Search Results (183)

Greenhouses in subtropical and tropical regions must be designed as agricultural engineering systems adapted to local climates, rather than simply replicating the “insulation” models of temperate areas. Under extreme climatic conditions such as persistent high temperatures, intense solar radiation, high humidity, heavy rainfall, and frequent extreme winds, greenhouses transform from enclosed insulation layers into selective climate filters, mitigating crop stress while maintaining close contact with the outdoor environment. This paper summarizes how these climate drivers are reshaping the use, structure, and control concepts of greenhouses, emphasizing that the performance of warm-zone greenhouses depends primarily on heat dissipation, humidity management, and biohazard control, rather than heating and insulation. In this review, we analyze the climatic boundary conditions that define warm-climate conservation cultivation, including long-term overheating risk, high UV radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and suppressed condensation tendency, as well as storm-induced uplift and dynamic loads. These constraints necessitate unique structural forms: tall, lightweight, well-ventilated building types with large roof and side openings, roof geometries that facilitate rainwater runoff, sophisticated drainage systems, and corrosion-resistant materials suitable for humid and coastal environments. Because insect netting significantly reduces ventilation, pest control and temperature regulation become co-design issues, requiring oversized vents, optimized airflow paths, and hybrid roof–mesh structures. Ventilation is considered the primary climate-control mechanism, supplemented by passive cooling measures such as shading and radiation/optical management (e.g., diffuse films and near-infrared-selective films). Active evaporative cooling is considered a conditional measure due to humidity limitations and disease risks. This paper also integrates the impacts on specific crops (fruits and vegetables, leafy greens, and orchids). It highlights emerging trends: typhoon-resistant and adaptive geometries, computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based design, and sensor-rich IoT/digital twin control frameworks. These principles collectively establish a coherent design framework for achieving resilient, resource-efficient greenhouse production in warm climates. Full article

Roofing systems strongly influence the energy performance and environmental footprint of buildings, particularly in hot–arid climates such as Saudi Arabia, where cooling dominates electricity demand; however, the comparative lifecycle environmental performance of alternative roofing strategies remains underexplored in this specific climatic and market context. This study therefore aims to evaluate and compare the environmental performance of four sustainable roofing strategies against a conventional flat roof (FR) baseline in order to provide evidence-based guidance for climate-specific roofing selection in Saudi Arabia. This study conducts a comparative cradle-to-grave lifecycle assessment (LCA) of four sustainable roofing strategies considering the hot–arid climate of Saudi Arabia. Green roof (GR), cool roof (CR), solar photovoltaic roof (SPV), and roof canopy (RC) were assessed using the ReCiPe 2016 method in the SimaPro software. The environmental impacts of these strategies were assessed across product, construction, use, and end-of-life stages relative to conventional flat roofs (FRs). The results indicate that the production stage consistently contributes the highest environmental impacts, with increases ranging from 30 to 3000% for GR, CR, and RC and exceeding 10,000% for SPV. On the other hand, the use stage offers the greatest reductions ranging from 10 to 200%, particularly for SPV and CR, due to operational energy savings and electricity generation. Overall, CR demonstrates the most balanced environmental performance, combining high impact reductions with minimal trade-offs, while SPV provides significant climate and fossil resource benefits but increases mineral resource use. These findings highlight the importance of climate-specific and resource-conscious selection of roofing strategies in Saudi Arabia and provide a transferable comparative LCA framework that can inform sustainable roofing decisions in other hot–arid and hot–humid regions, in support of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives for sustainable urban development. Full article

