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To improve the building’s energy efficiency many parameters should be assessed considering the building envelope, energy loads, occupation, and HVAC systems. Fenestration is among the most important variables impacting residential building indoor temperatures. So, it is crucial to use the most optimal energy-efficient window glazing in buildings to reduce energy consumption and at the same time provide visual daylight comfort and thermal comfort. Many studies have focused on the improvement of building energy efficiency focusing on the building envelope or the heating, ventilation, and cooling systems. But just a few studies have focused on studying the effect of glazing on building energy consumption. Thus, this paper aims to study the influence of different glazing types on the building’s heating and cooling energy consumption. A real case study building located under a semi-arid climate was used. The building energy model has been conducted using the OpenStudio simulation engine. Building indoor temperature was calibrated using ASHRAE’s statistical indices. Then a comparative analysis was conducted using seven different types of windows including single, double, and triple glazing filled with air and argon. Tripleglazed and double-glazed windows with argon space offer 37% and 32% of annual energy savings. It should be stressed that the methodology developed in this paper could be useful for further studies to improve building energy efficiency using optimal window glazing.
Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are constantly prone to failures during their lifespan, causing breakdowns, high energy bills, and indoor discomfort. In addition to correctly identifying these defects, fault detection, and diagnostic studies should be able to anticipate and predict the anomalies before they occur for efficient maintenance. Therefore, this study introduces an efficient self-learning predictive maintenance system, CACMMS (Cloud Air Conditioning Monitoring & Management System), designed to anticipate refrigerant leaks in VRF systems. Unlike previous efforts, this system leverages advanced fault detection and diagnosis strategies in a real existing building to enhance prediction accuracy. The study employed three noise filtering models (Kalman filter, moving average, S-G smoothing) in the preprocessing phase. Ten features were selected for assessment, and four machine learning models (decision tree, random forest, K-nearest neighbor, support vector machine) were compared. The accuracy, precision, sensitivity, computation time as well and confusion matrix were used as performance indicators and metrics to evaluate and choose the best performant model. Results indicated that decision tree and random forest models achieved over 95 % accuracy with execution times between 0.70 s and 3.32 s, outperforming K-nearest neighbor and support vector machine models. These findings highlight the system’s potential to reduce downtime and energy costs through effective predictive maintenance.
Effective building energy efficiency requires understanding fenestration’s role in regulating indoor temperatures. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of integrating static glazing with dynamic coatings on building energy efficiency and indoor comfort in a lightweight structure situated in a semi-arid climate. Employing a comprehensive numerical model developed using EnergyPlus and Radiance tools, various static commercial glass window configurations are evaluated to assess their effects on energy consumption, thermal and visual comfort, and economic and environmental considerations. This analysis includes assessments of thermal comfort using PMV and PPD indicators and evaluations of visual comfort based on daylighting and glare metrics. The findings highlight the advantages of incorporating thermochromic and electrochromic films, demonstrating significant improvements in building energy efficiency and interior thermal and visual comfort. Notably, double glazing emerges as the most economically efficient and environmentally viable option, resulting in a reduction of emissions by 1522.38 kgCO2/year, with a payback period of 12.86 years. Furthermore, combining thermochromic and electrochromic coatings with optimal static glazing leads to a remarkable 26 % reduction in energy consumption. These results underscore the potential of dynamic coatings to enhance building energy performance while ensuring occupant comfort. This research approach provides valuable insights into sustainable building design, emphasizing the integrated impact of glazing solutions on energy use, comfort, and environmental sustainability.
