bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Application of data mining in understanding the charging patterns of the hot water tank in a residential building: a case study
Authors: Mirnaghi M , Panchabikesan K , Haghighat F 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Today’s buildings are adequately informative because of the wide implementation of the building automation system (BAS). In this regard, data mining (DM) tools have an excellent ability to interpret and discover interesting, unknown information from raw data collected from BAS. The present work is a case study, in which DM tools (such as clustering and decision tree) are applied to understand the operational pattern of a hot water storage tank (sanicube) used in a residential building, located in Scotland. The main objective of this study is to explore the correlation among the important features (storage tank temperature, solar collector, the operation of the sanicube heating element, etc.) in the chosen building. Interesting correlations and patterns between the solar collector, storage tank, sanicube-heating element are explored. The clustering results show the existence of different charging patterns of the storage tank and it highly influences the space heating (SH) and domestic hot water (DHW) temperature. The main inference from the result is that the charging of the storage tank is not automatic, and it is influenced by the occupancy behaviour. To maintain the temperature of the storage tank and subsequently to meet the SH and DHW demand, the operation of both solar collector and sanicube heating element (during night time) is recommended rather than operating only the solar collector.
Energy performance of building-integrated electrochromic and photovoltaic systems
Authors: Cannavale Alessandro , Martellotta Francesco , Ayr Ubaldo 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Innovative nanotechnology-based devices can offer multiple advantages in terms of renewable energy harvesting as well as energy saving in buildings. Among the technologies that can be used in transparent and semi-transparent building envelopes, neutral-colored perovskite-based heterojunction photovoltaic (PV) cells and solid-state electrochromic (EC) devices may play a pivotal role. These classes of devices have proven to offer significant benefits in terms of energy saving and enhancement of indoor visual comfort. In this work, the two types of technologies will be compared by considering two similar buildings equipped with glazing embodying such devices, with reference to specific climate conditions.
Numerical study of residential Smart Dual Fuel Switching System (SDFSS) with on-site solar photovoltaic system
Authors: Shukla Saunak , Tung King , Yu Danilo , Fung Alan S 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Building energy consumption accounts for approximately 36% of total energy consumption in the world. Since buildings are capable of on-site electricity generation and exhibiting predictive pattern of heating and cooling, the focus of this study is to investigate the Smart Dual Fuel Switching System (SDFSS), comprising a natural gas furnace and an air-source heat pump (ASHP), working in conjunction with on-site solar photovoltaic system. Base-case scenario using 1.5-ton rated capacity ASHP with 8.5 heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF) yielded only 4% cost savings and 15% greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction when compared to natural gas furnace space heating scenario. With an ASHP of 2-ton rated capacity and HSPF of 10 working in conjunction with solar photovoltaic (PV) system of 4.08 kWp, the cost savings of SDFSS increased to 12% and the GHG emissions reduction of 45%. SDFSS integrated with the grid is expected to yield significant benefits. It can help avoid situation of buildings drawing electricity all at once and reduce the overload on the grid. Also, it can redirect electricity generated from the solar PV system of a building for which using natural gas furnace is more economical to a building whose space heating demands can be met with this excess electricity. Higher ASHP performance and capacity, higher carbon pricing, and higher solar PV electricity generation will lead to the design of a more economical and sustainable SDFSS.
From awareness to energy saving: using user engagement to change occupants’ behaviour
Authors: Ayr Ubaldo , Guarini Davide , Martellotta Francesco , Porcelli Daniela , Sacchetti Antonio , Siliberti Massimiliano , Sulpasso Leonardo 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Scientific literature in the last years provided clear evidences of the determining role occupants play in achieving the highest standards in energy saving and how bad management of HVAC systems, hot water, openings, and electric equipment, may result in increased consumptions, energy waste, and lack of comfort. Based on such assumptions, a campaign to promote occupants’ awareness about energetic implications of many daily actions has been launched at the beginning of 2018, by means of a smartphone app. Meanwhile, a selection of the most active users has been given a control unit capable of monitoring occupants’ movements, electric energy consumptions, indoor temperature and relative humidity, illuminance and carbon dioxide concentration. Such parameters can be accessed by means of another app, allowing the users to immediately see the effect of their actions in terms of energy savings and indoor environment quality. In addition, it is possible to monitor occupants’ habits, set (and send) specific alerts, and verify whether the suggestions given by the app actually induced relevant changes in users’ behaviour. The paper presents and discusses a preliminary set of the collected data and provides evidences of the positive feedback induced by the combined use of both apps and the control unit.
