Special Issue "Buildings and Sustainable Energy: Technologies, Policies, and Trends"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Muhammad Asif
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering and Built Environment, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
Interests: renewable energy; energy conservation and management; sustainable buildings; energy policy; life cycle analysis
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue entitled “Buildings and Sustainable Energy: Technologies, Policies, and Trends” will contribute to the research concerning the broader areas of buildings and sustainable energy solutions. Papers are invited on topics including but not limited to sustainable and green buildings, renewable technologies for buildings, energy efficiency solutions, solar PV, solar thermal energy, daylighting, low-carbon technologies, zero-energy buildings, building standards and regulations, sustainable building rating systems, energy retrofitting, life-cycle analysis, and life-cycle costing. Papers on these topics can have a diverse scope (i.e., scientific advancement and technology innovation, policy development and implementation, industrial and commercial practices, and case studies).

Dr. Muhammad Asif
Guest Editor

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 papers will be 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 1900 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

  • buildings
  • energy
  • environment
  • sustainable buildings
  • green buildings
  • zero-energy buildings
  • smart buildings and cities
  • building retrofitting
  • building rating systems
  • energy efficiency
  • sustainability
  • sustainable development
  • renewable energy
  • low carbon technologies
  • energy storage
  • smart meters and smart grids
  • energy transition
  • energy policy
  • global warming
  • climate change
  • greenhouse gas emissions
  • energy resources

