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This study investigated improvements in solar energy efficiency in pig houses with different roof types and translucent materials using Ecotect simulation software v2011. An experimental pig house in Qian Guo County, Songyuan City, was selected as the research object. First, the optimal building orientation for pig houses was explored by analysing the solar irradiance received as a primary indicator. Next, the energy consumption of pig houses was simulated using various translucent materials in the roof. Various roof types were designed based on the optimal translucent material. The energy consumption of these designs was compared with that of the experimental pig house. Finally, the economic viability of the different pig houses was analysed. The results showed that the optimal building orientation for a pig house was south by west 25°. Among the pig houses with equal-slope roofs using FRP daylighting boards, double-layer polycarbonate (PC) sheets, flat glass, and organic glass as translucent materials, the pig house using double-layer PC sheets required the least amount of additional heat during the heating season (62,109 kWh). For pig houses with double-layer PC sheets, four roof designs were assessed (equal-slope roof, front and rear roofs with unequal slopes, upper and lower staggered unequal-slope roof, and four-equal-slope roof), and it was found that the pig house with a four-equal-slope roof required the least amount of additional heat during the heating season (48,138 kWh). The economic analysis indicates that the combination of a four-equal-slope roof and double-layer PC sheets is the most cost-effective option, with the lowest total life cycle cost. This design saves 9521 USD compared with the experimental pig housing, effectively improving solar energy utilisation efficiency. These analyses provide a reference for exploring the thermal performance of pig houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on optimizing energy consumption in buildings by improving the building envelope, which accounts for a significant portion of heating and cooling energy usage. The research takes an existing building in the Konya-Meram region as an example and conducts experiments on insulation, window-to-wall ratio, and glass thickness. Simulations are performed considering the climate of Turkey-Konya region for comparative analysis. To evaluate energy efficiency, various programs such as Revit, Ecotect, Hap, and the Izoder TS-825 calculator (the Turkish standard) are utilized. The results of the comparative analysis indicate that the Ecotect program provides the closest match to the calculations, hence enabling optimization experiments throughout the study. The optimal insulation thickness is determined to be between 7-11cm. implementing an insulation thickness of 11cm results in a substantial 46.71% reduction in heating load and an overall annual energy savings of 3.896%. However, further increases in insulation thickness beyond 11cm do not yield significant energy savings. Regarding window-to-wall ratios, the optimal ratio in Konya is determined to be 75%, resulting in a savings of 5.04%. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of the building envelope for energy efficiency and presents optimized solutions for insulation, window-to-wall ratio, and glass thickness in Konya city. The results of this study make a valuable contribution towards achieving notable reductions in energy consumption and highlight the possibility of enhancing energy efficiency in structures located in the study area.

Aside from being a place for congregational prayers, the West Java Pusdai Mosque is also a center for preaching and other Islamic activities in West Java. Therefore, as a place of worship for Muslims, this mosque needs to maintain a comfortable atmosphere. The comfort or solemnity of worship can be affected by the noise of the surrounding environment or the acoustics of the room. This study aims to analyze the acoustic quality of the prayer room in the Pusdai Mosque, which is influenced by several factors. This research was conducted by observing and simulating, using the Ecotect v5.50 software. A simulation was carried out with the creation of a 3D model and the addition of both the absorption coefficient of the material in the room and speakers to it. In addition, research was also strengthened by conducting literature studies on scientific articles. The simulation was carried out to determine the reverberation time and sound distribution produced by the sound sources or speakers that could indicate the acoustic quality of the Pusdai Mosque. The acoustic quality of the Pusdai Mosque is greatly influenced by the interior materials and the shape of the ceiling. Based on the results of this analysis, the Pusdai Mosque has room acoustic defects. This is due to the large use of sound-reflecting materials and the form of the ceiling, which is quite complex. This causes a lot of sound reflection to occur, causing the reverberation time to exceed the optimum limit of a 500 Hz frequency (conversational space). This causes the speaker's voice to become an echo or hum. Therefore, the Pusdai Mosque needs to improve its room acoustics in order to create comfort and solemnity in worship. Improvement can be made by adding sound-absorbing material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on optimizing energy consumption in buildings by improving the building envelope, which accounts for a significant portion of heating and cooling energy usage. The research took an existing building in the Konya-Meram region as an example and conducted experiments on insulation, window-to-wall ratio, and glass thickness. Simulations were performed considering the climate of the Turkey-Konya region for comparative analysis. Various programs, such as Revit, Ecotect, Hap, and the Izoder TS-825 calculator (the Turkish standard) were utilized to evaluate energy efficiency. The results of the comparative analysis indicated that the Ecotect program provides the closest match to the calculations, hence enabling optimization experiments throughout the study. The optimal insulation thickness was determined to be between 7-11 cm; implementing an insulation thickness of 11 cm results in a substantial 46.71% reduction in heating load and an overall annual energy savings of 3.896%. However, further increases in insulation thickness beyond 11 cm do not yield significant energy