Case Study Of House Research Articles

Sustainable Residential Building Considerations for Rural Areas: A Case Study

Intelligent use of rural residential land and sustainable construction is inexorably linked to cost; however, options exist that are eco-friendly and have a positive return on investment. In 2011, a research residence was built to evaluate various land-use and sustainable components. This Texas house has subsequently been used for both residential and research purposes. The purpose of this case study was to evaluate break-even construction considerations, to assess environmental impacts, and to evaluate qualitatively efficacy of sustainable options incorporated in the research residence. Some of the specific components discussed are home site placement (directional positioning); materiel acquisition (transportation); wood product minimization; rainwater harvesting; wastewater management; grid-tied solar array power; electric car charging via a solar array; geothermal heating and cooling; insulation selection; windows, fixtures, and appliance selection; and on-demand electric water heaters for guest areas. This study seeks to identify the impact of proper land use and sustainable techniques on the environment and return-on-investment in rural areas. Break-even and 15-year Net Present Value (NPV) analysis at 3% and 5% cost of capital were used to evaluate traditional construction, partially sustainable construction, and fully sustainable construction options for the case study house, which was built sustainably. The additional cost of sustainable construction is estimated at $54,329. At 3%, the analysis suggests a 15-year NPV of $334,355 (traditional) versus $250,339 million (sustainable) for a difference of $84K. At 5% cost of capital, that difference falls to $63K. The total estimated annual difference in carbon emissions is 4.326 million g/CO2e for this research residence. The results indicate that good choices for quick return-on-investment in rural construction would be the use of engineered lumber, Icynene foam, and Energy Star windows and doors. Medium-term options include photovoltaic systems (PVS) capable of powering the home and an electric car. Sustainable construction options should positively affect the environment and the pocketbook. Regulations and code should require adoption of short-range, break-even sustainable solutions in residential construction.

A robustness-based decision making approach for multi-target high performance buildings under uncertain scenarios

Considering the diverse uncertainties in building operations and external factors (i.e., occupancy and weather scenarios that can impact a building’s energy and comfort), performance robustness has become as important as the building performance itself. Selecting a robust and high performance building design is challenging, particularly when multiple performance criteria should be fulfilled. It requires performance evaluation, robustness assessment, and multi-criteria decision making in three sequential steps. The current study introduces a new robustness-based decision making approach that integrates the robustness assessment and decision making steps and is more transparent than previously used approaches. The proposed approach normalizes each objective function based on its defined target and combines them into one comprehensive indicator. Moreover, it penalizes solutions that do not meet the targeted margins. The new approach is tested on a case study of a single-family house, where eight competitive designs and 16 occupant and climate scenarios are investigated. Exhaustive searches and sophisticated engineering analysis are applied to validate the logic behind the approach’s results. In addition, a test framework is used to validate the reliability of the approach under different combinations of scenarios. The results show that the proposed approach can select a high performance and robust building design simultaneously with less analysis effort (no need for weighting the objectives nor for conducting a robustness analysis for each objective separately) and with much trustworthy rate (selecting solution in comparison to the defined targets and with less dependency on the scenario conditions) compared to one frequently used approach (i.e., the Hurwicz criterion).

Study on semiotica in urban vernacular: A case study of shop houses

Historical development of Shop Houses closely related to the cultural transformation of the society as can be clearly seen in historical civilization. Domination of Western Civilization cannot be denied as reflected in global culture in nearly every country. The shop houses, that originated in China has carried out the adaptation and transformation of China, Western and local architecture as well which lead to the change of its facade. This transformation is widely believed, has dispersed through the intense communication (semiotics) which has influenced the local population, who later accept this shop houses, especially in urban areas. This research applied the descriptive method which stressed the role of semiotic with a number of variables and indicators in order to find the main reason for accepting the shop houses culturally. In line with the theory frame work and preceding researches, there are some significant variables which consist of independent variables, in this case is social media, while dependent variables are the aspects of local culture namely religious aspect, affinities, economic. The results of this research can be used as guide lines for urban semiotics studies and society participatory development.

Exploring Home Management Houses: Part II Two Case Studies: The University of Georgia and Texas Tech University

Home management courses, and the houses where those course principles and practices were applied, played an historical role in the home economics curriculum in the United States from the 1920s to the 1980s. The residence course was taught in a variety of settings. However, the course was taught most often in houses located on campus. Using multiple research methods, this study explored home management courses and residences at the University of Georgia and Texas Tech University. Part I which was published in the March issue of the Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal provided a general historical overview and a case study of the home management houses at Kansas State University. Eventually, the home management houses were repurposed to meet changing academic, research, and public service needs over their decades‐long history. Opportunities for future research are explored.

