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Environmental and Sustainable Built Environments

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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: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 15485

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Carolyn S. Hayles

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Guest Editor

Cardiff School of Art and Design, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff CF5 2YB, UK
Interests: adaptation; architectural heritage; climate change; refurbishment; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite submissions to a Special Issue of the journal Energies on the topic of environmental and sustainable built environments.
It has been well documented that buildings make a considerable contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and are accountable for a significant percentage of overall energy consumption. Indeed, they are said to account for 30% of all carbon emissions and 40% of energy use worldwide. Meanwhile, the United Nations has warned that the world is “way off track” in terms of meeting targets to limit global warming as the signs of a climate emergency grow more damaging. Certainly, the agency has warned urgent and far-reaching climate action is needed if the World is to limit global warming to 1.5 or 2 °C, as required under the international Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Progressive Climate change targets (up to 2050) have been set, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy, as well as improvements in energy efficiency—all pertinent to the built environment. Consequently, the design and construction industries face extraordinary sustainability challenges in order to achieve much needed energy savings while minimising environmental impacts. Addressing the complex and multifaceted challenges of sustainable development will require a robust framework, supported by everyone involved in design and construction, including their extensive supply chains.

In this Special Issue, we would like to encourage original contributions regarding recent developments in and approaches to environmental and sustainable decision making for reducing energy consumption in the built environment, including innovative responses to energy reduction policies; measures being put in place to support adaption to low/zero carbon built environments; as well as strategies for embedding climate change resilience in both new-build and in the reimagining of existing buildings.

Dr. Carolyn S. Hayles
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Active buildings
Building energy systems
Climate change adaption
Climate change resilience
District heating/cooling
Energy reduction
Energy capture and storage
Environmental buildings
Integrated systems
Low carbon
Near-zero carbon
Passive design
Renewable energies
Sustainable technologies
Zero carbon

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 1288 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seeking the Pressure Points: Catalysing Low Carbon Changes from the Middle-Out in Offices and Schools

by Catherine Willan, Kathryn B. Janda and David Kenington

Energies 2021, 14(23), 8087; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14238087 - 02 Dec 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1560

Abstract

Non-domestic buildings are frequently characterised as resistant to top-down low-carbon and energy-efficiency policy. Complex relationships amongst building stakeholders are often blamed. “Middle actors”—professionals situated between policymakers and building users—can use their agency and capacity to facilitate energy and carbon decision-making from the “middle-out”. We use semi-structured interviews with expert middle actors working with schools and commercial offices, firstly, to explore their experience of energy and low-carbon decision-making in buildings and, secondly, to reflect on the evolution of middle actors’ role within it. Our exploratory findings suggest that a situated sensitivity to organisational “pressure points” can enhance middle actors’ agency and capacity to catalyse change. We find shifts in the ecology of the “middle”, as the UK’s Net Zero and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) agendas pull in new middle actors (such as the financial community) and issues (such as wellbeing and social value) to non-domestic buildings. These issues may work in reinforcing ways with organisational pressure points. Policy should capitalise on this impetus by looking beyond the physicality of individual buildings and engage with middle actors at a systemic level. This could create greater synergies with organisational concerns and strategies of building stakeholders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Sustainable Built Environments)

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17 pages, 3773 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Analysis of Repeating Thermal Bridges from Timber Frame Fraction in Closed Panel Timber Frame Walls: A Case Study from Wales, UK

by Francesco Zaccaro, John Richard Littlewood and Carolyn Hayles

Energies 2021, 14(4), 1211; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14041211 - 23 Feb 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2944

Abstract

Calculating Repeating Thermal Bridges (RTBs) for Timber Frame (TF) closed panels that could occur in Offsite Manufactured (OSM) Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), such as exterior walls for nearly-to-zero operational energy dwellings to be constructed in Wales, United Kingdom (UK) is discussed in this paper. Detailed calculations for linear RTBs due to the TF components are often neglected when evaluating thermal transmittance (known as U-values hereafter). The use of standard TF fractions does not allow the designer to perceive their detrimental impact on RTBs and consequent U-values for exterior walls. With the increase of the thermal performance of exterior walls and as such lower U-values due to ever-tightening Building Regulations, specifically related to the energy use and carbon emissions from the space heating of dwellings, then the impacts of RTBs requires more investigation. By not calculating the potential of linear RTB at the design stage could lead to a performance gap where assumed U-values for exterior walls differ from manufacture to onsite. A TF detail from the Welsh manufacture has been chosen as a case study, to develop and apply a methodology using manufacturing drawings to evaluate TF fraction and their effect on the thermal performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Sustainable Built Environments)

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24 pages, 10667 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Apartment-Complex Layout Planning for Daylight Accessibility in a High-Density City with a Temperate Climate

by Sewon Lee and Kyung Sun Lee

Energies 2020, 13(16), 4172; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13164172 - 12 Aug 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3984

Abstract

As interest in sustainable design increases, many methods have been suggested to develop an integrated sustainable design process. However, due to the lack of a scientific procedure using parametric tools for an objective evaluation, it is difficult to move forward with integrated sustainable design. In addition, the design priority of the indoor environment is still relatively low because of the score composition of the green-building certification system. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a simulation tool and method to help apartment-complex layout planning in urban contexts by focusing on the indoor daylight environment. In particular, Korean cities are densely formed with high-rise buildings in a small area, so the Korean Building Act has complicated provisions to reduce overshadowing between buildings. To reduce unnecessary wasted time while checking these complicated regulations, a simulation was used to automatically check building offsets. Galapagos, a component of Rhino-Grasshopper, was used to apply a genetic algorithm that discovered optimized results. A standard flat-type apartment complex in Seoul was analyzed with the developed tools in order to compare the existing plan with an optimized layout. The results of the simulation and the suggested analysis methods can help in the initial planning stages of an integrated sustainable design in a high-density city with a temperate climate. This allows architects to utilize the proposed results or use them as a reference for further modification and design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Sustainable Built Environments)

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Review

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21 pages, 2505 KiB

Open AccessReview

Net Zero Energy Buildings: Variations, Clarifications, and Requirements in Response to the Paris Agreement

by Haleh Moghaddasi, Charles Culp, Jorge Vanegas and Mehrdad Ehsani

Energies 2021, 14(13), 3760; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133760 - 23 Jun 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5965

Abstract

Buildings contribute to greenhouse gas emissions that cause environmental impacts on climate change. Net Zero Energy (NZ) buildings would reduce greenhouse gases. The current definition of NZ lacks consensus and has created uncertainties, which cause delays in the adoption of NZ. This paper proposes a Process for Clarification to Accelerate the Net Zero (PC-A-NZ) through three integrated steps: variations, strategies, and requirements. We expand on the results in published NZ literature to clarify the differences in definition and strategy. The objective of this review is to (1) distinguish current variable parameters that are slowing the acceptance of NZ, and (2) focus the discussion internationally on moving faster toward applying NZ to a larger common agreement. The publications of global NZ target assessment and energy efficient strategies will be reviewed to address the main requirements in expediting NZ’s successful progress. Our NZ review analysis highlights (1) how the existing NZ definitions and criteria differ, (2) how calculation strategies vary, and (3) how standards and requirements are often localized. The proposed PC-A-NZ will help policymakers and stakeholders to re-evaluate the existing definitions, standards, and requirements to optimize the use of renewable technologies, improved energy efficiency and electrification to speed up achieving the NZ targets. Definition: There are multiple NZ definitions that vary in source and supply requirement, timescale, emission source, and grid connection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Sustainable Built Environments)

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