savings. Regarding window-to-wall ratios, the optimal ratio in Konya was determined to be 75%, resulting in savings of 5.04%. In conclusion, this study emphasized the importance of the building envelope for energy efficiency and presented optimized solutions for insulation, window-to-wall ratio, and glass thickness in Konya city. The results of this study make a valuable contribution towards achieving notable reductions in energy consumption and highlight the possibility of enhancing energy efficiency in the structures located in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to clarify the temporal and spatial changes in the internal photothermal environment in an open-field agrivoltaic system (OAVS), this paper took the OAVS in eastern China as the research object and divided the internal area into the southern area, middle area and northern area, according to the spatial structure. Further, a photothermal environment test was conducted in the above three areas in the summer and winter. The results showed that the summer average daylight rate (Rm-avg) in the middle area was 66.6%, while the Rm-avg in the other two areas was about 20%, with no significant difference. In the winter, the light environment in the southern area was slightly better, and the Rm-avg in the above three areas was 26.4%, 24.7% and 19.7%, respectively. On the whole, the relationship between the thermal environmental factors and the solar radiation intensity was consistent. Further, a 3D model of an OAVS was established using Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2011, and the internal light environment was simulated. Compared with the measured values, the relative error was less than 10%, which verified the reliability of the OAVS model. Then, the model was used to reveal the temporal and spatial changes in the light environment of the OAVS. The simulation results showed that the daylighting rate in the summer from the ground to the height of the fig canopy inside the system was 20.7% to 61.5%. In the winter, the daylighting rate from the ground to the height of the fig canopy inside the system was 17.7% to 36.4%. The effectiveness of the OAVS in reducing the level of solar radiation intensity depended on the time of day and the angle of the sun. At the spatial scale, due to the strong consumption of light by photovoltaic panels, there was a strong horizontal and vertical light environment gradient inside the system. In conclusion, the photothermal environment research of an OAVS based on Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2011 can not only provide a basis for agricultural production and structural design such as span, height and the laying density of PV panels, but also expand its application to regions with different latitudes and longitudes and specific climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated improvements in solar energy efficiency in pig houses with different roof types and translucent materials using Ecotect simulation software v2011. An experimental pig house in Qian Guo County, Songyuan City, was selected as the research object. First, the optimal building orientation for pig houses was explored by analysing the solar irradiance received as a primary indicator. Next, the energy consumption of pig houses was simulated using various translucent materials in the roof. Various roof types were designed based on the optimal translucent material. The energy consumption of these designs was compared with that of the experimental pig house. Finally, the economic viability of the different pig houses was analysed. The results showed that the optimal building orientation for a pig house was south by west 25°. Among the pig houses with equal-slope roofs using FRP daylighting boards, double-layer polycarbonate (PC) sheets, flat glass, and organic glass as translucent materials, the pig house using double-layer PC sheets required the least amount of additional heat during the heating season (62,109 kWh). For pig houses with double-layer PC sheets, four roof designs were assessed (equal-slope roof, front and rear roofs with unequal slopes, upper and lower staggered unequal-slope roof, and four-equal-slope roof), and it was found that the pig house with a four-equal-slope roof required the least amount of additional heat during the heating season (48,138 kWh). The economic analysis indicates that the combination of a four-equal-slope roof and double-layer PC sheets is the most cost-effective option, with the lowest total life cycle cost. This design saves 9521 USD compared with the experimental pig housing, effectively improving solar energy utilisation efficiency. These analyses provide a reference for exploring the thermal performance of pig houses.

Aside from being a place for congregational prayers, the West Java Pusdai Mosque is also a center for preaching and other Islamic activities in West Java. Therefore, as a place of worship for Muslims, this mosque needs to maintain a comfortable atmosphere. The comfort or solemnity of worship can be affected by the noise of the surrounding environment or the acoustics of the room. This study aims to analyze the acoustic quality of the prayer room in the Pusdai Mosque, which is influenced by several factors. This research was conducted by observing and simulating, using the Ecotect v5.50 software. A simulation was carried out with the creation of a 3D model and the addition of both the absorption coefficient of the material in the room and speakers to it. In addition, research was also strengthened by conducting literature studies on scientific articles. The simulation was carried out to determine the reverberation time and sound distribution produced by the sound sources or speakers that could indicate the acoustic quality of the Pusdai Mosque. The acoustic quality of the Pusdai Mosque is greatly influenced by the interior materials and the shape of the ceiling. Based on the results of this analysis, the Pusdai Mosque has room acoustic defects. This is due to the large use of sound-reflecting materials and the form of the ceiling, which is quite complex. This causes a lot of sound reflection to occur, causing the reverberation time to exceed the optimum limit of a 500 Hz frequency (conversational space). This causes the speaker’s voice to become an echo or hum. Therefore, the Pusdai Mosque needs to improve its room acoustics in order to create comfort and solemnity in worship. Improvement can be made by adding sound-absorbing material.

