Commercial Buildings Research Articles

Resharing spaces, services and mobility: Developing a reshareability index for sustainable planning in Oslo

Recent studies on sharing cities and sharing economies have focused on what can be (or is being) shared, such as public spaces, food, mobility, ideas, knowledge, governance strategies, as well as community facilities, such as places for working, education and welfare. Following this emerging trend of sharing, this paper explores the novel approach of resharing, that aims to support, amongst other things, the integration of mobility sharing and different forms of space sharing in residential, office and commercial buildings. Firstly, the study presents a novel theoretical and conceptual approach to (re)sharing, and secondly, it reports on an empirical analysis conducted in the urban district of Hovinbyen in Oslo, using the sub-districts of Løren and Økern as the two main cases. The study analyzes existing preconditions for reshareability and suggests an index of reshareability to guide future developments. Løren is, to some extent, better equipped than Økern to apply the resharing approach, and can thus become a place for further experimentation with local communities and stakeholders. The study contributes to understanding and assessing the reshared qualities and characteristics of city neighborhoods, which can provide a foundation for developing planning strategies to make local neighborhoods more ‘sharing oriented’ or ‘reshareable’.

Unveiling overlooked aspects of model predictive control for building air conditioning systems

The ongoing research on model predictive control (MPC) for building air conditioning systems predominantly centers on improving the predictive capabilities of system models. In this paper, the impacts of three additional pivotal factors on MPC performance are assessed by examining a generic MPC design for a typical variable air volume (VAV) system that serves large commercial buildings. The three factors encompass the nuanced reformulation of optimization, the judicious relaxation of constraints, and the meticulous tuning of parameters. Detailed case studies with an integrated Modelica and EnergyPlus model of the US Department of Energy's Commercial Reference Building are conducted. The results confirm that the optimization formulation, along with relaxation methods, significantly affects MPC performance in terms of energy savings, zonal thermal comfort level, and computational demand. They also reveal that the impact of the MPC control parameters on the energy savings and thermal comfort may vary by season and can be non-monotonic.

Effluent quality and reuse potential of wastewater treated in constructed wetlands in Southern Brazil

ABSTRACT The main objective of this study was to evaluate the quality and reuse potential of treated effluents by constructed wetlands (CW) systems utilized for decentralized wastewater treatment in urban and rural scenarios in southern Brazil. The assessment, based on Brazilian discharge standards and wastewater reuse guidelines, revealed a close link between treatment efficiency and technological configurations, considering diverse inlet wastewater sources. Most CW treated effluents complied with regulatory standards for disposal, prompting the exploration of reuse scenarios in urban and agricultural settings. However, the study underscores the imperative for rigorous disinfection due to the limited microbiological removal capacity of CW. Overall, the research emphasizes the adaptability and resilience of CW in treating diverse wastewater compositions, highlighting their pivotal role in advancing circular economy principles within sanitation services. Importantly, the findings suggest significant potential for treated wastewater reuse in both urban and agricultural settings. Urban applications, including toilet flushing, floor washing, and garden irrigation, prove feasible for CW systems situated in residential and commercial buildings. Meanwhile, rural CW systems demonstrate suitability for reclaimed water directed toward crop fertigation, tailored to the specific needs and irrigation methods of various crops.

Influence of Thermal Comfort on Energy Consumption for Building Occupants: The Current State of the Art

Thermal comfort is a complex issue in the built environment due to the physiological and psychological differences of each individual in a building. There is a growing worry over the environmental implications of energy use as a result of the warming of the global climate and the growth in the number of instances of extreme weather events. Many review articles have been written, but these reviews have focused on a specific aspect of occupant behavior and thermal comfort. To research the trends of thermal comfort and energy, this research adopted mixed reviews, i.e., quantitative and qualitative, to understand the state-of-the-art factors affecting the thermal comfort of occupants concerning energy, different occupant modeling approaches, functions, and limitations. The in-depth qualitative discussion provides deeper insights into the impacts of occupant behaviors, factors affecting thermal comfort, and occupant behavior modeling approaches. This study classified occupant behaviors into five categories: occupant characteristics, perceptions of the occupant, realistic behaviors, heat gain, and occupant interactions with the system. It also went further to classify the factors affecting the thermal comfort of users based on past works of literature. These include structural, environmental, and human factors. It was concluded that factors that have the most significant impact on energy are human, structural, and environmental factors, respectively. In addition, most of the occupant behavior modeling approaches that have been used in past studies have pros and cons and cannot accurately predict human behaviors because they are stochastic. Future research should be conducted on thermal comfort for different building functions by examining the varied activity intensity levels of users, especially in educational or commercial buildings. Additionally, a proper investigation should be carried out on how thermal insulation of structural members influences thermal comfort. These should be compared in two similar buildings to understand occupant behavioral actions and energy consumption.

