Tunis. To this end, three complementary studies were carried out at different levels. Initially, a diagnosis of the building's adaptability to climate change at urban and architectural scales was established. The methodology adopted was based on indicators obtained following a cross-reference of environmental assessment tools. This made it possible to highlight the lacunary factors related to thermal comfort. According to this finding, the second research was set up to focus on outdoor thermal comfort. The methodology adopted is based on numerical simulations and calculations of comfort indices. The results demonstrated the importance of specific morphological indicators at the urban scale. Finally, the third research is interested in the architectural scale to assess the building's thermal comfort and energy consumption. It was performed through numerical simulations. The results demonstrated the impact of specific physical indicators on buildings' thermal comfort and energy behavior. Ultimately, this research highlighted the gap factors in urban and architectural design in Tunis. It detected the most significant physical and morphological indicators to be considered for sustainable urban design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air conditioning systems are the most viable source to avoid heat waves. Unfortunately, this puts a massive burden on the total electrical load. To deal with this critical issue, the Saudi Building Code National Committee has initiated the Saudi energy conservation code (SBC-602). This paper investigated the role of SBC-602 on the reduction of energy consumption in residential buildings. Furthermore, it also proposes the most effective building element to be insulated. A case study of energy consumption was modelled using SketchUp and analysed using OpenStudio Software. Inconsequence, three scenarios of U-values as an input in this work were suggested which are; building without thermal insulation, building with thermal insulation using Saudi electricity company (SEC) requirement, and using SBC-602 requirement. The study was conducted in three different cities Riyadh, Hail, and Abha, representing three climate zones in Saudi Arabia. Design of experiment (DOE) method was utilised to analyse the significant effects of the input factors. The result indicates that the decrease of the walls U-value is the most effective way to reduce the total electrical energy consumption. Moreover, decreasing roof U-value and increasing setpoint temperature were the following effective factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities in nations all over the world must work to address the problem of energy consumption, which has emerged in modern times. Given that domestic consumers account for roughly 49% of the total electricity used annually by all sectors, buildings can be seen as a key player in this conundrum. The architecture field can therefore play a vital role in saving energy, not only through building design but also through the materials used. To minimize architectural programmes' negative impact on the environment, sustainable design that saves energy is being employed today in traditional Saudi Arabian buildings. This study examined whether current housing designs can effectively integrate four key passive energy-saving strategies: outdoor green area, thermal mass wall, window-to-wall ratio and shading device. This study analysed two types of traditional houses from two different cities in Saudi Arabia's Najd region, Riyadh and Hail, examining the four passive strategies. Using traditional house designs, this paper created four simulation models for each house, and compared the simulation results with the base case model to determine how well these strategies could affect the energy consumption for residential buildings in Saudi Arabia (KSA). The results indicate that the selected strategies can play an important role in saving energy in residential buildings in the KSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate changes which we are experiencing at the moment are affecting the entire globe. Serbia, as a developing country, is in the process of defining its own energy strategy and priorities when it comes to the problem of increased energy consumption in its building stock. Research shows that residential sector consumes the largest quantity of energy. The CO2 emissions present another big problem which is in a direct correlation with energy consumption. Green roofs have multiple positive effects on buildings and their surroundings which make them a desirable option for retrofitting roofs. The aim of this paper is to investigate thermal properties of chosen green roof system and its potential to positively influence energy consumption for heating buildings and therefore CO2 emissions trough refurbishing existing old flat roofs. The municipality of New Belgrade was chosen for this research for its unique urban characteristics - existence of large number of similar or identical buildings, which have same structural characteristics and similar surroundings. For the purpose of this paper, blocks 45 and 70 were chosen. Results of this research are applicable on all of the 132 buildings found at this location, which have total roof area of 90.990 m². By calculating energy quantity needed for heating the building with the existing roof and two hypothetical models, which have green roof, it was possible to quantify energy savings, which are in a direct correlation with CO2 emissions. A control roof was introduced in order to examine if the proposed green roof possesses better