• Energy Research
• E3S Web of Conferences close

The paper presents a comparative study of a nearly zero-energy office building with respect to two different cities located in two different climate zones: a humid continental climate with dry winter, represented by the city of Seoul and a hot semi-arid climate, represented by the city of Benguerir. Obviously, climate is one of the most influential factors affecting indoor thermal comfort, energy demand and energy self-sufficiency of nZEBs. In this study, we first assess the impact of regional climate on the thermal performance, and we explore the influence of the local natural energy sources on the Solar BIPV and PV outputs in the two different cities: Benguerir and Seoul, respectively. And then, we explore the overall energy self-sufficiency of the nZEB for the respective climates. The differences in thermal need and energy self-sufficiency responses were statistically significant. With respect to Benguerir, the thermal energy needs for cooling amount to 71.5 kWh/m²/year, with almost no heating thermal needs and the Energy Balance (EB) reaches 0.88. On the other side, these metrics are around 52.56 kWh/m²/year for the total thermal needs with a share of 43% for heating thermal needs and a yearly EB equals to 0.6 for the nZEB in Seoul. Finally, it is important to mention that the BIPV output share out of the total solar energy output amounts to 57% and 61% for the cities of Seoul and Benguerir, respectively, which highlight the important role of BIPV in reaching advanced levels of energy self-sufficiency.

Within the framework of the sustainable development and carbon-neutrality, the building sector is a key target of the national energy strategy towards zero-carbon economy in Morocco. This article comes in response to this need by assessing the energy performance of a solar-powered low-embodied-carbon building in the semi-arid climate of Benguerir-Morocco, which refers to the fifth climatic zone in the thermal regulation for constructions in Morocco (RTCM). To do so, we’ve used Openstudio as the building energy modeling tool to investigate the energy self-sufficiency of a detached Net Zero Energy Building (NZEB) that has a floor area of 47 m², uses earth-based material as the main component part of the building envelope and has a photovoltaic installation with a capacity of 4 kW. The accuracy of the building energy model was empirically validated following ASHRAE 14 guidelines by monitoring hourly indoor temperatures for 8 days during summer season. Results show that annual thermal needs for cooling and heating are 123.4 kWh/m²/year and the calculated annual self-sufficiency (SS) of the building is 1.25, which means that the solar technology greatly offsets the electrical needs of the building and rech the goal of Zero Energy Building.

This study presents a detailed investigation of the energy and thermal performance of buildings in the Philippines’ metropolitan cities, targeting sustainability and indoor comfort against the backdrop of the country’s tropical maritime climate. Utilizing a blend of occupant surveys, energy audits, climate data analysis, and building envelope assessments, the research employs Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations to accurately evaluate energy use and thermal behaviors in residential and commercial structures. Key findings include distinct nighttime energy consumption patterns in residential buildings and the identification of climatic challenges such as high temperatures and humidity. The study proposes effective design interventions like enhanced ventilation, shading solutions, and the integration of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for improved thermal efficiency. Significantly, the research contributes to policy development by suggesting updates in building energy codes and advocating for energy-efficient practices. Overall, the study provides actionable insights for enhancing building sustainability and occupant comfort in urban Philippine settings.

The need for more efficient buildings to contribute to more sustainable development has led to the establishment of targets in different countries. European countries have presented energy plans to respond to the guidelines of achieving near-zero energy buildings (nZEB). The concept can be defined at the urban scale (nZED), being a delimited part of a city with high energy efficiency and using renewable energies within its boundaries. This research aims to carry out a numerical study in a residential development in Panama, based on a proposal to redesign it, but using bioclimatic strategies and implementing photovoltaic technology. Thus, to evaluate the feasibility of nZED in the region and to function as a preliminary study to implement regulations of this type in the country. The results indicate that the indoor comfort conditions of each residential building should be evaluated in greater depth, and energy savings of 40% were obtained by implementing the recommended bioclimatic strategies and becoming independent of air conditioning equipment. In addition, photovoltaic generation outstrips demand, making the development net energy positive.