An empirical investigation on the use of building handover information and its quality requirements for commercial building management

Purpose Global building failures, such as the Grenfell Tower fire in London, UK, emphasised the need for trustworthy building handover information for safety. However, a notable gap remains in understanding how reliable handover information can ensure the safety of occupants. This study aims to investigate the use and essential quality of handover information to understand the effects of the quality of information on the management of commercial buildings. Design/methodology/approach Ninety-four participants from nine organisations who regularly use handover information to manage multiple commercial buildings participated in the semi-structured interviews. Qualitative thematic coding using interview transcripts was performed to identify the utilisation of handover information and its quality requirements. Findings This study reveals that as-built drawings and product information are predominately used to fulfil statutory obligations, comply with the organisation’s internal policies, evaluate asset valuation and make informed decisions about capital investment and operating expenses. The quality dimensions of “accuracy”, “timeliness”, and “completeness” are preferred in combination to achieve desired outcomes. Research limitations/implications This study focused on using handover information in the management of commercial buildings. However, its results can offer valuable perspectives for improving its application across various sectors in the built environment. Practical implications The findings affirm the need for quality handover information for safety, compliance and efficient management in commercial buildings. Originality/value This research significantly contributes to the current knowledge of handover information in the building sector. Given the study findings, building owners are equipped to define specific handover information requirements and quality requisites.

Hybrid lighting approach to improve interior workspace environments: a case study in the UAE

PurposeInterior workspace environments use exclusively artificial light, resulting in a loss of biological connection and natural light quality, as well as greater energy consumption. The purpose of the study is to identify a suitable system that can provide natural light to such interior spaces throughout the day while supplementing it with artificial light when necessary. The fundamental aim is to provide insights into the most effective solutions for energy-efficient lighting design in the UAE's environment, with the potential to lower energy consumption related to interior lighting.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted an empirical approach to gather and analyze primary data based on field measurements to understand and assess existing lighting conditions, as well as DIALux lighting simulation software to test the efficacy of the proposed HLS in terms of natural light delivery, illumination quality and energy consumption. A branch of a local bank in the United Arab Emirates, situated inside one of the shopping malls where there is no natural light penetration, has been chosen as a case study.FindingsThe findings of comparing the base case to four probable scenarios that used HLS revealed that the third scenario, which uses 100% pure sunshine and 35% artificial LED light during daylight operations and 100% LED light during night duty, is considered to be optimal in terms of illumination quality and energy efficiency.Originality/valueThe study demonstrated the potential of innovative lighting to improve the visual working environment in interior spaces with limited access to direct natural lighting, especially in arid regions, where sunlight is plentiful throughout the year. The study contributes new insights into the establishment of lighting-related recommendations and standards for the UAE context. This may include advice for sustainable construction practices, lighting guidelines or incentives to encourage the use of hybrid lighting technology in commercial and institutional buildings.

Finite element analysis of fibre reinforced timber beams under flexural loading

ABSTRACT Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) is a popular product used in the building and construction industry because of its high strength, serviceability, aesthetic characteristics, and cost-effectiveness. However, LVL has traditionally been limited to residential and small light commercial buildings. To expand the use of LVL and reduce the need for steel and reinforced concrete structural members, a comprehensive computational study is conducted to understand the material’s structural performance and find an optimal strengthening ratio. In this paper, a new 3-dimensional Finite Element model was introduced and evaluated to predict the structural behaviour, strength properties, and failure damage modes of LVL timber beams reinforced with a Carbon Fibre Reinforcement Polymer (CFRP) sheet. The model is validated with three experimental tests from the literature, with the reinforced timber model showing a 1.8% error compared to the plain timber model’s 7% error. Additionally, a parametric study is conducted to understand the effects of reinforcement length on the structural behaviour of the reinforced beam, with mathematical equations established to express the relationships. The study found that reinforcing 50% of the beam span generally resulted in the most significant strength improvement. This investigation is made for various strength and serviceability parameters.

