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The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the shadow impact factor of buildings on building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system efficiency and to determine optimal building configurations: shapes and orientation; to ensure BIPV efficiency based on the sun-shading effect. Also considered were the height, tilt angles, orientations and array spacing as well as different shapes of the podium building for BIPV system. A parametric design software called grasshopper and plug-in ladybug were used for the simulation. Model cases were built according to statistics of high-rise buildings in Shanghai. The simulation condition was based on the winter solstice of 21 December. The results show the best shapes for high-rise buildings are circle and square, to ensure the best BIPV system efficiency. The BIPV should be located on the roof and the 'U' type podium building is the best shape for mounting the BIPV system to provide a good sunlight exposure no matter what the high-rise building shape is. For PV panels, the best height is 0.618 m, the optimum tilt angle and array spacing is 30° and 1.214 m, respectively. The best orientation is southward followed by southeast, southwest and with the BIPV tilting upward at 30°. Therefore, to maximize the solar energy generation, architects should consider square and round high-rise buildings and 'U' type podiums for mounting BIPV systems in commercial complex buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The renewable electricity quota standard (RES) policy plays an important role in achieving sustainable and green development targets. Thus, it is essential to measure the sustainability of the electric power sectors in the context of RES. In terms of the energy and environmental efficiency (EEE) measurements, few studies divided energy inputs into renewable and non-renewable energy or explored the restricted problem of minimizing resource summation. To fill these gaps, we propose an improved fix-sum energy input data envelopment analysis (FSIDEA) model based on the adjustment strategy of weighted sum minimization of renewable energy inputs. The assurance region (AR) restriction and renewable energy input sum constraint (IC) are, respectively, imposed on the FSIDEA model to achieve the common equilibrium effective frontier (EEF). Finally, this study assesses the EEE of the electric power sectors in China's 30 main regions based on the common EEF. The result reveals that Beijing and Shanghai can be selected as benchmarks after efficiency comparison. In addition, our proposed model can compressively rank all decision-making units (DMUs) compared with traditional efficiency models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Star-ccm + multiphysics simulation software was used to perform Computer Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation on the five operating conditions of a swimming pool at the Jiading Swimming Hall of Tongji University in Shanghai, to determine the energy efficiency of these operations. The indoor environment of each working condition was evaluated. The relationship between the opening and closing area ratio and the indoor environment was also evaluated and obtained the optimal opening area ratio for the Jiading Swimming Hall. The simulation research of the open–closed roof further confirmed that the open–closed roof technology can effectively adjust the internal environment of the swimming pool in summer. The open–closed roof could improve the indoor comfort and reduce the summer energy consumption of the swimming pool and could also provide an organically integrate architectural art feature and technology to create a new stadium design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate of Yangtze River Basin in China is cold and humid in winter. Conventional air-conditioning systems may cause high energy consumption and uncomfortable microclimatic conditions especially for lower body of indoor occupants. This study investigated four personalized seat heating systems, in a typical office room in Shanghai during winter, based on heated floor panels including heated floor panels + ordinary chair (HF-OC), heated floor panels + insulated chair (HF-IC), heated floor panels +insulated chair and leg box (HF-IC-LB) and overall personalized heating (OPH). The surface temperature of walls and heated floor panels, and the indoor air temperature at different positions were recorded with thermocouples. The hourly energy consumptions of the proposed personalized seat heating systems were measured and compared with a conventional split type air conditioner. Questionnaires of thermal sensation and comfort were carried out among 10 university students. Compared with HF-OC, HF-IC could improve the thermal comfort to a certain extent, while HF-IC-LB provided the optimal thermal micro-environment for the lower body other than other body parts. The OPH systems were proven effective to provide satisfactory thermal environment for all body parts at lower indoor temperature (12–16°C) with much less energy consumption than room air conditioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]