Vol 2 No 2 (2023)

• MEMS Smart Glass for Personalized Lighting and Energy Management in Buildings Working Principles, Characterization, Active Light Steering, Thermal Management, Energy Saving, Amortization Time of Invest Considering Different Locations on Earth, Comparison of Different Smart Glass Technologies

  Hartmut Hillmer, Dennis Loeber, Md Kamrul Hasan, Steffen Liebermann, Mustaqim Siddi Que Iskhandar, Shilby Baby, Shujie Liu, Basma Elsaka, Jiahao Chen, Muhammad Hasnain Qasim, Guilin Xu, Naureen Ahmed, Eslam Farrag

  A detailed quantitative overview on different MEMS smart glass technologies and smart glass technologies in general is given. Our MEMS smart glass is focused next, based on millions of miniaturized planar mirrors. Installed in windows or building facades, it allows personalized daylight steering as well as thermal and energy management in buildings via electrostatic actuation, strongly supports health and has a large potential for reducing CO₂ emissions and energy consumption of buildings, noticeably. Various results of experimental characterizations and reliability studies are summarized. Simulations of light steering are reported for different use cases involving tailored variable tilt angles of the mirrors. Ray tracing is used to visualize light steering and distribution in a model room, showing that our MEMS smart glass can generate high illuminance where necessary in workspaces. Finally, simulations of energy savings, and amortization times are presented using hourly resolved real weather data over up to 10 years, varying cloud coverage, daytime and seasonal varying irradiance via varying sun orbit, respective geo coordinates of different locations, energy price and others. Simulation results are depicted for four German and two international cities, varying in latitude and elevation.  Huge energy saving potential of our MEMS smart glass and amortization of investment in MEMS smart glass within less than five years in the best case is reported compared to conventional window blind systems.

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• Effect of Air Pollution on Human Health

  Boğan Mustafa

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• Embracing the Metaverse: Towards the Construction of a Sustainable Future

  Trickett Terry

  A proposed development by the City of London, at London Wall West, illustrates the intractable problems that can occur for a city seeking post-pandemic renewal whilst, at the same time, aiming to lead the way towards constructing a sustainable future. Current forecasts by the UN paint a gloomy picture of progress so far in meeting defined targets for combating climate change, with particular stress laid on the failure of cities to address their huge toll in generating CO2 and GHG emissions. The way city policy makers of East Asia already have engaged with virtual reality (VR), as an ‘all or nothing’ approach  to digital transformation, offers a glimpse of how to proceed elsewhere - although, a similar policy, if applied in the West, will require that we adopt a 50/50 approach, partially physical, partly virtual, where people have choice on how much time they spend as an avatar in a metaverse. Success in developing an ecosystem of metaverses will depend on designers adopting a behavioral approach to constructing the virtual world; lessons from the past teach us that, as in the physical world, people’s well-being in the metaverse will demand that we pay close attention to their environmental and psychological needs to ensure that a virtual life can be as fulfilling as life outside in the physical world. If all this can be achieved technologically, the resulting lifestyle changes, together with a requirement for less physical construction, give promise that we can get back on track in meeting the Paris Agreement target. By encompassing a radical policy of ‘Building Less is More’, cities, worldwide, will find a new route to zero carbon.

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• Proposal for the assessment of thermal indoor climate based on the thermal acceptability, in addition to the thermal (dis)satisfied.

  Paul Roelofsen, Peter Vink

  For the sake of energy and cost savings, it is sometimes necessary to maintain the indoor climate in a room at conditions that deviate from optimal thermal comfort. More important than thermal sensation is how a change in conditions will affect the thermal acceptability of a space and whether the percentage of people who are (dis)satisfied with the environment will change with regard of the acceptability. The aim of this technical note and arithmetic study is to find out to what extent the thermal indoor climate can be assessed on the basis of thermal acceptability, in addition to the thermal (dis)satisfied, by making use of research that has already been carried out. In addition to the relationship between the percentage of (dis)satisfied and acceptability, attention is paid to how this result relates to current Dutch government building regulations. The paper concerns a proposal for the assessment of thermal indoor climate based on the thermal acceptability, in addition to the thermal (dis)satisfied.

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• Development of a BIM Implementation Roadmap: The Case of Iran

  Foad Zahedi, Hongtao Dang, Javad Majrouhi Sardroud

  High expectations from employers and complex communication between stakeholders in the construction industry, resulted in fundamental changes during the design and construction process. Excellence in communication and coordination is required between stakeholders and automated interdisciplinary change management to meet needs and expectations in the construction industry. Building Information Modeling (BIM) offers numerous benefits, including reducing construction time, cost, and risk while improving project quality, communication, and coordination. However, there are still significant barriers to BIM implementation. Since Iran is in the early stages of BIM implementation, a roadmap for adopting BIM in Iran's construction industry is designed for the first time to exploit BIM benefits in this paper. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with professionals to structure the roadmap. In addition, online interviews were carried out with 16 experts. Furthermore, a Delphi-based approach was employed to reach consensus. The roadmap consists of six main pillars with 53 activities designed to create a matured BIM plan based on local culture and needs. And the roadmap begins with assigning a strong leadership to lead the process. The industry is expected to be motivated to adopt BIM as it learns the benefits associated with BIM. Then, it continues with developing related best practices, rules and regulations. In the third stage, the roadmap encourages the industry to provide the required education and training. In the next pillar, the roadmap follows the establishment and development by defining a contractual platform. In the fifth pillar, the quality of BIM and its results will be measured and compared with expectations and pre-defined goals. Eventually, the government will provide a continuous BIM implementation. The study is expected to facilitate BIM implementation in the Iran construction industry which will improve the quality of Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) practices. It will help to culminate tangible and intangible project deliverable by reducing time, cost, risks and improving overall quality. Therefore, all stakeholders satisfy the final outcome beside resolving conflicts and interferences.

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• A Statistical Analysis of the Energy Performance Characteristics for the Residential Building Stock in Jordan

  Reham Alasmar, Yair Schwartz, Esfandiar Burman

  The residential sector is responsible for the consumption of 46% of the building’s total primary energy consumption in Jordan. The Jordanian housing stock will need to be significantly improved to meet the government’s commitment to reduce national emissions by 2050. This research aims to examine the available statistical data on residential buildings, to help better understand the current state of housing stock in Jordan and pave the way to generate a national housing stock model, as well as to identify opportunities in improving the energy efficiency of these buildings.

  The study synthesised data from the Department of Statistics housing survey and the Jordan Green Building Council survey to investigate the Jordanian national housing stock. The aggregated data was examined using a descriptive statistical analysis method. The data was then merged to provide aggregated datasets with detailed building characteristics.

  The study successfully characterized residential buildings archetypes and identified a range of typical thermal performance-related building characteristics (e.g., envelope properties, HVAC systems, lighting systems, etc.). The findings of the statistical analysis can be useful for policymakers in Jordan to gain insights into the current state of the housing stock, identify trends and patterns, and make informed decisions and initiatives such as the improvement of regulatory building code requirements for energy efficiency.

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• Energy Consumption and Thermal Comfort Investigation and Retrofitting Strategies for an Educational Building: Case Study in a Temperate Climate Zone

  Cihan Turhan, Sanarya Ghazi

  In terms of global sustainable development, buildings are one of the largest energy consumers. Although technology advancements actively assist in constructing environmentally friendly buildings, educational buildings still consume a large amount of energy. On the other hand, establishing high-quality school structures is vital to give a high-quality education to future generations. Thermally comfortable zones aids physical and mental well-being of students. To this aim, this study considers to evaluate the possibility of improving energy efficiency and thermal comfort in educational buildings by making minor changes to the architecture rather than reconstructing. As a case study, a university building in a temperate climate zone is selected. Seven different retrofitting strategies including changing the window and frame types, adding a Trombe wall, replacing insulation materials, adding solar collectors, decreasing set temperature and airtightness and modification on lighting system are simulated in a dynamic building energy simulation tool. The results showed that adding rock wool insulating material reduced student discomfort hours by 17%. Furthermore, using a solar collector was the most expensive choice.

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• Thermo-Physical study of Biochar Mixture into The Cement Based Material for Thermal Comfort

  Srinivasarao Naik Bhanavath, ANKIT GAUR, Rachit Agarwal, Sini Kushwah, Ashish Pippal, Rajesh Kumar

  The cement-based materials have significant thermal properties which play a potential role in heat dissipation into the buildings. To improve thermal properties, particularly thermal conductivity, advanced materials such as phase change materials, vacuum insulation panels, and highly porous materials are employed. In this study, a biochar mixture was introduced in cementitious materials for thermal property enhancement. The biochar was prepared from the mixture of 10 wt% rice husk and 90 wt% sawdust in the absence of oxygen with the aid of muffle furnace at a temperature of 550 ℃ for 2 hours at a rate of 10 ℃/min. The biochar dosages such as 3 wt%, 5 wt%, and 10 wt% were added with the replacement of cement in a cement paste. After 7 and 28 d, porosity, flexural strength, compressive strength, density, water absorption, and thermal conductivity were determined. The mechanical properties of samples were increased with 3 wt% biochar replacement with the cement and then decreased with 5 wt% and 10 wt%. The thermal conductivity of samples was decreased by 19–26.4% and 20.16–8.5% at 7 and 28 d respectively. The substitution of 3 wt% of biochar performed well in comparison to the control sample. Reduction of thermal conductivity of biochar-incorporated cementitious materials may be beneficial in situations where heat resistance is required due to its porous nature.

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