Application of Building Typologies for Modelling the Energy Balance of the Residential Building Stock

Building typologies can serve as a basis for analysing the national housing sector. During the TABULA project which was introducing or further developing building typologies in thirteen EU countries, six of the European partners have carried out model calculations which aim at imaging the energy consumption and estimating the energy saving potentials of their national residential building stocks (IWU / Germany, NOA / Greece, POLITO / Italy, VITO / Belgium, STU-K / Czech Republic, SBi / Denmark). The results show that the model calculations can provide plausible projections of the energy consumption of the national residential buildings stock. The fit of model calculations and national energy statistics is satisfactory, deviations can often be explained and corrected by adapting standard boundary conditions of the applied calculation models to more realistic values. In general, the analysis shows that building typologies can be a helpful tool for modelling the energy consumption of national building stocks and for carrying out scenario analysis beyond the TABULA project. The consideration of a set of representative buildings makes it possible to have a detailed view on various packages of measures for the complete buildings stock or for its sub-categories. The effects of different insulation measures at the respective construction elements as well as different heat supply measures including renewable energies can be considered in detail. The quality of future model calculations will depend very much on the availability of statistical data. For reliable scenario analysis information is necessary about the current state of the building stock (How many buildings and heating systems have been refurbished until now?) and about the current trends (How many buildings and heating systems are being refurbished every year?). The availability and regular update of the relevant statistical data will be an important basis for the development and evaluation of national climate protection strategies in the building secto

Application of Building Typologies for Modelling the Energy Balance of the Residential Building Stock.

Building typologies can serve as a basis for analysing the national housing sector. During the TABULA project which was introducing or further developing building typologies in thirteen EU countries, six of the European partners have carried out model calculations which aim at imaging the energy consumption and estimating the energy saving potentials of their national residential building stocks (IWU / Germany, NOA / Greece, POLITO / Italy, VITO / Belgium, STU-K / Czech Republic, SBi / Denmark). The results show that the model calculations can provide plausible projections of the energy consumption of the national residential buildings stock. The fit of model calculations and national energy statistics is satisfactory, deviations can often be explained and corrected by adapting standard boundary conditions of the applied calculation models to more realistic values. In general, the analysis shows that building typologies can be a helpful tool for modelling the energy consumption of national building stocks and for carrying out scenario analysis beyond the TABULA project. The consideration of a set of representative buildings makes it possible to have a detailed view on various packages of measures for the complete buildings stock or for its sub-categories. The effects of different insulation measures at the respective construction elements as well as different heat supply measures including renewable energies can be considered in detail. The quality of future model calculations will depend very much on the availability of statistical data. For reliable scenario analysis information is necessary about the current state of the building stock (How many buildings and heating systems have been refurbished until now?) and about the current trends (How many buildings and heating systems are being refurbished every year?). The availability and regular update of the relevant statistical data will be an important basis for the development and evaluation of national climate protection strategies in the building sector

Estudio experimental sobre el comportamiento térmico de un nuevo tipo de techo-estanque para el enfriamiento pasivo en clima húmedo

En este trabajo, una nueva tipología de techo-estanque metálico, basado en el enfriamiento evaporativo indirecto, que incluye masa térmica confinada, se evalúa experimentalmente. Cinco sistemas de enfriamiento pasivo se han estudiado con este dispositivo experimental. Se analizan sus temperaturas características con el propósito de determinar en cada caso, su potencial de enfriamiento, así como, la influencia de la masa térmica en su comportamiento térmico. Entre las técnicas de enfriamiento pasivo aplicadas se encuentran el enfriamiento evaporativo indirecto (EEI) y el enfriamiento radiativo nocturno (ER). El sistema donde se combina masa térmica con enfriamiento evaporativo indirecto en el dispositivo experimental presenta una elevada eficiencia de enfriamiento; su valor aumenta a medida que las condiciones son más extremas. Un potencial de enfriamiento aun mayor se consigue al agregar al sistema anterior enfriamiento radiativo

