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Sustainability
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Balancing Building Energy Performance/Efficiency and Sustainability with Indoor Environmental Quality
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Balancing Building Energy Performance/Efficiency and Sustainability with Indoor Environmental Quality

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2023) | Viewed by 5801

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Fan Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Griffith School of Engineering and the Built Environment, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia
Interests: indoor environmental quality (IEQ); indoor and outdoor thermal comfort; cognitive performance and productivity; post-occupancy evaluation (POE); sustainable design and building performance simulation
Dr. Yuanlong Cui

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Co-Innovation Center of Green Building, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Shandong Jianzhu University, 1000 Fengming Road, Jinan 250101, China
Interests: solar PV; solar PV/T; geothermal energy technology; wind energy; system energy performance and efficient assessments; heat pump; phase change material; nanomaterials; economic and environmental assessments
Dr. Haibo Feng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK
Interests: building performance; life cycle assessment (LCA); building information modeling (BIM); digital technologies; sustainable construction; smart buildings with IoTs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Energy and the indoor environment are two important aspects of environmental and energy certification systems for sustainable buildings around the world, although different rating schemes may have different weightings on these aspects. For example, LEED puts more emphasis on energy than the indoor environment; the share is equal in CASBEE, whereas in HQE certification, the weighting of the indoor environment is higher than energy. Despite these discrepancies, both aspects are indispensable aspects of sustainable development.  

The design strategies that sustainable buildings commonly adopt include reduced infiltration, increased use of building insulation and thermal mass, improved HVAC energy efficiency, the inclusion of passive and bioclimatic design strategies, adoption of renewable energy technologies, etc. All these strategies have an impact on the indoor environmental quality, which will, in turn, have an impact on building occupants’ comfort, health and productivity. Previous studies, albeit limited in number, have shown that sustainable buildings and net zero energy buildings do not necessarily guarantee a good indoor environment. In our plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions, we should bear in mind that the emission reductions must not be reached at the expense of indoor environmental quality.

This Special Issue of Sustainability aims to collect scientific contributions and evidence in the new approaches and technologies of building energy efficiency and sustainability that can enhance the indoor environmental quality of buildings. For example, hybrid PV/T systems and green roof systems that improve the thermal performance of buildings, indoor living wall systems that reduce HVAC energy use and improve the air quality, smart windows which reduce lighting energy use and improve visual comfort, etc. The energy and IEQ benefits can be evidenced in terms of laboratory experiments, field tests, or simulation studies.

Dr. Fan Zhang
Dr. Yuanlong Cui
Dr. Haibo Feng
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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 building
  • net-zero energy building
  • green building certification
  • renewable energy technology
  • building energy efficiency
  • building thermal performance
  • thermal comfort
  • indoor air quality
  • visual comfort
  • acoustic comfort

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 2502 KiB  
Article
Research on Energy Efficiency Evaluation Model of Substation Building Based on AHP and Fuzzy Comprehensive Theory
by Binglei Xue, Fumu Lu, Juanli Guo, Zhoupeng Wang, Zhongrui Zhang and Yi Lu
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14493; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914493 - 05 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 759
Abstract
The traditional energy-saving evaluation method for industrial buildings is intended for all industrial buildings; however, substation buildings belong to a special category of industrial buildings, and their energy consumption characteristics are different from those of general industrial buildings. Consequently, it is necessary to [...] Read more.
The traditional energy-saving evaluation method for industrial buildings is intended for all industrial buildings; however, substation buildings belong to a special category of industrial buildings, and their energy consumption characteristics are different from those of general industrial buildings. Consequently, it is necessary to establish an energy-saving evaluation system for substation buildings according to the characteristics of their energy consumption. In view of the issue that the energy consumption characteristics of substation buildings are different from those of other industrial buildings, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) are used to establish a more comprehensive energy saving evaluation model that is more applicable to substation buildings. This paper determines 19 quantitative indicators and 13 qualitative indicators through the screening of relevant standards and norms, as well as the literature, and then determines the weight of each indicator by using AHP before finally establishing a secondary evaluation model based on FCE. In this paper, a substation in Shandong, China was selected as a case study to verify the proposed evaluation model, scoring 80.4 points, which falls within the “Good” grade. This method is of great significance for the future establishment of energy-saving evaluation system for substation buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Balancing Building Energy Performance/Efficiency and Sustainability with Indoor Environmental Quality)
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29 pages, 19414 KiB  
Article
Parametric Assessment of Building Heating Demand for Different Levels of Details and User Comfort Levels: A Case Study in London, UK
by Athanasia Apostolopoulou, Mingyu Zhu and Jiayi Jin
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8374; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108374 - 22 May 2023
Viewed by 1018
Abstract
The Level of Detail (LoD), a parameter used to define the information contained in building models, is an important factor to consider in modeling building energy at the urban scale. In this research, we conducted a parametric study regarding the data requirements for [...] Read more.
The Level of Detail (LoD), a parameter used to define the information contained in building models, is an important factor to consider in modeling building energy at the urban scale. In this research, we conducted a parametric study regarding the data requirements for the estimation of the annual residential heat demand in London. More particularly, the requirement of the observation of the actual roof type (LoD2) and the window-to-wall ratio (LoD3) was examined in two different case study areas. Meanwhile, an adaptive comfort level study was implemented using LoD5 models, and its results were assessed holistically with the heat demand to reveal the energy performance of the buildings. The results showed that there was a minor difference in the upgrade of a lower to higher LoD regarding these parameters. At an urban scale, the energy demand of buildings could be estimated using an assumption of archetypes and building ages. However, with a scalable parametric script developed in places, models with a high LoD could provide more detailed insights in the energy performance assessment without generating excessive workload. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Balancing Building Energy Performance/Efficiency and Sustainability with Indoor Environmental Quality)
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Review

