Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xiaolong Wang, Tian Mu, Lili Zhang, Wenke Zhang, Linhua Zhang
Summary: This study investigates the thermal comfort issues of an office using floor radiant cooling technology through numerical simulation and experimental verification. The findings indicate that the floor surface temperature and indoor air temperature have significant effects on thermal comfort, while relative humidity has a minor impact.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Yaw-Shyan Tsay, Ruijun Chen, Chen-Chi Fan
Summary: This study aimed to research the balance between thermal comfort, productivity, and energy conservation of air-conditioning systems in office buildings in Taiwan. The results showed that the optimum temperature for achieving the best productivity was 27 degrees C for men and 25 degrees C for women, with an energy-saving potential of around 9.1% using thermal comfort control.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Giulia Torriani, Giulia Lamberti, Giacomo Salvadori, Fabio Fantozzi, Francesco Babich
Summary: In educational buildings, ensuring thermal comfort is crucial for students' health and learning. Previous studies have shown different thermal comfort expectations in different educational stages, but only a few studies have considered schools and universities in different areas. This study analyzed data from 24 classrooms and 1548 questionnaires in one region to minimize biases associated with climate zone, operation mode, and cultural adaptation. The results showed that thermal comfort expectations vary with the educational stage and increase with it, highlighting the need for thermal comfort models that consider these variations.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ghogare Abhijeet Ganesh, Shobha Lata Sinha, Tikendra Nath Verma, Satish Kumar Dewangan
Summary: This study analyzes the impact of inlet diffuser orientation on indoor thermal comfort and energy consumption in a naturally ventilated office building. The results show that optimizing indoor thermal comfort can significantly reduce energy consumption.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Ibrahim Reda, Raouf N. AbdelMessih, Mohamed Steit, Ehab M. Mina
Summary: Worship places are unique buildings with specific characteristics such as high occupancy, intermittent use, specific roof geometry, large inner space, and energy consumption of cooling/heating systems. Thermal comfort and indoor air quality are crucial for the psychological and physiological conditions, as well as the activity level and working efficiency of occupants. However, there is limited research on the indoor conditions of worship places. This study examined the impact of occupancy level and period on thermal comfort sensation and indoor air quality in a mosque in Bahrain. The findings revealed that social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sensation of coolness under the existing cooling system. Additionally, longer occupancy periods led to increasing concentrations of CO2. Therefore, the air-conditioning systems of worship places should be reconsidered to provide comfortable conditions for different occupancy levels and periods.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THERMAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Zhimin Zheng, Yuchun Zhang, Yudong Mao, Yanping Yang, Chuhao Fu, Zhaosong Fang
Summary: Through field measurements and questionnaire surveys, this study found that the SET* and PMV models obtained in the current research cannot accurately evaluate the thermal comfort of people in prefab construction site offices. Calculations showed that the natural SET* values in prefab buildings were higher than the preferred SET*, leading to the need for model revisions to improve accuracy.
CASE STUDIES IN THERMAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Shurui Yan, Nianxiong Liu, Weitao Wang, Shuyan Han, Jingyu Zhang
Summary: The research proposed an adaptive thermal discomfort evaluation model called Air-conditioner based Adaptive Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (aaPPD). By collecting indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity data, extracting resident air-conditioner-turning-on behaviors, and building a nonlinear model, the research simplified variables for easy calculation parameters, aiming to adapt better to the early architectural design stage.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Thermodynamics
Zhaoju Qin, Minghui Jia, Junfa Duan, Lijun Wang
Summary: A new air supply strategy, which adopts variable air volume and temperature according to the thermal comfort requirements of passengers in different periods and positions, is proposed to improve thermal comfort and energy consumption issues in the passenger compartment.
JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Joao Gabriel Carrico de Lima Montenegro Duarte, Bruno Ramos Zemero, Ana Carolina Dias Barreto de Souza, Maria Emilia de Lima Tostes, Ubiratan Holanda Bezerra
Summary: This study aimed to improve energy efficiency in buildings through the use of BIM technology. A case study was conducted on two classrooms in an educational building in the Amazon region, evaluating and implementing energy-saving strategies to enhance the overall energy performance of the building.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Heng Du, Zhiwei Lian, Dayi Lai, Lin Duanmu, Yongchao Zhai, Bin Cao, Yufeng Zhang, Xiang Zhou, Zhaojun Wang, Xiaojing Zhang, Zhijian Hou
Summary: This study assessed the performance of PMV and its revised models using the Chinese Thermal Comfort Database, finding better accuracy in air-conditioned buildings but limited improvements in different subset cases.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mouatassim Charai, Ahmed Mezrhab, Ligia Moga
Summary: This paper investigates the effectiveness of using biosourced earth in building envelopes, and conducts experiments on the mechanical properties, hygrothermal performance, and moisture buffering capacity of the materials. The results show that biosourced earth blocks exhibit good hygrothermal properties and moisture buffering capacity, making them excellent humidity regulators. Additionally, using a double hollow brick wall integrating biosourced earth improves thermal comfort and reduces dissatisfied occupants compared to typical walls.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Carlos Zepeda-Gil, Sukumar Natarajan
Summary: The study indicates that a significant portion of Mexico's population lacks adequate housing conditions, especially under cold winter climates. Current Mexican houses are unable to provide sufficient indoor thermal comfort environments, indicating the need for a more extensive insulation program.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Karim Aliakbari, Amir Ebrahimi-Moghadam, Paria Ildarabadi
Summary: This study investigates the effects of a novel transparent nano-insulation in building windows on thermal comfort and energy consumption by developing a comprehensive dynamic model and evaluating five main parameters. The results show significant improvements in thermal comfort and reductions in energy consumption under different climate conditions in Iran.
THERMAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRESS
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mehrzad Shahinmoghadam, Worawan Natephra, Ali Motamedi
Summary: This study investigates the application of digital twins in the field of thermal comfort monitoring and develops an immersive VR application for real-time monitoring of thermal comfort conditions by integrating BIM, IoT, and VR technologies. Through the use of open software tools and a semi-automated method, the real-time calculation of thermal comfort indices and processing of thermal images in real building spaces were successfully achieved.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xue Feng, Eryan Bin Zainudin, Hong Wen Wong, King Jet Tseng
Summary: Traditional HVAC systems operate on a fixed schedule regardless of occupancy or external temperature. This paper proposes a machine learning-based approach using the ASHRAE RP-884 database to forecast the thermal comfort levels of building occupants. The results show high accuracy and low error in predicting the comfort levels.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Vitor E. M. Cardoso, M. Lurdes Simoes, Nuno M. M. Ramos, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Manuela Almeida, Ligia Conceicao
Summary: In contrast with structural engineering, the proper assessment and modeling of air change rates in natural ventilation and infiltration require the use of all input variables. Existing modeling methods in infiltration research overlook the intra-hour variability of meteorological variables and assume unchanged neutral atmospheric conditions, which affects the calculated airflows. This study details and quantifies these effects in a representative case study of a single-family dwelling in a Southern European climate.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Romeu da Silva Vicente, Antonio Ventura-Gouveia, Antonio Figueiredo, Filipe Rebelo, Eduardo Roque, Victor M. Ferreira
Summary: The radiant floor system market is growing rapidly due to Europe's transition towards a low-carbon economy and increased awareness about environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. This study investigates the impact of screed mortar formulations and floor finishing materials on the system's performance through experimental and modeling approaches.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Murilo Marcolini, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Eva Barreira
Summary: The high electricity consumption in Palmas, Brazil due to high temperatures can be reduced by using sustainable technologies. The best results were achieved by combining natural ventilation with reflective painting.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Eduardo Roque, Romeu Vicente, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Victor M. Ferreira
Summary: The lightweight steel framing (LSF) construction system is becoming increasingly popular in Southern Europe, but little research has been done on its indoor thermal environment. This study evaluates and compares the indoor thermal environment of LSF and masonry construction systems, with a focus on thermal inertia.
