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Corrugated panels possess excellent thermomechanical properties, but, with presently no hygrothermal applications for building envelopes, their full potential still needs to be explored. This study characterized the physical properties of three biobased corrugated compositions to identify potential building applications. Flat samples of the same compositions were analyzed for certain properties to aid in understanding. As this characterization is groundbreaking, the testing was based on or inspired by established standards. Results suggest that the panels with two wood veneer cores and two kraft paper surfaces coated with polymers are the most promising, as such structures are less sensitive to water and possess a good moisture buffer value that should be advantageous for building construction. Corrugated panels are particularly interesting because their inner materials have properties comparable to those of conventional wood-based panels such as plywood. However, the apparent properties of corrugated panels become one to ten times smaller or larger, which opens up new design possibilities for building envelope applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Definition of passive envelope indexes and caracterization of libraries in La Plata. • Environmental monitoring: achievement of preventive conservation indexes. • Correlation between passive envelope indexes and preventive conservation indexes. • Determination of the most influential passive envelope indexes for the achievement of preventive conservation indexes. Abstract The common approach for libraries to preserve their paper-based collections from irreversible deterioration is by controlling quantitative parameters, such as temperature and relative humidity. Variations of these parameters for preventive conservation can be expressed by the "performance index" (PI) and the "amplitude index" (AI). Building envelope is the first filter of the external climate, buffering the external weather fluctuations and maintaining the building's indoor climate stable. Its shape, window areas and envelope materials are the most influential parameters. As they capture the relationship of a few geometric and physical variables with the building's performance, the envelope characteristics can be expressed as certain passive envelope indexes. This paper studies the relationship of certain passive envelope indexes and the preventive conservation indexes for books for several libraries and archives located in La Plata, Argentina. The results show the impact of every passive envelope index upon the preventive conservation indexes. The compactness, heaviness, adjacency to spaces and adjacency to ground have a positive linear correlation meanwhile transparency and global transmittance are parameters with a negative correlation. In general, the most influential parameter is the relative area adjacent to other spaces, followed by global transmittance, transparency, heaviness, relative area adjacent to ground and compactness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper-based materials, due to their availability, environmental benefits and high thermal properties, have already been implemented in several building envelope designs. However, most of them either did not optimise the use of the material or did not provide sufficient thermal insulation for use in permanent buildings. The presented research analyses six original paper-based building envelope core proposals, suitable for use in permanent buildings in temperate climate of Europe, in terms of thermal and environmental efficiency. Proposals include cores with embedded paper tubes structural elements, timber-cardboard studs and sandwich designs. The heat transfer coefficient of the envelopes was obtained for repeatable modules via 2D computer simulations (ThermCAD software), and the environmental impact was assessed for a representative square metre of the envelope via LCA analysis, based in ecoinvent 3.8 database. All analysed designs showed high thermal insulation properties and met the requirements for U max = 0.20 W/m2K, did not cause the risk of surface condensation, nor have excessive thermal bridges. The analysed building envelope designs based on embedded frame wall structure showed environmental superiority over conventional envelopes (timber frame and SIP panels). The research may serve as a proof of concept, for using paper-based building envelopes in sustainable architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protests during the 2021 Climate Conference in Glasgow exemplified our dilemma. The establishment perpetuates old thinking, while young people demand a new approach to mitigate the impact of climate change. The authors agree with the young people, and as a solution we propose to replace the current fragmentary approach with a new holistic one. The passive house approach that was conceptualized by the University of Illinois and built in Canada in 1977 showed us that energy consumption can be reduced about half of that used in the traditional design. Seventeen years later, a European passive house was built in Darmstadt. In 2008, a demonstration house in Syracuse, NY, showed that integrated passive measures produced energy use by about half of the NY state code for 2004. At the same time, some advanced houses in the USA showed total energy use of about 70 kWh/(m2∙y). In 2008, at the first Building Enclosure Science and Technology Conference, two equally important objectives for 2030 were proposed by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: (1) a 90% reduction of energy use in new buildings and (2) 50% for the retrofitting of existing buildings, i.e., to the level achieved in the 1980s. The first objective has recently been achieved in small buildings while the large residential buildings remain on the level obtained in the 2000s. Yet, the retrofitting of existing buildings (the second objective) has been a dismal failure. This paper acknowledges progress in hydronic heating and cooling involving electric heat pumps and hybrid solar panels, building automatics used for operation of HVAC, and modification of air distribution systems that comes from experience with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Furthermore, it highlights that to accelerate energy efficiency and carbon emission reductions, there must be broad public-private educational programs with demonstrations of a new generation of retrofitting. Economically and ecologically retrofitted buildings will create a new approach to real estate investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presented article is a review of building envelope designs where paper-based products are used as the main material. Paper-based products, especially honeycomb panels and corrugated cardboard provide good thermal insulation properties, affordable prices, and relatively low environmental impact. Paper as a building material has been occasionally used in building envelopes in the past several decades, however, no extensive research has been made on this topic. This study aims to organise knowledge about the design of paper envelopes and help designers in making deliberate and environmentally responsive decisions. Seven different envelope designs were described, evaluated, and compared to each other, three of which were designed by the authors of this article. Particular attention was given to their structure, selection of materials, method of protection against external conditions, thermal insulation properties, and resistance to destructive factors. Based on this analysis, tendencies in designing envelopes made of paper-based materials were described and guidelines for designers were formulated. According to the analysed case studies, the most important factors in semi-permanent paper-based envelope design were indicated. These factors include the core with high thermal resistance, durable protective layer combined with additional impregnation or membrane, and paper core ventilation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by environmental sustainability concerns, the integration of bio-based components in curtain wall systems is gaining traction in both research and the construction market. This paper explores the development and validation of a bio-based façade system within the Basajaun H2020 project (2019–2024). The project aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of introducing environmentally friendly bio-based components into the mature curtain wall façade industry. The paper focuses on identifying technological solutions for replacing key components such as frame profiles, insulation, and the tightness system with bio-based and less environmentally impactful alternatives, presenting the results achieved in the façade system design of the Basajaun project. These solutions aimed at creating a bio-composite-based curtain wall façade that adheres to the current building envelope standards and normative, implementing diverse façade typologies for vision panels, opaque sections, and integrated windows and, moreover, engineering the prefabrication process for industrialization and enabling wider market replication and simplified transport and installation. The results demonstrate that the Basajaun façade successfully integrates selected components and meets the performance requirements set by regulations: the façade is designed to withstand a maximum and typical wind load of 3.5 kN/m2 and a typical load of 1.5 kN/m2, the weighted sound reduction index obtained is Rw = 44 dB, and the thermal transmittance of the