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Energies
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Green Buildings and Community Energy Management
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Green Buildings and Community Energy Management

A Special Issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073) belonging to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2026 | Viewed by 1739

Editor

Dr. Montaser Mahmoud

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sustainable Energy & Power Systems Research Centre, RISE, University of Sharjah, Sharjah P.O. Box 27272, United Arab Emirates
Interests: renewable energy; hybrid energy systems; energy storage; energy management; energy optimization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increasing demand for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable solutions in the built environment has driven significant advancements in green building technologies and community energy management strategies. As urbanization accelerates and climate change concerns grow, integrating renewable energy, optimizing energy consumption, and improving energy storage solutions are critical for achieving net-zero carbon goals. Modern green buildings not only focus on reducing energy consumption but also actively generate, store, and manage energy through innovative approaches, such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), smart grids, and decentralized energy systems. Similarly, community energy management plays a vital role in ensuring the efficient distribution and utilization of energy at a collective scale, leveraging microgrids, energy storage, and demand-side management. These advancements contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing energy resilience, and promoting sustainable urban development.

This Special Issue aims to explore cutting-edge research, technological innovations, and policy strategies in green building and community energy management, with a focus on renewable energy integration, smart energy systems, and sustainable development. Topics may include the following:

  • Renewable energy integration in green buildings and communities;
  • Energy storage solutions for sustainable community energy management;
  • Optimization of hybrid renewable energy systems in urban and rural communities;
  • Smart grids, microgrids, and peer-to-peer energy trading;
  • Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) and solar thermal applications;
  • Energy-efficient HVAC systems and passive design strategies;
  • Decarbonizing the built environment through advanced energy technologies;
  • Artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT for smart energy management;
  • Life cycle assessment and environmental impact of green building materials;
  • Policy, economic, and social aspects of community energy management.

Dr. Montaser Mahmoud
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 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. 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

  • green buildings
  • community energy management
  • renewable energy integration
  • energy storage systems
  • smart grids and microgrids

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 21157 KB  
Article
EnergyPlus EMS Methodology for Dynamic Integration of Earth-to-Air Heat Exchangers in Building Energy Simulation: Implementation, Calibration and Annual Performance Assessment
by Rodrigues Pascoal Castro, Luís Carlos Carvalho Pires and Pedro Dinho da Silva
Energies 2026, 19(18), 4453; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19184453 - 20 Sep 2026
Abstract
Earth-to-air heat exchangers (EAHEs) use ground thermal inertia to precondition ventilation air, but their representation in whole-building simulation is limited by the simplified geometry and internally defined heat-transfer formulation of the native EnergyPlus ZoneEarthtube model. This study develops a Python/EMS methodology that dynamically [...] Read more.
Earth-to-air heat exchangers (EAHEs) use ground thermal inertia to precondition ventilation air, but their representation in whole-building simulation is limited by the simplified geometry and internally defined heat-transfer formulation of the native EnergyPlus ZoneEarthtube model. This study develops a Python/EMS methodology that dynamically couples EnergyPlus with a segmented effectiveness–NTU model driven by the Kusuda–Achenbach ground-temperature formulation. A vertical helical EAHE installed in Covilhã, Portugal, was represented using measured pipe-path lengths and burial depths, with temperatures monitored at five locations (A–E). The model was calibrated using the first 96 observations of dataset E1 at 27.9 m3 h−1, temporally evaluated against the remaining 67 observations, and transferred without refitting to dataset E2 at 51.3 m3 h−1. Across A–E, RMSE values were 1.446 °C for calibration, 1.123 °C for temporal evaluation, and 1.885 °C for transfer. At point E, ZoneEarthtube yielded lower RMSE than the NTU model for the E1 hold-out (0.332 vs. 0.621 °C) and E2 transfer dataset (1.424 vs. 1.603 °C), but showed a larger negative bias in E2 (−1.259 vs. +0.427 °C). Over 8760 h with identical weather forcing, the two EnergyPlus implementations showed close outlet-temperature consistency (RMSE 0.413 °C, MAE 0.351 °C, MBE +0.048 °C). Native annual precooling and preheating differed by −3.18% and +1.86%, respectively, with different mass-flow treatments. The results support the EMS–NTU framework as a flexible, experimentally anchored alternative for EAHEs requiring segment-specific depths and user-defined thermal parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Buildings and Community Energy Management)
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23 pages, 2122 KB  
Article
Energy Communities and SMEs in Spain: Awareness, Perceptions, and Barriers to Participation
by Elena Bulmer, Concha Maza, Natalia Pérez-González, Patricia Ureña-Imedio and Clara Matutano
Energies 2026, 19(13), 3110; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19133110 - 30 Jun 2026
Viewed by 398
Abstract
Energy communities represent a potential mechanism for Europe’s decentralized energy transition. However, empirical evidence regarding how Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)—key economic stakeholders—perceive or engage with this model remains scarce. This study examines the awareness, perceptions, and participation levels of 219 Spanish SMEs. [...] Read more.
Energy communities represent a potential mechanism for Europe’s decentralized energy transition. However, empirical evidence regarding how Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)—key economic stakeholders—perceive or engage with this model remains scarce. This study examines the awareness, perceptions, and participation levels of 219 Spanish SMEs. By applying a quantitative CAWI survey and a four-stage engagement framework (awareness, perception, motivation, and participation), this research maps the factors associated with organizational adoption. The results indicate a significant ‘awareness gap’: only 34% of respondents are familiar with the concept, and participation appears predominantly passive. That is, information gaps and difficulties with communication within institutions, as well as funding, are the main challenges identified, supporting the proposed sequential engagement framework. Given the gap between policy goals and current engagement of SMEs, this paper offers a diagnostic framework to policymakers to identify and address information barriers to SME energy transition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Buildings and Community Energy Management)
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40 pages, 8365 KB  
Article
Knowledge Discovery-Driven Intelligent Decision-Making System to Establish Public Building Envelope Prioritizing Strategies: Case Study on Romanian Building Stock
by Gheorghe Grigoras, Romeo-Cristian Ciobanu, Bogdan-Constantin Neagu, Mihaela Aradoaei, Razvan-Petru Livadariu and Alina Ruxandra Caramitu
Energies 2026, 19(12), 2906; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19122906 - 19 Jun 2026
Viewed by 424
Abstract
The energy performance of a building reflects its typical energy use and is influenced by factors such as the building envelope (insulation and windows), system efficiency (particularly for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water), and the integration of renewable energy sources. Improving energy [...] Read more.
The energy performance of a building reflects its typical energy use and is influenced by factors such as the building envelope (insulation and windows), system efficiency (particularly for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water), and the integration of renewable energy sources. Improving energy performance helps save energy, boost energy independence and security, lower energy costs, and reduce the need for grid investments. Standardizing energy performance assessments enables benchmarking and comparison of building efficiency, encouraging informed decision-making. In this context, the paper presents a knowledge discovery-driven intelligent decision-making system, designed, developed, and tested to identify the best strategies for prioritizing buildings in the envelope process. The system combines data mining techniques with statistical analysis to precisely rank and thoroughly evaluate low-energy-performance buildings and to develop scenario-based strategies for enveloping the buildings to achieve high energy efficiency (associated with nearly zero-energy buildings) under real-world conditions. Testing of the proposed intelligent decision-making system was conducted using a real building database of approximately 3900 records, uploaded from the Romanian central administration website. Under the highest-performance scenario of the envelope-priority strategy, which includes nearly zero-energy building standards, energy savings exceeded 50% across all categories: 51.70% for healthcare, 53.40% for residential, 60.11% for administrative and office buildings, and 69.92% for educational institutions. Overall, the average savings across all building types were 59.81% (644.86 GWh/year). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Buildings and Community Energy Management)
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Other

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57 pages, 1023 KB  
Systematic Review
Systematic Review of Software and Algorithms for the Implementation of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs)
by Matilde Chierici, Martina Ferrando, Sibilla Ferroni, Xing Shi and Francesco Causone
Energies 2026, 19(16), 3718; https://doi.org/10.3390/en19163718 - 7 Aug 2026
Viewed by 396
Abstract
Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) have gained traction in recent years as key instruments for the democratization of energy systems and the promotion of localized, sustainable energy production and consumption. The implementation of RECs has been underpinned by a variety of software programs and [...] Read more.
Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) have gained traction in recent years as key instruments for the democratization of energy systems and the promotion of localized, sustainable energy production and consumption. The implementation of RECs has been underpinned by a variety of software programs and algorithms. This paper presents a systematic literature review of such methods following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology; moreover, following the PRISMA nomenclature, the review includes 420 reports, grouped into 311 unique studies, evaluating the literature according to REC development phases, methodological approach, software functions, openness, interoperability, and decision-support capabilities. Results show that most contributions focus on the modelling phase, specifically feasibility study and REC design, while stakeholder engagement, construction, and long-term operation remain less developed. Comprehensive software programs are mainly available for simulation and techno-economic analysis, whereas tools developed specifically for REC operation, monitoring, energy sharing, or decision support are often prototypes or case-specific implementations. These findings provide guidance for researchers, REC developers, policymakers, and community stakeholders seeking to select, improve, or regulate digital tools for RECs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Buildings and Community Energy Management)
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