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Climate change means that buildings must greatly reduce their energy consumption. It is however paradoxical that climate mitigation in Denmark has created negative energy and indoor climate problems in housing that may be made worse by climate change. A literature review has been carried out of housing schemes where climate mitigation was sought through reduced space heating demand, and it is shown that extensive problems with overheating exist. A theoretical study of regulative and design strategies for climate mitigation in new build housing has therefore been carried out, and it is shown that reducing space heating with high levels of thermal insulation and passive solar energy results in overheating and a growing demand for cooling.

Climate change is expected to reduce space heating and increase cooling demand in housing. An analysis of new build housing using passive solar energy as a climate mitigation strategy has therefore been carried out in relation to future climate change scenarios. It is shown that severe indoor comfort problems can occur, questioning the relevance of passive solar energy as a climate mitigation strategy. In conclusion, a theoretical study of the interplay between climate adaptation and mitigation strategies is carried out, with a cross-disciplinary focus on users, passive design and active technologies. It is shown that the cumulative use of these strategies can create an adaptation buffer, thus eliminating problems with overheating and reducing energy consumption. New build housing should therefore be designed in relation to both current and future climate scenarios to show that the climate mitigation strategies ensure climate adaptation.

This study aims to analyze the technical, environmental, economic and thermal comfort impacts of implementing passive measures and heating systems in Ciudad Verde, a large-scale social housing project located at the periphery of Bogota, Colombia.

A system dynamics (SD) model is proposed to evaluate scenarios through counterfactual experiments, including technical, environmental and economic components. Model inputs are obtained from building energy simulation models and data collected from official reports, public policy documents and construction records.

Results suggest that the use of heating systems is the best choice to achieve thermal comfort conditions throughout the day. However, both the capital expenditures and CO₂ emissions associated with such system make their adoption very difficult. In line with that, the use of heating systems in combination with passive measures stands out as a viable solution since their costs are affordable and their use contributes to reducing CO₂ emissions.

The proposed model recreates the dynamics underlying social housing construction processes, the adoption of heating systems and passive measures in low-income dwellings and their corresponding impact on CO₂ emissions and indoor thermal comfort conditions. The model can be employed as a support tool in the formulation of social housing policies associated with thermal comfort specifications. In this way, the model represents a first step toward incorporating thermal-related variables into the decision-making processes related to social housing planning and development.

In recent years, there have been a growing number of projects and initiatives to promote the development and market introduction of low and net-zero energy solar homes and communities. These projects integrate active solar technologies to highly efficient houses to achieve very low levels of net-energy consumption. Although a reduction in the energy use of residential buildings can be achieved by relatively simple individual measures, to achieve very high levels of energy savings on a cost effective basis requires the coherent application of several measures, which together optimise the performance of the complete building system. This article examines the design process used to achieve high levels of energy performance in residential buildings. It examines the current design processes for houses used in a number of international initiatives. The research explores how building designs are optimised within the current design processes and discusses how the application of computerised optimisation techniques would provide architects, home-builders, and engineers with a powerful design tool for low and net-zero energy solar buildings.

The study ' s purpose is to review and discuss limitations of “strategic niche management” (SNM) success factors in relation to the experiences of an enterprise network to improve niche development for integrated design concepts.

The emergence of a successful passive house innovation network in the Flemish Region is described. The innovation journey of the network is related to success factors detected in SNM literature regarding market niche development.

The study identifies additional success factors for systemic innovation, such as involving small- and medium-sized innovators and demonstration projects and using a dedicated regional enterprise network.

The qualitative analysis specifically reflected on SNM success factors such as envisioning, learning, and network composition and formation. The study confirms the importance of these success factors by means of one detailed innovation journey. It identifies additional success factors and discusses opportunities to improve the relation of SNM literature with other seminal fields.

Government seed money is important in providing a breakthrough in enterprise network initiatives. A focus on architectural innovation instead of technology innovation is to be preferred for stimulating integrated design concepts.

The paper addresses the relevance and limitations of SNM success factors during the formation of enterprise networks. The study shows how an integrated design approach was used to cluster innovation opportunities and to inspire innovation development and collaboration for know-how development between multiple players.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the commercial aspect of “green” building construction and whether increased investment costs are profitable taking the reduction in operating costs into account. The investment viability is approached by comparing investment in conventional and “green” residential building, particularly passive houses, using real construction and post‐occupancy conditions.

The key data were obtained by surveys and personal interviews. The first survey was directed to the companies which had experience of building low‐energy housing and the second survey to housing companies that actively manage operation of low‐energy houses.

Findings indicate that low‐energy buildings are considered an interesting and sound business opportunity, and investment analysis indicates that low‐energy houses (particularly passive houses) can be more attractive investments than conventional residential buildings. The long‐term strategy of building low‐energy buildings can give competitive advantages. The government initiative and the construction regulations are found to be necessary in eliminating the initial barrier to energy‐efficient projects and achieving long‐term environmental goals.

This paper provides insights into the investment decisions and contributes to the understanding of the construction, operation and profitability of energy‐efficient residential buildings.