The increasing concern expressed by building designers in Panama, due to new building-energy regulations, regarding sustainable development goals and energy efficiency, is leading architects to reanalyse their design strategies and evaluate the vernacular architecture. The main implications of the hot-humid climate characteristics stipulate that the need for cooling of indoor environments drives buildings’ design and settlements. This work aims to assess the use of bioclimatic architecture strategies in three existing building typologies design in Panama, in terms of thermal comfort performance. The approach adopted here is to compare and analyse the vernacular architecture with current architecture. Besides, to evaluate bioclimatic architecture strategies based on recent investigations and the guidelines proposed by Givony, Olgyay, among others. A numerical assessment was performed on the dynamic simulation software DesignBuilder, where the building’s passive strategies are evaluated in terms of operative temperature, relative humidity (rH), PMV, PPD, and discomfort hours (DH). All three houses, the HVA, HCA, and HRES were tested in three different locations within Panama City. Results showed that the strategies in HVA perform best for reducing rH levels, but the HRES performs best in overall thermal comfort performance, apart yet from the high rH levels encountered.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential mitigation strategies to overcome the overheating issue at the attic of the landed residential house located in a hot and humid climate area. An existing terrace house with 178 m2 was selected for this research. A building simulation model was created and calibrated by using the previous site measurement data collected by Ng et.al. in the year 2018. The calibrated model was subsequently used to evaluate various retrofitting methods and strategies, including roof insulation, and passive radiative cooling methods. The study shows that high albedo cool roof paint is the most effective roof retrofitting strategy compared to other approaches.

Natural ventilation is considered as an effective way to improve ventilation and thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption in residential buildings. In this sense, natural ventilation is done by a solar chimney. It is used to increase the air flow through the room by converting thermal energy into kinetic energy. In this work, we intend to present the results of a three dimensional numerical simulation by ANSYS software of natural ventilation through a room equipped with a solar chimney in semiarid climatic conditions of Ouarzazate (Morocco). The chimney is modelled by a rectangular channel with two South-East oriented glass faces. The main objective is to investigate effects of room dimensions for a solar chimney with of fixed dimensions. We also investigate effects of air velocity, turbulence of kinetic energy and air-flow rate in each area of room and solar chimney and determine optimal dimensions of solar chimney for each room size.

Apart from indoor environmental and personal factors, contextual factors have significantly influenced several thermal comfort studies. In air-conditioned spaces, thermal comfort is conveniently attainable by adjusting the temperature settings, but indoor design elements might alter thermal perceptions and provide adaptive opportunities. This study examines the influence of office design characteristics and anthropometrics on thermal comfort parameters and perceptions. Nineteen university offices in Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam, comprised of twelve shared and seven private spaces, were investigated, and 628 responses were collected from 42 participants with even gender distributions. The results showed that room occupancy and size were statistically significant with Griffiths’ comfort temperature. Offices with five or more people had lower mean comfort temperature (24.1 ℃) than private offices (25.0 ℃). The mean comfort temperature in offices larger than 80 m2 was 23.7 ℃ with warmer thermal preference, while offices smaller than 40 m2 were approximately one-degree Celsius higher. Offices with no shading device, window blinds opened, and tiled floorings had mean comfort temperatures higher than 25.0 ℃. The findings also indicated that offices with more than a 60% glazing ratio have a slightly higher mean comfort temperature at 24.9 ℃. The thermal sensation during closed blinds was much cooler than opened ones. The anthropometry of the human body impacts how heat is regulated; thus, respondents with higher Body Mass Index (BMI) and above-average body surface area (higher than 1.7 m2) had significantly lower comfort temperatures and preferred more humid surroundings. Mean comfort temperature was statistically significant with BMI with a noticeable difference between underweight (25.1 ℃), normal (24.5 ℃), and obese (23.9 ℃) BMIs. In this study, it is recommended that BMI be considered when positioning occupants in shared offices, and window blinds are an integral shading device for adjusting indoor thermal comfort levels.