Measurement and verification of zero energy settlements: Lessons learned from four pilot cases in Europe

Measurement and verification (M&V) has become necessary for ensuring intended design performance. Currently, M&V procedures and calculation methods exist for the assessment of Energy Conservation Measures (ECM) for existing buildings, with a focus on reliable baseline model creation and savings estimation, as well as for reducing the computation time, uncertainties, and M&V costs. There is limited application of rigorous M&V procedures in the design, delivery and operation of low/zero energy dwellings and settlements. In the present paper, M&V for four pilot net-zero energy settlements has been designed and implemented. The M&V has been planned, incorporating guidance from existing protocols, linked to the project development phases, and populated with lessons learned through implementation. The resulting framework demonstrates that M&V is not strictly linked to the operational phase of a project but is rather an integral part of the project management and development. Under this scope, M&V is an integrated, iterative process that is accompanied by quality control in every step. Quality control is a significant component of the M&V, and the proposed quality control procedures can support the preparation and implementation of automated M&V. The proposed framework can be useful to project managers for integrating M&V into the project management and development process and explicitly aligning it with the rest of the design and construction procedures

Urban multi-model climate projections of intense heat in Switzerland

This paper introduces a straightforward approach to generate multi-model climate projections of intense urban heat, based on an ensemble of state-of-the-art global and regional climate model simulations from EURO-CORDEX. The employed technique entails the empirical-statistical downscaling method quantile mapping (QM), which is applied in two different settings, first for bias correction and downscaling of raw climate model data to rural stations with long-term measurements and second for spatial transfer of bias-corrected and downscaled climate model data to the respective urban target site. The resulting products are daily minimum and maximum temperatures at five urban sites in Switzerland until the end of the 21st century under three emission scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5). We test the second-step QM approach in an extensive evaluation framework, using long-term observational data of two exemplary weather stations in Zurich. Results indicate remarkably good skill of QM in present-day climate. Comparing the generated urban climate projections with existing climate scenarios of adjacent rural sites allows us to represent the urban heat island (UHI) effect in future temperature-based heat indices, namely tropical nights, summer days and hot days. Urban areas will be more strongly affected by rising temperatures than rural sites in terms of fixed threshold exceedances, especially during nighttime. Projections for the end of the century for Zurich, for instance, suggest more than double the number of tropical nights (Tmin above 20 ºC) at the urban site (45 nights per year, multi-model median) compared to the rural counterpart (20 nights) under RCP8.5.This research has been partly supported by the European Commission (HEAT-SHIELD 668786). EH is supported by the German Research Foundation under project number 40805747

From the Sum of Near-Zero Energy Buildings to the Whole of a Near-Zero Energy Housing Settlement: The Role of Communal Spaces in Performance-Driven Design

Almost a century ago Modernism challenged the structure of the city and reshaped its physical space in order to, amongst other things, accommodate new transportation infrastructure and road networks proclaiming the,nowadays much-debated ‘scientificated’ pursuit of efficiency for the city. This transformation has had a great impact on the way humans still design, move in, occupy and experience the city. Today major cities in Europe, such as Paris and London, are considering banning vehicles from their historic centers. In parallel, significant effort is currently underway internationally by designers, architects, and engineers to integrate innovative technologies and sophisticated solutions for energy production, management, and storage, as well as for efficient energy consumption, into the architecture of buildings. In general, this effort seeks for new technologies and design methods (e.g., DesignBuilder with EnergyPlus simulation engine; Rhicoceros3D with Grasshopper plugin and Ecotect, Radiance and EnergyPlus tools) that would enable a holistic approach to the spatial design of Near-Zero Energy buildings, so that their ecological benefits are an added value to the architectural design and a building’s visual, and material, impact on its surrounding space. The paper inquires how the integration of such technological infrastructure and performance-orientated interfaces changes yet again the structure and form of cities, and to what extent it safeguards social rights and enables equal access to common resources. Drawing from preliminary results and initial considerations of ongoing research that involve the construction of four innovative NZE settlements across Europe, in the context of the EU-funded ZERO-PLUS project, this paper discusses the integration of novel infrastructure in communal spaces of these settlements. In doing so, it contributes to the debate about smart communities and their role in the sustainable management of housing developments and settlements that are designed and developed with the concept of smart territories

On the cooling potential of cool roofs in cold climates: Use of cool fluorocarbon coatings to enhance the optical properties and the energy performance of industrial buildings

Rejection of solar gains is the aim of passive cooling strategies in any type of building and any climatic region. The extent of cool materials' applicability depends on the external climatic conditions and internal heat gains. The aim of the present paper is to analyse the contribution of an innovative cool fluorocarbon coating in the reduction of energy demand for cooling when applied in an industrial building with increased heat gains under temperate climatic conditions. The material is tested using accelerated weathering procedures and its optical properties, i.e. solar reflectance and infrared emmitance are measured. There is an increase of 120% of the roof's albedo by the application of cool material. Regarding the heating and cooling loads there was a decrease of 73% for cooling while there was a minor heating penalty of 5%. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

IOP Conference Series : Earth and Environmental Science

Ambitious goals for the upgrade of construction aimed at energy conservation may quite often bounce due to different barriers, from design and detailing, through construction, to commissioning and behavioural ones. To overcome these, this paper focuses on the missing link of the construction process – the Informative Commissioning, the pre and post occupancy monitoring, and the POE, all integral parts of the ZeroPlus EU project. Limitations, barriers and other considerations and complexities encountered through the project’s stages will be presented, alongside the formation of the methodology and some preliminary results of the first case studies to be commissioned

Development and analysis of advanced inorganic coatings for buildings and urban structures

In recent years a steadily increasing interest has been noticed, concerning the development of advanced materials for both buildings and the urban environment. The aim of the present work is to examine the performance of inorganic coatings as a passive solar technique that contributes to buildings' energy efficiency. A number of inorganic coatings are developed. The materials used for the coatings' developed are characterized using XRD and DTA to verify their composition. Their optical properties, i.e. the solar reflectance and infrared emittance are then measured while the samples were also exposed to the outdoor environment for surface temperature measurements. Finally the energy efficiency of the specific coatings are evaluated in an insulated and non-insulated building using ESP-r modelling tool. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Development of a model for urban heat island prediction using neural network techniques

The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon is mainly caused by the differences in the thermal behaviour between urban and rural settlements that are associated with the thermal properties of urban materials, urban geometry, air pollution, and the anthropogenic heat released by the urban activities. The UHI has a serious impact on the energy consumption of buildings, increases smog production, while contributing to an increasing emission of pollutants from power plants, including sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and suspended particulates. This study presents the applicability of artificial neural networks (ANNs) and learning paradigms for UHI intensity prediction in Athens, Greece. The proposed model is tested using Elman, Feed-Forward and Cascade neural network architecture. The data of time, ambient temperature and global solar radiation are used to train and test the different models. The prediction accuracy is analyzed and evaluated. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Design and development of smart cool materials for the built environment

