Development Of Low-carbon Buildings Research Articles

Experimental implementation of an emission-aware prosumer with online flexibility quantification and provision

Active building energy management can facilitate the development of low-carbon buildings and support flexible operations of future smart cities, thanks to advancements in digitalization To fully leverage these benefits, it is essential to integrate diverse objectives and engage multiple stakeholders. However, a gap remains in comprehensive field insights into emission reduction, flexibility provision, and user impacts. This study examined how a real occupied building, with all its energy assets, could function as an emission-aware prosumer with flexible energy consumption. An existing building energy management system was enhanced by integrating a model predictive control strategy. The setup reduced equivalent carbon emissions from electricity imports and provided flexibility to the energy system. The experimental results indicate an emission reduction of 12.5% compared to a rule-based controller that maximized PV self-consumption. In addition, a minimal flexibility provision experiment was demonstrated with a locally emulated distribution system operator. The results suggest that flexibility was provided without the risk of rebound effects, as flexibility was quantified and communicated to the system operator in advance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of low-carbon buildings and their support for flexible energy systems, while also identifying and discussing practical scalability challenges.

Low-carbon building evaluation index system based on hierarchical analysis method

Low-carbon building is an unavoidable development trend in the construction industry, especially in the critical moment of global warming, it is necessary to make a comprehensive evaluation of low-carbon buildings. At this stage, low carbon building has become an important direction in the construction field, and whether the low carbon building reaches the corresponding standards and the advantages played by the low carbon field need to be assessed with perfect evaluation indexes. Based on this, this paper constructs a low-carbon building evaluation system from the whole life cycle of the building using the hierarchical analysis method (AHP) and BP neural network method. Firstly, the definition and influencing factors of low-carbon buildings are analyzed, secondly, the evaluation index system of low-carbon buildings is constructed, and then the evaluation index system of low-carbon buildings is verified by using the hierarchical analysis method, and the results show that the evaluation results based on the hierarchical analysis and the BP neural network method are more accurate than those of the traditional hierarchical analysis method. The results show that the evaluation results based on hierarchical analysis and BP neural network are more accurate than the traditional hierarchical analysis method. It shows that the BP neural network method can effectively reduce the influence of subjective factors in the hierarchical analysis method and improve the objectivity of the evaluation results. On this basis, this paper proposes countermeasures to promote the development of low-carbon buildings, in order to provide a certain reference for the long-term development of low-carbon buildings.

Current Status and Future Directions of Building Information Modeling for Low-Carbon Buildings

In recent years, with the intensification of climate change, the development of low-carbon buildings (LCBs) has gained great momentum, and building information modeling (BIM) is perceived as the most promising path. However, systematic integration, review, and analysis of research in the field of BIM for LCBs has been lacking, which may hinder the potential of BIM in assisting the achievement of the goal of LCBs. Therefore, this study explores the current research status of BIM for LCBs and the directions for further investigation. A hybrid literature review method was utilized, which consisted of quantitative and qualitative analyses. Firstly, a quantitative bibliometric analysis was conducted on 158 studies searched from the Web of Science core collection. The most influential institutions, journals, studies, and keywords were identified. The most often used terms were BIM, life-cycle assessment (LCA), design, construction, digital technologies (DTs), life cycle, and integration. Secondly, a systematic qualitative analysis was conducted of 117 carefully selected studies to identify the research focus of different stages (e.g., design, construction, operation, and demolition) of BIM for LCBs. The results showed that studies pertaining to BIM for LCBs mostly took a whole life-cycle perspective, followed by a focus on the design stage, while the volumes of studies focusing on BIM for LCBs in the operation and demolition stages were relatively small. Currently, research focuses on how the latest methods and technologies can be utilized to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions over the life cycle of a building, e.g., BIM-LCA and BIM combined with DTs. Lastly, the challenges and prospects of integrating BIM with LCA and emerging DTs for LCBs are discussed in depth. Five topics, such as BIM-based interdisciplinary collaboration and improving and validating the BIM integrated sustainability calculation models, are proposed as future research trends. This study points out the current research hotspots and future research trends in the field and builds a solid starting point for scholars who want to devote themselves to this field. For practitioners in LCBs, the research findings could serve as a practical reference for better understanding the potential of BIM for LCBs so as to take full advantage of BIM to more effectively realize the goal of LCBs.

