The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of using Phase Change Materials (PCM) in improving indoor thermal comfort while conserving electricity in office buildings in the composite Hot Humid/Hot Dry climate of Abuja, Nigeria. The first stage is a quantitative investigation of electricity consumption in 15 Nigerian office Buildings. Purpose-built mechanically cooled office buildings are selectively chosen across major Nigerian cities and climates. The surveyed data is analysed and used to construct a hypothetical office building as a base case. Scientifically validated software DesignBuilder v3 and EnergyPlus V6 and V7 are used for the parametric analysis of simulation results. The building simulations are used in two stages, firstly to test passive and climatically responsive scenarios to reduce electricity consumption then secondly to study the potential benefit of incorporating PCM in the building fabric and its effect on thermal comfort and electricity conservation. Results show that cooling, lighting, and appliance loads account for approximately 40%, 12% and 48% respectively of electricity consumption in the buildings audited. Power outages are frequently experienced necessitating alternative power usage. A data collection method is presented for energy auditors in locations where alternative back-up power is essential. Simulation results indicate that the magnitude of energy saving can be achieved by optimizing the passive and climate sensitive design aspects of the building and an electricity saving of 26% is predicted. Analysis indicates that it is difficult to achieve thermal comfort in office buildings in Abuja without mechanical cooling. Adding such a PCM to the building fabric of a cyclically cooled mechanical building may alleviate indoor discomfort for about 2 hours in case of power outage and is predicted to save 7% of cooling load. Cyclic cooling is the cooling of the interiors long enough to maintain comfort for a maximum duration within the working hours. The use of lightweight partitions instead of the heavyweight ones common in Nigeria is shown to a 2-fold improvement in consumption. Adding a PCM to light-weight partition walls with transition temperature of 24°C, conductivity of 0.5W/m K, and a thickness of 10mm gives the best predicted energy savings.

The global rise in air and ocean temperatures and the recent weather extremes demonstrate that climate change is unequivocal. The UK has legislatively committed to an 80% reduction in CO2 levels by 2050 based on the 1990 level. Its residential sector is responsible for 30% of the C02 emissions where by space heating is responsible for 66% of domestic energy consumption. 75% of dwellings already occupied will still be in use by 2050 with new dwellings only adding 1 % per year to existing stock levels. The aim of this research is to develop a matrix by which decisions can be made to help decide on the best use of resources to reduce CO2 emissions for different types and ages of dwellings in Northern Ireland. To derive a constructional baseline of the dwellings in Northern Ireland, the background calculations used to generate all lodged EPCs undertaken to date were obtained and analysed as part of this research. The SPSS Statistics programme was used to recode and extract all the EPC construction data. Floor plans of dwellings built from pre 1919 to date were obtained from Building Control. IES (Ve) was then used to dynamically simulate the performance of the dwellings and the effect of subsequent possible alterations to their thermal envelope. Costs were estimated for their refurbishment and replacement. A novel decision making matrix was then developed to categorise each type I age of dwellings and determine what was the best use of resources i.e. retrofit energy saving features or demolish and rebuild the dwellings to reduce C02 emissions. Of 80 variations, 64% of emissions were generated from 13 dwelling types I ages. To make deep cut CO2 savings, most of these dwellings ought to be fully refurbished rather than replaced. This research has highlighted that the indiscriminate and ad hoc approach to retrofit is not going to optimise CO2 reduction. There should be a focus placed on the dwellings which can readily achieve deep cut emission savings and specifically retrofitting features to achieve the best value for money.

