Search results

Energy use in buildings needs to be reduced to meet political goals; however, reducing energy use can conflict with heritage preservation objectives. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a method that combines quantitative and qualitative analyses of the potential of energy savings in an historic building stock. Specifically, this study examines how requirements of historic building preservation affect the energy saving potential on a building stock level.

Using the World Heritage Town of Visby, Sweden as a case study, this paper illustrates a step-by-step method as a basis for implementing energy savings techniques in an historic building stock. The method contains the following steps: categorisation of a building stock, definition of restriction levels for energy renovation scenarios and life cycle costs optimisation of energy measures in archetype buildings representing the building stock. Finally, this study analyses how different energy renovation strategies will impact heritage values and energy saving potentials for different categories of buildings.

The outcome of the study is twofold: first, the method has been tested and proven useful and second, the results from the application of the method have been used to formulate differentiated energy renovation strategies for the case study.

The study shows that it is possible to integrate techno-economic analysis with assessment of heritage values in a given building stock in order to facilitate a strategic discussion balancing policies and targets for energy savings with policies for the preservation of heritage values. The findings will contribute to sounder policy development and planning for historic building stocks.

This paper aims to develop a forecasting tool for the automatic assessment of both environmental and economic benefits resulting from low-carbon investments in the real estate sector, especially when applied in large building stocks. A set of four artificial neural networks (NNs) is created to provide a fast and reliable estimate of the energy consumption in buildings due to heating, hot water, cooling and electricity, depending on some specific buildings’ characteristics, such as geometry, orientation, climate or technologies.

The assessment of the building’s energy demand is performed comparing the as-is status (pre-retrofit) against the design option (post-retrofit). The authors associate with the retrofit investment the energy saved per year, and the net monetary saving obtained over the whole cost after a predetermined timeframe. The authors used a NN approach, which is able to forecast the buildings’ energy demand due to heating, hot water, cooling and electricity, both in the as-is and in the design stages. The design stage is the result of a multiple attribute optimization process.

The approach here developed offers the opportunity to manage energy retrofit interventions on wide property portfolios, where it is necessary to handle simultaneously a large number of buildings without it being technically feasible to achieve a very detailed level of analysis for every property of a large portfolio.

Among the major accomplishments of this research, there is the creation of a methodology that is not excessively data demanding: the collection of data for building energy simulations is, in fact, extremely time-consuming and expensive, and this NN model may help in overcoming this problem. Another important result achieved in this study is the flexibility of the model developed. The case study the authors analysed was referred to one specific stock, but the results obtained have a more widespread importance because it ends up being only a matter of input-data entering, while the model is perfectly exportable in other contexts.

While most efforts to combat climate change are focussed on energy efficiency and substitution of fossil fuels, growth in the built environment remains largely unquestioned. Given the current climate emergency and increasing scarcity of global resources, it is imperative that we address this “blind spot” by finding ways to support required services with less resource consumption.

There is now long overdue recognition to greenhouse gas emissions “embodied” in the production of building materials and construction, and its importance in reaching targets of net zero carbon by 2050. However, there is a widespread belief that we can continue to “build big”, provided we incorporate energy saving measures and select “low carbon materials” – ignoring the fact that excessive volume and area of buildings may outweigh any carbon savings. This is especially the case with commercial real estate.

As the inception and planning phases of projects offer most potential for reduction in both operational and embodied carbon, we must turn our attention to previously overlooked options such as “build nothing” or “build less”. This involves challenging the root cause of the need, exploring alternative approaches to meet desired outcomes, and maximising the use of existing assets. If new build is required, this should be designed for adaptability, with increased stewardship, so the building stock of the future will be a more valuable and useable resource.

This points to the need for increased understanding and application of the principles of strategic asset management, hitherto largely ignored in sustainability circles, which emphasize a close alignment of assets with the services they support.

Arguably, as the built environment consumes more material resources and energy than any other sector, its future configuration may be critical to the future of people and the planet. In this regard, this paper seeks to break new ground for deeper exploration.

Explains that, in the past, most building evaluation efforts have focused on the detailed analysis of single buildings and their specific occupancy patterns. However, detailed and exhaustive studies may not be feasible for large‐scale and time‐constrained building evaluations in the case of organizations such as government agencies and major industrial corporations. In order to play a critical role in the organizational strategy, facility decisions not only need to be efficient but also should be closely aligned with the strategic focus of the organization. Proposes a “progressive resolution method” as an effective decision support method for the rapid classification and selection of buildings for organizations with a large building stock.

The purpose of paper is to provide students with a sorting methodology to select securities and build portfolios.

This paper uses various accounting variables for all firms in the S&P 500, sorted by sector. The fundamental metrics are converted into standardized Z‐scores and then combined into a single score used to rank individual firms within each industry. Equity portfolios are then constructed using the aggregate Z‐scores.

In the authors' experience with student‐managed investment funds (SMIFs), students at the start of the course consistently ask how to begin selecting securities or seek to learn a new model for selecting securities. Discussions on stock selection are helpful to engage students in this area, but an attempt is made to further this by providing a comprehensive stock‐selection exercise to help students better understand how to appropriately pick stocks and create a portfolio.

