Pub Date : 2026-02-15DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117173
Mehmet Nurettin Uğural, Seyedarash Aghili
The preconstruction phase offers a pivotal yet underexplored opportunity to mitigate embodied carbon. However, isolated technical solutions have led to a “plateau of insufficiency” in decarbonization efforts. This study demonstrates that overcoming this systemic stagnation requires a strategic shift from fragmented tools to a configurational approach that activates synergies between expertise, policy, and stakeholder commitment. We introduce a novel framework integrating Crisp-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA) and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) to analyze Turkey’s MSME-driven construction sector. The csQCA results identify Carbon-Reductive Engineering Expertise as the non-negotiable core condition for systemic change, capable of compensating for weaknesses in procurement and policy. Dynamic simulations validate this finding, showing that while standalone mandates fail, expertise-focused policies are the primary engine of transformation. A synergistic joint intervention, combining upskilling with procurement reform, accelerates the systemic tipping point from ∼ 40 years to ∼ 26 years (t ≈ 315 ± 40 months). This integrated strategy can achieve a 30% reduction in embodied carbon, generate 12,000 green jobs annually, and yield 15% project cost savings. The resulting QCA-ABM framework provides a scalable, data-driven roadmap for policymakers in emerging economies to design effective decarbonization strategies that enhance climate resilience and align with global sustainability goals.
{"title":"Preconstruction decarbonization for systemic change: A configurational and agent-based study","authors":"Mehmet Nurettin Uğural, Seyedarash Aghili","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117173","url":null,"abstract":"The preconstruction phase offers a pivotal yet underexplored opportunity to mitigate embodied carbon. However, isolated technical solutions have led to a “plateau of insufficiency” in decarbonization efforts. This study demonstrates that overcoming this systemic stagnation requires a strategic shift from fragmented tools to a configurational approach that activates synergies between expertise, policy, and stakeholder commitment. We introduce a novel framework integrating Crisp-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (<mml:math altimg=\"si1.svg\"><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant=\"italic\">csQCA</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>) and Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) to analyze Turkey’s MSME-driven construction sector. The <mml:math altimg=\"si1.svg\"><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant=\"italic\">csQCA</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math> results identify Carbon-Reductive Engineering Expertise as the non-negotiable core condition for systemic change, capable of compensating for weaknesses in procurement and policy. Dynamic simulations validate this finding, showing that while standalone mandates fail, expertise-focused policies are the primary engine of transformation. A synergistic joint intervention, combining upskilling with procurement reform, accelerates the systemic tipping point from ∼ 40 years to ∼ 26 years (t ≈ 315 ± 40 months). This integrated strategy can achieve a 30% reduction in embodied carbon, generate 12,000 green jobs annually, and yield 15% project cost savings. The resulting QCA-ABM framework provides a scalable, data-driven roadmap for policymakers in emerging economies to design effective decarbonization strategies that enhance climate resilience and align with global sustainability goals.","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"111 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146209560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-14DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117166
Jiayi Liu, Yuchen Ju, Risto Kosonen, Juha Jokisalo, Altti Meriläinen, Antti Kosonen
Integrating waste heat from hydrogen production into low-temperature district heating (LTDH) can improve hydrogen production profitability and the renewable energy usage of building heating. However, cost-effectiveness evidence for such applications on the demand side of old buildings remains limited. This study evaluates the potential of hydrogen-production-based waste heat in an LTDH context for two old Finnish apartment buildings with commonly used high-temperature radiators (80/50 °C and 70/40 °C). Based on these buildings, LTDH solutions are proposed to address the temperature mismatch between LTDH supply and existing space heating systems: retaining the existing radiators with the backup heater (an electric heater or a heat pump), and retrofitting low-temperature radiators (60/30 °C) compatible with LTDH. IDA ICE was used for energy simulations for representative weather years and a future climate scenario of 2050, and indoor temperature simulation during the cold event. The economic feasibility of each solution is evaluated. The findings indicate that LTDH meets at least 93% of total heat demand with 80/50 °C radiators and about 99% with 70/40 °C radiators. Backup electric heaters and heat pumps raise peak electricity demand by up to 169% and 38%, respectively, relative to the references. Resilience analysis indicates that backup heating is required to maintain indoor temperatures for the old building with 80/50 °C radiators. Economically, all proposed LTDH solutions are feasible with lower life-cycle costs (LCC) than the reference cases. Electric heater yields the shortest discounted payback period, whereas the heat pump solution offers the lowest cost over the full life cycle.