In order to clarify the temporal and spatial changes in the internal photothermal environment in an open-field agrivoltaic system (OAVS), this paper took the OAVS in eastern China as the research object and divided the internal area into the southern area, middle area and northern area, according to the spatial structure. Further, a photothermal environment test was conducted in the above three areas in the summer and winter. The results showed that the summer average daylight rate (Rm-avg) in the middle area was 66.6%, while the Rm-avg in the other two areas was about 20%, with no significant difference. In the winter, the light environment in the southern area was slightly better, and the Rm-avg in the above three areas was 26.4%, 24.7% and 19.7%, respectively. On the whole, the relationship between the thermal environmental factors and the solar radiation intensity was consistent. Further, a 3D model of an OAVS was established using Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2011, and the internal light environment was simulated. Compared with the measured values, the relative error was less than 10%, which verified the reliability of the OAVS model. Then, the model was used to reveal the temporal and spatial changes in the light environment of the OAVS. The simulation results showed that the daylighting rate in the summer from the ground to the height of the fig canopy inside the system was 20.7% to 61.5%. In the winter, the daylighting rate from the ground to the height of the fig canopy inside the system was 17.7% to 36.4%. The effectiveness of the OAVS in reducing the level of solar radiation intensity depended on the time of day and the angle of the sun. At the spatial scale, due to the strong consumption of light by photovoltaic panels, there was a strong horizontal and vertical light environment gradient inside the system. In conclusion, the photothermal environment research of an OAVS based on Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2011 can not only provide a basis for agricultural production and structural design such as span, height and the laying density of PV panels, but also expand its application to regions with different latitudes and longitudes and specific climates.

In most parts of our country, especially the two hot and dry and cold and dry climates, there have been pigeon towers with different shapes and forms for keeping and breeding pigeons. Circular or square in plan, they are made of clay and brick. The purpose of this study is to identify the radiation absorption and the effect of shade on the surfaces of rural pigeon towers in Isfahan and Tabriz. The main question of the research is that “how was the reception and percentage of radiation absorption and the shade on the surfaces of pigeon towers in the hot and dry climate of Isfahan and the cold climate of Tabriz?” A case study research and descriptive-analytical approach is adopted, followed by software analysis. Four pigeon towers with different structures were selected from Tar, Kheirabad, Gort, and Zamenabad villages in Isfahan, and four from Khaljan, Taqiabad, Digbashi, and Chelehghaz villages in Tabriz. Then, they were modelled precisely in Rhinoceros5, and the absorption and percentage of radiation on the hottest day of the year, at the time interval of 13 to 16, and the effect of shading on the surfaces of pigeon towers at 15 were simulated using RADIANCE and ECOTECT engines. The results of simulations showed that the reception and percentage of sunlight on the surfaces of pigeon towers in the hot and dry climate of Isfahan and the cold and dry climate of Tabriz have a direct relationship with the area and shape of the building. In hot and dry climates, where radiation absorption is high, and more surfaces need protection from sunlight, the multi-cylinder pigeon towers with more pores and curved surfaces are the most suitable ones. On the contrary, in cold climates, cubic pigeon towers with smooth surfaces and fewer pores are better since they absorb more sunlight and receive it at an almost direct angle of 90 degrees.

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In many parts of the world, especially Central Asia, pigeon towers have been constructed as traditional buildings with different forms and types to keep pigeons. These buildings are cylindrical, cubic, dome-like and multi-cylinder in shape. This study was conducted to identify the effects of sunlight and shadow on the surfaces of pigeon towers in Iran, Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia with hot and dry or humid climates. Several pigeon towers with different types and structures in these countries were selected and modeled in detail in Rhino 5. Radiance and Ecotect were then employed to measure solar radiation and shadow on the surfaces of the pigeon towers on the hottest day of the year. According to the graphical and numerical results obtained, sunlight and shadow differently affected the surfaces of the different pigeon towers. The effect level of sunlight and shadow on the single-form pigeon towers was higher than on the vaults. In fact, solar radiation was lower and shadow was higher per square meter of the surfaces of the vaults constructed as pigeon towers in close proximity. These houses were therefore found to be the optimal type for the hot and dry or humid climate in Central Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many parts of the world, especially Central Asia, pigeon towers have been constructed as traditional buildings with different forms and types to keep pigeons. These buildings are cylindrical, cubic, dome-like and multi-cylinder in shape. This study was conducted to identify the effects of sunlight and shadow on the surfaces of pigeon towers in Iran, Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia with hot and dry or humid climates. Several pigeon towers with different types and structures in these countries were selected and modeled in detail in Rhino 5. Radiance and Ecotect were then employed to measure solar radiation and shadow on the surfaces of the pigeon towers on the hottest day of the year. According to the graphical and numerical results obtained, sunlight and shadow differently affected the surfaces of the different pigeon towers. The effect level of sunlight and shadow on the single-form pigeon towers was higher than on the vaults. In fact, solar radiation was lower and shadow was higher per square meter of the surfaces of the vaults constructed as pigeon towers in close proximity. These houses were therefore found to be the optimal type for the hot and dry or humid climate in Central Asia.