The variable refrigerant flow system is one of the best heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC) thanks to its ability to provide thermal comfort inside buildings. But, at the same time, these systems are considered one of the most energy-consuming systems in the building sector. Thus, it is crucial to well size the system according to the building’s cooling and heating needs and the indoor temperature fluctuations. Although many researchers have studied the optimization of the building energy performance considering heating or cooling needs, using air handling units, radiant floor heating, and direct expansion valves, few studies have considered the use of multi-objective optimization using only the thermostat setpoints of VRF systems for both cooling and heating needs. Thus, the main aim of this study is to conduct a sensitivity analysis and a multi-objective optimization strategy for a residential building containing a variable refrigerant flow system, to evaluate the effect of the building performance on energy consumption and improve the building energy efficiency. The numerical model was based on the EnergyPlus, jEPlus, and jEPlus+EA simulation engines. The approach used in this paper has allowed us to reach significant quantitative energy saving by varying the cooling and heating setpoints and scheduling scenarios. It should be stressed that this approach could be applied to several HVAC systems to reduce energy-building consumption.
This paper presents a framework for numerical building validation enhancement based on detailed building specifications from in-situ measurements and evidence-based validation assessment undertaken on a detached sustainable lightweight building in a semi-arid climate. The validation process has been undergone in a set of controlled experiments – a free-float period, and steady-state internal temperatures. The validation was conducted for a complete year with a 1-min time step for the hourly indoor temperature and the variable refrigerant flow (VRF) energy consumption. The initial baseline model was improved by three series of validation steps per three different field measurements including thermal transmittance, glazing thermal and optical properties, and airtightness. Then, the accurate and validated model was used for building energy efficiency assessment in 12 regions of Morocco. This study aims to assess the effect of accurate building characteristics values on the numerical model enhancement. The initial CV(RMSE) and NMBE have improved respectively from 14.58 % and −11.23 %–7.85 % and 1.86 % for the indoor temperature. Besides, from 31.17 % to 14.37 %–20.57 % and 9.77 % for energy consumption. The findings demonstrate that the lightweight construction with the use of a variable refrigerant flow system could be energy efficient in the southern regions of Morocco.
Energy efficiency and hygrothermal performance of hemp clay walls for Moroccan residential buildings
(2023)
Hemp-based building envelopes have gained significant popularity in developed countries, and now the trend of constructing houses with hemp-clay blocks is spreading to developing countries like Morocco. Investigating the hygrothermal behavior of such structures under actual climate conditions is essential for advancing and promoting this sustainable practice. This paper presents an in-depth experimental characterization of a commercial hemp-clay brick that has been exposed to the outdoor environment for four years, in addition to field measurements on a building scale demonstration prototype. Additionally, the study simulates 17 representative cities to assess the hygrothermal performance and energy-saving potential in each of Morocco's six existing climate zones, using the EnergyPlus engine. The experimental campaign's findings demonstrate excellent indoor air temperature and relative humidity regulation within the hemp-clay wall building, leading to satisfactory levels of thermal comfort within hemp-clay wall buildings. This is attributed to the material's good thermal conductivity and excellent moisture buffering capacity (found to be 0.31 W/mK and 2.25 g/m2%RH), respectively). The energy simulation findings also point to significant energy savings, with cooling and heating energy reductions ranging from 27.7% to 47.5% and 33.7% to 79.8%, respectively, as compared to traditional Moroccan buildings.
Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) and variable air volume (VAV) systems are considered among the best heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC) thanks to their ability to provide cooling and heating in different thermal zones of the same building. As well as their ability to recover the heat rejected from spaces requiring cooling and reuse it to heat another space. Nevertheless, at the same time, these systems are considered one of the most energy-consuming systems in the building. So, it is crucial to well size the system according to the building’s cooling and heating needs and the indoor temperature fluctuations. This study aims to compare these two energy systems by conducting an energy model simulation of a real building under a semi-arid climate for cooling and heating periods. The developed building energy model (BEM) was validated and calibrated using measured and simulated indoor air temperature and energy consumption data. The study aims to evaluate the effect of these HVAC systems on energy consumption and the indoor thermal comfort of the building. The numerical model was based on the Energy Plus simulation engine. The approach used in this paper has allowed us to reach significant quantitative energy saving along with a high level of indoor thermal comfort by using the VRF system compared to the VAV system. The findings prove that the VRF system provides 46.18% of the annual total heating energy savings and 6.14% of the annual cooling and ventilation energy savings compared to the VAV system.