{"title":"Cost-effective renovation of Nordic old apartment heating systems with hydrogen-production-based low-temperature district heating","authors":"Jiayi Liu, Yuchen Ju, Risto Kosonen, Juha Jokisalo, Altti Meriläinen, Antti Kosonen","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117166","url":null,"abstract":"Integrating waste heat from hydrogen production into low-temperature district heating (LTDH) can improve hydrogen production profitability and the renewable energy usage of building heating. However, cost-effectiveness evidence for such applications on the demand side of old buildings remains limited. This study evaluates the potential of hydrogen-production-based waste heat in an LTDH context for two old Finnish apartment buildings with commonly used high-temperature radiators (80/50 °C and 70/40 °C). Based on these buildings, LTDH solutions are proposed to address the temperature mismatch between LTDH supply and existing space heating systems: retaining the existing radiators with the backup heater (an electric heater or a heat pump), and retrofitting low-temperature radiators (60/30 °C) compatible with LTDH. IDA ICE was used for energy simulations for representative weather years and a future climate scenario of 2050, and indoor temperature simulation during the cold event. The economic feasibility of each solution is evaluated. The findings indicate that LTDH meets at least 93% of total heat demand with 80/50 °C radiators and about 99% with 70/40 °C radiators. Backup electric heaters and heat pumps raise peak electricity demand by up to 169% and 38%, respectively, relative to the references. Resilience analysis indicates that backup heating is required to maintain indoor temperatures for the old building with 80/50 °C radiators. Economically, all proposed LTDH solutions are feasible with lower life-cycle costs (LCC) than the reference cases. Electric heater yields the shortest discounted payback period, whereas the heat pump solution offers the lowest cost over the full life cycle.","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"42 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146209239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-14DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117132
Jaume Roig-Hernando, Carlos Marmolejo-Duarte, Paúl Espinoza-Zambrano
Commercial real estate (CRE) faces a high prevalence of obsolete buildings that fail to align with modern workplace trends or European decarbonization targets. Although renovation is crucial to adapt these properties to market demands, the economic effects of such interventions have not been extensively explored. Existing literature often focuses on Anglo-Saxon markets or newly constructed buildings, addressing environmental aspects without a comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-based framework. This study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by analysing the economic impact of renovating three prime-location office buildings in Spain within an ESG framework. A mixed-methods approach is employed. First, ESG vectors are examined using audited pre- and post-intervention case study data, including required investment, operational expenses, property value, opportunity costs, profitability, tenant profiles, and decision-making processes. In a second stage, these findings are complemented with tenant surveys and asset manager interviews. The results demonstrate that comprehensive ESG-driven renovations significantly improve economic and sustainability outcomes compared to other comparable investment opportunities. The substantial increase in cash flow and attraction of high-profile tenants boosted gross income by up to 82% and property value by up to 84%. Renovating CRE into Class A buildings is a decision that yields both financial and non-financial benefits. As such, public policies could evaluate introducing incentives in lower-market-value areas to encourage renovations beyond prime locations.