Flat-to-slope roof retrofitting transforms the flat roofs of multistory buildings into the sloping roofs to improve the building function and landscape effect provided that the building structures and the foundation bearing capacity meet the requirements, which normally commits to improve the thermal insulation performance of the top layer and to solve the problems such as the top layer leakage. This study developed an optimal structural design protocol for flat-to-slope roof retrofitting through comparative analysis. The case study used an existing building in Hangzhou city and in the process of energy consumption simulation on flat-to-slope roof retrofitting, control variables were used to keep consistent building materials, building environments, and meteorological conditions such as the hourly temperature, monthly heat gain and loss, and monthly energy consumption. The indoor environment of the building top floor with different gradients settings was simulated in groups, and the hourly temperature, monthly heat gains and loss, and energy consumption of each model were analyzed. This study provided both theoretical and practical references for future flat-to-slope roof retrofitting projects in terms of building energy efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental problems were initiated with the rise of human civilization, and they increased with the rise in technology’s contribution to human lives. Researchers in the field of architecture believe that regenerative approaches are systems based on aligning architectural design with natural resources to provide positive outcomes. Regenerative design holds significant promise for a new theory of sustainable architecture. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework for the concept of regenerative architecture and testing materials’ effectiveness (thermal, availability, waste, and toxicity) and impacts on shifting towards regenerative architecture. Materials’ thermal properties were examined by determining energy consumption through Ecotect as a simulation program. However, other factors were measured by a checklist derived from an intense review of the literature. The results revealed that the existing current buildings in Erbil City do not lie in the regenerative zone. Moreover, the study also shows that material selection plays a significant role in reducing energy consumption and toxicity levels that result from moving architectural design towards regenerative design.

تلعب الإنارة الدور الأهم في الفراغ المعماري حيث أنها من أهم اعتبارات التصميم وومن المفترض وضعها بعين الاعتبار لتحقيق أفضل أداء استخدامي للمبنى، فالإنارة تدخل في صلب العمل المعماري، ويتم اللجوء إليها في تحديد شكل الفراغات ولونها وملمس سطوحها، لكن العوامل الخارجية ( كالمناخ )، والعوامل الداخلية ( نوع أو وظيفة الفراغ ) يصعّب الموضوع على المصمم لأنه بحاجة إلى السيطرة على كلا الإنارتين الطبيعية والصناعية، لذا برز دور الإنارة كعنصر مهم للدراسة من قبل المصمم خلال عملية التصميم. و تعتبر المتاحف من أكثر أنواع المباني تأثرا بالإنارة لتنوع الوظائف الداخلية فيها ولحساسيتها للإنارة إذ أن معروضاتها ذات طابع أثري، وقد برز دور الحاسب حديثا في دراسة أداء الإنارة في المباني المتحفية، إن كان في مرحلة التصميم، أو في مرحلة تقييم مبنى قائم كما سنقوم في هذا البحث باستخدام برنامجي (ECOTECT – Desktop RADIANCE) بتقييم أداء الإنارة في متحف دمشق ووضع توصيات خاصة لتحقيق الأداء الأمثل فيه.

Kenyamanan termal menjadi faktor penting dalam menunjang efektifitas kinerja di dalam ruang. Untuk memaksimalkan kenyamanan termal tanpa merusak lingkungan, potensi angin dapat dimanfaatkan melalui sistem ventilasi silang. Ventilasi silang dapat menjadi media yang baik sebagai pengalir udara, jika memperhatikan 3 (tiga) aspek, yaitu ukuran, bentuk, dan posisi ventilasi. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah mengeksplorasi desain ventilasi terbaik untuk mencapai kenyamanan termal yang dimaksud, khususnya pada ruang-ruang perkuliahan. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskriprif kuantitatif untuk menghasilkan sebuah rekomendasi desain, yang diikuti dengan validasi data menggunakan software ecotect. Ruang-ruang perkuliahan di Fakultas Ushuluddin UIN Sunan Ampel dipilih untuk menjadi studi kasus. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ventilasi silang melalui jendela besar berjenis vertically pivoted merupakan ventilasi yang paling efektif untuk dipakai di ruang-ruang perkuliahan Fakultas Ushuluddin. Model ini dapat memaksimalkan aliran udara hingga 75%, dan membuat ruangan 1,4-2,7°C lebih sejuk.