The main objective of the current study is to assess the techno-economic feasibility, climate change adaptability, and sustainability of photovoltaic energy systems in six large hospitals in Turkey (Adana, Başakşehir, Bursa, Elazig, Gaziantep, and Yozgat) to achieve United Nations recommendations as Sustainable Development Goal 7 (affordable and clean energy) and Sustainable Development Goal 13 (climate action). This study aims to determine the impact of long-term climate change on the availability of photovoltaic (PV) energy resources. To achieve this goal, this research was conducted through a multi-step approach combining (1) the detection of long-term climate trends using linear regression on the TerraClimate database, (2) the spatial analysis of photovoltaic solar energy potential using high-resolution satellite imagery (Google Maps) for roof suitability and parking areas, (3) the estimation of photovoltaic electricity generation and the calculation of the capacity factor, (4) the application of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) based on NASA Giovanni data to model the nonlinear reciprocal relationships between precipitation (R), aerosol optical thickness (AOT), photovoltaic solar energy production, and (5) the techno-economic analysis using the Levelized energy cost (LCOE), payback period, and CO₂ emission reductions. The results show statistically consistent warming trends across all sites with trends for Tmax ranging from +0.0205 to +0.0268 °C/year and for Tmin from +0.0208 to +0.0300 °C/year. The temperature of PV cells increases at a rate of +0.0197 °C/year and the wind speed decreases by −0.0031 to −0.0149 m/s/year, which indicates a reduction in convective cooling. Solar radiation, on the other hand, is relatively constant with small trends ranging from +0.0002 to +0.0566 W/m²/year, and confirms the consistent solar resource availability. Seasonal PV resource potential varies from ~70–95 W/m² in winter to 290–310 W/m² in summer. Furthermore, the installed PV capacities are between 6 MW (Yozgat) and 47 MW (Başakşehir) with capacity factors of 17.0–19.7% and payback periods of 4.31–4.88 years. RSM models have high explanatory power (R² = 0.57–0.74) with AOT as the most important negative driver of PV performance. Consequently, the results show that while the solar resource of Türkiye is stable and highly exploitable, PV efficiency is increasingly determined by climate-induced thermal stress and reduced wind cooling. The study highlights the economic viability, environmental advantages, and strategic relevance of PV systems at hospitals for resilient, low-carbon healthcare infrastructure in future climate scenarios. Full article

Volcanic caves, commonly referred to as lava tubes, are typically shallow subsurface cavities formed by the cooling of a generally basaltic lava flow under a roof or crust that cools faster and acts as a thermal insulator. These cavities can serve as tourist attractions, in which case their stability must be analyzed and ensured. Empirical rock mass classification systems, in this case we have applied the Q-index have been employed to evaluate the stability of underground excavations: mines and tunnels, including natural caves. We have identified that these approaches have limitations, particularly incorporating key geometric parameters such as roof thickness and cave length. In this study we have analyzed applicability of the Scaled Span Method (SSM) to volcanics caves. This method was originally developed for the stability assessment of crown pillar stability in shallow mines. We have developed a dataset of lava tubes (caves) located in the Canary Islands (Spain), the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador), and Jordan. In this research we have conducted geomechanical characterization using the Q-system, and also the Scaled Span to evaluate stability based on cave geometry and rock mass properties. The results indicate that, in general, the SSM yields more conservative stability estimates compared to the Q-system, particularly for shallow caves with limited roof thickness. Nevertheless, discrepancies between the two approaches are observed in several cases, highlighting the limitations of directly transferring empirical methods developed for mining excavations to natural cave systems. These differences underscore the need for careful interpretation and, where appropriate, complementary stability analyses. The Scaled Span Method is useful for preliminary assessment of volcanic cave stability, especially in scenarios where potential interaction with the ground surface is expected: buildings or roads on top. However, its application requires adaptation and critical evaluation due to the fundamental differences between engineered mining excavations and natural subsurface cavities. Full article

