Building Better
Asynchronous Session
Building Energy Modeling for Post-occupancy Evaluation: Practical Retrofits for Educational Facilities View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mohammad Mehdi Ghiai, Sepideh Niknia
One of the significant issues in the buildings during a Post-Occupancy Evaluation is exceeded energy usage, especially in buildings was constructed before the energy crises in the 70s, such as university campuses. This research conducted based on the POE projects for four major academic buildings across the Texas Tech University (TTU) campus in Lubbock, TX, to evaluate the building performance and users’ comfort. While most of the buildings in TTU consume more energy than the average EUI for university buildings, energy consumption and harmful consequences should be considered. For this purpose and building performance evaluation, data on actual energy consumption, building construction specifications, operating schedules, and equipment for each building have been gathered. Then, all four building energy models were created on IES Virtual Environment (IESVE) and calibrated based on actual data for similar buildings and climate zone through the ENERGY STAR portfolio manager. Next, potential retrofits for energy- efficiency, such as passive strategies and renewable energy production, are modeled in IESVE. Results from the building energy simulations indicated that among the strategies for reducing energy consumption, specific approaches (Double Glazing and Set Back for thermostats) could achieve energy reductions by 15% and 18%, respectively. Furthermore, combining different retrofits to enhance energy efficiency could result in a substantial reduction 28%, 24%, 23%, and 26%, in annual energy consumption across the studied buildings, representing a noticeable improvement. These findings, derived from building energy modeling (BEM), enable quick and accurate decision-making regarding building performance enhancement in occupied buildings.
Sustainable Concrete-based Structures: Review for the Potential Benefits of Basalt Fiber Reinforced Concrete in Enhancing the Environmental Performance of Buildings View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nadine Al Bqour
Incorporating basalt fibers composites that are caused by the melting process of basalt rocks into the concrete mixture to create the composite of the basalt fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC) is a good idea to enhance concrete's mechanical properties, thus the concrete structural performance. However, modern building materials must fulfill not only structural performance criteria but also reduce the environmental impact accompanied by their production. As informed by related literature in the field of BFRC, benefits linked with mechanical properties in terms of structural performance were illustrated widely. While there is only a very limited amount of information available on the impact of using BFRC in terms of environmental impact. Thus, this review identifies this research gap and draws a potential linkage for how to assess the environmental performance of BFRC-based buildings to be used in future research which relies on sustainability perspectives.
Navigating Legal and Regulatory Frameworks: Towards Climate Resilience and Sustainability of Indigenous Socioecological Systems View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Stephen Chitengi Sakapaji
Currently, the sustainability of Indigenous Socioecological Systems (ISES) faces a grave threat due to global anthropogenic environmental changes, endangering Indigenous People (IP), who act as custodians of a substantial portion of the world's natural capital. Indigenous Traditional Food Systems (ITFS) emerge as crucial components of ISES, offering diverse, nutritious food while holding cultural, spiritual, and economic significance for indigenous communities. However, a significant gap exists in understanding how contemporary policies and legal frameworks may impact the adaptability, resilience, and sustainability of ITFS within ISES. Despite showcasing sustainable lifestyles and harmonious relationships with nature, Indigenous perspectives and concerns are inadequately represented in discussions on climate and sustainability. This research explores the influence of regulatory and legal frameworks on climate adaptation, resilience-building, and sustainability within ISES, focusing on ITFS. Utilizing interpretive research methodologies, the study examines the socioecological systems of two diverse Indigenous communities—the Karen Indigenous People of Thailand and various Indigenous groups from the Yakutia (Russian Sakha Republic). The findings of this research conclude that while Indigenous communities face unique challenges, common threads in their experiences underscore the need for comprehensive legal and regulatory frameworks that prioritize Indigenous self-determination, cultural preservation, and land rights. This research further underscores that to successfully navigate the path towards climate resilience and sustainability within ISES, governments and local and international stakeholders must recognize the vulnerability of Indigenous peoples and engage them as active partners in climate adaptation and resilience-building efforts. This recognition should extend beyond tokenistic gestures, fostering meaningful collaboration and decision-making power.
A Review of Potential of Distributed Energy Resources-based Electricity System in the Perspective of Sociotechnical Complementarities View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yi Yang Wang
Considering the international trend of increasing share of renewable energy and the grid-resilience risks posed by climate change, the development of the distributed energy resources-based electricity system (DER-based system) has become one of the key sustainable development agendas. Though many articles stress renewable energy source-based systems (RES-based systems), the majority of them haven’t provided an exact classification of such systems. Therefore, this study has further integrated the DER and RES-based system as a new categorization of energy systems. Furthermore, with this new categorization, this paper contributes to investigate the change in complementarities, elements, and the transition pathways of this system, which has been less frequently mentioned in previous studies. To fill in this gap, this study has employed the methodology of systematic literature review (SLR). As the results of the SLR, this study has organized the possible elements, complementarities, bottlenecks, value for consumers, and their relationships by the mapping of them, and, more importantly, the author has also aware of several findings in changing factors. For instance, the transition of the end-users from traditional consumers to proactive prosumers could be a significant changing factor happened in the development path of the electrical system. Since the prosumers have been given the “competence” to affect the focal DER-related technologies and even the whole DER-based systems, their status changed from the conventional electricity consumers to active organizational complementarities, which could be considered a significant “role shifting”.