The thesis presents the field and laboratory work conducted to investigate the applicability of different thermal comfort indices and equations to assess the thermal sensation of very young children (6-10 years) and older children (11-17 years) in Kuwait classrooms under different ventilation modes (hybrid, natural and air-conditioned), in addition to investigating the quality of the air inside the classrooms. Few thermal comfort and indoor air quality studies have been conducted to determine the thermal comfort and indoor air quality situation inside the classrooms (especially where the young children are presents) in comparison to that for adults in other building environments such as offices or vehicles. The aim of this thesis was to provide baseline data and expand the knowledge for young children s thermal comfort (as well as older children) and the effects of the indoor air quality inside classrooms on them throughout different ventilation modes (hybrid, natural and air-conditioned). The work was achieved by conducting both laboratory and field experiments, as follows: Laboratory tests were conducted to measure the insulation value of the different schoolwear ensembles used in Kuwait classrooms. Three methods were used to indicate and compare the thermal insulation values of different schoolwear ensembles worn by girls and boys in Kuwait classrooms during summer and winter seasons. Results suggest that the clothing insulation values found from the measured and adapted data were similar to the adult s data in standards tables for the same summer and winter seasons ensembles. In addition, the temperature ratings of the clothing are close to, and in agreement with, the scholars comfort temperature. A new thermal comfort questionnaire has been designed for gathering thermal sensation and reflected data from younger children. The questionnaire has been designed employing learning and educational techniques for very young people, and was statistically tested against the standard questionnaire and with old age groups to ensure no bias was introduced. The results show that the new designed thermal comfort questionnaire can help children to assess their sensation in a better manner than that of the standard questionnaire, and that it can be considered as a new subjective assessment tool that can support the thermal comfort standard by investigating the thermal comfort sensations of younger children age groups. A large scale field study was then conducted to investigate the applicability of different thermal comfort indices for Kuwait classrooms along the academic year and under different ventilation modes to assess the thermal sensations for younger (6-10 years) and older (11-17 years) students age group during the school day. The newly designed thermal comfort questionnaire and the clothing insulation values mentioned previously were used to collect the subjects responses for comparison with a range of thermal comfort indices (PMV, ePMV, PMV10 and adaptive, and various comfort equations). Results show that no difference in the neutral temperature between both age groups during the different ventilation modes and the PMV model is the most appropriate model to predict the thermal sensations of the younger subjects during the different ventilation modes, including the natural ventilation mode, since Kuwait classrooms largely considered as air-conditioned spaces. This work provides knowledge of thermal comfort and comfort conditions in Kuwait classrooms. The final part of the field study was conducted to investigate the adequacy of the ventilation rates during naturally and air-conditioned ventilation modes inside 10 elementary classrooms in Kuwait occupied by 6-10 year old children by measuring the CO2 concentration levels inside these classrooms. The findings showed that naturally ventilated classrooms have lower average CO2 concentration levels (708 ppm) than air-conditioned classrooms (1596 ppm). The main reason for the high CO2 concentration in air-conditioned classrooms is attributed to the possibly inappropriate selection of ventilation system type (wall-mounted split units) inside the classrooms. This type of ventilation system cools recirculated room air provides no outside air (fresh air), which is may not be appreciated for high occupancy zones like classrooms. Suitable means for fresh air provision must be made for this mode of operation. Some remedial solutions are theoretically suggested to reduce the high CO2 levels in air-conditioned classrooms which may enhance the students and staffs performance. The latter data on CO2 levels being above recommended values have been communicated to Kuwaiti government.

Over the last decade, a number of ecolabels have emerged in the UK that attempt to inform real estate market participants by reporting the environmental impacts of buildings. Emerging research has suggested that market participants use ecolabels to express their preferences for envirorunentally efficient buildings through price premiums, yet little evidence exists in the UK to substantiate these claims. This thesis investigates whether there is evidence in the real estate office market in the United Kingdom that the adoption of superior ecolabels leads to price premiums. Separate datasets are used to measure the impact on market decisions of the three most widely implemented UK ecolabels: the mandatory Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and Display Energy Certificate (DEC) energy assessment tools and the voluntary Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) environmental assessment tool. The EPC study results indicate that a significant rental premium exists for energy-efficient buildings and that this premium appears to be driven in the main by the youngest cohort of state-of-the-art energy-efficient buildings. The DEC study results reveal that occupants are expressing their preferences for space that has not necessarily achieved the highest typical and operational energy efficiency standards, although some signals are found that may indicate a preference for comparative energy efficiency. Finally, the BREEAM study results reveal that a premium exists for BREEAM-certified buildings compared to non-rated buildings. The results also indicate that this premium remained relatively constant during the study period from 2006 to 2010. This research makes a significant contribution to existing research as it has benefited from large datasets on ecolabels, observed contract rents and building characteristics in the UK which have not been previously available to researchers. Furthermore, the study highlights significant barriers which may provide challenges as the sustainability agenda becomes more firmly embedded in property thinking.

