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The earth-sheltered building is an adaptive strategy reducing energy consumption as well as increasing thermal comfort of the residents. Although this idea historically implemented in the city of Yazd, Iran, its effects on thermal comfort have not been studied thoroughly. This paper aims to discuss and analyze energy performance, in terms of parameters such as orientation, underground depth, nocturnal ventilation and its subsequent effects on thermal comfort in earth-sheltered buildings in Yazd.

Using EnergyPlus software, the obtained numeric data are precisely modeled, simulated and analyzed.

Results show that there is a direct relationship between depth of construction and energy consumption savings. The more construction depth of earth-sheltered buildings, the more percentage of energy consumption savings, that is of a higher rate in comparison to the aboveground ones. However, in south orientation, energy saving significantly reduces from depth of 2 m downwards and the annual indoor temperature fluctuation decreases by 50%. This subsequently yields to experiencing indoor thermal comfort for a significant number of days throughout the year. Considering the effects of orientation factor, the south orientation regardless of the depth provides the most desired outcome regarding energy savings.

Simulating the model generalized to the sunken courtyard can approve that the results of this research can be applied to the other models.

The heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems are responsible for a significant proportion of the energy consumption of the built environment, on which the occupant's pursuit of thermal comfort has a substantial impact. Regarding this concern, current software can assess and visualize the conditions. However; integration of existing technologies and real-time information could enhance the potential of the solution proposals. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore new possibilities of how to upgrade building information modeling (BIM) technology to be interactive; by using existing BIM data during the occupation phase. Moreover, the research discusses the potential of enhancing energy efficiency and comfort maximization together by using the existing BIM database and real-time information concomitantly.

The platform is developed by designing and testing via prototyping method thanks to Internet of things technologies. The algorithm of the prototype uses real-time indoor thermal information and real-time weather information together with user's body temperature. Moreover, the platform processes the thermal values with specific material information from the existing BIM file. The final prototype is tested by a case study model.

The outcome of the study, “Symbiotic Data Platform” is an occupant-operated tool, that has a hardware, software and unique Revit-Dynamo definition that implies to all BIM files.

The paper explains the development of “Symbiotic Data Platform”, which presents an interactive phase for BIM, as creating a possibility to use the existing BIM database and real-time values during the occupation phase, which is operated by the occupants of the building; without requiring any prior knowledge upon any of the BIM software or IoT technology.

This study investigates the impact and economic viability of energy-efficient building envelope and orientation for contributing net zero energy building (NZEB) and suggests optimum thermal insulation thickness, optimum wall thickness, appropriate orientation and glazing types of window in the contexts of unique Bangladeshi subtropical monsoon climate.

The whole study was conducted through energy simulation perspective of an existing office building using building information modeling (BIM) and building energy modeling (BEM) tools which are Autodesk Revit 2017, Autodesk Green Building Studio (GBS) and eQUEST. Numerous simulation patterns were created for energy simulation considering building envelope parameters and orientations. A comprehensive data analysis of simulation results was conducted to sort out efficient passive design strategies.

The optimum thermal mass and thermal insulation thickness are 6.5 and 0.5 inches, respectively, considering energy performance and economic viability. This study highly recommends that a building should be designed with a small window-to-wall ratio in the south and west face. The window should be constructed with double glazing Low-E materials to reduce solar heat gain. The studied building saves 9.14% annual energy consumption by incorporating the suggested passive design strategies of this study.

The output of this work can add some new energy-efficient design strategies to Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) because BNBC has not suggested any codes or regulations regarding energy-efficient passive design strategies. It will also be useful to designers of Bangladesh and other countries with similar subtropical climatic contexts which are located in Southeast Asia and Northern Hemisphere of Earth.

Clothing is subject to a dynamic thermal transport process in its routine service in which the apparel and human body together with environment interact with each other. Understanding of the thermal transfer in this case should take the variations of human body and environment together with clothing attributes into consideration. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Based on the purpose-built dynamic thermal and moisture tester, this study focuses on the thermal transfer of fabrics in different rotational motions. The energy consumption and power of the simulated human skin, the temperature and the thermal retention rate were monitored in the process of rotation of the testing platform with gradually increased rotating speed.