Restaurants are a category of commercial buildings highly sensitive to dynamic changes in ambient parameters, such as thermal, internal air quality, luminous, and acoustic conditions. These fluctuations in environmental comfort yield distinct energy, ecological, and economic implications, posing a significant challenge to understanding building behavior, particularly during the cooling season. The subject of this case study is a restaurant building featuring an atrium space located in Kragujevac (Central Serbia). Its unique architectural form, which aligns with national energy efficiency principles, combined with favorable local parameters characteristic of a moderate continental climate, enables the implementation of bioclimatic measures for the passive reduction of final energy consumption during the cooling season. Therefore, using Google SketchUp 8 and EnergyPlus 7.1 software, eight bioclimatic measures, classified into three groups, were investigated: horizontal overhangs, horizontal pergolas, and deciduous plants. The numerical simulations show that using V. coignetiae as a roof covering for restaurant buildings is optimal across all the criteria. It achieves a one-season payback period, with seasonal specific metrics of 58.2 kWh/(m²season) for total final energy consumption, 145.5 kWh/(m²season) for total primary energy consumption, and 77.11 kg/(m²season) for total CO₂ emissions. In addition, a moderate continental climate suits green architecture and passive solar systems. This study confirms that the bioclimatic measures achieve energy, ecological, and economic justification solely through an integrated approach and a detailed analysis. Integrating these measures during architectural design maximizes their positive effects, ensuring optimal building performance throughout its entire operational life. Full article

Solar energy has become one of the most important renewable energy sources for reducing dependence on conventional fossil-based energy systems. Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) installations play a key role in the expansion of solar energy, particularly in tropical countries such as Vietnam. This study experimentally investigates the effects of roof material, rear ventilation gap, PV technology, solar irradiance, and wind speed on the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of rooftop PV modules under tropical climatic conditions in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Three roof types (concrete, tiled, and corrugated metal), three rear ventilation gaps (10, 30, and 50 cm), and two PV technologies (monocrystalline and polycrystalline) were evaluated under real operating conditions. The results indicate that increased module temperature significantly reduces power output and PCE, even under high solar irradiance. PV modules installed on corrugated metal roofs exhibited the highest operating temperatures and the lowest efficiencies, whereas concrete and tiled roofs provided more favorable thermal conditions. Increasing the rear ventilation gap enhanced convective cooling, with the 30–50 cm configurations showing superior heat dissipation compared with the 10 cm configuration, particularly for corrugated metal roofs. The experimentally determined heat transfer coefficient ranged from 23.48 to 67.64 W m⁻² K⁻¹, exceeding the theoretical wind-based coefficient (16.86–17.22 W m⁻² K⁻¹), thereby indicating the contribution of mixed convection, radiative exchange, and roof–module thermal interactions. Monocrystalline modules consistently achieved slightly higher efficiencies than polycrystalline modules. The findings provide practical guidance for optimizing rooftop PV installations and improving energy yield in tropical climates. Full article

Rising cooling demand in hot-arid climates requires passive, low-energy building strategies that can be compared across heterogeneous evidence. This study develops a PRISMA-informed systematic mapping review and an evidence-based energy-efficiency decision matrix for building-scale passive cooling strategies in hot-arid climates, while comparing evidence from both traditional and contemporary building contexts. Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection were searched for English-language journal articles and reviews published between 2010 and 2026. Rather than conducting statistical meta-analysis, the review uses qualitative and evidence-based synthesis to map, classify, and interpret heterogeneous performance evidence. After duplicate removal, 844 records were screened. A completed prioritized full-text synthesis assessed 92 reports and produced a core analytical evidence base of 78 studies, supported by 11 borderline or contextual studies, giving 89 mapped studies. The studies were coded by strategy cluster, climatic context, building typology, evidence type, performance metric, energy relevance, water dependency, implementation complexity, maintenance sensitivity, and evidence strength. Seven strategy clusters were identified: evaporative/windcatcher/solar-chimney systems; envelope/façade/shading strategies; courtyard/microclimate strategies; roof-based cooling; earth-to-air or ground-coupled cooling; natural ventilation/night flushing; and integrated passive cooling packages. The results show that passive cooling decisions require more than a thermal performance comparison. The proposed matrix distinguishes performance potential from implementation suitability and provides a structured design-support framework for low-energy hot-arid buildings. Full article