characteristics than a traditional solution, most commonly used in Serbia. Apart from energy savings, overall impact of the green roof on the CO2 reduction per building was calculated. By multiplying these results, we drew the conclusion that a project such as greening roofs of existing residential buildings in blocks 45 and 70 would have a noticeable effect on both the energy savings and CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the chronic shortage of energy-related analytical data and disintegration of building energy regulations, numerous existing residential buildings in Petra (Jordan) and many cities worldwide suffer from poor building energy design. This paper aims at investigating the potential of applying energy-saving standards in order to improve the whole-building energy consumption of low-rise residential buildings in mild and dry climate zones. Representative buildings were selected based on a field survey. Proposed strategies focused on applicable solutions such as envelope components, and energy-related systems were set. The models were created using Autodesk Revit, and then the results were generated by the EnergyPlus engine. The findings showed that the application of building energy standards greatly impacts the overall energy end-use, where up to 30% reduction can be achieved by applying the Jordanian code, and up to 45% by applying the American standard. This work provides guidance for the residential building industry and policymakers in Jordan and many other countries with similar building characteristics and climate zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The potential application of the proposed model is a computationally inexpensive semi- or fully automated system for the optimization of operation in residential buildings in terms of energy consumption. Some analyses state that buildings contribute to overall energy consumption by 20–40%, which, in the context of the recent geopolitical energy crisis, makes them a critical issue to study. Finding solutions for better energy management in buildings can have a significant impact on the energy sector, thus reducing EU energy dependencies and contributing to the fulfillment of the REPowerEU goals. This paper focuses on proposing a simplified model of a residential house considering the main appliances, heating and cooling, a photovoltaic system, and electric vehicle recharging. Weather and solar irradiance forecasts are taken into account. The model predicts the energy demands of a house based on online weather forecasts and the desired indoor temperature. The article also focuses on the analysis of how weather forecast uncertainty affects energy demand prediction. This model can be used to better understand and predict the energy demand of either a single house or a set of houses. A multi-objective optimization approach that takes into account the preferences of users/inhabitants is developed to provide a compromise between the price paid for the electricity and temperature comfort. The authors plan to apply the proposed model to a residential house's real-time control system. The model will be tuned, its predictions will be tested, and it will be used for energy demand optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the characteristics of the Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) green building certification system in terms of the scope of certification, and environmental and social strategies focused on 6024 units in the 17 EDGE-certified residential buildings in South Africa was investigated. This research analyzed the efficiency of energy, water, embodied energy in materials, and annual CO2 emissions and their contribution to solving housing issues in the given context. This research revealed that the design of EDGE-certified buildings focuses on the "efficiency first" approach and reduced energy and water demand more than on-site energy production. In energy-saving strategies, energy-saving solutions are three times (69.2%) higher than energy-generating solutions (23.1%). The results on resource savings showed that, on average, embodied energy in materials (54%) is the most reduced resource, followed by water (31%) and energy (29.7%). The statistical analysis indicated that there is no statistically significant correlation between energy, water, embodied energy in materials, and CO2 savings with floor areas of the buildings. In addition, this research highlighted how EDGE certification has positively contributed to solving South Africa's resource shortage and affordable housing scarcity problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on EU guidelines and national development plans, energy efficient process management has been slowly implemented in Latvian regions in the context of the Directive 2012/27/EU putting forward two binding indicative national energy efficiency goals for Latvia: (1) to achieve 1.5 % of energy savings delivered to final consumers every year, and (2) to renovate 3 % of the state-owned buildings annually. The aim of the paper is to reflect the management system of energy efficient processes in public and residential buildings in Latvian littoral regions of the Baltic Sea, which can be an important factor for achieving the goals of the Directive. The paper presents the results of the research on energy efficient processes in public and residential buildings in Latvian littoral regions of the Baltic Sea in order to determine the existing challenges. Methods applied in the research are data collection, grouping, analysis and comparison, studies of regulatory documents, as well