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Thermal Comfort and Energy Performance in Building

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 March 2025 | Viewed by 2265

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Building Construction I, University of Seville, 41012 Seville, Spain
Interests: climate change; buildings; energy consumption; greenhouse gas emissions; thermal comfort; nearly zero-energy buildings

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, the building sector is required to directly reduce GHG emissions (by approximately 90%). In this context, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EU) 2018/844 has set the need for European countries to establish energy strategies with the aim of having decarbonized buildings before 2050. These assertive policies overlap in time with a pandemic situation and an increase in energy costs. Given these circumstances, a change of paradigm is deemed necessary, considering integral and variable assessments.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to thermal comfort and energy performance in buildings.

Positive-energy buildings (PEBs) are a dynamic and holistic approach that considers climate change adaptation, adaptive energy-saving strategies and energy poverty. Taking into consideration this innovative approach, prosumers and their economic, social and environmental context should be the centre of the analysis, and solutions for energy generation with minimum consumption, which will radically contribute to attaining an environmentally inclusive society, should be stated. This Special Issue will be divided into three sections that bridge the gaps for PEB implementations: firstly, the potential applicability of adaptive comfort and adaptive strategies, including climate potential for renewable energy production; secondly, energy production and consumption with the optimal configuration of PEBs and thirdly, the application of several energy poverty indicators and the incidence of PEBs in energy poverty mitigation.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

  • Positive-energy buildings;
  • Buildings’ climate change adaptation;
  • Energy consumption in buildings;
  • Energy poverty issues;
  • Thermal or hygrothermal comfort models;
  • New construction materials or procedures to reduce energy consumption;
  • Nearly zero-energy buildings: case studies or guidelines for building an NZEB;
  • Energy simulation in buildings to reduce consumption.

Dr. Carlos Rubio-Bellido
Dr. Marta Torres González
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. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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

  • thermal comfort
  • nearly zero-energy buildings
  • climate change
  • buildings’ consumption
  • positive-energy buildings

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4635 KiB  
Article
Use of International Adaptive Thermal Comfort Models as a Strategy for Adjusting the Museum Environments of the Mudejar Pavilion, Seville
by Inmaculada Gallego-Maya and Carlos Rubio-Bellido
Energies 2024, 17(21), 5480; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17215480 - 1 Nov 2024
Viewed by 540
Abstract
Adaptive thermal comfort models are increasingly utilized to condition thermal environments by considering occupants’ adaptability. The most widely recognized models internationally are the ASHRAE 55-2020 and UNE-EN 16798-1:2020 standards, primarily applied in residential and office buildings. However, their use in heritage buildings such [...] Read more.
Adaptive thermal comfort models are increasingly utilized to condition thermal environments by considering occupants’ adaptability. The most widely recognized models internationally are the ASHRAE 55-2020 and UNE-EN 16798-1:2020 standards, primarily applied in residential and office buildings. However, their use in heritage buildings such as museums has been very limited. These environments present unique challenges that complicate the implementation of conventional energy-saving methodologies due to restrictions on interventions in the buildings to safeguard their historical value. Therefore, it is essential to develop research that evaluates the applicability of these standards as an alternative strategy to the specific conditions of museums in heritage buildings in Spain. This study aims to explore the application of the international adaptive thermal comfort models of the ASHRAE 55-2020 and UNE-EN 16798-1:2020 standards in parallel with the preventive conservation conditions of the collections established by the UNE-EN 15757:2011 standard. The aim is to evaluate new strategies for environmental reconditioning to improve visitor comfort while ensuring the conservation of the collections in the exhibition spaces of the Museum of Popular Arts and Customs, housed in a 1914 building known as the Mudejar Pavilion in Seville. Field monitoring was conducted to assess the thermal environment and visitor comfort. The results revealed that the monitored environmental conditions of the exhibition spaces of the Mudejar Pavilion, in accordance with ASHRAE 55-2020 standards, showed high effectiveness in ensuring thermal comfort for visitors, achieving comfort 99% of the time annually, with an acceptability of 80%. High suitability for the conservation of collections was also observed, with optimal conditions achieved 87% of the time. However, under the standards of UNE-EN 15757:2011 for a Category III expectation level, comfort was only achieved 70% of the year, while stability of conservation conditions was achieved 88% of the time. Finally, the implementation of specific correction guidelines is proposed to achieve the acceptability limits of greater energy efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Comfort and Energy Performance in Building)
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21 pages, 21316 KiB  
Article
Adaptive Comfort Potential in Different Climate Zones of Ecuador Considering Global Warming
by Evelyn Delgado-Gutierrez, Jacinto Canivell, David Bienvenido-Huertas and Francisco M. Hidalgo-Sánchez
Energies 2024, 17(9), 2017; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17092017 - 24 Apr 2024
Viewed by 845
Abstract
Ecuador is a country with several climate zones. However, their behaviour is similar throughout the year, with no peaks of extreme temperatures in the various seasons. This paper is a first approach to study the adaptive comfort behaviour in several areas and populations [...] Read more.
Ecuador is a country with several climate zones. However, their behaviour is similar throughout the year, with no peaks of extreme temperatures in the various seasons. This paper is a first approach to study the adaptive comfort behaviour in several areas and populations of the country. Considering the ASHRAE 55-2020 model, energy simulation programmes are applied not just to the current climate scenario but also to the climate change scenarios of 2050 and 2100. The results of locations are analysed and compared to determine their performance. Thanks to their climate characteristics, adaptive comfort models could be applied as a passive strategy, using natural ventilation for building indoor comfort improvement, particularly social dwellings. According to previous studies, some prototypes have not considered the climate determinants in each region. Given the geographic situation of the study areas, the adaptive comfort model could be applied in all cases. Percentages of application of natural ventilation and heating and cooling degree hours have similar behaviours according to the climatic region, with a variation greater than 30% among them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Comfort and Energy Performance in Building)
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