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Eco-efficient Materials for Mitigating Building Cooling Needs

Design, Properties and Applications

  • 1st Edition - February 23, 2015
  • Latest edition
  • Editors: F. Pacheco-Torgal, Joao Labrincha, Luisa F. Cabeza, Claes-Göran Granqvist
  • Language: English

Climate change is one of the most important environmental problems faced by Planet Earth. The majority of CO2 emissions come from burning fossil fuels for energy production an… Read more

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Description

Climate change is one of the most important environmental problems faced by Planet Earth. The majority of CO2 emissions come from burning fossil fuels for energy production and improvements in energy efficiency shows the greatest potential for any single strategy to abate global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the energy sector. Energy related emissions account for almost 80% of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions. The building sector is the largest energy user responsible for about 40% of the EU’s total final energy consumption.

In Europe the number of installed air conditioning systems has increased 500% over the last 20 years, but in that same period energy cooling needs have increased more than 20 times. The increase in energy cooling needs relates to the current higher living and working standards. In urban environments with low outdoor air quality (the general case) this means that in summer-time one cannot count on natural ventilation to reduce cooling needs. Do not forget the synergistic effect between heat waves and air pollution which means that outdoor air quality is worse in the summer aggravating cooling needs. Over the next few years this phenomenon will become much worse because more people will live in cities, more than 2 billion by 2050 and global warming will aggravate cooling needs.

Key features

  • An overview of materials to lessen the impact of urban heat islands
  • Excellent coverage of building materials to reduce air condtioning needs
  • Innovative products discussed such as Thermo and Electrochromic materials

Readership

Architects, civil engineers, materials scientists and contractors working in the construction industry

Table of contents

  • List of contributors
  • Woodhead Publishing Series in Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Foreword
  • 1: Introduction to eco-efficient materials to mitigate building cooling needs
    • Abstract
    • 1.1 Climate change and urban heat islands (UHIs)
    • 1.2 Adaptation to climate change and mitigation of UHI effects and of building cooling needs
    • 1.3 Outline of the book
  • Part One: Pavements for mitigating urban heat island effects
    • 2: Coating materials to increase pavement surface reflectance
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgments
      • 2.1 Introduction
      • 2.2 Organic polymers used as coating overlay materials for pavements
      • 2.3 Inorganic materials used as polymer fillers to increase reflectance
      • 2.4 Aggregate materials with high reflectance
      • 2.5 Future trends
    • 3: Pavements made of concrete with high solar reflectance
      • Abstract
      • 3.1 Introduction
      • 3.2 Materials for high solar reflectance concrete
      • 3.3 Heat transfer in pavements
      • 3.4 Other potential benefits of high solar reflectance concrete
      • 3.5 Modeling the benefits of widespread use of high solar reflectance concrete
      • 3.6 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credit
      • 3.7 Other resources
      • 3.8 Future trends
    • 4: A comparison of thermal performance of different pavement materials
      • Abstract
      • 4.1 Introduction
      • 4.2 Albedo of pavement materials
      • 4.3 Thermal properties of pavement materials
      • 4.4 Surface temperature of pavement materials
      • 4.5 Near-surface air temperature above pavement
      • 4.6 Thermal impact of pavement on nearby building wall surfaces
      • 4.7 Heat flux from pavement
      • 4.8 Potential impacts and future trends of pavements
      • 4.9 Conclusions
  • Part Two: Facade materials for reducing cooling needs
    • 5: Green facades and living walls: vertical vegetation as a construction material to reduce building cooling loads
      • Abstract
      • 5.1 Introduction
      • 5.2 Plant cooling mechanisms
      • 5.3 Effective thermal resistance of a plant layer
      • 5.4 Building energy savings with vegetated facades
      • 5.5 Additional benefits of vegetated facades
      • 5.6 Future trends
      • 5.7 Sources of further information and advice
    • 6: Comparison of the performance of different facade materials for reducing building cooling needs
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgments
      • 6.1 Introduction
      • 6.2 Selection of sample unit
      • 6.3 Test and instrumentation
      • 6.4 Materials thermal behavior: their impacts on building design decisions and energy consumption
      • 6.5 Conclusions and future trends
    • 7: Lotus ceramics for counteracting urban heat island effects
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgements
      • 7.1 Introduction
      • 7.2 Porous ceramics with a similar microstructure to the root of the lotus
      • 7.3 Properties of lotus ceramics
      • 7.4 Passive cooling wall using lotus ceramics for counteracting urban heat island effects
      • 7.5 Ideas for further enhancing cooling effects using the capillary rise property
    • 8: Innovative evaporative cooling walls
      • Abstract
      • 8.1 Introduction
      • 8.2 Scientific background
      • 8.3 Fundamentals of evaporative cooling
      • 8.4 Design of an evaporative cooling wall
      • 8.5 Future trends
      • 8.6 Sources of information and advice
      • 8.7 Conclusions
  • Part Three: Roofing materials for reducing building cooling needs
    • 9: High-albedo roof coatings for reducing building cooling needs
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgments
      • 9.1 Introduction
      • 9.2 Physical characteristics of high-albedo roof coatings
      • 9.3 Thermal-energy assessment of high-albedo roofs
      • 9.4 How to measure high-albedo properties of roof coatings
      • 9.5 Benefits of high-albedo roof coatings
      • 9.6 Materials and techniques
      • 9.7 Aging and weathering of high-albedo roof coatings
      • 9.8 Conclusions
    • 10: Solar cooling with hydrophilic porous materials for reducing building cooling needs
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgements
      • 10.1 Introduction
      • 10.2 Hydrophilic porous materials
      • 10.3 Water vapor adsorption on hydrophilic porous materials and their solar interaction
      • 10.4 Solar evaporative cooling
      • 10.5 Future trends
    • 11: Cool green roofs for reducing building cooling needs
      • Abstract
      • 11.1 Introduction
      • 11.2 Green roof types
      • 11.3 Materials and properties
      • 11.4 Design principles for reducing cooling needs
      • 11.5 Future trends
    • 12: Influence of vegetation damage on urban cooling effects
      • Abstract
      • 12.1 Introduction
      • 12.2 The urban system
      • 12.3 Causes of vegetation damage
      • 12.4 Consequences of vegetation damage
      • 12.5 Damage prevention techniques
      • 12.6 Conclusion and future trends
      • 12.7 Sources of further information
    • 13: Technical and economic analysis of green roofs to reduce building cooling needs
      • Abstract
      • 13.1 Introduction: international framework in matters of energy efficiency in buildings
      • 13.2 Behaviors of green roofs: heat transfer phenomena and literature state of the art
      • 13.3 Criteria for suitable feasibility studies
      • 13.4 Presentation of the case studies
      • 13.5 Results and discussion
      • 13.6 Rainwater harvesting systems for improving the economics of green roofs
      • 13.7 Conclusions and future trends
  • Part Four: Phase-change materials (PCMs) and chromogenic smart materials for reducing building cooling needs
    • 14: Phase-change materials for reducing building cooling needs
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgments
      • 14.1 Introduction
      • 14.2 Phase-change materials
      • 14.3 Eco-efficient phase-change materials
      • 14.4 Phase-change materials as a tool to mitigate building cooling demands
    • 15: Nanomaterial-embedded phase-change materials (PCMs) for reducing building cooling needs
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgments
      • 15.1 Introduction
      • 15.2 Nanomaterials for thermal energy storage
      • 15.3 Enhanced thermophysical property attributes
      • 15.4 Thermal energy storage properties of nanomaterial-embedded PCMs
      • 15.5 Scope for future research
    • 16: Fenestration for reducing building cooling needs: an introduction to spectral selectivity, thermochromics, and electrochromics
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgment
      • 16.1 Introduction
      • 16.2 Light, solar energy, thermal radiation, and more
      • 16.3 Eco-efficient glazings with static properties
      • 16.4 Chromogenic glazings: thermochromics
      • 16.5 Chromogenic glazings: electrochromics
      • 16.6 Comments and conclusions
    • 17: Electrochromic glazing and walls for reducing building cooling needs
      • Abstract
      • 17.1 Introduction
      • 17.2 The building envelope as a dynamic organism
      • 17.3 Electrochromic materials for the building envelope
      • 17.4 Research in the field of electrochromic glazing
      • 17.5 Future trends and innovative applications
    • 18: The impact of electrochromic windows on the energy performance of buildings in Mediterranean climates: a case study
      • Abstract
      • Acknowledgments
      • 18.1 Introduction
      • 18.2 Methodology for electrochromic (EC) energy performance assessment
      • 18.3 Case study
      • 18.4 Conclusions
  • Index

