Potential Energy Savings in Buildings

Energy is an important aspect of buildings. It is stored in construction materials and required for lighting and electrical installations, as well as used for heating and cooling. The amount of energy required for all buildings can be reduced. The aim of this work was to present actions to be taken for the reduction of energy use in buildings. These actions are based on suitable architectural design, controlled ventilation and good quality thermal-insulation envelopes, i.e. optimal insulation thickness, eliminating thermal bridges and providing air tightness. The need of buildings for fossil-fuel sources can potentially be reduced by 90% in consideration of the above factor

Kursimet e mundshme të energjisë në ndërtesa

Energjia është një aspekt i rëndësishëm i ndërtesave. Ajo është përbërëse në materiale ndërtimore dhe e nevojshme për ndriçim dhe instalime elektrike, si dhe për ngrohje dhe ftohje. Sasia e energjisë e cila nevojitet për të gjitha ndërtesat, mund të reduktohet. Qëllimi i këtij punimi është për t’i prezantuar masat që duhet të merren për reduktimin e energjisë në ndërtesa. Këto masa mund të merren bazuar në plane adekuate arkitekturale, ventilim të kontrolluar dhe termo izolim të cilësisë së lartë, siç janë: izolimi i denjë, largimi i urave termale si dhe furnizimi i vazhdueshëm me ajër. Nevoja e ndërtesave për lëndë djegëse fosile, mund të reduktohet deri në 90%, duke i marrë parasysh faktorët e lartpërmendur

The Impacts of Interior Space on Children in Schools and Kindergartens

Studies, as well as experience, show that learning space plays an important part in children’s education. The experts believe it has the role of the third teacher, which is an important and responsible role. This article stresses the importance of constructed learning space and focuses on physical parameters providing residential comfort – heat comfort, light comfort, acoustic comfort and the air quality of internal spaces. The assessed parameters of comfort have been gaining importance in the last ten years based on numerous studies proving their significance and particularly revealing the negative impact on children’s health and wellbeing, but also their school success and progress. On the long path of education from kindergarten to university, a child spends a significant amount of time in school, therefore the negative potential of constructed environment should not be overlooked. The architect is the designer of the space and therefore has an influence on the quality of the constructed environment in the early stages of planning – the functional design of the building structure has to provide daylight and at the same time prevent the space from overheating, it has to provide acoustic comfort, the selected materials of the building’s envelope and furniture must not emit harmful substances, and the inbuilt technological systems have to provide an adequate temperature regulating and continuous air exchange

Energy-efficient timber buildings

The choice of materials for a building with high energy efficiency becomes much more important and strategies for reducing the use of primary energy for the production of materials and components becomes key. The positive trend towards wooden construction is dictated by international guidelines, where a wooden building is an important starting point, not only for low-energy, but also low-emission building with exceptional health and safety aspects. In Europe, the most comprehensive and widely used is a concept of ultra-low energy house, more precisely, the passive house concept. Most Slovenian buildings combine contemporary styling with a degree of energy efficiency that comes close to passive house standards. It is widely recognised that the Slovenian construction industry is relatively advanced in the field of low energy buildings. In the light of the growing importance of energy-efficient building methods, it could be said that timber passive house would play an increasingly important role in the future

Contemporary Building Skin

Pri oblikovanju suvremenoga pročeljnog plašta izražena su tri pristupa. Prvi se temelji na tradicionalnome shvaćanju koji još uvijek nudi nove izazove dizajneru. Drugi pristup nastavlja sa sadašnjim trendovima u oblikovanju, koji su dopunjeni raznim inovacijama na osnovi digitalnog inženjeringa, kompleksne geometrije i bioloških principa. Treći pristup pri oblikovanju pročeljnoga plašta nastaje kao posljedica potpunih tehnoloških i likovnih inovacija.Contemporary building skin design is nowadays approached from three different perspectives. The first one is based on a traditional concept that still offers fresh challenges to a designer. The second one stems from various innovations within the realm of digital engineering, complex geometry and biological principles. The third approach is entirely the result of the most recent technological and visual innovations

Urbanističke, arhitektonske, tehnološke i ekonomske prekretnice u izgradnji višestambenih zgrada u Sloveniji

The article presents the most important turning points in the development of the construction of apartment buildings in Slovenia. Urban planning, architecture and technology has, until recently, reflected foreign influences that have reached Slovenia with a delay. Significant turning points are also visible in economic organisation. The construction of apartment buildings is the only type of construction that is regulated, stimulated and (partly) also organised by the state.Članak prikazuje najvažnije prekretnice u izgradnji višestambenih zgrada u Sloveniji. U urbanizmu, arhitekturi i tehnologiji donedavno su se očitovali vidljivi utjecaji iz stranih zemalja koji su do Slovenije došli sa zakašnjenjem. Značajne prekretnice vidljive su također i na razini ekonomske organizacije. Izgradnja višestambenih zgrada jedini je vid izgradnje koji regulira, potiče i (dijelom) organizira država

