Since heating and cooling systems of buildings consume 30–50% of the global energy consumption, increased efficiency of such systems means a considerable reduction in energy consumption. Ground source heat pumps (GSHP) are likely to play a central role in achieving this goal due to their high...

Especially in the last decade, efforts have been made in developing the sustainable building assessment tools, which are usually performed based on fundamentals of the First Law of Thermodynamics. However, this approach does not provide a faithful thermodynamic evaluation of the overall energy...

This paper introduces designs, technologies, and best practices aimed at reducing the cooling energy demand in buildings. It covers the basic principles of why occupants need cooling to meet thermal comfort requirements and how heat is transferred into buildings from the outdoor environment....

The major environmental and economic burdens occurring from the high-energy consumption of buildings led to energy performance being a critical aspect for green building rating systems. Building energy codes play an important role for such performances through establishing the baseline...

Especially in the last decade, efforts have been made in developing the sustainable building assessment tools, which are usually performed based on fundamentals of the First Law of Thermodynamics. However, this approach does not provide a faithful thermodynamic evaluation of the overall energy...

Conducting energy-efficient designs on building window can be a solution to relieving the pressure caused by growing building energy consumption. In this paper, a series of simulation studies were carried out to evaluate the performance of several popular energy-efficient window designs in...

The more the design of buildings becomes bioclimatically conscious, the more the behaviour of these buildings tends to become skin dominated. Double elements, much like the different layers of the skin of animals or human beings, can serve more than one purpose at the same time, such as shading,...

This paper introduces designs, technologies, and best practices aimed at reducing the cooling energy demand in buildings. It covers the basic principles of why occupants need cooling to meet thermal comfort requirements and how heat is transferred into buildings from the outdoor environment....

Energy efficiency potentials slumbering in the envelopes of existing and newly constructed buildings are significant and still largely untapped. Increasing concerns of policy-makers about non-sustainable energy use and its implications especially on climate change currently spur a growing...

While space conditioning load contributes largely in grid critical peak, shifting a part or full to the off-peak period could have significant economic effects on both energy supply and demand sides. This shifting technique is accomplished by storing energy during off-peak periods to be utilized...