Review quotes

"This book is an effort in promoting a cool scenario by wide-scale utilization of advanced materials to reduce cooling energy use in buildings...it is recommended as a good read to both academics and policy makers."—Professor Ashem Akbari from Concordia University, Canada 

Product details

  • Edition: 1
  • Latest edition
  • Published: February 27, 2015
  • Language: English

About the editors

FP

F. Pacheco-Torgal

Dr. F. Pacheco Torgal is a Principal Investigator at the University of Minho in Portugal. He holds the title of Counsellor at the Portuguese Engineers Association. He is a member of the editorial boards for nine international journals. Over the last 10 years he has participated in the research decision for more than 460 papers and has also acted as a Foreign Expert on the evaluation of 22 PhD thesis. Over the last 10 years he has also been a Member of the Scientific Committees for more than 60 conferences, most of them held in Asian countries. He is also a grant assessor for several scientific institutions in 15 countries, including the UK, US, Netherlands, China, France, Australia, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Spain, Czech Republic, Chile, Saudi Arabia, UA. Emirates, Croatia, Poland, and the EU Commission. In the last 10 years, he reviewed more than 70 research projects.
Affiliations and expertise
C-TAC Research Centre, University of Minho, Guimaraes, Portugal

JL

Joao Labrincha

Affiliations and expertise
Associate Professor, University of Aveiro, Portugal

LC

Luisa F. Cabeza

Prof. Dr. Luisa F. Cabeza is a full professor on Thermal Engineering at the University of Lleida, Spain. She holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and in Chemical Engineering, as well as a MBA and a PhD in Industrial Engineering (University Ramon Llull, Barcelona, Spain). Prof. Cabeza’s research interests include thermal energy storage in all its aspects, from the different technologies (sensible, latent and sorption&chemical reactions) to different applications. Further research interests include social aspects (social acceptance, social evaluation, etc.). She is active in different national and international networks on the topic and she holds numerous awards. Prof. Cabeza has co-authored more than 250 journal papers and book chapters in the area of thermal energy storage.
Affiliations and expertise
Full Professor, University of Lleida, Spain

CG

Claes-Göran Granqvist

Claes-Göran Granqvist is a Senior Professor of Solid State Physics at the Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden. His research is focused on optical and electrical properties of materials, especially thin films for energy efficiency and solar energy utilization. Professor Granqvist has been a member of the CEI-Europe Faculty since 2002.
Affiliations and expertise
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Angstrom Laboratory, Uppsala University, Sweden

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