PLEA

This paper provides an overview of the opportunities for renewable energy generation and low-carbon solutions in a prefabricated residential development (which includes some commercial space) in London. Its objective is to identify the optimum design of mechanical and electrical (M&E) plant and energy solution configurations. As well as technical appraisals and assessments of compliance with planning policies, a broad comparison of the capital cost and life cycle cost (LCC) of different options is carried out. To assess the costs, specifically the energy costs, and the carbon implications of various design scenarios, this study has reviewed the capital costs as well as the operational costs (cost in use) of applying various renewable and low carbon energy technologies to different primary heating strategies, over a 30-year life cycle. This is the same period included within the operational model. Accordingly, scenarios involving the use of electricity, gas and air source heat pumps (ASHPs) were examined and compared. The results suggest that ASHPs have the lowest energy and carbon emissions but high LCC, while the gas plant option has the lowest capital and maintenance costs.

As one of the leading conferences in the study area of passive and low energy architecture, the Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA) Conference has presented continuously great efforts and innovative ideas from worldwide research communities and professional society in promoting the study of passive and low energy architecture. With the rapid urbanization and technological progress in the past decade, more and more research branches of PLEA emerged. Clarifying the research trend variation would benefit the research communities in identifying research gaps in this research area. This paper examines the PLEA proceedings from 2006 to 2018 with text data mining techniques in Python environment. More than three thousand lines of research paper titles have been analyzed to find out the research trend variations. The analysis reveals that main concerns of PLEA research have remained stable during the past decades. The main concerns are, indoor and outdoor thermal comfort in building level, and urban heat island effect in regional level. Natural ventilation is one of the most discussed technique in passive design strategies. Enlightening but rare mentioned keywords are ‘visual comfort’, ‘life cycle’, ‘integrated design’, ‘urban morphology’, ‘urban micro-climate’, ‘climate change’, ‘parametric study’, ‘benefit reusing’, ‘neural network’. In 2018, more advanced computation methods have been involved in PLEA research. The social house, school, dwelling, office, and residential buildings are the building types that being focused most. Research gaps lie in rural buildings that are occupied by about half of the global population and the study on accessible daylight via reasonable architectural design. This study may serve as an informative reference for research communities, industry practitioners and non-profit organizations to appreciate passive and low energy architecture research trends and developments.

Temporary urbanism is an approach to reactivate urban spaces through short-term interventions in a range of urban contexts. In central São Paulo, the Luz and Santa Ifigênia neighbourhoods, characterized by deprivation of their physical environments and social structures, were the focus of this investigation. The Mungunzá Container Theatre and the General Osório Square, located within these neighbourhoods, were selected as case studies. Whilst the thermal performance of the container theatre itself was the main interest, in the case of the Square the fundamental issue was the environmental noise. The objective was to identify adequate strategies to improve environmental conditions in these locations in order to enhance positive social impact, and, then, contribute to the regeneration of these neighbourhoods. This research was based on fieldwork and analytical procedures of thermal and acoustic performances. In the container theatre building, the adoption of external shading and wider openings for ventilation reduced its indoor peak temperatures and delivered thermal comfort during the warmest period of the year. In the Square, sound absorber road surface material and an acoustic shell were proposed to reduce noise and promote better acoustic quality for outdoor performances.

The study examines the effects of adding vegetation to a Tel Aviv neighbourhood on the microclimate, and subsequently on electricity consumption for heating and cooling. Computer simulation was employed to generate modified weather files that account for urban effects in different building configurations. These files were then used as inputs for detailed computer simulation of building energy performance. Elevated night-time temperatures in the urban location increase summer cooling relative to the reference rural site, but reduce winter heating, resulting in a net decrease of 2-7% in overall electricity use for heating and cooling (depending on building characteristics). The reduction in the potential for cooling by night ventilation will increase the prevalence of air conditioning use and make buildings more vulnerable to potential loss of electric power during episodes of extreme heat. Implementing a strategy of extensive planting, so that a green surface fraction of 0.5 is obtained, results in a mean annual temperature reduction of about 0.3 °C and an energy saving relative to the current condition of about 2-3%.