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The construction industry is one of the primary sources of carbon emissions. In the context of the global response to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the impacts of climate change, China implements the Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutralisation policy. The policy vigorously promotes energy conservation and emission reduction in the construction industry, particularly housing. Due to the large stock of existing old multi-storey residential buildings in China, most of which are not energy-saving, and the lack of a sustainable assessment framework to retrofit such buildings, it is deemed essential to analyse the shortcomings of the current assessment standards and frameworks and formulate a better alternative. Therefore, this paper aims to provide the rationale for proposing a sustainability assessment framework for retrofitting old multi-storey residential buildings in China. It first explains the concepts of sustainable development and housing, then combs the current Chinese government’s commitments to sustainable housing agenda. The unsustainable state of this housing type is then reviewed, followed by the issues and gaps in the existing sustainable building assessment standards in China and overseas to justify the necessity of developing a sustainability assessment framework for retrofitting multistorey residential buildings in China. This framework would assist the retrofit of old multistorey residential buildings in reducing energy consumption, improving efficiency and achieving sustainable development. It also contributes to the body of knowledge in sustainable building assessments and helps in the planning and design processes within the public and private sectors related to the construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese government has taken actions to promote energy efficiency through the renovation of residential buildings in the Northern Heating Region. Homeowners have been encouraged to undertake government-led energy efficiency renovation; however, their decisions to undertake the renovation are affected by several barriers. The lack of participation from homeowners has brought difficulties in execution and financing. This study empirically investigated the barriers facing homeowners when undertaking the renovation, including barriers generated from the homeowner's cognitive biases. The results show that barriers associated with capital cost, unbalanced financial plan, unclear process, comfort, and increased energy prices are the most widely considered when homeowners make decisions about undertaking renovation projects. An adverse decision is most likely to be generated when: (1) when homeowners perceive the financial plan as unfair, (2) when they have already done renovation at their own expense, or (3) when they have the feeling of losing initiative. Among all the individual factors, the homeowners' gender, age, education level, and building type are significant in predicting their decisions. By drawing on insights from behavioral economics, we analyzed the mechanisms behind these barriers. The findings can help policymakers to design more cost-effective policy instruments to mitigate the barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article makes innovative applications of existing residential buildings and ultra-low energy renovation,and explores new renovation models,through optimization of air tightness control indicators,ground renovation optimization technology,stair partition wall reconstruction technology, outdoor floor insulation down extension technology, etc. Build technical indicators for ultra-low energy consumption reconstruction of existing residential buildings in cold areas,and use energy-saving monitoring of residential buildings 2* and 3* of Hebei Academy of Building Research to verify the feasibility of technical indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the energy-saving renovation project of existing residential buildings, we test the tensile bond strength of ceramic tiles and bonding mortar. It can be seen from the test results that the main factors affecting the bond strength are whether the ceramic tile is interface treated and the bond strength of the bonding mortar itself. The tensile bond strength of ceramic tile without interface treatment and low-strength bond mortar is very low, and the external insulation wall is easy to fall off. Considering the factors of construction period and economic cost, the ceramic tiles should be treated with interface or using high-strength bonding mortar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy retrofitting of existing residential buildings has a great potential to achieve a sustainable future. One important way to reach this potential is to understand homeowners’ retrofit behaviors due to their crucial roles in retrofit adoption and retrofit effects. Despite many attempts, researchers and governments still know less about the holistic profile of homeowners’ retrofit behaviors, which brought little success in trigging renovation activities and achieving expected retrofit effects. This study tries to fill this research gap by a comprehensive review of the body of existing research. A keyword-based scientometric analysis was performed based on a set of 152 journal articles. By further refining keywords, main research domains pertaining to investment-decision-energy behaviors, policy instruments, retrofit types, construction & services, and methods & methodologies were mapped to show relevant research knowledge and research topics. Based on these research results, a further integrated framework was developed, which explains homeowners’ retrofit behaviors in a systematic way of cross-disciplinary knowledge interactions. Furthermore, implications for retrofit policies in existing buildings were provided. This study is useful for facilitating future research to deepen homeowners’ retrofit behaviors, and also provides valuable references for policy makers to successfully promote home energy retrofit.

