A High-Resolution Open Source Platform for Building Envelope Thermal Performance Assessment Using a Wireless Sensor Network

This paper presents an in-situ wireless sensor network (WSN) for building envelope thermal transmission analysis. The WSN is able to track heat flows in various weather conditions in real-time. The developed system focuses on long-term in-situ building material variation analysis, which cannot be readily achieved using current approaches, especially when the number of measurement hotspots is large. This paper describes the implementation of the proposed system using the heat flow method enabled through an adaptable and low-cost wireless network, validated via a laboratory experiment

A novel data acquisition system for obtaining thermal parameters of building envelopes

Owing to the high energy consumption in the building sector, appraising the thermal performance of building envelopes is an increasing concern. Recently, a few in situ methodologies to diagnose the thermal parameters of buildings have been considered. However, because of their limitations such as low accuracy, limited number of measurements, and the high cost of monitoring devices, researchers are seeking a new alternative. In this study, a novel hyper-efficient Arduino transmittance-meter was introduced to overcome these limitations and determine the thermal parameters of building envelopes. Unlike conventional methodologies, the proposed transmittance-meter is based on synchronized measurements of different parameters necessary to estimate the transmittance parameter. To verify the applicability of the transmittance-meter, an experimental study was conducted wherein a temperature-controlled box model was thermally monitored, and the outputs of the transmittance-meter employed were compared with those captured by a commercial device. The results revealed a high level of reduction in cost and a low range of difference compared with the latter, thereby validating the applicability of the proposed thermal monitoring system.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, grant numbers BIA2013-47290-R, BIA2017-86811-C2-1-R, and BIA2017-86811-C2-2-R, and Ministerio de Ciencia Innovación y Universidades: PRE2018-085172.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Large Format Ceramic Panels Versus Recycled Aluminum Casting Panels: Improvement of the Thermal Behavior of the Museum of Fine Arts of Castellón

There is a growing awareness towards the use in architecture of construction materials produced in the area in which the buildings are to be implemented. The reduction of environmental impacts derived from the lower consumption of energy in transportation is significant. In addition, the materials used in the façades have special relevance in the value of the annual energy demand. This fact becomes more important in the case of emblematic buildings with social media impact, both for the quality of their design and for the functional contributions they can make. Sometimes, even for purely aesthetic reasons, the paradox of opting for constructive solutions with worse performance, worse aging, a higher cost of maintenance operations or a higher value of annual energy demand is established. In this research the Museum of Fine Arts of Castellón is analyzed, made with cast aluminum recycled panels as a finishing material on the façade. A comparison is made with the alternative scenario, ventilated ceramic façade, of having used large format ceramic panels, produced in the region, where the ceramic sector is a very important cluster. The reduction of the value of the annual energy demand by 12% is evaluated by the improvements established in the ventilated ceramic façade

uhuMEB : design, construction, and management methodology of minimum energy buildings in subtropical climates

Knowledge of buildings0 energy efficiency has advanced thanks to research carried out in recent years. Many of the discoveries in this field have recently been incorporated into mandatory construction regulations for each country. However, not many of the architects and engineers involved in the construction industry clearly know how to achieve those goals in their designs. This document is based on the extensive experience in architectural design, the integration of renewable energies, the energy simulation of buildings and data acquisition, and analysis of the research team involved. It is presented in a practical and holistic approach and focused in subtropical climates. A structured methodology for the proper decision-making process during all the different stages of a minimum energy building (MEB) is likewise presented. The proposed methodology depicted aims at providing architects and engineers with a systematic and orderly step-by-step procedure and incorporates the instrumentation/control and data analysis as essential elements that support the validation of the expected results from the design, the construction, and the operation phase of the building. The paper develops a case study that illustrates the proposed methodology. This new methodology for MEB in subtropical climates constitutes an innovation in this field.This work has been funded by the DPI2017-85540-R Project supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and by the European Union Regional Development Fund. Some parts of the study have been funded by the resources of the research team "Control y Robotica (TEP192)" from the University of Huelva (Spain)

Modelling the thermal behaviour of a building facade using deep learning

This article aims to model the thermal behaviour of a wall using deep learning techniques. The Fourier theoretical model which is traditionally used to model such enclosures is not capable of considering several factors that affect a prediction that is often incorrect. These results motivate us to try to obtain a better thermal model of the enclosure. For this reason, a connexionist model is provided capable of modelling the behaviour of the enclosure from actual observed temperature data. For the training of this model, several measurements have been obtained over the course of more than one year in a specific enclosure, distributing the readings among the different layers of it. In this work, the predictions of both the theoretical model and the connexionist model have been tested, contrasting them with the measurements obtained previously. It has been observed that the connexionist model substantially improves the theoretical predictions of the Fourier method, thus allowing better approximations to be made regarding the real energy consumption of the building and, in general, the prediction of the energy behaviour of the enclosure

