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Assessment and Optimization of Building Carbon Emissions and Energy Efficiency...
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Assessment and Optimization of Building Carbon Emissions and Energy Efficiency in China

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 (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 16485

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tengfei Huo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Economics and Management, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, China
Interests: building energy and carbon emissions; system modelling and simulation; carbon peak and carbon netrual; sustainable construction and management; project decision making
Prof. Dr. Weiguang Cai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400045, China
Interests: building energy big data; building energy system modelling and simulation; building environment and health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The building sector is crucial to China’s carbon peak and carbon neutral targets for tackling global climate change. In recent years, building carbon emissions have become a new growth area because of the accelerated urbanization and the resulting residential demand for energy consumption. This poses a threat to society, the economy, and the environment. Achieving carbon peaks, carbon neutrality, and sustainable development require a system transformation of the building and construction industry. Assessing building carbon emissions and energy efficiency performance would be helpful to the green transformation of the building and construction industry. Path optimization is critical for mitigating the carbon emissions of these industries.

Therefore, this Special Issue will provide a platform for researchers to show and exchange ideas related to building related energy consumption and carbon emissions. The research scope may be conducted on the global, national, regional, provincial, or end-use level. The topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, building carbon emission prediction, carbon peak and carbon neutrality, building energy system modeling and optimization, building retrofits, sustainable construction and management, energy policy evaluation, energy efficiency of the building and construction industry, etc.

Dr. Tengfei Huo
Prof. Dr. Weiguang Cai
Guest Editors

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 carbon emissions
  • energy efficiency of building and construction industry
  • carbon peak and carbon neutrality
  • building retrofit
  • sustainable construction and management
  • energy policy evaluation