{"title":"The economic impact of ESG-Driven office building Renovations: Evidence from prime Spanish commercial real estate","authors":"Jaume Roig-Hernando, Carlos Marmolejo-Duarte, Paúl Espinoza-Zambrano","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117132","url":null,"abstract":"Commercial real estate (CRE) faces a high prevalence of obsolete buildings that fail to align with modern workplace trends or European decarbonization targets. Although renovation is crucial to adapt these properties to market demands, the economic effects of such interventions have not been extensively explored. Existing literature often focuses on Anglo-Saxon markets or newly constructed buildings, addressing environmental aspects without a comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-based framework. This study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by analysing the economic impact of renovating three prime-location office buildings in Spain within an ESG framework. A mixed-methods approach is employed. First, ESG vectors are examined using audited pre- and post-intervention case study data, including required investment, operational expenses, property value, opportunity costs, profitability, tenant profiles, and decision-making processes. In a second stage, these findings are complemented with tenant surveys and asset manager interviews. The results demonstrate that comprehensive ESG-driven renovations significantly improve economic and sustainability outcomes compared to other comparable investment opportunities. The substantial increase in cash flow and attraction of high-profile tenants boosted gross income by up to 82% and property value by up to 84%. Renovating CRE into Class A buildings is a decision that yields both financial and non-financial benefits. As such, public policies could evaluate introducing incentives in lower-market-value areas to encourage renovations beyond prime locations.","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"321 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146209240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-14DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117162
Chunwen Che, Kaijie Qiu, Jun Wang, Jintu Fan, Zhanxiao Kang, Yonggao Yin
Humidity regulation is critical across numerous fields, including advanced manufacturing, building environment conditioning, and energy storage. While liquid desiccant air-conditioning systems offer an energy-efficient dehumidification pathway, research disproportionately emphasizes systems/components over the core material—the liquid desiccant itself. To address this gap, this review systematically analyzes liquid desiccants (also applicable as working fluids in absorption refrigeration/heat pumps, atmospheric water harvesting, moisture retention, etc.) through four dimensions: performance metrics, material classification/assessment, enhancement strategies, and next-generation development. Key findings indicate that widely used high-hygroscopicity inorganic salts suffer from corrosion and crystallization issues; low-corrosion organic alcohols face limitations in volatility, weak hygroscopicity, and high viscosity; organic acid salts partially combine advantages of inorganic salts and organic alcohols but exhibit insufficient thermal stability; and ionic liquids, while offering tunable properties, low corrosion, and strong hygroscopicity, remain limited by high cost and viscosity. Multi-component mixing and performance-enhancing additives can mitigate these drawbacks, indicating that future research should prioritize mixing mechanisms and advanced additive development for existing materials. Furthermore, two transformative categories are proposed: (1) Stimuli-responsive ionic liquids, whose switchable hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity could resolve the absorption–regeneration conflict but require robust reversible functionalization design; and (2) Deep eutectic solvents, offering tunable properties, low cost, and simple synthesis to address current material limitations, though necessitating elucidation of structure–property relationships between molecular configuration and hygroscopic performance. This review provides a foundational reference for optimizing current and developing next-generation liquid desiccant materials (and associated working fluids such as refrigerant-absorbent pairs), accelerating adoption of sustainable humidity regulation technologies.
{"title":"Liquid desiccant materials: a comprehensive review of performance, classification, enhancement, and next-generation design","authors":"Chunwen Che, Kaijie Qiu, Jun Wang, Jintu Fan, Zhanxiao Kang, Yonggao Yin","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117162","url":null,"abstract":"Humidity regulation is critical across numerous fields, including advanced manufacturing, building environment conditioning, and energy storage. While liquid desiccant air-conditioning systems offer an energy-efficient dehumidification pathway, research disproportionately emphasizes systems/components over the core material—the liquid desiccant itself. To address this gap, this review systematically analyzes liquid desiccants (also applicable as working fluids in absorption refrigeration/heat pumps, atmospheric water harvesting, moisture retention, etc.) through four dimensions: performance metrics, material classification/assessment, enhancement strategies, and next-generation development. Key findings indicate that widely used high-hygroscopicity inorganic salts suffer from corrosion and crystallization issues; low-corrosion organic alcohols face limitations in volatility, weak hygroscopicity, and high viscosity; organic acid salts partially combine advantages of inorganic salts and organic alcohols but exhibit insufficient thermal stability; and ionic liquids, while offering tunable properties, low corrosion, and strong hygroscopicity, remain limited by high cost and viscosity. Multi-component mixing and performance-enhancing additives can mitigate these drawbacks, indicating that future research should prioritize mixing mechanisms and advanced additive development for existing materials. Furthermore, two transformative categories are proposed: (1) Stimuli-responsive ionic liquids, whose switchable hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity could resolve the absorption–regeneration conflict but require robust reversible functionalization design; and (2) Deep eutectic solvents, offering tunable properties, low cost, and simple synthesis to address current material limitations, though necessitating elucidation of structure–property relationships between molecular configuration and hygroscopic performance. This review provides a foundational reference for optimizing current and developing next-generation liquid desiccant materials (and associated working fluids such as refrigerant-absorbent pairs), accelerating adoption of sustainable humidity regulation technologies.","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146209242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Accurate prediction of operative temperature, which is a combined measure of air temperature and the average temperature of surrounding surfaces as felt by occupants, is crucial for optimizing the performance of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, improving occupant comfort, and reducing energy consumption, particularly in sentry buildings. This study proposes a hybrid deep learning framework, termed the Hybrid LSTM–Transformer, which combines Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Transformer architectures with a Temporal Attention Pooling mechanism. The LSTM component captures short-term dependencies and nonlinear dynamics, while the Transformer models variable interactions and long-term temporal dependencies. Temporal Attention Pooling further highlights critical time steps to extract the most relevant temporal features. High-resolution data were collected from a wall-mounted electric radiant heating system. Comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed Hybrid LSTM–Transformer for indoor operative temperature forecasting achieves superior performance and stronger robustness against error accumulation compared with state-of-the-art algorithms, including LSTM, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Decision Trees (DT), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Random Forests (RF). The model achieved an R2 value above 0.87 for operative temperature prediction at a 60-minute horizon. These findings offer valuable insights into the feasibility of developing accurate models for predicting indoor operative temperatures.
{"title":"Hybrid LSTM–Transformer architecture for predictive indoor operative temperature modeling in sentry buildings","authors":"Yifan Jia, Haiguo Yin, Zhe Xu, Zhixin Xue, Xinyang Li, Zhenjun Ma, Angui Li","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117161","url":null,"abstract":"Accurate prediction of operative temperature, which is a combined measure of air temperature and the average temperature of surrounding surfaces as felt by occupants, is crucial for optimizing the performance of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, improving occupant comfort, and reducing energy consumption, particularly in sentry buildings. This study proposes a hybrid deep learning framework, termed the Hybrid LSTM–Transformer, which combines Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Transformer architectures with a Temporal Attention Pooling mechanism. The LSTM component captures short-term dependencies and nonlinear dynamics, while the Transformer models variable interactions and long-term temporal dependencies. Temporal Attention Pooling further highlights critical time steps to extract the most relevant temporal features. High-resolution data were collected from a wall-mounted electric radiant heating system. Comparative experiments demonstrate that the proposed Hybrid LSTM–Transformer for indoor operative temperature forecasting achieves superior performance and stronger robustness against error accumulation compared with state-of-the-art algorithms, including LSTM, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Decision Trees (DT), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Random Forests (RF). The model achieved an R<ce:sup loc=\"post\">2</ce:sup> value above 0.87 for operative temperature prediction at a 60-minute horizon. These findings offer valuable insights into the feasibility of developing accurate models for predicting indoor operative temperatures.","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146209238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-13DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117148
Jiakai Liu , Yongbao Chen , Zhe Chen
Improving building energy efficiency and optimizing building energy management are critical steps toward achieving a sustainable low-carbon society, among which accurate prediction of building load is the key. However, for actual buildings with scarce historical data, physical models are often highly complex, computationally difficult, and costly. Developing reliable data-driven models also faces challenges related to generalization problems. Although transfer learning (TL) offers a potential solution, its effectiveness heavily depends on the appropriate selection of source domains—improper selection may lead to negative transfer. To address this, first, this study proposes a TL framework based on multidimensional dynamic time warping (DTW) similarity measurement to optimize source building selection. This framework incorporates key operational features such as cooling load and meteorological parameters into weighted similarity analysis. Under data–scarce conditions, we develop and rigorously evaluate five types of prediction models using data from five real office buildings: a LightGBM baseline model, a LightGBM weight initialization model (LightGBM-WI), an LSTM baseline model, a fine-tuned LSTM transfer model (LSTM-FT), and a feature extraction-based LSTM transfer model (LSTM-FE). Empirical results demonstrate that TL (LightGBM–WI and LSTM–FT) outperform baseline models, with CVRMSE reduced by an average of 15.75% and 13.19%, respectively. More importantly, compared to using all available source domain data, the proposed DTW-enhanced source domain screening strategy can reduce CVRMSE of 1.62% and 13.65% for LightGBM-WI and LSTM-FT, effectively mitigating negative transfer. This study provides a practical, reliable, and interpretable data–driven framework for accurate cooling load prediction in scenarios with limited historical data.
