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The building sector is responsible for nearly 40% of the total global direct and indirect CO2 emissions. Urban green infrastructure, which includes features such as urban trees, vegetation, green roofs, and green facades, are examples of nature-based solutions often employed as municipal climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. This approach offers a range of cost-effective strategies for reducing municipal CO2 emissions and presents compelling public policy co-benefits such as improved urban livability and enhanced environmental conditions. For municipalities to confidently deploy these solutions at a scale necessary to achieve climate benefits, acquiring knowledge of quantifiable and demonstrated outcomes is an essential requirement. The objectives of this paper are to (1) provide a comprehensive analysis of the advantages and limitations of nature-based solutions (NBS) to address the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions; (2) evaluate existing design guidelines and policies as may be available across Canada, and that that support the of implementation of NBS in urban agglomerations; (3) identify knowledge gaps and research needs to address challenges to the implementation of NBS. In this review, suggestions and requirements as presented in these documents are examined while giving due consideration to the scientific evidence available in research papers. It was found that the adoption of NBS can contribute to carbon neutral communities through reduced building energy consumption and carbon sequestration. Supportive guidelines and policies have been developed, or are in development, to promote the implementation of NBS at the city scale, despite challenges in assessing, quantitatively, their impact due to uncertainties in data, methods, and scale. Nonetheless, existing research provides sufficient evidence to qualify the measures and suggestions outlined in the guidelines and policies described in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate change–built environment nexus is complex and intertwined. Recognizing the rising air temperatures and solar radiations owing to climate-induced global warming, it is critical to manage the increased building energy and cooling loads in the Middle East Gulf states' hot desert climates (Bwh). One of the top climate priorities is to promote climate resilience by reducing risks and enhancing adaptation options. This study aims to systematically review the existing literature to document building energy performances in and the associated adaptation measures of the Middle East Gulf states, regarding the implications of climate change. It is accomplished by answering the following questions: 'How well do we understand the effects of climate change on building energy use in hot urban deserts?' and 'What are the most appropriate adaptation strategies to reduce energy use in hot urban deserts?'. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis protocols (PRISMA), 17 studies on the influence of present and future weather scenarios on building performance are examined, considering variations in typology, methods, and input variables. Finally, the paper identifies the preferred methods and input variables for modelling building energy performance under predicted climatic changes. Passive design considerations are considered highly effective in mitigating and adapting to climate change implications. Thermal insulation and efficient window glazing are identified as the best-performing strategies, while the use of solar Photovoltaic (PV) is considered efficient in meeting the primary energy demands. The study's findings can assist planners and designers in projecting future climatic influences on the energy usage of existing buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a thermal performance assessment of traditional building constructions and configurations in various Moroccan climates is carried out. This research focuses on enhancing conventional energy efficiency of buildings by investigating the thermal behavior of single clay walls, double clay walls, simple brick walls, and double brick walls based on long-term meteorological data using TRNSYS software. The roof pitch, thermal comfort and discomfort index, and building energy consumption are considered while selecting buildings for each temperature zone. It is noticed that the double brick construction is more efficient in all climatic zones of Morocco. Thus, this material reduces the yearly energy requirement of building by 22% to 25% compared to the usual brick building. On the coldest winter days, a 30° south-facing roof raises the internal temperature by 2.5 °C compared to a horizontal roof. Temperature increases could reduce the air conditioning energy usage by 7% to 32% and overcooling hours by 12% to 21% in cities above 30° N. In addition, the findings are interesting enough to inspire individuals to implement the recommended construction design and study energy efficiency and thermal comfort in Moroccan buildings. Consequently, reducing energy consumption, mitigating climate change, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become a real challenge in different fields, including the building sector. Understanding and assessing the impact of climate change on building energy performance is still necessary to elaborate new climate-adaptive design measures for future buildings. The building energy consumption for heating and cooling is mainly related to the building envelope thermal performance. In this study, the winter heat loss and summer heat gain indicators are proposed to assess and analyse the potential impact of climate change on opaque building envelope elements for different climate zones in Morocco over the next 40 years. For that purpose, a one-dimensional heat transfer model is used to simulate the heat transfer through the multi-layer structure of the wall/roof. A medium climate change scenario is considered in this study. The results showed that the current average walls and roof summer heat gain is expected to increase of about 19.2–54.3% by the 2060s depending on the climate zone, versus a less important decrease in winter heat loss varies between –10.6 and –20.6%. This paper provides a reliable evaluation of the climate change impact on building envelope thermal performance, which leads to better adjustments in future building envelope designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for energy in the building sector drives the need for change from fossil fuels to environment-friendly power sources which can also mitigate the effect of global warming and climate change. One of the initiatives to knock down the peak load and energy demand in buildings is stepping toward energy-efficient buildings for a sustainable future. This paper aims to review the fundamental aspects for approaching net zero energy consumption buildings (nZECB) keeping into consideration the effect of building physics and challenges faced in the pathway and its feasibility. Also, it addresses various policies and plans that can dramatically change the future of developing nations like India toward a zero-emissions energy system. Considering all the facts, this study suggests inflating our focus beyond direct energy use and opt for hybridized clean energy sources and enhance the constructional parameters for a better, greener, and cleaner future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban heat island has significant impacts on buildings' energy consumption. The phenomenon is associated with increased urban air temperatures compared to the air temperature of the surrounding rural or suburban areas. The ambient air temperature growth due to climate changes and the urban heat island phenomenon are dramatically increasing the cooling demand in buildings. This is worsened by irradiation conditions, construction technologies, and subjective comfort expectations. This paper examines the impact of the urban environment on the energy demand of buildings, considering the case of two districts of the city of Rome, Italy: one is representative of a central zone, the other of a rural zone. Weather data were then used to calculate the thermal demand of a typical Italian building, ideally located in the monitored areas of the city. Standalone building with modified weather file was modeled in TRNSYS. Results show that urban heat island intensity causes an increase in cooling demand up to +33% for the urban area (+20% for the rural area) compared to the demand calculated using weather data from airportual areas. On the other hand, urban heat island intensity has a positive effect on heating demand which turns out to decrease up to -32% for the urban area (-14% for the rural area). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous environmental issues have been addressed as a consequence of rapidly increasing global energy consumption. Building energy consumption has risen considerably in the last few decades. In recent years, the zero energy building (ZEB) concept has attained worldwide attention and is now commonly identified as the future criteria for building design. However, there is a lack of uniform definition in this field. This study combines bibliometric and visual analysis of Scopus database publications from 1977 to 2022 to investigate ZEB-related studies. Five topical clusters formed as a result of evaluating the co-occurrence network of the keywords. Finally, the most popular research trends were determined by investigating the overlay network. The scientific knowledge concerning zero energy buildings has been mapped by employing the results of this paper. In addition, they have been utilized to highlight future opportunities and gaps and illustrate the connections between various subject areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given climate change and rapid global development, buildings must meet increasingly stringent environmental performance goals. Although numerous building simulation software assess energy performance, few inform the early stages of design when critical decisions impacting energy use and carbon footprint are made. Underrepresented early design simulation software could potentially significantly improve the environmental performance of buildings. This paper presents the SEED Framework for multi-objective early design decision-making that utilizes EnergyPlus-based building energy, structural finite element analysis, and Radiance-based daylighting simulations. When furnished with basic inputs, the SEED Framework generates numerous design options ranked by energy use, embodied carbon, construction cost, and daylighting metrics. A case study of a hypothetical mid-sized office building modelled in the Boston, Washington D.C., and Phoenix, USA climates demonstrates how the framework can guide decisions throughout pre- and schematic design phases. This framework aims to assist architects in designing high performance buildings within project and budgetary constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sustainable use of active heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems is crucial for minimum energy consumption. Currently, research studies are increasingly applying adaptive setpoint temperatures, thus reducing considerably the energy consumption without influencing comfort levels excessively. Most of them, however, are focused on the limit values of adaptive comfort standards without considering the tolerance in users' adaptation capacity. This research study analyzed various tolerance ranges in the recent adaptive thermal comfort model from EN 16798-1:2019 used in setpoint temperatures. The study focused on the south of Europe, considering 47 cities in Spain, 18 cities in Portugal, 13 cities in Greece, and 20 cities in Italy. In addition, such cities were analyzed in three climate scenarios: present time, 2050, and 2100. The results showed that values prefixed by EN 16798-1:2019 for new buildings (tolerance of 0.00 °C) produced significant savings with respect to the static model and that each progressive improvement in users' thermal expectations in 0.25 °C increased the energy consumption between 6.57 and 9.31% in all scenarios analyzed. Even applying a thermal tolerance of 1.50 °C, energy savings are currently produced with respect to the static model. This tendency increases in future scenarios until a thermal tolerance of 1.75 °C. The results of this paper provide greater knowledge about the possible energy increase that the improvement in users' expectations would produce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, 16 cities representing four major architectural climate zones of China were selected, and the heating and cooling loads of office building during the period of 1961–2017 were simulated by using TRNSYS software. Daily extreme heating and cooling loads were determined by percentile methods, and the climate change impact on extreme loads was analyzed. The results showed that the days of extreme heating load of office building significantly decreased in almost all the selected cities, whereas there were no significant changes in the days of extreme cooling load. The daily extreme heating load was dominantly affected by the temperature (R2 = 0.43–0.79), but the daily extreme cooling load was related to multiple climate factors, including temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation. Single temperature can only explain 3–37% of the changes of daily extreme cooling load, and the combination of multiple climate factors can explain 58–85%. Importantly, the effect of temperature on extreme cooling load showed decrease from the cold to hot climate zones, but the impacts of relative humidity and solar radiation gradually increased. These results suggest that the maximum design capacity of heating systems can properly decrease, and the design capacity of cooling systems may not largely increase with the climate warming. In addition, the combined effect of multiple climate factors rather than the single temperature, as well as the different responses of extreme cooling energy consumption to climate change in different climate zones, should be considered when making measures for improving operating efficiency of air-conditioning system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building sector is critical in climate change mitigation by reducing its energy consumption. At the same time, warming climate requires adaptation measures from buildings, making it necessary to study the future thermal energy demand of buildings. This paper studies the impact of climate change on the thermal energy demand of buildings in a heating dominated climate of Finland, under "representative concentration pathway" (RCP) climate scenarios in near- (2030), medium- (2050) and long-term (2080) horizon. Additionally, the impact of the thermal performance level of the buildings is investigated. The thermal energy demand calculation is based on overarching standards from the European "energy performance of buildings" directive. The weather scenarios present both typical and extreme weather years, applied through morphing and future weather data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The results show that annual thermal energy demand in Finland in 2080 can decrease up to 74.6 kWh/m 2. In addition, the decrease in heating demand will be higher than the increase in cooling demand. Cooling can become the dominant peak in long-term evaluations, especially in South Finland (Vantaa) with passive buildings under RCP8.5 climate scenario. Renovation is the most efficient action to decrease energy intensity, the earliest it is done the better. [Display omitted] • Thermal energy demand of detached houses in Finland is studied under RCP climate scenarios. • Thermal energy demand is expected to decrease in Finland in long-term. • RCP scenario affects when the highest average annual thermal energy change occurs. • Cooling can become the dominant thermal peak demand source for passive buildings. • Renovating building to newer standards remains beneficial, though less with time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green infrastructures (UGI) have been suggested as a natural solution to tackle the problem of human thermal comfort as well as to reduce energy consumption in buildings under the pressures of rapid urbanization and global warming. However, the acceptance of UGI to mitigate the urban heat effect is not yet universal. The development of such an infrastructure is also not consistent across the regions, emphasizing the different objective parameters and methodologies. A systematic review has been conducted to analyze the published research work on UGI, targeting thermal comfort, in the past decade to identify the trends of UGI development around the world. The result shows that most of the studied locations were situated around the Mediterranean Sea region in a temperate climate, and most of the studied cities are within countries with a high gross domestic product, large urban area and urban population, primary energy consumption, and high greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions. Extensive green roofs are the most popular type of UGI and mostly use Sedum plants. In the published studies, experimental setups are the most common methods by which to collect data. EnergyPlus is the most popular software used to conduct energy analysis for buildings, whereas ENVI-met is more commonly used for microclimate analysis. These results indicated that the direction of UGI studies is driven by climate characteristics and the socioeconomic factors of geographical location, which favor low construction cost and maintenance needs, with a minimal irrigation requirement for small-scale UGI projects. Understanding the trend of UGI approaches for thermal comfort allows researchers to standardize practices that help the decision-making process for future researchers while recognizing the limitations and potential of current UGI practices. It is recommended that future studies should include arid and equatorial climate regions, with