Article
Instruments & Instrumentation
Ivan Garrido, Eva Barreira, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Susana Laguela
Summary: Active infrared thermography has been proposed for detecting defect areas in building facade ceramic tiling, with segmentation and automation in thermal image processing. Good results were obtained in experimental tests, and future research will focus on fine-tuning the methodology for application in real case studies.
INFRARED PHYSICS & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Leticia C. M. Dafico, Eva Barreira, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Helena Carasek
Summary: In this research, the humidification and drying process of two wall specimens were assessed using infrared thermography and compared with traditional techniques. Qualitative and quantitative analysis revealed the impact of ambient conditions on the results, and the correlation between non-destructive techniques and moisture content in masonry walls was discussed.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Vitor E. M. Cardoso, M. Lurdes Simoes, Nuno M. M. Ramos, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Manuela Almeida, Joao N. D. Fernandes
Summary: Energy efficiency and indoor air quality are conflicting goals when determining the air change rate (ACH) of a dwelling. This study proposes an innovative labeling method to classify the performance of naturally ventilated dwellings. The results show that terrain and airtightness are the main factors affecting the ACH of a dwelling.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Catarina P. Mouraz, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, J. Mendes Silva
Summary: This paper describes a methodology that uses GIS-based maps and cluster analysis to study building defects. By studying 495 buildings, patterns of defects in buildings located in the central area of the historical zone were identified, highlighting the advantage of combining these tools.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Vitor E. M. Cardoso, M. Lurdes Simoes, Nuno M. M. Ramos, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Manuela Almeida, Ricardo Mateus
Summary: Assessing individual elements of the air barrier in a building envelope is not feasible in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and the study of these solutions is often overlooked due to the complexity of relationships between elements and the minimal impact of these materials in the overall construction or retrofitting works. This study uses LCA and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) to evaluate the viability of two envelope air barrier solutions in dwellings with excessive air change rates and different heating systems. The application of air barrier solutions resulted in significant energy savings, with mechanically fastened air barriers outperforming fluid applied ones in terms of environmental performance and life cycle costs. Dwellings equipped with electric radiators showed the shortest average Energy Payback Period (EPP) and the highest average Reference Service Life (RSL) savings. Based on the analysis, the adoption of mechanically fastened solutions is recommended regardless of the heating system in the dwelling.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Catarina Ribeiro, Pedro F. Pereira, Nuno M. M. Ramos, Ines Flores-Colen, Nuno Valentim
Summary: This study evaluates the impacts of different balcony configurations on indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The results show that open balconies have a positive impact on hygrothermal conditions, illuminance, and noise reduction. Glazed balconies improve hygrothermal conditions and noise reduction, but decrease illuminance. Eliminating balconies leads to poor hygrothermal conditions, loss of noise reduction, and increased illuminance.
BUILDING RESEARCH AND INFORMATION
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Leticia C. M. Dafico, Eva Barreira, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Romeu Vicente
Summary: This study utilizes machine learning models to predict moisture content based on surface temperature measurements. The results show that neural network models have high prediction accuracy, especially in brick and granite materials.
