Passive building energy savings: A review of building envelope components
TL;DR: In this article, the authors make an exhaustive technical review of the building envelope components and respective improvements from an energy efficiency perspective, including different types of energy efficient walls such as Trombe walls, ventilated walls, and glazed walls.
Abstract: A significant portion of the total primary energy is consumed by today's buildings in developed countries In many of these buildings, the energy consumption can be significantly reduced by adopting energy efficiency strategies Due to environmental concerns and the high cost of energy in recent years there has been a renewed interest in building energy efficiency This article strives to make an exhaustive technical review of the building envelope components and respective improvements from an energy efficiency perspective Different types of energy efficient walls such as Trombe walls, ventilated walls, and glazed walls are discussed Performance of different fenestration technologies including aerogel, vacuum glazing and frames are presented Advances in energy efficient roofs including the contemporary green roofs, photovoltaic roofs, radiant-transmittive barrier and evaporative roof cooling systems are discussed Various types of thermal insulation materials are enumerated along with selection criteria of these materials The effects of thermal mass and phase change material on building cooling/heating loads and peak loads are discussed Application of thermal mass as an energy saving method is more effective in places where the outside ambient air temperature differences between the days and nights are high Air tightness and infiltration of building envelopes are discussed as they play a crucial role in the energy consumption of a building Energy efficiency approaches sometimes might not require additional capital investment For example, a holistic energy efficient building design approach can reduce the size of mechanical systems compensating the additional cost of energy efficiency features
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the next generation of smart windows based on organic materials which can change their properties by reflecting or transmitting excess solar energy (infrared radiation) in such a way that comfortable indoor temperatures can be maintained throughout the year.
Abstract: Windows are vital elements in the built environment that have a large impact on the energy consumption in indoor spaces, affecting heating and cooling and artificial lighting requirements. Moreover, they play an important role in sustaining human health and well-being. In this review, we discuss the next generation of smart windows based on organic materials which can change their properties by reflecting or transmitting excess solar energy (infrared radiation) in such a way that comfortable indoor temperatures can be maintained throughout the year. Moreover, we place emphasis on windows that maintain transparency in the visible region so that additional energy is not required to retain natural illumination. We discuss a number of ways to fabricate windows which remain as permanent infrared control elements throughout the year as well as windows which can alter transmission properties in presence of external stimuli like electric fields, temperature and incident light intensity. We also show the potential impact of these windows on energy saving in different climate conditions.
877 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore how and where phase change materials (PCMs) are used in passive latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems, and present an overview of how these construction solutions are related to building's energy performance.
817 citations
TL;DR: A critical review of the existing body of knowledge of researches related to green building is presented in this article, where the common research themes and methodology were identified, such as the definition and scope of green building, quantification of benefits of green buildings compared to conventional buildings, and various approaches to achieve green buildings.
Abstract: Green building is one of measures been put forward to mitigate significant impacts of the building stock on the environment, society and economy. However, there is lack of a systematic review of this large number of studies that is critical for the future endeavor. The last decades have witnessed rapid growing number of studies on green building. This paper reports a critical review of the existing body of knowledge of researches related to green building. The common research themes and methodology were identified. These common themes are the definition and scope of green building; quantification of benefits of green buildings compared to conventional buildings; and various approaches to achieve green buildings. It is found that the existing studies played predominately focus on the environmental aspect of green building. Other dimensions of sustainability of green building, especially the social sustainability is largely overlooked. Future research opportunities were identified such as effects of climatic conditions on the effectiveness of green building assessment tools, validation of real performance of green buildings, unique demands of specific population, and future proofing.
808 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a brief overview of building energy-consumption situations, relevant energy-saving approaches, and the influence of global climate change is presented, along with some suggestions for further developing ZEBs.
784 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a comprehensive and significant research conducted on state-of-the-art intelligent control systems for energy and comfort management in smart energy buildings (SEB's).
Abstract: Buildings all around the world consume a significant amount of energy, which is more or less one-third of the total primary energy resources. This has raised concerns over energy supplies, rapid energy resource depletion, rising building service demands, improved comfort life styles along with the increased time spent in buildings; consequently, this has shown a rising energy demand in the near future. However, contemporary buildings’ energy efficiency has been fast tracked solution to cope/limit the rising energy demand of this sector. Building energy efficiency has turned out to be a multi-faceted problem, when provided with the limitation for the satisfaction of the indoor comfort index. However, the comfort level for occupants and their behavior have a significant effect on the energy consumption pattern. It is generally perceived that energy unaware activities can also add one-third to the building’s energy performance. Researchers and investigators have been working with this issue for over a decade; yet it remains a challenge. This review paper presents a comprehensive and significant research conducted on state-of-the-art intelligent control systems for energy and comfort management in smart energy buildings (SEB’s). It also aims at providing a building research community for better understanding and up-to-date knowledge for energy and comfort related trends and future directions. The main table summarizes 121 works closely related to the mentioned issue. Key areas focused on include comfort parameters, control systems, intelligent computational methods, simulation tools, occupants’ behavior and preferences, building types, supply source considerations and countries research interest in this sector. Trends for future developments and existing research in this area have been broadly studied and depicted in a graphical layout. In addition, prospective future advancements and gaps have also been discussed comprehensively.
689 citations
Cites background from "Passive building energy savings: A ..."
...[16] discussed energy intelligent buildings based on occupant’s activity, passive design [17], double-skin facades [18] and energy efficient designs [19]....
[...]
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, a comparison of the features and capabilities of twenty major building energy simulation programs is presented, based on information provided by the program developers in the following categories: general modeling features; zone loads; building envelope and daylighting and solar; infiltration, ventilation and multizone airflow; renewable energy systems; electrical systems and equipment; HVAC systems; HVC equipment; environmental emissions; economic evaluation; climate data availability, results reporting; validation; and user interface, links to other programs, and availability.
1,824 citations
TL;DR: A comprehensive review of various possible methods for heating and cooling in buildings is discussed in this article, where the thermal performance of various types of systems like PCM trombe wall, PCM wallboards, and PCM shutters are presented.
Abstract: A comprehensive review of various possible methods for heating and cooling in buildings are discussed in this paper. The thermal performance of various types of systems like PCM trombe wall, PCM wallboards, PCM shutters, PCM building blocks, air-based heating systems, floor heating, ceiling boards, etc., is presented in this paper. All systems have good potential for heating and cooling in building through phase change materials and also very beneficial to reduce the energy demand of the buildings.
933 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an overview of the basic principles of thermal insulation and to survey the most commonly used building insulation materials, their performance characteristics and proper applications, and the magnitude of energy savings as a result of using thermal insulation vary according to the building type, the climatic conditions at which the building is located as well as the type of the insulating material used.
780 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed the current literature and highlighted the situations in which the greatest building energy savings can be made and found that older buildings with poor existing insulation are deemed to benefit most from a green roof as current building regulations require such high levels of insulation that green roofs are seen to hardly affect annual building energy consumption.
773 citations
TL;DR: The European market of insulation materials is characterised by the domination of two groups of products inorganic fibrous materials and organic foamy materials as discussed by the authors, which all feature similar performance in terms of insulating capabilities, but otherwise present significant differences.
685 citations