Building Architecture and Energy Engineering Portfolio

ABOUT ME.

ABOUT ME.

I am mana, a fresh graduate of Architecture and Building Engineering who currently lives in Italy. Architecture has been an essential part of my life for many years, and learning in this field has provided my strong desire for creativity and design to find the correct answer to the needs of human life. My academic research in a bachelor’s degree and 2 years experience of working created the context of my tendency to be inspired and respected by nature in architectural design. My interest and path are now to optimize energy consumption and achieve sustainability in architecture, which is the subject of my final projects. I live by the principles of commitment, responsibility, open communication, and proactivity.

Lecco, 23900, Lombardia, Italy

EDUCATION

SOFTWARE SKILLS

POLITECNICO DI MILANO (Lecco-Italy)

Masters (Laurea Magistrale) Building and Architectural Engineering Grade: 103/110

The MSc. thesis focused on innovative architectural technologies and energy-efficient solutions based on the ACTIVE HOUSE vision.

MAZANDARAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (BabolIran)

Bechelor of science

Architectural Engineering Grade: 18.1/20

The goal of the final project was to create a green tower using passive methods on a residential building.

WORK EXPERIENCE

STUDIO

PIROVANO CIVIL ENGINEERING COMPANY (ABBADIA LARIANA-ITALY)

- Technical drawings

- Mechanical and electrical BIM modeling

- Lighting systems modeling and simulating using Relux

- Solar photovoltaic systems analysis and DESIGN USING SOLERGO

HAFT BANA CONSULTING ENGINEERS (Tehran-Iran)

- Designing and drawing a rchitetural maps

- 3D modeling and post production

- Cost estimation

- Preparing project architectural reports

LANGUAGES

Indesign Photoshop Persian “native” “A2” Italian

REFRENCES

Marco Imperadori

Sefaira

Illustrator English “C1”

AutoCAD 2D & 3D Revit Transys simulation studio Rhino VELUX Daylight Visualizer Sketchup

marco.imperadori@polimi.it

Gabriele Masera

Full-time professor at Politecnico di Milano

Full-time professor at Politecnico di Milano gabriele. masera@polimi

02 01

WUPPERTAL YOUTH HUB

CLOSING GAP

A BUILDING DESIGN ACCORDING TO THE “ACTIVE HOUSE” SPECIFICATIONS. Page 6

WUPPERTAL

WUPPERTAL

GERMANY

A SUSTAINABLE HUB EVALUATED BY “ACTIVE HOUSE” GUIDELINES. Page 20 GERMANY

MARGHERITA HUT

A BUILDING ENERGY PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION BASED ON 3 DIFFERENT CLIMATE. Page 28

NEO TOLOU

A NZEB CO-LIVING PROJECT IN HONG KONG. Page 38

ITALY

RESEGONE ZERMATT PUNTA GNIFETTI

SWITZERLAND

CHINA HONG KONG

CLOSING GAP

A BUILDING DESIGN ACCORDING TO THE “ACTIVE HOUSE” SPECIFICATIONS

POLITECNICO DI MILANO | DEC 2021 THESIS PROJECT TEAM-WORK PROJECT

SOFTWARE

USED:

AUTOCAD, SKETCHUP, REVIT, GRASSHOPPER, LADYBUG, TRNSYS, VELUX DAYLIGHT VISUALIZER, PHOTOSHOP, INDESIGN

WUPPERTAL

GERMANY

In Germany, Within the Wuppertal city, there are many undeveloped areas sur-rounded by two or more buildings designated as vacant lots. Closing these typical urban gaps with new buildings is a favorable possibility to increase urban density. In this study, the main objective is to fill the gap with a residential building suggesting innovative architectural technologies and energy-efficient solutions based on the ACTIVE HOUSE vision.

This study is conducted based on the sustainable principles of the Active House in terms of indoor comfort, energy, and environmental impact. Following the Active House protocols, a holistic design and optimization method is proposed to evaluate occupants’ wellbeing, energy efficiency, and environmental performance through AH radar. By elaborating the qualitative and quantitative parameters indicated in Active house specifications with the focus on an optioneering design strategy rather than the traditional design process, dynamic simulations were carried out to optimize the building.