as statistical data collection and analysis. Contribution of the research is the improvement of energy efficient solutions in public and residential buildings in littoral regions of the Baltic Sea by using the estimated energy efficient processes. The results of the research are of international importance and can be applied not only in public and residential buildings in littoral regions of the Baltic Sea but also in other regions with similar climate or energy efficient process management problems in order to improve the selection of criteria of energy efficient solutions and renovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shifting from heating using fossil fuel combustion to electrified heating, dominated by heat pumps, is central to many countries' decarbonisation strategy. The consequent increase in electricity demand, combined with that from electric vehicles, and the shift from non-renewable to renewable generation requires increased demand flexibility to support system operation. Demand side response through interrupting heating during peak demands has been widely proposed and simulation modelling has been used to determine the technical potential. This paper proposes an empirical approach to quantifying a building's potential to operate flexibly, presenting a metric based on measured temperature drop in a dwelling under standard conditions after heating is switched off, using smart meter and internal temperature data. A result was derived for 96% of 193 homes within a test dataset, mean temperature drop of 1.5 °C in 3 h at 15 °C inside-outside temperature differential. An empirical flexibility metric may support decision making and decarbonisation. For households it may support the transition to heat pumps, enabling time of use costs and tariffs to be better understood and system to be specified by installers. Electricity system stakeholders, such as aggregators and DNOs may use it to identify the potential for demand response, managing local networks, infrastructure and aggregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oversimplifying occupant behaviour using static and standard schedules has been identified as a limitation of building energy simulation tools. This paper describes the use of hierarchical cluster analysis to establish the most typical indoor temperature profiles of Albanian dwellings based on monitored indoor temperatures in winter and summer, along with building and occupant surveys undertaken in 49 randomly selected dwellings in Tirana. Three statistically different profiles were developed for each summer and winter, indicating that homes are used in different ways, as well as revealing possible comfort requirements. Furthermore, statistical analysis was undertaken to determine the strength of the association between the clusters and contextual factors related to the building, household, and occupancy. A statistically significant association was found between the presence of children and the clusters in winter, suggesting that families with dependents use more energy. Building-related factors including building type, building age, and wall insulation were found to be statistically significantly associated with clusters in summer. These profiles could provide more accurate outcomes of energy consumption of Albanian homes and energy savings from retrofits. They could also facilitate the development of low-energy strategies and policies for specific households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing consciousness to address future concerns is a challenging subject, noticed considerably by policymakers and investors. Investigation of energy use in residential buildings in terms of quantity and sources of energy was the main focus of this study. Indeed, the paper was aimed to study the role of contextual factors on two points: the energy demand and the spreading of renewable technologies in the residential sector. It was theory‐driven research to highlight some future concerns. The first theory was to reveal how the growth of single‐family houses versus multi‐family houses could affect the growth of energy consumption and the application of renewable technologies. The second theory was built to highlight that spreading energy measures to increase efficiency or introducing a new energy carrier should be embedded in the context of new construction activities or in a template of renovation projects. The third theory was to emphasize the priority of thinking about managing the changes in residential buildings because of the lasting impact of the decision about the type of building. Finally, the purpose of the ongoing transition was argued to highlight that the growth of renewable technologies has not been necessarily aligned with getting away from fossil fuels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2002, the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD) introduced energy certification schemes to classify and compare building performances to support reaching energy efficiency targets by informing the different actors of the building sectors. However, since its implementation, the Energy Performance Certifications (EPCs) remained unexploited with limited impact on the energy savings targets. In this context, the EPC RECAST project aims at studying a new generation of EPCs with a focus on the residential sector. More in detail, the paper presents and frames a monitoring approach based on low-cost and non-invasive technology for real data collection in existing residential apartments/houses. The method is based on different levels of monitoring selected according