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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 14608

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Anne WM Ng

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Guest Editor

College of Engineering, IT & Environment, Charles Darwin University, Darwin 0810, Australia
Interests: green infrastructure; urban heat island; smart and sustainable buildings; green buildings; water resources management; eco system services (ESS); green walls; green roof; river water quality modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq

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Guest Editor

College of Engineering and Science, Victoria University, Melbourne 8001, Australia
Interests: sustainable infrastructure; smart and climate-resilient buildings; water sensitive urban design; virtual water trade
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to rapid urbanization, lifestyle improvement, and climate change, building energy consumption is currently at its peak. Major energy consumption in buildings has become a serious problem. Moreover, an important factor that may increase our need for an Air Conditioning system is Urban Heat Islands (UHI).

There are various active and passive methods to overcome the heating problem. The objective is to reach a sustainable solution. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we would like to invite the researchers to contribute to the novel methods used to reduce the UHI effects and the use of sustainable methods to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, which will have an overall cooling benefit on the surroundings. The research may cover either or both of the energy-efficient building designs or green/blue infrastructures. Case studies, reviews, or research articles are invited to cover the advances in scientific methods, analytical approaches, field experiments and simulations.

Dr. Anne WM Ng
Dr. Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

urban heat island
sustainable buildings
passive solar heating
HVAC
BMI
ENVI-Met
CFD
MATLAB
MUSIC
Revit
EnergyPLUS
HAP
WINDOW
THERMO

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4601 KiB

Open AccessArticle

TecSB: An Open Web Tool of Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Integration in Mexican Buildings

by Caribay Godoy-Rangel, Carlos. I. Rivera-Solorio and Miguel Gijón-Rivera

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3630; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15043630 - 16 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1097

Abstract

There is a need for stakeholders in the construction sector to evaluate energy efficiency and renewable energy generation alternatives appliable to buildings at early design stages. In this regard, public and private organizations have developed tools to compare different options. It was observed that when the objective was to create nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB), the number of tools was still scarce. With this aim, this work presents a new, free digital tool that can predict, among others, energy consumption, energy generation, emissions savings, and payback time. For this purpose, different alternatives applicable to the roof, such as phase change material (PCM), insulation, and reflective paint, as well as to window-to-wall ratios (WWR), with four different glass technologies, can be evaluated. Furthermore, four renewable energy systems were available for comparison: the solar thermal collector (ST), photovoltaic (PV), flat hybrid solar collector (PVT), and low-concentration parabolic solar collector (LCPVT). Our tool was developed based on the results of transient dynamic building simulations of both residential and non-residential building models located in the hot semi-arid conditions of Monterrey, Mexico. Among the results, the small impact of using only reflective paint, the need to combine PCM with insulating material to obtain the best energy savings, and the large impact on emissions savings when using an LCPVT stand out. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Approaches to Reduce Building Energy Consumptions)

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15 pages, 3054 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

An Estimation of the Anthropogenic Heat Emissions in Darwin City Using Urban Microclimate Simulations

by Shehani Rajapaksha, Raphael Chukwuka Nnachi, Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, Anne W. M. Ng, Malik Muneeb Abid, Paras Sidiqui, Muhammad Farooq Rais, Erum Aamir, Luis Herrera Diaz, Saeed Kimiaei and Hooman Mehdizadeh-Rad

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5218; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14095218 - 26 Apr 2022

Viewed by 1753

Abstract

The energy consumption due to urbanization and man-made activities has resulted in production of waste, heat, and pollution in the urban environment. These have further resulted in undesirable environmental issues such as the production of excessive Anthropogenic Heat Emissions (AHE), thus leading to an increased Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. The aim of this study was to estimate the total AHE based on the contribution of three major sources of waste heat generation in an urban environment, i.e., buildings, vehicular traffic, and human metabolism. Furthermore, a comparison of dominating anthropogenic heat factor of Darwin with that of other major international cities was carried out. Field measurements of microclimate (temperatures, humidity, solar radiation, and other factors of climate measures) were conducted along Smith Street, Darwin City. Then, surveys were conducted to collect information regarding the buildings, vehicle traffic and Human population (metabolism) in the study area. Each individual component of AHE was calculated based on a conceptual framework of the anthropogenic heat model developed within this study. The results showed that AHE from buildings is the most dominant factor influencing the total AHE in Darwin, contributing to about 87% to 95% of total AHE. This is followed by vehicular traffic (4–13%) and lastly, human metabolism (0.1–0.8%). The study also shows that Darwin gains an average of 990 Wm⁻² solar power on a peak day. This study proves that building anthropogenic heat is the major dominating factor influencing the UHI in tropical urban climates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Approaches to Reduce Building Energy Consumptions)

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20 pages, 4545 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reducing the Cooling Loads of Buildings Using Shading Devices: A Case Study in Darwin

by Aiman Mohammed, Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, Anne Wai Man Ng, Zeeshan Zaheer, Safwan Sadeq, Mahmood Mohammed and Hooman Mehdizadeh-Rad

Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 3775; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14073775 - 23 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4219

