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Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 5Enhancing Urban Sustainability With Novel Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines: a Study on Residential Buildings in Çeşme(Mdpi, 2025) Saleh, Yousif Abed Saleh; Durak, Murat; Turhan, CihanThis study investigates the integration of three types of vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs)-helical, IceWind, and a combined design-on residential buildings in & Ccedil;e & scedil;me, T & uuml;rkiye, a region with an average wind speed of 7 m/s. The research explores the potential of small-scale wind turbines in urban areas, providing sustainable solutions for renewable energy generation and reducing reliance on conventional energy sources. The turbines were designed and analyzed using SolidWorks and ANSYS Fluent, achieving power outputs of 350 W for the helical turbine, 430 W for the IceWind turbine, and 590 W for the combined turbine. A total of 42 turbines were mounted on a five-storey residential building model, and DesignBuilder software was utilized to simulate and evaluate the energy consumption. The baseline energy consumption of 172 kWh/m2 annually was reduced by 18.45%, 22.93%, and 30.88% for the helical, IceWind, and combined turbines, respectively. Furthermore, the economic analysis showed payback periods of 12.89 years for the helical turbine, 10.60 years for the IceWind turbine, and 10.49 years for the combined turbine. These findings emphasize the viability of integrating VAWTs into urban buildings as an effective strategy for reducing energy consumption, lowering costs, and enhancing energy efficiency.Article Citation - WoS: 1Citation - Scopus: 1Latent Psychological Pathways in Thermal Comfort Perception: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Uncertainty on Depression and Vigour(MDPI, 2025) Ozbey, Mehmet Furkan; Turhan, Cihan; Alkan, Nese; Akkurt, Gulden GokcenThermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment, and it is assessed through subjective evaluation, according to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. While research has traditionally emphasised physical factors, growing evidence highlights the role of the state of mind in shaping thermal perception. In a prior Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis, six mood subscales-Anger, Confusion, Vigour, Tension, Depression, and Fatigue-were examined for how they affect the absolute difference between actual and predicted thermal sensation. Depression and vigour were found to be the most influential, while confusion appeared least impactful. However, to accurately assess the role of confusion, it is necessary to consider its potential interactions with other mood subscales. To this end, a mediation analysis was conducted using Hayes' PROCESS tool. The mediation analyses revealed that confusion partially mediated depression's effect in males and vigour's effect in females. These results suggest that, despite a weak direct impact, confusion critically influences thermal perception by altering the effects of key mood states. Accounting for the indirect effects of mood states may lead to more accurate predictions of human sensory experiences and improve the design of occupant-centred environments.Article Citation - WoS: 2Citation - Scopus: 2Integrating Personalized Thermal Comfort Devices for Energy-Efficient and Occupant-Centric Buildings(Mdpi, 2025) Turhan, Cihan; Carpino, CristinaPersonalized thermal comfort (PTC) systems aim to satisfy the individual thermal preferences of occupants rather than relying on average comfort indices. With the growing emphasis on sustainability and reducing energy consumption in buildings, energy efficiency has become a critical factor in the design and selection of PTC systems. While the development of PTC tools has accelerated in the last decade, selecting the most appropriate system remains a challenge due to the dynamic, uncertain, and multi-dimensional nature of the decision-making process. This study introduces a novel application of the KEMIRA-M multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method to identify the optimal PTC system for university office buildings-an area with limited prior investigation. A case study is conducted in a naturally ventilated office space located in a temperate climate zone. Eight distinct PTC alternatives are evaluated, including data-driven HVAC systems, wearable devices, and localized conditioning units. Six key criteria are considered: estimated energy consumption, capital cost, indoor and outdoor space requirements, system complexity, mobility, and energy efficiency. The results indicate that wearable wristbands, which condition the occupant's carpus area, offer the most balanced performance across criteria, while radiant ceiling/floor systems perform the poorest. Energy efficiency plays a crucial role in this evaluation, as it directly impacts both the operational cost and the environmental footprint of the system. The study's findings provide a structured and adaptable framework for HVAC engineers and designers to integrate PTC systems into occupant-centric and energy-efficient building designs.Article Citation - WoS: 4Citation - Scopus: 6A Team-Oriented Course Development