Building Thermal Envelope

This book results from a Special Issue published in Energies, entitled “Building Thermal Envelope"". Its intent is to identify emerging research areas within the field of building thermal envelope solutions and contribute to the increased use of more energy-efficient solutions in new and refurbished buildings. Its contents are organized in the following sections: Building envelope materials and systems envisaging indoor comfort and energy efficiency; Building thermal and energy modelling and simulation; Lab test procedures and methods of field measurement to assess the performance of materials and building solutions; Smart materials and renewable energy in building envelope; Adaptive and intelligent building envelope; and Integrated building envelope technologies for high performance buildings and cities

Analyzing the influence of the total heat transfer coefficient on the thermal transmittance characterization of facades with the thermometric method

Caracterizar la transmitancia térmica de fachadas es uno de los pasos más importantes en los trabajos de auditoría energética. Para ello, existe una amplia variedad de métodos experimentales. Uno de los métodos de mayor utilización es el método termométrico. Sin embargo, existe una brecha de conocimiento en relación con el planteamiento de análisis de datos. Por este motivo, en este estudio se analizó la viabilidad de utilizar diferentes planteamientos para el método termométrico. Para ello, se analizaron 20 fachadas y se plantearon 9 formulaciones diferentes utilizando aproximaciones para el coeficiente total de transferencia de calor existentes en la literatura científica. Asimismo, se evaluaron dos planteamientos de análisis de datos (media aritmética de las medidas instantáneas, y media del sumatorio del numerador y del denominador), así como el filtrado de datos necesario de aplicar. Los resultados permitieron determinar la configuración de análisis más adecuada para aplicar el método.To assess the thermal transmittance of facades is one of the most important steps in energy audit work. For this, there is a wide variety of experimental methods. One of the most widely used methods is the thermometric method. However, there is a knowledge gap in relation to the data analysis approach. For this reason, in this study the feasibility of using different approaches to the method was analyzed. To do this, 20 façades were analyzed and 9 different formulations were proposed using approximations for the total heat transfer coefficient of the scientific literature. Likewise, two approaches to data analysis were evaluated (arithmetic mean of the instantaneous measurements, and the sum of the numerator and the denominator), as well as the data filtering necessary to apply. The results allowed determining the most suitable analysis configuration to apply the method

Análisis de la influencia del coeficiente de transferencia de calor en la caracterización de la transmitancia térmica de fachadas con el método termométrico

Caracterizar la transmitancia térmica de fachadas es uno de los pasos más importantes en los trabajos de auditoría energética. Para ello, existe una amplia variedad de métodos experimentales. Uno de los métodos de mayor utilización es el método termométrico. Sin embargo, existe una brecha de conocimiento en relación con el planteamiento de análisis de datos. Por este motivo, en este estudio se analizó la viabilidad de utilizar diferentes planteamientos para el método termométrico. Para ello, se analizaron 20 fachadas y se plantearon 9 formulaciones diferentes utilizando aproximaciones para el coeficiente total de transferencia de calor existentes en la literatura científica. Asimismo, se evaluaron dos planteamientos de análisis de datos (media aritmética de las medidas instantáneas, y media del sumatorio del numerador y del denominador), así como el filtrado de datos necesario de aplicar. Los resultados permitieron determinar la configuración de análisis más adecuada para aplicar el método.To assess the thermal transmittance of facades is one of the most important steps in energy audit work. For this, there is a wide variety of experimental methods. One of the most widely used methods is the thermometric method. However, there is a knowl-edge gap in relation to the data analysis approach. For this reason, in this study the feasibility of using different approaches to the method was analyzed. To do this, 20 façades were analyzed and 9 different formulations were proposed using approximations for the total heat transfer coefficient of the scientific literature. Likewise, two approaches to data analysis were evaluated (arithmetic mean of the instantaneous measurements, and the sum of the numerator and the denominator), as well as the data filtering nec-essary to apply. The results allowed determining the most suitable analysis configuration to apply the method

The evaluation of an improved method of monitoring energy consumption used in the heating of industrial buildings

The prospects for various forms of energy continue to engage the thoughts and pens of many people concerned with our future prosperity. The vulnerability of forecasts on energy especially those concerned with oil, to political, military and general economic activity, or lack of it highlights the importance of energy to practically everything we do. [Continues.