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Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior
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Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Building Energy, Physics, Environment, and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 15648

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Yan Ding

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environment Science and Technology, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Built Environment and Energy Application, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, China
Interests: intelligent building; building energy system optimization; building occupant behavior; building load prediction; integrated energy utilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Inefficient energy use leads to high building energy consumption and massive carbon emissions in the building sector. Due to the mismatch between building energy demand and building energy supply, a series of problems, such as over-sizing of the building energy system, low operation efficiency of building equipment, and the high energy cost in buildings, have been caused. In this context, the development of building technologies with clean energy and the optimization of building energy utilization strategies, are of great significance to improve building energy efficiency and to reduce the carbon emission from buildings

Beyond developing high-efficiency energy systems and designing high-performance building envelopes, to explore the occupant-oriented building design and operation modes is also one of the important means to improve building energy efficiency. It has been proved that in building simulation, including or excluding the consideration of occupant behavior may cause significant differences. Therefore, by studying the interaction between occupant behaviors and the building environment will help to reduce the building energy consumption while satisfying the healthy and comfort requirement of occupants.

In this Special Issue, we invite submissions on exploring cutting-edge researches and advanced studies in building energy efficiency and occupant behavior. Both theoretical and experimental studies are welcome, as well as comprehensive review and survey papers. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an interactive platform for researchers in relevant areas to share their current ideas, and to promote the speed of improving building energy efficiency.

Dr. Yan Ding
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • building energy efficiency
  • occupant behavior
  • occupant-oriented building design and operation
  • energy efficient system
  • optimization strategy