The increasing energy consumption of residential buildings in Egypt which reached about 42% of total energy consumption in latest energy statistics, affirms the need for energy conscious design of buildings. Many researches aim at guiding new buildings design to be energy-efficient, however, retrofitting existing buildings can result in significant reductions in energy consumption. This paper outlined different window glass types led to a reduction in cooling loads via the building envelope for the existing building. This paper aims to evaluate the effect of changing windows glass types to reduce energy consumption in the hot arid climate of greater Cairo. The energy analysis carried out by employing advanced simulation via DesignBuilder software for a residential building located in Cairo; this case study analyzed the performance of seven different window glass types in a residential building façade in the different cardinal orientations. The model was validated by taking a field measurement to measure and quantify the temperature of a selected room taken within three consecutive days in May and June 2019 and compared to the simulation tool results, the average error percentage was 2.15%. The results of the simulation showed that changing glass type can reduce energy consumption by up to 18.8%, indicating the significance of energy efficient retrofitting of existing residential buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The heating energy consumption before and after retrofit was comparatively analyzed by practical measurement. • The heating energy consumption was corrected in the before and after the energy-saving retrofit and the amount of energy savings was analyzed. • Explored the change of heating radiuses before and after retrofit. • The influence of envelope construction retrofit on the buildings was analyzed. Abstract Since the last ten years, non-energy-saving residential buildings have been retrofitted in China. However, theoretical and practical effects did not match. Due to the lack of actual measurement, the effect of energy-saving retrofit is affected. This study emphasizes on heating energy consumption of the existing non-energy-saving residential buildings in typical cities in northern China and intends to measure them through a heat exchange station, a secondary network, and building during the heating season from 2015 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2017 (before and after retrofit). Comparing the actual measured energy consumption and the energy consumption boundary index of each nod, the energy consumption levels before and after retrofit of different links are analyzed. Comparing the measured energy consumption data of the typical projects at each node before and after the retrofit and using the data standardization method, the buildings before and after the retrofits are at the same boundary conditions. And the actual energy consumption levels and energy savings before and after the transformation of different nodes are analyzed. The main influence factors are determined in the retrofit process. The effect of heat exchange station's control strategies on heating energy consumption is studied. The change of heating radius before and after retrofit is explored. Moreover, the influence of energy-saving retrofit on the indoor temperature and excess heating were analyzed. Results show that the energy-saving rates of the heat supply for heat exchange stations and the heat consumption of buildings were 12.5% and 15.6%, respectively. The intermittent regulation of the heat exchange station, after the energy saving retrofit, saved 18.5% compared with before retrofit, when the heating was stopped. The range of heating radius was expanded by 25.5% after retrofit. There was an increase of 2° centigrade in the indoor temperature of the buildings. And the pass rate of indoor temperature increased by about 20%. Energy loss cannot be ignored and it was caused by 32.8% increase in the excess heating rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to clarify the actual operation effect of the comprehensive environmental performance of the existing residential buildings after the green retrofitting in the severe cold and cold zones, this paper selects the existing residential buildings of typical city in the severe cold zone as the research object, using the established evaluation method—EM-GRERB (Evaluation Method of Green Retrofitting for Existing Residential Buildings in severe cold and cold zones) and through field investigation and field measurement, the comprehensive environmental performance improvement of the project is confirmed. The results show that the degree of green retrofitting of the project is not obvious, need to further enhance the green retrofitting effect. This paper further analyzes the problems existing in the green retrofitting of the project, and puts forward the green retrofitting program, which provides a reference for the green retrofitting of the existing residential buildings in severe cold and cold zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study starts with the analysis of the current situation of both the existing buildings and the energy sector in Egypt, analyzing the energy consumption patterns and the inefficiencies leading to these patterns, then defining the nZEB concept to familiarize the reader with its different aspects. The empirical part of the study utilizes simulation to validate the proposed guideline by applying it on an already existing residential building. The detailed steps of converting an already existing residential building to an nZEB is the final outcome of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surface finishes have an important role on the energy requirements of the buildings. This paper presents a new factor denominated “outside coating factor” (OCF) for an air-conditioned building and for a building without summer thermal control. It synthetically describes the climate of the location considered and can be useful for building planners for choosing the optimal outside surface finishes from thermal and energetic point of view. This factor depends on the cooling/heating degrees-day and solar radiation. For positive values of the OCF (0, +2.5), the optimal choice falls on the high solar reflectance and high infrared emissivity surface finishes, while the opposite occurs for negative values of the OCF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building stock is playing a crucial role in the energy policy of every society. Number and area of residential buildings in every