more focus on large-scale projects including high-rise building environments to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of UGIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The assessment of building energy performance through dynamic simulations has been increasing significantly in recent years since it represents a key strategy for the correct design of highly efficient buildings. Results of dynamic energy simulations are affected by many uncertainties, and its reliability depends on the accuracy of the input variables. One of the most influential variables is the climate surrounding the building, a reason why the use of accurate weather data files is essential, but experimental datasets are not always available. In this context, this paper analyses numerical weather datasets obtained from different regional climate models by comparing them with real data; in addition, it evaluates their impact on the energy performance of a historical building in Asunción through dynamic simulations. The database of five different weather data sources is compared with observed meteorological data in order to assess their accuracy through statistical analyses. Moreover, some methodologies to estimate diffused and direct components of the global solar radiation are evaluated, with the objective of solving the problem of missing direct and diffused solar data components from the meteorological codes. Subsequently, weather data files are generated to quantify the influence of measured/simulated meteorological data on the evaluation of building energy performance. The results obtained in this paper show that the simulated meteorological data agree very well with real observations for the year under study. Also, the simulations of the building energy performance delivered similar values to those obtained using the real weather dataset. Therefore, the regional climate models can represent a reliable tool for building energy performance assessment, and mainly for the calibration of building energy models when measured weather data is not available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Over the last decade, building engineers have begun implementing sensible-latent de-coupled air-conditioning systems in non-residential buildings in hot-humid climates. Typically, a de-coupled system consists of a dedicated outdoor air sub-system for ventilation and high-temperature radiant cooling sub-system for space cooling. This approach has lowered cooling energy demands and fan energy consumption in buildings. However, the complete energy saving potential of de-coupled systems, specifically high-temperature space cooling sub-systems, can only be realized by using low-lift chillers that supply chilled water which matches the high-temperature radiant cooling application. This paper discusses the results of a retro-installation of a prototype modular low-lift chiller to provide high-temperature chilled water (at 17 °C) to the radiant cooling units. The paper presents temperature and cooling load profiles, control methodology and energy efficiency improvements of the low-lift cooling system. The paper also further discusses the influence of various parameters on the performance of the chiller. Despite having a cooling capacity of only 20 kW, the modular low-lift chiller is consistently able to achieve a Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 8. By operating at a low-lift (20 K) compared to a high-lift (29 K), the sensible cooling electrical consumption (at the chiller) is reduced by 23% despite being compared to a high-lift low-temperature chiller with 100 x higher cooling capacity. When normalized for cooling capacities, this reduction is between 29–30%. The project is the first known installation of low-lift cooling for building comfort control in hot-humid climates, and first reported publication of low-lift cooling in a real-life scenario - i.e., non-laboratory conditions or modelling exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projected climate change is likely to have a significant impact on a range of energy systems. When a building is the centre of that system, a changing climate will affect the energy system in several ways. Firstly, the energy demand of the building will be altered. Taken across the entire building stock, and placed in context of technological and behavioural changes over the same timescale, this can have implications for important parameters such as peak demand and load factors of energy requirement. The performance of demand-side, distribution/transmission and supply-side technologies can also alter as a result of changing temperatures. With such uncertainty, a flexible approach is required for ensuring that this whole energy system is robust for a wide range of future scenarios. Therefore, building design must have a standardised and systematic approach for integrating climate change into the overall energy assessment of a building (or buildings), understanding the implications for the larger energy network. Based on the work of the Low Carbon Futures (LCF) and Adaptation and Resilience In Energy Systems (ARIES) projects, this paper overviews some of the risks that might be linked to a changing climate in relation to provision and use of energy in buildings. The UK is used as a case-study but the outputs are demonstrated to be of relevance, and the tools applicable, to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explore the benefits of a bottom-up spatially enabled engineering building-based energy framework in identifying neighbourhoods, and community’s building aggregated areas with spatial patterns. We argue that an area-based approach allows more houses to be targeted in places where local area characteristics show inefficient elements, and may therefore potentially capture a greater number of households per unit of cost, compared to the existing self-referral methods. We propose a spatial method to show the extent of building envelopes, heating systems and temperature controls. Heating controls, which are not recorded in the United Kingdom Homes Energy Efficiency Database (HEED), but we believe would be considered good practice to maintain balanced temperatures around the house, and also potentially reduce the complexity in modelling the thermal zones. Additionally, heating controls are seen as compulsory in new building regulations, an eligible measure in Green Deal and Energy Company Obligations, and in the United Kingdom Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) heat strategy. This paper has taught us that the emerging picture surrounding local energy modelling and that, for example, singularities such as group heating and district heating (decentralised energy supply) have a great impact on final energy consumption calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal energy demand in the residential building sector represents a big challenge for Serbia. In order to understand how to reduce this demand, and thereby avoiding GHG gas emissions, a bottom-up simulation model was developed. The model built the business-as-usual and two decarbonization scenarios up to 2030. For each scenario, such results as useful and final energy consumption, associated CO2 emissions, energy costs, investment costs and others were prepared at each level of the building stock segmentation. To develop such a detailed model, the topology of the residential building stock was developed and used as an input. For each individual building type, three retrofit packages of different stringency were analyzed. The paper delivers several important messages for the decarbonization of Serbia. First, it argues that the level of thermal energy services consumed by Serbian households is inadequate to address their needs. Second, the households of Serbia are likely to consume more wood than it was reported by national energy balances. Third, thermal energy efficiency retrofits can significantly reduce household energy demand at the same time as offering higher thermal comfort. However, the required investments are high and therefore benefits beyond energy cost savings should also be considered in order to make the transition to the low energy building stock economically feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the building stock model CESAR (Combined Energy Simulation And Retrofitting), which is based on bottom-up modelling methodology for the development of sustainable energy transformation strategies for the buildings in Swiss districts. CESAR is composed of two sub-models: a Demand Model (DM) and a Retrofitting Model (RM). The DM is tasked with identifying the current energy demand of buildings in districts. It builds on geo-referenced information and available census data, and its flexibility allows it to be applicable to any kind of residential neighbourhood within Switzerland. The DM is based on an automated bottom-up modelling technique, which employs the dynamic building energy simulation software tool EnergyPlus as its simulation core to generate hourly energy demand profiles of individual buildings taking