Assessment of green roof performance for sustainable buildings under winter weather conditions

A green roof is a specialized roof system that supports vegetation growth on rooftops.This technology is rapidly gaining popularity as a sustainable design option for buildings.In order to contribute to an understanding of green roof in regions with cold winters and snow,an on-site experimental investigation was present with a focus on the assessment of green roof performance during the winter.This field experiment took place on a six small buildings during the winter of 2010-2011.The work monitored three buildings with green roofs,two buildings with reference roofs and one building with a bare soil coverage for the roof.These six buildings were identically constructed and instrumented with sensor networks to provide heat flux data through the roofs.The 15 min averaged data were statistically analyzed for a week under the two separate periods,first without a snow cover and second with a snow cover.The results show that the roof type is a significant factor in affecting the thermal performance of these buildings.Most importantly,green roofs reduce heat flow through the roof and thus reduce the heating energy demand during the winter.However,the energy savings for buildings with the green roofs are reduced under snow conditions because the snow diminishes thermal resistance of the roof and increases the heat transfer process through the roofs.

Amman＇s Land Typology： The Importance of Site Characteristics on the Delivery of Sustainable Buildings

Amman＇s land typology is characterized by hilly slopes, and this presents challenges and opportunities for architects and designers aiming at delivering sustainable buildings. The research focuses on the importance of any site＇s given criteria, mainly its slope and topography on the delivery of sustainable buildings. Amman city consists broadly of two main types of buildings, apartment buildings and villas, by studying each type of building with regard to its environmental context on a given site in the city, the research seeks to identify the sustainable variables that site topography delimit or facilitate, using a set of attributes for each building type. The main objective of this research is to highlight the sustainable approach for building on sloped sites throughout the building project life-cycle in general, and to set a sustainability framework for designers during the initial design phase in particular. A number of case studies for both types of buildings are studied and analysed, and conclusions are given based on syntheses of available data from literature review or case analysis. At the end, the research provides a mechanism for the development of guidelines for sustainable and passive viability on preferred buildings orientation in hilly areas with regard to local climatic data.

CBE Clima Tool:A free and open-source web application for climate analysis tailored to sustainable building design

Climate-responsive building design holds immense potential for enhancing comfort,energy efficiency,and environmental sustainability.However,many social,cultural,and economic obstacles might prevent the wide adoption of designing climate-adapted buildings.One of these obstacles can be removed by enabling practitioners to easily access,visualize and analyze local climate data.The CBE Clima Tool(Clima)is a free and open-source web application that offers easy access to publicly available weather files and has been created for building energy simulation and design.It provides a series of interactive visualizations of the variables contained in the EnergyPlus Weather Files and several derived ones like the UTCI or the adaptive comfort indices.It is aimed at students,educators,and practitioners in the architecture and engineering fields.Since its inception,Clima’s user base has exhibited robust growth,attracting over 25,000 unique users annually from across 70 countries.Our tool is poised to revolutionize climate-adaptive building design,transcending geographical boundaries and fostering innovation in the architecture and engineering fields.

Post-war Sustainability-Driven School Buildings: A Review of the Literature

The Safe Schools Declaration of 2015 is an inter-governmental political agreement signed by several countries designed to protect the schooling of the school-aged population during armed conflicts.Yet,in countries where civil war erupted,schools were demolished.Several school-aged children were either forcibly recruited by governments or coerced by rebel groups to serve in armed fights.As a result,several children were deprived of their education and have remained suffering from deep psychological scars.The central question of the study is:What kind of sustainability-driven school buildings can be initiated in countries that are now enduring peace so that the learning environments are more comfortable and improve the well-being of the war-impacted children and school employees?After reviewing the literature,a strategic conceptual framework that incorporated the synergistic relationship between economic,social,and environmental aspects of sustainability was initiated to map out sustainable school buildings.In short,the conceptual framework proposed to construct school buildings in some of the war-affected developing countries includes assembling cost-efficiency and eco-effectiveness inputs,using renewable energy sources powered by natural sunlight,collecting rainwater in mud cisterns,reducing emissions of carbon oxides,and empowering the local community to be the main actors to design sustainable buildings during the preconstruction,construction,and post-construction stages to serve as learning spaces for the war-affected occupants and their neighborhoods.

Promotion of Sustainable Buildings in China- Integration of Bamboo and Renewable Energy Technologies

WWF China and the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INB AR) jointly launched the project "Promotion of Energy Efficient Buildings: Integration of Bamboo and Renewable Energy Technologies" together with the Urban & Rural Planning & Design Institute of Yunnan and BEAR Architecten Gouda (Holland) in March 2002. The objective of the project is to design model houses, hotels and school buildings for rural people in Yuanan Province to provide 'comfortable' living conditions with a minimum and meani...