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Joao M. P. Q. Delgado, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Ana M. M. Matos, Eva Barreira, Luisa Carvalho, Jorge Martins, Nuno Ferreira, Ana S. S. Guimaraes
Summary: Modular construction, especially using wood, has gained increasing interest and investment. The BlueWoodenHouse Project in Portugal aims to improve knowledge of modular wood construction by characterizing solutions, systems, and materials and evaluating thermal comfort in a fully occupied modular wooden house. The results show adequate air renewal rates and a percentage of time in discomfort due to overcooling, but most of these periods coincide with unoccupied spaces.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Joao Malca, Ricardo M. S. F. Almeida, Jose A. R. Mendes Silva
Summary: This article presents the assessment of hygrothermal conditions in residential buildings in the Azores archipelago and suggests strategies for improving indoor air quality. Through monitoring and tests on a typical building, the study finds that thermal comfort is largely affected by humidity levels rather than ventilation. Simulation results indicate that ventilation strategies should consider factors such as timing and duration.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mohamed Nour El-Din, Pedro F. Pereira, Joao Pocas Martins, Nuno M. M. Ramos
Summary: Digital twins are a new technology trend in all industries, but development in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry is still in its early stages. The lack of standardization for digital twins in the AEC industry hinders their widespread use. This study systematically reviewed publications related to digital twin applications in the AEC industry and proposed a conceptual framework for digital twin development for construction assets using existing BIM information management standards.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Samiran Khorat, Debashish Das, Rupali Khatun, Sk Mohammad Aziz, Prashant Anand, Ansar Khan, Mattheos Santamouris, Dev Niyogi
Summary: Cool roofs can effectively mitigate heatwave-induced excess heat and enhance thermal comfort in urban areas. Implementing cool roofs can significantly improve urban meteorology and thermal comfort, reducing energy flux and heat stress.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Qi Li, Jiayu Chen, Xiaowei Luo
Summary: This study focuses on the vertical wind conditions as a main external factor that limits the energy assessment of high-rise buildings in urban areas. Traditional tools for energy assessment of buildings use a universal vertical wind profile estimation, without taking into account the unique wind speed in each direction induced by the various shapes and configurations of buildings in cities. To address this limitation, the study developed an omnidirectional urban vertical wind speed estimation method using direction-dependent building morphologies and machine learning algorithms.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xiaojun Luo, Lamine Mahdjoubi
Summary: This paper presents an integrated blockchain and machine learning-based energy management framework for multiple forms of energy allocation and transmission among multiple domestic buildings. Machine learning is used to predict energy generation and consumption patterns, and the proposed framework establishes optimal and automated energy allocation through peer-to-peer energy transactions. The approach contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhances environmental sustainability.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ying Yu, Yuanwei Xiao, Jinshuai Chou, Xingyu Wang, Liu Yang
Summary: This study proposes a dual-layer optimization design method to maximize the energy sharing potential, enhance collaborative benefits, and reduce the storage capacity of building clusters. Case studies show that the proposed design significantly improves the performance of building clusters, reduces energy storage capacity, and shortens the payback period.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Felix Langner, Weimin Wang, Moritz Frahm, Veit Hagenmeyer
Summary: This paper compares two main approaches to consider uncertainties in model predictive control (MPC) for buildings: robust and stochastic MPC. The results show that compared to a deterministic MPC, the robust MPC increases the electricity cost while providing complete temperature constraint satisfaction, while the stochastic MPC slightly increases the electricity cost but fulfills the thermal comfort requirements.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Somil Yadav, Caroline Hachem-Vermette
Summary: This study proposes a mathematical model to evaluate the performance of a Double Skin Facade (DSF) system and its impact on indoor conditions. The model considers various design parameters and analyzes their effects on the system's electrical output and room temperature.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Ruijun Chen, Holly Samuelson, Yukai Zou, Xianghan Zheng, Yifan Cao
Summary: This research introduces an innovative resilient design framework that optimizes building performance by considering a holistic life cycle perspective and accounting for climate projection uncertainties. The study finds that future climate scenarios significantly impact building life cycle performance, with wall U-value, windows U-value, and wall density being major factors. By using ensemble learning and optimization algorithms, predictions for carbon emissions, cost, and indoor discomfort hours can be made, and the best resilient design scheme can be selected. Applying this framework leads to significant improvements in building life cycle performance.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2024)