ABSTRACT
Stormwater harvesting via managed aquifer recharge in retrofitted infrastructure has been posited as a method for resource augmentation in Cape Town. However, the existing guidelines on stormwater retrofits are technically inclined, occidental, and generally misaligned with the realities and socio-economic contexts of developing nations like South Africa. Water and urban practitioners from developing nations cannot just 'copy and paste' existing guidelines as different socio-economic dimensions and colonial histories typically hinder 'traditional' approaches. This paper assesses how a transdisciplinary team navigated these realities in a case study of a retrofitted pond in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. A decolonial thinking framework was applied for reflection and thematic content analysis. The framework was used to unpack how the team encountered, addressed, and learned from the challenges during the retrofit process. The research team found that the retrofit process within a context of under-resourced South African communities can be viewed as developmental work with a strong emphasis on continuous community engagement. Thus, it is suggested that in the South African context, water practitioners should consider, at the fore, interaction with local communities, including awareness of racialised histories, to ensure projects are successfully implemented and completed.
ABSTRACT
To achieve carbon emission reduction target (CERT) by 2030 and carbon-neutrality in 2050, it is important to actively reduce the emission gap in the private building sector. However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine war are threatening the green remodeling policy (GRP) worldwide. Therefore, this study analyzed energy consumption savings, GHG emission reduction, and net present value when applying green remodeling to a private building to predict whether or not the current GRP could achieve 2030 CERT and 2050 carbon-neutrality. The main findings are as follows. First, yearly electricity and gas consumption of 84.97 m2 type households can be reduced by 6.19% and 15.58% through green remodeling. Second, based on the energy saving, yearly GHG emission can be reduced about 0.34tCO2eq. Third, the economic feasibility of green remodeling cannot be achieved via the current policy, and NPV17 decreases up to USD-51,485 depending on the credit loan interest rate and the green remodeling interest subsidy program. In other words, it is difficult to reach 2030 CERT and 2050 carbon-neutrality via the current policy. Therefore, the South Korean government is required to reorganize financial policies, establish active systems, increase public awareness of the policy, and improve energy efficiency technology. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.
ABSTRACT
This study aims to propose building envelope retrofit packages for existing naturally ventilated school buildings in the hot–humid climatic region of Chennai, India. Indoor thermal parameters were collected through field studies from nine sample classrooms of a selected school building in May 2019, between 9.00 am and 4.00 pm. The thermal performance assessment of the existing building was performed by examining the discomfort hours using the CBE thermal comfort tool. Envelope retrofit strategies gathered from the literature and building standards were applied and studied through simulation. The findings reveal the enormous potential to increase the thermal comfort of existing school buildings through envelope retrofit measures. The results demonstrate that the whole-building temperature can be reduced up to 3.2 °C in summer and up to 3.4 °C in winter. Implementing retrofit measures to the building envelopes of existing buildings will help school owners to increase the comfortable hours of whole buildings by up to 17%. In comparison, annual energy savings of up to 13% for the whole building can be made by enhancing the thermal performance of the building envelope. The findings will also help architects to optimise thermal performance and energy usage with minimal interventions.