Artificial lighting accounts for a substantial part of electrical energy consumption in any building. For a country like, Pakistan where the demand and supply gap regarding electrical energy is augmenting in the last few years, there is a dire need to design an appropriate lighting scenario that can help in reducing electrical energy consumption without compromising its thermal comfort. A case study building was selected to analyze the fundamentals of daylight performance and to demonstrate the basic daylighting strategies (ventilation & daylight) that could potentially reduce the need for artificial light. Heliodon was also used to investigate building physics related to the sun's path. This study investigates the daylight and thermal scenario of an educational building in Multan-Pakistan. The methodology into three stages: the first involved analyzing daylight and energy efficiency for the case study, the second involved identifying and implementing the best solutions without disrupting the building's existing architectural designs, and the third stage included a heat and daylight comparative analysis of both cases using the ECOTECT software. The results show the possibility of electrical energy savings up to 28% with not only improved natural lighting conditions of working areas but sun glare near South-faced windows was also improved to a great extent. The study proposes the principal strategies for improving building performance. These approaches assist architects in predicting optimal energy performance and daylight strategies by developing appropriate climatic design options and identifying the link between design demands and daylight efficiency metrics. All these considerations are expected to benefit the environment in the end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental problems were initiated with the rise of human civilization, and they increased with the rise in technology’s contribution to human lives. Researchers in the field of architecture believe that regenerative approaches are systems based on aligning architectural design with natural resources to provide positive outcomes. Regenerative design holds significant promise for a new theory of sustainable architecture. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework for the concept of regenerative architecture and testing materials’ effectiveness (thermal, availability, waste, and toxicity) and impacts on shifting towards regenerative architecture. Materials’ thermal properties were examined by determining energy consumption through Ecotect as a simulation program. However, other factors were measured by a checklist derived from an intense review of the literature. The results revealed that the existing current buildings in Erbil City do not lie in the regenerative zone. Moreover, the study also shows that material selection plays a significant role in reducing energy consumption and toxicity levels that result from moving architectural design towards regenerative design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the simple teaching model and Ecotect software, the light and thermal properties of buildings are simulated and analyzed. For the analysis of light environment, it is concluded that rectangular skylight is superior in teaching buildings with large depth. The relationship between window-wall ratio and lighting coefficient and standard area is obtained by setting different window-wall ratio. On the basis of the increase of window-wall ratio, the change of building lighting score is obtained by the change of standard area rate. For thermal environments, setting different enclosure structure reconstruction schemes for simulation. In the unilateral consideration of energy saving, the transformation of outer window is superior to the reconstruction of external wall, but on the basis of energy saving and thermal comfort, the transformation of external wall is superior to the reconstruction of outer window. The enclosure structure not only affects the energy saving, but also affects the indoor environment of the building, by comprehensive comparison, the relatively optimal enclosure structure scheme is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China's pig industry has gradually shifted to the northeast. Compared with the rich feed resources and land resources in Northeast China, the cold environment reduces the feed conversion efficiency and the production performance of pigs. In the winter of northern China, pig producers often face a huge problem of heat preservation when they control the environment of piggery. The aim of this study is to explore the heat preservation of piggeries in Northeast China. According to the investigation, there were four types of piggeries in Jilin Province, which were brick wall piggery, concrete wall piggery, color steel wall piggery and greenhouse piggery. The simulated piggeries with brick wall, concrete wall and color steel wall were based on the experimental piggery of Jilin Agricultural University, the simulated piggery with greenhouse was based on a piggery in a pig farm, and the simulated pig farm area was based on a pig farm area. Based on Ecotect software, this paper took a typical piggery in a large pig farm in Jilin Province as an object, and studied the light and heat environment of piggery, and the light environment of pig farm production area. The daylight factor of different heights in the piggery and the lighting situation in the production area of the pig farm were studied. The thermal insulation performances of 4 kinds of piggeries with different walls were analyzed. The results were as follows: The daylight factor of each research height of the experimental piggery was higher than 2%, which met the green building standard. The production area of the pig farm had good daylight, and the solar radiation in Great Cold Day could reach 5.38 MJ/(m²·d), and the sunshine was sufficient. The building spacing of the pig farm met the epidemic prevention standard, and there was no shelter problem. By comparing the monthly energy consumption values of 4 kinds of piggeries with different building materials, the best insulation performance of piggeries was as follow: Clay porous brick piggery, foam concrete pig piggery, color steel piggery with phenolic sandwich board, low density polyethylene film greenhouse piggery. After considering the cost, it was recommended to use cinder brick masonry piggery, fly ash aerated block piggery, polyphenylene sandwich board color steel piggery and low density polyethylene film greenhouse piggery. The daily energy consumption of empty piggery in December was tested and verified. The relative error range was 0.74%-8.62% after data comparison, which verified the reliability of the model. The simulation values of energy consumption were in good agreement with the measured values. On the one hand, it verified the correctness and rationality of setting parameters in the software. On the other hand, it showed that Ecotect software was feasible in piggery building. This paper can provide theoretical basis for exploring the light and heat environment of the northern piggery, and provide more ideas for architects to optimize the design before the implementation of the plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the energy consumption of atria in hot and dry climate zones. The author used a research tool for simulation, ECOTECT software, and assigned regional climate conditions as a starting point. Then, the energy consumption was analysed by choosing a suitable atrium for energy efficiency in residential buildings. The analysis software of ECOTECT can provide a scientific basis for energy-saving planning of the buildings. To understand the optimization of residential building planning, factors such as hourly solar exposure, fabric gains, and energy distribution in building were analysed. This research in hot and dry climate was designed to use the optimum atrium in building for energy saving in warm seasons. According to an analysis performed using ECOTECT, it was revealed that the optimum atrium in building to keep in hot and dry climate is the four-side atrium with total radiation incident of 2,506,027 W, radiation absorption of 902,795 W, and radiation transmission of 297,118 W in hot summer. The results of this research are useful for energy efficiency of buildings and producing a comfortable living environment in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atrium has been used with various shapes and purposes in many different climates and buildings especially public ones. It is mainly used to take advantage of daylight in buildings. Therefore, achieving the optimal atrium dimensions is of great importance. This research employed computer simulation using Ecotect and Radiance for daylighting. The collected database is created using simulations for different atrium proportions in IRAN-Qazvin climate zone, where using atria could improve building performance based on the clear sky condition. The aim of present study is assessing the impact of atrium width and clerestory height on the amount of Average Daylight Factor (ADF) in different floors of horizontal top-lit atria and determining the appropriate geometrical sizes for the ten 5-storey, four-sided atriums to provide sufficient daylight in office spaces. Qazvin climatic conditions were simulated in Ecotect, Design Builder and Radiance. Ten 5-story administrative buildings with atrium ranging from 5%-50% area and one without atrium were modeled. The results showed that optimal samples were buildings with 10% and 15% atrium area in terms of daylight utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to analyze thermal properties of straw bale house in 6th October in Egypt by ECOTECT. It has been found that; reused straw bale’ U-Value matches with the Egyptian code. Additionally, comparing straw bale house with masonry brick house; as one of traditional building materials, it is showed that, discomfort degree hours for straw bale house are less by 40 % , energy consumption is less by 82%, and CO2 emissions are less by 80% than masonry brick house. Furthermore, the results of comparing straw bale house efficiency in Egyptian climatic regions concluded that straw bale house is more effective in arid region ‘Cairo” then, in hot arid region “El Arish”.