{"title":"A dynamic time warping-enhanced transfer learning framework for cooling load prediction in data-scarce buildings: a multi-building case study","authors":"Jiakai Liu , Yongbao Chen , Zhe Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117148","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117148","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Improving building energy efficiency and optimizing building energy management are critical steps toward achieving a sustainable low-carbon society, among which accurate prediction of building load is the key. However, for actual buildings with scarce historical data, physical models are often highly complex, computationally difficult, and costly. Developing reliable data-driven models also faces challenges related to generalization problems. Although transfer learning (TL) offers a potential solution, its effectiveness heavily depends on the appropriate selection of source domains—improper selection may lead to negative transfer. To address this, first, this study proposes a TL framework based on multidimensional dynamic time warping (DTW) similarity measurement to optimize source building selection. This framework incorporates key operational features such as cooling load and meteorological parameters into weighted similarity analysis. Under data–scarce conditions, we develop and rigorously evaluate five types of prediction models using data from five real office buildings: a LightGBM baseline model, a LightGBM weight initialization model (LightGBM-WI), an LSTM baseline model, a fine-tuned LSTM transfer model (LSTM-FT), and a feature extraction-based LSTM transfer model (LSTM-FE). Empirical results demonstrate that TL (LightGBM–WI and LSTM–FT) outperform baseline models, with CVRMSE reduced by an average of 15.75% and 13.19%, respectively. More importantly, compared to using all available source domain data, the proposed DTW-enhanced source domain screening strategy can reduce CVRMSE of 1.62% and 13.65% for LightGBM-WI and LSTM-FT, effectively mitigating negative transfer. This study provides a practical, reliable, and interpretable data–driven framework for accurate cooling load prediction in scenarios with limited historical data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"357 ","pages":"Article 117148"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146172677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Flexible phase change material–aerogel composite films (FPCMACFs) offer a promising solution to the dual challenges of achieving personalized thermal comfort and environmental adaptability. They merge the high energy storage of PCMs with the structural stability of aerogels to simultaneously deliver thermal regulation, prevent leakage, and maintain flexibility. This review critically analyzes the state-of-the-art in FPCMACFs, moving beyond a general overview to focus on film-level architectural designs suitable for skin-contact applications. We explicitly evaluate the design trade-offs between maximizing latent heat loading (>80 wt%) and maintaining mechanical compliance, and dissect the conflicting requirements of high thermal conductivity for rapid response and high insulation for extreme protection. Key conclusions indicate that while current anisotropic aerogel skeletons successfully resolve the leakage-rigidity conflict, a critical gap remains in standardized durability testing required for commercial adoption. By synthesizing recent advances in multifunctional coupling (flame retardancy, EMI shielding, and solid–solid phase transitions), this work provides a rational design framework to transition FPCMACFs from laboratory concepts to reliable, next-generation personal thermal management wearables.