Water scarcity is an increasingly urgent global challenge, prompting the development of new water purification technologies that surpass conventional solutions. Decentralized greywater treatment is emerging as a viable option for enhancing water reuse in multifunctional systems that contribute to microclimate regulation, cooling, and urban climate adaptation. In this context, water-storage mats have been identified as a form of decentralized, roof-based biofilter for greywater treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of newly developed, innovative, bio-based textile mats and assess their effectiveness in treating pre-treated greywater from a canteen (CGW) with a high organic content, in both laboratory- and pilot-scale experiments. The findings from the lab-scale testing revealed that the mats made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nonwoven fabric materials had the highest water storage capacity and dried out more slowly in outdoor conditions than mats made from polylactide (PLA) spunbonded fabric and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) spunbonded nonwoven fabric. The PET hydroentangled nonwoven fabric mat (PET-WS) performed better than the other sample mats in the lab-scale experiment, and also outperformed the PHA mat consistently in the pilot-scale experiment when treating CGW. Apparent reductions in the concentration of the macro-pollutant parameters were observed at the outflow of the PET-WS mat compared to the inflow (p < 0.05) at the pilot-scale. Mean concentration reductions were comparatively higher for the five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total suspended solids (TSS), with mean reductions of 64%, 54%, 39% and 60%, respectively. This indicated the superior treatment performance of the PET-WS mat compared to the PHA mat, with mean reductions of only 36%, 25%, 6%, and 32%, respectively. However, the lower E. coli counts of 1.1 and 0.5 log reduction for the PET-WS and PHA mats, respectively, indicated that an additional disinfection unit was necessary. The findings of this study may help to determine the performance, stability and reliability of using lightweight, nonwoven fabric mats to treat high-strength GW, which is currently considered as an intermediate treatment step. The study also provides recommendations for process optimization. Additional post-treatment steps are required to produce high-quality treated effluent for non-potable reuse, particularly in urban areas facing high water scarcity, provided that the relevant reuse regulations or discharge criteria are met. Full article

Traditional air conditioning consumes substantial electricity, exacerbates the urban heat island effect, and creates a maladaptive feedback loop, necessitating a shift toward passive-first net-zero pathways. This study takes a typical six-story residential building in Nanjing’s hot summer and cold winter climate zone as a case study. Using EnergyPlus hourly simulations, three progressive passive strategy packages are designed to quantify the impact of building envelope heat exchange on cooling loads, grid stress, and heat resilience. Package A includes external shading and natural ventilation. Package B adds reflective coating and a green roof. Package C further adds night ventilation precooling and high-performance windows. The results show that Package C achieves a 62.5% reduction in peak cooling load and a 63.0% reduction in seasonal cooling load. Daytime peak inward heat gain decreases from 68 W/m² to 22 W/m², while nighttime outward heat dissipation increases from 12 W/m² to 38 W/m². Under an extreme heat day of 41.2 °C with no active cooling, indoor peak temperature drops from 36.8 °C to 29.4 °C, and heat risk hours decrease by 73.6%. Peak-hour power demand is reduced by 70.4%, with a systemic leverage factor of 1.08. Innovations include achieving over 60% load reduction using only mature passive strategies, introducing the systemic leverage factor to quantify urban heat island mitigation benefits, and establishing a vulnerability-to-resilience transformation framework. The passive-first pathway validates building envelope as the first line of defense for net-zero futures. However, the findings are based on a typical six-story residential building in Nanjing and require validation through field measurements or broader application across different climate zones and building typologies before generalization. Full article

