Natural ventilation systems in 21st-century for near zero energy school buildings

Gil-Báez, Maite; Padura, Ángela Barrios; Molina-Huelva, Marta; Chacartegui, Ricardo

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2017.05.188

Cited by 90 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Indoor air quality and energy saving of existing buildings are often considered as incompatible goals [1,2]. Nonetheless, the introduction of the new regulation on the performance of buildings [3], i.e., the introduction of nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs) as the new building target [4,5], will force the building sector to handle simultaneously the heat losses and the air quality issues, since ventilation approaches not properly designed will likely not fulfill the limitation on energy need for space heating typical of the NZEBs [6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Ventilation Strategies on Indoor Air Quality and Energy Consumptions in Classrooms

et al. 2019

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Most of the school buildings in Italy are high energy-demanding buildings with no ad-hoc ventilation systems (i.e., naturally-ventilated buildings). Therefore, reducing the heat losses of schools represent the main aspect to be dealt with. Nonetheless, the indoor air quality of the building should be simultaneously considered. Indeed, to date, energy consumptions and air quality are considered as incompatible aspects especially in naturally-ventilated buildings. The aim of the present paper is to evaluate the effect of different ventilation and airing strategies on both indoor air quality and energy consumptions in high energy-demanding naturally-ventilated classrooms. To this purpose, an Italian test-classroom, characterized in terms of air permeability and thermophysical parameters of the envelope, was investigated by means of experimental analyses and simulations through CO2 mass balance equation during the heating season. The air quality was assessed in terms of indoor CO2 concentrations whereas the energy consumptions were evaluated through the asset rating approach. Results clearly report that not adequate indoor CO2 concentrations are measured in the classroom for free-running ventilation scenarios even in low densely populated conditions (2.2 m2 person−1), whereas scheduled airing procedures can reduce the indoor CO2 levels at the cost of higher energy need for ventilation. In particular, when airing periods leading to the air exchange rate required by standards are adopted, the CO2 concentration can decrease to values lower than 1000 ppm, but the ventilation losses increase up to 36% of the overall energy need for space heating of the classroom. On the contrary, when the same air exchange rate is applied through mechanical ventilation systems equipped with heat recovery units, the ventilation energy loss contribution decreases to 5% and the overall energy saving results higher than 30%. Such energy-saving was found even higher for occupancy scenarios characterized by more densely populated conditions of the classroom typically occurring in Italian classrooms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Ventilation Strategies on Indoor Air Quality and Energy Consumptions in Classrooms

et al. 2019

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“…Several attempts have been made to conduct on-site standardized academic or physical tests, such as cognitive tests, spirometry tests, memory tests, and mathematics and reading tests, to evaluate how IEQ elements affect learning performance in elementary and middle school classrooms or productivity in offices [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Since ventilation is a critical parameter for indoor environmental performance, most research used experimental, modeling or field-testing methods to examine natural ventilation or natural ventilation combined with a simple fan system to observe the impacts of outdoor environmental parameters on IEQ [25,31,[42][43][44][45][46]. Mechanical systems are another prevailing ventilation method, especially in non-mild climate zones or noisy or polluted regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor Environmental Quality Evaluation of Lecture Classrooms in an Institutional Building in a Cold Climate

2019

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In this paper, ventilation, indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal and acoustic conditions, and lighting were studied to evaluate the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in an institutional building at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. This study examined IEQ parameters, including pressure, illuminance, acoustics, carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, temperature, and humidity, with appropriate monitors allocated during a lecture (duration 50 min or 80 min) in four lecture classrooms repeatedly (N = 99) from October 2018 to March 2019 with the objectives of providing a comprehensive analysis of interactions between IEQ parameters. The classroom environments were maintained at 23 ± 1 °C and 33% ± 3% RH during two-season measurements. Indoor mean CO2 concentrations were 550–1055 ppm, and a mean sound level of 58 ± 3 dBA was observed. The air change rates were configured at 1.3–6.5 per hour based on continuous CO2 measurements and occupant loads in the lectures. A variance analysis indicated that the within-lecture classroom variations in most IEQ parameters exceeded between-lecture classrooms. A multilayer artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed on the basis of feedforward networks with a backpropagation algorithm. ANN results demonstrated the importance of the sequence of covariates on indoor conditions (temperature, RH, and CO2 level): Air change rate (ACR) > room operations (occupant number and light system) > outdoor conditions.

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“…Efforts for improving the energy efficiency of a building's full lifecycle have been targeted in two main directions: one is the upgrade of envelope elements (e.g., façade [94], windows [95], roofs [96], etc. ), and the other is the improvement of applied facilities (e.g., heating, cooling [97], ventilation [98] and lighting [99]). The building envelope, which is another responsible architectural component of energy-saving efficiency in buildings, may also significantly impact their thermal comfort [100] and energy balance [101].…”

Section: Building Energy Savingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances in Technology, Strategy and Application of Sustainable Energy Systems

et al. 2020

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The global COVID-19 pandemic has had strong impacts on national and international freight, construction and tourism industry, supply chains, and has resulted in a rapid decline in the demand for traditional energy sources. In fact, research has outlined that urban areas depend on global supply chains for their day-to-day basic functions, including energy supplies, food and safe access to potable water. The disruption of global supply chains can leave many urban areas in a very vulnerable position, in which their citizens may struggle to obtain their basic supplies, as the COVID-19 crisis has recently shown. Therefore, solutions aiming to enhance local food, water and energy production systems, even in urban environments, have to be pursued. The COVID-19 crisis has also highlighted in the scientific community the problem of people’s exposure to outdoor and indoor pollution, confirmed as a key element for the increase both in the transmission and severity of the contagion, on top of involving health risks on their own. In this context, most nations are going to adopt new preferential policies to stimulate the development of relevant sustainable energy industries, based on the electrification of the systems supplied by renewable energy sources as confirmed by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Thus, while there is ongoing research focusing on a COVID 19 vaccine, there is also a need for researchers to work cooperatively on novel strategies for world economic recovery incorporating renewable energy policy, technology and management. In this framework, the Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) conference provides a good platform for researchers and other experts to exchange their academic thoughts, promoting the development and improvements on the renewable energy technologies as well as their role in systems and in the transition towards sustainable energy systems. The 14th SDEWES Conference was held in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It brought together around 570 researchers from 55 countries in the field of sustainable development. The present Special Issue of Energies, specifically dedicated to the 14th SDEWES Conference, focuses on four main fields: energy policy for sustainable development, biomass energy application, building energy saving, and power plant and electric systems.

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Natural ventilation systems in 21st-century for near zero energy school buildings

Cited by 90 publications

References 28 publications

The Effect of Ventilation Strategies on Indoor Air Quality and Energy Consumptions in Classrooms

The Effect of Ventilation Strategies on Indoor Air Quality and Energy Consumptions in Classrooms

Indoor Environmental Quality Evaluation of Lecture Classrooms in an Institutional Building in a Cold Climate

Recent Advances in Technology, Strategy and Application of Sustainable Energy Systems

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