vision façade is 0.74 W/m2K while that of the entire opaque façade is 0.27 W/m2K (an additional internal wall is required to achieve the requested thermal transmittance)—the values are in accordance with reference standards and design requirements. However, questions remain regarding the workability of bio-based profiles as a commercially viable, ready-to-market solution that can replace traditional aluminum profiles in the curtain wall façade industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the development and validation activities of a bio-based façade system within the Basajaun H2020 project, focusing on enhancing the utilization of bio-based components within building envelopes to replace conventional solutions with eco-friendly alternatives. This paper reports the methodologies employed to detect requirements and outline the testing protocols undertaken to validate the façade system design devised within the project, focusing on the original façade components as the biocomposite profile. Vision and opaque façade modules are prototyped and tested following curtain wall standards for performance (EN 13830:2015) and acoustic assessments (EN ISO 717-1:2020) to showcase the efficacy of the developed solution. The conducted tests demonstrate the feasibility of integrating bio-based components as alternatives to conventional materials into building envelopes, aligning with project expectations and prevailing standards for curtain wall façade solutions. Notably, the designed façade system meets technical conditions and research objectives. Nevertheless, the paper underscores the need for further refinements to facilitate solution industrialization and explore broader market applicability focusing on the biocomposite profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countless years have been spent researching the strategies necessary for improving the energy consumption of buildings globally. There have been numerous attempts at achieving both passive solutions and enhancing and optimising the existing active systems. This paper seeks to review, analyse and summarise the possibilities of using thermoelectricity in two different contexts to the integration with buildings, integrated thermoelectric systems, and non-integrated thermoelectric systems. The utilisation of thermoelectricity in cohorts with existing renewable technologies and the utilisation of thermoelectric systems that operate individually, both have the potential to provide the occupants of a building with conditions pertinent to thermal and visual comfort. The results in this paper are classified according to the integration types of thermoelectric systems within different parts of the fabric of a building while maintaining an active role in enhancing the building envelope and self-contained thermoelectric systems that sustain a passive role for the same. The introduction to this paper also gives a very broad and surface-level insight into categorisation of different kinds of thermoelectric systems that are being studied and researched across the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current building envelope greening systems are not just areas covered with vegetation. Today's systems can maximise the functional contribution of vegetation to a building's performance and become part of a sustainable urban renewal strategy. The impact of the vegetation layer directly affects the building in its immediate vicinity, from the outside, while also having a significant impact on the indoor environment. Green roofs are the most widespread vegetated structures worldwide. This paper aims to demonstrate the behaviour of the temperature regime of an extensive green roof over a production hall and an administrative area in comparison to that of a roof without vegetation cover. In evaluating the results, a period with weather representative of winter and summer was selected to show the importance of seasonality. The fact that this is a new building, and that the extensive roof is not fully covered with vegetation, is very well reflected in the results, as the absence of a vegetated area significantly affects the temperature of as well as the heat flux through the roof structure. The dark colour of the substrate absorbs significantly more solar radiation than the light surface of the waterproofing, resulting in an increase in temperature and heat flux into the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the concept of ribāṭ and its practice have been the subject of intense debate. Recent summary papers on the eastern Mediterranean, Ifrīqiya, al-Maghrib al-Aqṣà, and al-Andalus, among others, have made it possible to compare different realities that express strong links with their local historical contexts. In this paper, we present the results of a new study that analyses the specific case of Northern Sharq al-Andalus, where the practice and institutionalisation of ribāṭ took shape from the early 9th century. There are three elements that lead us to corroborate this hypothesis: the documented presence of numerous individuals and groups voluntarily involved in the active and passive defence of the furthermost frontier of al-Andalus; the confirmation of a construction programme with homogeneous characteristics aimed at building fortified enclosures along the coast, and, lastly, the founding, in the early 9th century, of the Ribāṭ Kashkī centre at the mouth of the Ebro, a building were these practices would become centralised. In conclusion, we propose a much more complex scenario than that proposed previously, which enables us to characterise local forms of armed spirituality and sacralisation of the land that globally enriches the historical reading of ribāṭ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large proportion of building energy consumption in tropical countries like Thailand primarily comes from air conditioning systems used to maintain the comfort level of building occupants. This paper aims to evaluate the performance of an alternative cooling system based on the evaporative principle in terms of thermal characteristics and energy consumption. A simulation model using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software ANSYS version 16.0 and an actual experimental setup at the laboratory level were built to verify the results of the proposed cooling system. Additionally, factors that influence performance, such as components of the building envelope and the building's orientation, are considered. This research aims to demonstrate the impact of building envelope material and building characteristics on the energy usage in air conditioning systems and to propose an energy-efficient cooling system. The results demonstrate that the proposed cooling system can reduce the temperature inside the building. However, the characteristics of the building also affect the energy performance. Thus, the proposed cooling system, in combination with an efficient envelope material, can achieve energy savings of around 35–43%. Therefore, a combination of the proposed cooling system and optimal building design can ensure comfort for building occupants while saving energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to design buildings in compliance with the Paris Agreement goal requirements is urgent, and architects and engineers need to consider energy use and operational and embodied carbon requirements in doing so. Building envelopes will be an important element in the next generation of high-performance buildings and there have been significant advancements in recent years to develop building envelopes that help mitigate the building carbon emissions through energy-conserving low-embodied carbon or carbon-sequestering solutions. The key objective of this article is to present an overview of the state-of-the-art in the field of energy-efficient low-carbon buildings with a focus on envelope systems. This article provides a survey of the literature on energy use and carbon emissions of the United States building stock, presents recent advancements in energy-conserving building envelopes, and highlights reuse–reduce–sequester strategies that mitigate the embodied carbon of buildings. As materials are critical in reducing the energy consumption and carbon emissions of buildings, this paper also presents developments on diverse materials and building envelope solutions that have been effective in creating high-performance buildings, from insulation materials to phase-change materials and aerogels. Finally, the characteristics of a selected number of progressive net-zero-energy guidelines such as Passive House Institute (PHI) standards, Passive House Institute US (Phius) standards, the PowerHouse standard, and the BENG standard are discussed. The findings of this work highlight the increased focus on the design, construction, and engineering strategies that aim to mitigate the carbon emissions of buildings based on a holistic whole-life carbon mitigation approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The highlighted energy consumption of Internet data center (IDC) in China has become a pressing issue with the implementation of the Chinese dual carbon strategic goal. This paper provides a comprehensive review of cooling technologies for IDC, including air cooling, free cooling, liquid cooling, thermal energy storage cooling and building envelope. Firstly, the environmental requirements for the computer room and the main energy consumption items for IDC are analyzed. The evaluation indicators and government policies for promoting green IDC are also summarized. Next, the traditional cooling technology