Experimental study on thermal performance of finned tube water flow window

Water flow window is an advanced energy-saving building façade, and the design of the heat exchanger affects the thermal performance directly. A novel finned tube water flow window (FTWFW) applying a finned tube heat exchanger is proposed. Its thermal performance, with regard to energy savings and the thermal environment created under various operating conditions, is studied experimentally. The reduction in indoor heat gain reached 88.1% compared with insulated glazing unit, and the average daily water heat gain efficiency was 65.2% during the summer testing. The inner glazing surface temperature of FTWFW was more stable and closer to the comfort room temperature, especially under non-air-conditioning condition in winter, resulting in enhanced thermal comfort. Moreover, increasing the flow rate or decreasing the temperature of feed water can improve the thermal performance of FTWFW in summer. In winter, compared to increasing the feed water flow rate, raising the feed water temperature was more effective in increasing the room temperature. The advantages of FTWFW in cooling/heating energy saving, thermal collection, and thermal comfort enhancement were well demonstrated. Its large-scale application is expected to make contributions in green and low-carbon building development. The findings of this study can helpful in decision making of real projects.

The energy saving performance of the thermal diode composite wall in different climate regions

The effective management of energy consumption during building operations continues to be of utmost importance. The role of a building's envelope in regulating energy consumption is critical. However, traditional building insulation systems often struggle to maintain optimal indoor temperatures in the face of fluctuating external temperatures. Solar energy, for instance, can easily penetrate a room through windows during the cooling season, leading to increased energy consumption. Similarly, heat dissipates easily during the heating season. To address these challenges, thermal diode composite walls with unidirectional heat transfer offer a groundbreaking approach to simplifying the design of thermal management systems. The thermal diode composite wall effectively controls heat conduction, convection, and radiation through the implementation of different functional layers. By regulating the heat flux through the building envelope, this technology significantly reduces energy consumption during building operations while maintaining a stable indoor temperature. To evaluate the performance of an adaptable thermal diode composite wall, we designed, implemented, and conducted tests on a thermal diode composite wall building. The results of the study demonstrate substantial energy savings, ranging from 3.5% to 69.3% for annual operation in various regions, with better performance observed in colder regions. In the forward heat conduction mode, the temperature difference between the inside and outside wall surfaces reached a maximum of 20.99 K, while in the reverse mode, it reached −35.67 K. These findings highlight the remarkable potential of thermal diode composite walls in significantly improving the energy efficiency and comfort of buildings. Consequently, the adoption of thermal diode composite walls presents numerous opportunities for the development of low-carbon buildings.

Assessing the environmental impact of building life cycle: A carbon reduction strategy through innovative design, intelligent construction, and secondary utilization

The sustainable development of low-carbon buildings has aroused widespread concern in the whole society. This study aims to propose a three-step carbon reduction strategy based on innovative design, intelligent construction and secondary utilization, and provide a new solution for carbon reduction in the construction industry. Based on the life cycle assessment method, the system boundary and calculation model of carbon emission and carbon compensation in each stage of building life cycle are redefined, and the carbon reduction effect of the mixed three-step strategy is quantitatively analyzed through the case carbon emission data, which proves the scientific feasibility of the carbon reduction strategy in this paper. The research shows that it has a good carbon reduction effect whether it is adopting structural optimization aided design in the architectural design stage, upgrading the traditional construction technology with 3D printing intelligent construction technology, or effectively disposing of the construction waste for recycling.

Post-occupancy evaluation of the actual performance of a low-carbon building

It is vital that the development of low carbon buildings to achieve carbon neutrality in China. Nonetheless, the actual post-commissioning performance of buildings has gained little attention. A post-occupancy evaluation of low-carbon buildings was conducted, covering analysis of indoor environmental indicators and carbon reduction. The main objective of the study was to assess the post-occupancy performance of low-carbon buildings and to guide their development towards achieving the zero-carbon goal. Specifically, indoor environmental operating parameters and carbon reduction were quantified. The outcomes demonstrated that indoor environmental parameters were influenced by factors, such as room location, room orientation, the behavior of office workers, and the number of office workers. Nevertheless, in terms of long-term trends, the indoor temperature and relative humidity indicators were better than the requirements of the relevant standards. Meanwhile, there is an excellent comfort level in low-carbon buildings, thermal sensations almost constantly behave as neutral. The average CO2 concentration in all rooms was always less than 756 ppm throughout the year, which was 24.4% lower than the standard value. Additionally, the electricity consumption of the actual operation phase of the low-carbon office building was 28.76 kWh/(m2⋅a), the electricity saving rate was 41.28% compared to the electricity consumption of the reference building. The emission reduction of CO2, SO2 and dust were 4.66 kg/m2, 0.04 kg/m2, and 0.02 kg/m2, respectively. Overall, this paper can provide valuable information for the development of zero-carbon buildings.

