Public Office Building Research Articles

Prefabricated Envelope Green Remodeling Potential of Public Office Buildings in Korea

The public sector should reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions from the building stock, thereby serving as a role model for the private sector. In Korea, public buildings are leading the green remodeling business initiative as part of a carbon-neutral strategy. Building envelope retrofitting is essential for the green remodeling of existing buildings because it significantly affects the buildings’ aesthetic appearance, occupant comfort, and energy usage. From the perspectives of constructability and cost, prefabricated envelope systems offer various advantages and can contribute to the growth of the green remodeling business. To develop an effective prefabricated envelope system, a thorough analysis of the existing building stock must be conducted. Therefore, this study aims to investigate existing public office buildings in Korea to obtain a better understanding of the considerations necessary for developing prefabricated envelope systems. The survey utilized the image search and road-view functions of map services, following an appropriate sample design. Based on the survey results, the characteristics of the building types and envelopes, as well as considerations for developing prefabricated envelope systems are discussed. Furthermore, this study quantitatively analyzed the energy conservation potential through building energy simulations.

Lichen as the biological indicator for detection of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at the public office building in Selangor, Malaysia

Lichen as the biological indicator for detection of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at the public office building in Selangor, Malaysia

A critique on thermal performance and energy usage in  government office buildings in Trincomalee and the need for  sustainable retrofitting - a typological analysis

Buildings use a large amount of energy during their lifetime and are identified as the main contributors to the increasing energy demand. A proper understanding of the Thermal Performance (TP) parameters can result in a climate-responsive design and reduce indoor overheating. In the construction field, sustainable retrofitting is identified as another important field of research, where new technologies can be introduced to the existing built environment and enhance their efficiency. This paper mainly focuses on how different building typologies of the existing public office buildings are contributing to inefficient TP and energy usage, and how sustainable retrofitting can help to improve their energy performances. 27 existing public office buildings in urban and suburban areas in Trincomalee, were selected for the typology analysis, and with special attention to plan form, one case study under spread-out plan form was selected. The TP of the building was investigated through an on-site Thermal Performance Investigation and Computational Simulation (CS) process. It is proposed that the energy required for cooling a building can be reduced if efficient sustainable retrofitting design strategies can be used to improve the TP. The outcome is beneficial in the formulation of design guidelines for new and existing buildings.

Workplace heating and gender discrimination.

Across Europe, countries are reducing CO2 emissions and energy demand by lowering the temperature in public office buildings. These measures affect men and women unequally because the latter prefer and, indeed, perform better under higher temperatures than the standard temperature. Lowering the temperature thus further increases an already existing inequality. We show that the philosophical literature on discrimination provides an interesting theoretical approach to understanding such measures. On prominent understandings of what discrimination is, the policy would be considered direct discrimination against women if it could be shown to reflect a broader inattentiveness to the needs of women in society. Alternatively, and more straightforwardly, the policies can be considered indirect discrimination because of their disparate effects on men and women. The final part of the paper shows that the policies are also wrong for the reasons it is often argued that discrimination is wrong-to wit, that it harms or disrespects those who are discriminated against. The final section suggests a range of measures to offset the discriminatory aspects of the policy.

Impacts of energy saving measures on IEQ, task performance and COVID-19 contagion risk in public buildings: analysis of a case-study in Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

The recent 2022 energy crisis has pushed several Italian public administrations to adopt solutions to reduce energy demand for space heating in public buildings. Reduction of HVAC system operation time, decrease of heating setpoint and changes to ventilation schedules are some examples of typically implemented measures. However, some of them are in direct competition with those adopted so far to limit the risk of COVID-19 contagion, such as higher ventilation rates. Furthermore, limited operation time and lower setpoints can lead to suboptimal thermal comfort conditions for workers in public buildings, with subsequent decrease of their task performances. In this framework, to assess the global efficacy of the most recent energy saving policies in public buildings, this research focuses not only on the quantification of energy savings but also on the analysis of increased COVID-19 contagion risk, as well as performance loss due to suboptimal building operation conditions. To investigate the impact of new building operation policies for energy savings, an intermediate storey of a public office building in Bolzano, Italy, was selected as a case-study.