is compared to four new cooling technologies to find effective methods to maximize energy efficiency in IDC. The results show that traditional cooling consumes a significant amount of energy and has low energy efficiency. The application of free cooling can greatly improve the energy efficiency of IDC, but its actual implementation is highly dependent on geographical and climatic conditions. Liquid cooling, on the other hand, has higher energy efficiency and lower PUE compared to other cooling technologies, especially for high heat density servers. However, it is not yet mature and its engineering application is not widespread. In addition, thermal energy storage (TES) based cooling offers higher energy efficiency but must be coupled with other cooling technologies. Energy savings can also be achieved through building envelope improvements. Considering the investment and recovery period for IDC, it is essential to seek efficient cooling solutions that are suitable for IDC and take into account factors such as IDC scale, climate conditions, maintenance requirements, etc. This paper serves as a reference for the construction and development of green IDC in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased requirements for the energy efficiency of buildings often lead to an increase in the tightness of the building envelope. Tightness of the external cladding has a significant effect on the intensity of air exchange. A lower level of ventilation subsequently worsens the quality of the indoor air and also causes an increase in the indoor radon concentration. This problem can be solved by using ventilation devices with heat recovery. The paper deals with the influence of local ventilation equipment with heat recovery on indoor radon concentration. The case study compares different settings of ventilation equipment from the point of view of pressure ratios between interior and exterior. During the measurements, external weather conditions are also monitored, which may affect the results. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the rate of reduction of indoor radon concentration by using this method of ventilation and determine the correct way to set up the ventilation equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings are an important part of worldwide efforts to reduce energy consumption and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Despite recent technological developments in the area of energy consumption reduction, energy use is on the rise, highlighting the significance of considering occupant behavior with regard to controlling energy consumption and supporting climate resilience. Energy performance of residential buildings is a function of various aspects such as properties of the building envelope, climatic location characteristics, HVAC system, and, more importantly, occupant behavior and activities towards energy utilization. This study carries out a comprehensive review of the impact of occupant behavior on reducing the energy performance gap in residential buildings since residential buildings account for 70% of building floor area around the globe. Findings have revealed that a dearth of literature on occupants' behavior scholarship leads to inaccurate simplifications in building modeling and design. Thus, there is a strong need to obtain appropriate occupant behavioral data to develop strategies to close the energy performance gap as much as possible to achieve better energy efficiency in residential buildings to contribute to resilience and sustainability. Findings have also revealed a lack of objective and subjective data on occupants' behavior towards energy efficiency in residential buildings. In response to these gaps, the current paper has proposed a conceptual framework for occupant behavior toward a modification of thermal comfort to reduce energy use. Based on the findings of this paper, understanding the variety of factors influencing occupants' behavior should be considered a major influential factor in the design and retrofit of residential buildings with a view toward long-term resilience and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The necessity of understanding and simulating hydrological phenomena as well as their interactions and the effect of anthropogenic and climate conditions on the ecosystem have encouraged researchers for years to investigate the moisture transfer in soil. Considering the moisture transfer as an isothermal phenomenon might cause a wrong estimation due to the non-isothermal nature of the moisture movement in porous media. Hygrothermal (coupled heat and moisture transfer) models are quite diverse and are the engine of the various hygrothermal software tools used to analyze the heat and moisture in building envelopes, drying technologies, and many other applications. This paper is a literature survey conducted to provide an overview on the classical hygrothermal models to address the historical perspectives on these models. First, it investigated, from a historical point of view, the challenges behind the development of hygrothermal models as unsaturated flow theories, beginning with Buckingham theory. The non-isothermal nature of moisture was the starting point for researchers to deal with new challenges during mathematical modeling and experimental analysis. In general, the theory of coupled heat and moisture transfer first developed by J.R. Philip and De Vries and the authors in the mid-1950s inspired the novel hygrothermal models, including Sophocleous and Milly's model, Rode's model, Künzel's model, and Grunewal's model. In a parallel of hygrothermal model developments, the models of Whitaker and Luikov can also be classified as hygrothermal models; they were mostly applied in modeling the phenomenon of drying. The study highlights the application of hygrothermal models in building physics and gathered a summary of international efforts such as Annex 24, Annex 41, and the HAMSTAD project and advancements performed from the classical dew point or steady-state Glaser method. Moreover, this study emphasizes the advantages of the standard of EN 15026 and limitations of the Glaser method. To sum up, hygrothermal models are still under development based on various assumptions of moisture driving potentials and transfer coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socialist modernist architecture in the Balkan has left a valuable legacy of remarkable buildings from this century, which brought a mixture of new experiences and local traditions. Unfortunately, after the 1990s, many of these buildings have been neglected, improperly treated, or abandoned. This paper focuses on the iconic socialist modernist office building "Rilindja" in Prishtina, Kosovo, which was built in 1979. In 2010, the building envelope was changed in the name of revitalization, without considering the energy aspect. The study aims to present energy performance analysis through cost-optimal renovation measures of the building envelope while restoring the architectural values before the last renovation. Using Archicad and EcoDesigner STAR, a BIM model was created, and energy analysis was conducted. The findings indicate that eighteen proposed energy efficiency measures can achieve a reduction in energy consumption for heating and cooling of more than 80% over the life cycle period of 20 years. The comparison before and after renovation considering restoring and preserving the inherent values, while integrating energy efficiency measures was necessary, as there is a lack of such studies in the general literature. Finally, the potential of restoring the collective memory through cost-optimal analysis is emphasized as an approach for similar cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prefabricated temporary buildings are a promising solution for post-disaster scenarios for their modularity, sustainability and transportation advantages. However, their low thermal mass building envelope shows a fast response to heat flux excitations. This leads to the risk of not meeting the occupant comfort and HVAC energy-saving requirements. The literature shows different measures implementable in opaque surfaces, like vacuum insulation panels (VIPs), phase change materials (PCMs) and switchable coatings, and in transparent surfaces (switchable glazing) to mitigate thermal issues, like overheating, while preserving the limited available internal space. This paper investigates the energy and overheating performance of the mentioned interventions by using building performance simulation tools to assess their effectiveness. The optimization also looks at the transportation flexibility of each intervention to better support the decision maker for manufacturing innovative temporary units. The most energy-efficient measures turn to be VIPs as a better energy solution for winter and PCMs as a better thermal comfort solution for summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper details the comprehensive activities conducted in a laboratory setting to assess the structural health monitoring (SHM) of prefabricated building envelopes. Integrating sensors into building components like curtain wall facades poses challenges but offers opportunities for monitoring structural health, requiring compliance with regulatory standards. The research investigates the possibility of defining a kit of conventional and multi-parameter sensors integrated within the building envelope to monitor its behavior during the performance test conducted. The kit of sensors also includes Fiber Optic Sensors for effectively monitoring building envelope