the interactions with neighbouring buildings (e.g. shading and solar inter-reflections) into account. Once current energy demands are calculated by the DM, the RM further offers the possibility to apply a set of energy transformation scenarios, based on the Swiss Energy Strategy 2050, to generate future demand and emission projections of districts including key economic indicators. Besides that, the building energy performance under climate change projections can be evaluated. In this paper, the tool is applied on three case study districts, an urban, suburban and rural area, within Switzerland and different transformation scenarios according to the Energy Strategy are investigated. Results revealed significant differences between the two implemented transformation scenarios, the Business as Usual (WWB) and the New Energy Policy (NEP). While in the WWB scenario, only a small number of buildings reaches the intended targets for primary energy and GHG emissions until 2050, the NEP scenario induces a much higher transformation of the districts. Besides that, the significance of the impact of global warming on future cooling demand is shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental challenges and risks associated with climate change face all of our cities, and the construction industry has a major role to play in terms of changed practice. The Singaporean government has, over a period of many decades, made efforts to address environmental challenges including the implementation in recent years of policies and guidance regarding the design of new buildings. These are regarded as vital to ensuring that the city has a sustainable future. The research reported in this paper undertook to review perceptions and awareness of sustainable construction methods and policies within the Singaporean construction industry. An in-depth online questionnaire was completed by respondents drawn from the A1 contractors group, with questions concerning both regulation and industrial perceptions, attitudes and action. With regards to the relative importance of drivers for change, the research indicated that regulatory compliance appeared to be more significant than new practices instigated as a results of changes in attitude and perception alone. A main conclusion of the paper is that government regulatory and incentive programmes may be able to drive positive change effectively and efficiently, but that this needs to happen alongside initiatives to support Client awareness and adoption of sustainable practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining cost-optimal solutions to reach nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs) in compliance with European policies is an ongoing challenge. Energy consumption can be reduced evaluating different configurations at the design stage and implementing the most appropriate solutions according to the building and the location. This paper develops a simulation-based optimization framework of cost-optimal choices and energy efficiency measures for new buildings. It combines energy and cost simulations using a sequential search technique to find the most effective combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures starting from a base configuration. The model is applied to a residential building prototype, taking into consideration hourly climatic data, construction methods, cost data and energy consumption. A cost database and a library of potential measures, related to envelope, appliances and systems, have been established and used within the optimization process. The potential impact of climate change on the estimated cooling loads has been included in the calculations. The paper shows the feasibility of European requirements for new NZEBs located in different cities. It describes how to best achieve the NZEB design at the lowest cost in 14 locations across Europe. Results highlight how the cost-optimal measures vary with climate and how in each location final selected options differ. Insulation and building tightness appear essential in colder climates, while efficient appliances and lighting are key measures in warmer locations. A key finding of the research is that a source energy reduction of 90% and beyond is feasible for new constructions in all locations. Results also show how efficient lighting and appliances considerably impact the building energy performance. The importance of integrating renewables and energy efficiency measures is confirmed as crucial to reach the NZEBs target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid pace of industrialization and the increasing intensity of human activities, the global climate change and energy crisis have reached a heightened level of severity. Consequently, achieving an early peak in carbon emissions has become an imperative in addressing this pressing issue. Particularly, coastal provinces, known for their developed economies, high population density, and substantial building energy consumption, have emerged as significant contributors to carbon emissions. Notably, public buildings, serving as critical constituents of the construction industry, possess immense potential for both energy conservation and emissions reduction. In light of this, the present study focuses on Fujian Province, situated along the coast, and constructs a carbon emission estimation model for public buildings based on the Kaya identity. This model takes into account various factors specific to Fujian Province, including population characteristics, economic conditions, tertiary industry development, public building area, and energy consumption. Through scenario analysis, the study projects that the year of peak carbon emissions for public buildings in Fujian Province is estimated to be 2030, 2035, and 2040 under low-carbon, baseline, and high-carbon scenarios respectively. The corresponding peak carbon emission levels are anticipated to reach 23.62 million t, 24.18 million t, and 24.76 million t CO2. Lastly, based on local policies and actual conditions, the study proposes a set of policy measures and feasible approaches tailored to Fujian Province, aiming to achieve an early peak in carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is predicted that climate change will result in rising sea levels, more frequent and extreme weather events, hotter and drier summers and warmer and wetter winters. This will have a significant impact on the design of buildings, how they are kept cool and how they are weathered against more extreme climatic conditions. The residential sector is already a significant environmental burden with high associated operational energy. Climate change, and a growing population requiring residence, has the potential to exacerbate this problem seriously. New paradigms for residential building design are required to enable low-carbon dioxide operation to mitigate climate change. They must also face the reality of inevitable climate change and adopt climate change adaptation strategies to cope with future scenarios. However, any climate adaptation strategy for dwellings must also be cognisant of adapting occupant needs, influenced by ageing populations and new technologies. This paper presents concepts and priorities for changing how society designs residential buildings by designing for adaptation. A case study home is analysed in the context of its stated aims of low energy and adaptability. A post-occupancy evaluation of the house is presented, and future-proofing strategies are evaluated using climate projection data for future climate change scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is often stated that the energy consumption in buildings accounts for more than 30% of total global final energy use, only a few studies analyze updated data about the current building energy consumptions or focus on comparing different countries. Similarly, models that predict future trends in building energy demand often use contrasting algorithms which result in diverse forecasts. Scope of this paper is to present and discuss data taken from several studies about the building energy consumptions in US, EU, and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries and to provide an updated inventory of useful figures. Comparisons among countries are used to show historical, actual, and future energy consumption trends. Data presented by the World Bank, the United Nations Environment Program, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the International Energy Agency are compared with national reports as well as with research studies. The variety of the approaches used in each of the previous sources was considered fundamental to allow a complete review. The paper shows that the total building energy consumptions in BRIC countries have already overcome those in developed countries, and the continuous increase in the building stock of the BRIC countries creates an urgency for promoting building energy efficiency policies in these countries. At the same time, the policies actually adopted in developed countries are insufficient to guarantee a