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Energies
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Sustainable Building Energy and Environment: 2nd Edition
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Sustainable Building Energy and Environment: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 August 2025 | Viewed by 4500

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Carla Balocco

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture (DiDA), University of Florence, Via Mattonaia 14, Firenze, Italy
Interests: building physics and plant systems; wellbeing and indoor air quality; historical buildings and cultural heritage; natural and artificial lighting; solar radiation control; energy sustainability of building–plant system; nautral and controlled mechanical ventilation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will be an important channel of information and research findings concerning energy sustainability, indoor air quality, and wellbeing for newly designed, existing, and historic buildings. Of particular interest are papers regarding the recent developments and applications, as well as the refurbishment and retrofitting solutions, of sustainable lighting (natural and/or artificial) and effective/efficient natural and mechanical ventilation, as well as control systems and environmental monitoring, combined with simulations of building and plant systems, thermal comfort, wellness, and indoor air quality.

Dr. Carla Balocco
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

  • sustainable lighting
  • natural and mechanical ventilation
  • control system and environmental monitoring
  • energy performance and building-plant system simulation
  • environmental quality for newly designed, existing, historic buildings

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 3465 KiB  
Article
Air Pollution Problems in Apartments Equipped with Gas Stoves
by Alexander Shkarovskiy and Agnieszka Maliszewska
Energies 2025, 18(6), 1492; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18061492 - 18 Mar 2025
Viewed by 209
Abstract
This article considers issues related to air pollution in residential apartments equipped with gas stoves. The combustion products from gas stoves are released directly into the indoor air, where people can spend a significant part of their time. Even relatively low concentrations of [...] Read more.
This article considers issues related to air pollution in residential apartments equipped with gas stoves. The combustion products from gas stoves are released directly into the indoor air, where people can spend a significant part of their time. Even relatively low concentrations of harmful substances contained in combustion products can pose serious health risks and potentially threaten lives. The detrimental effects of nitrogen oxides (NOx) on human health and the environment are briefly analyzed. A comparison and analysis of legal regulations and standards regarding the maximum permissible concentration of NOx in the air across various countries are conducted. Theoretical calculations estimating the potential NOx levels in gas-equipped kitchens are presented. Additionally, the results of experimental studies measuring the NOx concentrations in the air of apartments with different gas stove designs, burner types, and ventilation methods are presented. The authors’ data are compared with existing data from other similar studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Energy and Environment: 2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 4626 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Effect of Relative Humidity on the Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient Using Full-Scale Experiments in a Climatic Wind Tunnel
by Jan Kočí, Tomáš Navara, Jiří Maděra, Arsenii Trush, Riccardo Cacciotti, Stanislav Pospíšil and Robert Černý
Energies 2025, 18(4), 810; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18040810 - 9 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 665
Abstract
The effect of relative humidity on the convective heat exchange between a solid surface and an ambient air stream is analyzed in this study. In the experimental part, a unique closed-circuit climatic wind tunnel is utilized, allowing full-scale experiments to be conducted with [...] Read more.
The effect of relative humidity on the convective heat exchange between a solid surface and an ambient air stream is analyzed in this study. In the experimental part, a unique closed-circuit climatic wind tunnel is utilized, allowing full-scale experiments to be conducted with full control over the environmental parameters defining the experimental boundary conditions. The experimental configuration, which includes a specific design of a specimen to promote a controlled heat flow through the specimen body, might bring new insights into the field of energy-related calculations or prediction of building energy consumption. The novelty of this work lies in the implementation of relative humidity as an independent factor within thermal modelling, which might contribute to increasing the accuracy of building energy simulation models. The computational analysis of experimental results indicates relative humidity as an important parameter, which can affect the convective heat transfer coefficient by up to 37%. The major effects have been observed after exceeding a relative humidity of 50–55%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Energy and Environment: 2nd Edition)
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32 pages, 16861 KiB  
Article
Selecting Energy-Efficient LED Retrofits with Optimal Color Qualities for New and Refurbished Buildings
by Irena Fryc, Maciej Listowski, Robert Supronowicz and Christophe Martinsons
Energies 2025, 18(1), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18010112 - 30 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 876
Abstract
This study carried out a literature search and selection in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 protocol to conduct a complete review of the literature describing the electrical, photometrical, and colorimetric parameters of LEDs. Based on it, a significant research gap was found in [...] Read more.
This study carried out a literature search and selection in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 protocol to conduct a complete review of the literature describing the electrical, photometrical, and colorimetric parameters of LEDs. Based on it, a significant research gap was found in the field of LED-based lighting retrofits. We prove that there is a lack of publications indicating the relationship between the energy consumption of LED retrofits and user preferences concerning the quality of lighting. This article presents an effective new method for selecting LEDs to retrofit typical 3000, 4000, and 6500 K fluorescent lighting installations in buildings. It is shown that when selecting an LED replacement for a fluorescent source, consideration of the classically used parameters in the field of lighting technology to describe the quality of white light, specifically correlated color temperature and the color rendering index, is insufficient. We demonstrate that energy efficiency and the color preference criteria for retrofitted LEDs must be considered and balanced with the potential impact on circadian rhythms as assessed by the melanopic daylight efficacy ratio. This research proves that LED replacements with the best color preference properties (P1 class in the CPC classification of ANSI/IES TM30-20 method) correspond to the least energy-efficient light sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Energy and Environment: 2nd Edition)
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23 pages, 1877 KiB  
Article
Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Food Retail Buildings: Introducing a Novel Assessment Framework
by Simone Forastiere, Cristina Piselli, Andrea Silei, Fabio Sciurpi, Anna Laura Pisello, Franco Cotana and Carla Balocco
Energies 2024, 17(19), 4882; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17194882 - 28 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2041
Abstract
One of the primary global objectives is to decrease building energy consumption to promote energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The large-scale food retail trade sector accounts for over 15% of total primary energy consumption in Europe, posing a significant challenge to the transition [...] Read more.
One of the primary global objectives is to decrease building energy consumption to promote energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. The large-scale food retail trade sector accounts for over 15% of total primary energy consumption in Europe, posing a significant challenge to the transition towards green energy. This study proposes a simple method for energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, and cost-saving assessment and improvement in large-scale food retail trade buildings. It aims to analyze the energy and environmental performance of building–plant systems, establishing an interactive network to assess intervention potential for the energy transition. The investigation focuses on the proper selection and analysis of the benefits of retrofit solution implementation, emphasizing potential energy savings in current and future climate change scenarios. Dynamic simulation with the Building Energy Model (BEM) was used to evaluate the impacts of building–plant system retrofit solutions, such as high thermal insulation, photovoltaic (PV) panels, Light Emitting Diode (LED) installation, waste heat recovery, and improvement in refrigeration units. The results show a reduction in annual energy consumption for the PV panel installation by up to 29% and lighting systems with high-quality LED to 60%. Additionally, CO2 emissions can be decreased by up to 41% by combining these two strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Energy and Environment: 2nd Edition)
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Review