“Closing gap” Not only investigates innovative architectural solutions but also takes into account the regional building traditions. In the architectural design phase, the morphology of the context was analyzed, and the characteristics of the existing buildings as well as the technology and local materials established our core vision. elaborating the qualitative and quantitative parameters indicated in Active house specifications with the focus on an optioneering design strategy rather than the traditional design process, dynamic simulations were carried out to optimize the building.

CONCEPT

The concept was a five-story building with a sloped roof in order to respect the height and contour of the surrounding buildings. The south facade's window sizes, skylights, and attic floor's window sizes were all studied and optimized to maximize natural light and ventilation. A greenhouse was also installed in the backyard to provide some on-site food production.

View from north side (Bandstrabe street)

5th Level (Attic) 1st Level

South facade Section North facade

TIMBER

With an environmentally sustainable approach, cross-laminated timber panels are designed and calculated for the building since timber is an ideal green building material, well suited for a broad range of structural and aesthetic applications.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels consist of several layers of lumber boards stacked crosswise (typically at 90 degrees) and glued together on their wide faces and, sometimes, on the narrow faces as well. Besides gluing, nails, screws, or wooden dowels is used to attach the layers. in the following figures the building frame elements as well as the types of connections and joints are shown.

• load-bearing element

• 5-layer CLT panels

Beam

• glulam load-bearing element

ColUmN

• glulam load-bearing element

eXTerIor wall

• load-bearing element

• 5-layer CLT panles (200mm)

• large spans possible

• big elements are reducing

slaBs

• load-bearing elements

• 5-layer CLT panels (200mm)

roof Beam

• glulam load-bearing element

INTerIor wall

• non-load-bearing element

• 3-layer CLT panles (120mm) separated from the load-bearing panels

foUNdaTIoN

• concrete strip

TECHNOLOGICAL DETAILS

1. layer of self-supporting slats façade cladding, Zinc rolled sheet with longitudinal joint spacing 215mm (1.2mm)

2. Grooved plywood planking 24mm, spacing of approx. 5mm for ventilation

3. firewood battens, min. h 50mm / ventilated gap

4. Waterproof breather membrane sd 0.5 (0.5mm)

5. High density insulation layer of wood fibre board with tongue-and-groove, type Claytec (60mm)

6. Low density insulation layer of flexible wood fibre, type best wood FLEX 50 (100mm)

7. Dowel

8. Flat metal bracket joint (300*100*3mm)

9. Batten timber frame (100*50mm)

10. Finishing layer of gypsum plasterboard (12.5mm)

11. Polyethylene Vapor Retarder with 0.1 perm (0.5mm)

12. Layer of gypsum plasterboard (12.5mm)

13. Batten timber frame (30*100mm)

14. Angle metal bracket joint (100*100*90*3mm)

15. Gutter bracket type zintek® eaves channel

16. Gutter flashing type zintek® flashing

17. Grooved plywood planking 24mm, spacing of approx. 5mm for ventilation

18. firewood battens, min. h 50mm / ventilated gap

19. Waterproof breather membrane sd 0.5 (0.5mm)

20. Cross laminated timber structural panel (200mm)

1. layer of self-supporting slats façade cladding, Zinc rolled sheet with longitudinal joint spacing 215mm (1.2mm)

2. Grooved plywood planking 24mm, spacing of approx. 5mm for ventilation

3. firewood battens, min. h 50mm / ventilated gap

4. Waterproof breather membrane sd 0.5 (0.5mm)

5. High density insulation layer of wood fibre board with tongue-and-groove, type Claytec (60mm) 6. Low density insulation layer of flexible wood fibre, type best wood FLEX 50 (100mm) 7. Sealed flashing type zintek® titanium zinc sheet metal

8. #10x3/4” stainless steel self-drilling screws @6” o.c. u.n.o. by others. screws to be installed 3” away from all vertical frame members 9. Stainless steel endur spacer 10. Ceramic tiles 60*60 (10mm) 11. Adhesive layer laying on plaster, glue class D1 12. Polyethylene Vapor Retarder with 0.1 perm (0.5mm) 13. Layer of gypsum plasterboard (12.5mm) 14. Cellulose interior thermo-acoustic insulation, type Climacell (30mm) 15. Internal window sill, UPVC board (9mm) 16. Continuous aluminum sill angle & cover cap 17. wrapping membrane over interior side of sill angle leg 18. Window triple glazed with three low-e coatings and argon gas between panes, type Cascadia 19. Cross laminated timber structural panel (200mm) 20. Batten timber frame (40*40mm) 21. SHIMS 250mm O/C SPACING