behavior and structural integrity. In this context, the European project InComEss (H2020-GA862597) aims to define a stand-alone solution for SHM using Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems (PE-EHS) for façade monitoring through FBG/FOS system. After analyzing the main façade structural stress, a series of FBGs, accelerometers, and force washers were integrated within a 1:1 scale façade prototype and tested in a laboratory following the test sequence parameters required by the curtain wall standard EN 13830. The data collected were analyzed with the aim of monitoring the façade behavior before and after the tests. The results show that the façade's performance passed the assessing test criteria without reporting any damages. In addition, the outcomes demonstrated the effectiveness of the defined kit of multi-parameter sensors for the building envelope's SHM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating thermal energy storage with thermal conversion systems is necessary to maximize their use. Phase change materials are the best media for storing and releasing thermal energy from various basic material types. Because the phase change materials have a high latent heat of fusion, it is often viable to use these characteristics and include the phase change materials in building envelopes to store thermal energy. The paper provides a thorough categorization of the phase change materials and thermal energy storage systems, in addition to an evaluation of their modeling using computational fluid dynamics. The purpose was to highlight computational fluid dynamics as a useful technique for advancing the engineering of thermal energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Planning regulations determine a substantial part of buildings, but their constraints are usually not included in the setup of a BIM model or used explicitly for design guidance, but only tested in compliance checks once a model has been made. This is symptomatic of wider tendencies and ingrained biases that emphasize tacit knowledge and assume that information in a project starts from scratch—an assumption that runs contrary to predesign information ordering practices, as well as to the findings of creativity studies. In terms of process control, it negates important possibilities for feedforward. The paper proposes that BIM and design computerization, in general, should avoid the generate-and-test view of design, the view of design knowledge as tacit, and the adherence to analogue workflows, but develop, instead, approaches and workflows that keep information explicit and utilize it to frame design problems. To demonstrate this, we describe an exercise in which the expectation that the geometric representation of planning regulations returns permissible building envelopes was tested on the basis of a large number of cases produced by students who each collected planning regulations for a particular plot of land in the Netherlands and modelled their constraints in BIM, using a workflow that can be accommodated within the scope of predesign information gathering in any project. The results confirm that, for a large part of Dutch housing, the representation of planning regulations in BIM returns the permissible building envelope, and, so, forms a clear frame for subsequent design actions. They also suggest that including such information in the setup of a model is constructive and feasible, even for novices, and produces a bandwidth view of project information that integrates pre-existing information in a BIM workflow through feedforward. By extension, they also indicate a potential for a closer relation between analysis and synthesis in BIM, characterized by transparency and simultaneity, as well as the thorough understanding of problem constraints required for both efficiency and creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study about the integration of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems (PE-EHSs) into building envelopes for powering Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors, enabling efficient and low-consumption monitoring with the objective of leveraging structural health monitoring (SHM). The research includes preliminary tests conducted in a real environment to validate the PE-EHS when fully integrated into a ventilated façade, capturing mechanical vibrations generated mainly by wind loads. Based on these activities, the final configuration of PE-EHSs is defined to provide a complete system for façade monitoring. This integrated system includes the piezoelectric generator (PEG), supercapacitor (SC), Power Conditioner Circuit (PCC), Fiber Optic Sensing (FOS) interrogator, and the IoT gateway transmitting measurement data within an Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring platform. This configuration is tailored to address the challenges related to the structural integrity of building envelopes. Results demonstrate a potential for a stand-alone solution in the façade sector but raise issues for certain limitations, requiring further investigation. In particular, the study emphasizes constraints related to the energy production of PE-EHSs for façade integration. It highlights the necessity to carefully consider these limitations within the broader context of their applicability, providing insights for the informed deployment of piezoelectric energy harvesting technology in building envelope monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal properties of a building envelope are key indicators of the energy performance of the building. Therefore, methods are needed to determine quantities like the thermal transmittance (U-value) or heat capacitance in a fast, reliable way and with as little impact on the use of the building as possible. In this paper a technique is proposed that relies on a simplified electrical analogical model of building envelope components which can cover their dynamic thermal behavior. The parameters of this model are optimized to produce the best fit between simulated and measured outside surface temperatures. As the temperatures can be measured remotely with an infrared camera this approach requires significantly less installation effort and intrusion in the building than other methods. At the same time, a single measurement provides data for a large range of locations on a facade or a roof. The paper describes the method and a first experimental implementation of it. The experiment indicates that this method has the potential to produce results which have an accuracy that is comparable to standardized reference methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With limited investment costs, how to fully utilize the carbon-reduction capacity of a campus in terms of buildings, equipment, and energy is an important issue when realizing the low-carbon retrofit of office parks. To this end, this paper establishes a mathematical optimization model for the decarbonization-based retrofit of existing office parks, based on the genetic algorithm, taking into account the relationship between cost, energy-consumption, and carbon-emissions, and taking the maximum carbon reduction of the park over its whole life as the optimization goal. The validity of the model was verified in conjunction with a case study of an office park in Nanchang, China. The case study shows that, compared with current typical parks, the carbon reduction through an office park's decarbonization retrofit has a non-linear correlation with the investment cost, and when the total investment cost of the park is above CNY 60 million, the increase in carbon reduction with the increase in the investment cost is gradually weakened, and the park achieves the maximum carbon reduction of 236,087 t when the investment cost reaches CNY 103 million. Under the current technical and economic conditions, the investment-cost–carbon-reduction benefits of different carbon-reduction technologies are different, the carbon-reduction benefit of increasing renewable energy utilization is the best, and the carbon-reduction benefit of upgrading the energy efficiency of the park's supply-and-use system is lower than that of renewable energy utilization, but better than that of upgrading the performance of the building envelope system. In addition, the configuration of the parameters of the same low-carbon technology in different forms of buildings varies significantly, due to differences in the building form and daily use. The model established in this paper is able to give a comprehensive optimized building–equipment–energy configuration plan for existing office parks, when maximizing carbon reduction under different investment costs, which guides the park's decarbonization retrofit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of heat, air, and moisture (H.A.M.) transport for building envelopes are known to be highly dependent on climate loads and air infiltration rates. Moisture content within the assembly is often a key H.A.M. analysis outcome to assess risk and transport behavior. ASHRAE Standard 160-2016 states that building envelope H.A.M. analysis should be done using moisture design reference data or using a minimum of 10 consecutive years of weather. While there has been progress and methods for selecting or designing moisture reference years there has been a lack of study in the impact of multi-year (particularly 10-year) weather scenarios on simulation results in comparison to reference year simulations. This paper presents research using stochastic 1, 2, and 10-year weather data and air infiltration rates to study the range of simulated moisture