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Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 June 2024 | Viewed by 15090

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Katarzyna Ratajczak

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Guest Editor

Institute of Environmental Engineering and Building Installations, Poznań University of Technology, Berdychowo 4 Str., 61-131 Poznań, Poland
Interests: energy efficiency in buildings; heating and ventilation; indoor air quality; outdoor air quality; decentralized ventilation; energy performance of buildings; swimming pools; mechanical ventilation; air conditioning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Łukasz Amanowicz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Environmental Engineering and Builiding Installations, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland
Interests: energy efficiency in budilings; heating ventilation and air conditioning; applied thermodynamics; heat exchangers; heat recovery; decentralized ventilation systems; thermal performance of buildings; surface heating/cooling systems; Renewable Energy Sources; CFD simulations; experimental thermal and flow charactersitics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal performance of buildings is at the center of global interest. There are many related topics that significantly influence the energy performance of a building: building structure / envelope, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, heat and cold sources, controls, users and much more.

In the energy and thermal performance of buildings, indoor air quality can have a huge impact. Lowering the energy demand in a building must not be at the expense of worsening the quality of the internal environment of the building. There is a need to combine analyzes related to ensuring adequate air quality in buildings while paying attention to the energy performance of the building. It is also important to pay attention to the quality of the outside air. In some regions with high pollution and cold climates, supplying outdoor air to ensure indoor air quality can be crucial for the energy performance of a building.

We believe that each analysis carried out within the above-mentioned areas in different types of buildings should show the impact of research on thermal performance of buildings. We encourage you to submit research, simulation or review works focused on the broadly understood energy efficiency and internal environment in Buildings.

Works related to are especially welcomed:

indoor and outdoor air quality,
thermal comfort in buildings,
thermal performance of buildings - methods, case studies, comparisons,
use of Renewable Energy Sources (RES),
heat recovery technologies,
HVAC systems (heating, ventilation and air conditioning),
passive techniques for heating/cooling,
energy-oriented control systems,
the impact of building use on energy consumption,
the impact of indoor and outdoor air quality on energy consumption,
climate and internal environment,
sources of heat, cold and energy - the possibility of reducing the demand,
building assessment,
decision support in the field of thermal performance.

Dr. Katarzyna Ratajczak
Dr. Łukasz Amanowicz
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

Indoor Air Quality
IAQ
Outdoor Air Quality
OAQ
Energy performance of building
Energy consumption
Climate change
Renewable Energy Sources
Building assessment
HVAC
Control systems
Sources of heat, cold and energy
Thermal comfort
Heat recovery
Passive techniques

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

16 pages, 2962 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of Subjective Indoor Environment Assessment in Actual and Simulated Conditions

by Łukasz Jan Orman, Natalia Siwczuk, Norbert Radek, Stanislav Honus, Jerzy Zbigniew Piotrowski and Luiza Dębska

Energies 2024, 17(3), 656; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en17030656 - 30 Jan 2024

Viewed by 442

Abstract

This paper experimentally analyses an indoor environment assessment of a large group of respondents regarding their subjective perception of overall comfort, indoor air quality and humidity. The questionnaire survey was applied as a testing method together with measurements of the physical parameters conducted with a microclimate meter. Two types of environment were analysed: educational rooms and the climate chamber. The comparative analysis of the sensations experienced within them indicates that they generate quite similar responses; however, some discrepancies have been identified. The overall comfort of the climate chamber was typically assessed as being higher than that of the educational rooms at the same air temperature. The most favourable air temperature in the climate chamber was ca. 20.7 °C, while in the educational rooms it was ca. 22.3 °C. The most preferable conditions in the climate chamber occurred at a thermal sensation vote of −0.4 (“pleasantly slightly cool”), while in the educational rooms it occurred at +0.2 (“neutral/pleasantly slightly warm”). Quite strong correlations between overall comfort and indoor air quality as well as between humidity assessment and humidity preference votes were observed, which did not seem to depend on the type of environment. These findings are important because results from the simulated conditions are often used in the analyses of actual living/working environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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22 pages, 4868 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Radiators Adjustment in Multi-Family Residential Buildings—An Analysis Based on Data from Heat Meters

by Karol Bandurski, Andrzej Górka and Halina Koczyk

Energies 2023, 16(22), 7485; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16227485 - 08 Nov 2023

Viewed by 575

Abstract

Energy is consumed in buildings through the use of various types of energy systems, which are controlled by the occupants via provided interfaces. The quality of this control should be verified to improve the efficiency of the systems and for the comfort of the occupants. In the case of residential buildings, due to privacy reasons, it is problematic to directly monitor human–building interactions using sensors installed in dwellings. However, data from increasingly common smart meters are easily available. In this paper, the potential use of data from heat meters is explored for the analysis of occupant interactions with space-heating (SH) systems. A pilot study is conducted based on a one-year set of daily data from 101 dwellings. First, the identification of an indoor temperature and a strategy for thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) adjustments for all the investigated dwellings is presented. Second, the performed analysis suggests that 96% of the households did not use the automatic adjustment function of the TRVs since adjustments using the on–off mode were the most common, which could be empirical evidence for Kempton’s theory on mental models of home heating controls. The reasons for this could be the weakness of the TRV as an SH interface and the technical specificity of the analyzed SH (its supply temperature). The preliminary investigation confirms the potential of the proposed methodology, but further research is needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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17 pages, 4225 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seasonal Air Quality in Bedrooms with Natural, Mechanical or Hybrid Ventilation Systems and Varied Window Opening Behavior-Field Measurement Results

by Magdalena Baborska – Narożny and Maria Kostka

Energies 2022, 15(24), 9328; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15249328 - 09 Dec 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1241

