Community-scale building retrofits are not merely scaled-up versions of single-building retrofits. They involve complex challenges, such as reconciling individual interests with collective goals and managing the dynamic interplay between buildings through mechanisms like power grids and social connections. Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity holds the potential to leverage these interplays to balance

As climate change continues to pose significant challenges, redefining building design for enhanced lifecycle efficiency has become imperative. This paper investigates how different optimization objectives and varying climatic conditions shape optimal building configurations. This paper explores these performance objectives through an optimization framework that merges genetic algorithms with simulation

This paper innovates in the relationship between sustainable technology suppliers and users, using the example of heat pumps. Heat pumps are necessary for energy transitions in Europe. However, in everyday life in households, heat pumps are often not used as the technology developers intended. This discrepancy presents a challenge for heat pump supply-side actors such as manufacturers and resellers

Recent advancements in data availability and computational resources have driven the widespread adoption of machine learning (ML) in control-oriented building simulations. To model dynamic relationships in building systems, many ML models, including artificial neural networks (ANNs), rely on statistical associations between the input and output variables (i.e., correlations). However, these methods

Urban overheating has become a global issue, exacerbated by climate change and leading to serious risks for public health and urban sustainability. Traditional methods, such as numerical simulations and field measurements, often face challenges due to uncertainties in input data. This study predicts the longevity and severity of future urban overheating by integrating field measurements with machine

Buildings are pivotal in the global energy landscape, significantly influencing energy consumption patterns and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Demand Response (DR) programs are key to enabling buildings to adjust their energy usage in response to dynamic electricity prices and to reduce peak demand. Nevertheless, current efforts are often fragmented, focusing either on improving Demand Forecasting

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) have emerged as a key strategy for transforming global energy management, promoting renewable energy generation and sharing, particularly through building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) systems. This innovative study focuses on designing a REC that facilitates renewable energy sharing between suburbs and historic city centers, where renewables installation is often

Thermal Source Network (TSN)s are ultra-low-temperature district heating systems that use decentralised heat pumps, offering significant potential for urban heating decarbonization. While previous research has extensively examined the application of TSNs in newly constructed, energy-efficient buildings, studies on their feasibility in older, inefficient building stocks remain limited and less systematically

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can address environmental and societal challenges that have emerged in modern cities. However, a challenge that arises with the implementation of NbS is achieving a just distribution of their benefits. A significant body of research discusses the unequal distribution of green spaces and their benefits in cities around the world in the framework of environmental justice

As integral components of urban infrastructure, buildings play a crucial role in maintaining occupant well-being, especially during extreme weather conditions. This research presents a model predictive control (MPC) approach to harnessing the energy flexibility of buildings by utilising their thermal mass to cost-effectively manage the energy use. The study compares two apartment buildings located

In the process of urbanization, building functions and morphologies affect the urban heat island (UHI) effect. However, existing studies lack influence analysis of the building function and cross-scale effects on UHI. In this study, the land surface temperature (LST) of Shanghai was retrieved using Radiative Transfer Equation (RTE), Mono-Window (MW), and Split Window (SW) algorithms. Building functions

As global warming worsens, countries around the world have developed policies to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate the transition to renewable energy. Recently, cement-based supercapacitors have attracted significant attention due to their low energy consumption and multifunctionality, offering a promising solution for large-scale energy storage in renewable energy systems. This review provides

Global energy demand continues to increase, and climate change is affecting the energy consumption of buildings. Wooden Prefabricated Wall Panel (WPWP) systems could represent a hygrothermally efficient solution to reduce buildings’ energy demand in the current and future climate scenarios. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate and compare the impact of climate change on the energy demand of buildings

The European Union targets a 55 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050, emphasizing decarbonisation in energy sectors. District Heating Networks with thermal prosumers and bidirectional substations are critical to decarbonize the heating sector by integrating renewable energy sources. The paper analyses how to enhance the share of renewable energy sources used

The application of radiative cooling protective coatings on building roofs and exterior walls represents a new strategy for energy saving and emission reduction. This approach not only decreases reliance on air conditioning by improving thermal management but also enhances the durability of concrete structures, contributing to reduced carbon emissions in the cement production process. This study proposed

The increasing integration of renewable energy sources (RES) and the transition towards a decarbonized energy sector present significant challenges, particularly in demand-side management. Thermal energy storage (TES) systems offer a cost-effective solution for enhancing energy flexibility in building heating systems. However, improper sizing and operation of TES systems can lead to increased investment

The widespread use of split air conditioners (SAC) in Chinese residences has a significant impact on energy consumption. This study examines SAC usage behaviors in Jiaozuo, Henan Province, through environmental measurements and resident surveys. Using the entropy weight method, SAC users were classified into high air conditioning dependency (HACD) and low air conditioning dependency (LACD) groups.

