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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 31252

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Marco Dell'Isola

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Cassino, FR, Italy
Interests: thermodynamics; energy systems; renewable energy systems; energy use in buildings; individual metering; smart building; smart metering; energy efficiency; building ventilation; energy and environmental sustainability
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Prof. Dr. Andrea Frattolillo

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Co-Guest Editor

Department of Civil, Environmental Engineering and Architecture, Universityof Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
Interests: Research in recent years has focused on the issues related to energy and environmental planning, diagnostic methods and techniques for mitigating environmental impacts, including the light and the acoustic one. He also studied issues related to the use and integration of renewable energy sources in buildings and urban bounded contexts, carrying out studies and experiments related to the physics of buildings, building and environmental acoustics, environmental comfort issues and the conservation of cultural heritage beyond that technical and economic feasibility studies of industrial cogeneration systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, several new components and systems for renewable energy and smart buildings have been developed for different purposes: (i) long-term climate and sustainability goals; (ii) space optimization; (iii) distributed local energy production; (iv) energy independence, and (v) energy efficiency improvement. Today, the attention of designers and service providers is not only focused on energy efficiency technologies, but increasingly on their usability in terms of integration with the building. In particular, meaningful efforts are made toward the integration of renewable energy sources (RES) with different technical elements of the building envelope such as roofs, façades, and frames, at least from a functional point of view. Then, the integration aspects must be carefully taken into account for the different parts of the building system, and a comparative study of thermodynamic advantages/disadvantages coming from different building integration solutions has been carried out.

The proposed Special Issue aims to investigate: (i) new smart and renewable integrated technologies; (ii) analysis of the integration impact on the renewable energy system performance (e.g., installation, exposition, color, reshape), on the functionality of the building itself (in terms of reliability, flexibility, etc.) and on architectural features (e.g., identity, proportions, coherence with the urban context); and (iv) cases studies of smart and renewable energy systems integration with particular reference to functional components of the building system.

Prof. Dr. Marco Dell'Isola
Prof. Andrea Frattolillo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

smart building integration
renewable energy sources integration
glazed balconies and solar walls
building automation and control systems
energy systems efficiency
lighting system
loads and storage management
building automation

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 3226 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On the Influence of Solar Radiation on Heat Delivered to Buildings for Heating

by Tomasz Cholewa, Agnieszka Malec, Alicja Siuta-Olcha, Andrzej Smolarz, Piotr Muryjas, Piotr Wolszczak, Łukasz Guz, Marzenna R. Dudzińska and Krystian Łygas

Energies 2021, 14(4), 851; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14040851 - 6 Feb 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2000

Abstract

Nowadays, the attention of designers and service providers is especially focused on energy efficiency and integration of renewable energy sources (RES). However, the knowledge on smart devices and automated, easily applicable algorithms for optimizing heating consumption by effectively taking advantage of solar heat gains, while avoiding overheating, is limited. This paper presents a simple method for taking into account the influence of solar heat gains in the form of solar radiation for the purposes of forecasting or controlling thermal power for heating of buildings. On the basis of field research carried out for seven buildings (five residential buildings and two public buildings) during one heating season, it was noticed that it was justified to properly narrow down the input data range included in the building energy model calculations in order to obtain a higher accuracy of calculations. In order to minimize the impact of other external factors (in particular wind speed) affecting the heat consumption for heating purposes, it was recommended to consider the data range only at wind speeds below 3 m/s. On the other hand, in order to minimize the impact of internal factors (in particular the impact of users), it was suggested to further narrow down the scope of the input data to an hour (e.g., 10–14 in multi-family residential buildings). During these hours, the impact on users was minimized as most of them were outside the building. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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23 pages, 5361 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy Evaluation of a PV-Based Test Facility for Assessing Future Self-Sufficient Buildings

by Angela Amato, Matteo Bilardo, Enrico Fabrizio, Valentina Serra and Filippo Spertino

Energies 2021, 14(2), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14020329 - 8 Jan 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2391