Abstract

The article presents the results of measurements of temperature, relative humidity and CO₂ concentration in six single-family houses’ bedrooms located in Poland, in Wrocław and vicinity, during two climatic seasons: summer–autumn and winter. Two buildings with natural ventilation (NV) were tested, three with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MV) and one with hybrid ventilation (HV)—mixed mode natural and mechanical. The behavior of residents regarding opening windows was analyzed and the influence of the changing internal and external conditions on their active reactions was examined. The analysis confirms and adds to the global discourse on the key impact of user behavior on securing healthy indoor air quality in housing, regardless of ventilation system or building energy standard. A disconnect exists between the observed window opening practices and typical design principles, assuming adjustment to a given ventilation system or changing weather conditions. The observations showed that in both analyzed seasons it was possible to obtain a good quality internal environment, in terms of CO₂ level, regardless of the ventilation system used in the building. However, unfavorable results were observed for one bedroom, in which the inhabitants do not adapt their behavior to local technical conditions. Taking into account the level of relative humidity (RH), much higher values were observed in the NV bedrooms in both analyzed periods. The obtained results were divided into IAQ classes in accordance with the EN 16798-1. The recorded values of the internal temperature confirm the significant influence of the location of the room in the building and the actions taken by the residents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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18 pages, 4308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Small Modular House as a Response to the Energy Crisis

by Miroslaw Zukowski

Energies 2022, 15(21), 8058; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15218058 - 29 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1622

Abstract

Energy security is becoming one of the most important issues today. Continuous increases in the prices of fossil fuels, firewood and wood pellets have become commonplace in many countries. One positive effect of this situation is the greater focus on the development of renewable energy technologies and the search for solutions to reduce the heat demands of residential buildings. The purpose of this paper is to present a small modular building that can be a response to the energy crisis and Ukraine’s wave of refugees in Poland. The results of the energy simulations performed in DesignBuilder software showed that this type of house has a primary energy demand of 139.35 kWh/m². The calculations were performed for the climatic conditions of north-eastern Poland, assuming natural gas as the fuel. The use of a geothermal heat pump reduced this value to 90.14 kWh/m². In order to achieve a zero primary energy balance, 23.76 m² of PV panels and 4 m² of solar thermal collectors should be installed. In addition, the influence of the overhangs and the glazing area on the heat gain from the solar radiation was analyzed. A drop in temperature inside the house in the event of a continuous power failure was also investigated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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14 pages, 1113 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Statistical Analysis of the Variability of Energy Efficiency Indicators for a Multi-Family Residential Building

by Anna Życzyńska, Zbigniew Suchorab, Dariusz Majerek and Violeta Motuzienė

Energies 2022, 15(14), 5042; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15145042 - 11 Jul 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1241

Abstract

During the building design phase, a lot of attention is paid to the thermal properties of the external envelopes. New regulations are introduced to improve energy efficiency of a building and impose a reduction of the overall heat transfer coefficient; meanwhile, this efficiency is more influenced by the efficiency of the heating system and the type of fuels used. This article presents a complex analysis including the impact of: heat transfer coefficient of the envelope, efficiency of building service systems, the type of energy source, and the fuel. The analysis was based on the results of simulation tests obtained for an exemplary multi-family residential building located in Poland that is not equipped with a cooling system. The conducted calculations gave quantitative evaluation of the influence of particular parameters on building energy performance and showed that the decrease of heat transfer coefficient of building boundaries, in accordance to the Polish regulation for 2017 and 2021, gave only 11% of reduction on usable energy demand index. On the other hand, it was found that modification of the heating system and heat source can significantly influence the values of the final and primary energy consumption at the level of 70%. The application of heat pumps has a greater influence on the final and primary energy consumption for heating indices than other parameters, such as the building’s envelopes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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21 pages, 10860 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Comfort—Case Study in a Lightweight Passive House

by Krzysztof Wąs, Jan Radoń and Agnieszka Sadłowska-Sałęga

Energies 2022, 15(13), 4687; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15134687 - 26 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1917