ABSTRACT
This paper discusses an investigation into quality of life (QoL) as a pilot study from a sample of occupants living in existing dwellings, that have been (2021) or will be retrofitted in 2022 and 2023, funded by the Welsh Government's (WG's) Optimised Retrofit (OR) project. The pan Wales OR project aims to retrofit close to 2000 existing social housing dwellings targeting nearly-zero/zero operational energy standards, to alleviate occupant fuel poverty and reduce energy costs and carbon emissions and increase occupant comfort and QoL. The methodology presented builds on two previous research projects undertaken and completed by two of the authors in 2010 and 2020, to adapt and create a hybrid Short Form-36 (HSF36) health survey, accompanied by the established RAND analysis system. The HSF36 questionnaire survey has been further refined for the OR project and has been used to collect occupant data through face-to-face interviews and online surveys. The occupants live in dwellings manged by one of Wales's largest registered social housing landlords (RSL's) with circa 8000 dwellings. The challenges and solutions for undertaking occupant engagement for surveys during Covid19 restrictions are illustrated. Once dwelling retrofits are completed in 2022 and 2023, the intention is to conduct a second and third phase of occupant engagement. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
ABSTRACT
Building Applied Photovoltaics (BAPV) such as Roof-top Solar PV has gained significant attention in recent years for harnessing the untapped potential of renewable energy sources. However, rooftop PV poses hurdles of space restriction and shadowing in densely packed urban residential neighborhoods. This study aims to design and assess the feasibility of an integrated grid-connected Rooftop and Façade Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) for meeting the energy demand of residential buildings on an academic campus. Three distinctive groups of residential typologies have been investigated in this study, categorized based on built area and occupants' past energy usage. Additionally, the variation in the measured Energy Performance index of the three different residential groups is illustrated to pave the path for the development of a typology-based residential energy benchmarking and labelling system. The Solar PV system has been designed for the maximum household energy demand recorded in CoVID-affected years due to high residential electricity usage in this period. The study showcases that integration of façade BIPV for low-rise residential buildings increases the system energy production to up to 62.5 % based on the utilized surface area for active PV. Furthermore, the Net Zero Energy Building (ZEB) potential for each typology has been achieved by integration of the proposed Solar PV, evaluated as a function of the Energy Performance Index (EPI) and Energy Generation Index (EGI). The designed nominal PV power of the proposed grid-connected plant is 5.6 MW, producing 7182 MWh annually, meeting the maximum residential energy demand in the studied academic campus in CoVID affected year. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.
ABSTRACT
This paper provides an overview of how failure prediction of critical members in an open web steel joist is used in multiple courses in a structural engineering curriculum. The forensic example is used in an introductory engineering mechanics course to demonstrate how the method of sections and joints can be used to analyze a truss system widely used in practice. Combining the concepts of steel yielding, column buckling, and factor of safety allows the students are tasked to predict the critical members in the joist. Immediately, following the analytical exercise, students experimentally verify their predictions. Later in the curriculum, students revisit their analysis in a steel design course. The students are posed with a retrofit competition where groups compete to increase the load carrying capacity of the joist and changing the failure mode of the joist. The group that completes this task for the least costs (material and labor) is crowned class champion. Students often conduct an analysis to determine forces in members;however, rarely do they predict critical member and failure mode in an assembly and then verify their results in real time. Even more rarely does this experience carry through multiple courses. The format of the lectures, laboratory exercises, laboratory execution, assignments, and competition are presented. Additionally, the paper includes discussion on how the experience was altered due to COVID considerations. Assessment data, student feedback, and recommendations for additional expanded assignments are presented. © Forensic Engineering 2022: Elevating Forensic Engineering - Selected Papers from the 9th Congress on Forensic Engineering.All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
This study is focused on the feasibility of using energy performance contracting (EPC) for the retrofit of two apartment buildings constructed using precast concrete technologies in Slovakia decades ago. The retrofit packages were defined, and their suitability for EPC was evaluated through discounted payback. The uncertainties in the profitability calculations were covered by designing five possible economic developments and defining input ranges instead of just single inputs. The measures in the technical systems were shown to be more feasible than the retrofit of the building envelopes. The potential to finance the selected measures for technical systems through EPC was further evaluated. It was shown that, for at least one of the two buildings studied, the EPC was recommended only for the economic developments with a notable increase in energy prices compared to the baseline that referred to the situation before the Covid-19 pandemic. In the best case, the payback was four years for one building and seven years for the other;thus, both were potentially suitable for EPC. However, for a complex retrofit, the EPC must be combined with a different funding source to also finance other retrofit measures.
ABSTRACT
Buildings account for 40% of the European Union’s energy consumption. Deep energy renovation of residential buildings is key for decarbonization and energy poverty alleviation. However, renovation is occurring at far below the needed pace and depth. In this context, building renovation one-stop shops, which bring all project phases under one roof and provide advice, support, and finance to households, are highlighted as a promising solution. Nevertheless, this model is still absent or under-developed in most European countries and remains understudied in the scientific literature. Therefore, the present research goals are as follows: (i) to provide a critical review of emerging one-stop shop models;(ii) to streamline the deployment of building renovation digital one-stop shops by piloting a sequential multi-staged approach for Portuguese households and proposing it for replication elsewhere;and (iii) to compare case-study insights with other one-stop shops and discuss the notion in the context of the European Renovation Wave. In total, for the Portuguese case-study, five steps were conducted. The first three—stakeholder mapping, expert interviews, and customer journey—aimed to gather intel on the local energy renovation market. The results from these stages informed the design of the platform (fourth step). Finally, a post-launch market consultation survey gathered user feedback (fifth step). Insights from this study suggest that digital one-stop shops, while providing a helpful tool to close information gaps and activate specific audiences, may be insufficient on their own. As such, a more comprehensive set of instruments supporting households is needed to accelerate building renovation.