Implementation of the concept of passive solar heating design in dwellings has the potential to reduce energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions at little or no cost to the developer but with real benefit to the occupier. The aim of this paper is to investigate the possible benefits to be gained by the application of passive solar heating concepts to the orientation and fenestration of domestic buildings.

The approach used has been to select a simple domestic building designed to current building regulations and apply to it modifications which embody the principles of passive solar heating design. The anticipated performance of the modified building has then been compared with that of its counterpart of conventional configuration by application of a number of currently available simulation models. This study forms part of the Department of Trade and Industry sponsored Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Coventry University and Kenneth Holmes Associates, Chartered Architects.

It is predicted that by careful selection of orientation of a domestic building and modification of its layout, in order that glazing is strategically located, it is possible to effect significant improvements in energy consumption. There is some variation in the output of the alternative techniques but they present a common overall result.

The solutions are purely predictive and it would be of great value if the outcomes could be evaluated by medium term measurement of the performance of dwellings constructed to the proposed design principles.

The concept under analysis could, at little or no cost, result in reduced energy demand in domestic buildings. In the current environmental climate, even modest improvements should be of considerable interest to designers and developers.

Draws upon alternative approaches to passive solar heating design in dwellings and reaches conclusions based on the application of these different approaches to a real live case study.

The use of fossil fuels in developing countries places increasing economic, health, and environmental costs on the population. In decentralized and rural communities without existing grid systems, direct solar technologies provide the basis for electricity production, for water pumping and hot water, and for heating of houses. Examples and case studies for each of these direct solar technologies are presented which may be directly applicable or potentially modified for rural development in countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which have ample direct solar resources. Related design involving both daylighting and passive cooling are described as part of the incorporation of passive solar heating techniques.

The purpose of this study is to quantify the energy heating performance of apartment buildings in Kosovo built after 2003 and compare it against the energy heating performance of buildings in member states of EU and selected European countries.

This paper takes a case study approach focussed on the assessment of the heating energy performance of the building. This approach facilitated a detailed calculation of the selected materials’ energy performance used in a representative building structure in Kosovo comparing with passive buildings standard and energy heating performance of buildings in member states of EU and selected European countries.

Results of quantitative research find that the energy heating performance of apartment buildings in Kosovo built after 2003 is far higher than that of passive buildings standard and is better than the average annual energy heating performance of apartment buildings in member states of the EU and selected European countries.

The research provides new knowledge regarding energy heating performance in new residential buildings in Kosovo and compares the findings with earlier research and energy consumption in other selected European countries. The research provides great benefits for researchers and practitioners working in the field of energy management as it compares the energy performance of residential buildings across Europe.

This paper provides a perspective on investigating the energy performance of a building structure of a residential apartment building in Prishtina, Kosovo. By unveiling the level of energy consumption of a residential apartment building in Kosovo representative of the new construction period can help the facility managers to acknowledge the standards they must achieve to refurbish the old building stock to achieve at least the same standard as the buildings in the new construction period.

In 2021, a public library in Ontario, Canada established a branch in an affordable housing building. Using interviews with library and support workers who work in the building (n = 8) and an analysis of media that describes the partnership (n = 16), this chapter explores how their partnership may create social infrastructure for tenants. Social scientists have positioned strengthening social infrastructure, a community’s network of systems and spaces that facilitate social relationships, as an antidote to many of society’s most pressing social issues, such as social inequity. An understanding of this partnership, its purpose, and how it intends to serve neighborhood members provides insight into how public libraries and non-profit and community organizations together provide social infrastructure for those living in affordable housing. Strengthening a community’s social infrastructure may be a vital step toward building socially sustainable communities in the twenty-first century.

The aim of this paper is to study and evaluate the situation of different affordable housing projects with an eye toward developing a new affordable and sustainable housing model in the hot-arid climate of Jordan. There is a clear interest in providing affordable housing, yet sustainable and environmental issues are highly marginalized. To bridge this gap, and to meet Jordanian housing needs while tackling environmental problems, this research has analyzed the environmental issues of selected housing projects in Jordan, aiming to determine the existing problems. In addition, it proposes a solution through a sustainable and affordable housing model that was analyzed and compared to the previously studied housing projects.

A cross-sectional design strategy was adopted and a mixed design method was used. Information related to the physical and operation characteristics of buildings was collected through the review of “as built” drawings and other relevant documents. Further information was obtained from field surveys and personal interviews with architects and decision-makers in the housing sector. Energy consumption patterns of these housing projects were analyzed using the DesignBuilder simulation program. Water efficiency was assessed using the BRE Code Water Calculator. Based on the previous analysis, a new housing model was developed that was evaluated in terms of energy and water consumption.

The analysis shows a significant difference among different housing projects in terms of energy cooling and heating loads in different climatic regions in Jordan. Energy analysis proved that the proposed model is energy efficient in different locations and it can save up to 50.4 per cent of annual energy usage in comparison with existing projects. In addition, it can save around 43 per cent of water consumption by using a number of modifications for saving water.

Most of the housing initiatives focus on providing affordable housing, yet sustainable and environmental issues are highly marginalized. This research will bridge the gap by reducing the operation cost of affordable housing through adapting and implementing sustainable measures of design and construction.