Energy is one of the most important catalysts in wealth generation, economic growth, and social development in all countries. Buildings have a significant share in total energy consumed globally; therefore, they have a profound impact upon the environment. Energy is used in every stage of building life cycle (these stages are choice of locality, architectural design, structural systems and material selection, building construction, usage and maintenance, demolition, reuse-regain-recycle, and waste disposal). According to World Watch Institute data, buildings are responsible for the annual consumption of 40% of the world's energy. Energy consumption of buildings can be reduced significantly in every stage of a building life cycle. This study investigated the energy-efficient methods in building life cycle. In this context, we give information about the life cycle of building and explain energy-efficient guiding principles in life cycle stages.
Part of the book: Energy Efficient Buildings
Having a far distance from the ground levels exposed to turbulent wind conditions, tall buildings have the potential of generating wind energy. However, there are many challenges to incorporating wind generation into urban areas. These include planning issues besides visual impacts. So, as to integration, there is a need for a combined approach that considers wind energy harvesting besides these issues. At this point, a multidisciplinary approach can fill the gap between the architectural design and the wind engineering processes. Based on this approach, this chapter presents design strategies from the literature to integrate wind energy to tall buildings using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. It is intended to guide further researches on wind energy and consequently to contribute to the environmental quality of urban areas and sustainable development of the cities.
Part of the book: Renewable Energy
Owing to factors such as high living standards and digitalization, energy use is growing. However, the proportion of renewable energy sources is also rising in all energy consumption. Given this use of renewable energy, global warming and environmental issues are still rising. Fossil-based energy species are more polluting and resource-stricken than others. Studies on environmental pollution show that fossil-based energies are the most important pollutants. Fossil-based energy source is still the most consumed type of energy. Besides, the renewable energy sources’ consumption is very low. Therefore, it is important to increase the use of renewable energy, which creates cleaner and less emissions. Buildings should have the right clean energy use incentives. The needs such as heating, refrigeration, and lighting can be met by renewable energy. This research aims to explore and demonstrate how renewable energy can profit when fulfilling public building functions. Through using both conventional methods and creative methods together, the rate of use of renewable resources such as solar, wind, and geothermal resources in buildings can be increased. Therefore, major contributions to reducing the environmental issues caused by energy consumption can be made.
Part of the book: Renewable Energy