ABSTRACT
As the coronavirus pandemic has brought about global economic recession and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficient building retrofitting has become a comprehensive solution to increase the employment rate and reduce the energy consumption of buildings. This situation requires more energy-efficient integrated generation systems. In this study, an integrated generation system is proposedfor building integrated photovoltaic, thermoelectric generator, and phase change material as an enhanced generation system for buildings. In the proposed system, the phase change material absorbs solar radiation as latent heat within the melting temperature, increasing the photovoltaic conversion efficiency. Additionally, the thermoelectric generator harvests additional electricity as the temperature difference is maintained during the phase change. The total generated energy of the proposed system highly depends on the melting temperature and thickness of the phase change material. Therefore, the appropriate melting temperature and thickness design conditions of the phase change material were derived with the following simulations based on transient energy balance equations in 12 daily profiles. As a result, the optimal melting temperature increased by 5.4°F (3.6°C) and 1.9°F (1.04°C) with an insolation increase of 317 Btu/ft2 (1000 Wh/m2) and a 1.8°F (1°C) increase in ambient temperature, respectively. In addition, the optimal thickness increased by 0.04 in (2.5 mm) with an insolation increase of 317 Btu/ft2 (1000 Wh/m2).
ABSTRACT
Airborne diseases are a current concern. Infections can spread through the air even when a disease may not be characterized as "airborne" in medical terms. Some installed HVAC systems can spread infectious agents to those who are not currently infected. Cross contamination through leakage in energy recovery ventilation (ERV) devices can provide a pathway for infection. Energy recovery devices are currently required in many new buildings codes and standards. They are often installed in retrofit projects in older buildings in order to save energy. The risk from cross-contamination can be estimated using the Wells-Riley infection model. Energy recovery ventilation device applications can be designed, specified, and installed to effectively eliminate the risk of cross contamination in new systems using current technology so this is an avoidable risk.. A framework for evaluating currently installed ERV systems is providedfor facilities managers and HVAC systems operators to identify and minimize cross contamination infection risk.
ABSTRACT
This paper examines and evaluates the long-term electrical energy usage of retrofitting lighting systems with varying degrees of control intelligence. One of the most important components of confirming the appropriateness of the application in practice is the long-term energy measurement of these systems. The data analysis and measurement process are described in this article. An intelligent measurement system was used to collect data on electricity consumption. On the basis of these data, an analysis and comparison of various systems were conducted, and the overall electricity consumption for a certain time period was calculated. Finally, a scenario was created to demonstrate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a retrofitted lighting system with various levels of intelligence. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in the last quarter of 2019, has seriously affected the global economy, including sectors such as the energy and building industries. Studies of COVID-19 transmission indicate a direct relationship between the number of occupants in a building and the risk of infection. The aims of this study were to focus on workplace density strategies as a primary, overlooked factor that can affect energy consumption and the risk of transmission of viruses within buildings and to determine optimal workplace density strategies to reduce energy consumption, especially in commercial buildings. To this end, the practical approach was used by applying COVE.TOOL technology and data from COVID-19 tracking projects to the proposed occupant density after new design considerations for the food court of the Mall of Arabia – the most famous shopping mall in Egypt. This approach was also used to evaluate customer visits to reduce the spread of disease and improve their energy efficiency. © 2022. Scientific Journal of King Faisal University Basic and Applied Sciences. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
In Europe, the recent application of regulations oriented to zero-energy buildings and climate neutrality in 2050 has led to a reduction in energy consumption for heating and cooling in the construction sector. The thermal insulation of the building envelope plays a key role in this process and the requirements about the maximum allowable thermal transmittance are defined by country-specific guidelines. Typically, high insulation values provide low energy consumption for heating;however, they may also entail a risk of overheating in summer period and thus negatively affect the overall performance of the building. In addition, the embodied energy and related emissions caused by the manufacturing and transportation processes of thermal insulation cannot be further neglected in the evaluation of the best optimal solution. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the influence in terms of embodied and operational energy of various walls’ thermal insulation thicknesses on residential buildings in Europe. To this end, the EnergyPlus engine was used for the energy simulation within the Ladybug and Honeybee tools, by parametrically conducting multiple iterations;53 variations of external wall U-value, considering high- and low-thermal-mass scenarios, were simulated for 100 representative cities of the European context, using a typical multifamily building as a reference. The results demonstrate that massive walls generally perform better than lightweight structures and the best solution in terms of energy varies according to each climate. Accordingly, the wall’s thermal transmittance for the samples of Oslo, Bordeaux, Rome and Almeria representative of the Continental, oceanic temperate, Mediterranean, and hot, semi-arid climates were, respectively: 0.12, 0.26, 0.42, and 0.64 W/m2K. The optimal solutions are graphically reported on the map of Europe according to specific climatic features, providing a guidance for new constructions and building retrofit.