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4906 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Built-Environment Factors on Connectivity of Road Networks in Residential Areas: A Study Based on 204 Samples in Nanjing, China
by Yu Zhang, Rui Wang, Yue Wu, Guanlong Chu and Xiaomin Wu
Buildings 2023, 13(2), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13020301 - 19 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2161
Abstract
Over the past decades, China has built a large number of superblocks and gated residential areas, which have contributed to increased congestion on urban road traffic. Although some studies have found a correlation between residential environments and travel convenience, there is little quantitative [...] Read more.
Over the past decades, China has built a large number of superblocks and gated residential areas, which have contributed to increased congestion on urban road traffic. Although some studies have found a correlation between residential environments and travel convenience, there is little quantitative evidence to explain which factors influence the connectivity of road networks. This paper aims to clarify the indicators of built environments in Chinese residential areas that affect travel accessibility and their correlation proportions through a more quantitative method and to provide a basis for planning and design decisions. To this end, this study took 204 residential areas in the three districts of Nanjing, China as a sample and calculated 16 built-environment indicators. The path distance (D) and pedestrian route directness (PRD) from the center of these residential areas to the nearest urban intersection were measured by GIS as outcome variables. First, correlation analysis was used to screen for significant variables, and multiple linear regression models were used to examine the significant influencing factors of D and PRD. Then, a binary logistic regression analysis was performed to provide a model that could determine whether the built environment of the residential area met the requirements for convenient travel. The results revealed that the length of the long side, the area size, and the total road length of the residential area were significantly related to D, and the number of entrances and exits, the intersection density, and the X ratio were significantly related to PRD. The indicators that were positively correlated with D were the size, network complexity, and the boundary shape of the residential area according to the degree of correlation. Meanwhile, other indicators such as the density and connectivity of the residential road network were negatively correlated with D. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Optimization of Building Carbon Emissions and Energy Efficiency in China)
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25 pages, 5515 KiB  
Article
An Empirical Study of Carbon Emission Calculation in the Production and Construction Phase of A Prefabricated Office Building from Zhejiang, China
by Zhoujin Mo, Tianyu Gao, Jie Qu, Gangwei Cai, Zhenyu Cao and Wen Jiang
Buildings 2023, 13(1), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13010053 - 26 Dec 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4521
Abstract
This study analyzes an office building located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang region, with a high assembly rate of 96.8%. Based on whole-process records and first-hand factory data, using an original method, we empirically investigate the carbon emissions associated to the assembly production and construction [...] Read more.
This study analyzes an office building located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang region, with a high assembly rate of 96.8%. Based on whole-process records and first-hand factory data, using an original method, we empirically investigate the carbon emissions associated to the assembly production and construction phase by comparing the results collected in the field with the calculation results for the simulated non-prefabricated building. The calculation results show that the production and construction stage of the prefabricated office building is characterized by a large reduction in carbon emissions, where the total measured carbon emissions of the subject building were 2265.73 tCO2e, which is 22 kgCO2e/m2 less than that under the non-prefabricated method. In the future development of China’s construction industry, taking Zhejiang Province as an example, the implementation of prefabricated office buildings with a PEC structure system can effectively reduce carbon emissions, which can help China to achieve the carbon peak as soon as possible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Optimization of Building Carbon Emissions and Energy Efficiency in China)
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17 pages, 3269 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Study on Technical Standards for the Design of Emergency Medical Facilities in China in the Context of COVID-19
by Hui Ji, Lewen Huang, Haoming Li, Jiangtao Zhang, Qinlong Jing and Ji-Yu Deng
Buildings 2022, 12(10), 1502; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12101502 - 21 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2064
Abstract
The technical standards for the design and construction of emergency medical facilities play an important role in guiding the conversion of Fangcang shelter hospitals and the construction of emergency infectious disease hospitals and temporary facilities for medical quarantine and observation. However, due to [...] Read more.
The technical standards for the design and construction of emergency medical facilities play an important role in guiding the conversion of Fangcang shelter hospitals and the construction of emergency infectious disease hospitals and temporary facilities for medical quarantine and observation. However, due to the imperfections and superficialness of the current version of the existing technical standards, further improvement and optimization on the maturity and systematism are necessary. This paper presents an in-depth analysis and comparison on the detailed regulations and terms between the existing 11 sets of technical standards issued by the National Health Commission (NHC) and the provincial competent authorities of Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hebei, Shandong and Beijing. The similarities, disparities and deficiencies of these technical standards are summarized. Then, the primary contents, including the site selection and architectural design, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), structural design, electricity intelligence, water supply and drainage, operation and maintenance, environmental health and safety, and fire protection, are analyzed in-depth from the view of infectious disease control and health safety. Furthermore, some critical principles related to the detailed terms of the architectural design, HVAC, electricity and water supply are concluded. Finally, some essential suggestions are proposed for the improvement and revision of these technical standards for better applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Optimization of Building Carbon Emissions and Energy Efficiency in China)
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12 pages, 3513 KiB  
Article
Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Road Construction by Considering the Regional Differences in Carbon Emission Factors of Cement: The Case of China
by Chao Yu, Liu Wu, Yuyao Liu, Kunhui Ye and Guibao Liang
Buildings 2022, 12(9), 1341; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12091341 - 31 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4313
Abstract
Rapid road construction and expansion in China resulted in massive GHG emissions. The carbon emission factors of raw materials, particularly cement, have a significant influence on the calculation of GHG emissions from road construction. This study estimates GHG emissions from road construction by [...] Read more.
Rapid road construction and expansion in China resulted in massive GHG emissions. The carbon emission factors of raw materials, particularly cement, have a significant influence on the calculation of GHG emissions from road construction. This study estimates GHG emissions from road construction by taking into account regional differences in cement carbon emission factors. The results indicate that (1) total GHG emissions from road construction have a “U” shape from 2009 to 2019, with the highest level being 437 million t CO2e 2009 and the lowest level being 184 million t CO2e in 2017; (2) Class-Ⅳ roads account for roughly 80% of total GHG emissions from road construction; and (3) GHG emissions from road construction are shifting from east to west regions. This is the first paper to calculate GHG emissions from road construction by taking into account both road type and cement carbon emission factors. The findings of this study could provide references for transportation agencies to better understand the impacts of road construction to climate change and improve policymaking, especially for the development of road construction technologies and raw material production technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Optimization of Building Carbon Emissions and Energy Efficiency in China)
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21 pages, 6319 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Temporal and Spatial Evolution Laws of County Green Land-Use Efficiency: Evidence from 11 Counties in Sichuan Province
by Ting Yuan, Jian Zhang, Yong Xiang and Liyu Lu
Buildings 2022, 12(6), 816; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12060816 - 13 Jun 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2214
Abstract
With rapid urbanisation in China, sustainable urban development faces a major obstacle due to insufficient consideration of land-use efficiency. Currently, despite progress in analysing land-use efficiency, not every land manager has enough knowledge of green land use from a county perspective. Therefore, the [...] Read more.
With rapid urbanisation in China, sustainable urban development faces a major obstacle due to insufficient consideration of land-use efficiency. Currently, despite progress in analysing land-use efficiency, not every land manager has enough knowledge of green land use from a county perspective. Therefore, the objective of this research is to explore the spatiotemporal evolution law focused on county green land-use efficiency (CGLUE), which can support sustainable county development. Based on 10 specific CGLUE factors identified through a content-mining tool, this study explored the temporal and spatial evolution law of 11 counties in Sichuan Province using the ultra-efficient slacks-based measure (SBM), kernel density estimation, and Moran’s I statistic. The study found that (1) CGLUE factors cover the administrative area, total investment in fixed assets by region, the number of employed persons in secondary and tertiary industries, gross domestic product in secondary and tertiary industries, the average wage of staff and workers, basic statistics on per capita park green area, carbon emissions of land, the volume of industrial wastewater discharged, the volume of industrial sulphur dioxide emission, and the volume of industrial soot (dust) emission; (2) from a time-evolution perspective, CGLUE shows an increasing trend of time series evolution as a whole, and its dynamic evolution process has obvious differences in time. CGLUE increased, and the difference in CGLUE became larger from 2010 to 2012. CGLUE also increased, and the difference in CGLUE became smaller from 2013 to 2016. CGLUE also increased, and the difference in CGLUE became larger from 2017 to 2020; (3) from a spatial evolution perspective, the global spatial evolution laws of CGLUE show that the spatial agglomeration state has gone from strong to weak. Overall, however, Sichuan Province CGLUE maintains a high spatial agglomeration effect. The local spatial evolution laws show that the CGLUE of the 11 counties is positively correlated. The high–low CGLUE agglomeration areas are mainly distributed in Chengdu, Mianyang, Meishan and Yibin; the low–low CGLUE agglomeration areas are mainly distributed in Deyang, Yaan, and Zigong. The novelty of the research lies in these aspects: (1) the carbon emissions of land should be considered the undesired output of CGLUE; (2) CGLUE in Sichuan Province has various growing stages from a time perspective; (3) CGLUE in Sichuan Province has a high spatial concentration in Chengdu from spatial view, and these counties’ resources flow and interact at high speed. These findings offer a solid reference for the sustainable development of these 11 counties in Sichuan Province. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Assessment and Optimization of Building Carbon Emissions and Energy Efficiency in China)
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