This study investigates numerically a Coupled Solar Ventilation Evaporative Cooling system for hot and arid climates. The system uses a solar wall chimney to produce natural ventilation and generate hot and dry airflow, which is then directed through a roof-mounted humid hay packed bed to enhance evaporative air conditioning. The resulting cold is transferred via a thermally conductive inner roof plate while a membrane condenser recovers moisture for reusing. A mathematical model was developed to describe heat and mass transfer in the hay packed bed, including solar chimney airflow, pressure drop and the evaporation energy balance. Parametric simulations were carried out for inlet air temperature of 40–60 °C, airflow rates of 0.25–0.45 m³/s, hay moisture contents of 0.006–0.014 kg/kg dry basis and air humidity ratio of 0.002–0.006 kg/kg dry air. Results show that evaporative cooling becomes effective only above certain inlet temperature. Increasing airflow from 0.25 to 0.45 m³/s reduced hay temperature from 30 to 26.8 °C when inlet air temperature exceeded 43.5 °C. Higher hay moisture content enhanced cooling performance, reaching about 26 °C, while higher inlet air humidity reduced evaporation and limited cooling. The operating maps obtained from the numerical simulations provide practical guidance for preliminary system sizing and for optimal operating parameters selection in solar-driven evaporative cooling systems. The mathematical model treats the solar chimney, the evaporative packed bed, the conditioned room and the membrane condenser within the same steady state calculation. The solar energy balance and the pressure balance are used to relate the inlet air temperature and the airflow rate to solar irradiance, ambient temperature and chimney geometry. The model also includes the heat transferred from the room through the roof plate, the sensible heat of the supplied water and the mass transfer and pressure drop effects of the membrane condenser. Full article

Residential buildings must now be designed and retrofitted as adaptive climate–health–work systems rather than as static housing units. This structured literature review synthesises peer-reviewed journal and conference evidence on residential taxonomy, ventilation, indoor environmental quality, overheating, airborne infection resilience, post-pandemic occupancy changes and future performance benchmarks. The review shows that single-family and multifamily buildings remain the most practical first-order categories because they differ in envelope exposure, ventilation pathways, system ownership, governance, retrofit feasibility and occupant control. Single-family dwellings generally provide greater household autonomy, roof-based renewable potential and room-level intervention flexibility, but can also carry higher envelope losses, lower density and stronger dependence on occupant operation. Multifamily buildings benefit from compactness and shared infrastructure, yet face additional risks from common services, vertical shafts, stack effects, corridor pressurisation, inter-zonal airflow and collective maintenance. Ventilation evidence indicates that natural, exhaust-only, supply, balanced heat-recovery, hybrid, demand-controlled and filtration-based strategies cannot be ranked universally; their effectiveness depends on climate, airtightness, pollutant source, occupancy, maintenance and governance. This review further shows that overheating, cooling-demand growth, airborne infection preparedness and remote work are shifting residential performance from winter-centric energy efficiency toward year-round thermal resilience, clean-air delivery and prolonged-occupancy functionality. A future taxonomy is therefore proposed around adaptive performance attributes, including thermal resilience, clean-air capacity, ventilation controllability, energy flexibility, remote-work readiness, vulnerability and retrofit potential. The core contribution is a hypothesis-generating, decision-support and benchmark-development framework for aligning residential design, retrofit and policy with health, indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency and carbon performance. Full article

Buildings account for a significant share of global energy consumption and carbon emissions, creating an urgent need for advanced energy retrofit technologies. This review critically examines the role of plasma-modified textile polymer materials in improving the energy efficiency and durability of building retrofit systems. Various textile polymers, including polyester (polyethylene terephthalate, PET), polypropylene (PP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyamide (PA), and fiber-reinforced composites, are evaluated in relation to plasma surface engineering approaches, including atmospheric plasma, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), and plasma jet treatment. Reported studies demonstrate that plasma treatment significantly alters surface morphology and chemistry, resulting in increased surface roughness, enhanced wettability, improved coating adhesion, and superior hydrophobic behavior. Water contact angles increased from approximately 70° to 145° depending on polymer type and plasma conditions, while reflective coating performance improved with solar reflectance enhancements of approximately 10–15%. Plasma-treated reflective roofing and shading textiles also showed reductions in building cooling energy demand of approximately 18–25% and roof temperature decreases of 10–15 °C. Furthermore, plasma-induced surface activation improved durability, ultraviolet (UV) resistance, and weather stability of textile membranes used in facade and roofing applications. The review also discusses industrial challenges related to scalability, plasma aging effects, energy consumption, and long-term performance. Plasma-modified systems demonstrate strong potential for multifunctional, lightweight, and sustainable building envelope technologies for future energy-efficient construction. Full article