Abstract

It is estimated that almost 40% of the world’s energy is consumed by buildings’ heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. This consumption increases by 3% every year and will reach 70% by 2050 due to rapid urbanisation and population growth. In Darwin, building energy consumption is even higher and accounts for up to 55% due to the hot and humid weather conditions. Singapore has the same weather conditions but less energy consumption, with only 38% compared to Darwin. Solar radiation can be defined as electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun and the Darwin area receives a large amount of solar radiation; building energy consumption can be reduced hugely if this radiation is blocked effectively by analysing appropriate shading devices. This study investigated the influence of different types of shading devices on the cooling load of a town hall building located in Darwin, Australia, and proposed the optimal shading device. The results showed that the horizontal fins led to a 5% reduction in the cooling load of the building. In contrast, adding a variation to the device angles and length increased the savings to 8%. The results demonstrated that the overhangs were more efficient than the fins, contributing 9.2% energy savings, and the cooling reduction savings were increased to 15.5% with design and length variations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Approaches to Reduce Building Energy Consumptions)

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20 pages, 4417 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Evaluation of Phase Change Materials to Reduce the Cooling Load of Buildings in a Tropical Climate

by Punita Sangwan, Hooman Mehdizadeh-Rad, Anne Wai Man Ng, Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq and Raphael Chukwuka Nnachi

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3171; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14063171 - 08 Mar 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2281

Abstract

Tropical region such as Darwin has similar weather patterns throughout the year, thus creating higher energy demands in residential buildings. Typically, buildings consume about 40 per cent of the total energy consumption for indoor heating and cooling. Therefore, building envelopes are linked with design strategies such as the use of thermal energy storage and phase change materials (PCM) to minimize this energy consumption by storing a large amount of thermal energy. Primarily, PCMs are targeted by researchers for use in different components of buildings for thermal efficiency; thus, this study aimed to provide a suitable PCM to optimize indoor thermal comfort and minimize the cooling loads of residential buildings in tropical climates through simulation of a tropical climate building and provide optimum thickness for the selected material. Microencapsulated PCM mixed with gypsum in wallboards were used to reduce the cooling load of a building located in Darwin. The cooling load of the building was calculated using Revit software. A comparison of the cooling load of the building was carried out using PCM-incorporated wallboards of thicknesses of 0 cm, 1 cm and 2 cm in Energy Plus software. The total cooling load decreased by 1.1% when the 1-centimetre-thickness was applied to the wall, whereas a 1.5% reduction was obtained when a 2-centimetre-thick PCM layer was applied. Furthermore, the reduced cooling loads due to impregnation of the PCM-based gypsum wallboard gave reduced energy consumption. Ultimately, the 2-centimetre-thickness PCM-based gypsum wallboard gave a maximum reduction in cooling load with a 7.6% reduction in total site energy and 4.76% energy saving in USD/m²/year. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Approaches to Reduce Building Energy Consumptions)

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21 pages, 6580 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Investigation to Identify the Effectiveness of Socioeconomic, Demographic, and Buildings’ Characteristics on Surface Urban Heat Island Patterns

by Paras Sidiqui, Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq and Anne W. M. Ng

Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2777; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14052777 - 26 Feb 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2139

Abstract

Despite implementing adaptation strategies and measures to make cities sustainable and resilient, the urban heat island (UHI) has been increasing risks to human health and the urban environment by causing hot spots in city areas. This study investigates the spatial patterns in the surface urban heat island (SUHI) over the study site and develops its relationships to socioeconomic, demographic, and buildings’ characteristics. This paper examines the role of building roof types, building roof material, building height, building age, and socioeconomic and demographic factors in driving the SUHI in a city. Numerous studies have focused primarily on the influence of biophysical and meteorological factors on variations in land surface temperatures (LSTs); however, very little attention has been paid to examining the influence of socioeconomic, demographic, and building factors on SUHIs within a city. The analysis has been carried out by processing Landsat based LST data to UHI in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud-based platform. The satellite-based research is further integrated with GIS data acquired from the state government and local city council. Linear regression and multiple regression correlations are further run to examine selected factors’ variance on SUHI. Results indicate socioeconomic, demographic, and building factors contribute significantly to SUHI generation; these factors collectively can explain 28% of the variance in SUHI patterns with significant p-values. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Approaches to Reduce Building Energy Consumptions)

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18 pages, 5284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Energy Performance Evaluation of Commercially Available Window Glazing in Darwin’s Tropical Climate

by Hooman Mehdizadeh-Rad, Taimoor Ahmad Choudhry, Anne W. M. Ng, Zohreh Rajabi, Muhammad Farooq Rais, Asad Zia and Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2394; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14042394 - 19 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2045

Abstract

A total of 40% of the world’s energy produced is utilized to maintain thermal comfort for the occupants of the building. Governments are taking measures collectively to regulate energy efficient buildings to reduce carbon emissions globally. Windows account for more than half of total energy losses in the buildings. The employment of energy efficient glazing in the construction industry is not common in Australia. This paper investigates several types of commercially available windows and their effectiveness in the hot and humid climate of Darwin. Although extensive literature is available for cold regions, these windows have not been studied in hot and humid climates such as the climate in Darwin. Building cooling loads of an academic building were calculated using Autodesk Revit Architecture and Carrier HAP. Double glazed variants offered approximately a 5% reduction in cooling loads and had a payback period of nearly 7 to 9 years, depending on the type of gas used to fill the pane cavity. The results indicate that triple glazed, or aerogel-based windows will provide about 11–12 % of energy saving in cooling loads. These can be a viable alternative and have a payback period of 11 years, while their average service life expectancy is 30 years. It was found that the feasibility of efficient glazing depends on market price, building usage, and energy efficiency of an overall building envelope. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Approaches to Reduce Building Energy Consumptions)

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