Tracking of Energy Performance Indicators in Residential Building Stocks – Different Approaches and Common Results - EPISCOPE Synthesis Report No. 4

A central task of IEE EPISCOPE project was to carry out energy balance calculations and scenario analysis for national, regional or local residential building stocks against the background of energy saving and climate protection targets. The EPISCOPE Synthesis Report No. 4 documents the individual approaches of collecting information for the investigated residential building stocks as a foundation for building stock models and scenario calculations. Issues related to the availability of data and data quality are discussed, and concepts for a continuous monitoring (a regular data collection) are presented as a basis for a future tracking of energy performance in the observed building stocks

Occupant productivity and office indoor environment quality : a review of the literature

The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature to draw an understanding of the relationship between indoor environmental quality and occupant productivity in an office environment. The study reviews over 300 papers from 67 journals, conference articles and books focusing on indoor environment, occupant comfort, productivity and green buildings. It limits its focus to the physical aspects of an office environment. The literature outlines eight Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) factors that influence occupant productivity in an office environment. It also discusses different physical parameters under each of the IEQ factors. It proposes a conceptual model of different factors affecting occupant productivity. The study also presents a review of the data collection methods utilised by the research studies that aim to investigate the relationship between IEQ and occupant productivity. The study presents a comprehensive discussion and analysis of different IEQ factors that affect occupant productivity. The paper provides a concise starting point for future researchers interested in the area of indoor environmental quality

Schools: Trends and perspectives

This chapter’s emphasis is on existing school buildings, with an overview of the European and, more specifically, the Mediterranean region. Following the overview of schools in the Mediterranean region, the study focuses on secondary schools in Cyprus. It identifies the prevailing building practices in school construction with specific reference to the schools in Cyprus. The construction and energy consumption details of the secondary school buildings in Cyprus are also presented. Indoor comfort and energy efficiency are analyzed through questionnaires, surveys, interviews, and simulations on specific pilot school buildings. The field studies are conducted to evaluate the indoor thermal conditions during the students’ classes. Further investigation of the energy efficiency of schools is carried out through building simulations. Existing situations, current trends and tendencies of schools provide essential information to facilitate the energy performance assessment of the building stock and to highlight the potential of energy savings and the upgrading of their indoor comfort

Thermal comfort of a typical secondary school building in Cyprus

A field study is conducted in a secondary school building in Cyprus, to assess the indoor thermal conditions during the students' lesson hours. The survey is carried out in Neapolis Gymnasium which is a typical Cypriot school located in the coastal city of Limassol. Requirements for comfort are critical especially to pupils' performance and welfare. Classrooms, laboratories and administrative offices are chosen for investigation of indoor and outdoor thermal conditions. Air temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) are monitored using indoor and outdoor sensors simultaneously throughout the four seasons of the year. Data analysis compares the results with international standards, ASHRAE Standard 55, ISO Standard 7730, etc. Thermal comfort variables are measured at the same time when students and teachers completed a questionnaire which focuses on their perception of the indoor climate. Fanger's comfort indicators are calculated (PMV, predicted mean vote and PPD, predicted percentage of dissatisfied people) and the actual people clothing and metabolic rate are estimated in order to conclude to the prevailing indoor thermal conditions of the school

Bioclimatic chart analysis in three climate zones in Cyprus

The concept of bioclimatic design is based on the development of an architectural design adapted to environmental conditions. The utilization of the favourable climatic elements can offer to the users, indoor thermal comfort conditions and at the same time it minimizes the energy consumption which is needed for heating and cooling. This paper provides the bioclimatic analysis for three different climatic zones in Cyprus, coastal, inland and mountainous. The building bioclimatic charts of V. & A. Olgyay are used to examine whether passive strategies can provide indoor thermal comfort in the buildings in these zones. The results of bioclimatic charts are studied in conjunction with the climatic data for the three climatic areas. These are compared and investigated in order to find whether there is sufficient amount of solar radiation for passive heating needed to achieve thermal comfort during winter. The study concludes to a preliminary guide of passive design strategies for buildings, as an outcome of the bioclimatic charts analysis for coastal, inland and mountainous zones in Cyprus. The results can be used for locations with similar climatic conditions

Analysis of structural elements and energy consumption of school building stock in Cyprus: Energy simulations and upgrade scenarios of a typical school

Structural and energy consumption details from the secondary school buildings of Cyprus are presented in this paper. The study identifies the prevailing building practices in schools' construction in the three climatic zones of Cyprus, coastal, inland and mountainous. Furthermore the construction details of schools are compared with their energy consumption. In this questionnaire survey 24 schools were responded with a completed profile and represent the 15% of schools and through further interviews and in situ visits more data are collected from a percentage of 60% of the secondary schools in Cyprus. The analysis through questionnaire results conclude to significant findings which are very revealing and may be used as a preliminary study on energy upgrading of schools. Furthermore through a statistical study the construction details of the mean typical secondary school building in Cyprus are also derived. A case study with simulations for the energy performance of a representative typical school building is also developed. Variables of the building elements are examined through parametric simulations using the software iSBEMcy. This is the official governmental software used for the categorization of energy efficiency in buildings and the calculation of CO2 emissions according to the European Directive 2002/91/EC. Based on the energy categorization of the building six retrofitting scenarios are studied in simulations

Indoor comfort and energy performance of buildings in relation to occupants' satisfaction: Investigation in secondary schools of Cyprus

Comfort standards state criteria to create adequate thermal comfort conditions in buildings. Requirements for comfort are critical especially to pupils' performance and welfare. This paper reviews and analyses the indoor comfort and specifically thermal comfort requirements based on international standards and previous studies. An investigation in secondary schools of Cyprus is carried out through a questionnaire campaign to examine the perception of indoor, environmental and energy parameters of schools in Cyprus. Nine schools are selected and a part of the questionnaire is developed within the framework of the Mediterranean (MED) Programme TEENERGY SCHOOLS (High energy efficiency schools in Mediterranean Area) which was dealing with the energy efficiency Mediterranean school buildings. For the analysis of the derived results, a statistical tool has been developed based on excel spreadsheets. Thermal comfort is always affected by the energy efficiency of buildings and vice versa. Therefore, further investigation of the energy efficiency of schools is examined through simulations according to the European Directive 2002/91/EC, using the official governmental software of Cyprus, iSBEMcy. The comparison assessment presents that there is a relation between the poor indoor quality conditions and the low-energy efficiency of buildings. This may occur due to the mismanagement of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in schools and the inefficient insulation of buildings