content outcomes for four wall assemblies in Philadelphia and compares these to the outcomes when using reference years. Results from the study show that air infiltration, starting month, and multi-year duration have significant impacts on simulated moisture content, mold, and corrosion analysis results. Regression analysis using annual averages of climate input parameters did not yield useable models for selecting weather years, however an estimated mold index value using outdoor climate data may be useful in selecting weather years with varying starting months for mold growth assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the building industry, the interest into adhesive tape to achieve a more tight and robust building envelope has increased rapidly in recent years. With an increasing demand for energy efficiency in buildings, national building authorities are strengthening building requirements to mitigate and adapt to future climate impacts. This paper studies the water vapour permeability of adhesive tape for building purposes. A water vapour permeable wind barrier is essential to enable drying of the external side of the building envelope. Laboratory measurements have been conducted to evaluate how the drying conditions of the wind barrier layer are affected by the use of wind barrier tape. The results show that all the wind barrier tapes tested can be defined as significantly more vapour tight than the wind barrier itself. The wind barrier used as reference was found to have an sd -value of 0.03 m while tape ranged between 1.1 and 9.24 m. To ensure adequate drying and minimize the risk of moisture damages, the wind barrier layer should be vapour open. In an investigated construction project, the amount of tape constitutes 13% of the area of the building's wind barrier. Further simulations need to be conducted to accurately determine the drying conditions and the following consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current goal of the European Commission, which aims to reduce CO2 by 90% compared to values estimated in 1980, and the ever-increasing sensitivity to environmental sustainability, fully involve the construction sector, which, according to the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) is responsible for over one-third of the world's energy requirement. In this frame, numerous researchers and companies are focusing on ecologically sustainable building materials, to be used in new and existing buildings, that are able to simultaneously fulfill the constructive function and improve the energy behavior of the building envelope. The goal of the present paper is the analysis of the energy performance of some innovative locally produced natural building materials (timber, sheep wool, rammed earth, lime-based plaster, natural fibers) used in multilayer vertical closures, compared to that of more common building materials (bricks, concrete, synthetic insulation). First, the physical-mechanical characterization of the local natural materials was carried out, then the model of a building was implemented, whose energetic performance was simulated by varying the type of stratigraphy of the walls, including the use of both innovative and common materials. The building chosen for the simulation consists of one of the BESTEST ANSI/ASHRAE reported in the 140-2017 standard using the climatic data of the Mediterranean area. The results of the simulation have been presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the construction industry moves toward sustainable building practices, incorporating wood-based materials into building envelope systems has become a priority. This paper investigates the environmental impact of three custom bio-composite Façade System Modules (FSMs) through an Embodied Carbon Assessment (ECA), focused on the Global Warming Potential indicator of life cycle stages from cradle to practical completion (A1–A5). The evaluated FSMs were developed within the Basajaun H2020 project (G.A. 862942), by substituting and combining conventional materials with other bio-composite products to form hybrids from bio-based polymers and wood. A benchmark ECA was conducted, simulating alternative FSMs devised with common practice solutions for the curtain wall façade to facilitate a comprehensive comparison. The life cycle inventory encompassed detailed technical information, fostering the utilization of primary data for accuracy. The study particularly highlights considerations over three technological systems of the modules that incorporate increased use of wood-based components and a novel bio-composite material: the frame profiles, the insulation equipment, and the seal system. Despite the challenges due to the Basajaun FSMs' weight, the findings reveal that replacing the currently used materials with wood-based materials and bio-composites reduced the embodied emissions, particularly substituting aluminum frame profiles. The insights presented here offer indicators toward circular, environmentally conscious, bio-composed building envelopes, emphasizing the need for continued analysis and refinements as a consequence of increasing the accuracy of the available primary data from the supply chain and concerning end-of-life scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the cold regions of China, the existing rural houses are widely distributed and in large numbers. There are widespread problems such as low thermal performance of building envelopes, high building energy consumption, and poor indoor thermal environments. Reducing the energy consumption of building heating by reforming the envelope structure can reduce the environmental pollution caused by heating. In this paper, the existing rural houses in Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province are taken as the research object, and EnergyPlus software is used to calculate building heating energy consumption, and the schemes are compared and selected via the entropy value method. Based on a comprehensive benefit evaluation, the best scheme for the renovation of building envelopes of rural houses in Tongchuan City is put forward. The research results show that the energy saving rate of buildings can reach more than 50% after renovation. In the evaluation of energy saving, incremental cost, return on investment, carbon emission reduction and unguaranteed hours, the weights are 0.1915, 0.2104, 0.2312, 1755, and 0.187, respectively. The best renovation scheme for rural housing is as follows: the thickness of the XPS board is 90 mm for exterior wall insulation; the thickness of the XPS board is 80 mm for roof insulation; the window-to-wall ratio of additional sunspace is 0.6; and the type of exterior windows is a broken-bridge hollow aluminum window of 6 + 12A + 6 (mm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prefabricated modules are being used to renovate the building envelope. However, compared to manual methods, the design and prefabricated module's definition is time consuming. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the efficiency of the prefabricated layout definition processes by incorporating automation and computational design. The purpose of this paper is to present a semi-automated definition of the layout of the prefabricated modules with the only input of the existing building facade being the Point Cloud. In this research, a novel step-by-step workflow was developed. More precisely, an algorithm was developed that processes the coordinates of each point of the cloud and generates the layout of the prefabricated modules. To validate the workflow and the algorithm, four facades were tested, considering two parameters: (a) working time and (b) output accuracy. According to the results, it was concluded that spending more time achieving an accurate laser data acquisition can be a good strategy to obtain the primary layout with sufficient precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As buildings are one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, they have a key potential for energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality improvement. Therefore, the development of nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (nZEBs) is strategic to respond to these challenges and to design and retrofit sustainable highly performing buildings. Actually, the nZEB target can also be reached with highly insulated wooden technologies. However, they must be critically revised and adapted when taking into account the warm climate peculiarities. The paper contributes to this attempt by dealing with the implementation of a methodology specifically focused on the long-term assessment of the real building envelope performance. The methodology is applied to a recently built wooden nZEB detached single-story dwelling constructed in 2017 in central Italy. One year monitoring data were collected about the envelope in-field dynamic performance and the indoor microclimate and well-being conditions. The theoretical design-stage data and the monitored data were compared. The positive aspects as well as the critical issues of nZEB target in the Mediterranean climate context and the performance gap were underlined. Accordingly, the main aspects to be considered in the design of nZEBs envelope were highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population growth, urbanization, and climate change have significantly contributed to environmental degradation, posing severe consequences for humans and other species. By integrating ecological objectives with human-centric goals, a path towards a sustainable, multi-species future is