Περίληψη: Τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες έχει σημειωθεί σημαντική αύξηση στον αστικό πληθυσμό του πλανήτη. Ένα από τα σημαντικότερα προβλήματα του αστικού περιβάλλοντος είναι η υπερθέρμανση των πόλεων. Τα κτίρια και τα αστικά δομικά υλικά διαδραματίζουν σημαντικό ρόλο στην υπερθέρμανση των πόλεων. Επιπλέον, τα κτίρια ευθύνονται για το 40% της παγκόσμιας κατανάλωσης πρωτογενούς ενέργειας. Ως εκ τούτου, υπάρχει επείγουσα ανάγκη για τη βελτίωση της ενεργειακής απόδοσης των κτιρίων μέσω προηγμένων υλικών. Το αντικείμενο της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η ανάπτυξη, πειραματική αξιολόγηση και ενσωμάτωση των ψυχρών επιχρισμάτων στο δομημένο περιβάλλον. Η εισαγωγή των ψυχρών επιχρισμάτων οδηγεί σε εξοικονόμηση ενέργειας και καλύτερη ποιότητα περιβάλλοντος τόσο στα κτίρια όσο και στους εξωτερικούς χώρους. Η παρούσα εργασία διαρθρώνεται σε επτά κεφάλαια. Στο Κεφάλαιο 1 δίνεται μια εισαγωγή στα ψυχρά υλικά. Επιπλέον παρουσιάζεται η στάθμη περιεχομένου, οι ερευνητικοί στόχοι και η μεθοδολογία της διατριβής. Το Κεφάλαιο 2 είναι αφιερωμένο στον πειραματικό εξοπλισμό που χρησιμοποιήθηκε για τον χαρακτηρισμό, την ανάπτυξη και τη μέτρηση των ψυχρών επιχρισμάτων. Στο Κεφάλαιο 3 παρουσιάζεται η ανάπτυξη και η δοκιμή των ανόργανων ψυχρών επιχρισμάτων. Παρέχεται λεπτομερής ανάλυση των πρώτων υλών που χρησιμοποιούνται για τη κατασκευή τους. Είκοσι δύο ψυχρά επιχρίσματα αναπτύσσονται και υποβάλλονται σε πειραματικές μετρήσεις. Οι μετρήσεις περιλαμβάνουν τη μέτρηση της ανακλαστικότητας στην ηλιακή ακτινοβολία και τον συντελεστή εκπομπής υπέρυθρης ακτινοβολίας. Τέλος, τα ψυχρά επιχρίσματα εκτίθενται στο εξωτερικό περιβάλλον και μετριέται η ικανότητά τους να μειώνουν την επιφανειακή θερμοκρασία. Το καλύτερο ψυχρό επίχρισμα παρουσίασε μείωση της επιφανειακής θερμοκρασίας έως και 7K. Στο Κεφάλαιο 4 παρουσιάζεται η ανάπτυξη και δοκιμή των θερμοχρωμικών επιχρισμάτων. Δύο κύριες οικογένειες θερμοχρωμικών επιχρισμάτων αναπτύσσονται και υποβάλλονται σε πειραματικές μετρήσεις: ανόργανες και οργανικές. Παρουσιάζεται η σύνθεση και ο χαρακτηρισμός του ανόργανου θερμοχρωμικού επιχρίσματος. Επιπλέον, τρία εμπορικά διαθέσιμα οργανικά θερμοχρωμικά επιχρίσματα χρησιμοποιούνται. Αξιολογείται η ανακλαστικότητα στην ηλιακή ακτινοβολία και ο συντελεστή εκπομπής υπέρυθρης ακτινοβολίας όλων των θερμοχρωμικών επιχρισμάτων. Επιπλέον, η θερμοκρασία επιφανείας των θερμοχρωμικών επιχρισμάτων μετράται να είναι έως 5Κ χαμηλότερη, σε σύγκριση με το συμβατικό επίχρισμα με το ίδιο χρώμα. Στο Κεφάλαιο 5 αναλύεται η επίδραση της περιβαλλοντικής γήρανσης στα ψυχρά επιχρίσματα. Όλα τα επιχρίσματα εκτίθενται στις εξωτερικό περιβάλλον. Η αρχική και τελική ανακλαστικότητα στην ηλιακή ακτινοβολία και ο συντελεστή εκπομπής υπέρυθρης ακτινοβολίας μετριούνται. Τα ανόργανα ψύχρα επιχρίσματα παρουσίασαν μικρή μείωση στην ανακλαστικότητα στην ηλιακή ακτινοβολία και στον συντελεστή εκπομπής υπέρυθρης ακτινοβολίας. Τα θερμοχρωμικα επιχρίσματα παρουσίασαν μικτά αποτελέσματα. Η επίδραση των εξωτερικών συνθηκών στα ανόργανα θερμοχρωμικά είναι αμελητέα. Ενώ παρατηρείται σημαντική αποδόμηση για τα οργανικά θερμοχρωμικά επιχρίσματα. Στο Κεφάλαιο 6 εξετάζονται οι αλλαγές στα κτίρια και στο εξωτερικό περιβάλλον με τη χρήση των αναπτυγμένων ψυχρών επιχρισμάτων. Οι επιδράσεις των αναπτυγμένων επιχρισμάτων σε καλά και μη καλά μονωμένο κτίριο υπολογίζονται χρησιμοποιώντας το ESP-r. Όλα τα επιχρίσματα συμβάλλουν στην ενεργειακή μείωση τόσο των καλά και μη μονωμένων κτιρίων κατά 5-14% σε ετήσια βάση. Επιπλέον, υπολογίζεται η επίδραση των ψυχρών επιχρισμάτων στο αστικό περιβάλλον. Αναπτύχτηκε μια νέα μέθοδος για την έμμεση σύζευξη του προηγμένου λογισμικού θερμικής μοντελοποίησης κτιρίου και μικροκλιματικής μοντελοποίησης. Αναφέρεται η σημασία της σύζευξης του εξωτερικού και του εσωτερικού περιβάλλοντος. Οι μικροκλιματικές συνθήκες της υπό διερεύνηση περιοχής μπορεί να οδηγήσουν σε ± 10% αλλαγή των αναγκών θέρμανσης/ψύξης. Εάν η ανταλλαγή δεδομένων μεταξύ των δύο πεδίων ορισμού περιλαμβάνει την ανταλλαγή του συντελεστή μεταφοράς θερμότητας με μεταφορά, η διαφορά στις ανάγκες θέρμανσης / ψύξης μπορεί να φτάσει έως και ± 50%.Summarization: In recent decades, a significant increase in the world’s urban population has been recorded. One of the major problems of the cities’ environment is the urban overheating. Buildings and urban construction materials play an important role in the urban overheating. Moreover buildings are responsible for 40% of the world’s primary energy consumption. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the buildings’ energy performance through advanced materials. The scope of the present thesis is to develop, test and integrate cool coatings into the built environment. The introduction of cool coatings leads to energy saving and better living conditions for the people. The present thesis is structured in seven chapters. In Chapter 1 an introduction into cool materials is given. Moreover, the state of the art, research objective and methodology of the thesis is presented. Chapter 2 is devoted to the experimental equipment used for the characterization, development and measurement of the cool coatings. In Chapter 3 the development and testing of the mineral based cool coating is presented. A detailed analysis for the raw materials used for the formulation of the cool coatings using X-ray diffraction is presented. Twenty two cool coatings are developed, characterised and tested. Their characterization includes the measurement of solar reflectance and infrared emittance. Finally, the cool coatings are exposed to the environment and their ability to reduce the surface temperature is measured. The best performing developed cool coating showed reduction of the surface temperature is up to 7.2K. In Chapter 4 the development and testing of the thermochromic based cool coatings is presented. Two main families of thermochromic coatings are discussed: inorganic and organic. The synthesis and characterization of the inorganic thermochromic coatings is presented. Three commercially available organic thermochromic coatings are developed. The solar reflectance and infrared emittance of all thermochromic coatings is measured. Furthermore, the surface temperature of the coatings is measured to be 5.5K compared to the conventional coating with the same colour. In Chapter 5 the ageing effect of the environment on the cool coatings is discussed. All coatings are exposed to the outdoor conditions. The initial and aged solar reflectance and infrared emittance are measured. The mineral based cool coating presented small decrease in the solar reflectance and infrared emittance. The thermochromic coatings presented mixed results. The effect on the outdoor conditions on the inorganic thermochromics is negligible. While significant degradation is observed for the organic thermochromic coatings. In Chapter 6 the changes on buildings and surrounding areas by the use of the developed cool coatings are examined. The effects of the developed coatings on a well and poor insulated building are calculated using advanced thermal modelling software. All coatings contribute to the energy efficiency of both well and poor insulated buildings by 5-14% on annual basis. Moreover, the impact of cool coatings on the urban environment is calculated. A novel method has been developed on indirect coupling of the building advanced thermal modelling and microclimatic modelling software. The importance of coupling the external and internal environment is presented. The microclimatic condition of the under investigation area can lead to difference of ±10% in power for heating/cooling needs when the local microclimatic conditions are introduced to the weather file. If the exchange of data between the 2 domains includes the exchange of the Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient, the difference in heating/cooling needs can be as high as ±50%

Cool roofs and cool pavements application in Acharnes, Greece

The continuously increasing urban temperature results to the well-known urban heat island phenomenon. Cool roofs and cool pavements are very promising mitigation techniques as they can be easily applied to new and existing buildings as well as urban spaces. In the present paper, the application of cool materials in the urban region of Acharnes municipality in Greece is described. Cool roofs in the form of ceiling tiles are installed on the rooftop of the municipality building while cool paving stones are used to replace conventional pavements. A series of monitoring activities are performed for the building and the urban region. Measurements of the outdoor meteorological conditions, the indoor thermal comfort of the case study building, the surface temperature of the roofs and pavements as well as thermal imaging are exploited for the analysis of the cool roofs and cool pavements’ performance. Thermal models using EnergyPlus and Envi-met are developed for the analysis of the cool roofs and cool pavements respectively. The overall study showed that the application of cool roofs results to 17% reduction in the annual cooling demand for the case study building while the surface temperature of the urban pavements is reduced by almost 10 K. © 2017 Elsevier Lt