Buildings in warm–humid and hot–arid coastal climates experience continuous cooling demand due to high solar radiation, humidity, and extended cooling seasons. Reducing operational energy use and carbon emissions through improved early-stage design is therefore essential. This study investigates a simulation-based evolutionary optimization framework to evaluate energy-efficient design strategies for residential buildings across representative warm–humid and hot–arid climates. A prototype residential building was modeled in DesignBuilder using EnergyPlus and evaluated across four locations: Singapore, Miami, Rio de Janeiro, and Jeddah. Key variables included the window-to-wall ratio, glazing type, wall and roof constructions, cooling setpoint, and HVAC system configuration. An evolutionary search process based on the NSGA-II algorithm was applied to systematically explore high-performing building configurations using energy use intensity (EUI) and operational carbon indicators. The results indicate a consistent tendency toward boundary values within the defined parameter ranges. The window-to-wall ratios consistently approached the minimum tested value (20%), while the cooling setpoints approached the upper bound (26 °C) within the defined parameter ranges. This behavior highlights the influence of solar gains and operational temperature settings on cooling demand. Low-emissivity glazing and insulated envelope assemblies were frequently associated with improved performance. Miami achieved the lowest EUI among the high-performing configurations (75.08 kWh/m²·yr; 27.55 kgCO₂/m²·yr), while other locations showed higher demand due to climatic conditions. These findings emphasize the importance of parameter range selection and demonstrate the effectiveness of simulation-based evolutionary search methods in identifying high-performing configurations within defined constraints. Full article

The reduction in energy demand in buildings through the adaptation of energy-efficient strategies is attracting significant attention from the research community. In this context green building concepts can contribute towards achieving national sustainable development goals (SDGs) and NetZero targets. Given the substantial energy demand associated with heating and cooling in commercial and residential buildings, enhancing energy efficiency has become essential for achieving sustainable development, particularly amid ongoing global energy challenges. The Envelope Thermal Transfer Value (ETTV) model has been established as a simplified method of calculating building loads; however, its integration with green building elements remains limited, particularly in subtropical climates. Furthermore, the combined effects of living walls, green façades, and green roofs on building energy performance have not been comprehensively investigated. In this study, an extensive experimental investigation was conducted using prototype buildings under controlled conditions to evaluate the thermal performance of green elements. Modified ETTV formulations incorporating green envelope systems have been developed, and the thermodynamic effects of these green elements on the building energy performance have been analysed. The results demonstrate that integrating green elements significantly reduces thermal heat gain and cooling energy demand. Specifically, a combination of a living wall on a west facing wall and a green roof could reduce the thermal heat gain by up to 30%. Full article

The growing demand for sustainable energy solutions in the built environment has increased interest in hybrid envelope retrofits that integrate vegetation systems with on-site photovoltaics (PVs). This study presents a comparative assessment of two integrated vegetation–PV envelope retrofit strategies for an educational building in a cooling-dominated hot-humid climate relevant to Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) applications. A calibrated dynamic simulation model was developed to quantify annual net electricity savings, operational CO₂ emission reductions, and cost-effectiveness using the levelized cost of saved electricity (LCOS). Two configurations were assessed: a solar green roof and a façade system combining green walls with glazing-integrated photovoltaics (GIPVs), enabling a consistent evaluation of roof-based and façade-based hybrid systems under identical conditions. Both strategies deliver comparable energy and environmental performance. The solar green roof achieves annual net electricity savings of 231.0 MWh and avoids 163.3 tCO₂, while the green walls–GIPV system provides 228.3 MWh and 161.4 tCO₂. However, significant differences are observed in economic performance. The LCOS of the solar green roof is approximately 0.07 $/kWh, compared with 0.28 $/kWh for the façade-integrated system. The results demonstrate that vegetation–PV hybrid retrofits can effectively support NZEB pathways in hot-humid climates, while highlighting that the solar green roof provides a more cost-effective solution under the studied conditions. The study contributes a consistent, decision-oriented comparison of integrated vegetation–PV strategies, linking energy, environmental, and economic performance within a unified modeling framework. Full article