VOD: Vision-Based Building Energy Data Outlier Detection

Outlier detection plays a critical role in building operation optimization and data quality maintenance. However, existing methods often struggle with the complexity and variability of building energy data, leading to poorly generalized and explainable results. To address the gap, this study introduces a novel Vision-based Outlier Detection (VOD) approach, leveraging computer vision models to spot outliers in the building energy records. The models are trained to identify outliers by analyzing the load shapes in 2D time series plots derived from the energy data. The VOD approach is tested on four years of workday time-series electricity consumption data from 290 commercial buildings in the United States. Two distinct models are developed for different usage purposes, namely a classification model for broad-level outlier detection and an object detection model for the demands of precise pinpointing of outliers. The classification model is also interpreted via Grad-CAM to enhance its usage reliability. The classification model achieves an F1 score of 0.88, and the object detection model achieves an Average Precision (AP) of 0.84. VOD is a very efficient path to identifying energy consumption outliers in building operations, paving the way for the enhancement of building energy data quality, operation efficiency, and energy savings.

Benchmarks for urine volume generation and phosphorus mass recovery in commercial and institutional buildings

Phosphorus (P) is a finite resource and necessary nutrient for agriculture. Urine contains a higher concentration of P than domestic wastewater, which can be recovered by source separation and treatment (hereafter urine diversion). Commercial and institutional (CI) buildings are a logical location for urine diversion since restrooms account for a substantial fraction of water use and wastewater generation. This study estimated the potential for P recovery from human urine and water savings from reduced flushing in CI buildings, and proposed an approach to identify building types and community layouts that are amenable to implementing urine diversion. The results showed that urine diversion is most advantageous in CI buildings with either high daily occupancy counts or times, such as hospitals, schools, office buildings, and airports. Per occupant P recovery benchmarks were estimated to be between 0.04–0.68 g/cap·d. Per building P recovery rates were estimated to be between 0.002–5.1 kg/d, and per building water savings were estimated to be between 3 and 23 % by volume. Recovered P in the form of phosphate fertilizer and potable water savings could accrue profits and cost reductions that could offset the capital costs of new urine diversion systems within 5 y of operation. Finally, urine diversion systems can be implemented at different levels of decentralization based on community layout and organizational structure, which will require socioeconomic and policy acceptance for wider adoption.

A new database of building-space-specific internal loads and load schedules for performance based code compliance modeling of commercial buildings

A new database of building-space-specific internal loads and load schedules for performance based code compliance modeling of commercial buildings

Assessing the opportunity for producing hemp-based insulation in the Australian market

By-products (wastes or residues) of renewable materials have the potential to be manufactured into higher value fibre insulation products for the Australian market. Currently, such products have been imported for servicing the Australian market. This presents a potential opportunity to divert considerable quantities of waste from landfill and produce a high performance, locally made, low carbon, natural fibre insulation product for the Australian domestic and commercial building industry. This article assesses the hemp-based bulk insulations available in the Australian market.

Performance Assessment of Commercial Building for Symmetric and Asymmetric Plan Configurations in Different Seismic Zones of Bangladesh Using ETABS

Bangladesh is among the nations most vulnerable to earthquakes worldwide. Being a developing country, it has been a challenging issue to ensure commercial prosperity along with safety against seismic hazards. Structural engineers also face difficulties in accurately designing buildings with maximum economy and efficiency. ETABS, a leading global engineering software with BNBC 2020 guidelines plays a vital role in these cases. In this study, analysis of a B+G+6 storied building for Symmetric & Asymmetric Plan configuration has been performed using ETABS software. Both kinds of structures have experienced a range of loads for example- dead loads, live loads, partition loads, wind loads, and seismic loads, as well as load combinations that have been pursued following BNBC 2020 requirements. The objective of this work is to evaluate the seismic impact resulting from varying seismic coefficients for four seismic zones in Bangladesh, given identical symmetric and asymmetric plan arrangements. Four required metrics were evaluated between the structural performances of symmetric and asymmetric structures: storey drift, overturning moment, storey shear, and storey stiffness. The structural software provided the analytical results and parameter computations. The comparison's result demonstrates that the asymmetric structure exhibits greater storey rigidity and less storey drift over the longer axis.