to the typology of the building (e.g., detached house, apartment), services (e.g., centralized or local energy generation), and energy vectors (e.g., natural gas or electricity). Three different levels have been identified (named as: basic, medium, and advanced) and for each one, different plug and play monitoring sensor kits have been selected. Six representative pilot buildings have been identified and selected to verify the approach in general and, in particular, the sensors' applicability and communication, the data reliability, and the monitoring platform. The presented work highlights, on the one hand, the general feasibility of the proposed monitoring approach; on the other, it highlights the difficulty of fully standardizing the sensors kits considering that each building/apartment has specific characteristics and constraints that have to be carefully analyzed. The use of the ultrasonic flow meters represents a good technical option for reducing the cost and the impact on the existing plant system; however, their installation must be verified considering that the logger needs to be powered and the sensors calibrated for collecting reliable data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is resulting in higher summer indoor temperatures in the severe cold region and cold region of China, and this is affecting thermal comfort. Local building design codes consider these regions as cool in summer, and do not consider the phenomenon of overheating or propose countermeasures. This paper studied the possibility of overheating in residential buildings in these areas. It suggested alleviating this phenomenon using external horizontal shading, and discussed how to integrate thermal comfort into the building design and save energy consumption. The IESVE software was used to simulate 18-storey residential buildings with natural ventilation in Yichun, Harbin, Shenyang, Dalian, and Beijing, and to calculate the change in indoor operative temperature. Horizontal shading was designed for case study building to attempt to alleviate the overheating phenomenon in summer. The results showed that the case study building in the five cities experienced different degrees of overheating. External horizontal shading was successful in reducing indoor overheating, especially in the severe cold B and C zones and the cold A and B zones. The relevant building codes should be modified to take this into account. Reasonable design of horizontal shading can effectively reduce energy consumption, particularly when compared with air-conditioned buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the energy consumption of buildings is a complex and multi-scale task, with the entire process dependent on input data and urban surroundings. However, most urban energy models do not account for the urban environment. This paper employs a physical-based, bottom-up method to predict urban building operating energy consumption, using imported topography to consider shading effects on buildings. This method has proven to be feasible and aligned well with the benchmark. Research also suggests that commercial and transport buildings have the highest energy use intensity, significantly more than residential and office buildings. Specifically, cooling demands far outweigh heating demands for these building types. Therefore, buildings in the commercial and transportation sectors would receive greater consideration for energy efficiency and improvements to the cooling system would be a priority. Additionally, the method developed for predicting building energy demand at an urban scale can also be replicated in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic focuses on current solutions of interspaces in the renovation and modernization of residential buildings, the design of which is conditioned by the principles of sustainable development and construction. It concerns the integration of closed interspaces in renovated buildings from the 1950s to the 1980s. One example is the frequent glazing of loggias/balconies in original panel construction. The form of glazing of loggias and balconies is not regulated and is chosen by the apartment owners. For these reasons, the integration of interspaces in renovated buildings should be supported by research that will bring new insights about their effect on assessments of the energy performance of residential buildings and their effect on the architectural expression of facades. The paper compares alternatives for the integration of interspaces with an emphasis on the efferc of their orientation. The research should serve to help regulate the glazing of loggias in residential panel buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an effort to reduce the operational cost of their dwellings, occupants may even have to sacrifice their indoor thermal comfort conditions. Following the economic recession in Greece over recent years, homeowners have been forced to adapt their practices by shortening heating hours, lowering the indoor thermostat settings, isolating spaces that are not heated or even turning off their central heating system and using alternative local heating systems. This paper presents the results from over 100 occupant surveys using questionnaires and walk-through energy audits in Hellenic households that documented how occupants operated the heating systems in their dwellings and the resulting indoor thermal comfort conditions and actual energy use. The results indicate that the perceived winter thermal comfort conditions were satisfactory in only half of the dwellings, since the actual operating