District heating thermal plant fed by biomass residues in a rural area of Central Italy
Authors: Manni M , Petrozzi A , Nicolini A , Cotana F 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
According to the European goals defined in EU Dir. 28/2009, biomass represents a valid alternative to fossil fuels. Combined heat and power (CHP) biomass plants are considered as advantageous in those rural areas which show critical issues regarding the disposal of organic wastes from agriculture and forestry activities. Furthermore, the connection of those villages to the national energy grid requires high operational costs which can be avoided by realizing an autonomous district system exploiting available renewable sources. The hereby study aims at demonstrating all these benefits through the presentation of a pilot project about a district heating system powered by a CHP biomass plant. The intervention has been proposed for a group of buildings located in Perugia, Central Italy. Their connection to the plant would be realized through an underground pipeline. Both the biomass exploitation and the district scale guarantee significant economic and environmental advantages. Indeed, the installing costs can be paid back in less than ten years considering (i) the savings from avoided natural gas exploitation and (ii) incomes from the disposal of wooden organic wastes.
Design and testing of I-ZEB, a zero energy laboratory for the integrated evaluation of the performance of building components and HVAC systems
Authors: Ludovico Danza , Lorenzo Belussi , Matteo Ghellere , Francesco Salamone , Chiara Scrosati , Fabio Scamoni , Alice Bellazzi , Anna Devitofrancesco , Benedetta Barozzi , Italo Meroni , Claudio Maffè , Michele Depalma 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
The scientific community, along with the worldwide governments, debate about the performances of buildings for decades and today the subject is still of topical interest. The recent regulatory framework requires increasingly high energy-efficient buildings in order to reduce the overall impact of building sector and to improve the user’s well-being. Several stakeholders are called upon to contribute to this end. The collaboration between the professional, industrial and scientific sectors is an engine of this challenge. Following this path, the Construction Technologies Institute (ITC) of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR) has recently developed a zero energy laboratory with the aim of creating the best platform where companies of the building sector and research bodies can share their expertise for the development and the test of products and systems to reach the Zero Energy Building (ZEB) standard. The paper focuses on the design and testing phases of the laboratory. High performance envelope, efficient HVAC and renewable energy systems are the technical pillars of the laboratory. Several characterization tests have been carried out in order to choose the most suitable technical solutions. The integrated solutions (products and systems) are tested through a continuous monitoring: energy and the Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) variables measurements are performed.
Towards an ontology for holistic building occupant information modelling
Authors: Salimi S , Nik-Bakht M , Hammad A 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Occupant behaviour (OB) is a critical factor affecting the building performance from aspects such as energy/comfort management, emergency planning, space management, and safety/security. Several ontologies were previously developed to formalize modelling/exchanging occupant-related information for each of these applications. The present study aims to provide a holistic occupant ontology to support integrated building management solutions. Rather than offering a brand new ontology, we integrate the existing models, and create the linkages required for semantic integration among them. Two main dimensions framing our occupant ontology include: building function and occupancy information. We mapped the available ontologies (within and outside the domain of OB), to capture existing gaps for semantic integration across multiple use-cases, within each of these dimensions. The gaps were then translated into competency questions, and from there, we developed meta-classes and relations required for the high-level occupant ontology. Upon the completion and deployment, the proposed occupant ontology can result in better information exchange and integration with building simulation models for various use-cases.
Techno-economic feasibility of Sewage Wastewater Heat Recovery (WWHR) based Community Energy Network (CEN) in a cold climate - a case study of Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
Authors: Kwiatek Conrad , Sohail Usama , Fung Alan S , Joksimovic Darko 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Wastewater is an underutilized and readily available source of carbon free thermal energy. The energy derived from wastewater can be augmented using heat pumps to supply thermal energy to buildings. Due to favorable temperatures, wastewater sourced heat pumps are able to operate more efficiently than air and ground sourced heat pumps. This paper evaluates the potential of using wastewater heat recovery (WWHR) to provide heating and cooling to a mid-sized university campus located in the urban center of Toronto, Canada.
Sustainable design for zero carbon architecture
Authors: Al-Temmamy M Z , Abd-Rabo L M 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
The energy is used for construction, operation and demolition in the building sector is the most significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions which is predicted to affect the environment. Therefore, under the Paris Convention, this paper explores the current situations and the way forward for achieving zero carbon building (ZCB). Firstly, ZCB’s are expected to decrease energy requirement via effective ‘passive and active design solutions ‘, then secondly by means of renewable energy supply systems to meet remaining energy demand. The focus would be on the ‘building envelope ‘that involves the shape, orientation, and building elements which usually remain unchanged throughout their life cycle. Naturally, the HVAC system and any building-integrated energy supply are going to be an integral part of the design. All of these are going to significantly reduce the demand for energy and CO2 emissions, which are an optimized solution for a comfortable and healthy environment.
In order to move forward, this paper encourages that ZCB principles should be explicitly determined within the need for computational modelling of buildings and their energy performance throughout the life-cycle of the building. Also, technical solutions may vary, but can be clarified around passive solutions and energy efficiency, on- and off-site renewable energy technologies, and carbon offsetting measures as these are explained in the case study.
The research on the influence of building air tightness to energy consumption of residential building in a hot summer and cold winter zone in China
Authors: Liu Yuan , Li Baizhan , Cao Xinyun 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
The hot summer and cold winter zone in China belong to the non-central heating area. In recent years, with the improvement of people’s living standards, more and more residential building have begun to adopt various heating methods. However, many existing buildings have poor air tightness level, and the indoor thermal environment is in a bad condition, which also causes a great waste of energy. Based on the actual measurement of the airtightness of a demonstration building, this paper studies the effects of residential airtightness on heating and air conditioning energy consumption and indoor thermal environment in winter. The simulation results show that in the hot summer and cold winter zone, the level of air tightness also influence the heating and air conditioning energy consumption, but the impact on heating energy consumption is more obvious. In addition, when selecting energy-saving measures, the relationship between the level of air tightness and the level of insulation should be weighed. We should not reduce energy consumption only by improving the airtightness level. Otherwise, the investment is large and the energy saving effect is very poor.
Life-cycle cost and environmental assessment of nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEBs) in four European countries
Authors: Mørck Ove , Gutierrez Miriam Sanchez Mayoral , Thomsen Kirsten Engelund , Wittchen Kim B. 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
Nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs) are required as the minimum standard for all new buildings in Europe by January 2021. These buildings should, according to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) [1], be cost optimal, i.e. the cost of constructing and operating the building over its lifetime should be at its minimum. The EU Horizon 2020 research project CoNZEBs, identify and assess technology solution sets that lead to significant cost reductions of new NZEBs in four EU member states. The project initially identified baseline costs for minimum energy performance buildings, NZEB and beyond NZEB in the four countries and then a number of solution sets with lower investment costs than those of typical NZEBs. The next step was to carry out life cycle cost and environmental assessment analyses on the identified solution sets and compare these to minimum energy performance, typical NZEB and beyond NZEB buildings. The results of this work for one of the countries – Denmark – is presented below as an example.
Impact of temperature and moisture dependent conductivity of building insulation materials on estimating heating and cooling load using typical and historical weather data
Authors: Siu C Y , Wang Y Y , Liao Z 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
This paper investigates the impact on heating and cooling load estimation when effective thermal conductivity of materials is incorporated into building energy simulation in conjunction with historical weather data. Under current practice, thermal performance of building envelope systems is usually represented by a lumped nominal conductivity value. In reality, effective conductivity is influenced by many factors such as temperature and moisture content. To minimize computing time, building energy simulation is also conducted with typical meteorological weather data, which is sufficient in estimating average energy use of buildings, but lacks the ability to truly reflect building performance under long term weather conditions. Preliminary research has been conducted by simulating a typical residential house in Toronto using WUFI plus - a comprehensive hygrothermal building simulation program. Historical CWEED - 1998 to 2014 weather data and typical weather files CWEC-1990s and 2016 have been used for this work. The results shows:1)a reduced representativeness of typical weather data in building energy simulation as climate changes over time; 2)estimation using typical weather data is not representative of any individual historical year and 3)performance of insulation materials changes when temperature and moisture dependant conductivity is considered and affects the results of building energy simulation.
A nearly Zero Energy Building in Mediterranean climate: a case study in Mesagne (Apulia)
Authors: Stasi R , Paterno S , Stragapede A , Liuzzi S , Stefanizzi P 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
This paper presents the case study of an nZEB building located in the municipality of Mesagne (Apulia, BR). It is a building of 309 m2 of usable floor space with two floors above ground. The building is a proof that a correct integrated design of the HVAC system and the building envelope can easily lead to an nZEB building with high performance in terms of energy consumption and comfort. The external envelope of the building is a structure in tufa blocks plus a mixture of hemp and hydraulic lime plus blocks of hemp and lime. Hemp lime is a mix of renewably sourced hemp shiv, a specially formulated lime binder and water. The air conditioning system is based on a controlled mechanical ventilation with air pre-treatment through an underground tube exchanger. A numerical simulation of the overall building-plant system performance was made with DesignBuilder in order to evaluate the energy consumption for air conditioning and the thermohygrometric comfort in the building. Several simulations were carried out to compare the incidence of different building-plant system on total energy consumptions: one without earth-to-air heat exchanger, one without heat-recovery and recirculation, one without solar shading.
Technoeconomic assessment of solar combined heat and power systems based on hybrid PVT collectors in greenhouse applications
Authors: Wang Kai , Pantaleo Antonio Marco , Mugnozza Giacomo Scarascia , Markides Christos N. 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
This paper presents a technoeconomic analysis of a solar combined heat and power (S-CHP) system based on hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) collectors for distributed cogeneration in a greenhouse tomato-farm in Bari, Italy. The thermal and electrical demands of the greenhouse of interest are currently fulfilled by a gas-fired CHP system that features an internal combustion engine (ICE) prime mover, and partially by an auxiliary gas boiler and electricity from the grid. A PVT-water S-CHP system is designed and sized based on a transient model, with hourly weather data and measured demand data given as inputs. Annual simulations are performed to predict the transient behaviour of the S-CHP system and to assess the system’s energy outputs. The economic profitability of such solution is also evaluated by considering the investment costs and cost savings due to the reduced on-site energy consumption. The results show that, with an installation area of 30,000 m2, the PVT S-CHP system is able to cover up to 73% of the annual thermal demand of the greenhouse, while delivering a net electrical output 2.6 times that of the annual electrical demand. This performance is similar to that achieved by the equivalent ICE-CHP system (92% and 2 times, respectively). Furthermore, the total annual cost saving of the PVT S-CHP system is more than 6 times higher than that of the ICE system, due to the much lower fuel cost of the PVT system. Similarly, the potential CO2 emission reduction associated with the PVT system is considerably higher, at 3010 tCO2/year saved (vs. 86 tCO2/year). The payback time of the PVT system is not significantly longer than that of the ICE system (10.4 years vs. 8.4 years), but its levelized cost of energy is much lower (0.076 €/kWh vs. 0.132 €/kWh) due to the higher annual cost savings. These results indicate that such PVT S-CHP systems have an excellent technoeconomic potential in the proposed greenhouse applications and could be competitive over conventional fossil-fuel-based ICE-CHP systems in terms of energetic, economic and also environmental metrics.
Study on building performance considering climate characteristics for university facility in Japan
Authors: Naito Yuki , Kuwahara Ryoichi 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
This study was investigated the building performance of each area for university facilities. The purpose is to propose optimal building performance for each area. As the background, the target building needs the energy-saving renovation. The target building has been built for 25 years and aged. In addition, the primary energy consumption of the target building is larger than the primary energy consumption of standard university facilities. Therefore, it is necessary to renovate buildings and facilities, and plans should be made to save more energy. This research method was examined changing the building performance for each area by using the Building Energy Simulation Tool (BEST) program of the energy simulation. Building performance is the thermal insulation of the outer wall and the type of glazing. As a result, In Ube, primary energy consumption tends to increase if thermal insulation performance is increased too much. In Sapporo, primary energy consumption tends to decrease as thermal insulation performance increases. In Naha, it turned out that increasing the thermal insulation performance is not effective.
Towards a universal ranking system for design parameters’ impact on buildings’ lifecycle energy
Authors: Panizza Rafaela O , Nik-Bakht Mazdak 
Published: October 2019

Abstract
The energy consumption of buildings depends on numerous factors that can be categorized in four major categories: geometry parameters; location; attributes of electric and mechanical systems; and behaviour of users. Most of the existing publications on ‘energy-consumption influencing parameters’ test the sensitivity of energy consumption to these inputs in a single building; not making it possible to correlate different projects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact caused by the model when evaluating parameters. In this paper we have studied a series of nine real-world design projects in cold climate (Québec, Canada) to analyse the behaviour of thirteen design parameters. Among the four major categories mentioned above, our scope is limited to geometry parameters (variation in climate, mechanical systems and occupants is excluded). The parameters include building orientation; window-to-wall ratio; overhang size; insulation; and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) for windows. All parameters are analysed using the Morris method for sensitivity analysis and are ranked based on the simulation results. According to the results, window-to-wall ratio and orientation show lower variation among different models while insulation, overhangs and SHGC appear to be more sensitive. The developed analysis is the starting point to what can be a shortcut for designers to control energy consumptions efficiently in new designs.