Achieving sustainable development has emerged as a global emergency in response to environmental challenges, including the need to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The built environment, encompassing both buildings and manufacturing activities, is critical to achieving net zero, given its contribution of approximately 37% to global energy-related CO2 emissions. While earlier research explored

Buildings significantly impact worldwide energy consumption, emphasizing the need to reduce the cooling energy demand, especially in warm climates. Minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) and seasonal performance metrics such as the Cooling Seasonal Performance Factor (CSPF) are crucial for improving room air conditioning (RAC) efficiency. However, challenges remain, particularly in emerging markets

This study is motivated by the need to improve building design to cope with future climatic conditions and changing occupant lifestyles. The research objectives are to forecast changing lifestyle patterns in response to climate change, particularly given the absence of future behavioural data, and to provide a set of building design recommendations based on predicted behavioural changes and future

Improving indoor thermal comfort in intermittently heated rooms while reducing the energy consumption simultaneously plays an important role in building carbon neutrality. Therefore, a novel integrated terminal with three-fluid heat exchanger and gravity heat pipe, which integrated the advantages of convective and radiant units, was proposed. A prototype was developed, and experiments was designed

This study investigates the potential of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems to contribute to sustainable urban energy transitions in Lahore, Pakistan. While solar energy offers a significant opportunity to reduce urban carbon emissions, accurately estimating rooftop PV potential is challenged by complex atmospheric conditions and limitations in existing solar irradiance models. To address these challenges

This study investigated the performance of students attending class, but before attending class, they were at different climatic and metabolic conditions. We investigated the physiological and cognitive impacts of the commute of the students to reach their first lecture of the day. The commute was simulated in one room of a climate chamber, using a bicycle ergometer, at three different temperatures:

Solar radiation is a key factor in the energy balance of urban areas, with urban form significantly affecting solar exposure. The design and arrangement of buildings determine how they interact with solar radiation, influencing factors such as the performance of building-integrated photovoltaic systems, solar heat gains, and heating and cooling demands. Urban form indicators, including orientation

This research focuses on enhancing energy efficiency and grid stability in residential buildings by developing and evaluating advanced demand response (DR) strategies, explicitly comparing a Rule-Based model with a Predictive model leveraging machine learning. The Predictive Model utilised a neural network with ReLU activation functions, optimised using grid search and cross-validation, and incorporated

Reliable prediction of residential energy consumption is essential for informing energy efficiency policies and retrofit strategies. However, traditional data-driven approaches are often constrained by the availability and quality of data. This study presents a novel approach combining multimodal neural networks with a transfer learning framework, leveraging both tabular and visual data to enhance

The transition to renewable energy sources, along with the growing adoption of heat pumps used for space heating, presents new challenges for the electric grid and particular for peak load management. A crucial part of exploiting the temporal flexibility of heat pumps is the accurate short-term prediction of their electric demands. This paper introduces a novel predictive model for heat pump electricity

Effective building-energy retrofits are needed to enhance the energy efficiency of existing buildings. However, discrepancies between predicted and actual energy demand, known as the performance gap, undermine retrofit effectiveness. This work addresses the performance gap by enhancing measurement effectiveness through measurement-system design and system identification for assessing building performance

Quantification of heat demand at regional levels is critical for effective decarbonisation initiatives. We use a top-down approach based on climate zones, dwelling and heating-type statistics to estimate the regional breakdown of New Zealand’s residential space and domestic water heat demand. This is further broken down by fuel, enabling the calculation of associated greenhouse gas emissions. The breakdown

To enhance the sustainability of the construction sector, public and private entities should increase their efforts to define the priority interventions to improve the performance of their properties, including educational buildings. In Italy, most of the schools were built before 1976 without considering energy-saving measures, thus they are in urgent need of renovation. Due to the limited nature