possible. Current sustainable design principles have shown positive environmental impacts by addressing human-centric objectives such as enhancing green infrastructure, energy efficiency, thermal comfort, and more. However, the incorporation of multi-species design criteria remains unresolved. This paper proposes a conceptual framework in which human-centric and ecological design objectives are defined and associated through the selection of key performance indicators (KPIs) represented by numerical thresholds. But, while the objective-KPI relationship is an established path in architectural design, the same does not apply for preserving and promoting biodiversity. The proposed conceptual framework identifies, defines, and associates the relevant objective-KPI relationships for all stakeholders and becomes the basis for evaluating the project computationally. Such an approach is currently lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal refurbishment and retrofitting building envelopes with passive measures such as the optimisation of opaque and transparent fabric performance may play a key role in reducing cooling and heating load and promoting building energy efficiency. Furthermore, to reduce the embodied carbon impact of the building, the refurbishment measures need to consider the use of low-carbon building materials. This paper investigates ways to thermally future-proof typical Libyan houses using biobased materials. Several typical Libyan houses were monitored for one year to investigate the heating and cooling energy use and to thermally retrofit the building envelope. A digital twin was created in the DesignBuilder software using the real building data of one building for digital model calibration. Finally, multi-objective optimisation was carried out with low-impact biobased materials for insulation, including camel hair, sheep wool, and date palm fibre as well as using other optimisation variables such as shading and glazing types. The study reveals that thermally upgrading the building roof and wall with insulation materials and upgrading the windows with energy-efficient glazing and local shadings can achieve a reduction in cooling load from 53.51 kWh/m2/y to 40.8 kWh/m2/y. Furthermore, the heating load reduces from 19.4 kW/m2/y to 15 kW/m2/y without compromising the standard annual discomfort hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective control of air handling unit (AHU) systems is crucial not only for managing the energy consumption of buildings but ensuring indoor thermal comfort for occupants. Although the initial control schema of AHU is appropriate at installation and testing, it is frequently necessary to adjust the control variables due to the changing thermal response of the building envelope and space usage. This paper presents a novel optimization process for the control parameters of old AHU systems in existing commercial buildings without system downtime and massive operational data. First, calibrating the building and system simulator with limited system operation data and unknown building parameters can provide identical responses to the system operation with the Hooke–Jeeves algorithm during the cooling season. The deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm is employed to determine the optimal control parameters for the valve opening position of the cooling coil within less than three hours of training based on the calibrated simulator. By using actual implementations with the developed optimal control variables for an old AHU in a real building, the proposed auto-tuned PID control in the simulator and with machine learning improves thermal environments with a steady room temperature (23.5 ± 0.5 °C) by 97% in occupied periods. It is also proved that this can reduce cooling energy consumption by up to 13.71% on a daily average. The successful AHU controller can improve not only the stability of AHU systems but the efficiency of a building's energy use and indoor thermal comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air-permeable building envelopes (APBEs) utilize the infiltrated or exfiltrated airflow within porous materials to directly change their temperature distribution to reduce heat loss/gain. APBEs effectively integrate building ventilation and heat recovery to achieve excellent thermal insulation while improving indoor air quality. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the fundamentals and classifications, historical evolution over time, opportunities and benefits, and future views on APBEs. It can be treated as a responsive building envelope that enables building envelopes to dynamically change the U-values by varying the infiltrated or exfiltrated airflow rate within a porous material. Previous studies have indicated that the U-value of 0.1 W/(m2·K) can be realized by employing APBEs. Moreover, some research demonstrates that APBEs could act as high-performance air filters that reduce over 90% of particulate matter within fresh, ventilated air. Some factors, such as airflow rate, thickness, and thermal conductivity of porous materials, have a significant influence on the effectiveness of APBEs. For practical applications, integrating the APBE with passive building ventilation can help reduce the initial cost and facilitate decarbonization in buildings. Moreover, advanced control strategies could collaboratively optimize the operation of ABPEs and build energy systems to maximize their energy-saving potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lighting control integrated with daylighting is recognized as an important and useful strategy in energy efficient building design. One of the right factors to reduce energy consumption for artificial lighting during the day is the maximum utilization of sunlight. The aim of this research, distribution of daylight into the building analysis with five models of building facades and value of illuminance in the morning, afternoon and evening with orientation of the window openings to the northeast and southwest. Bank Mega is one of the tall buildings in Makassar Indonesia, which is located in a coastal area that is not blocked by other tall buildings, so this building is the object of research as a basis for designing façade models on building envelopes. The methodology this study is quantitative, analyzing the performance of sunlight as a source of daylighting in office buildings. This paper presents field measurements in office buildings, namely in rooms that are oriented northeast and southwest. The analysis in the two spaces is a reference to determine the effect of sunlight on the orientation of the building. In this study also conducted visual perception experiments by submitting questionnaires to 43 respondents. the results show that there are some complaints for employees, because of the high illuminance value in certain areas. Furthermore, simulate using the Radiance Illuminance Program software to determine the illuminance value of room in the morning, noon and afternoon with five building facade model designs, i.e., massive glass, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, and vertical-diagonal model. The results presented in this paper show that the distribution of daylight in an east-oriented room is higher in the morning than in the evening and noon. Whereas in the southwest orientation it is inversely proportional, the value of light distribution is higher in the afternoon than in the morning and noon. Accordingly, orientation of the building affects distribution of daylight. The massive glass facade model without using sun shading has the highest light distribution value compared to other façade models, but can cause glare and excessive brightness. Furthermore, the second highest distribution of daylight with the vertical facade model, but there are also areas that exceed the standard illuminance level for workspaces, but only in areas near window openings. The combined model of the vertical diagonal facade which also has a high distribution of illuminance value and to redirect daylight deep into building interior simultaneously in the morning, afternoon and evening. Accordingly, façade model on envelope of building affects distribution of daylight. The aesthetic value of architectural design shows that the appearance of the building does not look monotonous or massive, when using the building facade models because there are attractive areas in the building envelope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing heat losses through the building envelope is one of the most important aspects to be met if the targets set by the European Union are to be achieved. In order to obtain a more realistic energy demand, dynamic heat transfer simulations are used to calculate the energy consumption of buildings, since steady-state calculations do not take into account the thermal mass in buildings. These dynamic simulations employ methods based on analytical models since numerical models are unsuitable for longer time periods. The analytical models used herein fall into the category of conduction transfer functions (CTFs). Two methods for computing CTFs that are addressed in this research are the Laplace method and the State-Space method. The objective of this paper is to verify the efficiency of the Laplace and State-Space methods for calculating the energy demand of a building in the case of heavyweight building elements and shorter sampling times, and to provide a means for improving the algorithms used by these methods. The Laplace and State-Space method algorithms were implemented in Mathematica, and the results were compared