Science and Technology for the Built Environment 

About: Science and Technology for the Built Environment is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): HVAC & Environmental science. It has an ISSN identifier of 2374-4731. Over the lifetime, 890 publications have been published receiving 7880 citations. The journal is also known as: Science and technology for the built environment.

A review of fault detection and diagnostics methods for building systems

Abstract: The current article provides a summary of automated fault detection and diagnostics studies published since 2004 that are relevant to the commercial buildings sector. The review updates a previous review conducted in 2004 and published in 2005, and it categorizes automated fault detection and diagnostics methods into three groups. The examples of automated fault detection and diagnostics in the primary category are selectively reviewed to identify various methods that are suitable for building systems and to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the methods. The distribution of studies based on each automated fault detection and diagnostics method and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system is also described. Researchers and industries can use the current article as a guideline for selecting an appropriate automated fault detection and diagnostics method.

Smart grid energy flexible buildings through the use of heat pumps and building thermal mass as energy storage in the Belgian context

Abstract: The management of electricity grids requires the supply and demand of electricity to be in balance at any point in time. To this end, electricity suppliers have to nominate their electricity bids on the day-ahead electricity market so that the forecast supply and demand are in balance. One way to reduce the cost of electricity supply is to minimize the procurement costs of electricity by shifting flexible loads from peak to off-peak hours. This can be done by offering consumers time-of-use variable electricity tariffs as an incentive to shift their demand. This study provides typologies of smart grid energy ready buildings within the context of the Belgian residential building stock and the Belgian day-ahead electricity market. Typical new residential buildings are considered, equipped with air-to-water heat pumps that supply either radiators or a floor heating system. Five heating control strategies are compared in terms of thermal comfort, energy use, cost, and flexibility. Flexibility is quantified in ...

Design of a hydraulically driven compressive elastocaloric cooling system

Abstract: This article presents the design of elastocaloric cooling system driven by hydraulic actuators. Ni-Ti tubes under axial compressive loading mode are used in the system to provide cooling and heating. Those Ni-Ti tubes are enclosed in four identical beds, which are driven by two one-way hydraulic cylinders. Operated under the single-stage reverse Brayton cycle, the system achieves heat transfer and heat recovery by using a sophisticated heat transfer fluid network controlled by solenoid valves. Two novel designs to improve the system's performance based on the lessons learned from the previous studies are applied to this prototype. Preliminary test results of the material's latent heat at a specific fluid flow rate and temperature difference agree well with the results reported in the literature. System coefficient of performance of 11.0 and temperature lift of 24.6 K are estimated based on a dynamic model developed in the previous study.

Indoor environmental quality, occupant perception, prevalence of sick building syndrome symptoms, and sick leave in a Green Mark Platinum-rated versus a non-Green Mark-rated building: A case study

Abstract: The Building and Construction Authority Green Mark Scheme in Singapore encourages better indoor environmental quality for healthier workplaces for occupants. However, studies have shown that green buildings do not necessary ensure better indoor environmental quality. This case study aimed to compare the prevalence of sick building syndrome symptoms and sick leave in a Green Mark Platinum and a non-Green Mark-certified building. Thirty-two employees from the Green Mark Platinum building and 33 employees from the non-Green Mark-rated building were surveyed to investigate their perceptions of the indoor environmental quality and prevalence of sick building syndrome experienced. Information concerning the offices and absenteeism of staff was collected as well. Compared to the Green Mark Platinum-certified building, the non-Green Mark-certified building was more leaky and had a higher air change rate (between 2.5 to 3 times higher), was about 1°C cooler, and had a lower illuminance level. The statistical analy...

Magnetic heat pumps: An overview of design principles and challenges

Abstract: Active magnetic regeneration is one of the most promising alternative technologies for the development of heat pumps and cooling systems for applications around room temperature. In the open literature, numerous works can be found in which much effort has been put on the development of magnetocaloric materials, magnetic circuits and prototypes. In this article, the authors discuss some of the main challenges encountered in the literature and how design choices impact cooling power and work requirements from a system engineering perspective. First, based on a generic schematic representation of a magnetocaloric heat pump, or refrigerator, various problems and challenges found in the current state of the art are pointed out and discussed. Second, different design principles for magnetic heat pumps are examined. As a means to improving performance, an extended design/optimization methodology is proposed based on entropy generation minimization with performance criteria. Finally, some initial optimization res...