Influence of solar radiation for the library external shading devices were simulated and analyzed using the Weather Tool software library exterior environment analysis, the thermal comfort of the building with minimal impact of changes in the program is to take passive shading measures, the use of ecological building Ecotect simulation software to analyze the effects of the sun visor on the building indoor solar radiation, in the CAD drawing software based on the library modeling, climate data import, mesh through Ecotect, analyzed under different circumstances in the reading room of the sun visor change the radiation given control strategy corresponding visor adjustment, and on this basis, designed a foot shading device, and more convenient for students to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local climate data were investigated at a residential area in Chuncheon from May to October in 2013.In addition, the simulations were carried out by the Autodesk Ecotect Analysis tool. Site A had the lowest temperature in summer. The best building orientation was south by east 157.5°. Based on the photosynthetically active radiation(PAR) values day-neutral species should be planted around sites C and E, shade-tolerant species around site D and helioplous species around sites A and B. In addition, site A is the most comfortable place in the residential area with a predicted mean vote (PMV) value around 0. It was found that there were four main aspects to be considered for the residential designs which were building height, land cover, planting design and building orientation. Moreover, the results showed that local climate and shading conditions should be of great concern in design or improvement of residential areas. First published online: 17 Apr 2015

Buildings are responsible for more than 40% of global energy usage and as much as 33% of global greenhouse gas emissions in both developed and developing countries. However, the study of carbon emissions over a building's life cycle based on Ecotect and building information modeling in developing areas of Nanjing has yet to be conducted. Therefore, the results and recommendations of this paper represent a contribution to the literature on this topic. The scientific value of this paper is that Ecotect and building information modeling can be helpful in simplifying the estimation of carbon emissions over a building's life cycle because they can provide a majority of the information and calculation tools necessary for performing an life cycle assessment (LCA), which may alleviate the problem of insufficient information when executing an LCA of a building. A sensitivity analysis was performed by changing several parameters to identify the parameters that have the largest impacts on the performance a building. A comparison of the life cycle carbon emissions for each stage showed that the operational stage is the largest contributor to carbon emissions. Approximately 85.4% of the total carbon emissions were generated during operation. The construction stage accounted for 12.6% of the total carbon emissions. Approximately 2% of the total carbon emissions occurred during the demolition stage. Compared to the total carbon emissions over the entire life cycle of the building, carbon sequestration by vegetation was minimal. Thus, these findings indicate that governments can achieve the greatest reductions in carbon emissions by targeting the operational phase of buildings. However, the opportunity for addressing non-operational phases should not be ignored because the average carbon emissions per working area per year of non-operational stages are far greater than those of the use phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local climate data were investigated at a residential area in Chuncheon from May to October in 2013. In addition, the simulations were carried out by the Autodesk Ecotect Analysis tool. Site A had the lowest temperature in summer. The best building orientation was south by east 157.5°. Based on the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) values day-neutral species should be planted around sites C and E, shade-tolerant species around site D and helioplous species around sites A and B. In addition, site A is the most comfortable place in the residential area with a predicted mean vote (PMV) value around 0. It was found that there were four main aspects to be considered for the residential designs which were building height, land cover, planting design and building orientation. Moreover, the results showed that local climate and shading conditions should be of great concern in design or improvement of residential areas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study compares between different alternatives of construction in Gaza city. This comes for proposing a new approach of using available construction materials to improve the thermal resistance of the building and to minimize energy losses. Using available materials with different detailed techniques, the focus was on three systems applied on the residential construction in Gaza city. Common materials used in building envelope such as stone, hollow block and plaster are combined together in different ways to form three systems of building envelope. After thorough on-site investigation and data collection, the information along with regional weather data, was input into the Ecotect energy simulation software for thermal performance evaluation. The breakdown analysis of passive gains indicates that the majority of heat losses occurs via conduction heat transfer (building fabric). This study found that using 5cm air gap in exterior walls saves 50% of energy required to maintain comfortable temperature inside the home. Current study demonstrates how a building envelope reacts significantly to outdoor conditions through graphic illustration. In addition, it shows ways for the research to be extended by the creation of simulations using Ecotect software. This research contributes to the promotion of passive and low energy architecture towards a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to find a sustainable solution in order to reduce the indoor temperature in hot and humid climate such as Malaysia. The focus of this study is to create a new device (Air Tube) which is considered to be a remedial device for the indoor spaces, and can be installed for the existed houses. The method of this study is to design the Air Tube device and install is in the rooms of second floor in semi-detached and terrace house in order to reduce the temperature few degrees. The study will depend on taking manual measurements in the site and making simulation using computer software Ecotect on 14th of February (which considered to be the hottest day in the year) and trying to find the best solution to reduce the temperature in such hot and humid weather, the case study is a semi-detach house with post-modern architectural style, which is located in Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia. The research finds that AirTubeis a good solution for the existed houses to decrease the temperature and reach the thermal comfortable atmosphere.