Carbon dioxide reduction in the building life cycle: a critical review

The construction industry is known to be a major contributor to environmental pressures due to its high energy consumption and carbon dioxide generation. The growing amount of carbon dioxide emissions over buildings’ life cycles has prompted academics and professionals to initiate various studies relating to this problem. Researchers have been exploring carbon dioxide reduction methods for each phase of the building life cycle – from planning and design, materials production, materials distribution and construction process, maintenance and renovation, deconstruction and disposal, to the material reuse and recycle phase. This paper aims to present the state of the art in carbon dioxide reduction studies relating to the construction industry. Studies of carbon dioxide reduction throughout the building life cycle are reviewed and discussed, including those relating to green building design, innovative low carbon dioxide materials, green construction methods, energy efficiency schemes, life cycle energy analysis, construction waste management, reuse and recycling of materials and the cradle-to-cradle concept. The review provides building practitioners and researchers with a better understanding of carbon dioxide reduction potential and approaches worldwide. Opportunities for carbon dioxide reduction can thereby be maximised over the building life cycle by creating environmentally benign designs and using low carbon dioxide materials

Potential Of Radiative Cooling In Southern Europe

Research on passive and low energy architecture has been recently oriented towards passive techniques in order to satisfy the cooling needs of buildings. One of the techniques which has been considered is radiative cooling. The potential of radiative cooling mainly in the United States has already been evaluated. However, a similar attempt has not been made for the southern European countries, where the weather in summer is very hot and passive cooling applications could make a significant contribution to the achievement of thermal comfort in buildings. This paper investigates the feasibility of applying radiative cooling techniques in southern European countries by presenting the results of the calculations of the sky temperature depression and of the performance of a typical radiative flat plate air cooler. These calculations were based on mean monthly weather data available for 28 southern European cities, covering a range of latitudes between 34° and 46°. Available data from some southeastern U.S. cities, have also been used. This allowed for a comparative study on the performance of radiative cooling systems between southern Europe and the southeastern United States. The results have shown that radiative cooling could be applied successfully in most south European locations. © 1992, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved

Energy performance and energy conservation in health care buildings in hellas

Energy performance data for 30 health care buildings have been collected during an extensive energy audit of buildings in Hellas, within the frame of a National Energy Programme sponsored by the CEC VALOREN Programme for energy conservation in buildings. This short monitoring campaign was performed with on-site visits of a trained panel of engineers to each building, in order to register all information relevant to the buildings' construction, heating, cooling, lighting, systems and all other mechanical and electrical systems. The technical results of these audits, the role of the cooling and heating systems on the energy consumed in health care buildings, are discussed. The annual average total energy consumption in hospitals is 407 kWh/m2 and in clinics is 275 kWh/m2, the majority of which is consumed for space heating (73.4% in hospitals and 65.3% in clinics). Several scenarios for possible interventions to the outer envelope of the buildings and to the heating, cooling and lighting systems, are proposed and evaluated, in order to assess the effectiveness of various energy conservation techniques. Based on the results from several simulations, it is concluded that it is possible to reach an overall 20% energy conservation. The energy consumption for heating can be reduced by 15% in hospitals and 11% in clinics by using more efficient heat production and distribution systems. Proper insulation of the buildings can conserve 173 kWh/m2 in hospitals and 103 kWh/m2 in clinics. Cooling can be reduced by 68% (in hospitals) and 56% (in clinics) by using night ventilation and by 80 and 97%, respectively, by using ceiling fans. Natural cooling techniques, under certain conditions, can also provide an important reduction of the cooling load. The use of high efficacy lamps can reduce the electric energy consumed for lighting by up to 50%. This information provides a representative picture of the existing conditions on energy consumption in health care buildings and can be used as guidelines for future energy efficient building construction. © 1994

Energy characteristics and savings potential in office buildings

The present paper reports the findings of a monitoring campaign in 186 office buildings in Greece. The specific energy consumption of the buildings for heating, cooling, and lighting purposes, as well as the consumption of the office equipment is reported. The impact of the used systems, techniques, and components is investigated. The potential and the limitations of various energy conservation systems and alternative techniques is assessed. The present study provides useful information for efficient energy planning, as well as appropriate design and equipment selection, in office buildings. © 1993