Assessment of energy credits for the enhancement of the Egyptian Green Pyramid Rating System

Energy is one of the most important categories in the Green Building Rating Systems all over the world. Green Building is a building that meets the energy requirements of the present with low energy consumption and investment costs without infringing on the rights of forthcoming generations to find their own needs. Despite having more than a qualified rating system, it is clear that each system has different priorities and needs on the other. Accordingly, this paper proposes a methodology using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for assessment of the energy credits through studying and comparing four of the common global rating systems, the British Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the American Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the Australian Green Stars (GS), and the PEARL assessment system of the United Arab Emirates, in order to contribute to the enhancement of the Egyptian Green Pyramid Rating System (GPRS). The results show the mandatory and optional energy credits that should be considered with their proposed weights according to the present and future needs of green Egypt. The results are compared to data gathered through desk studies and results extracted from recent questionnaires

Development of a dynamic incentive and penalty program for improving the energy performance of existing buildings

The positive effectiveness of energy policy instruments such as national carbon emissions reduction target (CERT) and energy performance certificates can be achieved by encouraging the voluntary participation of the public in the energy-saving campaign. Towards this end, this study aimed to develop a dynamic incentive and penalty program for improving the energy performance of existing buildings. Four types of incentive programs and four types of penalty programs were established based on three comparison criteria. As a building-level, the first comparison criterion is the averaging approach based on similar cases that can be retrieved using a simplified case-based reasoning model. As a community-level, the second comparison criterion is one-step higher operational and letter rating than the grade of a given building. As a national-level, the third comparison criterion is the operational and letter rating as the minimum criteria for achieving the national CERT. In this study, an elementary school facility located in Seoul, South Korea was selected to validate the applicability of the developed program. As a result, besides the category benchmark, the various comparison criteria should be provided to the public to encourage the voluntary participation of the public in the energy-saving campaign. First published online: 19 Feb 201

An integrated multi-objective optimization model for solving the construction time-cost trade-off problem

As construction projects become larger and more diversified, various factors such as time, cost, quality, environment, and safety that need to be considered make it very difficult to make the final decision. This study was conducted to develop an integrated Multi-Objective Optimization (iMOO) model that provides the optimal solution set based on the concept of the Pareto front, through the following six steps: (1) problem statement; (2) definition of the optimization objectives; (3) establishment of the data structure; (4) standardization of the optimization objectives; (5) definition of the fitness function; and (6) introduction of the genetic algorithm. To evaluate the robustness and reliability of the proposed iMOO model, a case study on the construction time-cost trade-off problem was analyzed in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. The results of this study can be used: (1) to assess more than two optimization objectives, such as the initial investment cost, operation and maintenance cost, and CO2 emission trading cost; (2) to take advantage of the weights as the real meanings; (3) to evaluate the four types of fitness functions; and (4) to expand into other areas such as the indoor air quality, materials, and energy use

Development of the monthly average daily solar radiation map using A-CBR, FEM, and kriging method

Photovoltaic (PV) system could be implemented to mitigate global warming and lack of energy. To maximize its effectiveness, the monthly average daily solar radiation (MADSR) should be accurately estimated, and then an accurate MADSR map could be developed for final decision-makers. However, there is a limitation in improving the accuracy of the MADSR map due to the lack of weather stations. This is because it is too expensive to measure the actual MADSR data using the remote sensors in all the sites where the PV system would be installed. Thus, this study aimed to develop the MADSR map with improved estimation accuracy using the advanced case-based reasoning (A-CBR), finite element method (FEM), and kriging method. This study was conducted in four steps: (i) data collection; (ii) estimation of the MADSR data in the 54 unmeasured locations using the A-CBR model; (iii) estimation of the MADSR data in the 89 unmeasured locations using the FEM model; and (iv) development of the MADSR map using the kriging method. Compared to the previous MADSR map, the proposed MADSR map was determined to be improved in terms of its estimation accuracy and classification level. First published online: 03 May 201

Framework for the validation of simulation-based productivity analysis: focused on curtain wall construction process

 As construction projects have become more complicated in design and construction, it is necessary to establish the construction operational plans in advance. However, there were some limitations in analyzing construction produc­tivity due to the difficulty of collecting accurate data. To address this challenge, this study aimed to develop the frame­work for the validation of simulation-based productivity analysis, which consisted of three measures: (i) validation of the measured productivity data as target variable; (ii) validation of the measured duration data as input variable; and (iii) validation of the simulation model compared to the actual construction process. To verify the feasibility of the proposed framework, this study focused on the curtain wall construction project of “S” office building as a case study. The T-test was applied to investigate the statistical difference between the measure and simulated productivity. It was determined that the significance level α in the T-test for the unloading process was 0.136 with 95% confidence interval; the lifting process, 0.106; and the installing process, 0.311. As a result, there was no significant difference between the measured and simulated productivity. The proposed framework could enable executives and managers in charge of project plan­ning and scheduling to accurately predict the simulation-based productivity. First published online: 13 Jul 201

A Conceptual Framework for an Intelligent Planning Unit for the Complex Built Environment

AbstractMost of the projects in the built environment system are unique in nature and different in design, construction, and operations. Thus, it is difficult to establish a streamlined flow in the entire process of the complex built environment system and to arrange and optimize the required resources in a timely manner. To address this challenge, it is necessary to reduce the complexity of the built environment system and to provide the decision-makers with timely and accurate information for making better decisions. For achieving this objective, this paper aims to develop a conceptual framework for an Intelligent Planning Unit (IPU) for the complex built environment system, which consists of three phases (i.e., IPU planning, IPU application, and IPU network). An IPU represents a well-defined planning unit that can be initiated to achieve a specific purpose (e.g., cost, schedule, materials, and process). An IPU can be defined by breaking down the physical entities and processes in the complex built environment system into carefully planned units (even nano-scale units). A well-defined IPU can be replicated and implemented at the different levels of complexity; and then, it can be improved through a refinement process using the intelligent feature of communication. This paper illustrated the IPU concept through several examples and also highlighted possible challenges and opportunities in implementing the IPU concept in the complex built environment system. This paper is designed to ensure that a project meets the client expectations on various aspects in the complex built environment system