The Political Aesthetics of Middle Class Housing in (not so) Neoliberal Mozambique

AbstractThis article explores the social and material repercussions of middle class aspirations in a system that is still infused by socialist aesthetics in Maputo, Mozambique. We argue the activation of “middle classness” reproduces ingrained inequalities and boundaries. This is demonstrated through two ethnographic case studies of urban housing, long central to imaginaries of prosperity. First, fearing downward mobility, members of the upper middle class seek to embody a liberal ideology of “autonomy”, while simultaneously being dependent on state structures. Second, members of the lower middle class attempt to create enclaves to experiment with forms of privatisation normally only accessible to a privileged elite. Through this examination of the ways in which a spectrum of privileged urbanites attempts to secure their position in the face of a precarious future, the article outlines middle classness under contemporary capitalist conditions and how this is shaped by the legacies of the past.

Exploring the localization process of low energy residential buildings: A case study of Korean passive houses

Global climate change and increasing carbon emissions from building energy use have increased worldwide attention to low energy buildings with reduced environmental impact. This study examines one type of low energy building in Korea, called the Korean Passive House (KPH), focusing on its adaptations to the local construction market and culture. To assess the efficiency of KPHs and further promote the expansion of passive houses outside their place of origin in Europe, the study investigated KPHs using three sources: archival research analyzing available government policy and regulations, case studies of 20 certified KPHs on architectural design practice, and energy simulation analyses comparing conventional and KPH energy uses. Results show that the KPHs have customized their practices to meet various needs emerging from the distinctive local context. Overheating problems caused by ondol, a traditional water-based underfloor heating system, are prevented by adjusting the U-values of the prototype envelope. The KPHs typically use local materials, products, and technologies already available in the Korean construction market to reduce embodied energy and achieve intended efficiency. We suggest that future research be conducted to reflect user behavior and satisfaction and perspectives of professionals since they are directly or indirectly influenced by building energy consumption.

Do passive houses need passive people? Evaluating the active occupancy of Passivhaus homes in the United Kingdom

The Passivhaus model emphasises a high standard of building fabric insulation and controlled ventilation with heat recovery in order to achieve comfort and reduce energy use. The implication is that environmental control is achieved by the building fabric and ventilation system with little need for significant occupant interaction or behaviour change in order to achieve comfort and energy efficiency. This paper challenges such views with new research that draws upon empirical data from case studies of houses in the UK built to the Passivhaus standard. It uses inductive analysis of interview data, documenting user-interactions with the houses, and opinions and attitudes of the occupants towards living in a Passivhaus. The research includes both social rented housing and private ownership tenures. The results of this study show both comfort-driven and energy saving-driven behavioural adaptations amongst the occupants and that the Passivhaus system demands a high level of occupant interaction in order to achieve both comfort and energy efficiency. ‘Designing out’ occupant's behaviour and reinforcing the image of automated comfort without facilitating occupant behavioural adaptations, could lead to user dissatisfaction in Passivhaus buildings.

Assessing Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in Ghana’s Hotel Industry: A Case Study of Engineering Guest House – KNUST

Background: It has been generally observed that service quality plays a very instrumental role in customer satisfaction. This study therefore, examined the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction in Ghana’s hotel industry, with Engineering Guest House (EGH) of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Methods: In pursuit of the stated objective, descriptive cross-sectional survey was adopted as the research design for this study. Data was sourced from both primary and secondary sources. Structured questionnaires which was the main research instrument was used to elicit information from the participants which comprised mainly of customers of EGH-KNUST who have been patronizing the services of the said entity over 2 years. ANOVA and t-statistics were used to test the hypothesis while regression analysis was used to analyzed the data. Results: The findings showed an R 2 value of 0.762 which reveals that service quality (using the SERVQUAL components) accounted for 76.2% of the variation in customer satisfaction. The f-statistics of 32.318 reveals that the model is statistically significant at 0.05 significant level. Conclusion: It was concluded that there was a significant relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction at EGH-KNUST, hence the guest house should continue to investigate precisely what guests want and develop innovative ways to meeting guests’ expectation. Keywords: Service quality, SERVQUAL model, customer satisfaction DOI: 10.7176/JTHS/47-05 Publication date: February 29 th 2020

