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Buildings
Special Issues
Energy Use and Comfort of the Built Environment
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Energy Use and Comfort of the Built Environment

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2023) | Viewed by 6962

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Laura Canale

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Economy, Universitas Mercatorum, Piazza Mattei 10, 00186 Rome, Italy
Interests: energy use in buildings; individual metering; smart building; smart metering; occupant behaviour; feedback; energy efficiency; building ventilation; indoor air quality
Dr. Biagio Di Pietra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento Unità per l’Efficienza Energetica, Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie, l’energia e lo Sviluppo Sostenibile (ENEA), Via Anguillarese, 301, 00123 Rome, Italy
Interests: renewable energy; heat pumps; district heating; demand side management; energy conservation; energy efficiency; smart building; smart metering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Buildings are the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and are responsible for over 40% of the global energy consumption.

Increasing energy efficiency in the built environment is a key challenge for a sustainable future, requiring action not only regarding the envelope and the technical systems but also the end-users’ behaviour, which can significantly affect energy use in buildings. Increasing end-user awareness about energy consumption and its environmental impact may help reduce the energy intensity of a building. On the other hand, energy use reduction in the built environment should not compromise the thermal and environmental comfort of the occupants.

In this sense, smart building enabling technologies, such as smart metering and feedback devices, BAC systems, IoT systems, etc., could play a fundamental role in balancing built environment sustainability and habitant comfort.

This Special Issue aims to investigate energy use and comfort in the built environment, with a particular focus on:

  • The effects of end-user awareness on the energy efficiency of buildings;
  • The effect of occupant behaviour on energy use and comfort;
  • Indoor thermal comfort and air quality in the built environment;
  • The interaction between energy consumption and indoor environmental comfort;
  • The role of smart technologies for the energy efficiency of buildings;
  • The effect of BACS systems on the energy use of the built environment;
  • The role of IoT technologies in enabling energy efficiency.

Dr. Laura Canale
Dr. Biagio Di Pietra
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • energy use in buildings
  • end-user awareness
  • occupant behaviour
  • individual metering
  • smart building
  • smart metering
  • energy efficiency
  • environmental comfort
  • indoor air quality

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 7652 KiB  
Article
Window Opening or Mechanical Ventilation Systems for Italian Schools? Energetic Aspects, CO2 Concentration and Infection Risk Assessment Based on the SARS-CoV-2 Data
by Filippo Busato and Alberto Cavallini
Buildings 2023, 13(7), 1743; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/buildings13071743 - 10 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1014
Abstract
During the first COVID outbreak, schools were seen as a substantial issue regarding the spread of the disease, since schools are the most densely occupied indoor environment continuously over time. The infection risk of SARS-CoV-2 could reach large levels, especially in locations with [...] Read more.
During the first COVID outbreak, schools were seen as a substantial issue regarding the spread of the disease, since schools are the most densely occupied indoor environment continuously over time. The infection risk of SARS-CoV-2 could reach large levels, especially in locations with inadequate ventilation rates, according to the current knowledge of airborne transmitted diseases. The first main drive to reduce viral concentration is dilution, provided by infiltration, air change through aeration (window opening), mechanical ventilation; the second drive is filtration. After a brief investigation of the prescriptions and requirements for ventilation in school rooms stipulated by Italian law, the present work compares the energy requirements for ventilation in two main cases—window opening (and infiltration) and mechanical ventilation—the effect of wearing or not wearing a mask is also considered. Afterward, the focus is shifted to the infection risk assessment, comparing the two different ventilation techniques as mentioned above. Not only is it found that window opening is far from an effective technique for controlling the spread of the disease; it is also found that for the same amount of thermal energy needed, mechanical ventilation can reduce the individual infection risk by a factor of 3, thus providing a better IAQ. It is also proved that mechanical ventilation, in terms of infection control, can not only replace but even outperform the effect of masks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Use and Comfort of the Built Environment)
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14 pages, 2859 KiB  
Article
An Assessment of External Wall Retrofitting Strategies Using GRC Materials in Hot Desert Regions
by Ayman Ragab, Mohamed Hssan Hassan Abdelhafez, Mabrouk Touahmia, Mohammad Alshenaifi, Emad Noaime, Khaled Elkhayat, Mohammed Alghaseb and Omar Hamdy
Buildings 2022, 12(8), 1194; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/buildings12081194 - 9 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1960
Abstract
Due to urbanization, population growth, and the consequences of climate change, the usage of energy for cooling has increased considerably in recent years. Passive climate measures, on the other hand, could alleviate the situation by reducing energy use in buildings. This study examined [...] Read more.
Due to urbanization, population growth, and the consequences of climate change, the usage of energy for cooling has increased considerably in recent years. Passive climate measures, on the other hand, could alleviate the situation by reducing energy use in buildings. This study examined the environmental and financial benefits of utilizing glass fiber-reinforced cement in the external walls of a communal social hub building in New Aswan city, taken an example of the hot desert region. Utilizing Design Builder software, the effect of various outside wall alternatives on cooling energy consumption was explored and analyzed. In addition, a cost–benefit analysis utilizing the simple payback period was conducted to aid decision-makers in selecting the most suitable exterior wall materials for public buildings in hot desert regions. Using cement plaster, cement brick, glass wool, and glass fiber-reinforced cement as an outside wall resulted in a significant improvement rate, according to the data. Compared to a typical wall (cement plaster, cement brick, and cement plaster), it can save up to 41% of energy. In addition, it has the lowest simple payback period value when compared to other examined solutions (10.86 years). In general, the results indicate that glass fiber-reinforced cement walls embedded in thermal insulation materials and incorporated into cement brick walls are more energy-efficient in terms of necessary cooling energy and economic viability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Use and Comfort of the Built Environment)
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Review

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25 pages, 13458 KiB  
Review
Natural and Mechanical Ventilation Concepts for Indoor Comfort and Well-Being with a Sustainable Design Perspective: A Systematic Review
by Luca Zaniboni and Rossano Albatici
Buildings 2022, 12(11), 1983; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/buildings12111983 - 15 Nov 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3581
Abstract
Current literature and guidelines on sustainable design often debate on the advantages of natural ventilation (NV) and mechanical ventilation (MV) on indoor environment and energy consumption. The present systematic review explores the existing literature comparing NV and MV on the indoor comfort and [...] Read more.
Current literature and guidelines on sustainable design often debate on the advantages of natural ventilation (NV) and mechanical ventilation (MV) on indoor environment and energy consumption. The present systematic review explores the existing literature comparing NV and MV on the indoor comfort and well-being points of view. The findings emphasize that thermo-hygrometric comfort is the main driver of occupants’ ventilation behavior, while ventilation design is mainly led by indoor air quality targets. Moreover, more recent papers (especially after COVID-19 outbreak) emphasize the necessity of a health-based approach, contrasting airborne pathogens transmission. In this sense, MV is more frequently recommended in public spaces, while hybrid ventilation (HV) is often suggested as a solution to both ensure proper indoor conditions and energy savings. The concept of well-being is currently under-explored, as the present literature only refers to comfort. The same happens with topics such as visual, acoustic, and multi-domain comfort, as well as passive techniques such as night cooling, or analysis of specific environments such as healthcare facilities. Current knowledge would benefit from an expansion of future research in these directions. The choice of the best ventilation solution cannot ignore the context, type, and condition of energy efficient buildings, in order to properly take into account occupants’ well-being. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Use and Comfort of the Built Environment)
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