Public buildings: Life-cycle GHG emission scenarios and reduction trajectories by 2050

Responsible for 37% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the construction and operation of buildings involves substantial potential to mitigate climate change. Although they represent only a small part of the building stock, publicly-owned buildings can lead by example and stimulate emission reductions through public procurement processes that are aligned with existing climate goals. In this paper, possible GHG emission reduction pathways for public office buildings in Austria are explored. A building stock model for Austria’s publicly-owned office buildings is developed, which projects operational and embodied GHG emissions from new construction, renovation and demolition until 2050. Findings show that phasing out fossil fuel use in building operations by 2050 enables GHG emission pathways that are compatible with the Carbon Law but still exceed Austria’s available carbon budget for public office buildings. A higher renovation rate can facilitate the fossil fuel phase-out by reducing energy demand. Embodied GHG emissions are becoming increasingly important and the main source of GHG emissions when phasing out fossil fuels in space heating. More research and policies are therefore needed to accelerate reductions of embodied GHG emissions towards net zero.

Economic Evaluation of Small Public Office Buildings with Class 1 of Zero Energy Building (ZEB) in Korea by Reflecting Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

This study summarizes the technology level and economic feasibility of two small 500 m2 public office buildings that achieved a first-class Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) certification for the first time in Korea. In addition, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) reflecting the ZEB performance in the operation stage was analyzed, and the LCA factors considering the characteristics of small buildings were reviewed. Moreover, an economic analysis was performed through a Net Present Value (NPV) by reflecting the ZEB and LCA, and the results showed little economic feasibility. However, adding the environmental costs calculated through the LCA to the existing energy-saving costs could offset an additional 11.6–11.7%. Therefore, including the environmental impact and cost through these LCA evaluation techniques could be a positive step toward increasing the effectiveness of ZEB applications. This study is significant in that it conducted a comprehensive analysis through ZEB and LCA in terms of carbon reduction for small buildings that achieved a first-class ZEB certification, but it is limited to only two cases.

On the forecast control of heating system as an easily applicable measure to increase energy efficiency in existing buildings: Long term field evaluation

The priority for reaching carbon neutral buildings by 2050 is to first increase energy efficiency in existing buildings by use of easily and widely applicable measures that are verified based on long-term field research. One such solution is a forecast control of heating systems, which can be quickly and easily integrated to existing weather based controls. However, there are still no long-term field evaluation and detailed analyses of the main features of such a system, which would provide a clear picture about the system’s energetical and economical features and thus increase their wide application in existing buildings. This paper provides the data from a long term field evaluation of an innovative forecast control of heating systems (forHEAT), which can be easily installed (in less than 2 h) and integrated with existing installations in millions of existing buildings in Europe and throughout the world. The energy consumption for heating was evaluated in seven residential buildings and three public office buildings before and after the installation and use of the forecast control. The resulting energy savings averaged 13.4% in the residential and 10.7% in the public buildings located in continental European climate, with very cold winters. The payback time averaged a 0.6 heating season and in most case studies does not exceed a single heating season.

Feasibility study of the UXindoor framework in two public office buildings: A standardized approach to scoring indoor user experience with qualitative and quantitative techniques

A human-centered strategy is crucial for effective energy retrofits, as the subjective experience of occupants directly affects the energy performance of buildings. To address this, we introduce UXindoor, a standardized scoring framework for assessing the User eXperience (UX) of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). UXindoor is a key component of the PRIME Energy-Indoor project, which aims to guide integrated building energy retrofits based on real energy usage and IEQ data. The framework utilizes questionnaires, handheld instruments, and IoT environmental sensors in a unitary assessment framework. This feasibility study presents the results of the pilot-testing of the framework in two public buildings in Thessaloniki, Greece over a six-month period from September 2022 to February 2023. The study discusses the advantages of the proposed system as well as its limitations.