Abstract

In recent years, investigations on advanced technological solutions aiming to achieve high-energy performance in buildings have been carried out by research centers and universities, in accordance with the reduction in buildings’ energy consumption required by European Union. However, even if the research and design of new technological solutions makes it possible to achieve the regulatory objectives, a building’s performance during operation deviates from simulations. To deepen this topic, interesting studies have focused on testing these solutions on full-scale facilities used for real-life activities. In this context, a test facility will be built in the university campus of Politecnico di Torino (Italy). The facility has been designed to be an all-electric nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB), where heating and cooling demand will be fulfilled by an air-source heat pump and photovoltaic generators will meet the energy demand. In this paper, the facility energy performance is evaluated through a dynamic simulation model. To improve energy self-sufficiency, the integration of lithium-ion batteries in a HVAC system is investigated and their storage size is optimized. Moreover, the facility has been divided into three units equipped with independent electric systems with the aim of estimating the benefits of local energy sharing. The simulation results clarify that the facility meets the expected energy performance, and that it is consistent with a typical European nZEB. The results also demonstrate that the local use of photovoltaic energy can be enhanced thanks to batteries and local energy sharing, achieving a greater independence from the external electrical grid. Furthermore, the analysis of the impact of the local energy sharing makes the case study of particular interest, as it represents a simplified approach to the energy community concept. Thus, the results clarify the academic potential for this facility, in terms of both research and didactic purposes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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22 pages, 10705 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Innovative Solutions to Use Ground-Coupled Heat Pumps in Historical Buildings: A Test Case in the City of Napoli, Southern Italy

by Nicola Massarotti, Alessandro Mauro, Gennaro Normino, Laura Vanoli, Clara Verde, Vincenzo Allocca, Domenico Calcaterra, Silvio Coda, Pantaleone De Vita, Cesare Forzano, Adolfo Palombo and Paolo Cosenza

Energies 2021, 14(2), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14020296 - 7 Jan 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2399

Abstract

The new standards on energy saving for new and existing buildings have animated both researchers and technicians in recent years, aiming at reducing the dependence on fossil fuels, improving indoor comfort, and systems efficiency. In this scenario, special attention must be paid to historical buildings that need to preserve their key testimonial heritage within the society. This paper describes the design and realization stages of a pilot system based on a ground-coupled heat pump, operating both in heating and cooling modes, installed in the monumental site of Saints Marcellino and Festo (SM&F), in Naples, Southern Italy. This study aims to demonstrate that low-enthalpy geothermal systems can be employed as energy retrofit applications in buildings of historical, artistic, and cultural interest and, at the same time, to prove that the use of this technology allows achieving the objectives, set at global level by the current regulations, and requiring a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions (tCO₂) of 53% compared to technology using fossil fuels. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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18 pages, 6803 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Facility Energy Management Application of HBIM for Historical Low-Carbon Communities: Design, Modelling and Operation Control of Geothermal Energy Retrofit in a Real Italian Case Study

by Cristina Piselli, Alessio Guastaveglia, Jessica Romanelli, Franco Cotana and Anna Laura Pisello

Energies 2020, 13(23), 6338; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13236338 - 1 Dec 2020

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3740

Abstract

The highest challenge of energy efficiency of building stock is achieving improved performance in existing buildings and, especially, in heritage buildings which per se are characterized by massive limitations against the implementation of the most sophisticated solutions for energy saving. In Italy, historical buildings represent more than 30% of the building stock and the vast majority require energy retrofit, while ensuring the preservation of the heritage value and acceptable comfort conditions. In this context, historical buildings must be retrofitted and re-functioned by introducing innovative technologies aimed at reducing energy consumption and improving human comfort, health, and safety. To this aim, this study implements the Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM) approach for the integrated modeling, monitoring, management, and maintenance of a novel geothermal system involving horizontal ground source heat exchangers (GHEXs) coupled to an adsorption heat pump for the energy refurbishment of historical buildings. In detail, a rural building part of a medieval complex in Perugia, Central Italy, is considered as a pilot case study. The analysis stresses the potential of the Facility Management (FM) applications of HBIM to provide a tool for the human-centric operational management control of the building energy performance and indoor comfort when combined with the building monitoring and supervision system. Therefore, this integrated HBIM approach may drive the path towards the user-centric re-functioning of heritage buildings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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18 pages, 7375 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Potential for Building Façade-Integrated Solar Thermal Collectors in a Highly Urbanized Context

