Design of energy-efficient buildings

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The long-term objective of the applicant's research program is the design of energy-efficient buildings, with the following short-term objectives proposed for the next five years: a. Development of a thermodynamically-based definition of sustainable buildings and measuring instruments, which are independent of subjective selections made by the user, and of economics that can be influenced by geo-political and market conditions; b. Development of a new framework of the ongoing commissioning for the optimization of the operation of existing HVAC systems in commercial/institutional buildings, with emphasis on the development of benchmarking models from continuous monitoring of energy-related data; c. Development of a large scale optimization model with multi-objective functions, coupled with newly developed mathematical models of the energy and exergy performance and environmental impact of new integrated design alternatives, based on innovative concepts or emerging technologies. The anticipated significance of the work is summarized as follows: (1) The new thermodynamically-based index of building sustainability gives the upper limit of theoretical performance that a building can achieve. This index is expected to become the reference measuring scheme of the building sustainability; (2) The use of continuous commissioning for the optimization of existing systems will generate a new paradigm in building operation with a great impact on the technological and software advancement; (3) The optimization of new buildings design, and the development of new mathematical models will have great impact on the life cycle exergy, energy and cost of innovative low-exergy HVAC systems; and (4) The items above will contribute to the efficient use of natural resources in buildings, and the reduction of depletion of natural resources and environmental burden of building.