In the context of its adaptation to climate change, the city of Paris has been experimenting pavement-watering since 2013. More recently, in the context of the LIFE “Cool & Low Noise Asphalt” project, innovative pavements were studied in combination with pavement-watering from summer 2019 to 2021. In this paper, the analysis focuses on the performance of pavement-watering conducted on two innovative

Retroreflective materials, which reflect light back to its source for enhanced visibility in low-light conditions, have been pivotal in advancing applications across various fields such as transportation safety, urban heat island mitigation, and energy-efficient architecture. These materials, incorporating technologies like glass beads, microprisms, and nanostructures, have proven essential in improving

The decision to implement retrofitting measures in large portfolios of building stock depends on multiple factors such as the individual building characteristics (including age, existing energy sources and systems), economic considerations, including investment costs and available funds, and the organization’s strategic priorities. This paper develops a novel, low-complexity decision-making model for

Operational energy consumption contributes significantly to carbon emissions in buildings, presenting critical environmental challenges. Previous research identified three primary retrofitting approaches to mitigate carbon emissions: renewable energy generation, reducing occupant demand, and improving building system efficiency. However, few studies have integrated these strategies to evaluate energy

Urbanization has accelerated dramatically in recent years, making the urban heat island effect a critical factor that adversely impacts both urban environments and public health. Land surface temperature (LST), a key indicator of the urban heat island effect, is influenced by a complex interplay of factors from the built, natural, and socio-economic environments.However,most existing studies have predominantly

As interest in district-level approaches for design and renovation of the built environment grows, new technical solutions have been developing and there is an increasing diversity of technologies and measures available. A characterization of the available solutions and of their adoption in practice is performed, using a meta-analysis of a selection of case studies depicting district interventions

To further promote the application of thermochemical energy storage below 120 °C, the thermochemical composite adsorbents prepared by combining graphite felt with MgCl2/MgSO4, SrBr2 and LiOH, which are named F-M, F-S and F-L, respectively. Their performance is evaluated at the material characterization, kinetics analysis, photothermal conversion and practical application perspectives. The thermochemical

The thermal environment of hospital open spaces is crucial to users. However, existing studies often overlook the differences in thermal comfort between patients and healthy individuals. Therefore, there is a need for specialized research focusing on patients to explore their specific outdoor thermal comfort levels. This study takes the People’s Hospital of Shaanxi Province, China, as a case study

The supply air temperature (SAT) setpoint control strategy is a vital part of a variable air volume (VAV) system. This paper presents a new cost-responsive (CORE) SAT control algorithm for the VAV system which does not require discharge air temperature data for easier implementation, along with a new humidity control strategy that constrains the maximum SAT based on outdoor dewpoint temperature to

Optimal thermal retrofit selection in residential dwellings is paramount to maximise performance outcomes. Best-practice retrofit optimisation is undertaken using data-driven building performance models supplemented by expert knowledge on inputs such as occupant behaviour, boundary conditions and local weather. Retrofits must also be resilient to changes in these input parameters to prevent future

Given a building’s extended lifespan, Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment (DLCA) has become essential for accurately quantifying its operational energy impacts. However, developing a Dynamic Life Cycle Inventory (DLCI) for buildings presents substantial challenges, particularly in data selection, abstraction, and future energy flow projections. This study introduces an integrated approach to DLCI, incorporating

The widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) offers a promising solution to mitigate the supply–demand energy mismatch in buildings. However, existing studies have focused on the economic benefits of integrating EVs into buildings, with limited guidance on their application in promoting zero-carbon building development. To fill this gap, this study proposes a dual-layer optimization approach

In the context of urban heat island effect and carbon–neutral goal, building greenery with integrated photovoltaic (BGIPV) systems provide multiple benefits for sustainable urban development and received more and more attention as an innovative building skin solution in recent years. This review first outlined the historic evolution of BGIPV system, tracing its journey from initial conceptualization

Within the field of indoor environmental quality, several objective and subjective techniques have been developed to monitor conditions and provide user feedback. One such approach features occupant-centred questionnaires, indicating different aspects of comfort, including thermal, visual, acoustic or related to air quality. This study introduces the development and validation of such a questionnaire

The global community is shifting toward sustainable and clean energy solutions to combat climate change and fossil fuel depletion, particularly for high-consumption systems such as air conditioning (AC). This work addresses this problem by proposing and evaluating a green hydrogen-powered AC system for Saudi Arabia’s extreme climate conditions and comparing it with a grid-powered AC system. The proposed