The Challenges in Providing Affordable Housing in Nigeria and the Adequate Sustainable Approaches for Addressing Them

Despite multiple schemes implemented by various governments around the country, affordable housing remains elusive to the average Nigerian. Because the situation is comparable to that of other developing nations, it remains a key concern in these countries’ socioeconomic development. Over 52% of Nigeria’s population has been claimed to live in shanties, squatter communities, and informal settlements. This article, therefore, reviews the challenges to the provision of affordable housing in Nigeria and the Sustainable approaches to address them. The article’s findings were based on a thorough examination of the literature. The article’s findings indicated that sustainable approaches for addressing Nigeria’s affordable housing barriers may best be examined through the economic, ecological, social, institutional, and technical factors. The paper urges the present regime, investors, lawmakers, and private developers in Nigeria to implement these approaches for affordable housing provision. The findings from this article will add to the current body of knowledge by providing important information on affordable housing provision and re-directing research interest towards affordable housing in Nigeria and other developing countries.

Energy Consumption Analysis and Characterization of Aerospace Manufacturing Facilities in the United States–A Step towards Sustainable Development

In this study,information on energy usage in the United States(U.S.)aerospace manufacturing sector has been analyzed and then represented as energy intensities(kWh/m2)to establish benchmark data and to compare facilities of varying sizes.First,public sources were identified and the data from these previously published sources were aggregated to determine the energy usage of aerospace manufacturing facilities within the U.S.From this dataset,a sample of 28 buildings were selected and the energy intensity for each building was estimated from the data.Next,as a part of this study the energy data for three additional aerospace manufacturing facilities in the U.S.were collected firsthand.That data was analyzed and the energy intensity(kWh/m2)for each facility was calculated and then compared with the energy intensities of the 28 buildings from the sample.Three different indicators of energy consumption in aerospace manufacturing facilities were used as comparators to assist facility managers with determining potential energy savings and help in the decision-making process.On average,aerospace manufacturing facilities in the United States spent 4 cents for each dollar of sale on energy.The energy intensity(kWh/m2)and the power intensity(W/m2)for each facility were calculated based on the actual facility energy bills.The power intensity for these facilities ranges from 34 to 134 W/m2.The energy intensity ranged from 232 to 949 kWh/m2.We found that the power intensity could be used to estimate energy consumption when the annual operating hours of the facility are considered.and to estimate the energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

Building a Sustainable Environment for Human Rights Development; Earnestly Respecting and Ensuring Human Rights

Constructing an environ- ment for human rights development is a large, comprehensive project as well asa long and arduous mission. Although constructing an environment for human rights development was not mentioned much in the past, in actuality it began early and achieved sustained progress. It is a gradual process that is also a prerequisite for earnestly respecting and ensuring human rights. There are five dimensions to building a sustainable environment for human rights development.

Building a Beautiful China:A Definitive Exploration on Sustainable Economy

FINALLY,the world is witnessing what may well turn out to be the definitive how-to guide on building a sustainable economy that works in complete harmony with the environment:China’s transformation under the banner of an"ecological civilization."It’s been a long time coming.For well over a century,

Synthesis and Characterization of Local Bio-Sourced Geopolymer Binder:Application to Compressed Earth

The construction industry continues to rely on conventional materials like cement,which often can come with a high cost and significant environmental impact,particularly in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.To tackle the challenges of sustainable development,there is growing interest in using local available materials with low environmental impact.This study primarily focuses on synthesizing and characterizing a geopolymer binder made from local materials found in Benin to stabilize CEB(compressed earth brick).The synthesis involves combining amorphous aluminosilicate powder with a highly concentrated alkaline solution.Local calcined kaolinite clay(metakaolin)and corn cob ash obtained after calcination at 600°C were used with a 12 M sodium hydroxide(NaOH)solution.Different mixtures of geopolymer were formulated substituting metakaolin by corn cob ash at rates of 0%,5%,10%,and 15%of the dry weight of the mixture.Thereafter physical and mechanical characterization tests were conducted on each formulation.Results showed that geopolymer binders containing 85%metakaolin and 15%corn cob ash exhibited the best physical and mechanical performance(e.g.12.08 MPa for compression strength).Subsequently,this geopolymer formulation was used to stabilize CEB.Characterization revealed that CEBs stabilized with 10%geopolymer exhibit good mechanical properties(6.93 MPa),comparable to those of CEBs stabilized with 10%cement(7.40 MPa),justifying their use as load-bearing walls in construction.

Fresh Water Demand Minimization in Residential Urban Buildings

In the last decades, there is a lot of discussion in many scientific fields, about the high importance of water as a basic element for the existence and the maintenance of life, aiming to the right and proper usage of water in our everyday basic water-needs due to its limited resources and the growing demand. This research deals with simple ways and technological systems applicable in urban residential buildings for the better management of domestic fresh water, as far as its maintenance and sustainability. Main aim of the survey is the effective minimization of urban daily water usage. All measurements of water quantities have estimated in the imperial gallon （1 gallon = 4.546 liter）, and in liter （1 liter = 0.2 gallon）.