Evolutionary Game Analysis of Low-Carbon Transformation of Construction Enterprises Under the "Dual Carbon" Target

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impacts of different choices made by construction enterprises, government, and the public on the low-carbon transformation of Chinese construction enterprises in the context of the global climate crisis. Theoretical framework: The main theoretical foundation of this research is the theory of dynamic evolutionary games, it can aptly reflects the dynamic evolutionary process of strategy choices by various stakeholders during the promotion of low-carbon construction. Method/design/approach: This study adopts a mixed-method approach involving literature review, qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis. Firstly, a payoff matrix is constructed for the three stakeholders under different strategy choices. Then, the conditions under which different strategies tend to reach equilibrium are discussed. Finally, the stability of equilibrium solutions in evolutionary game is analyzed. Results and conclusion: There are 7 equilibrium solutions that can be evolutionary stable strategies in specific situations. It is challenging for the system to achieve a progressively stable strategy when only one or two entities participate in low-carbon transformation. Research implications: This study focuses on the background of the Chinese government's "dual carbon" target. It takes an innovative approach by considering the stakeholders in the low-carbon building supply chain, including the government and the general public, and develops a tripartite evolutionary game model for the low-carbon transformation of construction enterprises. This research makes a significant contribution to the future development of low-carbon buildings in China. Originality/value:The results obtained in this study are unprecedented, innovative and relevant to the scientific community, in the context of sustainable development of low-carbon buildings.

Comparative study of greenhouse gas emission calculations and the environmental impact in the life cycle assessment of buildings in China, Finland, and the United States

The building sector is considered a leading contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the implementation of China's 2030 carbon peak and 2060 carbon-neutral strategy, significant quantitative research regarding low-carbon buildings is crucial. However, a considerable discrepancy remains between the low-carbon building development in China and other advanced countries; the calculation method of GHG emissions lacks international integration. Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) theory, a comparative empirical analysis was conducted among residential and public building sets in China, Finland, and the United States considering the life-cycle GHG emissions, which demonstrated notable differences in the Product stage (A1–A3), Maintenance and material replacement stage (B1–B5), and Energy use stage (B6) between each building set. Different building retrofit scenarios were then established to study the emission reduction methods. The results suggest that clean energy sources, materials with low global warming potential, engineered wood structures, and steel structural beams in long-span buildings are conducive to reducing GHG emissions throughout the life-cycle of buildings.

Night ventilation scheme optimization for an Ultra-low energy consumption building in Shenyang, China

The development of low-carbon buildings represented by ultra-low energy consumption buildings has attracted worldwide attention, however the application law and energy-saving potential of night ventilation scheme in ultra-low energy consumption buildings have not been discovered as clearly as traditional buildings. To explore its feasibility and specific technical solutions, the night ventilation scheme of an ultra-low energy consumption building in Shenyang, China is optimized and analyzed. This building with mechanical ventilation and natural ventilation were studied by means of experiment and numerical simulation. Different night ventilation schemes including ventilation volume, frequency, duration and outside weather conditions were considered in the further simulations. The results show that the peak temperature in the ultra-low energy living room is clearly lower than the peak outdoor temperature, and both the peak indoor temperature and the cooling load of the building decrease with the increase of ventilation volume. The optimal night ventilation scheme for the building varies from month to month. The optimal ventilation frequency range is 4–12 times/h for mechanical ventilation. Under the optimized night ventilation mode, the building cooling system energy saving rate increases from June to September with an exception of July, for which the energy saving effect is not obvious under the mechanical ventilation scheme. In addition, the energy saving effect of natural ventilation scheme is better compared with mechanical ventilation. Application of night ventilation in ultra-low energy consumption buildings in Shenyang can greatly reduce the energy demand of the building cooling system. Under the optimized scheme, the annual energy saving is 11.96 kWh/m2. When the outdoor temperature is suitable, it is recommended to adopt natural ventilation at night to achieve better energy saving effect of the cooling system.

