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Selected Papers from CEES 2021, the first International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (Coimbra, 2021), on the topic of Net-Zero and Positive Energy Built Environment

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2022) | Viewed by 10892

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nuno Simões

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: energy performance of buildings; materials characterisation; heat and mass transfer problems; passive solutions; laboratory techniques for thermal characterisation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Catarina Serra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Itecons - Institute for Research and Technological Development for Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability, Rua Pedro Hispano s/n, 3030-289 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: energy efficiency in buildings; numerical modeling; thermal behavior of building elements; infrared thermography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

This Special Issue is related to The First International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES 2021), which is taking place in Coimbra, Portugal, from 12–15 October 2021, and is being organized by Itecons, University of Coimbra (UC) in collaboration with Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon (IST).

In this Special Issue, we are looking for original top-quality research papers in a number of topics related to the sustainability transitions that are necessary for achieving net-zero and a positive energy-built environment. As we strive for a more sustainable built environment, energy scarcity is one of the key issues that must be dealt with. As the built environment is responsible for a significant portion of total energy consumption, policymakers are increasingly focused on reducing energy consumption in buildings and manmade structures. Recently, concepts such as the renovation wave are being used to push strategies to cut emissions, boost recovery, and reduce energy poverty by doubling the renovation rate. However, in order to fully address this issue, researchers from different backgrounds need to come together to work on cleaner energy generation and distribution, improved energy storage, and more efficient energy use at a building, neighborhood, and regional level.

In this Special Issue, we are looking for papers within the following topics:

  • Energy policies;
  • Energy efficiency;
  • Energy retrofit;
  • Renewable energy sources;
  • Sustainable energy production;
  • Energy storage and distribution;
  • Energy and mobility;
  • Nearly-zero energy buildings;
  • Passive houses;
  • Adaptive building skins;
  • Smart buildings;
  • Smart readiness indicator;
  • IoT/AI in the construction industry;
  • Hygrothermal performance in buildings;
  • Indoor environment quality;
  • Environmental effects;
  • Other topics related to energy research and development.

Prof. Dr. Nuno Simões
Dr. Catarina Serra
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. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • sustainable built environment
  • nearly-zero energy building
  • energy performance in buildings
  • sustainable energy systems
  • energy efficiency and conservation