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54 pages, 8551 KiB  
Review
Photovoltaic Technology and Rural Landscapes: A Systematic Literature Review on Challenges and Sustainable Integration
by Stefano Bigiotti, Mariangela Ludovica Santarsiero, Carlo Costantino and Alvaro Marucci
Energies 2025, 18(8), 2095; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18082095 - 18 Apr 2025
Viewed by 194
Abstract
Energy supply through photovoltaic technology represents one of the most widely applied solutions in achieving energy transition goals. However, its expansion in rural contexts raises concerns due to the unique characteristics of the natural environment and the intrinsic landscape qualities of these areas. [...] Read more.
Energy supply through photovoltaic technology represents one of the most widely applied solutions in achieving energy transition goals. However, its expansion in rural contexts raises concerns due to the unique characteristics of the natural environment and the intrinsic landscape qualities of these areas. This systematic literature review examines the relationship between photovoltaic technology and the agricultural landscape, categorizing the selected studies into the following three macro-groups: the integration of photovoltaics in protected buildings and landscapes, the electrification of remote agricultural areas, and agrivoltaics as a compromise between production needs and landscape compatibility. Despite the extensive literature on the energy transition, systematic analyses of the landscape impacts of rural photovoltaics remain limited. This review addresses this gap by focusing on three key application areas marked by the tension between innovation and conservation. Through a systematic analysis conducted following the PRISMA guidelines, selecting 89 scientific publications from over 1200 evaluated sources, this review highlights the growing scientific interest in the topic and the heterogeneity of related research areas. The multidisciplinary nature of the discussion underscores the need to develop additional solutions that are more compatible with the environmental values of agricultural heritage, facilitating a more integrated and sustainable deployment of photovoltaics in high-value rural landscapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Building Energy and Environment: 2nd Edition)
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