Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on April 7, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 1999. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 134 p. : ill. (some col.) Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-129).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2006. / Description based on contents viewed Jan. 29, 2007; title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60).

Thesis (M. Eng.)(Electrical)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summaries in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

There has long been concern that rating the thermal performance of buildings on the basis of predicted normalized energy requirement (MJ/m2) is inappropriate for achieving overall energy efficient design of houses, mainly due to the inability of such schemes to deal with the evaluation of passive architectural design in the form of free running buildings. This study, investigating the shortcomings in the current rating schemes, hypothesizes that the main reason for that inability is due to significant differences between efficient design for free running and conditioned houses. It also suggests that a multiple occupancy scenario, involving variable occupation times and zones, is an important parameter for improving the accuracy of any building evaluation system. The study aims to propose a new method for House Rating Schemes in which the efficiency of a house design will be evaluated with reference to its thermal performance in both free running and conditioned operation modes. By attributing more value to the performance of houses in the free running than the conditioned operation, it is assumed that policy objectives for reducing energy demand for space heating and cooling in the residential building sector are more likely to be achieved. Simulation was used to compare the predicted thermal performances of houses in free running and conditioned operation modes for the moderate climates of Sydney and Canberra. Parametric sensitivity analysis and multivariate regression analysis have been employed and point to the following results. The reliability of a free running rating scheme, in terms of addressing energy efficient aspects, as compared to the current energy based rating schemes, is demonstrated. The research illustrates significant differences between efficient design for conditioned houses and for free running houses. The findings strongly suggest the necessity of developing a new regulatory framework for reducing energy demand in the housing sector. Utilizing these findings, an aggregation of two rating systems for the purpose of creating a new house rating framework has been developed. It is assumed that this research approach is likely to deliver significant benefits in terms of reduction in energy demand and increased sustainability, if it is employed as a basis for House Ratings Schemes.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed Jan. 25, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60).

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2002. / Field problem. Includes bibliographical references.

There has long been concern that rating the thermal performance of buildings on the basis of predicted normalized energy requirement (MJ/m2) is inappropriate for achieving overall energy efficient design of houses, mainly due to the inability of such schemes to deal with the evaluation of passive architectural design in the form of free running buildings. This study, investigating the shortcomings in the current rating schemes, hypothesizes that the main reason for that inability is due to significant differences between efficient design for free running and conditioned houses. It also suggests that a multiple occupancy scenario, involving variable occupation times and zones, is an important parameter for improving the accuracy of any building evaluation system. The study aims to propose a new method for House Rating Schemes in which the efficiency of a house design will be evaluated with reference to its thermal performance in both free running and conditioned operation modes. By attributing more value to the performance of houses in the free running than the conditioned operation, it is assumed that policy objectives for reducing energy demand for space heating and cooling in the residential building sector are more likely to be achieved. Simulation was used to compare the predicted thermal performances of houses in free running and conditioned operation modes for the moderate climates of Sydney and Canberra. Parametric sensitivity analysis and multivariate regression analysis have been employed and point to the following results. The reliability of a free running rating scheme, in terms of addressing energy efficient aspects, as compared to the current energy based rating schemes, is demonstrated. The research illustrates significant differences between efficient design for conditioned houses and for free running houses. The findings strongly suggest the necessity of developing a new regulatory framework for reducing energy demand in the housing sector. Utilizing these findings, an aggregation of two rating systems for the purpose of creating a new house rating framework has been developed. It is assumed that this research approach is likely to deliver significant benefits in terms of reduction in energy demand and increased sustainability, if it is employed as a basis for House Ratings Schemes.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 1999. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 115 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-99).

M.Eng. (Engineering Management) / The residential and commercial urban sprawl towards green future is governed by the ability to overcome the challenges facing the high rise buildings sustainability. This research is dedicated to assess the high rise buildings’ energy towards near net-zero energy consumption from the point of view of production (the on-site energy generation via renewable technologies) and consumption (the usage of low consumption products). The features of the high rise buildings limit the on-site renewable energy production to solar energy, therefore the integration of solar application in the building’s facade plays a major role in the on-site energy production. Since, the relative roof area compared to the height of the high rise buildings is much less than the single family houses. Therefore, the use of the facade in high rise buildings for clean energy production becomes a major element towards its sustainability. There are several solar energy production techniques of which the most feasible and effective one is the combined electricity generation and heat collection via integrating PV and thermal collector system this system is denoted as solar Photovoltaic and Thermal (PVT) system. PVT system produces both electricity and heat at a higher efficiency from one integrated system on the same surface area exposed to the sun. For instance, PVT system produces approximately 43% more primary energy than a conventional solar thermal collector per unit surface area, and even around 96% more than a conventional Photovoltaic PV system (PVTwins, n.d). The concept of the PVT system was generated based on the fact that Photovoltaic (PV) system has typically 14-17% efficiency, so the rest of more than 80% is a lost energy; this lost energy goes in a form of heat. This heat could reach as high as 50oC above the ambient temperature resulting in structural damage as well as reducing the system efficiency by 25%. Recovering this harmful heat could reach up to five times thermal energy more than electricity from PV array (Hollick, 2011). From the energy consumption perspective, the air conditioning and ventilation system (HVAC) is considered as one of the highest energy consumer in the overall high rise buildings energy consumption (around 40%). This makes it an essential part of any high rise buildings energy solution therefore several low energy consumption HVAC systems has been developed recently. As such, absorption chiller presents one of the greenest HVAC system whereby it has no moving part, no electricity required, thermal driven system (use heat to produce cold) and could be operated by solar thermal energy. In this sense, the enterprise should respond to the increasing demand of the high efficiency buildings mainly by developing new solutions that enhance the latest green technologies and overcome the recent energy challenges.