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Research on Low-Carbon Energy Buildings
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Research on Low-Carbon Energy Buildings

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 24 October 2024 | Viewed by 6112

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Janusz Adamczyk

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Management and Quality, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Zielona Góra, ul. Podgórna 50, 65-246 Zielona Góra, Poland
Interests: energy efficiency; LCA analysis; sustainable construction
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Robert Dylewski

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Econometrics, University of Zielona Góra, ul. Licealna 9, 65-417 Zielona Góra, Poland
Interests: investment; energy; energy economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

While the construction sector is not the only culprit of greenhouse gas emissions, it is largely responsible for a substantial amount of the emissions released into the environment. Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector, apart from being related to energy needs,  ensuring thermal comfort in residential premises, also result from the acquisition of raw materials, production of building materials, construction and the post-use phase, i.e., the demolition and disposal of structural elements of buildings. The use phase of a building is the phase in which the largest amounts of energy are consumed. Therefore, the greatest potential for energy savings is seen in this phase of a building's life, which can be achieved, for example, by improving energy efficiency and/or applying innovative solutions using renewable energy sources. The ecological and economic assessment of investments reducing the demand for energy is a way of communicating "good practices" to investors that generate economic and ecological benefits. Equally important in reducing this sector’s environmental impact are legal and economic instruments. The variety and effectiveness of the applied legal regulations and economic instruments are the subject of scientific discussion.

Green construction, not only understood literally, for example, through the prism of "green roofs or facades", but also through the use of thermal or acoustic insulation, contributes to improved housing conditions and meeting user expectations. Building residents are increasingly taking into account the principles of sustainable development in decision making; social expectations (the social aspect) in the field of sustainable construction are thus important considerations for developers. 

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the latest achievements related to sustainable construction in three aspects: economic, ecological and social.

Topics of interest for the publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Low-carbon construction;
  • Methods of assessing economic and ecological benefits;
  • Use of renewable energy sources in construction;
  • Zero-emission buildings;
  • Effectiveness of legal and economic regulations used in construction;
  • LCA implementation in generating resource and energy efficiency;
  • Ecological solutions in the architecture and infrastructure of cities;
  • Environmental revitalization of cities.