The Importance of the Classroom's Window View

Many studies point out the importance of the window views to the surroundings, as they have a significant impact on children's well-being, living comfort and learning performance. Nevertheless, this aspect is overlooked and usually not included as one of the main criteria for designing school facilities in an urban area. The purpose of the study was to find out how the students are responding to the potential of classroom’s window views. To collect data a questionnaire was implemented in three Slovenian primary schools (in the third triad). The respondent were pupils from three different Slovenian regions. The results were processed with the statistical package SPSS for Windows and with the MS Excel tool. The pupils answered consistently to the questions in the survey. They like their classroom because of the large windows with lots of light and because of the window view of green areas. Most pupils prefer to sit by the window because they like to look outside at the surroundings. Otherwise, they would prefer to look at water, greenery, and nature. The least they would like is the view of neighbouring buildings nearby, especially if the view is without greenery, or of a busy street. They like to look out the window, even if sitting by the window is sometimes unpleasant if too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. The noise passing through the window clearly does not bother them. The result of the study can be helpful in designing school facilities in an urban environment

The embodied primary energy and optimisation of energy-efficient houses

Glavni zahtjev pri projektiranju moderne obiteljske kuće jest visoka energetska učinkovitost. Pravilnim odabirom sustava grijanja može se smanjiti potrošnja primarne energije i emisija stakleničkih plinova tijekom više desetljeća boravljenja u kući. Osim uporabnog vijeka građevine, faza gradnje također predstavlja energetsko i okolišno opterećenje. Kuće imaju ugrađenu primarnu energiju i emisiju CO2, zbog čega se danas teži poboljšanju ovojnice, ventilacije i sustava grijanja. Između ostalog, dodatni zahtjev za energetski učinkovite zgrade jest minimalni udio ugrađene energije.The main requirement for the design of modern family houses is a high energy performance. With the properly selected heat generation system, the primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions can be reduced over decades of building use. In addition to the service life of the building, the construction stage also constitutes a burden with regard to energy and environment. Houses have an embodied primary energy and CO2 emissions, which is why efforts are currently made to improve the thermal envelope, ventilation, and the heat generation system. An additional requirement for energy-efficient buildings involves a minimum embodied energy

Preliminarno istraživanje obilježja ekoinovacija i ekodizajna u Sloveniji

Eco-innovation is crucial to Europe’s economic competitiveness; environment-friendly technologies have a positive impact on businesses and contribute to job creation. A survey of perceptions and attitudes about eco-innovation and eco-design among 712 Slovenian enterprises was conducted. The survey included micro, small and medium enterprises, and large companies. Analysis of the survey revealed that eco-design in Slovenia is underexploited. Only approximately 50 % of the 657 respondents have established an innovative environment for sustainable development or support for eco-innovation processes. Based on the survey results, it was concluded that further development and promotion will require comprehensive policies at the local and national levels. Specifically, policy solutions should advocate combining eco-innovation and adopting a life-cycle design approach. These policies could result in the development of successful innovations at a breakthrough level. Eco-innovation and eco-design present Slovenian enterprises with the opportunity to create new markets where they could dominate and prosper. Furthermore, Slovenia could become an important contributor to the European Union goal of becoming a smart, sustainable, and inclusive economy by fully satisfying the objectives of four “Europe 2020” Flagship initiatives, while simultaneously contributing to reducing climate change.Ekoinovacije imaju ključno značenje za ekonomsku konkurentnost Europe; okolišno prihvatljive tehnologije pozitivno utječu na poslovanje poduzeća i pridonose stvaranju novih radnih mjesta. Istraživanje percepcije i stajališta o ekoinovacijama i ekodizajnu provedena su u 712 slovenskih poduzeća. Istraživanjem su obuhvaćena mikropoduzeća, mala i srednja poduzeća te velike tvrtke. Analiza rezultata ankete pokazala je da je ekodizajn u Sloveniji nedovoljno iskorišten. Samo je oko 50 % od 657 anketiranih tvrki uspostavilo inovativno okruženje za održivi razvoj ili uvelo potpore za ekološke inovacijske procese. Na temelju rezultata istraživanja zaključeno je da daljnji razvoj i promocija ekoinovacija i ekodizajna zahtijevaju opsežne politike na lokalnoj i nacionalnoj razini. Naime, politička rješenja trebaju promicati kombinaciju ekoinovacija i usvajanje novog pristupa dizajnu uzimajući u obzir životni ciklus proizvoda. Takve politike mogu dovesti do razvoja uspješnih inovacija. Ekoinovacije i ekodizajn za slovenska su poduzeća prilika za stvaranje novih tržišta na kojima bi mogli dominirati i napredovati. Nadalje, Slovenija bi mogla postati važan čimbenik u ostvarenju težnje europske unije da postane pametno, održivo i inkluzivno gospodarstvo i da u potpunosti zadovolji ciljeve četiriju ključnih inicijativa strategije „Europa 2020”, a da pritom istodobno pridonosi smanjenju klimatskih promjena