Advancing Urban Building Energy Modeling: Building Energy Simulations for Three Commercial Building Stocks through Archetype Development

Urban building energy models (UBEMs), developed to understand the energy performance of building stocks of a region, can aid in key decisions related to energy policy and climate change solutions. However, creating a city-scale UBEM is challenging due to the requirements of diverse geometric and non-geometric datasets. Thus, we aimed to further elucidate the process of creating a UBEM with disparate and scarce data based on a bottom-up, physics-based approach. We focused on three typically overlooked but functionally important commercial building stocks, which are sales and shopping, healthcare facilities, and food sales and services, in the region of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We harvested relevant local building information and employed photogrammetry and image processing. We created archetypes for key building types, designed 3D buildings with SketchUp, and performed an energy analysis using EnergyPlus. The average annual simulated energy use intensities (EUIs) were 528 kWh/m2, 822 kWh/m2, and 2894 kWh/m2 for sales and shopping, healthcare facilities, and food sales and services, respectively. In addition to variations found in the simulated energy use pattern among the stocks, considerable variations were observed within buildings of the same stock. About 9% and 11% errors were observed for sales and shopping and healthcare facilities when validating the simulated results with the actual data. The suggested energy conservation measures could reduce the annual EUI by 10–26% depending on the building use type. The UBEM results can assist in finding energy-efficient retrofit solutions with respect to the energy and carbon reduction goal for commercial building stocks at the city scale. The limitations highlighted may be considered for higher accuracy, and the UBEM has a high potential to integrate with urban climate and energy models, circular economy, and life cycle assessment for sustainable urban planning.

Assessing the Influence of RMS and VDV on Analysis of Human Perception of Vibrations in Buildings Caused by Selected Sources of Traffic

This research paper delves into the nuanced effects of traffic-induced vibrations on human comfort and perception within residential and commercial buildings. By prioritizing the influence of vehicle types—including metro trains, trams, and cars—over their speed or mass, the study presents a novel perspective on addressing vibrational comfort. Conducted in the urban context of Warsaw’s metro line construction, this investigation employs a rigorous methodology, utilizing both the Root Mean Square (RMS) and Vibration Dose Value (VDV) analytical methods to quantify vibrational impacts. The findings illuminate the distinct contributions of various transportation modes to the perceived vibrations, offering significant insights into the complex relationship between the Human Perception of Vibration Index (HPVI) and VDV values. It underscores the necessity of integrating a multifaceted consideration of vehicle type, operational dynamics, and urban infrastructure in the strategic planning and design of buildings. Such a holistic approach is essential for mitigating the adverse effects of transportation-induced vibrations, thereby enhancing the quality of life and well-being of urban inhabitants.

ТЕХНОЛОГИЯ ЗАМКНУТОГО ЦИКЛА ПОЛУЧЕНИЯ СТРОИТЕЛЬНОГО ГИПСА ИЗ ОТХОДА ЭНЕРГЕТИКИ И ДЫМОВЫХ ГАЗОВ ТЕПЛОВОЙ ЭЛЕКТРОСТАНЦИИ

A closed-cycle technology for building gypsum producing using energy waste and flue gases of thermal power plants has been developed. The technology is based on an absorption method for purifying gas emissions from industrial enterprises from sulfur dioxide SO2 using a suspension of carbonate sludge and obtaining a finished product – gypsum dihydrate. The commercial gypsum is obtained by using a suspension of carbonate sludge as a reagent. The suspension is formed at the stage of preliminary purification of natural water during coagulation and liming. Coagulation is carried out with ferrous sulfate heptate FeSO4×7H2O, liming – with a saturated solution of lime milk Ca(OH)2. As a result of combining the two processes, a suspension of a certain chemical composition is formed. The chemical composition of the sludge and its technological characteristics are presented. The main substance in the chemical composition is calcium carbonate CaCO3, which allows using a sludge suspension in the chemical reaction of the interaction of flue gases from thermal power plants with the formation of building gypsum. An absorber with a fluidized nozzle has been selected and designed to purify gas emissions from wet suspensions and produce commercial dihydrate gypsum. Hollow or solid hydrophobic polyethylene balls were selected as nozzles to reduce the adhesion of sludge suspension particles to their surface. A technological scheme is presented for purifying flue gases from sulfur dioxide to obtain the finished product – building gypsum. The scheme includes the proposed adsorber, sludge suspension tank, hydrocyclone and filter press. The cost of the resulting commercial building gypsum was calculated, which amounted to 15 rub./year, the payback period was 3,5 years. The prevented environmental harm from soil and land degradation from the introduction of this technology at thermal power plants was calculated by reducing the emission of sulfur dioxide into the air, which amounted to about 1 mil. rub./year.