space heating periods averaged only 5 h (compared with the assumed 18 h in standard conditions), while less than half heated their entire dwellings and only a fifth maintained an indoor setpoint temperature of 20 °C, corresponding to standard comfort conditions. Mainstream energy conservation measures include system maintenance, switching to more efficient systems, reducing heat losses and installing controls. This information is then used to derive empirical adaptation factors for bridging the gap between the calculated and actual energy use, making more realistic estimates of the expected energy savings following building renovations, setting prudent targets for energy efficiency and developing effective plans toward a decarbonized building stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-rise residential buildings are increasing worldwide, including cities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Therefore, creating sustainable environments in and around these residential buildings are becoming an important problem. Improving energy efficiency in buildings has received critical attention worldwide. Countries have developed national sustainability strategies that lead to the lower energy consumption while maintaining comfort, reducing energy consumption, and minimizing harmful emissions. In this paper, an analysis of the impact of external shading devices in high-rise residential buildings on energy consumption of a 13-storey building in Sulaimani city is studied. The study is focused on fixed shading elements, explaining the influence of the design of vertical and horizontal shading devices on the total energy consumption of this type of building. The results show that both a single fixed horizontal blind with a depth of 20 cm and a triple vertical shading with the same depth are considered useless. The reduction in cooling loads by two fixed horizontal louvers almost doubled compared to a single fixed horizontal shading with 20 cm. Moreover, triple fixed horizontal louvers with 40 cm have almost the same effect on reducing cooling loads as triple fixed louvers with 60 cm. On the other hand, a triple fixed horizontal shading device with 60 cm has twice the effect on reducing annual cooling loads as a triple fixed vertical shading device with 60 cm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The present paper aims at estimating the quality of the forecasts obtained by using one equation models. In particular, the focus is on the effect that the explanatory variables have on the forecasted quantity. The analysis is performed on the long term natural gas consumption in the Italian residential sector, but the same methodology can be applied to other contexts; (2) Methods: Different ex ante knowledge scenarios are built by associating different levels of confidence to the same set of explanatory variables. Forecasting results, coming from a standard regression algorithm and confirmed by a Kalman filter, are analyzed by means of covariance matrix propagation to assess the quality of the provided estimates; (3) Results: The outcomes show that one-equation models are very sensitive to the quality of the explanatory variables, therefore their erroneous estimation may have a relevant detrimental effect on the predictive accuracy of the model; (4) Conclusions: The overall ex ante forecasting accuracy of an example of one equation model is assessed. It has emerged that long-term forecasts need particular attention when the covered time horizon spans over decades. The information contained in the present paper is of interest for energy planners, supply network managers and policy makers in order to support their decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the architectural implications, in terms of size and space requirements, of battery technologies in a built environment using renewable energy and energy storage technologies. These aspects will be of particular interest as the world transitions to a low carbon future. This paper is the first to focus on the physical size of storage systems required to provide particular storage characteristics. The research used a quantitative case study methodology and focused on the investigation of nine battery technologies based on potential technology and energy consumption scenarios in 2030. Different residential building scales at a local distribution scale are explored considering sub-daily autonomy periods. Four case studies in a 2030 scenario are presented. For each case study, the nominal capacity, spatial requirements and costs are assessed for each technology. A schematic characterisation of the technologies was derived considering their suitability across these aspects as well as their applicability at different scales. The study showed that the architectural implications of the spatial and structural requirements are significant in some cases and negligible in others, with Li-ion and Zn-air technologies having minimal space requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A smart community is a distributed system consisting of a set of smart homes which utilize the smart home scheduling techniques to enable customers to automatically schedule their energy loads targeting various purposes such as electricity bill reduction. Smart home scheduling is usually implemented in a decentralized fashion inside a smart community, where customers compete for the community level renewable energy due to their relatively low prices. Typically there exists an aggregator as a community wide electricity policy maker aiming to minimize the total electricity bill