ABSTRACT
The building energy performance has been highly studied in the last decades considering the indoor environmental quality, and sustainability indicators to examine energy-efficient cost-optimal, and nZEB building levels for different building typologies. However, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the usage and operation of public spaces and buildings have evolved according to COVID-19 measures produced by the authorities. Social distancing measures and HVAC system measures affecting energy performance and indoor environmental quality of the public buildings are consequently necessary for building energy performance studies. Thereby, it is aimed at re-considering an energy-efficient cost-optimal retrofitting approach for a primary school building case, under the COVID-19 measures to recast an energy-efficient cost-optimal level and apply a cost-efficiency criterion to search for the measures adapted nZEB scenarios. COVID-19 measures affecting building energy performance, such as social distancing and IEQ requirements, were analysed. Then, probable ventilation rates were controlled by the infection probability method to satisfy the limit number for infection. Thus, pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 variables regarding occupancy density and HVAC operation were determined for the calculation process. Besides, retrofit scenarios were shaped to improve optic and thermophysical properties of the façade, lighting, and HVAC systems performance. Then, energy, LCC, thermal comfort and IEQ performance of retrofit scenarios were calculated with a calibrated model. Results were evaluated by applying the cost-efficiency criterion to find out nZEB scenarios. It can be stated that distinct LCC and energy use increments occurred in the cost-optimal range and nZEB level.
ABSTRACT
Responding to the events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, this study explores how to improve health and wellbeing and reduce infections in outdoor open spaces on university campuses to maximize their potential as a response to future crises. The study identifies the relationship between human behavior (social) and the various physical and environmental elements of these spaces. A case study and mixed-methods approach were undertaken, comprising four modes of inspection: user analysis layer using questionnaires and observations to survey students’ needs and behavior;context analysis layer using space syntax and CFD to examine the space’s physical and environmental conditions;design solutions reflecting an understanding of virus transmission;and a performance analysis layer to test the performance of ‘anti-virus’ courtyards. The findings demonstrated that students are willing to use the open spaces that they used before the pandemic, at the same frequency. This indicates a need to redesign the current spaces to prevent the spread of viruses. The study highlights the social, physical, and environmental implications to be considered in designs for outdoor anti-virus spaces. It provides a comprehensive process for transforming outdoor spaces on university campuses into anti-virus spaces that meet users’ needs. These findings have implications for the designing and retrofitting of open spaces to reduce infection.
ABSTRACT
”Braila Emergency County Hospital (ECH)” historical monument represents one of the main objectives of structural rehabilitation in both Braila county and Braila city. Thus, a structural strength verification for Pavilion B, Section 2, using ETABS software was performed, in order to find optimal retrofitting (rehabilitation) solutions. This analytical procedure proved to be beneficial and absolutely necessary, due to observations regarding the spatial contribution of masonry shear walls and finally the proper establishment of capable/design efforts. Following the structural calculation, it was concluded that the best solution would be to use composite materials for retrofitting a certain number of masonry shear walls, as classical retrofitting methods proved to be more expensive and structurally inefficient. Furthermore, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the solution to use composite materials is beneficial, as it would entail no personnel or patients to be evacuated during the rehabilitation works, i.e. the hospital being able to continue to operate.
