Special Issue "Improving the Building and Urban Sustainability Exploiting the High Energy Efficiency of Phase Change Materials (PCM) and High Water-Energy Efficiency of Green Roofs and Walls"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2022.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Domenico Mazzeo
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering (DIMEG), University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: energy efficiency in buildings; energy saving in buildings; thermal energy storage; phase change materials; green roof; mathematical modeling of heat transfer; building simulation; renewable energy; photovoltaic systems; wind systems; electric vehicles; ground source heat pump system; artificial neural networks
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Dr. Nicoletta Matera
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering (DIMEG), University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: smart energy communities; photovoltaic systems; wind systems; electric vehicles; energy efficiency in buildings; energy saving in buildings; thermal energy storage; phase change materials; building simulation; renewable energy; artificial neural networks
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Dr. Behrouz Pirouz
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: sustainability of water and energy; water and wastewater treatmemt; NZEBs, PEDs
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Dr. Stefania Anna Palermo
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: climate change; urban hydrology; urban stormwater management; urban flooding risk; water pollutants; water treatments; nature-based solutions; low-impact development systems; modeling; numerical analysis
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Dr. Michele Turco
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: urban hydrology; water pollutant, modeling; porous media; low-impact development techniques; nature-based solutions; water treatments; soil sciences; stormwater management; climate changes; flooding; numerical analysis
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Prof. Patrizia Piro
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Interests: modeling; combined sewer overflows; water pollution; urban stormwater management; water treatment; urban drainage; low impact development; soil science; sustainability of water and energy
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Among the innovative solutions recently introduced to reduce the energy requirements of buildings, the use of Phase Change Materials (PCM) in building walls and green roofs is promising both in the summer and winter seasons. PCM can store and release a high latent heat during the phenomena of phase transition in a specific range of temperatures. PCM, placed in the internal and external walls, floors, ceilings, roofs and windows, limit thermal fluctuations and allow for the more rational use of the heat gains. Green roofs and walls improve the thermal performance of the building envelope using the additional thermal inertia and evaporation and transpiration phenomena. Moreover, these green infrastructures can provide several other benefits at multiple scales. They are also a promising strategy for urban stormwater management and water pollutant reduction and several studies on green roofs and walls have highlighted the existing water–energy nexus.

The research on innovative envelopes in building walls is growing and this has led to a high number of scientific publications.

This Special Issue aims to summarize the most recent analytical, numerical and experimental studies about the water–energy efficiency of green roofs and walls, as well as the thermal and energy behaviours of PCMs integrated into opaque and glazing building envelopes and in the internal opaque component from different perspectives:

  • mathematical modelling;
  • thermal exchanges with the indoor and outdoor environments;
  • dynamic thermal behaviour;
  • energy saving, thermal comfort;
  • thermophysical properties
  • water consumption of green roofs;
  • water consumption of green walls;
  • water-energy nexus;
  • green roof hydraulic efficiency;
  • green wall hydraulic efficiency;
  • stormwater retention;
  • experimental characterization;
  • parametric and optimization analysis;
  • economic analysis;
  • environmental analysis;
  • life cycle assessment

Reviews papers regarding such issues are also welcome to submit original full papers.

Dr. Domenico Mazzeo
Dr. Nicoletta Matera
Dr. Behrouz Pirouz
Dr. Stefania Anna Palermo
Dr. Michele Turco
Prof. Patrizia Piro
Guest Editors

References:

  1. Mazzeo D, Matera N, Cornaro C, Oliveti G, Romagnoni P, De Santoli L (2020), EnergyPlus. IDA ICE and TRNSYS predictive simulation accuracy for building thermal behaviour evaluation by using an experimental campaign in solar test boxes with and without a PCM module. ENERGY AND BUILDINGS, vol. 212, n. 109812, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2020.109812
  2. Mazzeo D, Oliveti G (2018). Thermal field and heat storage in a cyclic phase change process caused by several moving melting and solidification interfaces in the layer. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THERMAL SCIENCES, vol. 129, pp. 462-488, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2017.12.026
  3. Bevilacqua P, Mazzeo D, Arcuri N (2018). Thermal inertia assessment of an experimental extensive green roof in summer conditions, BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT, vol. 131, pp. 264-276, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.11.033
  4. Mazzeo D, Oliveti G, Arcuri N (2017). Definition of a new set of parameters for the dynamic thermal characterization of PCM layers in the presence of one or more liquid-solid interfaces. ENERGY AND BUILDINGS, vol. 141, pp. 379-396, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.02.027
  5. Mazzeo D, Oliveti G, de Gracia, A, Coma J, Solé A, Cabeza L F (2017). Experimental validation of the exact analytical solution to the steady periodic heat transfer problem in a PCM layer. ENERGY, vol. 140P1, pp. 1131-1147, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.08.045
  6. Mazzeo D, Oliveti G, De Simone M, Arcuri N (2015). Analytical model for solidification and melting in a finite PCM in steady periodic regime. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER, vol. 88, pp. 844-861, ISSN: 0017-9310, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2015.04.109
  7. Garofalo G, Palermo S A, Principato F, Theodosiou T, Piro P. (2016). The influence of hydrologic parameters on the hydraulic efficiency of an extensive green roof in mediterranean area. WATER, vol. 8(2), 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/w8020044
  8. Brunetti G, Porti M, Piro P. (2018). Multi-level numerical and statistical analysis of the hygrothermal behavior of a non-vegetated green roof in a mediterranean climate. APPLIED ENERGY, vol. 221, pp. 204-219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.03.190
  9. Palermo S A, Turco M, Principato F, Piro P. (2019). Hydrological effectiveness of an extensive green roof in Mediterranean climate. WATER, vol. 11(7), pp. 1378, https://doi.org/10.3390/w11071378
  10. Piro P, Carbone M, Morimanno F, Palermo S A. (2019). Simple flowmeter device for LID systems: From laboratory procedure to full-scale implementation. FLOW MEASUREMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION, vol. 65, pp. 240-249, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2019.01.008

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 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

  • Building energy efficiency
  • Phase change materials
  • Green infrastructures
  • Green roofs
  • Green walls
  • Low-impact development techniques
  • Dynamic thermal behaviour
  • Energy saving
  • Thermal comfort
  • Summer and winter conditions
  • Environmental and economic impact
  • Stormwater management
  • LCA
  • Water-Energy nexus

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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