{"title":"A critical review of phase change material–aerogel flexible composite films for personal thermal management: performance, mechanism, and applications","authors":"Xianfei Liu, Hui Wang, Hui Zhang, Fang Wang, Mengjie Li, Bo Wen, Junjun Li, Caixia Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117141","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117141","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Flexible phase change material–aerogel composite films (FPCMACFs) offer a promising solution to the dual challenges of achieving personalized thermal comfort and environmental adaptability. They merge the high energy storage of PCMs with the structural stability of aerogels to simultaneously deliver thermal regulation, prevent leakage, and maintain flexibility. This review critically analyzes the state-of-the-art in FPCMACFs, moving beyond a general overview to focus on film-level architectural designs suitable for skin-contact applications. We explicitly evaluate the design trade-offs between maximizing latent heat loading (>80 wt%) and maintaining mechanical compliance, and dissect the conflicting requirements of high thermal conductivity for rapid response and high insulation for extreme protection. Key conclusions indicate that while current anisotropic aerogel skeletons successfully resolve the leakage-rigidity conflict, a critical gap remains in standardized durability testing required for commercial adoption. By synthesizing recent advances in multifunctional coupling (flame retardancy, EMI shielding, and solid–solid phase transitions), this work provides a rational design framework to transition FPCMACFs from laboratory concepts to reliable, next-generation personal thermal management wearables.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"357 ","pages":"Article 117141"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146160228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-12DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117145
Francesca Villano , Fabrizio Ascione , Tomasz Cholewa , Rosa Francesca De Masi , Gerardo Maria Mauro , Silvia Ruggiero
Buildings significantly contribute to global energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and their performance is increasingly challenged by rising cooling demands under climate change. While many studies assess envelope retrofit measures, most focus on a single building use. This study addresses this gap through a comparative analysis across building typologies, uses, and climatic conditions. The effects of climate change and envelope retrofit strategies on thermal energy demand (TED) and CO2 emissions are evaluated for four representative Italian building typologies—apartment block, multifamily building, terraced house, and single-family house—considering residential and office uses, standard and high internal loads, and current and 2050 climate conditions. Dynamic simulations are performed using EnergyPlus for four Italian climatic zones. Several retrofit options are analyzed, including insulation measures, window replacement, cool roofs, and a global retrofit. The global retrofit provides the largest benefits, reducing TED and CO2 emissions by up to 65% and 60% under current conditions, with a slight decrease in effectiveness (2–4%) toward 2050. Office buildings with high internal loads show smaller improvements than residential ones. Compact buildings exhibit greater climate resilience, whereas less compact typologies experience larger performance declines. Cool roofs are effective in mitigating cooling-related emissions under warmer climates, though their impact is limited in high-load office scenarios. Results highlight the need for adaptive and climate-resilient retrofit strategies in Mediterranean contexts.
{"title":"Climate change impact on envelope retrofit effectiveness: energy and carbon performance of Italian residential and office buildings today vs. 2050","authors":"Francesca Villano , Fabrizio Ascione , Tomasz Cholewa , Rosa Francesca De Masi , Gerardo Maria Mauro , Silvia Ruggiero","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117145","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117145","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Buildings significantly contribute to global energy consumption and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, and their performance is increasingly challenged by rising cooling demands under climate change. While many studies assess envelope retrofit measures, most focus on a single building use. This study addresses this gap through a comparative analysis across building typologies, uses, and climatic conditions. The effects of climate change and envelope retrofit strategies on thermal energy demand (TED) and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions are evaluated for four representative Italian building typologies—apartment block, multifamily building, terraced house, and single-family house—considering residential and office uses, standard and high internal loads, and current and 2050 climate conditions. Dynamic simulations are performed using EnergyPlus for four Italian climatic zones. Several retrofit options are analyzed, including insulation measures, window replacement, cool roofs, and a global retrofit. The global retrofit provides the largest benefits, reducing TED and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions by up to 65% and 60% under current conditions, with a slight decrease in effectiveness (2–4%) toward 2050. Office buildings with high internal loads show smaller improvements than residential ones. Compact buildings exhibit greater climate resilience, whereas less compact typologies experience larger performance declines. Cool roofs are effective in mitigating cooling-related emissions under warmer climates, though their impact is limited in high-load office scenarios. Results highlight the need for adaptive and climate-resilient retrofit strategies in Mediterranean contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"357 ","pages":"Article 117145"},"PeriodicalIF":7.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146160230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117126
Farzaneh Mousavi Motlagh, Pieter-Jan Hoes, Jan Hensen
{"title":"Unlocking zero-cost flexibility in office buildings with adaptive comfort heating strategy and thermal mass Utilization","authors":"Farzaneh Mousavi Motlagh, Pieter-Jan Hoes, Jan Hensen","doi":"10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117126","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11641,"journal":{"name":"Energy and Buildings","volume":"90 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146160240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-11DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2026.117018
Jing Peng, Haixin Zhang, Xu Fang
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