Mechatronics Implementation of Passive Building Elements to Improve Thermal Comfort and Promote Energy Efficiency in Buildings

Abstract

The need to design buildings with due consideration for bioclimatic and passive design is central to promoting sustainability in the built environment from an energy perspective. Indeed, the energy and atmosphere considerations in building design, construction and operation have received the highest consideration in green building frameworks such as LEED and BREEAM to promote SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and contributing directly to support SDG 13: Climate Action. The research literature is rich of findings on the efficacy of passive measures in different climate contexts, but given that these measures are highly dependent on the prevailing weather conditions, which is constantly in evolution, disturbed by the climate change phenomenon, there is pressing need to be able to accurately predict such changes in the short (to the minute) and medium (to the hour and day) terms, where AI algorithms can be effectively applied. The dynamics of the weather patterns over seasons, but more crucially over a given season means that optimum response of building envelope elements, specifically through the passive elements, can be reaped if these passive measures can be adapted according to the ambient weather conditions. The use of representative mechatronics systems to intelligently control certain passive measures is presented, together with the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to capture the complex building physics involved to predict the expected effect of weather conditions on the indoor environmental conditions.

Citation

Gooroochurn, M. (2024), "Mechatronics Implementation of Passive Building Elements to Improve Thermal Comfort and Promote Energy Efficiency in Buildings", Fowdur, T.P., Rosunee, S., Ah King, R.T.F., Jeetah, P. and Gooroochurn, M. (Ed.) Artificial Intelligence, Engineering Systems and Sustainable Development, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 171-182. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-540-820241013