ACTIVE HOUSE

This project is conducted based on the sustainable principles of the Active House in terms of indoor comfort, energy, and environmental impact. Following the Active House protocols, a holistic design and optimization method is proposed to evaluate occupants’ wellbeing, energy efficiency, and environmental performance through AH radar. By elaborating the qualitative and quantitative parameters indicated in Active house specifications with the focus on an optioneering design strategy rather than the traditional design process, dynamic simulations were carried out to optimize the building.

Active House is a concept of buildings that generate healthier and more comfortable lives for their residents while having no negative influence on the environment, leading us toward a cleaner, healthier, and safer society.

Maximize south-oriented surfaces and inclined roofs during volume design

Optimize glazing system with increasing glazing to floor area ratio

Implement shading system

Add skylights on the rooftop

Use of automatic roller blinds for all glazing parts

SKYLIGHTS

To maximize natural sunlight, skylights were determined in our daylight calculation to provide light shaft, especially for the kitchen of the studio on the ground floor where we wanted to minimize the view from the sidewalk to inside, roof windows were the best solution to increase daylight autonomy.

View of Mezzanin without skylights

Illuminance 21 March, 12pm

Velux Daylight Visualizer 3

GLARE OPTIMIZATION

To determine glare potential, ASE calculation were done room by room. Considering exterior roller blinds for the glazing parts, the openness factor and visible transmittance of blinds fabric were studied. Corresponding to the radiation threshold, different cases were analyzed and 2 different blinds fabrics were proposed for each façade to mitigate glare.

For analysing our cases, the considered visible transmitance is assumed as the multiplication of the windows and the blinds visible tranmittance and each cases a simulation was done in the grasshopper following the ASE simulation process explained before.

Assumption for the considered visible transmitance:

• Case 01: 0.7 (windows’ VT) x 0.075 (blinds’ VT) = 0.052

• Case 02: 0.7 (windows’ VT) x 0.19 (blinds’ VT) = 0.133

• Case 03: 0.7 (windows’ VT) x 0.38 (blinds’ VT) = 0.266

For the rooms facing south, the choice is case 01(OF 8%, VT 7.5%) since other cases are failed to mitigate the glare potential based on IES LM-83-12 standard while for the rooms facing north, the choice is case 03 (OF 40%, VT 38%) the glare potential in the rooms facing north was not as signifact as the ones facing south.

View of living room with half-open blinds

View of living room with closed blinds

THERMAL ENVIRONMENT STRATEGIES ENERGY DEMAND STRATEGIES

Thermal insulation

Airtightness

Thermal-bridge-free

Implement shading system

Underfloor heating system

Automatic thermal control system

Active Houses should minimize overheating in summer and optimize indoor temperatures in winter without unnecessary energy use. Many Analysis were done considering dynamic shading strategies which is adaptive to the radiation threshold. When the rad is over than 220 w.m2 the shadings will be activated . This strategy controls the heat gain and reduce overheating in summers.

Window properties (enhance energy balance by selectingconvenient u-value and g-value)

Provide maximum light by windows as low-energy light sources

Use of Exterior shading and natural ventilation instead of mechanical cooling considering climate examined Automated control of natural ventilation and solar shading

INDOOR AIR QUALITY STRATEGIES

Natural ventilation by openable windows and window’s trickle ventilators

Automatic roof windows

Hybrid ventilation for cold seasons

The carbon dioxide concentration were studied room by room, here the number of users and the schedule of use for each room plays an important role in Co2 concentarion which were taken into account in our analysis.

Building integrated photovoltaic system

Solar Thermal system to produce domestic hot water (DHW)

Winter Scenario

annual energy consumption was divided into the space heating, Domestic hot water and lighting and mechanical ventilation.

Life Cycle Assessment

A life cycle assessment (LCA) is an assessment of a given product´s global, regional and local environmental impacts and consumption of resources throughout its whole lifetime. An Active House interacts positively with the environment by means of an optimised relationship with the local context, focused use of resources, and on its overall environmental impact throughout its life cycle.

