Passive Building Construction Research Articles

Qualitative risk assessment of passive house design and construction processes

Global climate change and increasing energy costs as well as environmental concerns have led to increased worldwide interests in passive buildings, which have minimal energy consumption and reduced environmental impact. Passive houses design and construction processes are much more complex than it is in the case of buildings developed in the traditional standard and they are associated with many risks. In this work, the selected problems related to the design and construction of passive buildings were presented. The risks were divided into three categories: problems with the architectural and construction design, problems with the installation design, and problems at the building site. All in all, 30 risks in the design and construction of passive houses were identified. Their causes, consequences, and possibilities of detection were investigated. Qualitative risk assessment of passive houses design and construction applying Failure Mode and Effect Analysis was presented. That allowed it allowed to gather information for making decisions in the risk management process. The qualitative risk assessment results (the list of the most important risk factors, their causes, consequences, and detection possibilities) enhance avoiding undesirable problems and errors, as well as additional costs associated with the project failure and support meeting the deadline for the passive house investment. The qualitative risk assessment results are also the starting point for development of a comprehensive risk management model for the design and construction of a passive building.

Experimental determination of the efficiency of the solar collector integrated into the light transparent building facade

Abstract One of the most promising energy sources is solar energy, which is confirmed by the growth in the development of renewable energy for European countries. The main goal of research is to design and implement the latest energy systems for passive buildings using renewable energy. In this paper is documented the optimal operation stages of the solar heat supply system were investigated with recommendations for further development of the design and construction of passive buildings in Ukraine South.

Thermal comfort in a passive solar building

The paper offers a description of possibilities of reducing energy consumption in modern passive solar buildings. The research was carried out based on the analysis of regulatory documents (EU directives, Polish legislation, analyses of reports and publications of the US Department of Energy – National Energy Technology Laboratory). The applied methods comprised the modelling and design method, as well as the analytical method. Heat balance was calculated using Herz OZC, version 3.0 © computer software 1994-2007. The heat demand of the passive building has been calculated considering the heat recovery from ventilation and the efficiency of the recuperator. The average annual cost of heating of the energy-efficient building is PLN 4, 715, while of the traditional building – PLN 14, 115, i.e. three times as much. The solutions proposed in the article significantly reduce the heat load on a traditional building, so they are a good way to reduce heating expenditures. Building a passive solar house is a green investment offering tangible environmental and economic benefits. Construction of passive buildings contributes to lower consumption of fossil fuels, the resources of which are shrinking with the ever-increasing demand for energy.

Energy balance in a passive solar building. An attempt at economic assessment

The paper emphasizes possibilities for substantially reducing energy consumption with modern ecofriendly buildings. Passive building construction is a sector of the construction industry that has extremely low demand for the energy for heating house interiors. A passive house requires a small amount of energy to provide thermal comfort, but it requires proper systems (HRU, heat pumps, solar collectors) to accomplish that effect. The modification proposal presented in the paper has dramatically reduced the demand for heat capacity of the building. Unfortunately the passive standard has not been reached, but thermomodernisation would allow for a significant reduction of heating costs. The demand per 1 m2 of heated surface area in a traditional building was 41.9 W/m2, while after the modification – only 15.01 W/m2. The tested building, if located in a warmer climate, with an average outside temperature of ≥ -10oC would certainly perform its function. The use of modern technology ensures high energy savings. Such solutions, however, are not the cheapest on the market, and therefore are less available. The construction of a passive solar buildings is a “green” investment with tangible environmental results. By ensuring the thermomodernisation of a traditional building we can enjoy real environmental and economic benefits.

The application of a validated numerical model to predict the energy conservation potential of using phase change materials in the fabric of a building

Phase change materials absorb a large amount of energy as latent heat at a constant phase transition temperature and are thus used for passive heat storage and temperature control, example applications include electronics, and storage of perishable items. Encapsulated phase change materials incorporated into gypsum wallboards of buildings may be suitable for absorbing solar energy directly, reducing temperature rise. Improvement in human comfort is to be expected due to a decrease in the frequency and magnitude of internal air temperature swings, maintaining the temperature closer to the desired set temperature passively for a long period of time. This paper summarises the results of a detailed theoretical investigation and analysis of thermal energy storage and temperature control achieved using passive building construction elements incorporating phase change materials. The predictions detail the effects of using various quantities of different PCM materials with phase change temperatures of 28 and 43 °C incorporated into a selection of wall constructions for selected ambient conditions of temperature and insolation. From this parametric study, optimum arrangements are proposed.

Proposed fire safety strategy on airport terminals

Fire safety strategy for airport terminals will be proposed in this paper. The local airport terminal is taken as an example. Special features of airport terminals will be outlined. The retail areas are identified as places with higher fire risk. Standards, codes and design guidelines used overseas are reviewed and compared with the local codes. Based on the study, fire safety strategy is suggested to have four parts: • passive building construction for fire safety • active fire protection systems or fire services installation • fire safety management • control of risk factors. All four parts will be discussed in this paper. Suggestions are made to give a fire safe airport terminal.

Proposed Fire Safety Ranking System EB-FSRS for Existing High-Rise Nonresidential Buildings in Hong Kong

A Fire Safety Ranking System (EB-FSRS) is proposed for assessing the fire safety provisions in existing high-rise nonresidential buildings in Hong Kong. The objective is to investigate how far the fire safety provisions in those existing buildings deviate from the expectation of new codes. Suitable fire safety management can then be worked out in the transition period, based on the scores. Local fire codes were reviewed first to decide what should be the attributes and their weightings. From the reviewing results, three groups of attributes were proposed in the EB-FSRS. These are the passive building construction, active fire protection systems (fire services installation), and key risk parameters, all following the local fire safety requirements. The concept is similar to those equivalent concepts on fire safety parameters of the National Fire Protection Association–Fire Safety Evaluation System (NFPA-FSES). But the EB-FSRS is not a “trade-off” exercise. Thirty-seven old high-rise buildings were rated by...

Survey on Partition Walls Commonly Used in Hong Kong and Estimation of the Heat Release Rates During Fire

Improper use of materials for partition walls would lead to big building fires in case of accidents. However, data on the fire behaviour of local partition materials are insufficient. A survey on partition walls commonly used locally was carried out recently. It is found that partitions are labelled as ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ types by the local building industry. Wet' partitions are those constructed by bricks and concrete, ‘dry’ partitions include timber, gypsum and others. Basically, only the ‘dry’ partitions are of fire concern and there are seven types of them. The construction details, costs, materials used and application areas of dry partitions are studied The possible heat release rates upon burning those items were estimated from experimental data appeared in the literature. The results are useful for engineering approach (or performance-based fire codes) on designing passive building construction for fire safety such as the partitioning of karaoke boxes.