Building Envelopes and Energy

In this paper, for a sustainable building in a Mediterranean climate areas, the relation between envelope and energy is discussed. The relation between envelopes and energy has been considered in all the phases of the life building （construction phase and during operation）. This has been made through global assessment of massive envelopes （with or without insulation） realized with blocks of different materials： natural stone, concrete and brick. For these types of envelope the thermal comfort of the rooms, the energy requirement for cooling and heating, economic and environmental aspects （costs and embodied energy） in the life cycle of the building have been studied.

Design and Management of Building＇s Resources

The developed modem control systems and buildings management resource systems would be effective if they are based on previously established optimal conditions during the building design. This is one of the key issues for a responsible architecture. The focus of this paper is on sustainable design methods and techniques for saving resources and their management throughout the building lifecycle. The main subject of the present article is the characteristics of these methods and their fundamental role in sustainable resource management during the building operation. The results which are based on conducted case studies of European and international practice in the construction of sustainable buildings are implemented here. Key features of a comprehensive approach for design and construction are outlined via comparative analysis, as well as various systems for the evaluation of sustainability for already constructed buildings. The mostly used criteria and indicators for sustainability are systematized, including those related to resource consumption. By analyzing a specific example, the role of sustainable design methods is justified as an important prerequisite for effective management of building resources in the process building maintenance. According to the conducted studies, during the longest life cycle period of a building, by implementation of control systems and resource management of building, the costs are successfully optimized. Specific directions that prove the effectiveness of such systems are systematized in the paper. Innovative approaches, complex methods and measures for design and management of buildings resources are presented as results of this study.

Multiple Institutional Dynamics of Sustainable Housing Concepts in DenmarkOn the Role of Passive Houses

One of the central challenges of sustainable transition is the changing of the buildings. This involves social, cultural,political, and regulatory dynamics. Critically using transition theory conceptualization of a world of dynamics, the paper reviews institutional theory and actor network approaches in an attempt to better account for contemporary developments in Europe, encompassing EU reforms as well as multiple competing concepts. The emergence of ＂passive houses＂ in Denmark is used as a case of transition dynamics. The concept was developed in Germany and imported into Denmark. It is a technological niche, encompassing technologies, players, improvisation, and early customers. Passive houses have entered into fierce competition with other future institutions such as LEED （Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design）, DGNB （German Sustainable Building Council）/green building council, and active houses. Passive houses were at the outset a well-developed upcoming institution with design principles, software, certification and numerous reference buildings, strong enough to be a challenger institution. They are promoted by a characteristic alliance of architects, consulting engineers, a few clients, and an architect school, whereas the other concepts exhibit their specific actor alliances. Yet passive houses experience barriers such as the reputation of being expensive and non-user friendly, and are currently surpassed by the other concepts.

Zero Energy Hotels and Sustainable Mobility in the Islands of Aegean Sea (Greece)

The goal of this work is to evaluate and to give evidence to innovative and sustainable technologies applied in the construction industry to carry out self-sufficient energy and to use the surplus energy for the production of hydrogen vector. An architectural integration design along with high technological systems is performed. The intermittency of renewable energy sources along with climatic conditions dependency imposes to store the energy produced, since it is clean and having a big calorific value: the hydrogen vector is currently the better energy carrier. The energy to obtain hydrogen by dissociation of water is supplied by a photovoltaic (PV) system. Through the computations of the annual energy balance between building’s demand and supply energy, it is shown that the extra energy produced by the solar generation system is used also for the hydrogen sustainable mobility. The renewable systems, model’s design and case study are tackled for the bigger one of the Dodecanese islands in the South Aegean Sea: Rhodes (Rodos). The Zero energy building’s integrative design-based approach, applied to the Hotel Buildings type industry is targeted to have new hotels buildings, in the Mediterranean typical warm climate, with zero energy consumption. The designers, authors of this work, have studied a real case or pilot project of an hotel, in the resort formula, suitable to the Greek landscape, showcasing technologies and innovations supporting environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, use of renewable energy, electricity storage by fuel cells that are tools particularly applicable to hotel facility [1]. The feasibility of this case study or pilot project is aligned jointly to the target of Zero Emission and Energy Efficiency EU Policy, as imposed by EU Directives. The strategic position of Rhodes in a geographical point full of sun and wind renewable energy power, enables to ensure the clean energy production, the current interesting development of the hydrogen as energy vector in the buildings [2] and also to satisfy the demand of tourists’ accommodation by having at the same time zero energy costs. Moreover, the presence in the island of the best example worldwide of ancient and sustainable built environment (UNESCO World Heritage site), represents also the best motivation to give witness there of a zero impact environmental urban development through the adoption of these achieved scientific results for a major success of Zero Energy Buildings.