Parametric Performance Analysis and Energy Model Calibration Workflow Integration—A Scalable Approach for Buildings

High efficiency paradigms and rigorous normative standards for new and existing buildings are fundamental components of sustainability and energy transitions strategies today. However, optimistic assumptions and simplifications are often considered in the design phase and, even when detailed simulation tools are used, the validation of simulation results remains an issue. Further, empirical evidences indicate that the gap between predicted and measured performance can be quite large owing to different types of errors made in the building life cycle phases. Consequently, the discrepancy between a priori performance assessment and a posteriori measured performance can hinder the development and diffusion of energy efficiency practices, especially considering the investment risk. The approach proposed in the research is rooted on the integration of parametric simulation techniques, adopted in the design phase, and inverse modelling techniques applied in Measurement and Verification (M&V) practice, i.e., model calibration, in the operation phase. The research focuses on the analysis of these technical aspects for a Passive House case study, showing an efficient and transparent way to link design and operation performance analysis, reducing effort in modelling and monitoring. The approach can be used to detect and highlight the impact of critical assumptions in the design phase as well as to guarantee the robustness of energy performance management in the operational phase, providing parametric performance boundaries to ease monitoring process and identification of insights in a simple, robust and scalable way.

Residential Energy Conservation using Efficient Home Appliances

Significant hike in global energy demand has laid extra pressure on energy generation plants and natural environment as well. Therefore, methods of reducing the global energy demand are being extensively explored worldwide. In this paper, we have discussed ways of reducing energy consumption in Residential sector. We have taken eight major appliances being used in homes and compared them on the basis of annual energy consumed and cost saving by taking suitable assumptions like running hours, seasons of operation, etc. Finally, Case study of a modern house in Aligarh district of UP is studied for analysing the percentage consumption of each appliance being discussed. The results show that appliances like light bulbs, ceiling fans and refrigerators have the highest potential of energy as well as cost saving by improving their efficiency. Further, by switching all the appliances from conventional to the most efficient models resulted in energy and cost saving of about 37% in the house taken for case study.

Housing and household practices: Practice-based sustainability interventions for low-energy houses in Lahore, Pakistan

This paper focuses on low-energy interventions in the design and use of houses from a socio-technical perspective. It explores the links between housing (design) and household (use) practices for sustainability transitions in middle-class housing in Lahore, Pakistan. Using two case-study houses as examples of variation in design, in addition to semi-structured interviews with housing practitioners, the paper investigates the transitions needed in housing practices that, through interventions in house design, can lead to less energy-intensive household practice-arrangements. It uses a practice-based intervention framework to explore how housing and household practices can be recrafted, substituted and changes made to how they interlock for improved sustainability. “Good” housing practices such as integration of more flexible, performance-based byelaws to meet minimum standards, better knowledge and skills of practitioners, good communication between stakeholders and the availability of low-carbon material supply chains can lead to “good” household practices, such as changed meanings of comfort, more outdoor-based activities and collective practice-arrangements. The paper thus highlights inadequacies of existing economically-driven, techno-determinist efficiency models to meet required levels of housing energy demand. The practice approach makes the connections between “good” and “bad” housing and household practices visible and demonstrates their significance in identifying key areas of sustainability interventions.

Identifying faults in the building system based on model prediction and residuum analysis

The energy efficiency of the building HVAC systems can be improved when faults in the running system are known. To this day, there are no cost-efficient, automatic methods that detect faults of the building HVAC systems to a satisfactory degree. This study induces a new method for fault detection that can replace a graphical, user-subjective evaluation of a building data measured on site with an automatic, data-based approach. This method can be a step towards cost-effective monitoring. For this research, the data from a detailed simulation of a residential case study house was used to compare a faultless operation of a building with a faulty operation. We argue that one can detect faults by analysing the properties of residuals of the prediction to the actual data. A machine learning model and an ARX model predict the building operation, and the method employs various statistical tests such as the Sign Test, the Turning Point Test, the Box-Pierce Test and the Bartels-Rank Test. The results show that the amount of data, the type and density of system faults significantly affect the accuracy of the prediction of faults. It became apparent that the challenge is to find a decision rule for the best combination of statistical tests on residuals to predict a fault.