Real-time implementation of an IoT-based intelligent source allocation system using machine learning technique in a commercial building

Real-time implementation of an IoT-based intelligent source allocation system using machine learning technique in a commercial building

Numerical simulation of the thermal behavior of Silica Aerogel in a commercial building in Tunisia

In order to ensure energy savings and improve occupant comfort in a building, it is necessary to explore passive approaches such as optimizing insulation, orientation and the choice of appropriate materials. Among these materials are Silica Aerogel, capable of playing an insulating role while maintaining energy performance. The objective of this study is to simulate the dynamic thermal behavior of an administrative office model with and without Silica Aerogel material using TRNSYS software. The office temperature is assumed to vary over time or imposed at the set temperature. The results show that the influence of different parameters (meteorological temperature, the composition of a wall, the solar flux density and the indoor air set temperature) and the nature of the walls (with insulation (Silica Aerogel) and without insulation) have a significant effect on the thermal behavior of a tertiary building and on energy consumption in heating or air conditioning mode.

Optimizing battery energy storage prototypes for improved resilience in commercial buildings: Gaussian mixture modeling and hierarchical analysis of energy storage potential

The increasing energy demand in commercial buildings has led to the adoption of photovoltaic (PV) systems as a viable solution. However, the gap between energy consumption and PV capacity in commercial buildings remains uncertain, and there is limited research on the potential for energy storage in different commercial building types. This study utilizes Gaussian mixture modeling to extract energy consumption and PV capacity patterns from diverse commercial buildings, using datasets provided by the Department of Energy. By employing hierarchical analysis, we investigate the energy storage potential of various commercial buildings based on the disparities between energy consumption and PV capacity patterns. Moreover, this study introduces innovative battery energy storage system (BESS) prototypes tailored to the specific needs of different commercial building types. These prototypes determine the optimal BESS capacity and charging schedules, providing an effective means of improving electrical resilience in commercial buildings. The findings reveal that medium offices, warehouses, and secondary schools require BESS capacities of 410kWh, 838kWh, and 349kWh, respectively, and recommend charging time windows of 9:00–17:00, 8:00–18:00, and 9:00–14:00, respectively. Additionally, the cost recovery period for Li-ion phosphate and ternary Li-ion batteries ranges from approximately 2.5 to 7.5 years and 4 to 8.2 years, respectively. The developed BESS prototypes based on energy storage potential offer resilience to commercial buildings during power outages caused by natural disasters and emergencies, helping to improve their electrical resilience. This study provides valuable insights into the potential for energy storage in commercial buildings and promotes the wider implementation of BESS in the commercial sector, contributing to the achievement of effective demand-side management.

Installation Potentials of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Co-generation for Commercial Buildings in Japan

Installation Potentials of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Co-generation for Commercial Buildings in Japan

Investigating the potential of geothermal energy as a sustainable replacement for fossil fuels in commercial buildings

Commercial Buildings release large volumes of greenhouse gases, expediting global warming. The commercial building industry accounts for 37% of global CO2 emissions. Geothermal energy technologies are an intriguing solution that provides a low-impact, emission-free, and cost-effective thermal fuel source for baseload energy production. Geothermal energy systems offer a potential solution to dramatically halt global warming and facilitate the transition to a carbon-neutral civilization. This study develops a framework for assessing the geothermal power capabilities of innovative house and district heating systems. The energy requirements are first assessed, and then the spatial evaluation of district heating infrastructure is carried out using a Python-based program. Economic comparisons between geothermal energy and fossil fuels are made using LCC analysis. Environmental impacts are measured by Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). This study compares geothermal energy to fossil fuels, and the LCA results show that geothermal energy has a low environmental impact. With a Net Present Value (NPV) of 34.81 USD, it displays economic viability as well as a satisfactory financial return. The study's findings show that geothermal energy has the ability to compete with fossil fuels in commercial heating applications while still being environmentally beneficial.