Research of Energy Storage and Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Cities

Dear Colleagues,

Effective design and implementation of technologies in cities can be the key to social, economic, and environmental balance. The evolution of cities that can sustainably meet the current challenges depends on their inhabitants, economic development, wealth, technologies, and policies that manage energy, water, waste and healthcare, mobility, and safety. In line with the European Green Deal policy, the efficient use of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency in buildings are the key challenges for science, research, and innovation today. As part of the European Green Deal, with the European Climate Law, the EU has set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. The so-called ‘Fit for 55 packages’ is aimed at the alignment of current legislation with the requirements of these ambitious objectives.

Tackling climate change and decarbonization requires a transition to clean, renewable energy, particularly from variable energy sources (VRE). Such an action, in turn, implies solving the issue of both short-term and long-term energy storage for later use at the scale of buildings and cities. Improving the energy efficiency of buildings requires effective bioclimatic strategies and the implementation of deep renovation processes. To European cities and their architectural heritage, this issue demands special attention. The New European Bauhaus, an initiative strongly supported by President Ursula Von der Leyen, offers new opportunities for such action, in conjunction with a deeper understanding of the importance of EU heritage buildings. It is therefore now a crucial task for European society to strike a balance between maximum energy efficiency and environmental care, and a beautiful, accessible and safe residential environment, in line with NEB creative and interdisciplinary initiative, convening a space of encounter to design future ways of living, situated at the crossroads between art, culture, social inclusion, science, and technology. The energy transformation of cities requires intensification of activities because when creating a vision of local development, communities more often focus on educational activities, including those promoting new energy solutions, than on infrastructure investments. Residents, managers, and decision-makers are responsible for how the city can use innovations in the design of buildings and infrastructure facilities and the introduction of low-energy devices and systems. The search for savings in systemic activities gives the greatest benefits, which is best evidenced by the EU's activities (its directives) and, for example, the introduced color certificates to reward the reduction of CO₂ emissions.

The Special Issue seeks to examine the barriers and opportunities related to energy policies, district, and neighbourhood energy networks, effective energy storage methods, various methods of end-user engagement in energy efficiency issues, from individual households to the cities and regions of the whole. Equally, it is essential to recognize the bioclimatic, environmental, and cultural context of the buildings, with the increased awareness and more refined design and analytical tools. Hence, this Special Issue welcomes contributions on all aspects of efficient use of renewable energy, bioclimatic approaches, and emerging trends in the holistic design of a beautiful and accessible built environment in the context of combating climate change through architectural methods in the context of the European Green Deal and New European Bauhaus.

Dr. Marta Skiba
Dr. Barbara Widera
Dr. Małgorzata Sztubecka
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

• Energy efficiency in buildings
• Energy storage
• Bioclimatic architecture
• Sustainability
• Urban development
• Land-use planning
• Environmental protection policy
• Urban policy
• Monitoring and issues of sustainable development in energy
• Social and economic effects of energy efficiency

Title: The conceptual framework for thermal and daylight control performance of vertical green façade systems
Authors: Cansu Iraz Seyrek; Agata Woźniczka; Barbara Widera
Affiliation: 1 Doctoral School, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Architecture cansu.seyrek@pwr.edu.pl; agata.wozniczka@pwr.edu.pl 2 Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Architecture barbara.widera@pwr.edu.pl
Abstract: The research is aimed at development of the conceptual framework for thermal and daylight control performance of vertical green façade systems. On the basis of a literature review and the analysis carried out by the authors, including real-data collection in tested buildings, the parameters affecting the thermal performance of vertical green systems will be determined. An augmented reality tools will be applied for energy efficiency measurement, together with the forecasting and backasting methods. These methods will create the basis of innovative model, changing the perception of an architect and allowing for the facilitation of the holistic design of green façade systems fully integrated in the building energy strategies. Finally, the most efficient use of the smart sensors will be discussed in purpose to use them as an effective tool allowing for the end-user active involvment in the decarbonisation process in line with the European Green Deal.

Title: The influence of mobility and geometry changes of a building on its energy efficiency
Authors: Kajetan Sadowski; Anna Berbesz
Affiliation: The Faculty of Architecture, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, Wrocław 50-370, Poland
Abstract: Reducing energy consumption and reducing waste are issues of increasing importance for the EU. On July 14, 2021, the European Commission adopted a package of proposals called "Fit for 55" in which it proposes to reduce final energy consumption by 36% and primary energy by 39%. This means constantly looking for new solutions that reduce energy consumption. Additionally, cooling has an increasing influence on the energy balance of buildings. For this reason, the introduction of passive solutions enabling the simultaneous reduction of heat losses in winter and cooling losses in summer is a desirable action. The article presents an analysis of the new idea of biomimetic and kinetic structures with a variable geometric shape, adapting to the external environment in the annual cycle which uses optimized solutions, which minimize energy losses during operation. Kinetic structures make it possible to control energy losses in real-time thanks to the variable functionality of the moving parts. The arti-cle presents the results of calculations of energy losses for various concepts of buildings with a vari-able shape compared to reference buildings.