Thermal energy storage (TES) using phase change materials (PCM) can be used for load shaving or peak load shifting when coupled to a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system such as heat pump. In these systems the PCM is embedded in packages or used in bulk, so the compatibility...

The use of thermal energy storage (TES) systems for solar heating and cooling applications has received considerable attention in recent decades because it has a high potential in energy savings. Phase change materials (PCMs) can store large amount of energy per mass unit compared with other TES...

Aquaculture has become an important sector of animal food production thanks to a fast and continuous growth over the last few decades. Both marine and fresh water fish can be reared in fish farms, and there are species that are mainly produced by aquaculture rather than capture. As most of the...

Sustainability of building construction systems depends on their material and energy consumption, and the consequent environmental impact. Thus, the evaluation of their sustainability requires a wide analysis that includes these three topics. Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and Life Cycle...

Today, green roofs are a building system which provides interesting benefits over traditional roof solutions. The most important advantages are the reduction of surface runoff in cities, improvement of the urban climate, biodiversity support, improvement of the durability of roofing materials,...

Among the research activities that aim at reducing energy consumption in buildings and their impact on the environment is an experimental set-up that has several house-shaped cubicles constructed in Puigverd de Lleida (Spain). Assessing the environmental impact through studying the...

Thermal energy storage and conversion aims to improve the high inefficiency of the industrial processes and renewable energy systems (supply versus demand). Chemical sorption processes and chemical reactions based on solid–gas systems are a promising way to store and convert thermal energy for...

In a recent meeting of IEA's Annex 23, several members presented their conclusions on the modeling of phase change materials behavior in the context of building applications. These conclusions were in agreement with those of a vast review, involving the survey of more than 250 journal papers,...

This review summarizes and organizes the literature on life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) and life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) studies carried out for environmental evaluation of buildings and building related industry and sector (including construction products,...

The use of double skin facades (DSF) in the building sector and its thermal benefits have been widely studied numerically over the last 30 years. These modelling and simulations are based on different typologies, which have evolved altogether with the available computational resources. The...