by Andrea Frattolillo, Laura Canale, Giorgio Ficco, Costantino C. Mastino and Marco Dell’Isola

Energies 2020, 13(21), 5801; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215801 - 5 Nov 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4112

Abstract

Development of technologies, materials, support systems, and coatings has made the integration of solar thermal systems into the building envelope increasingly possible. Solar thermal collectors can either be directly integrated, substituting conventional roof or façade covering materials, or constitute independent devices added to a roof or façade structure. Aimed at estimating the real effectiveness of building-integrated solar systems for domestic heat water (DHW) production or for heating integration, when horizontal or inclined pitches on buildings are not applicable, the authors analyze a case study with different scenarios, taking into account the issues connected to a highly urbanized context in the Mediterranean climate. A GIS model was used for estimating the energy balance, while the real producibility of the simulated systems was calculated by a dynamic hourly simulation model, realized according to ISO 52016. The savings in terms of primary energy needs obtained by installing solar thermal systems on the facade are presented, and the differences between the cases in which the system is used for DHW production only and for space heating too are distinguished and discussed. The evaluated potential is quantified in the absence of roof collectors, despite their high potential in the Mediterranean region, in order to better appreciate the effects induced by integrated facade systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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29 pages, 7146 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Coupled TRNSYS-MATLAB Simulation Framework for Model Predictive Control of Integrated Electrical and Thermal Residential Renewable Energy System

by Muthalagappan Narayanan, Aline Ferreira de Lima, André Felipe Oliveira de Azevedo Dantas and Walter Commerell

Energies 2020, 13(21), 5761; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215761 - 3 Nov 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5322

Abstract

An integrated electrical and thermal residential renewable energy system consisting of solar thermal collectors, gas boiler, fuel cell combined heat and power, a photovoltaic system with battery, inverter, and thermal storage for a single-family house of Sonnenhaus standard is investigated with a model predictive controller (MPC). The main focus of this article is to define a multi-objective mathematical function, develop a coupled simulation framework for the nonlinear time-varying deterministic discrete-time problem of the energy system using TRNSYS and MATLAB. With the developed methodology, a sensitivity analysis of maximum optimization time, swarm (or population or mesh) size of a typical spring day and a typical summer day assuming a 100% accurate weather and load forecast with three different algorithms: particle swarm optimization (PSO), genetic algorithm (GA) and global pattern search (GPS) are analyzed. Finally, the obtained results are compared with a status quo controller. Results show that the PSO algorithm optimizer performs the best in this MPC for such a complex and time-consuming MPC model in both the spring day and the summer day. The obtained results show that the PSO with swarm size 50 in the selected typical spring day and the PSO with swarm size 40 in the selected summer day reduces the objective function’s fitness value from 413 to −177 within 6 h optimization time and from 1396 to 1090 in 4 h optimization time respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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24 pages, 8497 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Smart Energy Solutions as an Indispensable Multi-Criteria Input for a Coherent Urban Planning and Building Design Process—Two Case Studies for Smart Office Buildings in Warsaw Downtown Area

by Elzbieta Rynska, Joanna Klimowicz, Slawomir Kowal, Krzysztof Lyzwa, Michal Pierzchalski and Wojciech Rekosz

Energies 2020, 13(15), 3757; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13153757 - 22 Jul 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3875