significant reduction in their building energy consumption in the years to come. In the current scenario, at least a doubling of the global energy demand in buildings compared to today’s levels will occur by 2050. To avoid this forecast, cost-effective best practices and technologies as well as behavioral and lifestyle changes need to be diffused and accepted globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new model has been developed in this paper to evaluate the impact of different photovoltaic modules on room, floor, and solar cell temperature, along with daylight savings and solar cell electrical efficiency. Computations have been carried out on a building-integrated semitransparent photovoltaic thermal system integrated with the roof of a room for Varanasi climatic conditions in winter months. The electrical efficiency of the module and temperature coefficient impact the system's performance significantly. Mono-Si, poly-Si, amorphous Si, and Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) systems are discussed. Compared with the previous model, the results of the study indicate that there is a 4.39% decrease in the overall exergy efficiency; hence, the PVT system is recommended for energy efficiency, and m-Si is suitable for electrical exergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research works have been carried out over the past few decades in the development of simulation tools to predict the thermal performance of buildings. These validated tools have been used in the design of the building and its components. However, limited simulation tools have been developed for modeling of district energy systems, which can potentially be a very laborious and time-consuming process. Besides many associated limitations, providing a realistic demand profile of the district energy systems is not a straightforward task due to high number of parameters involved in predicting a detail demand profile. This paper reports the development of a simplified model for predicting the thermal demand profile of a district heating system. The paper describes the method used to develop two types of simplified models to predict the thermal load of a variety of buildings (residential, office, attached, detached, etc.). The predictions were also compared with those made by the detailed simulation models. The simplified model was then utilized to predict the energy demand of a variety of districts types (residential, commercial or mix), and its prediction accuracy was compared with those made by detailed model: good agreement was observed between the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climatic zoning is an essential element of most building energy efficiency programs, however there is no widely accepted scientific technique for its delineation. This paper reports an investigation on this issue, which comprised the review of climatic zoning methodologies for building energy efficiency programs adopted by 54 countries. The paper identified that the nature and magnitude of climatic variations are not the main elements in the definition of the number of climatic zones in a country. The number of climatic zones seems to be mainly driven by the expected simplicity of the final climatic zoning, respecting in most cases a maximum of 8 zones independent of the country size and climatic variations. A total of 19 different variables, techniques and parameters used in climatic zoning were identified, the most frequent being temperature, degree days, altitude, administrative divisions and relative humidity. However, around 80% of the countries analysed in this study used only up to three variables/techniques/parameters to define their climatic zoning. This simplicity comes at the cost of ignoring several aspects of climate and building energy performance. From the techniques identified in this review, only the combination of building performance simulation and cluster analysis seems to provide robust tools to tackle the complex relations between climate and building energy performance. Combined, these tools may provide the means to explore scenarios and support evidence-based decision making in energy policy. The lack of consensus in several aspects of climate zoning indicates the need for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban energy demand is predicted through a bottom-up approach that integrates mutual shading, heat island effects, and single-building energy demand. Conclusions The papers included in this Special Issue tackle multiple aspects of how cities, districts, and buildings could evolve along with climate change and how this would impact our way of conceiving and applying design criteria, policies, and urban plans. Planning for climate change adaptation is among the most complex challenges cities are facing today. Urban Heat Island Mitigation The Urban Heat Island intensity can be determined based on air temperature (atmospheric UHI or AUHI) or surface temperature (SUHI). [Extracted from the article]

The energy crisis caused by climate change is the most significant challenge of the 21st century. Single-objective and multi-objective optimization studies for buildings often only consider the building itself, without considering the impacts of climate change. However, in the future, energy-efficient design and appropriate operating parameters will be crucial considerations in the face of global climate change. This paper aims to discuss the impact of climate change in the humid-hot region over the past 60 years on the energy consumption of office buildings and propose countermeasures. Firstly, the meteorological data of Guangzhou from 1960 to 2020 is statistically analyzed, and four typical meteorological years and corresponding air conditioning design days are established. Secondly, Energyplus is used to simulate the building's energy consumption, and the energy consumption factors are analyzed for sensitivity using jEplus. Finally, a multi-objective optimization is performed using jEPlus + EA with the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II). The results found that climate change led to a significant increase in the duration of high outdoor temperatures during summer. Specifically, the daily dry-bulb temperature for air conditioning design increased by 0.4–0.7 °C, and due to climate change, the energy consumption of the office building increased by about 4.6 %. The main factor affecting the cooling energy consumption in summer was the indoor cooling set point (8.29%–30%), infiltration air volume (1.0%–8.6%), fresh air volume (3.2%–16.06%), the glazing solar transmission rate (1.25%–9.0%), building orientation (0%–1.43%), and relatively small influence of envelope insulation performance. The operation scheme determined by multi-objective optimization can reduce the cooling energy consumption of the building by 10.6%–16.8%, which can mitigate the rise in energy consumption resulting from climate change to a greater extent. [Display omitted] • Discuss the impact of climate change over the past 60 years on the energy consumption of office buildings. • There was a significant increase in the duration of high outdoor temperatures during the summer. • Multi-objective optimization is performed using jEPlus + EA. • Climate change caused energy consumption to increase by about 4.6 %. • Optimal solutions can reduce the cooling energy consumption of the building by 10.6%–16.8%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of climate change and energy security as increasingly important issues has amplified the need for energy policies that manage these issues. While policy-makers adopt energy policies that address climate change and energy security, these policies often include broad strategy statements and may not include specific implementation plans. Accordingly, effectiveness of these energy policies is also evaluated at the strategic level, which may not appropriately evaluate the policies beyond how the policy met its strategic goal(s). This paper assesses the feasibility of mapping energy policies to their strategic, tactical, and operational (STO) levels through two case studies. The first case study assesses the European Union (EU) 2020 energy and climate policy known as EU 20-20-20 as well as the United States’ Executive Orders 13514 and 13423 that mandate energy and greenhouse gas reductions for federal buildings. Results of this paper illuminate potential advantages and limitations of using STO as an energy policy assessment tool and the mapping effort described in this paper suggests that strategic, tactical and operational levels should be addressed explicitly in future energy policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper discusses issues related to the three major problems of the built environment in Europe and in particular, the energy consumption of buildings, the energy poverty and the local climate change. The article introduces the idea of a zero concept world where the global impact of the three specific sectors will be diminished. The paper analyses the actual status of each sector and identifies