To obtain functional house requirements, we will go through the results of LCIA based on defined categories of active house evaluation tables.

Environmental Loads

Parameters

Value

Unit Score

3.1.1 Building's primary energy consumption during entire life cycle -574 [kWh/m2 x a] 1 3.1.2 Global warming potential (GWP) during building’s life cycle. 13.9 [kgCO2-eq./m2 x a] 3 3.1.3 Ozone depletion potential (ODP) during building’s life cycle. 2.5E-6 [kg R11-eq/m2 x a] 3

3.1.4 Photochemical ozone creation potential (POCP) during building’s life cycle. 0.004 [kg C3H4-eq./m2 x a] 2 3.1.5 Acidification potential (AP) during building’s life cycle. 0.056 [kg SO2-eq./m2 x a] 2 3.1.6 Eutrophication potential (EP) during building’s life cycle. 0.008 [kg PO4-eq./m2 x a] 3

Total Average Score 2.3

Production Consumption

Here calculating the heat and electricity produced by 38 photovoltaic panels on the roof facing south we reached to score 1 meaning that total energy demand of the building is produced by renewable energy source on site.

BIODIVERSITY

Regarding the assessment of biodiversity in the residential built environment, according to the qualitative criteria in the ActiveHouse, special attention is paid to greenery , therefore a cozy backyard with various plants and a greenhouse equipped with vertical aeroponic farming technology are proposed.

Finally, according to the Active House specification, “All buildings can be Active Houses, if on the whole they provide a good performance”. As long as the average score of all nine criteria equals 2,5 or less, the building may call itself an Active House. Here, the overall score of 1.5 is achieved meaning that we can call closing gap an active house.

The acquired global AH score for "Closing gap" is equal to

In this schematic figure slide, we summarized all energy production, delivered energy to the building and the exported energy to the grid , the energy needed for the technical systems and the total energy demand of the building annually .

Delivered energy electricity 27.8 kWh/m2.a by PV from which 19.4 used in the building and 8.4 exported PV panels

Electric grid

Exported energy electricity 8.4 w kWh/m2.a

38*1.8 m2 27.8 kWh/m2.a 56 kL

Switch board

Water collector

Air-water heat pump

16 kW 1.6 kWh/m2.a

2*300 L 540 L/person/day

Heat recovery Water treatment

Solar and Internal heat gains/load

1.9 kWh/m2.a

Building technical systems 21.2 kWh/m2.a 26.4 kWh/m2.a

8:00_20:00 8:00_20:00

NOV_MARCH NOV_MARCH

Space heating DHW

Heat exchange through building envelope Uwall=0.16 W/m2k DHW

70.36 L/person/day

Energy demand 51.1 kWh/m2.a

Reused water 16 kW

Lighting Ventilation Green house Food production

PASSIVE & ACTIVE STRATEGIES

WINTER SCENARIO

SUMMER SCENARIO

WUPPERTAL YOUTH HUB

POLITECNICO DI MILANO | JUN 2021 SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES TEAM-WORK PROJECT

SOFTWARE USED:

The life quality and the livability level of a region in a city are strictly related to how public urban spaces are used. With Active House Specifications, capable of adapting to outdoor climate conditions, in this project, which is also accomplished under the supervision of Professor Marco Imperadori in the “TIMBER SYSTEMS DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABILITY” course, in May 2020, it is tried to respond to the request of a livable outdoors, gives back strength and identity to the Mirker square and to breathe new life into creative communities. Therefore, a vibrant youth center had been designed to be placed in the vacant space in front of the “Closing Gap.“ It should be mentioned that we carry out the research indicated in VeluxLab, Milan, Italy, in a different location in Wuppertal, Germany, and other users of the cultural and social center. Moreover, following active house criteria, most strategies and decisions in “Closing gap” such as structural materials, technologies, and building services were analyzed and adjusted in the “Youth HUB.”