No description available.

Concerns about the security of energy supply in Europe and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions led to the introduction of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EBPD). A key requirement within the EPBD is that Member States will need to adopt a methodology for calculating the integrated energy performance of buildings. This thesis is concerned with the use of detailed energy simulation programs to address this requirement of the EPBD and its possible future evolution.

Demand response is an effective method that can solve known issues in electrical power systems caused by peak power demand and intermittent supply from renewable sources. Office buildings are good candidates for implementing demand response because they usually incorporate building management systems which are able to control and monitor various electrical devices, from lighting to HVAC, security to power management. In order to study the feasibility of using an existing office building management system to implement demand response, a simulator for a typical office building has been built which models the energy consumption characteristics of the building. With the help of this simulator, an Indoor Environment Quality based control algorithm is developed whose aim is to minimise reduction in productivity in an office building during a demand response application. This research revealed two key elements of automatic demand response: lighting loads need to be utilised in every demand response scenario along with HVAC, and the control system needs to be able to operate rapidly because of changing conditions. A multi-agent based demand response control algorithm for lighting is then developed and used to test the suitability of two communication protocols currently widely used in office buildings: KNX and LonWorks. The results show that excessive overload of the communication channel and the lag caused by slow communication speeds using these protocols present serious problems for the implementation of real time agent based communication in office buildings. A solution to these problems is proposed.

In 2006 the UK government announced policy intentions and introduced associated building design standards and up-dated Building Regulations for all new housing to be ‘zero carbon’ by 2016 and all new non-domestic buildings to be ‘zero carbon’ by 2019. Since this time the UK build standard for ‘zero carbon’ compliance for housing is the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) and the pre-existing, but evolving, Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) is the standard for non-domestic buildings. These standards have been developed by the UK government in conjunction with BRE and other industry consultants to allow building designers to introduce incremental changes to the energy design performance of their buildings. These include for the use of higher levels of insulation (leading towards super insulated fabric design), the use of on-site renewable energy technologies and eventually ‘allowable’ off-site low energy and renewable energy technology solutions to achieve ‘zero carbon’ buildings. Since the introduction of these policy intentions and standards, the UK building design and construction industry has debated both their validity and the actual definition of ‘zero carbon’, with some believing that a ‘fabric first’ approach to housing and building design using standards such as the German Passivhaus to be a more effective and simpler way to deliver ‘zero carbon’ new buildings in the UK. Despite the fact that many of the technologies leading to the development of the first super-insulated house designs and eventually the Passivhaus standard originated in the USA and UK, (culminating in the construction of a number of exemplar super-insulated homes in these countries from the 1970’s), the Passivhaus standard is currently less well known, accepted or understood in the UK than in Norhern Europe. The technology is however beginning to gain credence with a small but growing number of early adopters in the UK. With a focus on these early Passivhaus adopters, this thesis seeks to identify barriers to the uptake of the Passivhaus standard at the time of this research. The research has been conducted using social science mixed methods research, including for the use of thepsychometric assessment tool Q-methodology to assess the opinions of early Passivhaus adopters. The broad conclusions from this research are that barriers are cultural and linked to both social and technological constraints. These include for understanding of and installation of Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR), which is a technology intrinsic to the Passivhaus standard, but also levels of construction industry skills training and education and existing legislation and processes in the UK.

