San Antonio, Texas is the seventh largest city in the United States with a population of 1.4 million people, and ranked among the fastest growing cities. To assess the implications of past and present building practic...San Antonio, Texas is the seventh largest city in the United States with a population of 1.4 million people, and ranked among the fastest growing cities. To assess the implications of past and present building practices within the residential sector on future energy consumption, the energy utilization of single-family attached homes (SFAH) in Bexar County, Texas is studied. The available dataset includes 3932 SFAH records representing about 33% of the total number of SFAHs within the county. The study is based on pairing and analyzing data at the individual building level from a variety of sources including the buildings’ physical characteristics, access to fuels, and monthly energy consumption. The results indicate that the area of conditioned space, presence of swimming pools, number of stories, presence of fireplaces, fuel-type, and number of shared walls are a significant factor on the energy consumption of single-family attached homes. In terms of energy consumption, all-electric two-story homes sharing two walls are the most energy efficient among SFAHs. This study can aid comprehensive master planning efforts for developing sustainable communities by highlighting key features of SFAHs and making the case for higher density housing as a viable and more energy efficient alternative to single-family detached homes (SFDH).展开更多
Due to different latitudes and variation of altitude in geographical areas in Iran,the climatic conditions of Iran are such that the variations of the heating degree-days(HDD)are in a broad range of 60 to 3000 for res...Due to different latitudes and variation of altitude in geographical areas in Iran,the climatic conditions of Iran are such that the variations of the heating degree-days(HDD)are in a broad range of 60 to 3000 for residential buildings in different climatic regions.In addition,in many cases,the building design and construction processes follow patterns which do not necessarily meet national energy requirements and standards.Based on these two reasons,it is essential to identify the current status of energy consumption indicators in residential buildings.That way,it gets more convenient to adopt new strategies to improve the current state of energy consumption of buildings.In this study,heating energy consumption indices of residential buildings is investigated.Using the combination of the results of statistical data analysis,questionnaires,filled in for 500 buildings,and a reference building simulation in different climates of Iran,the heating atlas of residential buildings was prepared.According to the results,the average heating energy index(HE1)of buildings in Iran can be less than 1 to more than 41.3(m^(3)(N.G)/(m^(2)-yr))depending on climatic conditions and building design and construction quality.However,in the coldest center of province,the average of this index is 26.3(m^(3)(N.G)/(m^(2)-yr))in the hottest one that is equal 2.2.The variations of the thermal base load(supply of hot water)varied from less than 13.12 to more than 378.84(m^(3)(N.G)/(person-yr)).In provincial capitals,the lowest thermal base load index(TBLI)of buildings is 24.78 and the highest is 226.49(m^(3)(N.G)/(person-yr)).In this paper,beside charts and tables,results of heating energy consumption indices are also presented in the form of graphical atlases,i.e.color contour plots,to deliver a better picture of the whole country.展开更多
Like many countries,Canada's building code includes a performance compliance path that compares the energy use of a proposed design to that of a reference house.Today,provinces across Canada are contemplating an a...Like many countries,Canada's building code includes a performance compliance path that compares the energy use of a proposed design to that of a reference house.Today,provinces across Canada are contemplating an alternative absolute energy use intensity approach.However,the effect of adopting the absolute approach on house design is not well understood.This study first developed a proof-of-concept methodology for a technical simulation-based comparison of the two approaches.Then,it performed a comparative analysis between the design outcomes of the two approaches using the developed methodology.To this end,statistically representative archetypes were configured to comply with the prescriptive requirements of the building code.Key characteristics of each archetype were then varied through parametric study,and the resulting energy performance under the absolute and comparative approaches were analyzed.The results of this study indicated that the two approaches had different effects on the design and energy use of houses in heating-dominated climate zones.Houses performing better under the absolute approach consumed less energy and exhibited more compact architectural form.These houses were also less sensitive to improvements in airtightness and envelope than houses performing better under the comparative approach.The results suggest that adopting the absolute approach based on the energy use intensity metric in building codes would encourage design and construction of houses with higher energy efficiency.展开更多
文摘San Antonio, Texas is the seventh largest city in the United States with a population of 1.4 million people, and ranked among the fastest growing cities. To assess the implications of past and present building practices within the residential sector on future energy consumption, the energy utilization of single-family attached homes (SFAH) in Bexar County, Texas is studied. The available dataset includes 3932 SFAH records representing about 33% of the total number of SFAHs within the county. The study is based on pairing and analyzing data at the individual building level from a variety of sources including the buildings’ physical characteristics, access to fuels, and monthly energy consumption. The results indicate that the area of conditioned space, presence of swimming pools, number of stories, presence of fireplaces, fuel-type, and number of shared walls are a significant factor on the energy consumption of single-family attached homes. In terms of energy consumption, all-electric two-story homes sharing two walls are the most energy efficient among SFAHs. This study can aid comprehensive master planning efforts for developing sustainable communities by highlighting key features of SFAHs and making the case for higher density housing as a viable and more energy efficient alternative to single-family detached homes (SFDH).
文摘Due to different latitudes and variation of altitude in geographical areas in Iran,the climatic conditions of Iran are such that the variations of the heating degree-days(HDD)are in a broad range of 60 to 3000 for residential buildings in different climatic regions.In addition,in many cases,the building design and construction processes follow patterns which do not necessarily meet national energy requirements and standards.Based on these two reasons,it is essential to identify the current status of energy consumption indicators in residential buildings.That way,it gets more convenient to adopt new strategies to improve the current state of energy consumption of buildings.In this study,heating energy consumption indices of residential buildings is investigated.Using the combination of the results of statistical data analysis,questionnaires,filled in for 500 buildings,and a reference building simulation in different climates of Iran,the heating atlas of residential buildings was prepared.According to the results,the average heating energy index(HE1)of buildings in Iran can be less than 1 to more than 41.3(m^(3)(N.G)/(m^(2)-yr))depending on climatic conditions and building design and construction quality.However,in the coldest center of province,the average of this index is 26.3(m^(3)(N.G)/(m^(2)-yr))in the hottest one that is equal 2.2.The variations of the thermal base load(supply of hot water)varied from less than 13.12 to more than 378.84(m^(3)(N.G)/(person-yr)).In provincial capitals,the lowest thermal base load index(TBLI)of buildings is 24.78 and the highest is 226.49(m^(3)(N.G)/(person-yr)).In this paper,beside charts and tables,results of heating energy consumption indices are also presented in the form of graphical atlases,i.e.color contour plots,to deliver a better picture of the whole country.
基金Funding for this study was provided by Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Research and Development(OERD)under the Green Infrastructure program.
文摘Like many countries,Canada's building code includes a performance compliance path that compares the energy use of a proposed design to that of a reference house.Today,provinces across Canada are contemplating an alternative absolute energy use intensity approach.However,the effect of adopting the absolute approach on house design is not well understood.This study first developed a proof-of-concept methodology for a technical simulation-based comparison of the two approaches.Then,it performed a comparative analysis between the design outcomes of the two approaches using the developed methodology.To this end,statistically representative archetypes were configured to comply with the prescriptive requirements of the building code.Key characteristics of each archetype were then varied through parametric study,and the resulting energy performance under the absolute and comparative approaches were analyzed.The results of this study indicated that the two approaches had different effects on the design and energy use of houses in heating-dominated climate zones.Houses performing better under the absolute approach consumed less energy and exhibited more compact architectural form.These houses were also less sensitive to improvements in airtightness and envelope than houses performing better under the comparative approach.The results suggest that adopting the absolute approach based on the energy use intensity metric in building codes would encourage design and construction of houses with higher energy efficiency.
