Jianwu Xiong , Jing Wu , Qianru Yang , Yao Tang , Mingming Xiang , Zexuan Tian , Yin Zhang , Menglong Zhang , Gang Mao , Lingling Yong
{"title":"Emergency shelter design optimization in mountainous China: onsite field investigation and indicator modification practice","authors":"Jianwu Xiong , Jing Wu , Qianru Yang , Yao Tang , Mingming Xiang , Zexuan Tian , Yin Zhang , Menglong Zhang , Gang Mao , Lingling Yong","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116312","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116312","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Emergency shelter standards developed for densely populated urban areas with robust infrastructure are often inadequate for rural regions with sparse populations, limited facilities, and constrained rescue access—such as the high-altitude villages of western Sichuan, China. This study investigates representative ethnic settlements in this region through field surveys and large-scale experimental assessments to reveal the mismatch between current shelter standards and the realities of high-altitude evacuation scenarios. Based on this, the study evaluates capacity requirements and land expansion needs for emergency shelters and proposes context-specific design strategies. Furthermore, CFD-based thermal simulations are conducted to optimize the heating frequency of traditional indoor heating devices used in temporary shelters, offering practical guidance for thermal regulation. Preliminary findings indicate that the demand for expanded space is primarily driven by increased body length when lying down and the local need to store culturally significant personal items, such as stoves and prayer wheels. The revised spatial benchmark suggests a ∼20 % increase in per capita shelter area. By integrating considerations of harsh climatic conditions and indigenous cultural practices, this research proposes a localized framework for emergency shelter design in high-altitude rural environments. The findings contribute to improving spatial planning for post-disaster response and enhancing the resilience of underserved mountainous communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116312"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Are we adequately accounting for human factors in analyses of thermal comfort studies?","authors":"A.K. Mishra , P Wargocki , E.J. O’Reilly","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116335","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116335","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We discuss thermal comfort research data analysis, focusing on the nature of human responses, response scales, and human-built environment interactions. The goal is to highlight methods that provide an appreciation of human responses and inter-individual variability. We posit that there should be reduced focus on finding correlations and looking for “one size fits all” answers. Our position is illustrated by sample data from the ASHRAE Global Thermal Comfort Database II. Through this work, we want to promote dialogue on how data analysis can retain a strong mathematical basis while remaining true to the human responses regarding thermal comfort.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116335"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research on the green retrofitting strategies of existing residential buildings in cold areas","authors":"Ying Han, Shuaipeng Yang, Zhiqiang Sun, Jiayao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116320","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116320","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Owing to global climate change and the energy crisis, there is an urgent need to enhance the energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of existing residential buildings in cold regions. In this paper, the DeST software was used to simulate the energy consumption of Longhuhongting condominium in Lunan District, Tangshan City, as a case study. Relative to the baseline, increasing the external wall insulation thickness from 50 mm to 110 mm yields a 17.32 % reduction in the annual cumulative space-heating load, while an equivalent increment in roof insulation thickness delivers a 9.05 % improvement in energy-saving performance. The aluminum alloy hollow or low-e hollow glass window significantly reduces the heat load and achieves a maximum energy saving rate of 58.85 %, while reducing the cooling load by 48.2 %. Through combined simulation, the optimal scheme achieves an overall energy-saving rate of 38.39 % and an annual reduction of 61.69t CO<sub>2</sub>. While the scheme’s static payback period is 13.07 years, it remains feasible when considered alongside long-term environmental benefits and potential policy support.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116320"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144892678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiangwei Liu , Xiang Chen , Jinchao Zhang , Li Liu
{"title":"Optimizing HVAC performance through occupancy-based control: A machine learning approach for energy efficiency and comfort","authors":"Xiangwei Liu , Xiang Chen , Jinchao Zhang , Li Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116326","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116326","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Global energy-related CO<sub>2</sub> emissions reached a record high in 2023, diverging significantly from the reductions required to meet the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. The building sector is a major contributor, accounting for approximately 40 % of global energy consumption, nearly half of which is used by Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. Enhancing the energy efficiency of HVAC systems is therefore crucial for achieving carbon neutrality. Traditionally, HVAC systems maintain indoor comfort regardless of occupancy status, resulting in considerable energy waste. This study introduces a novel approach to optimizing HVAC control strategy through the integration of object detection technology. A convolutional neural network (CNN)-based algorithm is developed to detect and estimate real-time room occupancy. Based on the detected occupancy, the system dynamically adjusts the supply of fresh air, aligning ventilation demand with actual usage. The proposed strategy is evaluated in terms of both energy performance and indoor environmental comfort. Using the reading room at Nanchang University’s library as a case study, results demonstrate a 52.1 % reduction in energy consumption compared to traditional HVAC control methods. Furthermore, the average Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) of occupants drops from 14.3 % to 7.2 %, indicating improved thermal comfort. These findings suggest that the proposed occupancy-based HVAC control method offers a promising solution for enhancing building energy efficiency and contributing to carbon neutrality goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116326"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144886638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abid Ustaoğlu , Hande Torlaklı , Vedat Veli Cay , Şermin Kocyiğit , Ertuğrul Erdoğmuş , Gökhan Hekimoğlu , Ahmet Sarı , Osman Gencel
{"title":"Development of Mardin Stone-Based Shape-Stabilized phase change material concretes for sustainable thermal energy storage in buildings","authors":"Abid Ustaoğlu , Hande Torlaklı , Vedat Veli Cay , Şermin Kocyiğit , Ertuğrul Erdoğmuş , Gökhan Hekimoğlu , Ahmet Sarı , Osman Gencel","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116324","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116324","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Heat-based energy storage systems play a vital role in optimizing energy management in buildings by efficiently storing excess thermal energy and releasing it when needed, thereby reducing energy consumption and enhancing sustainability. Among thermal energy storage methods, phase change material (PCM) applications are at the forefront, offering energy absorption and release capabilities through building envelopes. With its natural porosity and thermal stability, Mardin stone is a sustainable and energy-efficient base material for composite applications, enhancing heat storage capacity and promoting eco-friendly construction solutions. This study presents an innovative approach by integrating shape-stabilized PCM (SSPCM) into concrete, utilizing a novel combination of natural and sustainable materials for energy-efficient building systems. By combining Mardin stone (MS) with Lauryl alcohol (LAOH), the composite was tested in various ratios (25–100 wt%) to evaluate its thermal, physical, and mechanical properties. The MS/LAOH composite exhibited a melting temperature of 19.95 °C, reduced thermal conductivity by 13.19 %, and decreased compressive strength by 6.1 MPa. Thermoregulation tests demonstrated up to a 1.81 °C reduction in daytime room center temperatures and a 0.93 °C increase in nighttime temperatures. Furthermore, integrating MS/LAOH reduced emissions of 33.68 kg CO<sub>2</sub>·m<sup>−2</sup>·year<sup>−1</sup> and annual cost savings of $4.80·m<sup>−2</sup>. These findings highlight the potential of composites to enhance energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact in buildings, contributing to zero-energy goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116324"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reducing household electricity use through smart meters: The role of improved consumer energy awareness","authors":"Chunyu Zhang , Kaiyue Qu , Zang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116318","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116318","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Residential smart meters have been rolled out more rapidly in recent years worldwide, with international pilot studies showing that under conditions of improved consumption feedback, especially in-home displays, household electricity demand can be substantially reduced. The focus of the present study is to examine two important research questions to gain insight into the factors underlying such information-induced demand declines. The first is an investigation of the idea of feedback, enhancing the awareness of energy-saving household behaviours. Second, it examines whether increased information can explain the reductions in electricity consumption observed following the introduction of smart meters and time-of-use (TOU) pricing. Based on the results of a randomized controlled trial conducted in Ireland that featured thorough surveys of the household preferences regarding energy conservation and self-reported knowledge of electricity saving, the research affirms that household electricity consumption is indeed substantially cut when they are enrolled in a smart metering scheme with TOU tariffs. Yet, although short-term demand decreases are not associated with it, treated households self-report an increase in energy-saving knowledge. The results indicate that real-time feedback and contextual information offered by smart meters are a more important factor in altering consumption behaviour as compared to knowledge gains, which underscores the motivational role of feedback mechanisms in energy efficiency promotion.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116318"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144890927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiayang Jiang , Hongyuan Mei , Jiaqi Wang , Nuo Cheng , Ke Ye
{"title":"From morphological to functional layout: comprehensive analysis and CNN-based prediction framework for carbon emissions in cold-region university campuses","authors":"Jiayang Jiang , Hongyuan Mei , Jiaqi Wang , Nuo Cheng , Ke Ye","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116315","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116315","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban morphology plays a pivotal role in determining building carbon emissions. Existing studies have predominantly examined single-function areas, such as residential and commercial zones, with a greater emphasis on morphological layouts rather than functional arrangements. University campuses, with their complex functions and diverse morphologies, present unique challenges in carbon emission studies. Existing prediction methods, such as multiple linear regression, are ill-suited for such complex environments. This study develops a simulation framework integrating energy use and solar power generation to analyze the carbon emission intensity of 560 functional zones in 20 cold-region cities in northern China. Key factors were identified: for teaching and research zones, shape coefficient, facade roof area ratio, plot ratio, building area and standard deviation of height of teaching buildings; for living zones, shape coefficient, percentage of dormitory sites, standard deviation of height of activity centers, facade roof area ratio, average height of activity centers and sky view factor. Leveraging image recognition and convolutional neural networks, a carbon emission intensity prediction model was developed, achieving 95.9% accuracy, while predicting energy use intensity and solar energy generation intensity with accuracies of 96.8% and 91.1%, respectively, offering a robust tool for sustainable campus design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116315"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144886639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sheng Lei , Tao Bojun , Lan Huaiyu , Zhang Chunfeng , Zhang Xiaojun
{"title":"Static method of liquid-immersed thermal regulation for a household energy-storing with lithium-ion batteries","authors":"Sheng Lei , Tao Bojun , Lan Huaiyu , Zhang Chunfeng , Zhang Xiaojun","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116325","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116325","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ensuring the safety of household energy storage is crucial for ensuring the safety of residential buildings in countries such as Europe and Africa. Targeting the problem of thermal field regulation in household energy storage with 100 Ah lithium-ion battery packs, this work proposes a novel method of static liquid-immersed thermal regulation to manage variations and distributions of the battery pack<em>’</em>s temperature field. Experimentally, this study investigates the effects of operational temperature, non-immersed versus liquid-immersed conditions on temperature change behaviors, heat generations, and charge–discharge efficiencies of the battery pack. The findings reveal that the temperature rise increases as the operating temperature drops, significantly reaching a 50 ℃ increase during 0.5C-rate discharge at freezing −40 ℃ conditions, contrasting sharply with less than 7.0 ℃ rise in high-temperature conditions 40 ℃ environments. Importantly, the battery pack’s temperature increases under ambient submersion liquid cooling (ambient temperature, 0.5C-rate charge/discharge) is reduced by 3.3 ℃ compared to non-immersed status, effectively keeping temperatures under 36.0 ℃. These results bear relevance for informing thermal management designs and optimizing performance parameters for household energy storage with battery packs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116325"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144879978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A short-term residential load forecasting framework based on dynamic spatio-temporal graph neural networks","authors":"Wei Shi , Yufeng Wang , Ting Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116311","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116311","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate residential load forecasting (RLF) is essential for energy management. With the proliferation of smart meters and advances in deep learning, graph neural networks that capture spatio-temporal patterns have gained attention. However, existing single static spatio-temporal graph methods cannot adequately model the dynamic nature of spatial correlations in the data. Moreover, different levels of spatial interaction patterns exist simultaneously: stable spatial correlations from a macro perspective and varying spatial associations caused by users’ random and individualized behaviors from a micro perspective. To address these limitations, we propose a novel RLF framework based on Dynamic Spatio-Temporal Graph Neural Networks (DSTGNN). Our approach simultaneously learns static and dynamic graph structures to capture hierarchical spatial correlations. At the macro-level, we exploit node embeddings to derive graph structures that capture persistent long-term correlations of electricity consumption among households. At the micro-level, we construct dynamic graph structures from temporal data while utilizing the macro-level stable correlations as inductive bias to maintain the locality of dynamic variations. The proposed framework employs a stacked architecture integrating graph convolutional modules and temporal self-attention modules to respectively capture spatial and temporal dependencies, while optimizing graph topologies and model parameters in an end-to-end manner. Experiments on two datasets demonstrate that DSTGNN achieves significant performance improvements over state-of-the-art forecasting models, with 4.13 % reduction in RMSE and 30.31 % reduction in MAE compared to AGCRN on the UMass Smart* dataset, and 6.30 % reduction in RMSE and 3.31 % reduction in MAE compared to MTGNN on the TMY3 dataset.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116311"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144864991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yu Zhang , Qinglin Meng , Chuanrui Li , Qianlong Qi , Junsong Wang
{"title":"Salt-induced alterations in the surface heat transfer coefficient of porous red sandstone","authors":"Yu Zhang , Qinglin Meng , Chuanrui Li , Qianlong Qi , Junsong Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116316","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116316","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The long-term exposure of building envelopes to salt spray in coastal environments significantly impacts their durability and longevity. Building envelopes, typically composed of porous materials, are susceptible to salt infiltration through pores, which degrades their thermal performance. The surface heat transfer coefficient (HTC) serves as a critical boundary condition for coupled heat and moisture transfer in building envelopes and is closely linked to energy consumption calculations. However, the influence of salt on the HTC of porous materials remains underexplored. Due to the rapid variation of outdoor environmental parameters, analyzing individual parameters using orthogonal tests is impractical. This study employs a multi-field coupled climatic wind tunnel to investigate the external surface HTC of salt-containing red sandstone, focusing on the effects of wind speed and salt content. The results showed that wind speed and salt content positively correlate with HTC. Specifically, as the wind speed increased from 1 m/s to 4 m/s, the HTC of the salt-containing red sandstone exhibited a maximum increase of 316.1 %. When the wind speed is 4 m/s, the HTC of the salt-containing red sandstone reached a maximum increase of 51.3 % higher than that of the salt-free red sandstone. In addition, an extended model, building on the ISO 6946 model, was developed to incorporate the effects of salt content and wind speed. The findings of this study provide boundary conditions for the coupled heat, moisture, and salt transfer model for salt-containing red sandstone. Furthermore, it can be integrated into energy consumption simulation software to more accurately simulate energy consumption.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"347 ","pages":"Article 116316"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144908768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}