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3419 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Thermal Inertia on the Indoor Thermal Environment of Light Steel Framing Constructions
by Eduardo Roque, Romeu Vicente, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida and Victor M. Ferreira
Energies 2022, 15(9), 3061; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15093061 - 22 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1848
Abstract
Typically, reinforced concrete and brick masonry construction is the most common construction system of the majority of the southern European residential building stock. However, the lightweight steel framing (LSF) construction system has been progressively assuming a relevant position in the residential sector. Since [...] Read more.
Typically, reinforced concrete and brick masonry construction is the most common construction system of the majority of the southern European residential building stock. However, the lightweight steel framing (LSF) construction system has been progressively assuming a relevant position in the residential sector. Since LSF is not the traditional construction system, the indoor thermal environment of these buildings has not been widely studied and discussed considering the southern European climate context. The low thermal inertia of this construction system is commonly pointed to as a possible weakness in warmer climates. The present work aims to address this research gap by evaluating and comparing the LSF and masonry construction systems in terms of the indoor thermal environment focusing on the level of thermal inertia. The considered methodology lies in a long-term experimental campaign based on the construction and monitoring of two identical experimental test cells, differing only in the construction system. The test cells are in the central region of Portugal. The monitoring period elapsed over an entire year. Dynamic simulations are also carried out with a model experimentally validated to consider a wider range of climatic conditions. It is shown that internally insulating the ground floor has an impact on the indoor thermal environment of the LSF test cell by accentuating the indoor air temperature fluctuations and magnitude of the extreme peak values. However, the results also reveal that the faster and closer response to the outdoor conditions may be beneficial for LSF buildings during the heating season. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from CEES 2021, the first International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (Coimbra, 2021), on the topic of Net-Zero and Positive Energy Built Environment)
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18 pages, 2316 KiB  
Article
Hybrid Vehicles as a Transition for Full E-Mobility Achievement in Positive Energy Districts: A Comparative Assessment of Real-Driving Emissions
by Gloria Pignatta and Navid Balazadeh
Energies 2022, 15(8), 2760; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15082760 - 09 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2366
Abstract
Air pollution is a major concern, particularly in developing countries. Road transport and mobile sources are considered the root causes of air pollutants. With the implementation of zero-carbon and zero-energy concepts at the district scale, cities can make great strides towards sustainable development. [...] Read more.
Air pollution is a major concern, particularly in developing countries. Road transport and mobile sources are considered the root causes of air pollutants. With the implementation of zero-carbon and zero-energy concepts at the district scale, cities can make great strides towards sustainable development. Urban planning schemes are moving from mere building solutions to the larger positive energy district (PED) scale. Alongside other technology systems in PEDs, increased uptake of electro-mobility solutions can play an important role in CO2 mitigation at the district level. This paper aims to quantify the exhaust emissions of six conventional and two fully hybrid vehicles using a portable emission measurement system (PEMS) in real driving conditions. The fuel consumption and exhaust pollutants of the conventional and hybrid vehicles were compared in four different urban and highway driving routes during autumn 2019 in Iran. The results showed that hybrid vehicles presented lower fuel consumption and produced relatively lower exhaust emissions. The conventional group’s fuel consumption (CO2 emissions) was 11%, 41% higher than that of the hybrids. In addition, the hybrid vehicles showed much better fuel economy in urban routes, which is beneficial for PEDs. Micro-trip analysis showed that although conventional vehicles emitted more CO2 at lower speeds, the hybrids showed a lower amount of CO2. Moreover, in conventional vehicles, NOx emissions showed an increasing trend with vehicle speed, while no decisive trend was found for NOx emissions versus vehicle speed in hybrid vehicles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from CEES 2021, the first International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (Coimbra, 2021), on the topic of Net-Zero and Positive Energy Built Environment)
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13 pages, 2933 KiB  
Article
Indoor Summer Thermal Comfort in a Changing Climate: The Case of a Nearly Zero Energy House in Wallonia (Belgium)
by Olivier Dartevelle, Sergio Altomonte, Gabrielle Masy, Erwin Mlecnik and Geoffrey van Moeseke
Energies 2022, 15(7), 2410; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15072410 - 25 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2027
Abstract
While the potential impact of climate change mitigation measures is well documented in building sciences literature, there are only relatively sparse studies focusing on the efficiency of adaptation strategies. This paper aims to contribute to this topic by evaluating the extent to which [...] Read more.
While the potential impact of climate change mitigation measures is well documented in building sciences literature, there are only relatively sparse studies focusing on the efficiency of adaptation strategies. This paper aims to contribute to this topic by evaluating the extent to which the design of a typical nearly Zero Energy Buildling (nZEB) house in Wallonia (Belgium), and its current operation, could provide summer thermal comfort in a changing climate. Based on calibrated whole building energy simulations, and on the integration of future climate data directly derived from a high-resolution climate model, this study evaluates the potential evolution of overheating risks in the living room and in the main bedroom of the house. Discussing the compliance with existing overheating criteria, the study shows that the passive strategies currently deployed in the house might not be sufficient to guarantee summer thermal comfort especially in the bedroom, and that other strategies might be necessary in the future to limit the use of active cooling systems and curb their environmental impacts. This study concludes that considering the potential of these strategies to guarantee summer thermal comfort in a changing climate should be a priority for the design of nZEB houses (and their related policies) also in temperate oceanic climates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from CEES 2021, the first International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (Coimbra, 2021), on the topic of Net-Zero and Positive Energy Built Environment)
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18 pages, 8765 KiB  
Article
Thermal and Mechanical Characterisation of Sandwich Core Materials for Climatic Chamber Shells Subjected to High Temperatures
by Sara Dias, António Tadeu, Amílcar Ramalho, Michael Brett and Filipe Pedro
Energies 2022, 15(6), 2089; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15062089 - 12 Mar 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1805
Abstract
Climatic chamber testing conditions are becoming more demanding. A wide range of temperatures is used to check the quality of products and materials, since they are constantly being improved. However, there is no literature on how the components of the climatic chamber panels [...] Read more.
Climatic chamber testing conditions are becoming more demanding. A wide range of temperatures is used to check the quality of products and materials, since they are constantly being improved. However, there is no literature on how the components of the climatic chamber panels react under high temperatures. The present work therefore sets out to perform a thermal and mechanical characterisation of four core materials often used in sandwich panels: balsa wood, mineral wool, and polyethylene terephthalate and polyurethane rigid foams. The thermal characterisation focused on thermal conductivity and the specific heat was characterised using an indirect method developed previously by the authors to simulate a real application scenario where one surface of the sandwich panels was subjected to high temperature, while the opposite surface was kept at room temperature. Steady and unsteady conditions were analysed up to 200 °C. Balsa and mineral wool exhibited a nonlinear increase in thermal conductivity with temperature, and the polymeric foams showed linear behaviour. The specific heat results also increased with temperature, and the relation was nonlinear for all the tested materials except for polyethylene terephthalate, which showed linear behaviour. Higher temperatures had the least effect on the specific heat for balsa wood and mineral wool. The polyethylene terephthalate foams were the most affected by temperature. Temperature variation was tested using the impulse excitation technique. The polymeric foams and balsa wood were studied up to 100 °C and 160 °C, respectively. The elastic modulus decreased with temperature. After 24 h of cooling, the tests were repeated and the elastic modulus had regained or even increased its initial value, for all the materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from CEES 2021, the first International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (Coimbra, 2021), on the topic of Net-Zero and Positive Energy Built Environment)
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21 pages, 1558 KiB  
Article
Building Stock Energy Model: Towards a Stochastic Approach
by Marta J. N. Oliveira Panão and André Penas
Energies 2022, 15(4), 1420; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15041420 - 15 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1509
Abstract
This work uses the outcome of a computational tool that performs Energy Performance Certification (EPC) data processing and transforms raw data into comparable data. Multi-correlation among variables results in probability distributions for the most relevant form and fabric building parameters. The model consistently [...] Read more.
This work uses the outcome of a computational tool that performs Energy Performance Certification (EPC) data processing and transforms raw data into comparable data. Multi-correlation among variables results in probability distributions for the most relevant form and fabric building parameters. The model consistently predicts the distributions for heating and cooling energy needs for the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, with an error below 7% for the first, second and third quartiles. Differences in the energy needs estimation are below 6% when comparing the seasonal steady-state with the resistance-capacitance (RC) model, which proved to be a robust alternative algorithm capable of modeling hourly user profiles. The RC model calculates electricity consumption for actual, adequate, and minimum thermal comfort scenarios corresponding to different user profiles. The actual scenario, built from statistics and a previous survey, defines a reference to evaluate other scenarios for the mean electricity consumption for space heating and cooling in the building units with those systems. The results show that the actual mean electricity consumption for heating (610 kWh/y) is slightly above the minimum (512 kWh/y), with 37% of building units potentially under heated. The electricity consumption (108 kWh/y) for cooling is below the minimum (129 kWh/y). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from CEES 2021, the first International Conference on Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability (Coimbra, 2021), on the topic of Net-Zero and Positive Energy Built Environment)
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