Novel HVAC, Building Physics and Data-Centric Solutions for Energy-Efficient Smart Buildings and Sustainable Districts

Dear Colleagues,

The current push towards more sustainable and energy efficient urban environments requires an innovative and comprehensive research landscape. Contemporary technical analysis should be articulated on different levels, from the microscale of heat transfer processes and air quality inside enclosures to the macroscale interactions of the building with the exterior, namely a combination of climate and the district in which the construction is embedded.

Researchers and practitioners therefore have to deal with a variegated set of issues, which range from structural characteristics affecting energy use to HVAC design and management, from building operation to its synergy with the energy distribution network and national policies that set consumption boundaries. A key requirement is being aware of the mutual interactions among topics that are technically very different, such as radiator design and energy policy.

Accordingly, this Special Issue has a wide scope and is devoted to tackling the sustainability problem with diverse yet complementary approaches. Papers addressing new theoretical, computational, as well as experimental and data-centric methodologies for the following topics are welcome:

- Design of more energy efficient HVAC systems.

- Improvement of indoor environmental quality (IEQ).

- Statistical analysis of the impact of tenants’ occupations on the energy consumption of both residential and office buildings.

- Benchmarking and future harmonization of the building stock towards deep renovations.

- Comparative analyses of how well the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) criteria is set nationally and on how well the IEQ is achieved in practice after renovation.

- Performance analyses for smart districts related to energy production and distribution.

- Energy calculation input data (NZEB definitions, system boundaries) aimed at setting more stringent data-based national requirements.

- Energy flexibility measures for NZEB.

- Sector coupling for smart districts and smart cities.

Prof. Dr. Jarek Kurnitski
Dr. Andrea Ferrantelli
Guest Editors

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