country provide a priority for this typology of building in large scale decision making. Uncertainties in users' behaviours make it difficult to have a proper assumption in residential buildings. In Turkey, buildings are responsible for a large amount of energy consumption and have tremendous energy saving potential. It is necessary to have more accurate results and consider different aspects of any retrofit action before application. To increase yearly retrofit rate, owners should involve in the actions as financiers otherwise relying solely on the amount of governmental contributions will lead to low retrofit rate thus disadvantages of enormous energy consumption will not be demolition. This study is trying to introduce a new methodology to define proper retrofit measures that are enthusiastic for building owners and make them encourage to involve in the action as financiers. In this way, three case study buildings with same geometry but different envelope properties in three of five main climates of Turkey defined to analyse. An adopted methodology focuses on the amount of money that should be paid by owners in any retrofit scenarios. When the amount is more than the payable amount, the possibility of staged action is discussed. The results are revealing that optimum measures should be applied in at least two stages to be acceptable from owners’ satisfaction point of view. Except cold climate, the actions that are providing most energy savings are not desirable when considering the payback period and global cost issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green reform of existing residential buildings is an important way to achieve totals, the control of energy consumption, the reduction target of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP, and the target of green building construction. In this paper, study the existing residential buildings in cold region cities and towns, research the building basic information, household behavior, indoor thermal environment and family composition. To get the basic conditions of living buildings in the cold regions, and the factors that affects the energy consumption. Meanwhile, the paper also uses the way that simulates the annual energy consumption of existing residential buildings, get the factors of existing residential building that affects the energy consumption in cold regions, so as to provide the green transformation of the existing residential building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor thermal comfort of indoor and low efficiency of heating system can always be found in the buildings with large energy consumption. This paper adopted a comparison method to carry on the energy consumption analysis of several control and operation regulation modes of heat metering heating system. A demonstration project in Tianjin was selected as an example to calculate the energy consumption of circulating water pumps of the secondary pipe network in different combinations of control and regulation, and carries on the comparative analysis. It is concluded that circulating water pumps will be the lowest energy consumption under the remote constant pressure control. And it points out the major problems existing in current, which is beneficial for scholars’ further study on heat metering system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over-roofing systems have achieved larger and larger popularity in the last decade, becoming one of the top solutions preferred by construction engineers, not only for enlarging the existing living space of the present building stock, but also for its refurbishment by reducing the amount of materials and work on site. Furthermore, steel-intensive solutions are the ideal systems for over-roofing these existing large precast concrete panel buildings due to their lightness, reversibility and clean sites. Also, they can adapt to existing structural systems and several structural typologies can be thought. Thus, the scope of this paper is to present three types of over-roofing structural solutions based on intensive use of steel elements: a) hot rolled steel; b) rectangular hollow sections; c) cold-formed steel sections. Moreover, a numerical modelling analysis was considered for all three types of over-roofing column-base connections, both as rigid or semi-rigid connection, in order to determine the optimum solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article analyzed several aspects of the present residential buildings in China''s northern heating region such as the indoor thermal environment, satisfaction degree of residents, willingness and motives for retrofit, retrofit content and retrofit effect based on a questionnaire survey. The results revealed poor indoor thermal quality and dissatisfaction of residents, and intensive willingness and obvious retrofit effects. By further clarifying the requirement and the key points of the retrofit, suggestions for promoting the retrofit of the present residential buildings in China''s northern heating region were put forward. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Energy retrofitting of existing residential buildings has a great potential to achieve a sustainable future. One important way to reach this potential is to understand homeowners' retrofit behaviors due to their crucial roles in retrofit adoption and retrofit effects. Despite many attempts, researchers and governments still know less about the holistic profile of homeowners' retrofit behaviors, which brought little success in trigging renovation activities and achieving expected retrofit effects. This study tries to fill this research gap by a comprehensive review of the body of existing research. A keyword-based scientometric analysis was performed based on a set of 152 journal articles. By further refining keywords, main research domains pertaining to investment-decision-energy behaviors, policy instruments, retrofit types, construction & services, and methods & methodologies were mapped to show relevant research knowledge and research topics. Based on these research results, a further integrated framework was developed, which explains homeowners' retrofit behaviors in a systematic way of cross-disciplinary knowledge interactions. Furthermore, implications for retrofit policies in existing buildings were provided. This study is useful for facilitating future research to deepen homeowners' retrofit behaviors, and also provides valuable references for policy makers to successfully promote home energy retrofit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]