the main problems. It discusses and sets a road map to satisfy this objective, involving future quantitative and qualitative targets for the three considered sectors while it investigates the major technological, economic and social forces and policies that have to be employed in order to minimize the energy consumption of buildings, eradicate the energy poverty and mitigate the local climate change. The links, synergies and impacts between them are analysed in a comprehensive way and the interrelated nature and characteristics of the three sectors is highlighted. The mechanisms to transform the actual problems into opportunities and appropriate drivers for future development are identified and analysed. A road map involving a full estimation of the necessary investments to fulfil the defined targets is presented. The major medium and long term benefits for the society, including the impact on the economy, employment, the environment and health are fully quantified and analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How climate change might impact energy demand is not well understood, yet energy forecasting requires that assumptions be specified. This paper reviews the literature on the relationship between global warming and the demand for space cooling in buildings. It then estimates two key parameters that link energy for space cooling to cooling degree days (CDDs) using data for nine U.S. Census divisions, which is the spatial resolution of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). The first parameter is the set point temperature for calculating CDDs; the second is the exponent for representing the relationship between changes in CDDs and changes in electricity consumption for space cooling. We find that the best-fitting CDDs have a set point of 67 °F (19.4 °C), for both residential and commercial buildings, rather than the conventional 65 °F (18.3 °C). Set points also vary by region, with warmer regions tending to have higher set points. When CDDs are based on the conventional set point, the best fitting exponent is 1.5 for both residential and commercial buildings, indicating that space cooling is more climate-sensitive than is specified in NEMS. As a result, the official projections of U.S. energy consumption would appear to underestimate the energy required for space cooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The building sector is considered as the biggest single contributor to world energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, a good understanding of the nature and structure of energy use in buildings is crucial for establishing the adequate future energy and climate change policies. Availability of the updated data is becoming increasingly important in order to allow a rigorous analysis. In this paper, recent data on the world energy consumption in both residential and commercial buildings are reported. Past situation, current status and future trends are discussed and analyzed for selected countries. A breakdown of buildings energy consumption is realized in order to determine the influencing key parameters. A whole section of this paper is dedicated to give an overview of measures and policies adopted by different countries, allowing the monitoring, management and reduction of the energy consumption in buildings. Critical aspects of these policies are discussed based on the feedback of the early adopters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic heating in the ‘Hot Summer–Cold Winter’ climatic region of China attracts research attention for it is predicted to dramatically increase building energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions. Determining the optimum heating temperature set point is an essential prerequisite for research, technology and policy development in this topic. This paper reviews instrumental and subjective research about occupants' thermal comfort and behavior in this climatic region, and advances a hypothesis as to why residents in the ‘Hot Summer–Cold Winter’ region are able to accept a lower temperature (16.5 °C) in winter than are predicted by the heat balance model (PMV/PPD) and ASHRAE's adaptive comfort model. The paper concludes by recommending heating temperature set point (17–18 °C) based on a lumped-parameter four-node steady-state model and a prediction about the heating mode that will be utilized in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A typical meteorological year (TMY) for Poland was developed in 2004, on the basis of climatic data collected from 1971 to 2000. Due to the observed tendency of global warming, the buildings’ energy performance obtained with the use of TMY may differ from the actual heating and cooling demand. This research compares energy demand calculated using TMY and climatic data collected from 2001 to 2012. Calculations were made by means of a simulation computer program, designed for dynamic analyses of buildings and installation systems. The analyses concerned typical living quarters in a multifamily residential building located in Warsaw. According to the results, TMY is useful for estimating the heating demand of existing buildings. Cooling demand calculated with the use of TMY was, however, up to 37% lower in comparison with the mean cooling demand for subsequent years. This may distort the energy needs and indoor environment conditions in summer, and create discomfort while using existing and new buildings.Practical application: The paper presents comparison between energy demand calculated with the use of typical meteorological year (TMY) based on the climatic data from the period of 1971 to 2000, and real climatic data from subsequent 12 years, 2001–2012. There is substantial difference in the results presenting cooling demand in buildings evaluated with the use of both datasets. Unless national energy certification procedures are updated, this may cause serious faults in building design, due to incorrect assessment of internal conditions in new and existing buildings, and higher than expected energy use in summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper introduces a novel method for risk assessment and preventive conservation of organic hygroscopic cultural heritage objects. The method is based on the analysis of the historic climate that is established in the European Standard EN 15757:2010. This new approach enables interpreting visible damage and assessing cause–effect relationships and it finds practical application in improving conservation strategies for real life buildings and objects. The paper investigates how it may be advantageous to reconstruct the historic climate back in time to obtain sound information about the target relative humidity (RH) level and the domain of RH fluctuations that can be considered safe for conservation. The method was applied to an inlaid wooden choir in the basilica of S. Giustina, Padua, Italy. The past indoor climate has been reconstructed over the whole life of the object, built in 1477, with documentary proxy data, instrumental readings and building simulation. Winter has been found to be the most critical season for the mechanical stress and wood yield. For the future, the indoor climate has been simulated until 2100 to timely devise preventive conservation measures to reduce the risk induced by climate change. Finally an evaluation of uncertainties has been considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selection of a thermal comfort model for establishing indoor optimal hygrothermal conditions during the hot period has a major impact on energy consumption of Net Zero Energy Buildings in hot climates. The objective of this paper is to compare the influence of using different thermal comfort models for zero energy buildings in hot climates. The paper compares the impact of applying Fanger's model, Givoni's model, the ASHRAE 55 adaptive comfort model and the EN 15251 adaptive comfort model on energy consumption and comfort performance. Using both the building performance simulation tools ZEBO and EnergyPlus for energy simulation, an existing prototype of a residential apartment module is used to evaluate energy performance and thermal comfort in two parametric series. The first one is the result of coupling natural ventilation and mechanical cooling and the second one is guided coupling natural ventilation, mechanical cooling and ceiling fans. This study shows that the percentage of energy consumption difference meeting the comfort criteria according to ISO 7730 in comparison to EN 15251, ASHRAE 55 or Givoni's model varied up to 16%, 21% and 24.7%, respectively for the presented case study. More energy savings can be expected for buildings in hot climates with greater cooling demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing building energy demand is a crucial part of the global response to climate change, and evolutionary algorithms (EAs) coupled to building performance simulation (BPS) are an increasingly popular tool for this task. Further uptake of EAs in this industry is hindered by BPS being computationally intensive: optimisation runs taking days or longer are impractical in a time-competitive environment. Surrogate fitness models are a possible solution to this problem, but few approaches have been demonstrated for multi-objective, constrained or discrete problems, typical of the optimisation problems in building design. This paper presents a modified version of a surrogate based on radial basis function networks, combined with a deterministic scheme to deal with approximation error in the constraints by allowing some infeasible solutions in the population. Different combinations of these are integrated with Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) and applied to three instances of a typical building optimisation problem. The comparisons show that the surrogate and constraint handling combined offer improved run-time and final solution quality. The paper concludes with detailed investigations of the constraint handling and fitness landscape to explain differences in performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assist with the correct design of buildings, many computational models have been developed to assess the transient heat, air, and moisture (HAM) transfer within building walls. Validation of these computational models is essential to gain confidence in the codes. This paper provides datasets for validating 1-D heat and mass transfer models step by step, gradually increasing the complexity of a multilayer wall with hygroscopic components. The experiments were performed using a double climatic chamber. The climatic conditions on either side of the wall progress from the simplest boundary conditions (isothermal) to more complex ones with oscillations that mimic the mid-season period. To assess the hygrothermal response of the tested walls under such climatic conditions, the conditions of ambient air and the temperature and humidity profiles within the wall thickness are monitored during the test. This paper gives some detailed information on the chamber design, the instrumentation, the materials, and the climatic conditions so that other researchers can use the collected data for validation of their models or to build future test facilities. The results obtained with the test facility highlight the coupling that exists between heat and mass transfers across multilayer walls using hygroscopic components. The heat release by moisture adsorption is observed in the temperatures profiles. During the mid-season period, the results show the differences of the phase shift and the amplitude attenuation of the temperature and the water vapour pressure across the wall thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of global climate change and urban heat islands (UHI) is expected to have far-reaching impacts on the sustainability of the world's rapidly growing urban population centers. Given that a wide range of spatiotemporal scales contributed by meteorological forcing and complex surface heterogeneity complicates UHI, a multimodel nested approach is used in this paper to study climate-change impacts on the Chicago, Illinois, UHI, covering a range of relevant scales. One-way dynamical downscaling is used with a model chain consisting of global climate (Community Atmosphere Model), regional climate (Weather Research and Forecasting Model), and microscale ('ENVI-met') models. Nested mesoscale and microscale models are evaluated against the present-day observations (including a dedicated urban miniature field study), and the results favorably demonstrate the fidelity of the downscaling techniques that were used. A simple building-energy model is developed and used in conjunction with microscale-model output to calculate future energy demands for a building, and a substantial increase (as much as 26% during daytime) is noted for future (~2080) climate. Although winds and lake-breeze circulation for future climate are favorable for reducing energy usage by 7%, the benefits are outweighed by such factors as exacerbated UHI and air temperature. An adverse change in human-comfort indicators is also noted in the future climate, with 92% of the population experiencing thermal discomfort. The model chain that was used has general applicability for evaluating climate-change impacts on city centers and, hence, for urban-sustainability studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of countries resides at or close to the top of the global table of CO2 emissions per capita and its economy relies heavily on its fossil fuels. This provides a context for green building programs that initially aim to create an understanding of emission pathways within the GCC and hence develop approaches to their reduction in the built environment. A set of criteria will allow specific analysis to be undertaken linked to the spatial dimensions of the sector under study. In this paper, approaches to modelling energy consumption and CO2 emissions are presented. As investment in the built environment continues, natural resources dwindle and the cost of energy increases, delivering low-energy buildings will become mandatory. In this study, a hybrid modelling approach (bottom-top & top-bottom) is presented. Energy benchmarks are developed for different buildings' uses and compared with international standards. The main goals are to establish design benchmarks and develop a modelling tool that contains specific information for all buildings types (existing and new), as well as planned and projected growths within the various city districts, then integrate this database within a geospatial information system that will allow us to answer a range of "what-if"-type questions about various intervention strategies, emissions savings, and acceptability of pre-defined course of actions in the city sector under consideration. The spatial carbon intensity may be adjusted over a certain period, (e.g., through local generation (microgeneration)) or due to an increasing proportion of lower carbon-energy in the generation mix and this can be related to the sector and city overall consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The foremost role of a building is to assure the comfort of its occupants. The thermal comfort of a building depends on the outdoor climate and requires a demand in energy for heating and cooling. In this paper, demand of energy (heating/cooling) in the buildings is discussed in Douala, Cameroon. Daily data of the last 40 years coming from five weather stations of Cameroon have been studied. Some forecasts have been carried out with 14 GCM models, associated to three future climate scenarios B1, A2, and A1B. However, only INCM3 of General Circulation Model (GCM) and A2 scenario was used. Energy demand in buildings is valued by HDD (heating degree day) and CDD (cooling degree day) indices. Obtained results show that the temperature evolves more quickly in dry season than in rainy season in Douala. Climate rise indicates an increasing demand of energy in the buildings for cooling. Global Douala heating shows a definite effect on outdoor comfort. From 2045 to 2075, the demand of energy for cooling will be superior to 50%. The total demand in energy for heating in the buildings is estimated to be 67.882 kcal from 1970 to 2000 and will be around 67.774 kcal from 2013 to 2043. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings - especially the residential buildings - are among the high priority areas in climate change due to their large share of CO2 emissions, their significant energy saving potentials and the increased comfort expectations of their occupants. A systematic and numerical investigation of how building performance will be affected by climate change in the future is crucial for both retrofitting the existing buildings and making long-term strategical decisions. This paper presents the simulation-based results of the climate change impact assessment for a typical multi-storey residential building in Istanbul. In this study, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios - representing the low/medium and high CO2 emission scenarios - defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are used to generate two different climate data sets for 2060. Three cooling scenarios (natural ventilation, hybrid ventilation and air-conditioned) have been developed to represent different building usage profiles for the building simulations. Investigated performance metrics were selected as building heating/cooling energy consumption, CO2 emission and occupant thermal comfort. Analysis results analysis show that the predicted temperature rise will have a strong impact on the building cooling energy consumption and/or occupant thermal comfort. The results indicate the necessity of taking measures for adaptation of buildings to the changing climate and the importance of decarbonization of electricity generation to mitigate the effects of climate change. This study will also serve as a basis for future retrofit studies for the changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental factors, such as climate change, have serious consequences for existing