Evaluation of Aesthetic Perceptions of Public Buildings’ Façades by Design Professionals

Visual assessments are very relevant in the study of architecture since this is a profession that relies immensely on the visual sense of humans. This study contributes to the understanding of visual perceptions, as well as to the wider field of environment and behaviour studies. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the aesthetic perceptions of public buildings among design professionals with a view towards understanding the mindsets of different design professions towards façade designs. The study considered three types of design professionals: architects, engineers and industrial designers/artists. Two hundred questionnaires were analysed using a mixed methods approach. The variables used in analysing the façades of public buildings were roof design, façade colour, entrance design, fenestration arrangements and innovation in building form. Twelve images of public office buildings in Alagbaka in Akure, Nigeria, were selected for study using random selection and cluster classification methods. A photo-interviewing analysis method was adopted for analysing visual images of the buildings: first-hand visual data were obtained from the study site using digital photographs of each building, and questionnaires were then administered to respondents regarding the images. Data were measured using five-point semantic differential scales, and relevant information obtained through this method was analysed using descriptive statistics, such as frequencies and percentages. Also, inferential statistics using the Kruskal Wallis test was used to determine whether there existed significant differences within the groups of design professionals. Findings from the quantitative analysis showed that there were no significant differences among the groups, although qualitative interview sessions did reveal that while architects and industrial designers/artists exhibit similarities in aesthetic perceptions of public buildings’ façade designs, the perceptions of engineers differ slightly. While these results need to be treated, interpreted and considered with care, design professionals can learn from these subtle differences in the results. The views of each design profession are important during a design process as the final outcome of the design is greatly dependent on the collective contributions of individual professions due to their peculiarity.

Policy investigation and evaluation of electricity utilization comparison between public and private office buildings in Thailand

The objective of this study was to determine the energy utilization index in Thai public and private buildings. By using 509 public and private office buildings in Thailand, which are under the Energy Conservation Promotion Act (No. 2) B.E. 2550 (2007), with 2010 to 2019 annal data, we found that the factor that affects the electricity consumption of all buildings are air-conditioned floor area, non-air-conditioned floor area, number of hours, number of officers, and average annual temperature, respectively. The comparison found that the actual electricity consumption of private office buildings was lower than the standard electricity consumption. However, in contrast to government office buildings, although the actual energy consumption and the standard electricity consumption are in line with the same direction, the actual electricity consumption is much higher than the standard electricity consumption.

Multi-objective optimization of energy efficiency and thermal comfort in public office buildings. Critical summer period in the city of San Juan -Argentina

Buildings represent 40% of the world's energy demand and CO2 emissions. In Argentina, buildings are responsible for 40% of the total annual energy consumption. The problem lies in an imbalance between the need to provide a high quality of life and comfort in office spaces, and the high energy cost required to meet that goal. Both a high comfort level and energy savings represent two objectives to be achieved. In this sense, this paper proposes a new methodology that combines onsite measurement with mathematical simulation tools. Innovative techniques and models are incorporated to make the tool, applying thermal-energy multi-objective optimization, which operates dynamically during working hours. The results show significant savings in energy consumption regarding cooling office spaces in the summer, from 57.5% to 83.3%, together with an increase in the thermal comfort quality, with improvements between 4.7% and 29.4%.

Data-driven load profile modelling for advanced measurement and verification (M&V) in a fully electrified building

The process of decarbonising stock will result in a considerable shift in consumption away from fossil fuels and toward electricity. The growing trend of building electrification necessitates a thorough examination from the standpoint of end-use efficiency and dynamic behaviour in order to fully understand the potential for grid flexibility. The problem of accurately representing dynamic behaviour (e.g. electric load profiles) while retaining simple and easy to use modelling approaches (i.e. supporting a “human in the loop” approach to data-driven methodologies) is a challenging task, especially when operating conditions are very variable. For these reasons, we used an interpretable (regression-based) technique called Time Of Week a Temperature (TOWT) to predict the dynamic electric load profiles before, during, and after the COVID lockdown (for nearly 4 years) of a public office building in Southern Italy, the Procida City Hall. TWOT models perform reasonably well in most conditions, and their application allowed for the detection of changes in energy demand patterns, critical aspects to consider when tuning them, and areas for improvement in algorithmic formulation and data visualisation, which will be the focus of future research.