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 2952 KiB  
Article
Electric Vehicle Charging Facility Configuration Method for Office Buildings
by Yan Zhu, Yan Ding, Shen Wei, Hafiz Muhammad Yahya Zafar and Rui Yan
Buildings 2023, 13(4), 906; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13040906 - 29 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1914
Abstract
With the advent of advanced battery technology, EVs are gradually gaining momentum. An appropriate decision-making method for the number of charging piles is in need to meet charging needs, and concurrently, to avoid the waste of infrastructure investment. In this study, an optimal [...] Read more.
With the advent of advanced battery technology, EVs are gradually gaining momentum. An appropriate decision-making method for the number of charging piles is in need to meet charging needs, and concurrently, to avoid the waste of infrastructure investment. In this study, an optimal charging pile configuration method for office building parking lots is proposed. With the determination of the design period of charging facilities, a charging load prediction model is established under a collection of charging scenarios. Taking the average utilization rate of charging facilities and the average satisfaction rate of charging demand as the objective functions, the distribution of the optimal number of piles is obtained with the genetic algorithm. The benefits of the configuration method are also explored under the building demand response process. The results show that the optimal configuration of charging piles in office buildings with different volumes have similar characteristics. When the design period is 5 years and 10 years, the comprehensive indicator of the utilization rate of the charging facilities and the satisfaction rate of the charging demand can, respectively, be improved by 8.18% and 17.45%. Moreover, the reasonable scheduling strategy can realize the load regulation response with a maximum load transfer rate of 25.55%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior)
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22 pages, 6466 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Heat and Humidity in Single-Slope Greenhouses with Natural Ventilation
by Huang Li, Angui Li, Yicun Hou, Chi Zhang, Jinnan Guo, Jiaxing Li, Yuanqing Ma, Tianqi Wang and Yifei Yin
Buildings 2023, 13(3), 606; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030606 - 24 Feb 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2143
Abstract
A single-slope greenhouse (SSG) is the general name of a kind of agricultural greenhouse facility widely used in China. Microclimate studies for SSGs in Weifang, Shandong Province, are relatively scarce. This paper mainly discusses the test data of nine SSGs including temperature, humidity, [...] Read more.
A single-slope greenhouse (SSG) is the general name of a kind of agricultural greenhouse facility widely used in China. Microclimate studies for SSGs in Weifang, Shandong Province, are relatively scarce. This paper mainly discusses the test data of nine SSGs including temperature, humidity, solar global radiation intensity, CO2 concentration, wind speed, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) trend. Moreover, the conservation of quality method is used to estimate the ventilation volume and humidity growth after opening the top vent in the greenhouse. Through the analysis in this paper, for local SSGs, the internal environmental change has commonality but its internal environment is still influenced by many factors, such as plant planting density, internal cover, plant growth height, and vent opening time. In addition, the method in this paper can provide a quantitative tool for calculating and controlling humidity for researchers and greenhouse workers and provide a basis for greenhouse ventilation strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior)
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22 pages, 6260 KiB  
Article
Stepwise Optimization Method of Group Control Strategy Applied to Chiller Room in Cooling Season
by Xin Wang, Kuixing Liu, Weijie You, Xinyu Zhang and Han Ma
Buildings 2023, 13(2), 487; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020487 - 10 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1823
Abstract
Central air-conditioning systems account for the largest share of energy consumption in public buildings, wherein the chiller room is the main source. The current empirical strategies of chiller room group control have difficulty realizing integrity, timeliness, and equipment adjustment accuracy and lead to [...] Read more.
Central air-conditioning systems account for the largest share of energy consumption in public buildings, wherein the chiller room is the main source. The current empirical strategies of chiller room group control have difficulty realizing integrity, timeliness, and equipment adjustment accuracy and lead to energy wastage. Therefore, the operation strategy optimization model is of great value for achieving energy savings. This study proposed a stepwise optimization method for central air-conditioning systems, which is divided into the chilled side (the chiller and chilled water pump) and the cooling side (the chiller, cooling water pump, and cooling tower). The optimal points of the two sides are calculated sequentially and integrated as the global optimization result. To construct the stepwise optimization model, mathematical power models of the equipment in use were established to provide mathematical support for objective functions, and a short-term load prediction model with a matching optimization step size was established for energy constraints. The TRNSYS simulation model was developed to verify the energy-saving effects of the stepwise optimization model according to the energy-saving rates of 6.41% and 13.56% attained in both cases. The stepwise optimization strategy can more effectively guide practical applications and provide another way of thinking with respect to the group control optimization of chiller rooms in public buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior)
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23 pages, 30157 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity Analysis of Factors Influencing Rural Housing Energy Consumption in Different Household Patterns in the Zhejiang Province
by Chen Chen, MeiYan Wang, Chengzhu Shen, Yingying Huang, Minhua Zhu, Huifang Wang, Liping He and Dewancker Bart Julien
Buildings 2023, 13(2), 463; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020463 - 8 Feb 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2087
Abstract
Unlike urban dwellings, it is very common for elderly people to stay at home alone in Chinese rural families, and some families have three generations in the same house who are in different situations, and their different family patterns lead to different highly [...] Read more.
Unlike urban dwellings, it is very common for elderly people to stay at home alone in Chinese rural families, and some families have three generations in the same house who are in different situations, and their different family patterns lead to different highly sensitive parameters of building energy consumption. This paper first selects the three most common family patterns based on a questionnaire survey. The measured energy consumption behavior and electrical parameters, energy consumption time, and basic building parameters were input into DesignBuilder to build three building simulation models, and these were verified by comparing the predicted and measured values of the residential month-by-month electricity consumption. The global sensitivity analysis was then conducted using DesignBuilder software to determine the interactions between the variables by using the second-order Sobol index for cooling load, heating load, and comfort of the models to obtain standardized regression coefficients (SRC) for each factor to determine the most sensitive parameters. The results show that the different household patterns had little influence on the ranking of highly sensitive factors for heating and cooling, but annual electricity consumption and discomfort in different household patterns had a significant influence on the ranking of highly sensitive factors. For example, model 1 showed the most sensitivity to general lighting power density when optimizing the total amount of electricity was the goal, while the one that had the greatest degree of influence on the total amount of electricity in model 2 and model 3 was equipment power density. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior)
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20 pages, 749 KiB  
Article
Policy Implications for Promoting the Adoption of Cogeneration Systems in the Hotel Industry: An Extension of the Technology Acceptance Mode
by Siu Shing Man, Wilson Ka Ho Lee, Ka Po Wong and Alan Hoi Shou Chan
Buildings 2022, 12(8), 1247; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081247 - 15 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1974
Abstract
The use of cogeneration systems in the hotel industry leads to economic and environmental benefits, but its acceptance in the industry remains low. Hence, this study aimed to examine the factors that influence cogeneration system acceptance amongst hotel management. A cogeneration system acceptance [...] Read more.
The use of cogeneration systems in the hotel industry leads to economic and environmental benefits, but its acceptance in the industry remains low. Hence, this study aimed to examine the factors that influence cogeneration system acceptance amongst hotel management. A cogeneration system acceptance model (CoSAM) was proposed by integrating the technology acceptance model with perceived cost, perceived benefit, risk perception, environmental awareness and facilitating conditions. The validity of the CoSAM was investigated using structural equation modelling based on 499 data points collected from hotel management personnel. Results showed that the intention to use the systems of hotel management personnel was positively determined by attitude towards using cogeneration systems, which was directly affected by perceived usefulness, risk perception and perceived benefit. Moreover, with perceived usefulness as a mediator, facilitating conditions and environmental awareness indirectly influenced attitude towards using cogeneration systems positively, while perceived cost indirectly influenced the attitude negatively. Based on the findings of this study, policy implications for promoting the adoption of cogeneration systems in the hotel industry were provided, thus saving energy and reducing the energy costs of hotels. This study is the first to remarkably contribute an in-depth understanding of the factors affecting cogeneration system acceptance to the literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior)
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21 pages, 3083 KiB  
Article
Impacts of Occupant Behavior on Building Energy Consumption and Energy Savings Analysis of Upgrading ASHRAE 90.1 Energy Efficiency Standards
by Yaling He, Yixing Chen, Zhihua Chen, Zhang Deng and Yue Yuan
Buildings 2022, 12(8), 1108; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12081108 - 27 Jul 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3049
Abstract
Commercial prototype building models were developed by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to analyze the energy savings of the ASHRAE 90.1 standard. However, in the DOE models, occupant behavior inputs were deterministic and the stochasticity of occupant behavior was not fully [...] Read more.
Commercial prototype building models were developed by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) to analyze the energy savings of the ASHRAE 90.1 standard. However, in the DOE models, occupant behavior inputs were deterministic and the stochasticity of occupant behavior was not fully characterized. This study evaluated the impacts of stochastic occupant behavior on building energy consumption and energy savings analysis from upgrading the ASHRAE 90.1-2016 to 2019 in sixteen climate zones in the United States (U.S.). Three occupant behavior styles (austerity, normal, and wasteful) were defined to represent the different levels of energy consciousness. The DOE medium office prototype models were used as the baseline (normal behavior style). The occupant behavior functional mock-up unit (obFMU) was used to model the stochastic occupant behavior models (austerity and wasteful). The EnergyPlus medium office prototype models were modified to co-simulate with the obFMU models. The results of 16 climate zones were aggregated by the relative construction volume of each climate zone. The results showed that the weighted national annual source energy use intensity (EUI) of the austerity, normal, and wasteful behavior styles were 203.81 kWh/m2, 287.15 kWh/m2, and 388.33 kWh/m2 for ASHRAE 90.1-2016, and 192.43 kWh/m2, 273.48 kWh/m2, and 371.28 kWh/m2 for ASHRAE 90.1-2019, respectively. Compared to the normal behavior style, the austerity behavior style consumed 29% less source energy, while the wasteful behavior style consumed 36% more source energy. From upgrading the ASHRAE 90.1-2016 to 2019, the energy saving percentages based on the austerity, normal, and wasteful behavior styles were 5.59%, 4.78%, and 4.42%, respectively. The stochastic occupant behavior significantly impacted the building energy consumption, and their impacts on the energy savings analysis of upgrading ASHRAE 90.1 were also not negligible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior)
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Other

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25 pages, 8170 KiB  
Case Report
Risk Assessment and Prevention Strategy of Virus Infection in the Context of University Resumption
by Wanyue Chen, Yan Ding, Yu Zhang, Zhe Tian and Shen Wei
Buildings 2022, 12(6), 806; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12060806 - 11 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1711
Abstract
The risk assessment system of virus infection probability and the prevention measures for virus transmission are keys to controlling epidemics. In the context of university resumption, this study identifies the risk elements in terms of the mechanism of virus transmission. The effect of [...] Read more.
The risk assessment system of virus infection probability and the prevention measures for virus transmission are keys to controlling epidemics. In the context of university resumption, this study identifies the risk elements in terms of the mechanism of virus transmission. The effect of two recognized effective measures, i.e., occupancy constraints and ventilation intervention, on the infection risk are quantified and compared using the improved Wells–Riley model. Considering the priority of these two measures, the controlling quantity are determined, and the optimal schemes are proposed based on the targeted infection risk. The results show that the effect of reducing infection risk by constraining occupancy within 25% of all public campus buildings is better than that achieved by increasing the ventilation rate alone. If the ventilation system of the building type is operated by occupiers, it is a priority to prevent the risk of virus infection by restricting occupancy and ensuring the distance between occupants, while if the ventilation system of the building type is centrally controlled, it is a priority to increase the ventilation rate and then limit the occupancy rate during peak periods to 75%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Studies in Building Energy Efficiency and Occupant Behavior)
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