Internationalization Based on Content Modification Combined with Project Management Methodology: An Application in a Spanish Postgraduate Course in Building Engineering

Internationalizing university studies can be something of a challenge for courses related to engineering and architecture because their content is mainly focused on the standards of the country. In this regard, the content of the degree programmes in building engineering in Spain is based on the Spanish Building Technical Code. For this reason, this paper analyses experimentation conducted in a postgraduate course in building engineering of the University of Seville. The goal of the study was to internationalize the course content of that course appropriately. For this purpose, a combined approach was developed based on using ISO standards and including appropriately the modifications through a project management methodology to reduce risks. Experimentation was conducted for three academic years: 2018/2019–2020/2021. The results showed that ISO standards were appropriately implemented in the teaching course content and accepted by students. Likewise, the use of a project management methodology could be an opportunity to improve teaching course content, thus reducing the risk related to the modifications of this process

Analysis of the impact of the use profile of HVAC systems established by the Spanish standard to assess residential building energy performance

State regulations play an important role to guarantee an appropriate building energy performance. As for the Spanish regulation, the limitation of energy consumption should be analyzed with simulation tools by using operational profiles. The profile of operational conditions of HVAC systems in residential buildings limits the use of heating and cooling systems. This paper studied the limitations of the residential profile in energy assessment processes through simulation tools. A case study was analyzed with three operational approaches and was placed in 8131 Spanish cities. The results showed that the use limitations of cooling systems lead to ignorance of an important percentage contribution in the cooling energy demand in some months of the year. The use of an operational profile with an extended calendar for cooling systems for the entire year would imply a more appropriate knowledge of the building energy performance in order to know the fulfilment of the state regulation and its correct energy classification

Improvement Options of a Social Housing Prototype in Different Climate Zones in Ecuador

Ecuador is a country with several climate zones. The zones’ characteristics are very different; however, there are social housing prototypes used in all the territories. This study constitutes the second part of the analysis of a social housing prototype in four zones (Cfb, Af, Aw, and BSh) in both the current climate situation (2020) and its projection to 2050. Improvement measures from the original dwelling block have been proposed according to the initial diagnosis, considering seven passive performance variants. A total of 56 dynamic simulations have been performed for both the current and 2050 climate scenario. The results have shown that, depending on the climate zone, improvement measures differently influence comfort ranges. In addition, the behaviour of the dwellings on the upper floor is different from those on the ground floor. This study is a starting point to show that prototype solutions of social housing should be adapted with various improvement measures and should be based on specific requirements according to their location to achieve acceptable comfort levels

Estimation of heating system energy modeling profiles based on environmental monitoring records in Central-Southern Chile

Data simulated for occupancy profiles, usually based on standard occupancy schedules, must be validated against real measurements, and many studies have pointed out the gap between them. This problem is more pronounced in homes that are not heated by grid-connected energy sources, such as wood-burning stoves, because the meter cannot provide a real-time estimate. In Central-South Chile, 74% of homes are heated by wood stoves, causing an acute problem of air pollution in several urban areas. The government is trying to solve this problem, but at the moment there is no data on occupancy profiles, hence it is not possible to estimate the energy intensity for heating. This exploratory study aims to clarify to what extent occupancy profiles can be estimated from PM 2.5 pollution levels. To this end, publicly available data on PM 2.5 concentrations in 17 cities in central-south Chile was used as a proxy to build occupancy schedules for homes heated by wood stoves. The results show that there is a clear relationship between pollution levels and occupancy intensity, and that the latter does not follow the schedules outlined in international standards or building codes. The results and methodology can be replicated in cities where air pollution is driven by wood stoves, allowing public authorities to have access to accurate occupancy schedules and providing them with reliable data to address local air pollution problemsProject “ANID Fondecyt Regular 1200551-Energy poverty prediction based on social housing architectural design in the central and centralsouthern zones of ChileIndex to analyze and reduce the risk of energy poverty”, funded by the National Agency for Research and Development (ANID, in Spanish)The research group “Confort ambiental y pobreza energ´etica (+CO-PE)” of the University of the Bío-Bío, the Thematic Network 722RT0135 “Red Iberoamericana de Pobreza Energ´etica y Bienestar Ambiental” (RIPEBA) financed by the call for Thematic Networks of the CYTED Program for 2021, and the Thematic Network 723RT0151Red Iberoamericana de Eficiencia y Salubridad en Edificios” (IBERESE) financed by the call for Thematic Networks of the CYTED Program for 2022 for supporting this researchUniversidad de Granada / CBU

In-situ disinfection of wastes generated in dwellings by utilizing ozone for their safe incorporation into the recycling chain

The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly changed behaviour patterns in many aspects of life, such as the management of solid wastes inside residential spaces. The goal of this research work is to study an ozone generator device as a disinfection and sterilization tool for these wastes in dwellings themselves, thus re-establishing the selective collection to take them back to the recycling chain. In addition, an approach to the risk verification is made. The methodology is based on an experimentation with a device designed to be as cheap as possible. A room like a bedroom is used as a test bed to apply the device, but with no people inside the room to avoid risks. The results show that the device is feasible, concluding that risks are acceptable if its use is correct and appropriate equipment is available to be applied and controlled, all without prejudice of the rigorous control by the competent authorities that approve its us