to EnergyPlus and TRNSYS, which use similar algorithms to calculate energy demand. It was shown in this paper that for the heavyweight wall element and a time step of 0.25 h, the difference between the total energy transferred through the inner surface was about 31% for EnergyPlus and 78% for TRNSYS compared to the reference solution. For the lightweight wall element, the results were stable for the time step of 0.25 h, but for the time step of 0.1 h, the differences were 45.64% and 303% between EnergyPlus, TRNSYS and the reference solution, respectively, compared to the State-Space and Laplace methods for which the maximum difference was 12.03% with a time step of 0.1 h. While dynamic heat transfer simulations are better than calculations based on steady-state boundary conditions, they also have their limitations and could lead to unsatisfactory results for short sampling times and if not applied properly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonstructural damage to the cladding and façades systems caused by excessive wind pressure and debris impact is the primary damage to urban high/midrise buildings after hurricanes. This paper focuses on the assessment of damage to urban buildings envelopes due to windborne debris while leaving the wind pressure-induced damage outside the scope. The existing building envelope damage assessment models for urban high/mid-rise buildings often neglect the geometry of building clusters or simply assume a homogeneous configuration, which can introduce errors and uncertainties for urban building clusters with varying geometries and layouts. In this context, this paper proposes a new fragility modeling approach for urban buildings envelopes, which explicitly considers geometric configurations of urban buildings, to improve the accuracy of risk assessment for urban buildings. To develop such a fragility model, first, a physical model of debris impact on building envelopes is established, considering the configuration of the surrounding buildings. Then the fragility function is rigorously formulated by propagating the uncertainties from hurricane wind hazard, local urban wind field, the resistance of the envelope component, as well as debris size, location and generation. Reduced-order modeling and Monte Carlo simulation are employed to construct fragility surfaces. An illustrative example is presented to validate the proposed physical model of debris impact and demonstrate the implementation of the proposed fragility modeling approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal resistances (R-values) of airspaces depends on the emittance of all surfaces around an airspace, dimensions, heat-flow direction, and the temperatures of the bounding surfaces. Assessing the energy performance of building envelope components and fenestration systems requires accurate results for the R-values of any enclosed spaces. The evaluation of reflective insulation R-values has evolved to include use of computational fluid dynamics and surface-to-surface radiation to quantify convective and radiative contributions to the heat transfer across airspaces of all types. This paper compares an advanced and validated model for calculating enclosed airspace R-values with the widely-used ISO 6946 and airspace R-values in the ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals. The impact of construction and installation defects on the thermal performance of reflective insulation has not been previously evaluated. In this research, an advanced model was used to evaluate a construction defect and dimensional aspect ratios that one-dimensional methods do not address. Imperfect installation and defects that result in air movement into or through a reflective insulation assembly reduces the thermal resistance of the assembly. Additionally, the amount of thermal resistance reduction depends on the amount and temperature of invasive air or the size of internal defects that allows natural convection inside the reflective airspace. In this study, these performance issues are evaluated quantitatively using computer simulation techniques. The differences in results obtained using methods that are currently being used to evaluate the R-value and the advantages of the advanced method for evaluating the reflective insulation performance for different applications are discussed. For the case considered in this study, the results showed that the failure to achieve parallel surfaces results in less than a 5% decrease in thermal resistance. Also, the results showed that internal air gaps between airspaces result in negligible loss in R-value unless air gaps that allow circulation between airspaces are created. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the heat transfer between indoor and outdoor environments and reduce the influence of outdoor ambient temperature fluctuation on the indoor environment, adding micro-PCM to the building envelope is one of the effective means. Micro-PCM can "intelligently" control temperature by absorbing or releasing heat during phase change to maintain temperature stability. In this paper, the phase change temperature-adjustable mortar was prepared by using micro-PCM with a phase change temperature of 25 °C, and was painted on the surface of cement wallboard (300 × 100 mm) to form a phase change thermostatic mortar layer with a cross-section size of 300 × 20 mm. The solar radiation on the outer surface of the building envelope was simulated by an incandescent lamp. The influence of micro-PCM on the temperature control performance of cement wallboard was tested. The thermal performance of the PCM wallboard was simulated by COMSOL software. Results show that compared with ordinary cement wallboard, when the micro-PCM content is 40%, the maximum temperature of the inner wall can be reduced by 5.17 °C, and the time to reach the maximum temperature is delayed by 145 minutes. The temperature fluctuation amplitude of the inner wall is reduced by 1.90 °C, and the maximum instantaneous heat transfer is reduced by 22.202 W/m². [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural energy consumption plays an important role in energy consumption due to the improvement of rural residents' living quality requirements in China. Ultra-low energy rural residential buildings are proposed to decrease rural energy consumption. First of all, this paper aims to provide the definition of ultra-low energy rural residential buildings, which is to reduce 50% of the building energy consumption of the rural residential benchmark building according to the Chinese standard for energy efficiency of rural residential buildings. Secondly, this paper presents the heat transfer coefficients of building envelopes of ultra-low energy rural residential buildings in the severe cold zone, cold zone and hot summer and cold winter zone in China. Based on optimized design and simulation analysis, the heat transfer coefficients of building envelopes are determined by the construction cost, energy efficiency and retrofit feasibility. Thirdly, the suitable combination of a high-performance external wall and internal wall is recommended based on carbon emission and cost efficiency. As an achievement, a technical specification for ultra-low energy rural buildings has been proposed by the China Academy of Building Research. It is beneficial to design ultra-low energy rural residential buildings in China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different standard methods for the assessment of the thermal performance of the building envelope are used: analogy with coeval building, theoretical method, heat flow meter measurement, simple hot box, infrared thermography, and thermometric method. Review papers on these methods, applied in situ and in laboratory, have been published, focusing on theory, equipment, metrological performance, test conditions and data acquisition, data analysis, benefits, and limitations. However, steps forward have been done and not been deepened in previous works: in fact, the representative points method and the weighted area method have been proposed, too, whilst artificial intelligence and data-driven methods have begun to prove the reliability also in the U-value prevision using available datasets. Considering this context, this work aims at updating the literature background considering exclusively in situ methods. The work starts from bibliometric and scientometric analysis not previously conducted: this helped to group the methods and to sketch the innovations and the future perspectives. Indeed, from the bibliometric and scientometric literature analysis what emerged was (i) the richness of the background on this topic, especially in the recent years, (ii) two macro-groups (methods with and without measurements), and (iii) the importance of paper keywords (otherwise, interesting papers are eluded by the output of simple database queries). The method study that followed aims at providing (i) a broader view of the thermal transmittance (U-value) assessment procedures, including the utmost recent applications, proposal, and outlooks in this field, (ii) the understanding on the fundamental theories of the techniques, (iii) practical advice for building-envelope assessment, focusing on the advantages and limitations useful for professionals and researchers involved in the energy audit, conservation, or refurbishment of building stock, (iv) the identification of the interconnection between the techniques that often rely on one another, and (v) final remarks and future perspective of the procedures, which embrace the use of artificial intelligence (AI). From the topic analysis, as a result, it emerged that this is an open field for future research, especially with the implementation of AI, which requires good datasets and trials on the models' architectures, in terms of input layer, number of hidden layer and neurons, and percentage of data to be employed for model training and testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: This paper presents a numerical methodology for the hygro-thermo-mechanical analysis of masonry structures. The proposed approach can be used to evaluate the hygro-thermal performance of masonry walls as well as to complement the structural assessment considering other static or dynamic loads. The methodology can be further extended to include durability and aging aspects, and to study the compatibility between masonry units and mortars. Masonry walls comprise an important part of the building envelope and, thus, are exposed to environmental effects such as temperature and moisture variations. However, structural assessment usually neglects the influence of these hygro-thermal loads and assumes ideal conditions. This paper presents a hygro-thermo-mechanical model and its application to simulate the impact of temperature- and moisture-related phenomena on the structural behavior of masonry walls. A fully coupled heat and mass transfer model is presented and a 2D finite element model is prepared to simulate the behavior of a brick masonry wall under various hygro-thermal scenarios. Two different mortars are considered: namely, cement mortar and natural hydraulic lime mortar. The results are evaluated in terms of temperature and moisture content distribution across the wall thickness. The hygro-thermal model is further extended to incorporate mechanical effects through the total strain additive decomposition principle. It is shown that the hygro-thermo-mechanical response of the brick masonry wall is a complex 2D phenomenon. Moreover, the environmental loads change the natural stress distribution caused by gravitational loads alone. Finally, the wall with cement mortar develops higher levels of stress when compared to the one with lime mortar, due to the dissimilar hygro-thermal behavior between the constituent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the energy performance of buildings in the context of external climatic conditions and the requirements of indoor environments is a hot topic in the construction industry. It primarily concerns reducing the energy used for heating and cooling in buildings. In the EU sector, this is addressed by the Energy Performance Directive (EPBD), which is followed by relevant national standards. The energy performance of buildings is strongly influenced by the window structures that are part of the building envelope. Their influence on energy performance is represented by the heat transfer coefficient, which differs in the actual built-in window construction from the design value given by the manufacturer. In this paper, the authors deal with its measurement in situ using the heat flux measurement method. The measurement was carried out in the pavilion laboratory of the Department of Building Engineering and Urban Planning (DBEUP), Faculty of Civil Engineering (FCE), University of Zilina (UNIZA), on three window constructions of different material bases. During the measurements, surface temperatures on the glazing, heat flux density, and air temperatures were recorded in minute increments. The influence of the year-round cycle of the outdoor environment on the embedded window structures is presented and the results are presented in the conclusion of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current practice of building thermal retrofitting is based on the outcomes of energy audits that make use of standardized tabulated information mapped on a structure or structural elements under inherently very specific conditions. Therefore, it provides very limited outcomes for further analysis, especially when decision making procedures are required to particularize the retrofitting strategy. This paper introduces a novel fuzzy logic approach for predicting the thermal performance of building walls that can be used in practice to partially substitute time-consuming and costly energy audits or complex computational analyses. The objective of this concept is to forecast the annual heating energy demands of buildings and to identify the potential energy savings that could be achieved by applying thermal retrofitting measures based on limited resources and information obtained from maps, blueprints, and/or a simple site inspection. For this purpose, a sample knowledge base was created using a validated computational model of the heat and moisture transport in the multilayered wall assemblies. Then, the fuzzy logic model was introduced to predict the thermal performance of selected walls. Our comparison of the fuzzy model outputs with simulated data proved the potential of using the proposed concept as an efficient and straightforward tool for predicting the seasonal thermal performance of building envelopes and to partially replace the current practice, which requires the utilization of building energy audits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curved glass enables designers to achieve unparalleled innovation in creating modern and undulating shapes for building enclosures. However, the curvature of panes changes the static and especially the dynamic behavior of the panes under loading. Studies on low-velocity impacts on curved glass have been limited and have primarily involved numerical studies. This paper experimentally investigates the dynamic response of cylindrically curved glass panes under a low-velocity impact. A flat, 5 mm thick, single-pane geometry with three curvature radii and the lack or presence of movement restraint is considered. Special attention is also paid to the variations caused by impacting bodies involving different stiffness, mass, and geometry parameters. It was found that flat plates have a lower capacity to dampen oscillations, resulting in longer decay times compared to curved panes. For impactors with a lower stiffness, the glass panes experience uneven oscillations at the moment of impact, followed by a chaotic period of transient vibrations before reaching a stationary state. This contrasts bodies with greater deformability in which the main dynamic behavior follows a more predictable pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on modelling outcomes for improvements to building energy performance in Indonesia. Long-term climate effects due to building energy demand and carbon emissions are also considered. The global change assessment model (GCAM) was used to generate the related end-user building energy data, including socioeconomics, for urban areas of Indonesia. As a comprehensive study, the total life cycle of carbon in the building sector and the concept of zero-carbon buildings, including energy efficiency, zero-emissions electricity and fuel-switching options, were considered. Building shell conductance (U-value) of the building envelope, floor area ratio (FAR), air conditioner (AC) efficiency, electrical appliance (APL) efficiency, rooftop photovoltaic (PV) performance and ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems were considered as parameters to mitigate carbon emissions under the operational energy category in the GCAM. Carbon mitigation associated with the cement production process was considered in the raw material category. Urban population and labour productivity in Indonesia were used as base inputs with projected growth rates to 2050 determined from the available literature. Low growth rate 'LowRate' and high growth rate 'HighRate' were considered as variable inputs for U-value, FAR, AC efficiency, APLs efficiency and PV capacity factor to model emissions mitigation. The energy consumption of the GSHP was compared to the conventional reverse cycle ACs to identify the potential of the GSHP as a fuel-switching option. In the GCAM, the benchmark (base case scenario) data set was generated based on input parameters (urban population and labour productivity rate) only for the residential building sector in Indonesia. Total potential carbon emissions mitigation was found to be 432 Mt CO2-e for the residential building sector in Indonesia over 2020–2050. It was found that an average of 24% carbon emissions mitigation could be achieved by 2020–2030 and 76% by 2031–2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluated the cement-based materials incorporated with novel solid–gel phase change materials (PCMs) for improving the energy efficiency of building envelopes. This novel PCM is form-stable, which will not leak as solid–liquid PCMs do and not need encapsulation, and it features high energy-storage capacity. Experimental results showed that the thermal properties of cement-based materials were improved as the increase of PCM content. A 30% replacement of sand by volume with PCM can increase the latent heat of the mixture from around 0 to 7 J/g and decrease the thermal conductivity of PCM mortar based on the generalized self-consistent (GSC) model by about 20%. However, the workability and mechanical properties were compromised. The simulation results indicated that 30% PCM-incorporated walls can contribute to 5% energy saving for cooling in a whole year and 12% reduction in peak cooling load compared with the reference without PCM. The proposed PCM composite offers a promising avenue to achieve energy-efficient building envelopes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]