Household Energy Consumption Patterns and Carbon Emissions for the Megacities—Evidence from Guangzhou, China

Over the last 20 years, energy consumption in the residential sector in China has grown rapidly, and the growth is faster than that of any other energy form. To assess the limitations of the spatial characteristics of household energy consumption in urban areas, this paper selected Guangzhou as the research area. Specifically, the old town, core area, central area and peri-urban areas, which best reflect the evolutionary characteristics and spatial differentiation of households, were assessed. Based on the surveyed database of community-scale household energy consumption (N = 1097), the spatial heterogeneity of household energy consumption and carbon emissions at the community scale were assessed through exploratory spatial data analysis and the standard deviation ellipse method. The results report that (1) the main sources of energy consumption in Guangzhou households were water heating equipment, kitchen equipment and refrigeration equipment, which were related to the climatic conditions and cultural traditions of the city. (2) There was significant spatial heterogeneity in the carbon emissions from household domestic energy use in Guangzhou. (3) The economic level, the effects of the Lingnan culture and the characteristics of residents are the main drivers influencing the spatial characteristics of household energy consumption and carbon emissions in Guangzhou. We propose that policy development should actively promote energy-efficient equipment, such as water heating and cooling equipment, in urban households and take full account of the basic household energy needs of residents in old urban and suburban areas while promoting the development of low-carbon buildings.

Evolutionary Games of Low-Carbon Behaviors of Construction Stakeholders under Carbon Taxes.

The development of low-carbon buildings (LCBs) in China has not reached its expected status, although the Chinese government has formulated many relevant regulations. The real estate developers and consumers are essential participants in the development of LCBs. This paper explores whether the government’s implementation of the carbon tax will change their choices of LCBs. Evolutionary game models between developers and consumers are established under static and dynamic carbon taxes. Their evolutionarily stable strategies (ESS) are deduced in different situations. According to the real scenarios in China, numerical simulations are further conducted to show that carbon tax influences the low-carbon behaviors of stakeholders in the construction industry. Under a static carbon tax, the two players cannot reach an equilibrium state, while the game system is stable under a dynamic tax. The probability of the developers constructing LCBs is positively related to the carbon tax, while its degree is gradually weakened as the tax rate increases. Therefore, an appropriate tax should be set to promote the development of LCBs effectively. Finally, policy implications are put forwarded to guide the participants’ low-carbon behaviors and reduce the carbon emissions in the Chinese construction industry.

Carbon emission energy management analysis of LCA-Based fabricated building construction

With the gradual warming of the global climate, the development of low-carbon buildings has become an inevitable trend, and research on the carbon emissions of buildings is also imperative. At present, in most studies on energy management of carbon emissions during the construction process, people cannot analyze them with a more accurate method. In order to find an effective carbon emission analysis method, based on the life cycle assessment method (LCA), this paper establishes a carbon emission model, and calculates the carbon emission of residential building materials in different areas, building materials in different industrial buildings, air conditioning cooling and heating schemes, and the whole life cycle of buildings. This article draws the following conclusions: The relationship between the carbon emissions of residential building materials in different regions is: severe cold area>cold area>hot summer and cold winter area>mild area>hot summer and warm winter area. In the analysis of frame structure, brick concrete structure and steel concrete structure, the most carbon emission is steel concrete structure, and the least is frame structure. The carbon emissions of different forms of air-conditioning cold sources are different. Among them, the second option is the direct-fired lithium bromide absorption chiller and hot water unit. The carbon emissions are related to the energy structure. For prefabricated buildings, the proportion of carbon emissions in the construction use phase is the highest, reaching 75%–80%, and the sum of the construction use phase and the building material production phase accounts for more than 90% of the total.

Research on the Construction Mode of European Low-Carbon Buildings

In the background of global warming, developing low-carbon economy and low-carbon buildings is the development direction and social goals of revitalizing the economy and saving energy in Europe. This paper introduces the present status of the development of low-carbon buildings in Europe, summarizes the construction practice of low-carbon buildings, and explores the development model of low-carbon buildings in Europe.