ABSTRACT
This paper looks at the energy efficiency of the Cité Frugès in Pessac, designed in 1924 by Le Corbusier. Many of the innovations introduced by the Modern movement, such as flat roofs, large windows and solar protection elements, are still evident in the way architecture is carried out today. Most of these contributions were implemented in the Cité Frugès. The aim is to evaluate the architectural design criteria that most influenced the energy performance of Le Corbusier’s works, and to analyse the improvement that could be achieved by energy rehabilitation. The methodology used consisted of a systematised study of the five dwellings designed by Le Corbusier. For the modelling and calculation of their energy performance the “Líder–Calener unified tool” was used for evaluation, under the standards of compliance with European regulations for nearly zero energy consumption buildings. Energy parameters, such as thermal transmittance, solar gains and overall annual energy demand, were tested. The results obtained provide information on energy performance and allow for the analysis of possible energy refurbishment alternatives. The analysis of the results makes it possible to identify and qualitatively and quantitatively assess the limitations of the most relevant architectural and construction aspects in relation to energy efficiency and to draw up an energy map of the Cité Frugès in Pessac.
ABSTRACT
Palabras-clave: Turismo;Sanitización;Transporte;Nebulización;Covid-19 : The current practice of tourism is subject to measures of biosecurity for tourists safeguarding their physical integrity, through the development of activities in social environments, considering the dynamism involved in this sector, as a growing economic alternative and development for the 21st century, transport has allowed a significant impact within the tourism system which has been affected due to the Covid pandemic-19, undoubtedly a global problem that requires emergent measures to face the current impact for which the implementation of sanitization systems is of vital importance in the reactivation and mobility of people in vehicles retrofitted with devices capable of eliminating a percentage of viruses, fungi, or bacteria present in the environment and closed surfaces, providing confidence and security. Keywords: Tourism;Sanitation;Transportation;Fogging;Covid-19. 1.Introducción 1.1.Situación actual del Turismo La pandemia Covid-19, ha provocado una caída económica a nivel mundial desde marzo del 2020 y sobre todo en el sector del turismo en América Latina, donde existen distintos destinos turísticos que es su principal fuente de ingreso para mantener la calidad de vida de su población, precisamente estas prácticas turísticas son las actividades que han dado desarrollo a distintos sectores sociales, sin embargo, es lamentable evidenciar la caída parcial y en algunos casos total de los servidores turísticos, debido al temor de la pandemia y el limitado movimiento del transporte turístico con ello se ven afectados establecimientos como: hoteles, restaurantes, museos, hosterías, centros vacacionales, etc, ya que por los escasos medios de bioseguridad, ante la pandemia se vieron obligados a paralizar sus operaciones.
ABSTRACT
The existing building stock is recognised as a major contributor to total energy consumption and related carbon emissions around the globe. There is increased attention on the retrofit of existing building stock, especially residential buildings, as a way of curbing energy consumption and carbon emissions. Within this context, human nature connectedness (HNC) has the potential of further amplifying the benefits of sustainable buildings both from an energy conservation practice and tangible improvements to users’ satisfaction, health, and wellbeing. This study attempts to show a case study of the potential of using HNC through the adoption of biophilic design principles to improve a residential building performance. A terrace house located in Sydney, NSW, was used as a case study and proposed retrofit scenarios were simulated with DesignBuilder® and Rhinoceros/Grasshopper with a view of improved daylighting, thermal comfort, and energy consumption. The building performance is improved in terms of daylighting, thermal comfort, and reduced energy consumption, additionally enhancing HNC.
ABSTRACT
In recent decades, the issue of existing buildings’ energy retrofit has played a central role in the context of international and national territorial development policies, mainly due to the obsolescence state that characterizes the housing stock. Since the current need for energy renovation collides with the widespread low spending capacity of the owners, in recent years numerous fiscal incentives have been envisaged, aimed at promoting building initiatives for the improvement of energy performance indices. With reference to the Italian fiscal measure so-called Superbonus, introduced by the “Relaunch” Law Decree No. 34/2020, in the present research, a model for evaluating the economic benefits, in terms of the convenience of the operators involved, generated by energy requalification interventions, has been proposed. The analysis has been developed with regards to the Italian territory and to the prevailing building typology, by considering 110 provincial capitals and the main urban areas into which each city is divided (central, semi-central, and peripheral). Specifically, for each urban area of the Italian capitals considered, the market value differential between the after energy and before energy intervention situations has been firstly determined. Furthermore, assuming an ordinary profit margin of a generic investor interested in this type of investment, the break-even incentive, i.e., the percentage threshold able to ensure the condition of minimum convenience for an investor, has been estimated for each urban area.