buildings, including increased resource consumption and footprint, adverse health effects, and reduced comfort for the occupants. To promote sustainability and address climate change, architecture must embrace digitalization. Buildings can be built digitally, analyzed in real time, optimized for energy consumption, and utilized to reduce carbon emissions and achieve zero energy consumption using digital twin technology. Currently, Lebanon's residents are turning to solar power to generate renewable energy as a result of a lack of energy supplied by the government. In this study, a digital twin model was designed using an artificial neural network (ANN) to investigate the energy consumption of residential buildings. The main idea was to assist architects and engineers in forecasting energy consumption for different design materials by selecting the most effective alternate design for materials with building envelope characteristics, such as exterior walls, roof insulation, and windows, to minimize the consumption of energy in a residential building, hence resulting in a green building. The data simulations used in the digital twin model were carried out using Quick Energy Simulation Tool (eQuest) software; 1540 simulation results were used for different thicknesses of insulation material, values of conductivity, and window types. The digital twins were designed using an artificial neural network model. The results of the investigation and the accompanying eQuest output results were found to be precise and very similar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As building energy consumption gains ever-increasing attention worldwide, the focus on addressing it through the examination and optimization of efficient heat recovery solutions continues to intensify. With well-insulated and airtight buildings, the proportion of heating needs attributed to ventilation is growing, leading to the widespread integration and optimization of heat recovery solutions in mechanical ventilation systems. Heat recovery in ventilation is a highly efficient strategy for reducing heat losses and conserving energy. This study involves the investigation of a ventilation unit installed in an apartment situated in Riga, Latvia, as a practical examination of heat recovery system efficiency within the Latvian climate conditions, representing a cold climate region. The objective of this study was to examine the heat recovery efficiency of the ventilation system in the Latvian climate with variable outdoor and exhaust air parameters, given that the dry heat recovery efficiency is different from the actual heat recovery efficiency. The ventilation unit was equipped with a plate heat exchanger at an airflow rate of 105 m3/h. To evaluate heat recovery efficiency, extensive measurements of air temperature and relative humidity were conducted. The collected data was analyzed, employing statistical regression analysis to ensure measurement reliability and assess correlations. The findings indicated a strong correlation between variables such as heat content, moisture content, and sensible air parameters. It was observed that the actual heat recovery efficiency was 6% higher than the calculated dry efficiency, emphasizing the importance of considering real-world conditions in heat recovery assessments. Additionally, regression analysis demonstrated a positive linear correlation with a coefficient of 0.77, highlighting the dependency between actual measurements and the theoretical model. These quantitative outcomes provide essential insights for optimizing heat recovery systems and enhancing energy-efficient ventilation practices, especially in cold climate environments. Moreover, this study highlights the strong correlation between variables such as heat content, moisture content, and sensible air parameters. Findings offer essential insights for optimizing heat recovery systems and enhancing energy-efficient ventilation practices, especially in cold climate environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The aim of this research is to investigate the thermal performance of the prototype building to assess overheating in the summer, particularly the long-term heatwave period in the UK. • To understand the impact of energy efficient technologies on occupants' wellbeing and health in order to identify occupants' thermal comfort level in these types of dwellings. • The study adopts a quantitative research design based on indoor monitoring, in-situ measurements and dynamic simulation modelling. • This clearly indicates that due to this prototype house's structural construction material behaviour in a heatwave and its location (southwest facing orientation), it is susceptible to very high overheating risk. • The results found from the monitoring during a long-term heatwave in the summer of 2018 provided strong evidence for overheating and thereby thermal discomfort in many occupied spaces, particularly on the first floor followed by several spaces on the ground floor. Meanwhile, all the occupied spaces appeared to be well above the acceptable thermal comfort benchmark throughout the data collection period. • To calibrate the building performance, as well as the building materials and components adopted in the model, the measured indoor environment data were scrutinised in conjunction with the IES simulation results. Abstract There is growing evidence that terraced houses—thermally lightweight, well insulated, naturally ventilated with three exposed wall surfaces—are at risk of overheating, especially in south-eastern England. The aim of this study is to evaluate the building performance and develop a reliable building simulation, which will be employed in the second phase of the study: developing affordable and feasible passive design strategies to support the energy-efficient building systems of the construction industry. This paper reports on the results from the first phase of the study where a quantitative methodology, including indoor and outdoor environmental monitoring, in-situ measurements and building simulation modelling, was adopted. The performance of a case study was modelled and simulated via employing Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) software suite. The results from the base-case were analysed according to the adaptive thermal comfort of Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Technical Memorandum 52 guidelines: The Limits of Thermal Comfort—Avoiding Overheating in European Buildings. The spaces studied within the case study house were observed to exceed the acceptable limits of thermal comfort; particularly, the large bedroom within this zone exceeded the upper limit for overheating up to 11 h daily. Furthermore, the results from the monitoring study indicate a high risk of summertime overheating across all the case study settings, especially during short-term peaks in outdoor temperatures. The main reasons for the problematic thermal performance were identified as well-insulated and fully air-tight building fabric, the lack of sufficient ventilation through the living spaces and excessive heat gains through the composite cladding material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building energy performance in existing stocks via facilities management interventions for low carbon building has become expedient and relevant in global climate change discourse. It has raised the consciousness for the need for a unified decision-support model for Facilities Managers and Owners, which could be used for office buildings across countries in achieving cleaner building energy production and use. This paper aimed at examining the factors that affect office Building Energy Performance; their interdependencies; and identify the critical path for interventions. It filled this gap by presenting a combination of interrelated processes (operations, tactics, and strategies) needed to improve building energy performance, reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions in buildings for organizations. An online questionnaire survey was used in gathering data on current study model variables from participants of case study office buildings in Nigeria and the UK. Structural Equation Modelling technique was used to examine the factors that contribute to improving the energy performance of heterogeneous office buildings in both countries. The result established a strong correlation among observed variables and constructs and high covariance between constructs. This indicates that dependency and interdependence relationships exist amongst constructs, and in between construct and indicators. The finding reveals that an organization needs Sustainability Policy, Facilities Management and Energy Management as a sub-set of Strategic policy incorporated into its core management policy and operations energy management to achieve low carbon building. It also reveals the most critical pathway in the overall model with Strategic Facilities Management discovered to underpin the optimal performance for office buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]