It has been found that the thermal transfer of a rotating fabric is greatly affected by the rotating speed, the angle of the fabric toward the moving direction and the attributes of the fabric such as its thickness, layers, structure and its fiber composition.

This study will benefit the understanding of the dynamic thermal interaction of human with the environment, and the designing of clothing with excellent thermal comfort.

This work reveals the dynamic thermal transfer of fabrics in rotational motions. It provides a platform to study the dynamic thermal behavior of clothing in daily use.

The paper aims to clarify the relationship between energy flexibility and building components and technologies. It determines the energy flexibility potential of buildings in relation to their physical characteristics and heat supply systems with respect to external boundary conditions.

The emphasis of the evaluation is based on the timing and the amount of shiftable and storable thermal loads in buildings under defined indoor thermal comfort conditions. Dynamic building simulation is used to evaluate the potential of selected building characteristics to shift heating loads away from peak demand periods. Insights on the energy flexibility potential of individual technologies are gained by examining the thermal behaviour of single-zone simulation models as different input parameters are varied. For this purpose, parameters such as envelope qualities, construction materials, control systems for heating are modified.

The paper provides a comprehensive understanding of the influence of the different building parameters and their variations on their energy shifting potential under “laboratory conditions” with steady boundaries. It suggests that the investigated boundary conditions such as outside temperature, infiltration, envelope quality and user behaviour, which influence the heating load of a building, also influence the resulting potential for energy flexibility. The findings show that the combination of a slowly reacting heat transfer system, such as concrete core activation and a readily available storage mass in the room, and a high insulation standard proved to have a high potential to shift heating loads.

In this paper, energy-flexible components were evaluated in a steady-state simulation approach. Outside temperature, solar irradiation and internal loads over the simulation duration were set constant over time to provide laboratory conditions for the potential analysis. On the basis of both duration and performance of the load shifting or storage event, the components were then quantified in a parametric simulation. The determined energy flexibility is directly related to the power of the heating, cooling, hot water and ventilation system, which can be switched on or off. In general, it can be seen that high power (high loads) demand usually can be switched on and off for a short duration, and low power demand usually for a longer duration. The investigated boundary conditions such as outside temperature, infiltration, envelope quality and user behaviour, which influence the load of a building, also influence the resulting potential for energy flexibility. Higher insulation standards, for example, lead to lower loads that can be switched on or off, but increase the duration of the event (flexibility time). So that, in particular, the shiftable load potential is low but results in a long switch-off duration. Furthermore, passive storage potential in buildings like the storage mass inside the room and the type of heat/cooling transfer system can affect the flexibility potential by more than three times. Especially the combination of a high storage mass and a concrete core heat transfer system can significantly increase the flexibility.

From the 2000s onward, construction practices of urban residential buildings in China have shown a material transformation from clay brick to aerated concrete block. Moreover, the consumption of insulating materials for buildings has been increasing due to the new requirements in building energy-saving standards. This transformation and the increased consumption of insulating materials might have a vital impact on a building’s thermal comfort and its associated energy flows. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the indoor thermal performance of urban residential buildings built with different materials and further discuss the correlations between indoor thermal comfort and the associated energy input.

This study investigated four residential buildings selected from four residential communities located in the cold climate zone of China. The Integrated Environment Solutions program was used to evaluate the thermal comfort levels and to quantify the operational energy consumption of the case study buildings. Additionally, the University of Bath’s Inventory of Carbon and Energy database was used to estimate the embodied energy consumption and CO₂ emissions.

The study found that materials transition and increasing consumption did not necessarily improve indoor thermal comfort. However, the materials transition has significantly decreased the embodied energy consumption of urban residential buildings. Furthermore, the increased utilization of insulating materials has also decreased the heating and cooling energy consumption. Therefore, overall, the environmental impacts of urban residential buildings have been reduced significantly.

In the future, residential buildings completed in the 1990s will need regular maintenance, such as adding insulation. Residential buildings completed based on the latest energy-saving requirements should optimize their ventilation design, for example, by increasing the ventilation rate and by reducing solar heat gains in the summer.

This paper investigates the effects of the materials change on thermal comfort levels and the environmental impacts of urban residential buildings in the cold climate zone of China, as these have not been the focus of many previous studies.