among all customers. This paper develops a new renewable energy aware pricing scheme to achieve this target. We establish the proof that under certain assumptions the optimal solution of decentralized smart home scheduling is equivalent to that of the centralized technique, reaching the theoretical lower bound of the community wide total electricity bill. In addition, an advanced cross entropy optimization technique is proposed to compute the pricing scheme of renewable energy, which is then integrated in smart home scheduling. The simulation results demonstrate that our pricing scheme facilitates the reduction of both the community wide electricity bill and individual electricity bills compared to the uniform pricing. In particular, the community wide electricity bill can be reduced to only 0.06 percent above the theoretic lower bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ventilated window system enhanced by phase change material (PCM) has been developed, and its energy-saving potential examined in previous works. In this paper, the ventilation control strategies are further developed, to improve the energy-saving potential of the PCM energy storage. The influence of ventilation airflow rate on the energy-saving potential of the PCM storage is firstly studied based on an EnergyPlus model of a sustainable low energy house located in New York. It shows that in summer, the optimized ventilation airflow rate is 300 m3/h. The energy-saving of utilizing a ventilated window with PCM energy storage is 10.1% compared to using a stand-alone ventilated window, and 12.0% compared to using a standard window. In winter, the optimized ventilation airflow rate is 102 m3/h. The energy-saving of utilizing a ventilated window with PCM energy storage is 26.6% compared to using a stand-alone ventilated window, and 32.8% compared to using a standard window. Based on the optimized ventilation airflow rate, a demand control ventilation strategy, which personalizes the air supply and heat pump setting based on the demand of each room, is proposed and its energy-saving potential examined. The results show that the energy savings of using demand control compared to a constant ventilation airflow rate in the house is 14.7% in summer and 30.4% in winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the final results of residential and public buildings energy renovation on the area of the Osijek-Baranja County as well as the beginning of energy renovation of residential and public buildings in the five counties of Eastern Croatia based on of signed contracts for energy renovation. The structure of purpose of public buildings by cities and settlements is presented an overview of the contracted projects with the number of funds for energy renovation of multi-residential buildings is given. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of energy renovation of buildings in terms of reducing energy consumption and reducing energy imports and emphasizes that energy distributors in the five counties of Eastern Croatia need to coordinate their business procurement plans for energy delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual heating consumption for dwelling buildings has an important part in Latvia's energy balance. Increasing energy efficiency and reducing primary energy in the household sector can play a role in national energy targets. This paper analyses three different heating systems which focus on a pellet boiler and solar collector combined system. The performance of existing solar collectors is analysed and the solar collector system performance ratio is determined. Costs including investments, fuel and maintenance have been analysed and a comparison between systems is made using the indicator – costs per produced energy. Results show that the performance of the solar collector system should be increased or investments should decrease to meet the cost effectiveness of other analysed heating systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The use of this new regression method increases the available toolkit for system modeling and machine learning techniques. Their main advantages are simplicity and easy geometric meaning, allowing the treatment of a big class of modelling problems. The application to the study of a problem related with energy efficiency on buildings reviews a widely used dataset introducing some additional considerations that serve as a benchmark of the proposed methodology. System modeling is a main task in several research fields. The development of numerical models is of crucial importance at the present because of its wide use in the applications of the generically named machine learning technology, including different kinds of neural networks, random field models, and kernel-based methodologies. However, some problems involving the reliability of their predictions are common to their use in the real world. Octahedric regression is a kernel averaged methodology developed by the authors that tries to simplify the entire process from raw data acquisition to model generation. A discussion about the treatment and prevention of overfitting is presented and, as a result, models are obtained that allow for the measurement of this effect. In this paper, this methodology is applied to the problem of estimating the energetic needs of different buildings according to their principal characteristics, a problem that has importance in architecture and civil and environmental engineering due to increasing concerns about energetic efficiency and ecological footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]