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Article
Attitudes and Approaches of Finnish Retrofit Industry Stakeholders toward Achieving Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings
Sustainability 2021, 13(13), 7359; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13137359 - 30 Jun 2021
Viewed by 363
Abstract
Key stakeholders in industry are highly responsible for achieving energy performance targets. Particularly, this paper assesses the attitudes, approaches, and experiences of Finnish construction professionals regarding energy-efficient buildings, or nZEBs. A three-tier investigation was conducted including surveys and expert interviews with several stakeholders. [...] Read more.
Key stakeholders in industry are highly responsible for achieving energy performance targets. Particularly, this paper assesses the attitudes, approaches, and experiences of Finnish construction professionals regarding energy-efficient buildings, or nZEBs. A three-tier investigation was conducted including surveys and expert interviews with several stakeholders. The structure of this approach was informed by preliminary data and information available on the Finnish construction sector. The questionnaire showed that the stakeholders ranked energy efficiency and embodied energy/carbon as very important. The survey highlighted that the importance of the embodied carbon CO2 in the materials is less important than the energy efficiency from many of the stakeholders’ points of view. “Energy efficiency” is very important for ESCOs, contractors, and facility managers followed by architects, HVAC engineers, and construction design engineers. Nevertheless, the opinions of architects ranked “embodied energy CO2” as the most important regarding nZEB. When it comes to the importance of “running time emissions” toward nZEB, contractors and ESCO companies ranked it as 1 for importance followed by property owners (78%) and tenants (75%). It is very fascinating to see from the survey that “running time carbon emissions” has been ranked 1 (very important) by all stakeholders. This study will enable construction industry stakeholders to make provisions for overcoming the barriers, gaps, and challenges identified in the practices of the nZEB projects. It will also inform the formulation of policies that drive retrofit uptake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings and Sustainable Energy: Technologies, Policies, and Trends)
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Article
Modeling Energy Efficiency Performance and Cost-Benefit Analysis Achieving Net-Zero Energy Building Design: Case Studies of Three Representative Offices in Thailand
Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5201; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095201 - 06 May 2021
Viewed by 530
Abstract
The concept of a zero energy building is a significant sustainable strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The challenges of zero energy building (ZEB) achievement in Thailand are that the design approach to reach ZEB in office buildings is unclear and inconsistent. In [...] Read more.
The concept of a zero energy building is a significant sustainable strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The challenges of zero energy building (ZEB) achievement in Thailand are that the design approach to reach ZEB in office buildings is unclear and inconsistent. In addition, its implementation requires a relatively high investment cost. This study proposes a guideline for cost-optimal design to achieve the ZEB for three representative six-story office buildings in hot and humid Thailand. The energy simulations of envelope designs incorporating high-efficiency systems are carried out using eQuest and daylighting simulation using DIALux evo. The final energy consumptions meet the national ZEB target but are higher than the rooftop PV generation. To reduce such an energy gap, the ratios of building height to width are proposed. The cost-benefit of investment in ZEB projects provides IRRs ranging from 10.73 to 13.85%, with payback periods of 7.2 to 8.5 years. The energy savings from the proposed designs account for 79.2 to 81.6% of the on-site energy use. The investment of high-performance glazed-windows in the small office buildings is unprofitable (NPVs = −14.77–−46.01). These research results could help architects and engineers identify the influential parameters and significant considerations for the ZEB design. Strategies and technical support to improve energy performance in large and mid-rise buildings towards ZEB goals associated with the high investment cost need future investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings and Sustainable Energy: Technologies, Policies, and Trends)
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Article
How an Integration of Home Energy Management and Battery System Affects the Economic Benefits of Residential PV System Owners in Thailand
Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2681; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052681 - 02 Mar 2021
Viewed by 542
Abstract
Although home energy management systems (HEMS) and batteries are part of the Thailand Smart Grid Master Plan, the financial feasibility and attractiveness of installing residential solar rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems with integration of the HEMS and battery have never been investigated. This study [...] Read more.
Although home energy management systems (HEMS) and batteries are part of the Thailand Smart Grid Master Plan, the financial feasibility and attractiveness of installing residential solar rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems with integration of the HEMS and battery have never been investigated. This study develops three scenarios comprising of an installation of only solar PV system, solar PV system with the HEMS, and solar PV system with integration of the HEMS and battery under the current net billing solar program for households and analyzes their financial feasibility and attractiveness by using economic measures. In addition, sensitivity analysis is performed to analyze the impacts of critical parameters on the feasibility of these three scenarios. Findings indicate that the installation of a solar rooftop system with the HEMS provides the highest customer economics. Although the implementation of HEMs leads to an increase in energy exports, benefits from bill savings of lower electricity consumption by using the HEM are relatively high compared to the loss from energy exports. Therefore, in the short term, the government should promote the integration of HEMS with a PV system; however, the installation of a PV system with HEMS and battery in the residential sector should be promoted when battery cost decreases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings and Sustainable Energy: Technologies, Policies, and Trends)
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Article
Determinant Factors of Electricity Consumption for a Malaysian Household Based on a Field Survey
Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 818; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020818 - 15 Jan 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 742
Abstract
Electricity-saving strategies are an essential solution to overcoming increasing global CO2 emission and electricity consumption problems; therefore, the determinant factors of electricity consumption in households need to be assessed. Most previous studies were conducted in developed countries of subtropical regions that had [...] Read more.
Electricity-saving strategies are an essential solution to overcoming increasing global CO2 emission and electricity consumption problems; therefore, the determinant factors of electricity consumption in households need to be assessed. Most previous studies were conducted in developed countries of subtropical regions that had different household characteristic factors from those in developing countries of tropical regions. A field survey was conducted on electricity consumption for Malaysian households to investigate the factors affecting electricity consumption that focused on technology perspective (building and appliance characteristics) and socio-economic perspective (socio-demographics and occupant behaviour). To analyse the determinant factors of electricity consumption, direct and indirect questionnaire surveys were conducted from November 2017 to January 2018 among 214 university students. Direct questionnaire surveys were performed in order to obtain general information that is easily answered by respondents. On the other hand, some questions such as electricity consumption and detailed information of appliances must be confirmed by the respondents’ parents or other household members through an indirect questionnaire survey. The results from multiple linear regression analyses of the survey responses showed that appliance characteristic factors were the main variables influencing electricity consumption and house characteristics were the least significant. Specifically, air conditioners, fluorescent lamps, and flat-screen TVs emerged as appliances with the most significant effect on electricity consumption. Occupant behaviour factors had a more significant influence than socio-demographic factors. The findings in this study can be used by policymakers to develop electricity-saving strategies in Malaysia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings and Sustainable Energy: Technologies, Policies, and Trends)
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Article
Techno-Economic Assessment of Energy Retrofitting Educational Buildings: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 179; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010179 - 27 Dec 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 785
Abstract
The buildings and construction sector accounts for the majority of the energy consumption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). For a sustainable future, energy consumption in the sector should be reduced and existing buildings need to be energy retrofitted. A number of [...] Read more.
The buildings and construction sector accounts for the majority of the energy consumption in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). For a sustainable future, energy consumption in the sector should be reduced and existing buildings need to be energy retrofitted. A number of studies present energy retrofitting of residential buildings in KSA; however, there is a lack of studies presenting retrofitting of educational buildings. Thus, the aim of this study is to adopt a BIM-based approach to assess Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) in a prototypical Government-built educational building in Dammam, KSA. The methodology consists of six prime steps, (1) case study data collection, (2) energy auditing, (3) proposing ECMs, (4) BIM model development, (5) energy assessment, and (6) economic assessment. The energy audit revealed several inefficiencies in the building construction and operation and four ECMs were proposed and simulated. It was found that annual energy consumption can be reduced by 22.7% in the educational building, and the investment for the four ECMs is paid back in 2.7 years only. Therefore, implementing the proposed ECMs is a viable option to energy retrofit such educational buildings in the country, and the presented BIM-based approach can be adopted to efficiently conduct the energy retrofitting process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings and Sustainable Energy: Technologies, Policies, and Trends)
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Article
Techno-Economic Assessment of Rooftop PV Systems in Residential Buildings in Hot–Humid Climates
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10060; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122310060 - 02 Dec 2020
Viewed by 703
Abstract
The application of renewable energy has been an integral part of the sustainability drive in the building sector and solar photovoltaic (PV) is one of the most effective technologies in this respect. The present study aims to investigate the prospects of solar PV [...] Read more.
The application of renewable energy has been an integral part of the sustainability drive in the building sector and solar photovoltaic (PV) is one of the most effective technologies in this respect. The present study aims to investigate the prospects of solar PV in residential buildings in the hot–humid climatic conditions. The study discusses the utilization of building roofs for the application of PV in terms of potential hurdles and utilization factor (UF). Technical performance of PV systems has also been investigated in terms of power output as well as the energy saved as a result of the shading impact of panels for two types of residential units, apartments and villas. Investigation of 70 sample residential buildings reveals the average UF of 0.21 and 0.28 for apartments and villas, respectively. For the case study of apartment and villa residential units, roof UF has been found to be 13% and 15% with a respective PV output of 6079 kWh/year and 6162 kWh/year. Potential PV output at the city level has also been estimated. A sensitivity analysis has been conducted to evaluate the impact of various cost and design parameters on the viability of PV systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings and Sustainable Energy: Technologies, Policies, and Trends)
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