This paper aims to develop a selective energy optimisation of the photovoltaic–thermal (PV/T) system performance. The PV cell inside the PV/T system could be periodically manipulated to produce domestic hot water without applying an external power supply.

A numerical simulation model of the proposed PV/T model was developed in MATLAB/Simulink to analyse the selective energy optimisation of the model. The extrinsic cell resistance (R_se) is adjusted to control the ratio of thermal to the electrical energy, generated from the PV cell inside the PV/T system. Therefore, the internal heat of the PV cell inside the PV/T system is periodically used as a thermal element to produce electrical power and hot water.

The optimisation of PV/T energy shows that the electrical power efficiency can increase by 11.6% when R_se was 0 Ω, and the 200 L water tank temperature increased by 22ºC when R_se was 50 Ω.

This study showed that the use of the PV cell could be extended to domestic hot water and space heating, and not only for electricity.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze energy performance of the multi-storey buildings built in the city of Tlemcen between 1872 and 2016.

A diagnosis based on a bottom-up methodology, using statistical techniques and engineering, has been developed and applied. To do this, demand condition analysis was conducted using a data collection survey on a sample of 100 case studies. Physical characteristics of the buildings have been determined through the archetype by period. This serves to define the strengths and weaknesses of buildings as energy consumers.

The obtained results showed that dwellings built between 1872 and 1920 offer better energy performance with a consumption index close to 130kWh/m²/year and this compared to the five periods considered. For dwellings built between 1974 and 1989, energy consumption is higher with an index approaching 300kWh/m²/year, thus qualifying the buildings of this period as energy intensive.

A database is established to collect physical information on the existing housing stock and thus allow their classification vis-à-vis of the energy label. This study is part of a research project aimed at evaluating and determining optimal measures for energy rehabilitation of multi-family buildings in Tlemcen. Thermal rehabilitation solutions are proposed using thermal simulations, in the following studies, to improve thermal performance of existing buildings. This study constitutes the first step of a roadmap applicable to other cities constituting climatic zones in Algeria. This helps to enrich the Algerian thermal regulation in thermal rehabilitation of existing residential buildings and conception of new ones, in urban areas with a similar climate.

This paper aims to present a discursive and evaluative analysis of Energy + Illawarra, an Australian Government Low Income Energy Efficiency Program (LIEEP) funded interdisciplinary social marketing energy efficiency programme. Energy + Illawarra was a community programme working with low-income older people in Australia and involving social marketers, human geographers and engineers. The paper aims to identify how ecological systems theory can inform social marketing, and what practicalities there may be in doing so. The paper also aims to assess whether a social marketing programme that draws on ecological systems theory can have a positive impact on people’s thermal comfort.

First, the paper uses critical discursive analysis to examine the use of various elements of a social marketing energy efficiency programme in relation to the different levels of ecological systems theory. Second, a longitudinal cohort survey study design is used to evaluate the programme’s influence on people’s perceptions of thermal comfort and satisfaction with thermal comfort in their homes.

The study found that ecological systems theory could be an effective framework for social marketing programmes. The evaluation study found that the intervention had a positive impact on participant’s perceptions of thermal comfort, satisfaction with thermal comfort and attitudes towards energy efficiency. However, the paper identifies some potential tensions in using ecological systems theory and suggests that issues of power, representation, agenda setting, the need for reflexive practice and consideration of unintended consequences are important considerations in social marketing programmes.

The work presented here suggests that multi-level social marketing programmes that draw on ecological systems theory can make a useful contribution to social change as demonstrated by the evaluation survey finding positive impacts on thermal comfort and attitudes of participants. However, issues of power, representation, agenda setting, the need for reflexive practice and consideration of unintended consequences should be considered in social marketing programmes.

Bilateral project with Slovenia and Turkey with the title thermal energy storage for efficient utilization of solar energy was the basis for this paper. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The paper is the review of solar thermal storage technologies with examples of use in Slovenia and Turkey.

The authors have found out that compact and cost effective thermal energy storage are essential.

Research on the field of thermal energy storage in Slovenia and Turkey is presented.

The paper presents solar systems in Slovenia and Turkey.

The paper gives information about the sustainable energy future on the basis of solar energy.