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50 pages, 25012 KiB  
Review
Techno-Economic Comprehensive Review of State-of-the-Art Geothermal and Solar Roadway Energy Systems
by Yuanlong Cui, Fan Zhang, Yiming Shao, Ssennoga Twaha and Hui Tong
Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10974; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710974 - 02 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1631
Abstract
Road infrastructure is a vital constituent element in the transportation network; however, roadway surface ice and snow accumulation leads to huge traffic accidents in winter. Geothermal roadway energy systems (GRES) and solar roadway energy systems (SRES) can increase or decrease roadway surface temperature [...] Read more.
Road infrastructure is a vital constituent element in the transportation network; however, roadway surface ice and snow accumulation leads to huge traffic accidents in winter. Geothermal roadway energy systems (GRES) and solar roadway energy systems (SRES) can increase or decrease roadway surface temperature for the de-icing and removal of snow in winter, or mitigation of heat in summer. Technology performance and economic evaluation of the GRES and SRES are reviewed in this paper based on numerical and economic models, and experimental analyses. Three crucial aspects of the technology performance assessment, i.e., roadway surface temperature, energy consumption and key factors, are explored in different regions and countries. Economic evaluation approaches for net present values and payback periods of the GRES and SRES are investigated. The recommendations and potential future developments on the two technologies are deliberated; it is demonstrated that the GRES and SRES could increase roadway surface temperature by around 5 °C in winter and decrease it by about 6 °C in summer, with the payback periods of 4 to 8 years and 2.3 to 5 years, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Balancing Building Energy Performance/Efficiency and Sustainability with Indoor Environmental Quality)
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Other

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17 pages, 1811 KiB  
Case Report
Study on Carbon Emissions from the Renovation of Old Residential Areas in Cold Regions of China
by Yi He, Yanting Wang, Ziye Song, Hongwen Yu and Yibing Xue
Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3018; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043018 - 07 Feb 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1646
Abstract
With the implementation of dual-carbon and new human-centric urbanization strategies, the renovation of old buildings in China was inevitable. In this study, we establish the carbon emission values of retrofitting building from the perspective of carbon emissions, and propose a carbon accounting calculation [...] Read more.
With the implementation of dual-carbon and new human-centric urbanization strategies, the renovation of old buildings in China was inevitable. In this study, we establish the carbon emission values of retrofitting building from the perspective of carbon emissions, and propose a carbon accounting calculation method. Meanwhile, according to an economic viewpoint, we propose carbon emission evaluation indexes, including carbon increments, carbon emission intensity, carbon saving during the operation phase, and the static payback period of carbon increments. We retrofitted a building in an old residential area in Jinan, which both extended the building’s life and met the energy consumption needs of modern buildings. Through the case study, the annual carbon emissions during the use phase were reduced by 80.64% after retrofitting, and the building materials generated carbon emissions during the materialization phase of 11.04 t CO2/a. Considering the carbon increment factor, the comprehensive carbon emission reduction was 71.43%. The carbon increment per unit of building area was 110.32 kg CO2/m2, of which the carbon emission during the materialization stage accounted for 96.04%. Promoting low-carbon building materials and improving the energy efficiency would be an important means to reduce the carbon increments during building renovations. The static payback period for the carbon increment was 2.05 years, indicating that retrofitting measures were effective. Our work is informative for the development and quantitative assessment of low-carbon retrofitting programs for older buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Balancing Building Energy Performance/Efficiency and Sustainability with Indoor Environmental Quality)
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