Energy and thermal modelling of an office building to develop an artificial neural networks model

Nowadays everyone should be aware of the importance of reducing CO2 emissions which produce the greenhouse effect. In the field of construction, several options are proposed to reach nearly-Zero Energy Building (nZEB) standards. Obviously, before undertaking a modification in any part of a building focused on improving the energy performance, it is generally better to carry out simulations to evaluate its effectiveness. Using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) allows a digital twin of the building to be obtained for specific characteristics without using very expensive software. This can simulate the effect of a single or combined intervention on a particular floor or an event on the remaining floors. In this paper, an example has been developed based on ANN. The results show a reasonable correlation between the real data of the Operative Temperature with the Energy Consumption and their estimates obtained through an ANN model, trained using an hourly basis, on each of the floors of an office building. This model confirms it is possible to obtain simulations in existing public buildings with an acceptable degree of precision and without laborious modelling, which would make it easier to achieve the nZEB target, especially in existing public office buildings.

Smart Evaluation Index of Roof SHS Suitability

The instability of solar energy and its resource distribution characteristics make it difficult to judge its suitability in practical engineering applications, which hinders its promotion and application. In order to better promote the effective use of solar energy and promote the solar heating system, it is necessary to put forward a simple method of judging the suitability of the solar heating system for engineering application. This study puts forward “F, Q” as the basis for judging the suitability of solar heating systems built on the roof. Two types of public buildings, office buildings and three-star hotels, are taken as the research objects. DeST software is used to change the heating area of the building by superimposing floors to simulate the heat load of the building when the heating area changes. A dynamic simulation coupling model of solar heating system is established in the TRNSYS software to analyze the operating status of the system under all working conditions. The functional relationship between “F, Q” and solar energy guarantee rate is established, and the solar energy contribution rate is divided into three regions of F < 30%, 30% ≤ F ≤ 50%, and F > 50%. The evaluation standard of the building suitability of the solar energy heating system is established according to the scope of “F, Q” in different regions (An office building for, e.g., if the contribution rate of solar heating system is required to be greater than 50%, the “F” of these four areas should be greater than 0.11388, 0.15543, 0.10572, and 0.04511.), and the effectiveness of “F” is verified through actual cases verified by other scholars in the research. The method proposed in this paper is helpful to judge the suitability of solar heating systems in different regions and different types of conventional buildings, so as to better promote solar heating systems.

Transforming a Historic Public Office Building in the Centre of Rome into nZEB: Limits and Potentials

According to the last census of 2019, about two million Italian buildings are more than 100 years old. Building energy retrofitting involves a diverse mix of influencing factors, depending on history, intended use, and construction techniques. This paper aims to assess the energy needs of a historic building by evaluating the variability of climatic conditions and internal loads, as well as the thermal capacity of the building envelope. The energy analysis was conducted using dynamic simulation systems (TRNSYS). The purpose of the study is to provide an analysis of the current energy conditions of the building to identify the main critical issues and suggest the most suitable interventions to be implemented. All the transformations were conducted to meet the nZEB requirements and evaluate technical and economic feasibility, compatibility with architectural and landscape constraints, and large-scale replicability. Specifically, to reach the proposed targets, a 36 kWp PV system was implemented for an area of 210 m2, in addition to the Air Handling Unit (AHU) already present. The profit index is above the unit, and it yields a time range between three and four years. Therefore, fully respecting the energy performance parameters required by the Italian legislation, the study demonstrated the unattainability of the nZEB class for a listed building.

Prospect of Level of thermal Comfort within Public Office Buildings in Addis Ababa (Case of Prototype Government Office Buildings)

Office buildings are where individuals spend 7.7 hour to 9hr of their time daily, and it should be comfortable under all circumstances. This place could be comfortable for the occupants in every in every condition. Comfort ability or uncomfortable work behavior of workplace have significant influence on the productivity of worker and health of employee. Most government sector offices in Ethiopia built with similar prototype and standard in different site and orientation. This duplicating the similar office building affects the thermal and visual comfort as well as productivity of occupants. This study assesses the thermal comfort level of selected Addis Ababa government standard and prototype buildings. The study sample sampled three site similar buildings and two from each site which found in different orientations and has different characteristics. The study based on field survey measurement of five sequent days in the warmest month of January 2021. Also it includes the literature review and use of secondary data. The occupants asked about the thermal level, their preference through the primary data collection. The major indoor thermal comfort variables air temperature and relative humidity in each case offices measured in these five days to compare and analyze with the standard office operational temperature. The data obtained and analyzed by the supporting software like SPSS, ArchiCAD, Revit and excel. The result from data analysis indicated that almost half of the people asked are not comfortable with the thermal environment. The temperature of some selected case buildings are at the expected and standard level while others are exceeding the level due to characteristics in each office. These factors include the green infrastructure integration, orientation, number of occupants, the thermal regulation measures in each office. In this study the buildings those with original design, similar with original design orientation and engaged in maintenance have good thermal comfort when compared to others.

