Trimmed weapons for energy data analysis in Universities’ living lab: current gaps and improvement proposal

Chapter 5, “Trimmed weapons for energy data analysis in Universities’ living lab: current gaps and improvement proposal”, G. Sonetti, L. Chelleri, K. Kikuta, M. Alweitaish

Research on Carbon Reduction of Residential Buildings in Severe Cold Regions Based on Renovation of Envelopes

The demand for heating in cold regions drives up carbon emissions every year. In order to achieve China's carbon neutrality target by 2060, CO2 emissions in the cold regions must be reduced. In this paper, using Design Builder software, a simulation model of residential buildings in severe cold regions was created, and the most appropriate parameter design scheme for carbon emission reduction of residential buildings in severe cold regions was derived by simulating the experimental data of the original parameter design scheme and the changed parameter design scheme, as well as the calculation of carbon dioxide emission reduction rate. In order to make the comparison of the results easier, no change was made in the selection of the changed scheme for the external insulation material, foamed polystyrene panels. The results show that the most suitable parameter scheme for houses in severe cold regions is 85 mm thick foamed polystyrene panels for exterior walls, 200 mm thick foamed polystyrene panels for roofs, and exterior windows should use semi-tempered plastic steel frame and triple glass 6 mm glass + vacuum + 6 mm low-e glass + 12 mm air + 6 mm glass composed of windows. This technique saves 30.32% of energy as compared to the original parameter design approach. The efficiency of energy conservation is 33.03%. The emission reduction effect is significant. The best parametric design plan has a static payback period of 5 years. The best parametric design plan has a discounted payback period of 7 and a net present value of USD 65,413.39. This scheme can provide a great economic return while also increasing the performance of the building

Thermal insulated PVC windows for residential buildings: feasibility of insulation performance improvement by various elemental technologies

Herein, we aimed to improve the thermal insulation of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) windows to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. Currently, the gold standard PVC window is triple glazed and has a thermal transmittance of 0.7 W/(m2·K). However, further reduction in the thermal transmittance of the windows via quadruple glazing is not feasible because this would make the windows too heavy and expensive. We searched for an alternative method for reducing the thermal transmittance without increasing the weight. The window frame, glazing, and glazing edge parts of a PVC window significantly affect the overall thermal insulation; thus, we evaluated the insulation contribution of each of the above to identify their optimal conditions. Using these optimal conditions, we were able to create a window having a thermal transmittance of 0.46 W/(m2·K). However, these optimal conditions make their production difficult. Hence, we manufactured an alternative using practical specifications more suited for actual production. This window achieved a thermal transmittance of 0.63 W/(m2·K)

Seismic Retrofit Technique Using Plywood and Common Nails for Connections of Low-Rise Timber Frame Construction

Since the Japanese Building Standards Act was revised in 2000, the installation of steel timber connectors (STCs) to reinforce timber frame (TF) connections has been mandated for new-build TF houses in Japan. However, for the TF houses built before then, more than 40% do not have sufficient STCs and are considered earthquake-prone. This study proposed a simple and easy seismic retrofit technique for such earthquake-prone existing houses. The proposed technique can reinforce TF connections using only plywood and common nails and achieve equivalent performance to the benchmark STCs used in Japanese TF houses, such as the CP-T type or the combination of VP type and BP type STCs. Experiments were performed to compare the proposed technique with the STCs using pullout and full-scale in-plane cyclic tests. The experimental results showed that the proposed technique had a higher seismic performance than the STCs, which was particularly excellent in displacement ductility to prevent a collapse of the TF house without damaging the timbers. The proposed technique will be accepted by many carpenters when retrofitting earthquake-prone existing houses because simple and easy