Improving in the energy efficiency of urban buildings, and maximizing the savings and the resulting benefits require information support from city decision-makers, planners, and designers. The selection of the appropriate analytical methods will allow them to make optimal design and location decisions. Therefore, the research problem of this article is the development of an innovative decision support system using multi-criteria analysis and Geographic Information Systems (decision support system + Geographic Information Systems = DGIS) for planning urban development. The proposed decision support system provides information to energy consumers about the location of energy efficiency improvement potential. This potential has been identified as the possibility of introducing low-energy buildings and the use of renewable energy sources. DGIS was tested in different construction areas (categories: A, B, C, D), Zielona Gora quarters. The results showed which area among the 53 quarters with a separate dominant building category was the most favorable for increasing energy efficiency, and where energy efficiency could be improved by investing in renewable energy sources, taking into account the decision-maker. The proposed DGIS system can be used by local decision-makers, allowing better action to adapt cities to climate change and to protect the environment. This approach is part of new data processing strategies to build the most favorable energy scenarios in urban areas.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/12/2/259/pdf

An Innovative Decision Support System to Improve the Energy Efficiency of Buildings in Urban Areas

Impact of a passive retrofit shading system on educational building to improve thermal comfort and energy consumption

A technique for capturing and analyzing plumes from unmodified aircraft or other combustion sources under real world conditions is described and applied to the task of characterizing plumes from commercial aircraft during the taxiing phase of the Landing/Take-Off (LTO) cycle. The method utilizes a Plume Capture and Analysis System (PCAS) mounted in a four-wheel drive vehicle which is positioned in the airfield 60 to 180 meters downwind of aircraft operations. The approach offers low test turnaround times with the ability to complete careful measurements of particle and gaseous emission factors and sequentially scanned particle size distributions without distortion due to plume concentration fluctuations. These measurements can be performed for individual aircraft movements at five minute intervals. 
A Plume Capture Device (PCD) collected samples of the naturally diluted plume in a 200 L conductive membrane conforming to a defined shape. Samples from over 60 aircraft movements were collected and analyzed in-situ for particulate and gaseous concentrations and for particle size distribution using a Scanning Particle Mobility Sizer (SMPS). Emission factors are derived for particle number, NOx and PM2.5 for a widely used commercial aircraft type; Boeing 737 airframes with predominantly CFM56 class engines, during taxiing.

The practical advantages of the PCAS, include the capacity to perform well targeted and controlled emission factor and size distribution measurements using instrumentation with varying response times within an airport facility, in close proximity to aircraft during their normal operations.

A Plume Capture Technique for the Remote Characterization of Aircraft Engine Emissions

Understanding facility management decision making for energy efficiency efforts for buildings at a higher education institution

Building maintenance is a fundamental practice in facility management, which supports the longevity of a building. Increasing costs of maintenance practices is a challenge for facility management professionals. Given that, building maintenance decisions often comprise complex and conflicting criteria. The primary purpose of this study is to develop and rank a set of criteria needed for constructing a multi-criteria decision-making model for use in building maintenance processes. This study also has an exploratory aspect and tries to establish the decision-making and condition assessment practices currently used in facility management. To do so, a literature review was conducted to reveal the significant criteria for building maintenance decision-making processes. Moreover, the results of a nationwide survey conducted with the members of two globally recognized facility management organizations were utilized. Identified criteria address a gap in facilities management research, i.e., the lack of comprehensive criteria in building maintenance decision-making, and can be used for the development of a multi-criteria decision-making model for use in building maintenance processes. Furthermore, the results of this study can help establish the current status of decision-making and condition assessment practices in facility management.

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/10/9/166/pdf

Identification of the Criteria for Building Maintenance Decisions in Facility Management: First Step to Developing a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach

Using self-reported data from over 12,000 students, staff, and faculty members, this study aims to quantify the effectiveness of various sustainability information sources on the awareness and behavioral changes of participants. Exploratory factor analysis of 12 communication sources resulted in three clusters: news sources, blogs and social media sources, and local sources of information. All three clusters had positive impacts on the sustainability awareness of students, staff, and faculty members. Of the three clusters, local sources were the least effective strategy for enhancing sustainability awareness in all groups. Overall, for undergraduate students, blogs and social media sources were most effective, and for graduate or professional students and staff, news sources were most effective. While sustainability awareness increased from 2012 to 2014, the total effects on actions were small for all groups. The lack of impact on behavioral changes can be explained by the high initial level of action taken by participants, regardless of their low level of awareness about campus-specific sustainability initiatives. Recommendations for further behavioral changes include combining multiple communication sources and channels, providing engagement opportunities, increasing access to information, and using participatory methods to encourage further peer-to-peer support networks.

Impact of communication sources for achieving campus sustainability

Improvements to building energy efficiency are critical to a more sustainable future. In this paper, an analytic hierarchy process method was applied to systematically highlight how experts...

Prioritizing Decision Factors of Energy Efficiency Retrofit for Facilities Portfolio Management

The increased energy consumption in office building led to stakeholders’ renewed interests in optimizing office buildings’ energy performances, such as indoor comfort, energy efficiency, and life c...

Designing a smart integrated workspace to improve building energy efficiency: an Indonesian case study

The air quality inside airport terminal buildings is a lesser studied area compared to ambient air quality at the airport. The contribution of outdoor particulate matter (PM), aircraft traffic, and passenger traffic to indoor PM concentration is not well understood. Using the largest airport in Southeast Asia as the study site (extends 17.9 square kilometers), the objective of this paper is to conduct a preliminary analysis to examine the mass concentrations of fine particles, including PM1 and PM2.5, and coarse particles PM2.5–10 inside a four-story terminal building spanning 400,000 square meters in Jakarta, Indonesia. The results showed the indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio of 0.42 for PM1 with 15-min time lag and 0.33 for PM2.5 with 30-min time lag. The aircraft traffic appeared to have a significant impact on indoor PM1 and PM2.5, whereas the passenger traffic showed an influence on indoor PM2.5–10.

/pdf/indoor-and-outdoor-concentrations-of-particulate-matter-in-4cy6dkwlli.pdf

Indoor and Outdoor Concentrations of Particulate Matter in an Airport Terminal Building: A Pilot Study at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia

Lysandra A. Medal

Papers

Understanding facility management decision making for energy efficiency efforts for buildings at a higher education institution

Impact of communication sources for achieving campus sustainability

Prioritizing Decision Factors of Energy Efficiency Retrofit for Facilities Portfolio Management

Designing a smart integrated workspace to improve building energy efficiency: an Indonesian case study

Indoor and Outdoor Concentrations of Particulate Matter in an Airport Terminal Building: A Pilot Study at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia