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Energy Efficiency in Integrated Building Systems

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 16452

Special Issue Editor

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 90R3147, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Interests: building energy efficiency; integrated building systems; energy epidemiology; benchmarking tools; energy-related risk analysis and valuation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Integrated building systems are critical to achieving deep energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions in the building sector. Research and practice in high efficiency and zero-net energy (ZNE) buildings over the last two decades has provided robust evidence that integrated system approaches yield much higher energy savings than simple component-level efficiency improvements. New technologies and strategies for integrated systems have been developed, many of which have been commercialized and are available in the market. Despite this, integrated system approaches are still far from the norm in practice and have not scaled due to a host of technical, economic, and market barriers. This Special Issue seeks to contribute to the understanding of the current state-of-the-art and practice of integrated systems; and innovations that can lower barriers and increase their wider deployment in the building industry. Topics of interest for publication include but are not limited to the following:

  • Review of current state of research and practice in integrated building systems;
  • Empirical evidence of energy savings from integrated systems vs. component-based approaches;
  • Integrated systems in the context of existing building retrofits;
  • Cost–benefit analyses of integrated systems;
  • Technical innovations to lower costs and reduce implementation effort;
  • Emerging integrated systems technologies and strategies—HVAC, lighting, envelope, controls;
  • People and process: designing, constructing, and operating integrated systems.

Dr. Paul Mathew
Guest Editor

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

  • integrated building systems
  • building energy efficiency
  • building control integration
  • advanced HVAC
  • lighting and envelope
  • integrated design process

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1732 KiB  
Article
Energy Savings Results from Small Commercial Building Retrofits in the US
by Rachael Sherman, Hariharan Naganathan and Kristen Parrish
Energies 2021, 14(19), 6207; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14196207 - 29 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2262
Abstract
Small commercial buildings, or those comprising less than 50,000 square feet of floor area, represent 94% of U.S commercial buildings by count and consume approximately 8% of the nation’s primary energy; as such, they represent a largely unexploited opportunity for energy savings. Small [...] Read more.
Small commercial buildings, or those comprising less than 50,000 square feet of floor area, represent 94% of U.S commercial buildings by count and consume approximately 8% of the nation’s primary energy; as such, they represent a largely unexploited opportunity for energy savings. Small commercial buildings also represent a large economic market—the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) estimated the small commercial retrofit market at USD 35.6 billion. Despite the prominence of small commercial buildings and the economic opportunity for energy retrofits, many energy efficiency programs focus on large commercial buildings, and create efficiency solutions that do not meet the needs of the small commercial market. This paper presents an analysis of 34 small commercial case study projects that implemented energy efficiency retrofits. This paper contributes to the existing building retrofit body of knowledge in the following ways: (1) it identifies the decision criteria used by small commercial building stakeholders that decided to complete an energy retrofit; (2) it identifies the most commonly implemented efficiency measures in small commercial buildings, and discusses why this is the case; and (3) it provides empirical evidence about the efficacy of installing single energy efficiency measures (EEMs) compared to packages of EEMs in small commercial buildings by reporting verified energy savings. To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to catalog decision criteria and energy savings for the existing small commercial buildings market, and this research illustrates that small commercial building decision-makers seem most motivated to retrofit their spaces by energy cost savings and operational concerns. Furthermore, small commercial building decision-makers opted to implement single-system retrofits in fifteen (15) of the thirty-four cases studied. Finally, this research documents the improved savings, in the small commercial buildings market, associated with a more integrated package of EEMs compared to a single-system approach, achieving approximately 10% energy savings for a single-system approach and more than 20% energy savings for integrated approaches. These savings translate to CO2 savings of 1,324,000 kgCO2/year to 2,647,000 kgCO2/year, respectively, assuming small commercial buildings are retrofit at a rate of 0.95% of the stock annually. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency in Integrated Building Systems)
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23 pages, 2243 KiB  
Article
Total System Performance Ratio—A Systems Based Approach for Evaluating HVAC System Efficiency
by Supriya Goel, Michael Rosenberg, Juan Gonzalez and Jérémy Lerond
Energies 2021, 14(16), 5108; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14165108 - 19 Aug 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2405
Abstract
The prescriptive path is the most widely used approach for commercial code compliance in the United States. Though easy to implement, prescriptive approaches do not typically discriminate between minimally compliant, high-performing and poorly performing HVAC system configurations. Hence, to meet aggressive energy and [...] Read more.
The prescriptive path is the most widely used approach for commercial code compliance in the United States. Though easy to implement, prescriptive approaches do not typically discriminate between minimally compliant, high-performing and poorly performing HVAC system configurations. Hence, to meet aggressive energy and carbon reduction goals, it is clear that energy codes will need to transition from prescriptive to performance-based approaches, a transition that is riddled with several challenges. This paper discusses a new HVAC system-based performance approach (HVAC System Performance) which provides a simpler solution to HVAV system evaluation compared to whole building performance, while keeping tradeoffs limited to specific building systems. The Total System Performance Ratio (TSPR) is a metric for evaluation of overall system efficiency instead of individual component efficiency, a solution which could also eventually facilitate the transition to a 100% performance-based code structure. TSPR is a ratio that compares the annual heating and cooling load of a building to the annual energy consumed by the building’s HVAC system. A calculation software tool has been developed for determining a building’s TSPR. Already incorporated into the 2018 Washington State Energy Code, this approach is also being evaluated by ASHRAE Standard 90.l Project Committee and has the potential to provide a comprehensive performance-based approach for HVAC system evaluation and analysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency in Integrated Building Systems)
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24 pages, 6098 KiB  
Article
Using Machine Learning to Predict Retrofit Effects for a Commercial Building Portfolio
by Yujie Xu, Vivian Loftness and Edson Severnini
Energies 2021, 14(14), 4334; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14144334 - 19 Jul 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3286
Abstract
Buildings account for 40% of the energy consumption and 31% of the CO2 emissions in the United States. Energy retrofits of existing buildings provide an effective means to reduce building consumption and carbon footprints. A key step in retrofit planning is to [...] Read more.
Buildings account for 40% of the energy consumption and 31% of the CO2 emissions in the United States. Energy retrofits of existing buildings provide an effective means to reduce building consumption and carbon footprints. A key step in retrofit planning is to predict the effect of various potential retrofits on energy consumption. Decision-makers currently look to simulation-based tools for detailed assessments of a large range of retrofit options. However, simulations often require detailed building characteristic inputs, high expertise, and extensive computational power, presenting challenges for considering portfolios of buildings or evaluating large-scale policy proposals. Data-driven methods offer an alternative approach to retrofit analysis that could be more easily applied to portfolio-wide retrofit plans. However, current applications focus heavily on evaluating past retrofits, providing little decision support for future retrofits. This paper uses data from a portfolio of 550 federal buildings and demonstrates a data-driven approach to generalizing the heterogeneous treatment effect of past retrofits to predict future savings potential for assisting retrofit planning. The main findings include the following: (1) There is high variation in the predicted savings across retrofitted buildings, (2) GSALink, a dashboard tool and fault detection system, commissioning, and HVAC investments had the highest average savings among the six actions analyzed; and (3) by targeting high savers, there is a 110–300 billion Btu improvement potential for the portfolio in site energy savings (the equivalent of 12–32% of the portfolio-total site energy consumption). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency in Integrated Building Systems)
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22 pages, 312 KiB  
Article
Achieving Integrated Daylighting and Electric Lighting Systems: Current State of the Art and Needed Research
by Gregory D. Thomson, Robert G. Davis, Luís Fernandes and Taoning Wang
Energies 2021, 14(13), 3833; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14133833 - 25 Jun 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2412
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a multi-disciplinary effort to clarify the state of the art and the state of practice, and necessary future research for creating the seamless integration and application of light in buildings, regardless of source, which is purposely modulated [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of a multi-disciplinary effort to clarify the state of the art and the state of practice, and necessary future research for creating the seamless integration and application of light in buildings, regardless of source, which is purposely modulated to illuminate surfaces and designed in a way that is comfortable, healthy, pleasing, cost-effective, and energy efficient. The authors unwrap the research, tools, and technical gaps preventing the full integration of electric lighting and daylighting with advanced façades through the coordination of lighting and windows research activities. The study and a stakeholder workshop captured current technology readiness levels (TRL), as well as research thrusts and implementation guidelines, and identified research priorities, presenting an analysis of the current landscape of lighting metrics—and which metrics are in the critical path for developing integrated daylighting and electric lighting systems, and their design, installation, and technology guidelines. In addition, the study defined stakeholder coordination, pathways to interoperable technology, and the value of viewing the work of the individual research areas holistically rather than in isolation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency in Integrated Building Systems)
22 pages, 7173 KiB  
Article
Energy Efficiency Package for Tenant Fit-Out: Laboratory Testing and Validation of Energy Savings and Indoor Environmental Quality
by Paul Mathew, Cindy Regnier, Jordan Shackelford and Travis Walter
Energies 2020, 13(20), 5311; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13205311 - 13 Oct 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2255
Abstract
Approximately 40% of the total U.S. office floor space of 1.5 billion sq.m (16 billion sq.ft.) is leased space occupied by tenants. Tenant fit-out presents a key opportunity to incorporate energy efficiency within the real estate business cycle. We designed a package of [...] Read more.
Approximately 40% of the total U.S. office floor space of 1.5 billion sq.m (16 billion sq.ft.) is leased space occupied by tenants. Tenant fit-out presents a key opportunity to incorporate energy efficiency within the real estate business cycle. We designed a package of energy efficiency measures tailored to the scope of a tenant fit-out. This tenant fit-out package (TFP) includes advanced lighting and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) controls as core measures, with ceiling fans, automated shading, and plug load controls as additional optional measures. We conducted laboratory testing of six configurations of the package to evaluate energy savings, indoor environmental quality, and identify installation, commissioning, and operational issues. Combined savings for HVAC, lighting, and plug loads ranged from 33–40%. Lighting savings ranged from 69–83%, and HVAC savings from 20–40%. The laboratory testing also revealed some minor but tractable challenges with installation and commissioning of HVAC controls. Overall, the results demonstrate that significant savings can be realized in existing office buildings by incorporating relatively low-risk, proven measures at the time of a tenant fit-out. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency in Integrated Building Systems)
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14 pages, 870 KiB  
Article
A Conceptual Framework to Describe Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Interactions
by Andrew J. Satchwell, Peter A. Cappers, Jeff Deason, Sydney P. Forrester, Natalie Mims Frick, Brian F. Gerke and Mary Ann Piette
Energies 2020, 13(17), 4336; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en13174336 - 21 Aug 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2446
Abstract
Energy efficiency (EE) and demand response (DR) resources provide important utility systems and ratepayer benefits. At the same time, the rapid change in the amount and type of variable renewable energy, like solar and wind, is reshaping the role and economic value of [...] Read more.
Energy efficiency (EE) and demand response (DR) resources provide important utility systems and ratepayer benefits. At the same time, the rapid change in the amount and type of variable renewable energy, like solar and wind, is reshaping the role and economic value of EE and DR, and will likely affect the time-dependent valuation of EE and DR measures. Utilities are increasingly interested in integrating EE and DR measures as a strategic approach to improve their collective cost-effectiveness and performance. We develop a framework to identify the EE and DR attributes, system conditions, and technological factors that are likely to drive interactions between EE and DR. We apply the framework to example measures with different technology specifics in the context of different utility system conditions. We find that EE and DR interactions are likely driven by changes in discretionary load, the addition of controls or other capabilities to shift loads, and the coincidence of savings with system peak or load building periods. Our analysis suggests increasing complexity in evaluating EE and DR interactions when moving from standalone equipment to integrated systems. The framework can be applied to research on integrated building systems by grouping measures into portfolios with different likely implications for EE and DR interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency in Integrated Building Systems)
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