Research on Application of Green and Low-carbon Building Technology

The application of green low-carbon building technology in the construction industry has gradually been promoted. The construction industry, as an energy-intensive and consumable industry, can reduce the energy and resource consumption of the industry with the combination of green and low-carbon building technology. This also indicates that the future construction industry will realize the development of low-carbon buildings and achieve sustainable development of the construction industry.

Assessing the life cycle CO2 emissions of reinforced concrete structures: Four cases from China

The large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Chinese buildings has caused widespread concern among researchers around the world. A more comprehensive study is needed based on an international perspective as the standards and methods used for estimating emissions have not yet been integrated with international standards. It is necessary to quantify the life cycle emissions from reinforced concrete structures through a variety of actual engineering data and a multi-case empirical study to establish their standard value, in order to promote the rapid development of low-carbon buildings in China.Internationally, reinforced concrete structures are often grouped under six types: schools, hospitals, aerospace, commercial, residential, and prisons. This study examines residential, hospitals, commercial and schools as examples for multiple case studies. Life cycle cost analysis (LCA) principles, multi-case analysis and quantitative studies are combined to assemble a CO2 emission assessment model in SimaPro to evaluate the CO2 emission over the life cycle of a representative sample of reinforced concrete structures in China with the aim of developing proposals for energy-saving emission reductions.The results indicate that steel contributes 40%–53% to global warming and 40%–80% of the total environmental emissions during the construction phase of the buildings analyzed, with energy saving in the building materials production phase, especially steel production. The amount of CO2 emissions is generally 30% more in the use and maintenance phase than the construction phase, reaching even 300% for hospital buildings. By contrast, CO2 emissions during the demolition phase are relatively small, accounting for only 3%–12% of the building's life cycle. In terms of building type, the life-cycle CO2 emissions of hospital buildings are much larger than other types of reinforced concrete structures, reaching 3390 kg CO2 eq/m2.

Voluntary Programs for Low-Carbon Building Development and Transformation: Lessons From the United States

Voluntary Programs for Low-Carbon Building Development and Transformation: Lessons From the United States

From leaders to majority: a frontrunner paradox in built-environment climate governance experimentation

This paper seeks to better understand the possible paradox of frontrunners in experimental climate governance. This paradox refers to the situation where frontrunners are required to push boundaries in terms of developing governance innovations and to experiment with these, but where, at the same time, a too strong focus on frontrunners may result in a situation where lessons from these experiments and the innovations developed do not resonate with the majority. In such a situation, an innovation may not be capable of being scaled up or of being transferred to another context. This paper draws lessons from a series of nine experimental and innovative governance instruments for low-carbon building development and transformation in Australia. It points out that for these instruments the frontrunners paradox provides a partial explanation as to why they have not yet been able to scale up from a small group of industry leaders to the large majority.

Critical factors of low-carbon building development in China's urban area

The energy consumption and carbon emissions of the urban building sector have been growing so rapidly in recent decades that developing low-carbon buildings has become a common trend in the world. However, the current developing situation of low-carbon buildings in China's urban area is still dissatisfactory though some measures have been taken. Thus, it is valuable to explore the critical factors responsible for the imperfect low-carbon development. Based on the extant researches, this paper firstly concluded 18 possible factors affecting the development of low-carbon buildings in China's urban area Then, with the data collected from a questionnaire survey, 6 critical factors are identified through factor analysis. The research also employed structural equation modeling to further indicate the influence priorities of the 6 critical factors over corporate low-carbon willingness. The results show that all of these critical factors have significant impacts on low-carbon constructionand return on investment has the first priority over low-carbon willingness. Correspondingly, six proposals are proposed at the end of the paper with the aim to provide a reference for the effective development of urban low-carbon buildings. It is worthy to mention that the results are also valuable for the construction of resource saving and environmental-friendly society in China.

Eco-financing for low-carbon buildings and cities: Value and limits

Building owners and governments face constraints in financing the transformation and development of low-carbon buildings and cities. Banks and other finance providers are often risk averse and unwilling to provide funds for such development and transformation. For some time now, governments and non-governmental organisations have experimented with novel forms of financing for low-carbon developments and transformations – often referred to as ‘eco-financing’. This article studies six such governance instruments from Australia, the Netherlands and the USA to better understand their value and limits.