Data centers typically use various energy efficiency indicators to assess performance from multiple perspectives, such as overall energy efficiency or the performance of subsystems and components. However, due to the differing focus of these indicators, such as those used to evaluate the basic equipment in chilled water systems, it is challenging to directly compare the comprehensive performance of

The growing energy deficit has amplified the necessity for exploring alternatives to fulfill essential energy requirements, which have been consistently increasing. To meet energy demands, integrating latent heat storage technology using phase change materials (PCMs) with radiant floor heating systems (RFS) has garnered increasing attention for enhancing energy storage efficiency, achieving significant

Due to their morphology, lack of vegetation and the materials used, cities overheat compared to their natural surroundings. This phenomenon, coupled with heatwaves, can cause public health problems and increased energy consumption. In response, public authorities are deploying a range of cooling techniques, such as vegetation, reflective materials and urban watering. In response, various cooling techniques

Building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) window systems have significant potential to enhance energy efficiency and enable the realization of Net Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEB) in urban settings. However, their adoption is often impeded by high initial investment costs and the complex effect of surrounding buildings on performance. Accordingly, this study proposes a room-level optimal planning framework

Parallel-plates direct absorption solar heat collection (DASC) duct, as a basic and elementary structure for photo-thermal conversion, has great potentials in the applications of building solar heat collection. Traditionally, performance analysis of such a duct needs to solve the complete radiation-convection heat transfer equations in the duct, which requires considerable computational costs. Besides

A ventilated roof consists of generating a series of ducts inside the roof of a building through the creation of openings near the rain gutters and on the ridge. Although in pitched roofs airflow is often buoyancy driven, for horizontal roofs or to enhance performance, forced convection becomes necessary. This study explores the use of a commercially available M-cycle evaporative cooler as a multifunctional

Buildings in extremely hot climates have high energy demands and carbon emissions due to intensive cooling requirements, emphasizing the need for innovative, energy-efficient cooling solutions. This study introduces and evaluates the performance of a novel cooling system that integrates phase change material (PCM) into water-active ceiling panels combined with displacement ventilation (DV). The PCM

This study develops per capita-based forecasting models to estimate household final energy consumption (FEC) in Türkiye from 2024 to 2035. The models demonstrate strong predictive accuracy, aligning with historical data, the 2022 National Energy Plan (NEP) targets, and key statistical metrics. The most reliable scenario assumes per capita household FEC will increase at a rate similar to Spain’s historical

Energy recovery ventilation (ERV) systems can effectively reduce air-conditioning loads while providing outdoor air via ventilation. However, significant challenges remain in improving their heat exchange performance in confined residential spaces and ensuring effective use in cold regions. Preheating or bypassing the supply air can be an effective defrosting strategy for ERV systems; however, additional

Green roofs and cool roofs are emerging as two potential solutions to combat the negative impacts of urban warming in the context of climate change. However, the existing body of research has not clearly established the connection between the local built environment and the effectiveness of these solutions. Moreover, a lack of standardized methodologies for integrating micro-scale climatic data has

Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and more severe as climate change continues to progress. This poses significant risks to human health and safety. These impacts highlight the urgent need to address overheating resilience in residential buildings, where heat-related injuries notably occur. Historically, building codes have been essential in protecting occupants against environmental hazards

Respiratory parameters for various body mass indexes (BMIs) were incompletely reported and only utilized to calculate the metabolic rate. This study aimed to investigate these parameters and their relationships with body composition to identify key factors contributing to inter-individual differences. Thirty-eight healthy males were recruited and categorized into four groups: low-weight (Glw), normal-weight

To accurately evaluate roof resources for distributed PV systems, a method based on the fusion of laser and image is proposed. First, ResFAUnet, which integrates transfer learning and multi-scale features, is used to segment the exterior outline of the building roof. Then, the building roof is finely segmented using MAS-PointMLP. Finally, the characteristics of the roof are calculated based on the

Designing an optimum and efficient energy system for a greenhouse in cold climate conditions, such as Canada, is a very challenging task, and is even more sophisticated when different sources of energies (solar, geothermal, etc.) should be integrated into the energy system. This study, for the first time, is proposing a systematic heat integration approach, based on Dynamic Pinch Analysis, to improve