Hybrid Chiller Plant Optimization Strategies for Hotel Building on Nile River of Egypt

Hybrid chiller plants (HCPs) using multiple chillers and different energy sources are highly recommended in several energy applications in non-residential buildings such as hospitals and hotels. Time of use and cooling load profiles are significant factors that should be carefully considered either in chiller plant design or in chiller sequencing operation. This article aims to present an operation planning of HCP which consists of both electric and non-electric chillers. Four operational strategies are proposed and solved to compare their coefficients of performance and economics of running costs. A typical hotel building located on the Nile river in Egypt is selected to perform the current thermal and economic case study. The total cooling load profile of this hotel building is 4000 refrigeration tonnage (TR), which is simulated to optimize chiller sequence of operation and to select optimal design conditions of both numbers for electric and non-electric chillers used in HCP. The results of this comparative study for running cost are defined using various design configurations with different several chiller sequences available for each configuration. Then, the results of COPs, and operational running cost and initial cost are presented in this article also. The comparison aims to find the optimal design and operational sequencing for HCPs on thermal basis and economic analysis which were attached in this article. Recommendations and suggestions for future work are attached at the end of this article.

Daylighting Strategies： Building＇s Sustainability and Energy Efficiency

Improving daylighting strategy is a mandatory step to achieve visual enjoyment and energy saving in buildings. Psycho, physiological effects and energy performance have to be investigated in order to define a range of different daylighting strategies, thanks to daylighting devices and climate based daylight modeling. Daylighting optimization ensures indoor healthier rooms, reduces electric light consumption and cuts the risk of glare. The best way to achieve these targets is to define users lighting needs, based on visual targets and to draw up some green measures to reduce electricity demands. Involving new climate-based daylight modeling metrics aims at defining proper illumination targets, in order to drastically reduce electrical lights, as well as reducing thermal loads deriving from cooling and HVAC （heating, ventilation and air conditioning） systems.

Adoption of, the Palestine Green Building Design Approach, with the Help of Checklist Tools

Nowadays our world is faced with various environmental problems. These environmental problems are caused by the increasing pollution in the world, increasing production and consumption of material goods. These problems have serious consequences for human health and also have a major impact on natural ecosystems. This paper discussed sustainable green building in terms of key principles for sustainable building, strategies and guidelines for sustainable green building, and steps for an integrated approach to green design. The study also looked at the status of green building and sustainability, as well as green building materials in Palestine. The study suggested a checklist to help assess the condition of buildings in Palestine and the extent to which they respond to the principles of sustainable green buildings, thus, contributing to help new and existing buildings to adopt a sustainable green building approach, in order to achieve the goals of sustainable green construction in terms of saving energy and resources and reducing waste, therefore, participating in preserving the environment and improving the quality of life.

Self-Power Consumption Research with the Thermal Effects and Optical Properties of the HCRI-BIPV Window System

The building integrated photovoltaics （BIPV） application is one of the main study topics in the sustainable building field. In this paper, the high color rendering index （HCRI）-BIPV window system is developed to be used in the indoor environmental control, whose module material has appeared to be effective in improving the visible transmittance and reducing the absorption. This paper describes the performance of grid-connected HCRI-BIPV window system with 0.75 kWp capacity installed in an office building for a natural ventilation solution. The experimental results indicate that accumulative power generation of the HCRI-BIPV window system is 157.60 WKh during the 7-month experiment period. For consideration of each evaluated factors, the HCRI-BIPV window system not only offers the passive energy situation for its power loading but also improves the indoor thermal environment by natural ventilation.

Metamodeling and multicriteria analysis for sustainable and passive residential building refurbishment: A case study of French housing stock

For the energy-related issues that the world is facing nowadays,the renovation of the building stock is one of the major challenges.The objective of this study is to present an approach that helps to develop a multi-criteria decision support tool dedicated to the rehabilitation of sustainable and passive energy housing by integrating heating energy needs,economic,social and environmental criteria throughout the life cycle stages of the building.The methodology consists of developing metamodels to predict heating energy needs from polynomial regression,design of experiments method and thermo-aeraulic simulations of building behavior.This metamodel is used to carry out a combinatorial study of real technical solutions.The methodology was applied to a real-life existing building located in La Rochelle city(France)based on an in-situ energy diagnosis.Three multicriteria analysis methods were studied and compared:weighted sum,Min-Max and Pareto concept.Furthermore,technical constraints as well as owner preferences and performance constraints have been studied.Optimal technical solutions have been obtained in order to meet the various criteria studied.In addition,window shading and natural ventilation have been proposed to reduce the thermal discomfort rate in summer.This study was extended to all French regions.Finally,this method can be transformed into a decision support tool which will be useful for architects,engineers and stockholders.