Multi-Scale Integrated Energy Management in the Built Environment

Dear Colleagues,

Many built environment assets suffer from chronic energy underperformance, experiencing a significant gap between their expected and actual energy use. Thus, the area of energy management has attracted significant interest. However, management of the energy usage of built assets is a challenging proposition, due to the complex, multi-aspect processes involved in their performance. This complexity, along with the opportunities for increased efficiency, increases as the management of built assets across multiple scales (i.e., building, district, and city) is realised.

In searching for a solution to these issues, the concept of “integrated” energy management has emerged. There is not yet scientific consensus on an exact definition for this concept, however, integrated energy management is generally understood to involved a system that is able to optimise energy consumption of a single—or set—of built assets in an integrated way considering aspects such as (a) energy consumption, (b) energy pricing insight, (c) dynamic load shifting, (d) renewable energy sources, (e) energy storage, (f) asset utilisation and occupant tracking, and (g) user-in-the-loop approaches. All this must be underpinned by necessary data acquisition and management.

This Special Issue aims to bring together research focusing on the concept of integrated energy management by bringing together these topics. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Exemplary lab-based and real deployments of integrated energy management technologies
• ICT systems/platforms to support integration energy management, including works in the area of digital twins
• Simulation/prediction tools or algorithms to support integrated energy management
• Innovative integration energy management use cases utilising renewable energy sources/energy storage
• The incorporation of occupancy tracking/occupant feedback into energy management
• Dynamic actuation of devices to aid building energy performance
• Integration of energy management across multiple buildings/sites

Dr. Tom Beach
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• energy optimisation
• integrated energy management
• smart cities
• smart districts
• building occupancy analysis
• renewable energy
• energy storage
• energy simulation
• ICT