The European Performance of Buildings Directive and the United Kingdom Climate Change Act have resulted in a range of measures aimed at lowering building energy consumption. This framework uses regulatory, market based and other levers to encourage reductions in consumption and associated carbon emissions. Parallel to this is a set of drivers generated by social, economic and broader professional responsibilities. These include reputational pressures, personal and organisation ambitions, economic risks and societal pressures. This study used a mixed methodology to define this combination of influences as the ‘contextual pressures’. An initial literature review was combined with a phase of empirical research through participant observation in the early stage development of the CarbonBuzz platform to add practitioner insight to the framework. The role that energy information feedback currently plays in design, construction and management practice was then investigated. Three data collection and analysis phases were carried out: an industry-wide web-based survey; secondary energy consumption data from the CarbonBuzz platform and semi-structured interviews aimed at understanding which pressures have greatest impact on actors’ practice. A framework is proposed for the future role that crowd sourced energy information feedback could play in design, construction and management practice. The final phase synthesises the quantitative and qualitative data to identify what a future crowd sourced data platform must offer to meet the aspirations and motivations of actors working within the contextual pressures and the macro-aim of lower carbon emissions. This concludes with suggested alterations required to the contextual pressures to facilitate this. Recommendations are made for adjustments to the framework to increase participation in building evaluation targeted at the specifics of the energy gap and the motivations of industrial actors. Finally, further work is identified to facilitate and evaluate any future changes to the contextual pressures.

Domestic energy use is determined by multiple non-technological factors, such as the occupants’ lifestyle and activities, which can even offset the effect from energy-efficiency technologies. Acquiring the actual occupancy data relating to energy use in a uniform format to generate comparable and representative information is challenging. Projects that seek to address this issue, such as the Retrofit for the Future and Building Performance Evaluation programmes of the Technology Strategy Board in the UK, usually require major investment. Long-term monitoring and longitudinal observation are two major features in these major investment projects. The former approach refers to the frequent measurement of indoor/outdoor environments and energy use conducted over at least two heating seasons, in line with the whole-house carbon and energy monitoring protocol of the Energy Saving Trust (2011). The latter approach, longitudinal observation, refers to observations conducted on the same group of individuals over an extended study period of years or decades to examine changes over time (Bryman, 2012). The majority of existing households and associated stakeholders that could potentially benefit from the investigation of energy-related occupancy activities cannot feasibly be involved in projects requiring major investment. The present study seeks to address the issue, identified as a research gap, of how to effectively apply low-cost approaches and transferable techniques in a small-scale study on energy-related occupancy activities. To suit the socio-technical characteristics of the research topic, a mixed methods research approach, advocated by Bryman (2012) and combining quantitative and qualitative strengths, was applied to the processes of data acquisition and analysis. The methodology was enhanced in the course of this research. In line with Yin (2014), a case study approach was adopted in this project that was underpinned by two purposefully selected case study groups. One case study was conducted in the autonomous community of the Hockerton Housing Project Ltd. (HHP), in Southwell Nottinghamshire. The HHP is among the first multi-dwelling, earth-sheltered, self-sufficient ecological housing developments constructed in the UK. Three monitored free-running households featured different family profiles, including a single occupant, an adult couple, and a young couple with children. The other case study was conducted, in partnership with Nottingham City Homes, in two conventionally built and identically retrofitted timber-frame social houses, which were home to two families composed of pensioners. Long-term and longitudinal monitoring schemes were configured and deployed in the case study houses using low-cost and transferable monitoring techniques. Both off-the-shelf products and self-configured equipment were adopted in the monitoring of indoor environmental conditions, power draws and electricity use, and occupancy statuses. Supplementary sociological approaches, including occupancy diaries and interviews, were adopted in accordance with the interview guidance for the occupant evaluation process of the Retrofit for the Future programme (Energy Saving Trust, 2014). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) were applied for data analyses as a methodological trial based on different scales of data presentation. The major findings of this empirical study proved the feasibility of conducting a cost-effective study on energy-related occupancy activities by applying long-term and longitudinal monitoring approaches. Within each case study group, the variations in indoor environment and energy use directly resulted from the different activity patterns of each household. Between the two case study groups, the variations also derived from the different building characteristics of house designs, such as the difference made by heavy-weight and light-weight thermal mass. The cross-comparison between the two case studies revealed an aspect that has been overlooked by the building assessment system, regarding low-tech house design featuring heavy-weight thermal mass. The research findings in the retrofitted social house case study are of importance since they enable the participants of retrofitting programmes to access actual information derived from empirical case studies in order to secure both efficiency gains and financial gains.