Only recently, research communities and professional organizations have started to incorporate the factor of climate change in software-based environmental simulation with a view to inform climate adaptation planning and design. Based on the results from simulating a neighborhood design proposed for New Cairo, Egypt, we develop a conceptual framework and an environmental simulation workflow aimed at achieving Climate Change–conscious Urban Neighborhood Design (C3UND). Central to the C3UND approach is the coupling of neighborhood outdoor simulation and building indoor simulation and taking into account climate change scenarios as projected by today’s meteorological modeling. Utilizing two existing software systems, ENVI-met for urban neighborhood outdoor simulation and Ecotect for building indoor simulation, we demonstrate how a workflow can be implemented to play out climate change scenarios on urban neighborhoods and the buildings located within. The C3UND simulation framework and workflow was further applied to a neighborhood site at the Sheffield University campus in England with weather data input of the present day (2012) and of the 2050s generated by the CCWorldWeatherGen tool. Our current study suggests that environmental simulation of climate change scenarios at an urban neighborhood scale is currently achievable but not without considerable gaps. Use of additional three-dimensional virtual neighborhood models, for instance, is required to bring outdoor and indoor simulation outcomes together through graphic overlay to enable more intuitive and holistic understanding of potential climate change impacts. The implications of the C3UND framework for sustainable urban and architecture design are discussed, leading to a list of research questions to be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Building energy conservation planning is an effective way for energy saving. [•] We model residential estate model of Ma’anshan City by ECOTECT creatively. [•] We comprehensively analyze the meteorological data of Ma’anshan City. [•] Building orientation, daylight, and ventilation are taken into consideration. [•] Some scientific and rational methods on estate planning are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Performance-driven architectural design emphasizes on integrated and comprehensive optimization of various quantifiable performances of buildings. As the leading profession of a project team, architects play a vital role in guiding and conducting the performance-driven design. Methodology and techniques start emerging both in literature and practice. However, architects often find them difficult to use for various reasons. Therefore, developing an effective technique to conduct performance-driven design and optimization from the perspective of architects is necessary. This paper starts from discussing the concept of performance-driven architectural design. Existing methodology and techniques are reviewed. The focus is on selecting a basic platform suitable for architects, upon which the technique can be developed. Rhinoceros, an architectural modeling program, is used, along with its graphical algorithm editor Grasshopper, to establish such technique by incorporating three performance simulation programs, namely Ecotect, Radiance, and EnergyPlus. Design cases are presented to demonstrate the technique and its effectiveness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Urban slum kitchens use bio-fuel, which emanates smoke and black carbon. Expensive eco-stoves available in the market do not make use of India's perennial supply of warm sunshine to improve their efficiency. This forms the basis of our study. We propose a radical remoulding of slum kitchens, aimed at efficient bio-fuel burning and sunlight assisted seasoning in a desiccation chamber. This is possibly the first design anywhere in the world and has been funded by Villgro under the Young Innovator Programme. First, we use ecotect analysis to configure optimal daylighting, form and fabric of these kitchens. The results suggest that in Northern Hemisphere, the preferred orientation is south or south westerly. It is observed that such a chamber made of glass provides a temperature increase of 14 degrees C above the ambient. This will increase seasoning efficiency because the humidity content is lowered by 20%, causing a substantial decrease in smoke emissions. We base this study on Chennai city, where roughly 2 million people reside in slums. We use a USEPA plume dispersion model that accounts for the undulating topography, land and sea breeze effects, and most importantly, building downwash effects. The latter effect is important, particularly because the Chennai slums are located adjacent to high-rise buildings, causing a blocking flow. Finally, we present an environmental impact assessment analysis on emissions of these bio particles over distributed area sources, with and without the presence of the desiccation assisted eco stoves in slum kitchens. A cost benefit model is also presented to highlight economic gains that the Chennai city corporation would achieve if it provided a green subsidy for construction adaptation and proliferation of these new kitchen designs. We estimate that a reduction of approximately 50% in soot carbon emission can be achieved in less than 50 USD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the economy in recent years, Malaysia has been maintaining high economic growth and therefore, its energy consumption has increased dramatically. Air conditioning for cooling accounts for more than 45% of the total electricity used in the residential sector. This article uses Ecotect software to analyse building envelope design on energy cooling load for a residential building in Penang, Malaysia, which includes the area ratio of window to wall, exterior wall thermal insulation, different categories of glazing and several kinds of shading system. This article describes an integrated passive design approach to reduce the cooling requirement for high-rise apartments through an improved building envelope design. Compared with the other passive strategies investigated in this article, the results indicate that exterior wall thermal insulation is the best strategy to reduce both cooling energy load and peak cooling load that achieve a reduction of 10.2 and 26.3%, respectively. However, all the other passive strategies applied also have marginal effects on decreasing the cooling load. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Glazed windows can cause intensive overheating due to solar radiation within buildings in hot climates. These glazed windows, according to their apertures, can also provide cross-ventilation which is necessary for cooling and improving thermal comfort of occupants. Many computerized environmental simulation tools are available to help designers to predict the environmental performance of their design at the early stage. The thermal comfort study presented in this paper involved the use of field measurement and computer simulation tool, i.e. Ecotect. Validation of Ecotect was carried out by comparing the computer simulation results with the field measurements of the east-facing room at Fajar Harapan Hostel, University Science Malaysia, which has a 50% glazed area-to-wall ratio. Output data from Ecotect were compared to the fieldwork data in terms of indoor/outdoor air temperatures and indoor air velocity. The impact of reducing the glazed area from window wall ratio = 50% in the base case to 25% and 00% (i.e. window less) was investigated. The results showed that the simulation compared well with the field data with a difference of less than 0.9°C, indicating that rooms with a large glazed window area would be relatively cool during night-time only, and a smaller glazed window area would perform well during daytime as well as night-time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]