AUTOCAD, 3D MAX, VELUX DAYLIGHT VISUALIZER, GRASSHOPPER, PHOTOSHOP, INDESIGN, THERM, GRANTA EduPack

GERMANY

WUPPERTAL

To build a climate-friendly future, we need fresh and innovative ideas. Cities in industrialized countries such as Germany are primarily developed. Therefore, the most urgent need is to optimize existing urban structures and raise awareness about sustainable construction in the building sector. The greatest goal for architects is to develop technically, architecturally, and socially appropriate solutions for the European cities of tomorrow. Until now, It is aimed to demonstrate the possibilities of using renewable energies in new buildings. Forty percent of the EU’s energy consumption is accounted for by building stock. Approximately 75 percent of the buildings in the EU are not energy efficient, with existing buildings being the most significant culprits of energy consumption. Furthermore, 64 percent of residential buildings in Germany were built before 1979. The German government aims to achieve near climate-neutrality of building stock by 2050. This means that the overall energy consumption of buildings needs to decrease by 80 percent relative to consumption levels from 2008. The opportunities for urban energy transition need to be explored here and now. Together, we need to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption. Here, choose a particular local situation needed to be developed in Wuppertal city; sustainable and integrated architectural solutions are adapted, offering the most significant potential concerning the urban energy transition.

Energy Balance

Energy Demand Energy Supply

Since one of the goals for the design of Wuppertal Youth Hub is to create a sustainable environment, the choice of the construction material was made for timber (CLT for slabs and glue laminated timber for beams and columns).

Daylight

Due to relatively high daylight factors in certain areas, glare potential is looked into to ensure areas with strong direct sunlight will be protected by shadings to prevent visual discomfort. The results show that Reading area 2 near the door region has high glare potential, complying with the daylight factor analysis. External overhead shadings are then considered and designed for visual protection.

Thermal Environment

Due to relatively high daylight factors in certain areas, glare potential is looked into to ensure areas with strong direct sunlight will be protected by shadings to prevent visual discomfort. The results show that Reading area 2 near the door region has high glare potential, which complies with the daylight factor analysis. External overhead shadings are then considered and designed for visual protection. The calculation of the interior and exterior temperature of the different rooms of the building has been carried out. The active house protocol establishes a limit of maximum and minimun operative temperature per room.

Indoor Air Quality

It is critical to assess indoor air quality (IAQ) for a healthy indoor environment in order to prevent humans from developing respiratory ailments (such as mucous membrane irritation, asthma, and allergies) or cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, great indoor air quality aids in the prevention of odor problems, which can have an impact on the overall well-being of the building’s residents.

Energy

Wuppertal “Youth HUB” Before energy design of the site, preliminary energy loads are calculated for sizing the HVAC system, mechanical ventilation, domestic hot water, as well as photovoltaic panels, in order to achieve the most optimal building energy efficiency.

NEO-TOLU CO-HOUSING

POLITECNICO DI MILANO | DEC 2019 ARCHITECTURE AND SUSTAINABLE BUILDING TECHNOLOGY TEAM-WORK PROJECT

SOFTWARE USED:

AUTOCAD, SKETCHUP, SEFAIRA, PHOTOSHOP, REVIT, 3D MAX

CHINA HONG KONG

Co-living style is generally a way of living that allows you to engage with other people in different daily based activities that can be performed within a space that can contribute quality for an activity that is on the path of the same group of people with a specific goal. The way we envision the encounter of our site with the neighborhood and surrounding was to see a very PERMEABLE and as open as possible ground that can withhold activities and functions supporting those activities in a way that allow maximum engagement of PUBLIC whether these activities are going to be implemented within site or they already exist in the surrounding.

The building has a total of 13 levels, including eight private (residential) floors, three public (commercial), and two semi-public (gathering and commuting) floors. The volume of the building is situated around a big central courtyard, and all energy and light observations and analyzes have been done, which has been shredded on the south and east sides for optimal illumination of the central courtyard plants. The western portion of the building is totally open on the ground level and provides a powerful entry for visitors to generate a sense of invitation and general guiding into the courtyard. Pedestrians have priority throughout the central area, and access to the parking lot is restricted from the yard.

Six vertical connection cores provide access to the levels, with each box feeding two units. Each unit has several private units as well as common areas such as a dining room, kitchen, living room, library, workspace, and recreational space.

We built three distinct sorts of units for this set since it is meant for different classes: 15-meter units for singles, 35-meter units for couples, and 55-meter 2-bedroom apartments for families.

Each apartment has two duplex levels, and the link between them is provided by a typical internal staircase, as illustrated in the graphs.

Daylight Analysis Is Done Firstly Based On A Former Assessment Of Our General Volume And Courtyard In The Context. After That, We Evaluated 2 External And Internal Facades Separately And Room By Room Of Even Floors Of Residential Blocks (Levels: 2nd,4th, 6th, And 8th).

In The External Facade, We Analysed 3 Different Cases With Various Numbers Of Windows Regarding Architectural Design Ideas. After General Analysis, We Took The Rooms With The Worst Situations In Each Orientation, And We Ran New Simulations To Assess The Daylight Behaviour Of Each Room.

And For Internal Envelope, 3 Cases Of Different Numbers Of Shadings Are Taken Into Account To Obtain The Best Daylight Condition In Our Building. In This Part 2, Common Areas In Even Floors Are Shown As Examples For Furthur Assessment.Reaching The Idea Of Maximizing Ambient Sunlight, We Used Different Numbers Of A Window Modules For The External Facade.

For The Internal Facade, With The View Of The Courtyard, We Decided To Have A Lighter Facade. Therefore, It Can Induce A Sense Of Wider Space From The Courtyard View. To Reach This Idea Of Illumination And Lightness, Curtainwalls Are Proposed For Every Different Orientation Of The Internal Facade.

Baseline:

Based On Sefaira Plugin Default For Residentials & Ashrae 90.1 2013 - Climate Zone 2a

•Facade Glazing Assembly U-Value: 2.27 W/M2k

•Facade Glazing Shgc: 0.25

•Wall Type: Concrete Block

•Walls Assembly U-Value: 0.7 W/M2k

•Floor Finish: Carpet

•Ground Floor U-Value: 0.49 W/M2k

•Design Infiltration Rate 7.2 M3/M2h

•Roof Type: Metal Deck

•Roof U-Value: 0.22 W/M2k

•Occupant Density: 50 M3/Person

•Equipment Power Density: 5 W/M2

•Lighting Power Density: 10 W/M2

•Ventilation Rate: 10 L/S.person

•Operating Hours: 6 Am To 10 Pm

Residential

Although The Radiant Floor Systems Be A Better Choice In Case Of The Energy Use Intensity And More Comfortable Diffusion System Inside The Units Due To The Required Mechanical Ventilation, We Chose To Go With The Fancoil System.

Commercials

Although The Vrf Fancoil Seems To Be A Slightly Better Choice To Go Within Case Of Energy Use Intensity, We Chose To Go With The Central Plant Fancoil System So We Can Have A Unitized System Whole Through The Building; Hence, A More Efficient System Can Be Designed.

After Choosing The Proper Hvac System For The Building, We Chose To Go With A System With Unitized Plants For Both Commercial And Residential Parts Of The Building.

Moving Forward, We Tried To Further Optimize The Chosen System In The Case Of Cooling, Which Seems To Be The Most Important Aspect Of The Design, Having The Highest Impact On The Final Outcome In Both Cases Of Comfort And Energy Use Intensity.

MARGHERITA HUT

POLITECNICO DI MILANO | JUN 2020 BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY TEAM-WORK PROJECT

SOFTWARE

USED:

AUTOCAD, SKETCHUP, TRANSYS, PHOTOSHOP, IES VE

ZERMATT PUNTA GNIFETTI

SWITZERLAND

RESEGONE

ITALY

Energy

Efficient Buildings

The Gnifetti Hut called as Margherita hut is a refuge in the Alps in Aosta Valley, Italy It is located at an altitude of 3 647 meters 11 965 ft) and as a result, extreme wind pressure, comparatively rough climate with low seasonal temperatures come along.

GOAL OF THE PROJECT

The goal of the project is to analyze the building for its thermal performance by evaluating various passive and active strategies and their effect, located in Punta Gnifetti, Italy, also assumed to be relocated to Resegone, and Zermatt, Switzerland, using Transys energy simulation software.

Building Case Study- Margherita Hut

The Gnifetti Hut called as Margherita hut is a refuge in the Alps in Aosta Valley, Italy. It is located at an altitude of 3,647 meters (11,965 ft) and as a result, - extreme wind pressure, comparatively rough climate with low seasonal temperatures come along.

