About this Research Topic
In the effort to address the total contributions of each sector, energy consumption research has been guided to the integration of new building materials; such as phase change materials, polymers, etc. Furthermore, greater focus has been given to developments on traditional materials, retrofitting of buildings through energy-efficient devices, and integration of building with renewable energy technologies, with the overall aim of working towards near-zero energy buildings. Other research areas also include the investigation of material response to parameters of climate, geothermal energy storage, and more.
Focussing on United Nations' sustainable development goals, in particular Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (Affordable and clean energy), several studies are being published. A focused collection of articles is required that connects the building and manufacturing sectors. For instance, the studies on specific building technology at the production or application level, integration of technologies with structures for energy harvesting, and computational methods that help with the integration and assessment of buildings, such as building energy modeling, building information modeling, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain technology in building construction. These methodologies produce long-term benefits in terms of energy consumption and total carbon emissions often analyzed through the assessment of the environmental impact of the building or building components over an entire life cycle.
Additionally, a focused research on the response of material behavior to climatic parameters can help to understand the research and development towards SDG7, such as to generate opportunities for new energy geostorage systems or study the impact on building environment or behavioral changes.
To maintain and promote the flow of research integration between the building and manufacturing sectors, timely communication between scientists, researchers, engineers, and policymakers in the field of energy is needed to gather the most advanced research on strategic thinking and energy technology in terms of reviews, analyses, and evaluations in energy research and engineering with a focus on:
• Development of materials for integration into buildings;
• Integrated energy systems;
• Energy prediction modeling and analysis;
• Energy economics;
• Energy planning, strategy, and policymaking towards conversion and conservation of energy with a particular emphasis on integrated development of building and manufacturing sectors;
• Geothermal energy storage systems;
• Topics concerning the behavioral or structural response of building materials to the parameter(s) of climate change are also of interest.
Keywords: Nearly zero-energy buildings, Energy and environmental efficiency, Thermal energy storage, Information technology, Building energy modelling, Building information modelling, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain technology, Smart cities and infrastructure
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