Experience in Distance Education for Multidisciplinary Engineering Design(Wiley, 2022) Say, Bilge; Erden, Zühal; Erden, Zuhal; Turhan, Cihan; Turhan, Cihan; Say, Bilge; Erden, Zühal; Turhan, Cihan; Say, Bilge; Energy Systems Engineering; Software Engineering; Mechatronics Engineering; Energy Systems Engineering; Mechatronics Engineering; Software EngineeringBased on the multidisciplinary needs of today's complex and innovative technology, accreditation bodies of engineering demand proof of multidisciplinary teamwork in undergraduate engineering curricula. This article reports the design and conduct of a Multidisciplinary Engineering Design (MED) course initiated as a result of accreditation process requirements. The course, which consists of multidisciplinary lectures, practice sessions, and various phases of a multidisciplinary team project, was conducted online because of the COVID-19 pandemic by a multidisciplinary team of instructors using multiple software tools to enhance collaboration. In general, the course outcomes were satisfied under the current design, and several points for further improvement and elaboration were collected via quantitative and qualitative evaluations. Accordingly, the results show that the project-based and team-based MED course, in terms of multidisciplinary course management and its outcomes, can benefit from the use of software tools in creating a multidisciplinary team in distance education by means of enhanced cooperation and motivation among the participants.Article Citation - WoS: 5Citation - Scopus: 4Reconstructing Energy-Efficient Buildings After a Major Earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye(Mdpi, 2024) Saleh, Yousif Abed Saleh; Akkurt, Gulden Gokcen; Turhan, CihanT & uuml;rkiye's earthquake zone, primarily located along the North Anatolian Fault, is one of the world's most seismically active regions, frequently experiencing devastating earthquakes, such as the one in Hatay in 2023. Therefore, reconstructing energy-efficient buildings after major earthquakes enhances disaster resilience and promotes energy efficiency through retrofitting, renovation, or demolition and reconstruction. To this end, this study proposes implementing energy-efficient design solutions in dwelling units to minimize energy consumption in new buildings in Hatay, Southern Turkiye, an area affected by the 2023 earthquake. This research focused on a five-story residential building in the district of Kurtlusar & imath;maz & imath;, incorporating small-scale Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) with thin-film photovoltaic (PV) panels, along with the application of a green wall surrounding the building. ANSYS Fluent v.R2 Software was used for a numerical investigation of the small-scale IceWind turbine, and DesignBuilder Software v.6.1.0.006 was employed to simulate the baseline model and three energy-efficient design strategies. The results demonstrated that small-scale VAWTs, PV panels, and the application of a green wall reduced overall energy use by 8.5%, 18%, and 4.1%, respectively. When all strategies were combined, total energy consumption was reduced by up to 28.5%. The results of this study could guide designers in constructing innovative energy-efficient buildings following extensive demolition such as during the 2023 earthquake in Hatay, T & uuml;rkiye.Article Citation - WoS: 7Citation - Scopus: 6The Importance of the Calculation of Angle Factors To Determine the Mean Radiant Temperature in Temperate Climate Zone: a University Office Building Case(Sage Publications Ltd, 2022) Ozbey, Mehmet Furkan; Turhan, CihanThermal comfort depends on four environmental (air velocity, relative humidity, air temperature, mean radiant temperature) and two personal (clothing insulation and metabolic rate) parameters. Among all parameters, the mean radiant temperature (t(r)) is the most problematic variable in thermal comfort studies due to its complexity. Measurement methods, calculation methods and assumptions are mostly used to obtain the t(r). Researchers mainly prefer to obtain the t(r) via measurement methods or assumptions due to their easiness compared to the calculation methods. Besides, some researchers use constant values of angle factors in calculation methods. However, using constant values is not proper for every indoor environment, and it causes wrong estimations in the t(r) and thus the thermal comfort. This paper gives the importance of calculation of angle factors, with an example of a university office building in temperate climate zone, according to the ISO 7726. The angle factors of the room were calculated for a seated occupant from the centre of gravity in three different locations and compared with the constant angle factors. The results indicate that a significant difference (MAPE of 1.02) was found in the t(r) values, which were obtained by calculation of constant values of angle factors.Article Citation - WoS: 31Citation - Scopus: 31A Novel Data-Driven Model for the Effect of Mood State on Thermal Sensation(Mdpi, 2023) Turhan, Cihan; Ozbey, Mehmet Furkan; Ceter, Aydin Ege; Akkurt, Gulden GokcenThermal comfort has an important role in human life, considering that people spend most of their lives in indoor environments. However, the necessity of