The Hut provides access to mountaineers climbing any of the fifteen nearby 4,000-meter-high summits of Monte Rosa massif and gives access to high-level glacier routes as well as to Margherita Hut, located on the Signalkuppe, what makes the building immensely rare and unique, increasing even more our desire of giving it a proper level of efficiency and sustainability.

The building is a ground +2 storeys with a total floor area of 123.6m2, comprising of rooms, kitchen and a dinning hall . The original location of the building is Punta Gnifetti, Piemonte , Italy, experiencing very cold climate. The various rooms are connected by corridors.

Energy simulations are performed in Transys to evaluate the effectiveness of the passive strategies and heat recovery systems. For our case study, we acquired the weather data from the software meteonorm for Punta Gnifetti, Resegone, and Zermatt. We imported our 3D model to the simulation studio using the TRNbuild interface.

The first step in energy analysis of a building is modeling it. Transys 3D is a plugin for SketchUp which enables us to draw the building in SketchUp and import it into Transys. Transys 3D allows us to determine the thermal zones while modeling the building. The thermal zone is a space or collection of areas with similar space conditioning requirements, the same heating and cooling setpoint, and is the basic thermal unit used in the modeling. In the current project, rooms with similar properties or functions are grouped under the same thermal zones. Thus we have nine thermal zones; the details, including the area, volume, position, and internal gains from people, lights, and equipment, their thermal profiles/occupancy schedules are defined. The infiltration rate, internal gains from the people, equipment, and lightings are also chosen to refer to standards and practical experience.

TZ_02 is chosen as it is the most extensive thermal zone among all the other zones, and hence it becomes challenging to analyze and optimize it for energy consumption. A significant portion of the external wall is exposed to the south, and thus, it enables us to exploit solar radiations. It also shares its borders with thermal zone 1 and 3, ceiling with thermal zone 5 and 6, and floor with ground earth.

Envelope Technologies

While proponents of energy efficiency rank energy conservation as the top priority when considering building envelope design, the primary purpose of the building envelope is to protect occupants and provide basic shelter. The building envelope performs many different functions, offering security, fire protection, privacy, comfort, and shelter from the weather and benefits such as aesthetics, ventilation, and views to the outdoors. The critical challenge is to optimize the design of the overall building and the building envelope to meet the occupants’ needs while reducing energy consumption.

To analyze the categories of building, an evident approach is designing different types of material components for walls, floor, roof, etc., simulating each case to obtain the energy consumption and comparing the results.

Highly insulated components prevent heat flow from a hot region to a colder area. In contrast, high thermal mass components absorb and store the heat from the sun and release it during the night if sufficient ventilation is provided.

A free-floating analysis is carried out between lightweight, medium weight, and heavy mass building components and is compared to understand the phenomena.

Dry Bulb Temperature Analysis

Firstly, the dry bulb temperature of all three climates is analyzed and compared for a basic understanding of the climate. The dry bulb temperature is the temperature of air measured by a thermometer, freely exposed to the air, placed at least 1.25m above the ground, protected from radiation and moisture.

One way to show the variations cumulatively in the frequency of temperature throughout the year for three climates is in a single graph[fig.2.7]. It becomes easier to show that, for example, 10% of the year, the temperature is less than -20 °C for Punta Gnifetti, whereas it is -12 °C and five °C for Zermatt and Resegone, respectively.

The below graph[fig 2.8] shows a variation in dry bulb temperature concerning relative humidity. This graph justifies the arguments of previous charts. Punta Gnifetti is very cold [>20 °C] when the relative humidity is between 40%-80%. Zermatt experiences more rain than the other two regions. Summer [>15 °C]is quite dry for Resegone, with relative humidity varying between 40%-60%.

