Research in Building Physics and Renewable Energy

Dear Colleagues,

Buildings and renewable energy sources are one of the most important sectors leading the transformation of the energy system paradigm. According to the International Energy Agency data, the building-related sector is responsible for around one-third of the global energy consumption and about 15% of the CO₂ emissions directly emitted into the atmosphere. This snapshot of the building sector is also accompanied by a global increase in building energy demands, which rises year by year due to new building and construction growth in developed and developing countries, increased access to energy grids, improvements in the standard of living and other related factors. On the one hand, the energy sector is shaped by the expansion of renewable energy sources, with the share rates of these renewable sources in the energy mix of countries increasing year by year due to their application at small and large scales. In this framework, the role of both the building sector and renewable energy sources is paramount in order to achieve the goal of high energy effectiveness and efficiency coupled with decreasing CO₂ emissions.

The increasing attention given by researchers to buildings and renewable energy source applications is determining the advances in the creation of new construction concepts, modeling, design, the adoption of new materials and management. Thus, the conventional way of thinking about buildings and renewables is being positively altered by topics such as near-zero or plus energy buildings, smart energy systems, intelligent building, hybridization of energy sources, electrical and thermal energy storage, aimed retrofit interventions and optimization of installation operations. Significant research efforts are focused on these topics in order to provide new theoretical and practical knowledge.

The scope of this Special Issue is to invite authors who wish to publish their novel research studies regarding theoretical approaches, modeling methods, design criteria, measurement and experimental methods, application of new materials and technologies, complex analyses and optimization in buildings and/or renewable energy systems.

Dr. Rafał Figaj
Prof. Dr. Mariusz Filipowicz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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