ensuring the thermal comfort of these people presents an important problem, calculating the thermal comfort accurately. The assessment of thermal comfort has always been problematic, from past to present, and the studies conducted in this field have indicated that there is a gap between thermal comfort and thermal sensation. Although recent studies have shown an effort to take human psychology into account more extensively, these studies just focused on the physiological responses of the human body under psychological disturbances. On the other hand, the mood state of people is one of the most significant parameters of human psychology. Thus, this paper investigated the effect of occupants' mood states on thermal sensation; furthermore, it introduced a novel "Mood State Correction Factor" (MSCF) to the existing thermal comfort model. To this aim, experiments were conducted at a mixed-mode building in a university between 15 August 2021 and 15 August 2022. Actual Mean Vote (AMV) and Profile of Mood States (POMS) were used to examine the effect of mood state on thermal sensation. The outcomes of this study showed that in the mood states of very pessimistic and very optimistic, the occupants felt warmer than the calculated one and the MSCFs are calculated as -0.125 and -0.114 for the very pessimistic and very optimistic mood states, respectively. It is worth our time to note that the experiments in this study were conducted during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and the results of this study could differ in different cultural backgrounds.Article Citation - WoS: 15Citation - Scopus: 18An Integrated Decision-Making Framework for Mitigating the Impact of Urban Heat Islands on Energy Consumption and Thermal Comfort of Residential Buildings(Mdpi, 2023) Turhan, Cihan; Atalay, Ali Serdar; Akkurt, Gulden GokcenUrban heat island (UHI) is a zone that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural zones as a result of human activities and rapid and dense urbanization. Excessive air temperature due to the UHI phenomenon affects the energy performance of buildings and human health and contributes to global warming. Knowing that most of the building energy is consumed by residential buildings, therefore, developing a framework to mitigate the impact of the UHI on residential building energy performance is vital. This study develops an integrated framework that combines hybrid micro-climate and building energy performance simulations and multi-criteria decision-making techniques. As a case study, an urban area is analyzed under the Urban GreenUP project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme. Four different strategies to mitigate the UHI effect, including the current situation, changing the low-albedo materials with high-albedo ones, nature-based solutions, and changing building facade materials, are investigated with a micro-climatic simulation tool. Then, the output of the strategies, which is potential air temperature, is used in a dynamic building energy simulation software to obtain energy consumption and thermal comfort data of the residential buildings in the case area. Finally, a multi-criteria decision-making model, using real-life criteria, such as total energy consumption, thermal comfort, capital cost, lifetime and installation flexibility, is used to make a decision for decreasing the UHI effect on residential energy performance of buildings. The results showed that applying NBSs, such as green roofs and changing existing trees with high leaf area density ones, have the highest ranking among all mitigation strategies. The output of this study may help urban planners, architects, and engineers in the decision-making processes during the design phase of urban planning.Article Estimation of the Mean Radiant Temperature in Office Buildings Using an Artificial Neural Network Developed in a Phyton Environment(Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2025) Ozbey, Mehmet Furkan; Lotfi, Bahram; Turhan, CihanThermal comfort describes an occupant's state of mind in a thermal environment, influenced by six parameters: air velocity, relative humidity, air temperature, mean radiant temperature (MRT), clothing value, and metabolic rate. MRT is the most problematic parameter since the obtaining process is difficult and time-consuming. MRT can be acquired by several methods such as calculations, measurements, assumptions, and software programmes. However, the methods have complexities and uncertainties. Comprehensive models are needed to obtain MRT. To this aim, this study presents an alternative method using one of the artificial intelligence methods, Artificial Neural Network (ANN), to predict MRT for indoor environments to abstain from the difficulties and complexities. A case building is selected in a university office building in Ankara, T & uuml;rkiye. The proposed model is developed and coded in a Python programming environment to predict the MRT using ANN. The results indicate that the ANN model, using only four inputs, predicts MRT with an R-2 value of 0.94 compared to the globe thermometer measurement method. The model's advantages over methods include simplicity, time efficiency and learning from the limited datasets such as difficulty in calculating terms like MRT.