Smart Meter Data to Optimize Combined Roof-Top Solar and Battery Systems Using a Stochastic Mixed Integer Programming Model

This paper presents the design and results of a model that uses household smart meter data, electric vehicle (EV) travel load and charging options, and multiple solar resource profiles, to make decisions on optimal combinations of photovoltaics (PV), battery energy storage systems (BESS) and EV charging strategies. The least-cost planning model is formulated as a stochastic mixed integer programming (MIP) problem that makes first stage decisions on PV/BESS investments, and recourse decisions on purchase/sell from/to the grid to minimize expected household electricity costs. The model undertakes a customer-centric optimization taking into consideration net metering policy, time-of-use grid pricing, and uncertainties around inter-annual variability of solar irradiance. The model adds to the existing literature in terms of stochastic representation of inter-annual variability of solar irradiance, together with BESS capacity optimization, and EV charging mode selection. Three case studies are presented: two for a residential house with and without EV load, and a third for a larger community facility. Results from the model for the first residential house case study are compared with commercially available software to show the impacts of an accurate load profile and different policy parameters. The stochastic feature of the model proves useful in understanding the impact of variability in solar resource profiles on PV sizing. Finally, simulations of alternative EV travel patterns and tariff policies that discourage charging during the evening peak show the efficacy of `super off-peak' pricing being introduced in the state of Maryland.

Enhancing Acoustics in Media Broadcasting Studios: A Case Study of Government-Owned Media Houses in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The study aimed at enhancing acoustics in media broadcasting studios: A case study of government owned media houses in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. To identify these problems, two, main sources of data were applied. The person-to-person survey or interview was used to obtain verbal information and physical observation of the media houses. This was necessary taking into account, site selection according to standard requirement for the sitting of a media complex, in order to eliminate interference from neighboring media stations. The need for acoustics in material selection and placement was considered as the transmission of unwanted sounds through the walls and floors would be a flaw in these broadcasting studios.This study in view of the findings, recommended that the government should strive to enhance acoustic designs in its broadcasting studios, upgrade on site locations, building type, facilities incorporated in the structure, they should build a well-designed media complex with state-of-the-art equipment for uninterrupted information dissemination to the public.

Thermal performance of occupied homes: A dynamic grey-box method accounting for solar gains

The accurate determination of the in-use heat transfer coefficient (HTC) of a dwelling can support efficiency improvements and understanding of energy costs, potentially addressing the performance gap. This paper introduces a dynamic grey-box framework combining Bayesian methods and lumped thermal capacitance models for the estimation of the performance of in-use buildings. It focuses on methods to account for solar gains, a significant contributor to the heat transfer. Six simple first-order lumped models of occupied homes are presented, which explicitly include gains from solar radiation with varying complexity. Specifically, the models use solar radiation as a single heat input, divided by façade according to the angle of the sun, and including diffuse radiation. Two case study houses in the UK, monitored over two different seasons, were used to illustrate the models’ performance. Bayesian model comparison was used, in conjunction with other methods, to determine the most suitable model for each sub-dataset analysed; this indicates that the most appropriate model is both season and case-study dependent, highlighting the importance of local topography and weather experienced. For each case study, the models selected provided HTC estimates within 15% of each other, including during the summer, using only 5–10 days of data. Such techniques have the potential to estimate the thermal performance of dwellings year-round, with minimum disturbance to the occupants and could be developed to improve quality assurance processes for new build and retrofit, identify opportunities for targeted retrofit, and close the performance gap.

Architectural spatial design strategies for summer microclimate control in buildings: a comparative case study of Chinese vernacular and modern houses

The objective of this paper is to clarify the spatial design strategies used to control the microclimate of a Chinese vernacular house in summer by comparing the building with modern Chinese rural houses and presenting ideas for contemporary architectural design practice. For this goal the spatial configuration, the spatial boundary conditions, the vegetation in the space and the human activity in the space were analysed for the vernacular house and for modern rural houses. Also, field measurements were conducted to evaluate the summer thermal environment in the vernacular and a modern house. The results show that the vernacular house has a diverse spatial design and a better building microclimate, making it easier to obtain thermal comfort than the modern houses. Therefore, spatial design strategies of Chinese vernacular houses are still of great value to modern house design, especially when the free-running thermal comfort theory is applied.