Linking indoor particulate matter and black carbon with sick building syndrome symptoms in a public office building

Poor indoor air quality is an important issue for public and occupational health worldwide. Location, air-tightness of the building, ventilation rate and resident activities play an important role on the concentration of indoor pollutants and subsequently on their effects on human health. While indoor air pollution in working environments has been widely studied, the association between specific pollutants and Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms is still not clear. The objective of this study is to explore the association between PM2.5 and BC with SBS symptoms reported by employees working in a public building in the center of Athens, Greece. Continuous indoor air quality measurements were carried out from March until May 2016 (24 h, 7 days per week), including days during a Saharan dust event in March 2016. The measurements took place in four different types of spaces, including an office, a printer room and two archiving rooms, representing both high and low exposure environments. Indoor PM2.5 and BC concentrations in the office ranged from 5.9 to 14.3 μg/m3 and 1.1–1.9 μg/m3, respectively, whereas outdoor PM2.5 and BC concentrations were in the range of 6.5–21.7 μg/m3 and 1.4–2.6 μg/m3, respectively. We observed diurnal variations in indoor/outdoor ratios of PM2.5 and BC in most rooms that were >1 during working hours, that subsequently fell to below unity after working hours. Data collected via a questionnaire to 73 employees showed that the most commonly reported SBS symptoms were irritation of the eyes, a stuffy or runny nose, headache and drowsiness. Female employees were more likely to report SBS symptoms than male employees, especially nonspecific symptoms, including “unusual tiredness or fatigue” and “feeling depressed”.

Algorithm for searching optimal set values of absorption chiller system using Bayesian optimization

HVAC systems account for at least 40% of the energy consumption of general office buildings. Therefore, reducing the energy use of HVAC systems is indispensable. HVAC systems used in public office buildings mostly adopt a central air conditioning system. To save energy in the central air conditioning system, high-efficiency heat source machines have been adopted, and the inverter control of pumps has been generally introduced. As a further measure to save energy, an optimal control has been proposed. Model-based control has been mainly studied. However, the target HVAC system must be appropriately equipped with sensors for model-based control to use previous operation data. To solve this problem, we proposed a model-free optimal control method using Bayesian optimization. We verified its effectiveness in one-on-one (one cooling tower and one chiller) HVAC systems. As a result, the energy-saving ratio when compared to the rated specification control is 10.38% for our proposed method and 11.34% for the model-based approach, which shows the equivalent performance. In addition, the training results indicate that the optimal set values can be automatically determined in 4 weeks as the training proceeds under rated specification control with Bayesian optimization.

Optimization of the Electrical Demand of an Existing Building with Storage Management through Machine Learning Techniques

Accurate prediction from electricity demand models is helpful in controlling and optimizing building energy performance. The application of machine learning techniques to adjust the electrical consumption of buildings has been a growing trend in recent years. Battery management systems through the machine learning models allow a control of the supply, adapting the building demand to the possible changes that take place during the day, increasing the users’ comfort, and ensuring greenhouse gas emission reduction and an economic benefit. Thus, an intelligent system that defines whether the storage system should be charged according to the electrical needs of that moment and the prediction of the subsequent periods of time is defined. Favoring consumption in the building in periods when energy prices are cheaper or the renewable origin is preferable. The aim of this study was to obtain a building electrical energy demand model in order to be combined with storage devices with the purpose of reducing electricity expenses. Specifically, multilayer perceptron neural network models were applied, and the battery usage optimization is obtained through mathematical modelling. This approach was applied to a public office building located in Bangkok, Thailand.