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Advances in Energy Efficiency and Conservation of Green Buildings

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tianyi Zhao

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Guest Editor

Institute of Building Energy, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
Interests: zero-carbon buildings; building automation and control systems; building energy conservation; digital twin; big data analysis

Dr. Jiaming Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Building Energy, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
Interests: building energy conservation; optimal control of HVAC system; swarm intelligent control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions to a Special Issue of Energies on the subject area of “Advances in Energy Efficiency and Conservation of Green Buildings”. Green buildings, which are able to utilize renewable energy sources to conserve energy and reduce emissions, have gradually become the trend of modern buildings due to their sustainable development characteristics. Recently, many advanced techniques of energy efficiency and conservation in green buildings have arisen, such as photovoltaic, energy storage, direct current and flexibility (PEDF) techniques, natural ventilation, optimal control techniques, etc. These design, optimization and control techniques are critical to the thermal comfort and energy efficiency of green buildings.

This Special Issue will deal with novel design, optimization and control techniques for green buildings. Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to:

Design and optimization of green buildings;
Optimal control techniques of green buildings;
Photovoltaic systems;
Energy storage systems;
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems;
Energy management systems;
Natural ventilation techniques;
Full life cycle economic analysis;
Optimal operation of renewable energy;
Application of artificial intelligence for green buildings.

Dr. Tianyi Zhao
Dr. Jiaming Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

green buildings
zero-carbon buildings
building energy conservation
energy efficiency
control methods
renewable energy
artificial intelligence
optimization techniques
PEDF

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

56 pages, 12342 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relative Comparison of Benefits of Floor Slab Insulation Methods, Using Polyiso and Extruded Polystyrene Materials in South Africa, Subject to the New National Building Energy Efficiency Standards

by Emmanuel Kabundu, Sijekula Mbanga, Brink Botha and Emma Ayesu-Koranteng

Energies 2024, 17(2), 539; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17020539 - 22 Jan 2024

Viewed by 550

Abstract

This article aims to assess the benefits of floor slab insulation measures using extruded polystyrene (XPS) and polyisocyanurate (also referred to as polyiso or PIR) insulation materials at various levels of insulation thicknesses for a detached residential building. An EnergyPlus simulation analysis was carried out within the seven energy zones (represented by eight locations) of South Africa in accordance with the South African national code for building energy efficiency (SANS10400-XA). The energy savings and payback periods related to the use of the insulation over a lifecycle period of 50 years were assessed. Cape Town (zone 4) behaved differently from other locations and hardly benefited from the application of floor slab insulation measures. Generally, polyiso (PIR) insulation performed better than XPS for vertical gap insulation, and lower insulation thicknesses required higher insulation depths to maximize energy savings. Similarly, lower insulation thicknesses (25 mm and 50 mm) required higher perimeter insulation widths to maximize energy savings for horizontal perimeter insulation, especially in Sutherland (zone 6) and Cape Town. The maximization of energy savings was also achieved at low insulation thickness for the full floor slab insulation method, except for Sutherland and Fraserburg (zone 7). The locations that benefitted most from the floor slab insulation methods were Pretoria (zone 5), Thohoyandou (zone 3), Sutherland (zone 6), Fraserburg (zone 7), Welkom (zone 1), Ixopo (zone 5H), Witbank (zone 2), and Cape Town (zone 4), in that order. Generally, higher net energy savings are achieved in areas with lower humidity levels and areas with greater annual sums of both cooling and heating degree days. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Energy Efficiency and Conservation of Green Buildings)

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21 pages, 11373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Photovoltaic Thermal Heat Pump Assessment for Power and Domestic Hot Water Generation

by Chao Zhou, Ahmad Riaz, Jingjing Wang, Jili Zhang and Lin Xu

Energies 2023, 16(19), 6984; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16196984 - 07 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 888

Abstract

The efficient utilization of solar energy significantly contributes to energy efficiency in buildings. Solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) heat pumps, a hybrid of photovoltaic and solar-assisted heat pumps, have demonstrated a significant development trend due to their multi-generational capacity for heating, power, and cooling with reliable operational performance. This research work presents and investigates a single-stage compression PVT heat pump system, along with the operation principle of the system’s heating and power co-generation throughout the winter and transitional season. The construction of the testing facility, data reduction, error analysis, and performance evaluation indices of the system are all explained theoretically. A continuous experiment research project focusing on system heating and power performance was carried out in Dalian during the transition season (November in this study) and winter season (December in this study) as part of our investigation into the potential uses for space heating, residential hot water, and power supply in northern China. The findings of the experimental research demonstrate that the proposed system can generate electricity and heat at high efficiency during the winter and transitional seasons, with long-term stable performance. The system’s average heating COP_t is 5 during the transitional season and 4.4 during the winter season. Meanwhile, the average photovoltaic power efficiency under both weather conditions is 11.9% and 10.2%, with a peak value of 15.7% and 12.0%, respectively. Additionally, the system compression ratio’s variation range is 2 to 3.88, which is lower than the standard heat pump system. As a result, the entire system heating operating process remains constant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Energy Efficiency and Conservation of Green Buildings)

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