What are we discarding during the life cycle of a building? Case studies of social housing in Andalusia, Spain

The paper evaluates for the first time the embodied impact in CDW during the buildings life cycle by means of the bill of quantities of construction projects. The main objective is to be able to predict the future CDW to be generated by a project in the design stage, by means of the bill of quantities of the urbanization, construction, renovation, rehabilitation and demolition projects. The tools already in place for cost control can be used as an instrument for the introduction of sustainability considerations in construction projects. The methodology proposes a connection between the different stages of a building’s life cycle, more precisely its budget. The latter is linked to other future budgets for building renovations or retrofitting projects. The result shows that urbanization and demolition generate 90% of CDW, the former is caused by earthworks and the latter is due to the elimination of all building materials. The building is removed 1.3 times, in terms of material weight, energy and water. Finally, traditional models for economic control and waste management in construction projects can be the vector which introduce environmental assessment through the building life cycle.

Functional Systems in Historic Houses; a Historic House Case in Konya - Ilgın

Tarihî yapıların sürdürülebilirliğini sağlamak, kültürel değerlerinin korunması ve gelecek nesillere bilgi akışının devam etmesi için önemli eylemlerden biridir. Isıtma, soğutma, aydınlatma, havalandırma, çatı akaçlama, temiz ve atık su sistemlerinden oluşan işlevsel sistemler ise yapıların sürdürülebilirliğinin ve gerekli konfor şartlarının sağlanması için önemli temel bileşenlerdir. Tarihi yapılarda işlevsel sistemler üzerine çalışmalar mevcuttur. Ancak geleneksel konut yapısı özelinde tüm sistemlerin sistematik olarak incelendiği araştırmalar kısıtlıdır. Bu nedenle, bu araştırma kapsamında, öncelikle geleneksel Türk evinde işlevsel sistemler araştırılmıştır. Elde dilen veriler ışığında, Konya, Ilgın ilçe merkezinde yer alan 159 ada, 5 parseldeki özgünlüğünü büyük oranda koruyan tescilli bir geleneksel konut yapısı, örnek alan çalışması olarak belirlenmiş ve işlevsel sistemleri açısından değerlendirilmiştir. Arazi çalışması, arşiv ve literatür taraması, araştırma kapsamında kullanılan başlıca metotlardır. Araştırmanın amacı, Ilgın geleneksel konut yapılarındaki işlevsel sistemlerin özgün bir örneklem üzerinden irdelenmesi ve korunmuşluk durumlarının tespitidir. Bu çalışma kapsamında incelen konut yapısının işlevsel sistemlerinde günümüz teknolojisine uyarlamak için değişiklikler yapıldığı ve özgün sistemlerin çoğunlukla kullanılmadığı gözlenmiştir. Bu araştırma ile örneklem yapı özelinde geleneksel Türk evinde işlevsel sistemlerin tanınırlığının arttırılması; bu sistemlerin özgün halleri ile yaşatılması, sürdürülmesi, korunması ve günümüz konfor koşullarına uygun bir şekilde uyarlanması açısından önemlidir.

Spatial, Financial and Ideological Trajectories of Public Housing in Malmö, Sweden

ABSTRACT Public housing has been one of the primary tools mobilized in Sweden historically to fulfil citizens’ right to housing. However, the nominally universal character of public housing in the Swedish context has increasingly been circumvented through processes of segregation, residualisation, gentrification and displacement. Furthermore, previous housing research points to the neoliberal shift of Sweden’s housing politics since the early 1990s, encompassing the deregulation of public housing at the national level. Focusing on the example of public housing, this paper argues for a multiscalar and nuanced understanding of housing neoliberalisation in Sweden, by investigating the change of public housing locally. The political landscape of public housing in different localities has been transformed as a result of interacting trajectories of spatial restructuring, financialisation and ideological reconstruction. The paper examines this “conjunctural” transformation empirically through a case study of public housing in the city of Malmö.

Passive design implementation as sustainable development approach on vertical housing case study: Sentra Timur Residence

Vertical housing development is a solution to solve the housing needs problem in Jakarta, which already had a land limitation issue. However, the development also contributes to environmental degradation. Building uses materials and energy in the development process, and when it operates. Most of energy use in Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) to create physical comfort for user. Passive design strategies applied to maintain comfortable temperature in building such as building orientation, shading, and ventilation, so energy usage could be reduced. The purpose of this research was to analyse the implementation of passive design in vertical housing, as an approach to achieve sustainable building. Observation carried on Sentra Timur Residence, one of vertical housing in East Jakarta. This research used building data to create mass modelling to help analyse the passive design implementation. The results show that some passive design strategies are applied such as building orientation, shading, and ventilation, mainly in the housing unit. These strategies help to maintain thermal comfort inside the housing unit, so the users can feel comfort without using an air conditioner. It reduces energy usage in the building so negative impact on environment could be minimized.