Abstract

Saving energy while maintaining a high-quality internal environment is an increasingly important scientific and technological challenge in the building sector. This paper presents the results from a long-term study on thermal comfort in a passive house situated in the south of Poland. The building was constructed in 2010 with the use of prefabricated, lightweight technology. The main energy source is a ground source heat pump which powers the floor heating and DHW. The building is also equipped with a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery and a ground source heat exchanger. A lightweight building structure which has active systems with limited capabilities (especially for cooling) is a combination which increases the difficulty of maintaining a proper inner environmental condition. Extensive experimental investigations on hygrothermal performance and energy use have been carried out in the building for several years. The measurement results, such as inner air temperature and humidity, as well as the inner surface temperature of partitions, could be directly used to determine basic thermal comfort indicators, including PMV and PPD. Any missing data that has not been directly measured, such as the surface temperature of the windows, floors, and some of the other elements of the building envelope, have been calculated using WUFI^®PLUS software and validated with the available measurements. These results are not final; the full measurement of thermal comfort as an applied methodology did not consider human adaptation and assumed constant clothing insulation. Nevertheless, in general, the results show good thermal comfort conditions inside the building under research conditions. This was also confirmed via a survey of the inhabitants: 2 adults and 3 children. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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17 pages, 5054 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of ANN Algorithms for the Concentration Prediction of Indoor Air Pollutants in Child Daycare Centers

by Jeeheon Kim, Yongsug Hong, Namchul Seong and Daeung Danny Kim

Energies 2022, 15(7), 2654; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15072654 - 05 Apr 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1889

Abstract

As the time spent by people indoors continues to significantly increase, much attention has been paid to indoor air quality. While many IAQ studies have been conducted through field measurements, the use of data-driven techniques such as machine learning has been increasingly used for the prediction of indoor air pollutants. For the present study, the concentrations of indoor air pollutants such as CO₂, PM_2.5, and VOCs in child daycare centers were predicted by using an artificial neural network model with three different training algorithms including Levenberg–Marquardt, Bayesian regularization, and Broyden–Fletcher–Goldfarb–Shanno quasi-Newton methods. For training and validation, data of indoor pollutants measured in child daycare facilities over a 1-month period were used. The results showed all the models produced a good performance for the prediction of indoor pollutants compared with the measured data. Among the models, the prediction by the LM model met the acceptable criteria of ASHRAE guideline 14 under all conditions. It was observed that the prediction performance decreased as the number of hidden layers increased. Moreover, the prediction performance was differed by the type of indoor pollutant. This was caused by patterns observed in the measured data. Considering the outcomes of the study, better prediction results can be obtained through the selection of suitable prediction models for time series data as well as the adjustment of training algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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Review

Jump to: Research

55 pages, 994 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Achievements in Research on Thermal Comfort and Ventilation in the Aspect of Providing People with Appropriate Conditions in Different Types of Buildings—Semi-Systematic Review

by Katarzyna Ratajczak, Łukasz Amanowicz, Katarzyna Pałaszyńska, Filip Pawlak and Joanna Sinacka

Energies 2023, 16(17), 6254; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16176254 - 28 Aug 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1676

Abstract

Ventilation systems are mainly responsible for maintaining the quality of indoor air. Together with thermal comfort maintenance systems, they create appropriate conditions for living, working, learning, sleeping, etc., depending on the type of building. This explains the high popularity of research in this area. This paper presents a review of articles published in the years 2020–2023, which are indexed in the Scopus database and found with keywords “ventilation” and “thermal comfort” in conjunction with the type of building or predominant activity. Finally, 88 selected works for five types of buildings were discussed, namely offices, schools, hospitals, bedrooms, and atriums. Data on publications are summarized in the tables, taking into account the publishing year, country of origin of the authors, and keywords. In this way, the latest directions in research were presented, and research groups dealing with this subject were highlighted. For each type of building, synthetic conclusions were presented, summarizing the results of the analyzed research. This review paper would be helpful for scientists and practitioners in the field of ventilation in order to organize knowledge and in a short time be up to date with the latest research showing how ventilation affects the quality of use of buildings by their users. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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39 pages, 8519 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Advancements in Ventilation Systems Used to Decrease Energy Consumption in Buildings—Literature Review

by Łukasz Amanowicz, Katarzyna Ratajczak and Edyta Dudkiewicz

Energies 2023, 16(4), 1853; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en16041853 - 13 Feb 2023

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3256

Abstract

The need for healthy indoor conditions, the energy crisis, and environmental concerns make building ventilation systems very important today. The elements of ventilation systems to reduce energy intensity are constantly the subject of much scientific research. The most recent articles published in the last three years are analyzed in this paper. Publications focused on the topic of reducing energy consumption in ventilation systems were selected and divided into five key research areas: (1) the aspect of the airtightness of buildings and its importance for the energy consumption, (2) the methods and effects of implementing the concept of demand-controlled ventilation in buildings with different functions, (3) the possibilities of the technical application of decentralized ventilation systems, (4) the use of earth-to-air heat exchangers, (5) the efficiency of exchangers in exhaust air heat-recovery systems. The multitude of innovative technologies and rapid technological advances are reflected in articles that appear constantly and prompt a constant updating of knowledge. This review constitutes a relevant contribution to recognizing current advancements in ventilation systems and may be helpful to many scientists in the field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Internal Environment and Thermal Performance of Buildings)

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