In this exercise, students are reminded of the limitations surrounding the stock‐screening process and are provided with an alternative, more robust method for selecting securities that is commonly utilized by investment professionals. While the exercise described in this paper is done in reference to SMIFs, it is equally applicable to standard investment courses.

This paper provides an exercise which provides students a way to dive deeper into stock selection through stock sorting. Stock selection is typically a hot topic for most students in finance courses. Stock screens may permit a search on multiple variables simultaneously but typically do not allow for applying specific weights to each metric. A sorting method, avoids these issues by permitting the user to create custom variables, affords the opportunity to view all of the variables used in the screening process simultaneously, and includes the option to apply specific weights to each variable.

With pressing issues of climate change, greening buildings have emerged as a viable solution for meeting the increasing demand for buildings with minimal environmental impacts. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to establish the possibility of achieving this goal by investigating the drivers, challenges, and critical success factors (CSFs) involved in greening existing buildings. Since most of the relevant literature focuses on only acknowledging CSFs for new building projects in general, this study seeks to distinguish CSFs that are particularly related to the greening of existing buildings.

Based on a review of past literature, 28 selected factors were identified and were categorised into five main groups, namely pre-project-related factors, project management-related factors, client-related factors, project team-related factors, and external factors. Because older buildings have more constraints than new buildings, a comparison of the CSFs for greening new and existing buildings was also made. Surveys and interviews were conducted to validate the CSFs identified.

The top CSFs in each building category (new vs existing) were then further examined and analysed. These are “top management support”, “effective planning and control”, “building owner's involvement”, “cost management”, “responsiveness of building owners”, “clear scope and priorities of stakeholders”, and “legislation”. Furthermore, there was a strong consensus on the rankings of most factors between new and existing buildings.

By understanding the factors that are crucial for managing and delivering successful green projects in the Singaporean context, these CSFs can be used to direct an organisation's efforts in identifying critical issues and tackling them to achieve high performance.

An ambitious goal of greening 80 per cent of Singapore's building stocks has been set by the government in the Second Green Building Master Plan. To help achieve this goal, this study contributes to the knowledge of project management issues that would determine the success of managing new green building projects and retrofitting existing ones.

The building sector contributes one-third of the energy-related carbon dioxide globally. Therefore, framing appropriate energy-related policies for the next decades becomes essential in this scenario to realize the global net-zero goals. The purpose of the proposed study is to evaluate the impact of the widespread adoption of such guidelines in a building community in the context of mixed-mode buildings.

This study decentralizes the theme of improving the energy efficiency of the national building stock in parcels by proposing a community-based hybrid bottom-up modelling approach using urban building energy modelling (UBEM) techniques to analyze the effectiveness of the community-wide implementation of energy conservation guidelines.

In this study, the UBEM is developed and validated for the 14-building residential community in Mumbai, India, adopting the framework. Employing Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) compliance on the UBEM shows an energy use reduction potential of up to 15%. The results also reveal that ECBC compliance is more advantageous considering the effects of climate change.

In developing countries where the availability of existing building stock information is minimal, the proposed study formulates a holistic framework for developing a detailed UBEM for the residential building stock from scratch. A unique method of assessing the actual cooling load of the developed UBEM is presented. A thorough sensitivity analysis approach to investigate the effect of cooling space fraction on the energy consumption of the building stock is presented, which would assist in choosing the appropriate retrofit strategies. The proposed study's outcomes can significantly transform the formulation and validation of appropriate energy policies.

Introduces an outline methodology for facilities management to handle the new corporate polytechnics′ building stocks. Reviews the context of the incorporation of polytechnics and the implications for their building stocks. Defines facilities objectives and mechanisms for proactive facilities management. Considers the role of design and institutional restructuring. Suggests that automated systems will enhance facilities management. Finally, concludes that facilities management will be one means of balancing the existing mismatch between supply and demand for space in the new polytechnics.

The case for stock reduction in manufacturing has been argued by engineers who emphasise the productive benefits. Western management accounting does not provide an adequate indication of the costs of holding stock. This article constructs a framework for identifying and measuring the financial benefits of stock reduction. Within this framework, the financial benefits of stock reduction in Japanese manufacturing in the 1960s are estimated and the productive preconditions for successful stock reduction are identified. The case of British manufacturing where stock levels have not been reduced is considered. Financial savings from stock reduction cannot be realised in Britain because the productive preconditions are not satisfied when output growth is slow and management has poor control over the production process.

The purpose of this paper is to present information on the construction technology used to build Dublin City Council’s (DCC’s) housing stock, with an emphasis on wall construction.

The methodology applied was a mix of literature review and archival research. The research was undertaken as part of PhD research exploring the energy upgrade of a housing stock.

The research uncovered details of the construction technology used in the construction of DCC’s housing stock, especially wall construction. These details disprove perceptions and assumptions made on the evolution of construction technology in Dublin and Ireland.

The research is limited in that it primarily focused on the period between 1887 to the introduction of the 1991 Building Regulations. Further research is required on both DCC’s housing stock and the Irish housing stock to identify the specific changes in construction technology.

It is hoped this research will be a foundation for further research on the evolution of house construction technology, and housing stock asset intelligence in Ireland.

This research provides information for researchers and professionals with an interest in the evolution of Irish house construction technology. This is an area which has not received significant attention in Irish built-environment research.