Non-destructive techniques (NDT) for the diagnosis of heritage buildings: Traditional procedures and futures perspectives

It is estimated that EU cultural heritage (CH) buildings represent 30% of the total existing stock. Nevertheless, all actions in terms of refurbishment need a deep knowledge based on the diagnosis of the built quality. For this reason, the paper aims to provide a comprehensive review about the applicability of non-destructive techniques (NDT) and advanced modelling technologies for the diagnosis of heritage buildings. Considering a time span of two decades (2001–2021), a bibliometric analysis was performed, using data statistics and science mapping. Subsequently, the most relevant studies on this topic were evaluated for each technique. The main findings revealed that: (i) most of studies were conducted on Southern European countries; (ii) 36% of publications were journal papers and only 2% corresponded to reviews; (iii) “photogrammetry” and “laser applications” were identified as consolidated techniques for historic preservation, but they are only linked with HBIM and deep learning; (iv) a significant gap on quantitative NDT was detected and consequently, future researches should be performed to propose a common diagnosis protocol; (v) artificial neural networks have several barriers (i.e. data privacy, network security and quality of datasets). Hence, a holistic approach should be adopted by the European countries

Computational approach to extend the air-conditioning usage to adaptive comfort: Adaptive-Comfort-Control-Implementation Script

Recently, the energy saving potential from using setpoint temperatures based on adaptive comfort has been studied. This study proposes a computational approach, the Adaptive-Comfort-Control-Implementation Script (ACCIS), to extend the air-conditioning usage to adaptive comfort. ACCIS transforms PMV-based into adaptive setpoint building energy models according to both an Input Data File (IDF) and the setup specified by the user. Originally, ACCIS was an Energy Management System (EMS) script, but available functions have been extended, and ACCIS has been nested in an ease-to-use Python package called Adaptive Comfort Control Implemented Model (“accim”). A case study has been tested, whose results showed that adaptive setpoint temperatures could achieve an 83% of energy savings. However, its most powerful attribute is that it allows many simulations to be run with no limit because of both its high customisation properties and the fact that it allows the same IDF to be run with various EPW files

Adaptive setpoint temperatures to reduce the risk of energy poverty? A local case study in Seville

The reduction of energy poverty is among the main current challenges. One of the recent approaches is based on the reduction of the energy consumption through the climate adaptability of users. This research analyses the possibility of using adaptive setpoint temperatures to reduce the risk of energy poverty. A total of 6528 cases are considered in the south of Spain in 2015 and 2016 with actual data of temperature, hourly prices from the Voluntary Price for the Small Consumer, and the mean household incomes in both years. The energy consumption and expense are compared to both the static setpoints established by the Spanish Technical Building Code and the adaptive setpoints based on EN 16798-1:2019. In the annual calculation, by using both static and adaptive setpoints, the results show that the situation of energy poverty would only affect the family units belonging to the first decile of incomes. However, a monthly analysis identifies that the coldest or warmest months influence more deciles: for example, January 2015 affected until decile 8. The results also show that adaptive setpoints could reduce the risk of energy poverty in most cases, being more significant in Categories II and III from EN 16798-1:2019, in which this risk is reduced in all months of the year and in all deciles. This study aims to throw light on the use of HVAC systems according to the adaptation of users to reduce monthly the risk of energy poverty

Comparison of energy conservation measures considering adaptive thermal comfort and climate change in existing Mediterranean dwellings

There is currently a need to restore the existing building stock. For this purpose, an energy evaluation of the building is conducted before deciding which intervention should be made. In that intervention, setpoint temperatures based on the index Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) are considered. This research studies the energy and economic feasibility of carrying out different energy conservation measures (ECMs) of façades by applying adaptive setpoint temperatures. The energy saving was also studied for future scenarios of climate change (2050 and 2080). The case study was a building with a deficient energy behaviour and located in the Mediterranean climate region. Both ECMs of façades and the cost payback period were studied. The results showed that the façade improvement was not an effective measure in the Mediterranean climate: saving percentages were not high in cooling consumption, and the amortization period was economically unfeasible. On the other hand, the use of adaptive setpoint temperatures was the most efficient measure, achieving savings higher than 70% in cooling consumption. Finally, there were limitations in the use of the adaptive comfort model from EN 15251 in future scenarios

The impact of human occupancy in thermal performance of a historic religious building in sub-humid temperate climate

The level of human occupancy in historic religious buildings influences the internal heat gains and thus the thermal comfort of the users. The temperate climate represents a challenge due to variations in tem- perature and relative humidity throughout the year, which are by no means extreme. Knowledge regard- ing human occupancy in historic religious buildings in temperate climates increases the possibilities of controlling and staying within a given comfort range for the users benefit. The objective was to determine the impact of occupancy on the thermal performance of a historic religious building located in sub-humid temperate climate, to increase the knowledge and to generate opportunities to decrease the excessive use of active systems prevalent today. The objective was approached with a numerical method that included monitoring periods and dynamic simulation to determine a novel passive cooling system that would maintain a determined comfort tem- perature for the longest time in summer. By implementing a novel passive cooling system, the results showed an impact on the operative temperature according to occupancy level, which reduced the cooling degree-hour by 80% and 66% at the upper occupancy with 80% and 90% satisfaction levels, respectively.Universidad de Granada / CBU