Dr. Janusz Adamczyk
Dr. Robert Dylewski
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 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 construction
  • low-carbon construction
  • ecological construction
  • renewable energy
  • environmental protection in construction law
  • pro-ecological solutions in construction
  • green initiatives in construction
  • resource and energy efficiency
  • economic aspect of ecological construction
  • social aspect of ecological construction.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 3647 KiB  
Article
Selected Aspects of Sustainable Construction—Contemporary Opportunities for the Use of Timber in High and High-Rise Buildings
by Hanna Michalak and Karolina Michalak
Energies 2024, 17(8), 1961; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17081961 - 20 Apr 2024
Viewed by 252
Abstract
Due to the favourable pro-environmental properties of timber, including the origin of the raw material from renewable sources, ease of reuse, negative carbon footprint, low specific weight, possibility of prefabrication, etc., there is increasing interest in the use of timber in construction. This [...] Read more.
Due to the favourable pro-environmental properties of timber, including the origin of the raw material from renewable sources, ease of reuse, negative carbon footprint, low specific weight, possibility of prefabrication, etc., there is increasing interest in the use of timber in construction. This paper takes a closer look at the new uses of timber as a load-bearing structure for high and high-rise buildings. Cases described in the literature concerning this type of building with residential and public functions erected worldwide were analysed. The first buildings of this type were put into use in 2009. The aim of this paper is to show new possibilities and to extend the use of timber as a load-bearing structure of high and high-rise buildings previously made of reinforced concrete or steel. The scope of the analysis includes two postulates of sustainable construction, directly related to the above-mentioned goals: limiting interference in the natural areas of cities through efficient use of building plots for high or high-rise buildings and the use of renewable materials—timber—for the load-bearing structure of buildings. A research method based on a case study was used. Conclusions were made on the pro-environmental spatial–functional and material–structural design of these high and high-rise buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Low-Carbon Energy Buildings)
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21 pages, 2900 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Climate Change and Window Parameters on Energy Demand and CO2 Emissions in a Building with Various Heat Sources
by Walery Jezierski, Dorota Anna Krawczyk and Beata Sadowska
Energies 2023, 16(15), 5675; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16155675 - 28 Jul 2023
Viewed by 644
Abstract
This article presents an original study on the impact of climate change and the area of windows Awi (factor X1), the thermal transmittance coefficient of windows Uwi (factor X2), and the coefficient of total solar transmittance factor [...] Read more.
This article presents an original study on the impact of climate change and the area of windows Awi (factor X1), the thermal transmittance coefficient of windows Uwi (factor X2), and the coefficient of total solar transmittance factor of the glazing ggl (factor X3) on the index of annual usable energy demand for heating EUH (function Y) of a single-family residential building in the climatic conditions of Bialystok (Poland), which were loaded with an equal gradual increase in average monthly external temperature by Δθe,n (factor X4). Based on the results of the computational experiment, a deterministic mathematical model of this dependence was developed, and the effects of selected factors on the Y function were analyzed for the considered climatic conditions. Moreover, in cases of selected variants, the influence of the energy source on the amount of final energy used and CO2 emissions was studied. It was found that an increase in the average monthly external temperature reduces the EUH of the tested building by 8.4% per every 1 °C of increase in Δθe,n. The reduction in CO2 emissions as a result of climate change is visible for systems with low efficiency and high emission factors (wood boiler), while in the case of pro-ecological high-efficiency systems (with a ground-source pump heat) it is inappreciable. Due to the need to decarbonize buildings, knowledge about the impact of the properties of windows, which are the weakest element in terms of heat loss through the building envelope, as well as the type of heat source on heat demand and CO2 emissions, is very important for engineers and designers when making the correct decisions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Low-Carbon Energy Buildings)
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20 pages, 4773 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Impact of Window Parameters on Energy Demand and CO2 Emission Reduction for a Single-Family House
by Walery Jezierski and Miroslaw Zukowski
Energies 2023, 16(11), 4429; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16114429 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 995
Abstract
This article deals with the determination of the impact of selected parameters on energy consumption for heating and cooling purposes and CO2 emissions. Mathematical modelling combined with planning a computational experiment was adopted as the research method. The database for creating the [...] Read more.
This article deals with the determination of the impact of selected parameters on energy consumption for heating and cooling purposes and CO2 emissions. Mathematical modelling combined with planning a computational experiment was adopted as the research method. The database for creating the models was developed using building energy simulations performed with DesignBuilder software. A single-family house with an area of 101 m2 was the subject of this study. Four deterministic mathematical models for the estimation of annual energy demand for heating, cooling, total final energy demand, and CO2 emissions were developed. Four parameters affecting the energy balance of the house: the area of the glazing system (three levels), U-value of windows (two-, three- and four-pane), U-value of external walls (0.1, 0.15, 0.2 W/m2K) and location (Warsaw, Berlin, Paris) were considered. The article discusses in detail the influence of individual factors on the energy demand and their common interactions. It was found that the level of thermal insulation of the glazing system plays the most important role in saving energy. This factor was the only one to show a stable and significant reduction in house energy demand, and thus a reduction in CO2 emissions for all four objective functions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Low-Carbon Energy Buildings)
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13 pages, 961 KiB  
Article
Economic and Ecological Optimization of Thermal Insulation Depending on the Pre-Set Temperature in a Dwelling
by Robert Dylewski and Janusz Adamczyk
Energies 2023, 16(10), 4174; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16104174 - 18 May 2023
Viewed by 783
Abstract
Improvement of the energy efficiency of buildings contributes to energy savings. It is obvious that thermal modernization of a building reduces the demand for energy needed to heat it. The energy demand itself also depends significantly on the temperature maintained inside the building. [...] Read more.
Improvement of the energy efficiency of buildings contributes to energy savings. It is obvious that thermal modernization of a building reduces the demand for energy needed to heat it. The energy demand itself also depends significantly on the temperature maintained inside the building. The article proposes a methodology for determining the economic and ecological benefits of thermal insulation of a building and the optimal thickness of thermal insulation depending on the pre-set temperature. The analysis includes various types of heat sources and materials used for thermal insulation. A range of pre-set air temperature values in residential premises from 17 °C to 26 °C was analysed. Determining the optimal thickness of the external walls, in accordance with the preferences of building users, even at the level of designing the thermal insulation of the building, is of significant importance for economic and ecological benefits. The optimum thickness of thermal insulation in the case of the ecological assessment was much higher in each variant than in the case of the economic assessment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Low-Carbon Energy Buildings)
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20 pages, 1150 KiB  
Perspective
A Carbon Accounting and Trading Platform for the uk Construction Industry
by George Blumberg and Maurizio Sibilla
Energies 2023, 16(4), 1566; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16041566 - 04 Feb 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2869
Abstract
Atmospheric carbon dioxide emanating from activities associated with the construction of buildings in the UK contributes approximately 16% of the uk’s total emissions and will need to be reduced significantly to meet international agreements. Against this scenario, this paper presents a novel [...] Read more.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide emanating from activities associated with the construction of buildings in the UK contributes approximately 16% of the uk’s total emissions and will need to be reduced significantly to meet international agreements. Against this scenario, this paper presents a novel perspective for carbon accounting and trading that proposes the use of a platform for the uk construction industry as a possible solution. This suggestion assumes that taxation should be synchronised with phases of the entire life cycle of the building and that tax credits (or deficits) should remain an asset of the building itself. In this regard, a strategy is in place in the uk, but with gaps in how it will be implemented. To resolve these gaps, firstly, this paper explores and integrates three socio-technical components (i.e., carbon accounting, trading, and certification) that form an essential set of tools required for the management of taxes directed at property developers and construction companies. Then, it points out the need for a suite of computer-based systems to facilitate the recording of emissions information, the purchase of carbon offsets, and a way to access specialist financial services. As a result, a trading platform is conceptualised that makes use of blockchain technology as a foundation for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Low-Carbon Energy Buildings)
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