Abstract

The introduction of parametric tools has made a strong shift within a traditional approach to urban planning and building design, including the creation of a design awareness zone where environmental issues are concerned. This approach also uses sufficient data to be used already at the concept stage and provides initial interdisciplinary solutions. Analyses from the very initial stages allow the inclusion of smart energy choices influencing the massing, architectural features, proportions, flexibility of design, and economics. This is only a threshold; there is still a place for further development and more accurate analyses leading to the construction of buildings and urban areas with a stronger input of sustainable solutions, as existing approaches have certain limitations. This path has been followed in several research grants conducted at the Faculty of Architecture Warsaw University of Technology, and later on developed as a co-operation area with various stakeholders. Outside the general state of art, this paper will include two case studies which were provided as a concept design for prospective investors. Both locations are in the Warsaw Downtown Area, and analyses include algorithmic models dealing with the optimisation of the buildings’ forms, urban scale sun radiation levels, shadow and wind analyses indicating use of sunlight energy and wind as alternative energy sources. One of the case studies contains Pareto Front including both single- and multi-criteria optimization methods for analysing energy and economic efficiency issues, pointing out the best case solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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19 pages, 808 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Impact of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) on Reducing the Demand for Electricity and Heat in Buildings Located in Poland

by Arkadiusz Dobrzycki, Dariusz Kurz, Stanisław Mikulski and Grzegorz Wodnicki

Energies 2020, 13(10), 2549; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13102549 - 18 May 2020

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 3982

Abstract

Based on a method to reduce energy consumption suggested in a real energy audit carried out in an industrial plant located in Poznań (city in Poland), the potential of using photovoltaic (PV) panels as wall cladding was analyzed, in order to reduce energy (electric and thermal) consumption and financial expenditure. The authors’ concept of using building integrated photovoltaic installation (BIPV) was presented and tested. This study checked whether the presence of PV modules would also affect heat transfer through the external wall of the building on which the installation is located. The analysis consisted of determining, for two variants, the heat transfer coefficients across the partition, in order to estimate the potential thermal energy savings. The first variant concerned the existing state, i.e., heat transfer through the external wall of the building, while the second included an additional partition layer in the form of photovoltaic panels. As a result, the use of panels as wall cladding allowed the improvement of the thermal parameters of the building wall (by increasing the thermal resistance of the wall), and the reduction of gas consumption for heating. The panels also generate electricity for the factory’s own needs. Payback time, compared to calculations which do not include changes in thermal parameters, was shortened from 14 to 11 years. The main reason for this is that gas consumption is reduced due to the improved heat transfer coefficient of the wall and the reduction of the heat loss of the facility. This aspect is usually overlooked when considering photovoltaic installations and, as argued by this paper, can be important. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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28 pages, 7585 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Working on Buildings’ Energy Performance Upgrade in Mediterranean Climate

by Dimitris Al. Katsaprakakis, Georgios Zidianakis, Yiannis Yiannakoudakis, Evaggelos Manioudakis, Irini Dakanali and Spyros Kanouras

Energies 2020, 13(9), 2159; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13092159 - 1 May 2020

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 2493

Abstract

This article aims to present the results from studies on the energy performance upgrade of buildings and facilities located in Crete, Greece, in a typical Mediterranean climate. In Mediterranean islands, the most buildings remain uninsulated, classified in C or even lower energy performance rank. In this article four reference buildings and one sports facility are investigated: a residential building, a municipality building, a school building, a museum and the Pancretan Stadium. Detailed calculations based on the computational simulation of each examined facility were executed, giving accurate results on the heating and cooling loads, both for the existing conditions and after the integration of the proposed passive measures. Thorough dimensioning and energy calculations have been executed for specific active energy systems too, particularly proposed for each examined case. With this parametric approach, the article indicates the effect and the economic efficiency of the proposed active or passive measures for each examined facility, expressed with specific key performance indicators. The common conclusion for all investigated cases is the huge margin for energy saving, which can reach 65% with regard to the existing annual consumptions. The payback period of the introduced energy upgrade measures can be as low as 15 years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Buildings Integration of Renewable and Smart Energy Systems)

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