Browsing by Author "Austin, Miguel Chen"

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Citation - WoS: 2
Citation - Scopus: 5
Impact of Green Wall and Roof Applications on Energy Consumption and Thermal Comfort for Climate Resilient Buildings
(Mdpi, 2025) Turhan, Cihan; Carpino, Cristina; Austin, Miguel Chen; Ozbey, Mehmet Furkan; Akkurt, Gulden Gokcen
Nowadays, reducing energy consumption and obtaining thermal comfort are significant for making educational buildings more climate resilient, more sustainable, and more comfortable. To achieve these goals, a sustainable passive method is that of applying green walls and roofs that provide extra thermal insulation, evaporative cooling, a shadowing effect, and the blockage of wind on buildings. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of green wall and roof applications on energy consumption and thermal comfort in an educational building. For this purpose, a university building in the Csb climate zone is selected and monitored during one year, as a case study. Then, the case building is modelled in a well-calibrated dynamic building energy simulation tool and twenty-one different plant species, which are mostly used for green walls and roofs, are applied to the envelope of the building in order to determine a reduction in energy consumption and an increase in thermal comfort. The Hedera canariensis gomera (an ivy species) plant is used for green walls due to its aesthetic appeal, versatility, and functional benefits while twenty-one different plants including Ophiopogon japonicus (Mando-Grass), Phyllanthus bourgeoisii (Waterfall Plant), and Phoenix roebelenii (Phoenix Palm) are simulated for the green roof applications. The results show that deploying Hedera canariensis gomera to the walls and Phyllanthus bourgeoisii to the roof could simultaneously reduce the energy consumption by 9.31% and increase thermal comfort by 23.55% in the case building. The authors acknowledge that this study is solely based on simulations due to the high cost of all scenarios, and there are inherent differences between simulated and real-world conditions. Therefore, the future work will be analysing scenarios in real life. Considering the limited studies on the effect of different plant species on energy performance and comfort, this study also contributes to sustainable building design strategies.
Mold Growth Affecting the Achievement of NZEB in the Long Term in Tropical Climates
(Free University of Bozen Bolzano, 2025) Carpino, Cristina; Austin, Miguel Chen; Turhan, Cihan; Mora, Dafni Y.; Arcuri, N.
The net-zero energy concept significantly impacts global goals regarding energy accessibility (SDG 7) and responsible consumption (SDG 12), particularly in the building sector, which accounts for substantial energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. While extensive research on Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) has focused on the global north, tropical regions require further study, where high solar radiation, temperatures, and humidity challenge building performance throughout the year. Addressing problems like mold growth caused by these tropical climate aspects can undermine NZEB's performance. This study aims to evaluate the impact of mold growth on a representative building under the tropical climate of Panama City (high temperatures and humidity) and Boquete (low temperatures and high humidity). Long-term hygrothermal and energy performance analyses are conducted using simulation software to assess when and how mold growth affects building performance. Mold can harm the health of occupants and increase energy consumption, as additional humidity control devices may be required after the building's design phase. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.