Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.6
3.4
Journals
Buildings
Special Issues
Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Green Buildings
share announcement

Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Green Buildings

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1741

Editors

Dr. Anxiao Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Interests: healthy buildings; urban microclimate; building energy efficiency; spatial behaviour computing; thermal comfort
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shen Wei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, University College London, London WC1E 7HB, UK
Interests: intelligent/smart buildings; occupant behaviour; thermal comfort; thermal storage; renewable energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ling Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Interests: green building design; healthy buildings; rural built environment; ecological planning and design
Dr. Yixin Tian

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Architecture, Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi'an 710055, China
Interests: building performance; human settlement environment; spatial layout; multi-objective optimization; collaborative design
Dr. Qi Zhen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Interests: spatial behavior computing; healthy buildings; building energy efficiency; urban microclimate

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rapid advancements in building science, environmental simulation, and intelligent control technologies have opened new opportunities to enhance energy efficiency and thermal comfort in green buildings. Achieving the dual goals of reducing energy consumption and ensuring occupant comfort requires integrated approaches that consider the interactions between building envelope performance, urban microclimate adaptation, human spatial behavior, and HVAC system optimization. Recent research highlights the importance of coupling building energy modeling with occupant-centric thermal comfort evaluation, leveraging real-time sensing, data-driven algorithms, and adaptive design strategies.

This Special Issue, titled ‘Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Green Buildings’, aims to present cutting-edge studies that explore innovative methods, tools, and design principles to optimize both energy performance and thermal environments in residential, commercial, and public buildings. The scope of this Special Issue is intentionally broad and welcomes contributions across disciplines and scales, including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Integrated approaches to building energy efficiency and thermal comfort in design, operation, and retrofit phases.
  • Coupling urban microclimate analysis with building energy simulation.
  • Occupant behavior modeling and spatial behavior computing for energy and comfort optimization.
  • Smart control systems, real-time monitoring, and AI-driven adaptive thermal comfort strategies.
  • Passive and hybrid design strategies for energy reduction and comfort enhancement.
  • Healthy building design and its intersection with energy and comfort goals.
  • Thermal comfort in special environments such as healing landscapes, elderly friendly buildings, and educational facilities.
  • Advanced technologies such as digital twins, IoT, and machine learning for predictive energy management.
  • Assessment methods and multi-objective optimization of energy performance and comfort.
  • Policy, standards, and case studies promoting sustainable and comfortable built environments.

We welcome original research articles, case studies, and reviews that contribute to the theory, methodology, and application of energy efficiency and thermal comfort in green buildings, with the aim of fostering sustainable, resilient, and human-centered built environments.

Dr. Anxiao Zhang
Dr. Shen Wei
Prof. Dr. Ling Zhu
Dr. Yixin Tian
Dr. Qi Zhen
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings 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

  • energy efficiency
  • thermal comfort
  • green buildings
  • urban microclimate
  • occupant behavior modeling
  • smart building control
  • passive design strategies
  • healthy buildings

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

29 pages, 17630 KB  
Article
Exploring the Nonlinear Effects of Multiple Factors on Passenger Thermal Perception at Bus Stops: Evidence from Chongqing, China
by Hanya Fan, Lian Jiang, Yiping Chen, Shijie Xiong, Chang Liu, Yanan Liu and Peng Zeng
Buildings 2026, 16(12), 2420; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16122420 - 17 Jun 2026
Viewed by 406
Abstract
With ongoing urban warming and the increasing frequency of extreme heat events, thermal comfort at highly exposed public spaces like bus stops has attracted significant attention. However, existing studies largely rely on linear assumptions and limited environmental variables, leaving the complex, multidimensional mechanisms [...] Read more.
With ongoing urban warming and the increasing frequency of extreme heat events, thermal comfort at highly exposed public spaces like bus stops has attracted significant attention. However, existing studies largely rely on linear assumptions and limited environmental variables, leaving the complex, multidimensional mechanisms driving thermal perception unclear. This study investigates the nonlinear impacts of microclimate, urban morphology, and station design on passengers’ thermal perception during summer in Chongqing, China. Drawing on field measurements, questionnaire surveys, and spatial data, linear regression was first applied to estimate neutral temperatures and acceptable thermal ranges. Subsequently, an interpretable machine learning framework integrating XGBoost and SHAP analysis was developed to explore the nonlinear effects and interactions mechanisms among these variables. The results reveal a dual regulatory pattern. Mechanism variables exhibit distinct nonlinear thresholds, with wind speeds above 0.98 m/s showing cooling associations and PET values exceeding 34.70 °C corresponding to more rapid increases in thermal discomfort. Concurrently, urban morphology and station design factors contextually modify these direct effects by altering their magnitude and direction. Furthermore, significant spatial heterogeneity in thermal adaptation was observed, with neutral temperatures ranging from 23.19 to 31.01 °C. These findings provide a basis for developing adaptive and context-specific thermal environment management strategies for urban bus stops. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Green Buildings)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 5329 KB  
Article
A Comparative Study of Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Centralized Traditional Organic and Modern Standardized Rural Settlements
by Yiming Du, Anxiao Zhang, Qi Zhen, Shen Wei, Ling Zhu and Yixin Tian
Buildings 2026, 16(5), 1066; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16051066 - 7 Mar 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 703
Abstract
Global warming has significantly intensified the risks of summer heatwaves, making outdoor thermal comfort during extreme heat periods a critical research focus. Under centralized rural village reconstruction policies, traditional settlements are being replaced by regularized modern communities characterized by new materials and standardized [...] Read more.
Global warming has significantly intensified the risks of summer heatwaves, making outdoor thermal comfort during extreme heat periods a critical research focus. Under centralized rural village reconstruction policies, traditional settlements are being replaced by regularized modern communities characterized by new materials and standardized layouts. However, the impact of these morphological transitions on the micro-scale thermal environment remains under-researched, with a notable lack of comparative perspectives between traditional organic and modern standardized typologies. This study identifies six representative zones based on spatial configuration. By integrating UAV photogrammetry (Pix4Dmapper v4.5), AutoCAD 2019, and QGIS (v3.22), morphological characteristics were quantified, followed by microclimate simulations using ENVI-met v5.9. The results reveal that while peak daytime Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) in the standardized zones (49.2–51.8 °C) is slightly lower than in traditional zones (53.5–55.2 °C), a phenomenon of thermal homogenization emerges in the former. Specifically, values in standardized zones are highly concentrated around the median (53.5 °C), contributing to a significant upward trend in the minimum PET values, with nearly all sampling points exceeding 47.0 °C. Quantitative analysis identifies green coverage and perviousness as primary cooling drivers, while spatial openness and imperviousness promote thermal homogenization. In contrast, traditional zones retain critical cool refuges due to their spatial heterogeneity. This research provides an empirical foundation and quantitative reference for understanding the thermal performance differences across different rural spatial typologies. The findings offer insights for planners to optimize street layouts and shading strategies, ultimately mitigating heat stress and fostering climate-resilient modern countryside development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort in Green Buildings)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop