• Energy Research

As the concerns for the environment and energy-efficiency (EE) emerged on the world scale, teaching in the field of anthropogenic world climate change (CC) effects became one of the key-components in contemporary educational programs. This paper presents an architectural course, based on the building physics and technology that applies two proposed techniques: climate change survey (CCS), which is founded on managing weather data (WD) and identifying CC effects, and the climate change response (CCR), which is a synthesis tool for the building performance simulation (BPS) modelling process. Regarding the pedagogical concept, the consideration should be given to the application of the proposed advanced active teaching model (AATM), which incorporates the problem-based learning (PBL), think-pair-share (TPS) and critical thinking (CT) methods. Using an active teaching approach, the aim of the course is to build among students a coherent multidisciplinary knowledge basis for use of CC analytical techniques in architectural design (AD) process.

Most of the Catalonian population and urban areas are located along the Mediterranean coastal zone and for this analysis three largest Catalonia’s cities are chosen: Barcelona, Terrassa and Tarragona. Each city is a geographical representative of a different climate type according to the re-analysed Köppen-Geiger climate classification. The objective of this research is to demonstrate the effects of regional climate variations on the potential of natural ventilation (NV) application in building design. The first part of the article presents the availability of NV corresponding to yearly climate conditions applying the methodology “Climate Potential for Natural Ventilation” (CPNV). In continuation, the second analysis is calculated with building energy simulation software and displays possible refrigeration energy savings in three geographical locations. Mixed-mode (or hybrid-mode) and night-ventilation techniques are applied for the cooling process of a hypothetical low-rise office building model. Peer Reviewed

Analyzing the Köppen–Geiger climate classification and available climate data for the southern European Mediterranean coast, eight reference geolocations were selected for this analysis: the cities of Valencia, Barcelona, Marseille, Rome, Koper, Split, Athens and Nicosia. The first part of the research applies the climate potential for natural ventilation (CPNV) methodology that evaluates the theoretical availability of natural ventilation (NV) for each city location corresponding to human hygrothermal conditions. The second part of the article evaluates possible cooling energy savings (ES) applying the advanced natural ventilation (ANV) space-cooling strategy. A hypothetical four-story atrium office building model is designed for the building performance simulation (BPS) using mixed-mode (or hybrid-mode) and night-time natural ventilation (NNV) approaches. The objective is to present a comparison overview of possible space cooling ES between chosen geolocations. In the context of the current European Union’s (EU) energy transition (ET) process, the article displays ANV possibilities, as a renewable energy source (RES), in the reduction of building space cooling energy demands (ED) on the electricity grid.