Hourly temperature graph with monthly average RH and Toutdoor for Punta Gnifetti

Hourly temperature graph with monthly average RH and Toutdoor for Resegone

Comparison between Temperature v/s its cumulative frequency for Punta Gnifetti, Resegone and Zermatt

Hourly temperature graph with monthly average RH and Toutdoor for Zermatt

Comparison between Temperature v/s its relative humidity for Punta Gnifetti, Resegone and Zermatt

ITALY

PUNTA GNIFETTI

SWITZERLAND ITALY

RESEGONE

ZERMATT

SWITZERLAND

Comparison between monthly and annual Heating demand for cases 1,5, 7 and 8 for climate Punta Gnifetti

Comparison between annual Heating demand for cases 1,5,7 and 8 for climate Punta Gnifetti

The building the light technology and ventilation of 0.6ach to the selected thermal zone to keep the optimum indoor air quality. The resulting heating demand for all three climates from heating calculations is below. Being a heating-dominated region, it is necessary to look for ways to reduce the heating load. Two efficient ways,

1. Air to Air heat exchanger with heat recovery

2. Ground to air heat exchanger with heat recovery

They are analyzed for their effectiveness in the given three climates.

Comparison between monthly and annual Heating demand for cases 1,5, 7 and 8 for climate Resegone

Comparison between annual Heating demand for cases 1,5,7 and 8 for climate Resegone

The percentage distribution between the heating in case 5 [without ventilation] and case 8 [with ventilation and heat recovery] is similar. This low level of consumption in case 5 is explained by the lower heating setpoint and the fact of the no ventilation, which decreases the consumption during the winter period. This simulation is the base/guideline for further simulations as it decreases the overall energy consumption. While in case 8, the heat recovery from the exhaust air of indoor used in preheating the fresh air reduces the consumption and provides necessary ventilation.

Thus, case 8 provides the privilege of having optimum indoor air quality with thermal comfort.

From the fig, for climate Punta Gnifetti, case 8 shows a reduction in heating demand by 27% from case 1, and 28% from case 7.

Comparison between monthly and annual Heating demand for cases 1,5, 7 and 8 for climate Zermatt

Comparison between annual Heating demand for cases 1,5,7 and 8 for climate Zermatt

From the fig, for climate Resegone, case 8 shows a reduction in heating demand by 23% from case 1, and 26% from case 7.

From the fig, for climate Zermatt, case 8 shows a reduction in heating demand by 33% from case 1 and 29% from case 7.

Positioning and Geometry

Windows orientation is an important variable affecting energy performance in a building. In combination with window size, Windows orientation can significantly affect the amount of energy used in cooling and heating up the building. So, the excellent design and orientation of windows can reduce the energy consumption in buildings.

To appreciate the window’s positioning and understand how the solar radiations are used positively, daylight simulation is carried out in Radiance IES Virtual Environment by drawing a building model and assigning the climate to give the results.

Daylighting

Daylighting is the controlled admission of natural light, direct sunlight, and diffused skylight into a building to reduce electric lighting and save energy. When adequate ambient lighting is provided from daylight alone, this system can reduce electric lighting power. Along with giving sufficient light to an occupied space, adding windows or skylights to a space involves carefully balancing heat gain and loss, glare control, and variations in daylight availability. Further, the fenestration, or location of windows in a building, must be designed in such a way as to avoid the admittance of direct sun on task surfaces or into occupants’ eyes. Alternatively, suitable glare remediation devices such as blinds or shades must be made available.

Daylighting is also proven to help promote the good health of the occupants, which is essential. Additionally, the size of the windows affects the amount of daylight present in the room. Other factors to consider are the light uniformity within the space and the duration of sunlight. Since this is an already existing building, the orientation of rooms cannot be changed, but some solutions are provided to mediate inadequate lighting as extracted from the simulations.

The daylighting analysis is performed for thermal zone 2 assumed to be in Zermatt [Climate is midway between Punta and Resegone] considering the abovementioned points.

We performed Climate -Based Daylight Modelling, which predicts any luminous quantity (illuminance and luminance) using realistic sun and sky conditions derived from standardized (or monitored) climate data. Usually for an entire year. The results are shown below.

Each number in the picture shows the percentage of time each grid point is in that band. If it falls above 2500 lux, there is a lot of potential for glare.

The following table gives the average time thermal zone experiences annual UDI in lux. For example, for almost 54% of the year, the illuminance is between 100-500 lux.

UDI for Thermal zone 2 in range 100Lux-500Lux

UDI for Thermal zone 2 in range 500Lux-2500Lux

UDI for Thermal zone 2 in range>2500lux

The building in IESVE and Whole year SUN cast[Solar fluxes in kWh/m2]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME