{"title":"Opportunities to decarbonize heat in the UK using Urban Wastewater Heat Recovery","authors":"Shazia Farman Ali, A. Gillich","doi":"10.1177/01436244211034739","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211034739","url":null,"abstract":"By 2050, the UK government plans to create ‘Net zero society’. 1 To meet this ambitious target, the deployment of low carbon technologies is an urgent priority. The low carbon heat recovery technologies such as heat recovery from sewage via heat pump can play an important role. It is based on recovering heat from the sewage that is added by the consumer, used and flushed in the sewer. This technology is currently successfully operating in many cities around the world. In the UK, there is also a rising interest to explore this technology after successful sewage heat recovery demonstration project at Borders College, Galashiels, Scotland. 2 However, further experimental research is needed to build the evidence base, replicate, and de-risk the concept elsewhere in the UK. The Home Energy 4 Tomorrow (HE4T) project at London South Bank University was created to address this evidence gap. This is the fourth article in the series of outputs on sewage heat recovery and presents some results using sewage data from the UK’s capital London. These data are scarce and provide useful information on the variation of flows and temperatures encountered in the sewers of the UK’s capital. Lastly, we discuss the recoverable heat potential along with policy implications for the UK heat strategy. Practical application This work focuses and accentuate that in order to meet climate change targets, substantial improvements can come by heat recovery from the raw (influent) and treated wastewater (effluent from wastewater treatment plant) that is still unexploited in the UK. The estimation presented indicates that there is much theoretical potential in the UK with significant opportunity for future energy and revenue retrieval along with GHGs emission reduction in the longer term to fulfil the ‘net zero’ objective. This work aims to raise awareness and seek support to promote pilot scale studies to help demonstrate technical and economic feasibility in the building industry.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211034739","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43680760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Hong, D. Godoy-Shimizu, Y. Schwartz, I. Korolija, A. Mavrogianni, D. Mumovic
{"title":"Characterising the English school stock using a unified national on-site survey and energy database","authors":"S. Hong, D. Godoy-Shimizu, Y. Schwartz, I. Korolija, A. Mavrogianni, D. Mumovic","doi":"10.1177/01436244211030667","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211030667","url":null,"abstract":"The recent commitment towards a net-zero target by 2050 will require considerable improvement to the UK’s building stock. Accounting for over 10% of the services energy consumption of the United Kingdom, the education sector will play an important role. This study aims to improve the understanding of English primary and secondary schools, using national on-site survey data with several large-scale disaggregate data sources. Property Data Survey Programme (PDSP) data on 18,970 schools collected between 2012 and 2014, Display Energy Certificate (DEC) and school census data from the same period were linked and processed to form a unified schools dataset. Statistical analyses were undertaken on 10,392 schools, with a focus on energy performance, and the relationship to several building and system characteristics. The analyses may point to the possibility of assessing operational energy use of schools in a more disaggregate manner. New datasets with detailed and accurate disaggregate information on characteristics of buildings, such as those used in this study, provide opportunities to develop more robust models of the building stock. Such data would provide an opportunity to identify pathways for reducing carbon emissions effectively and provide lessons for other organisations seeking to achieve significant reductions for achieving climate change goals. Practical Application: Outputs from this study are expected to benefit researchers in various organisations to establish a basis for typical buildings and their performance, facilities managers to assess the operational energy efficiency of school buildings, and relevant public bodies to make informed decisions on improving energy efficiency of the school stock.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211030667","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44544383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development of methods to measure the potential of a plaster to regulate indoor humidity","authors":"Kiyomi D Lim, D. Maskell","doi":"10.1177/01436244211025431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211025431","url":null,"abstract":"Moisture buffering utilises hygroscopic construction materials as a more sustainable approach to passively moderate indoor humidity. This study seeks to develop a reproducible test method to obtain a moisture buffering value of common building materials under conditions that reflect typical indoor environmental conditions. Temperature and humidity variations in sinusoidal profiles for two different materials, typically used to finish internal surfaces, have been studied to identify their potential moisture regulation behaviour. Outcomes were then combined and ranked indicating the potential of materials to passively regulate the indoor humidity and the need for robust methods of investigation. Practical application: In response to current practice and materials’ testing procedures, a reproducible test method is considered to enable comprehensive understanding of a hydroscopic materials’ behaviour, where subsequent interpretation of their performance can be quantified. The practicality to consider the use of passive regulation using hygroscopic materials can then be justified to bring indoor RH closer to the optimal range without heavy reliance on mechanical solutions, achieving a more effective passive indoor climate monitoring. It is expected that the outcome of this investigation can potentially form the basis of further improvement on a standardised test method to obtain moisture buffering value of hygroscopic non-structural elements for pragmatic application during design integration process.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211025431","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46391983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Tien, S. Wei, J. Calautit, J. Darkwa, Christopher Wood
{"title":"Vision-based human activity recognition for reducing building energy demand","authors":"P. Tien, S. Wei, J. Calautit, J. Darkwa, Christopher Wood","doi":"10.1177/01436244211026120","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211026120","url":null,"abstract":"Occupancy behaviour in buildings can impact the energy performance and the operation of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. To ensure building operations become optimised, it is vital to develop solutions that can monitor the utilisation of indoor spaces and provide occupants’ actual thermal comfort requirements. This study presents the analysis of the application of a vision-based deep learning approach for human activity detection and recognition in buildings. A convolutional neural network was employed to enable the detection and classification of occupancy activities. The model was deployed to a camera that enabled real-time detections, giving an average detection accuracy of 98.65%. Data on the number of occupants performing each of the selected activities were collected, and deep learning–influenced profile was generated. Building energy simulation and various scenario-based cases were used to assess the impact of such an approach on the building energy demand and provide insights into how the proposed detection method can enable heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems to respond to occupancy’s dynamic changes. Results indicated that the deep learning approach could reduce the over- or under-estimation of occupancy heat gains. It is envisioned that the approach can be coupled with heating, ventilation and air-conditioning controls to adjust the setpoint based on the building space’s actual requirements, which could provide more comfortable environments and minimise unnecessary building energy loads. Practical application Occupancy behaviour has been identified as an important issue impacting the energy demand of building and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. This study proposes a vision-based deep learning approach to capture, detect and recognise in real-time the occupancy patterns and activities within an office space environment. Initial building energy simulation analysis of the application of such an approach within buildings was performed. The proposed approach is envisioned to enable heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems to adapt and make a timely response based on occupancy’s dynamic changes. The results presented here show the practicality of such an approach that could be integrated with heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems for various building spaces and environments.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211026120","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46620541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The effect of opening windows on the airflow distribution inside naturally ventilated residential bedrooms with ceiling fans","authors":"T. Jayasree, B. S. Jinshah, Tadepalli Srinivas","doi":"10.1177/01436244211024084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211024084","url":null,"abstract":"Ceiling fans are the most common equipment in any household with electricity to induce a higher air movement since the potential of natural ventilation is limited. However, the higher airflow region is generally limited to the zone below the fan. The non-uniform distribution of airflow is also affected by the furniture layout and airflow from window openings. This study attempts to evaluate the effect of the different window-opening patterns on the airflow inside naturally ventilated bedrooms, having a ceiling fan for air movement with numerical simulations and on-site measurements. The airflow pattern created by a ceiling fan in a room with furniture is modelled and simulated with ANSYS Fluent 2019 R3. The results were validated with on-site measurements and compared with the literature. The air velocity was measured in bedrooms of three different sizes. It was observed that the opening of windows created a better distribution of air irrespective of room size. The non-uniformity of the air velocity is reduced from 76% to 39% with the opening of windows in the larger-sized room. The reduction in non-uniformity is influenced by the location of windows also. The practice of opening windows along with the induced air movement by ceiling fans results in a better distribution of air in the space. Practical application : People tend to depend mainly on ceiling fans even if windows are open in naturally ventilated rooms. A study of patterns of non-uniform distribution of airflow can help designers to improve comfort conditions by specifying the number and location of fans and windows while designing room furniture layout. This aids the building services engineers to provide thermal comfort without always depending on alternative active ventilation strategies.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211024084","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47818546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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 literature review of building energy simulation and computational fluid dynamics co-simulation strategies and its implications on the accuracy of energy predictions","authors":"Manander Singh, Ryan Sharston","doi":"10.1177/01436244211020465","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211020465","url":null,"abstract":"The paper presents a review of existing literature in the field of coupling Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with Building Energy Simulations (BES) to better predict indoor environmental conditions and building energy implications. CFD is capable of providing a detailed analysis of airflow profile and temperature gradients in the space as well as better prediction of heat transfer involving convection and radiation. Whereas BES can provide dynamically changing boundary conditions to CFD to facilitate a precise transient analysis. Combining the two simulations provides a powerful framework to accurately predict building performance parameters. The review examines the variables exchanged between the two simulations and establishes that the Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient (CHTC) as the most important exchanged variable that can significantly improve the accuracy of energy simulations. Issues regarding the application of co-simulation mechanism are then discussed in terms of simulation discontinuities, along with strategies adopted by researchers to overcome the same. In the later sections, the review evaluates the applicability of co-simulation from the perspective of year-long building energy simulations and presents an overview of methods used in research to implement the same. Finally, the conclusions are discussed and the scope for future research in the field is presented. Practical implication: The review presents a critical analysis of essentially all major coupling strategies that can be used to perform a BES-CFD coupled analysis along with their strengths, limitations and possible application scenarios. Additionally, the problems associated with establishing the co-simulation are examined and various adopted solutions are presented along with methods implemented towards extending the practical applicability of such an analysis to encapsulate year-long simulations.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211020465","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47808244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The effect of the airflow pattern inside air gaps on the assessment of interstitial mould: A theoretical approach","authors":"S. Efthymiopoulos, H. Altamirano, Y. Aktas","doi":"10.1177/01436244211020470","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211020470","url":null,"abstract":"Internal wall insulation is one of the few, possibly, the only feasible solution to efficiently reduce heat losses through the external walls of buildings where the application of external insulation is not an option, for example, in conservation areas. However, the application of this intervention may lead to unintended consequences, such as moisture accumulation and mould growth. Currently, no international standards and regulations exist to evaluate these hazards via non-destructive inspections. Air sampling through impaction and culture-based analysis was suggested in previous research as a potential non-disruptive methodology for interstitial mould testing. The method requires the perforation of the inner side of a wall and the creation of airflow through the operation of a pump, to allow the collection of particles from the confined space of interest. The present study aimed to assess the location of perforations and their effect on the airflow created and the airflow pattern variations due to changes in the airflow velocity at the outlet. Results regarding airflow features such as the turbulence intensity, dynamic pressure and volume-averaged velocity were also extracted and discussed. Practical application : The rapid changes in climate and net-zero emissions targets call for major improvements of the existing building stock towards a more sustainable future. The installation of internal wall insulation is one of the few and might be the only feasible solution for the efficient reduction of heat losses through uninsulated walls. However, this intervention might lead to moisture accumulation and thus moisture-related problems such as mould growth. This study aims to build upon previous work on interstitial mould growth assessment and contribute to the development of a well-defined testing protocol for building professionals.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211020470","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41995973","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
F. Tahmasebi, Yan Wang, Elizabeth Cooper, Daniel Godoy Shimizu, S. Stamp, D. Mumovic
{"title":"Window operation behaviour and indoor air quality during lockdown: A monitoring-based simulation-assisted study in London","authors":"F. Tahmasebi, Yan Wang, Elizabeth Cooper, Daniel Godoy Shimizu, S. Stamp, D. Mumovic","doi":"10.1177/01436244211017786","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211017786","url":null,"abstract":"The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in new patterns of home occupancy, the implications of which for indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy use are not well-known. In this context, the present study investigates 8 flats in London to uncover if during a lockdown, (a) IAQ in the monitored flats deteriorated, (b) the patterns of window operation by occupants changed, and (c) more effective ventilation patterns could enhance IAQ without significant increases in heating energy demand. To this end, one-year’s worth of monitored data on indoor and outdoor environment along with occupant use of windows has been used to analyse the impact of lockdown on IAQ and infer probabilistic models of window operation behaviour. Moreover, using on-site CO2 data, monitored occupancy and operation of windows, the team has calibrated a thermal performance model of one of the flats to investigate the implications of alternative ventilation strategies. The results suggest that despite the extended occupancy during lockdown, occupants relied less on natural ventilation, which led to an increase of median CO2 concentration by up to 300 ppm. However, simple natural ventilation patterns or use of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery proves to be very effective to maintain acceptable IAQ. Practical application : This study provides evidence on the deterioration of indoor air quality resulting from homeworking during imposed lockdowns. It also tests and recommends specific ventilation strategies to maintain acceptable indoor air quality at home despite the extended occupancy hours.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211017786","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49384749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Ibarra-Zárate, Gustavo Navas-Reascos, AL Padilla-Ortiz
{"title":"Passive noise control in buildings: An engineering case study of ducted systems","authors":"D. Ibarra-Zárate, Gustavo Navas-Reascos, AL Padilla-Ortiz","doi":"10.1177/01436244211019635","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211019635","url":null,"abstract":"The most common noise sources in buildings are related to Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, plumbing systems, electrical systems and exterior sources. Passive Noise Control (PNC) techniques in buildings have been implemented in several ways. The aim of this work is to analyses the use of silencer to attenuate the noise in the ducts that are part of the ventilation systems in buildings, internal combustion systems, fans, gas conduction systems, boilers, etc. The main objective of a silencer is to reduce the transmission of noise, disturbing as little as possible the circulation of gas or liquid. In the first instance, the silencers are classified as reactive and dissipative, depending on whether the attenuation of the noise is produced by reflective or dissipative mechanisms, respectively. In a reactive silencer, the losses occur essentially due to the reflections of the sound waves in impedance discontinuities, such as widening or narrowing of the tube. In dissipative silencers, the flow is in contact with a large surface of absorbent material. The attenuation of the noise is then produced by visco-thermal losses in the porous material. In this work, a practical issue will be addressed with a noise reduction of 19 dBA in 60 Hz. Practical application Noise is a current issue in residential areas that could lead to health problems for people. The origin of these noises within buildings is very diverse, one of them is produced by ducts. Appling the PNC technique in modern building construction would be a good prevention practice. For this reason, in this project a PNC system was carried out in the ducts of a residential building, which could be used as a praiseworthy solution, avoiding problems for the inhabitants of these spaces.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211019635","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42939719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rajat Gupta, Alastair Howard, M. Davies, A. Mavrogianni, I. Tsoulou, E. Oikonomou, P. Wilkinson
{"title":"Examining the magnitude and perception of summertime overheating in London care homes","authors":"Rajat Gupta, Alastair Howard, M. Davies, A. Mavrogianni, I. Tsoulou, E. Oikonomou, P. Wilkinson","doi":"10.1177/01436244211013645","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01436244211013645","url":null,"abstract":"This paper brings together objective and subjective data on indoor temperature and thermal comfort to examine the magnitude and perception of summertime overheating in two London-based care homes occupying modern and older buildings. Continuous monitoring of indoor and outdoor temperature, relative humidity and CO2 levels was conducted in summer 2019 along with thermal comfort surveys and semi-structured interviews with older residents and staff of the care settings. Indoor temperatures were found to be high (>30°C) with bedroom temperatures often higher at night than daytime across both care settings. Limited opening due to window restrictors constrained night-time ventilation. Overheating was prevalent with four out of the five monitored bedrooms failing all four overheating metrics investigated. While 35–42% of staff responses perceived indoor temperatures to be uncomfortably hot, only 13–19% of resident responses were found to do so, indicating that elderly residents tend to be relatively insensitive to heat, leaving them open to overheating without realising it. Residents and staff in the modern care setting were less satisfied with their thermal conditions. As hybrid buildings, care settings need to keep both residents and staff comfortable and healthy during hot weather through night-time ventilation, management of heating and supportive institutional practices. Practical application: Care home designs have focused on keeping residents warm through the winter, neglecting the risks of summertime overheating. Care homes are hybrid buildings serving as living spaces for vulnerable older residents and offices/workspaces for staff. Providing comfort to both groups during periods of hot weather is challenging. Opportunities for ventilation are limited by Health & Safety regulations that mandate up to 10 cm maximum window openings and institutional practices that result in windows routinely kept closed, particularly at night. Utilising natural and where possible cross-ventilation should be considered along with external shading. Heating should be managed to avoid unwanted heat gains in the summer.","PeriodicalId":50724,"journal":{"name":"Building Services Engineering Research & Technology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/01436244211013645","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41285882","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}