Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The use of shading devices is essential in hot climates countries. Shading on
building facade elements controls the amount of solar radiation received by the
building. This strategy provides positive results when actions are performed on the
building facade cavities since these are the elements that transmit the highest level
of radiation to the inside of the building (Pacheco et al.
2012
). The control of
shading elements, lighting as well as heating and cooling components could sig-
nificantly reduce peak cooling load and energy consumption for lighting and
cooling, while maintaining suitable heating and lighting conditions (Tzempelikos
et al.
2007
).
The quantitative and qualitative information related to shading devices (see
shading:
http://iti.vgtu.lt/imitacijosmain/simpletable.aspx?sistemid=428
)
. The
alternatives include external shading, vertical plastic louver, horizontal aluminium
and wood louvers. The criteria according to their significance are as follow: effi-
ciency (0,3), price (0,2), control options (0,15), range of colours (0,1), regulation
convenient (0,1), exterior (0,1) and warranty time (0,05).
Once the multiple-criteria analysis is completed on glazing, external walls,
orientation, window-to-wall ratio, shading, the best alternative combinations are
provided (see computer-aided development of the feasible alternatives:
http://
iti.vgtu.lt/imitacijosmain/daugvar.aspx?sistemid=428
)
(Fig.
12
). After the activa-
tion of the item ''Multiple-criteria analysis of the developed feasible alternatives'',
the multiple-criteria analysis of the feasible alternatives is performed.
6 Conclusion
Designing and realizing an efficient life cycle of energy-efficient built environment
requires an exhaustive investigation of all solutions that form it. The efficiency of a
specific energy-efficient built environment depends on a great number of factors
such as cost, energy saving, tentative payback period, adverse health effects of the
materials used, aesthetics, maintenance properties, functionality, comfort, sound
insulation and longevity. Solutions based on alternatives allow a more rational and
realistic assessment of traditions and of energy-related, economic, ecological,
legislative, climatic, social and political conditions. They also help meet customer
requirements better. Multi-variant design and multiple-criteria analysis of energy-
efficient built environment came to mean processing and evaluation of loads of
data. The number of feasible alternatives could be in the range of millions. With
such enormous amounts of information, multi-variant design and multiple-criteria
analysis of alternative options have become problematic. To address these issues,
the authors have developed the life cycle model of energy-efficient built envi-
ronment and two systems. To demonstrate the developed method, the chapter
presents two case studies.
