http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3154 2013-05-23T22:45:46Z 2013-05-23T22:45:46Z Kenny, Paul Olley, John A. Lewis, J. Owen http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3962 2012-12-17T17:06:46Z 2006-01-01T00:00:00Z

Whole-Sky Luminance Maps from Calibrated Digital Photography Kenny, Paul; Olley, John A.; Lewis, J. Owen Sky luminance is an essential component in assessing the appearance and performance of internal spaces which are highly sensitive to the often dynamic luminance of the visible sector of the sky. Therefore, whole sky luminance distributions representative of real-sky sectoral dynamics over short time intervals are required. A modified scientific-grade digital camera was used to measure whole-sky luminance distributions of various sky conditions. Results showed acceptable correlation between the measured and calculated results for overcast and clear skies demonstrating the viability of using hemispherical digital photography for mapping whole-sky luminance distributions. However, intermediate skies showed distinct sectoral variations and dynamics supporting the argument for more accurate and respresentative luminance distribution data. Eurosun 2006, 27-30 June, Glasgow, Scotland

2006-01-01T00:00:00Z Burke, Kevin Finn, Donal Kenny, Paul http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3918 2012-11-26T16:32:19Z 2005-10-01T00:00:00Z

The transparency and repeatability of building energy performance certification Burke, Kevin; Finn, Donal; Kenny, Paul The European Union’s (EU) Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) aims to increase the energy performance (EP) of buildings by requiring EU Member States to develop an EP calculation methodology and to certify the EP of their buildings. Dynamic simulation offers an important means of developing accurate EP ratings. However, its value may be undermined due to the difficulty in obtaining transparent and repeatable input data on existing buildings. Using the EnergyPlus simulation engine and a DesignBuilder interface this research investigated the impact of this difficulty on the EP grade of four primary school buildings. Survey and on-site refinement phases enabled base case buildings to be modelled, a standard activity schedule to be developed and the lack of transparency and repeatability in the specification of the infiltration air change rate (ACH), the boiler efficiency and glazing parameters to be seen. Using parametric sensitivity analysis in combination with the draft European standard for the energy certification of buildings, prEN15217:2005, it was found that variations in the specification of these parameters could lead to up to two grade changes for boiler efficiency and ACH, one grade change due to the sensitivity of the glazing parameter and three grade changes should their affect be combined. Although repeatability and transparency can be improved through careful training of building EP assessors and the awareness of a particular parameters affect on an EP grade, it will be difficult to ensure repeatability and transparency using a dynamic simulation EP grading methodology if experimental testing is not utilised. International Conference on the Dynamic Analysis, Simulation and Testing Applied to the Energy and Environmental Performance of Buildings, 12-14 October, 2005, Athens, Greece

2005-10-01T00:00:00Z Burke, Kevin Kenny, Paul Finn, Donal http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3917 2012-11-26T16:22:19Z 2007-09-01T00:00:00Z

Sensitivity Analysis of the EPBD Energy Performance Grading of Buildings Burke, Kevin; Kenny, Paul; Finn, Donal The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) obligates EU member states to develop a reliable methodology capable of calculating and certifying the energy performance (EP) of their building stock. In this paper, studies on a series of school buildings, based on Standard prEN15217:2005, consider the impact that a lack of transparency in the data gathering procedure might have on the repeatability of the EP grades. The results showed that variations in EP grades ranging from 0.06 to 1.06 EP grades were possible. The sensitivity of prEN15217: 2005 to variations of input parameters was also investigated and was found to be most sensitive to air change rates and boiler efficiency with grade changes of up to 1.5 grades possible. It was also found that prEN15217:2005 was not heavily influenced by improvements in roof and window specifications. AIVC 28th Conference and Palenc 2nd Conference: Building Low Energy Cooling and Ventilation Technologies in the 21st Century, 27-29 September 2007, Crete island, Greece

2007-09-01T00:00:00Z Kenny, Paul Hourigan, Neasa Brophy, Vivienne http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3897 2012-11-08T14:47:46Z 2007-11-01T00:00:00Z

An Irish Building Environmental Assessment Method Kenny, Paul; Hourigan, Neasa; Brophy, Vivienne This paper presents a building environmental assessment methodology developed for application in new commercial buildings in Ireland. In an attempt to address issues of specific national interest the development of the methodology considered the recent introduction of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, a vibrant economy in which the building industry accounts for 23% of GDP, the highest in the European Union, increasing concerns over national environmental performance and a projected shortfall in meeting its Kyoto commitments. The development of the methodology was supported by a steering committee representative of a wide spectrum of professional, public and industrial representatives and reflects the interests and concerns of all contributions. In particular and in an attempt to innovate where other similar international schemes have not, credit categories have been developed to reward projects that address and integrate the principals of passive and microclimatic design. Daylight access and protection, solar access and protection and wind and shelter are addressed. In addition, a separate credit category has been added to reward innovation as part of the procurement and design process. 24th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA), 22-24 November 2007, Singapore

2007-11-01T00:00:00Z Hernandez, Patxi Kenny, Paul http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3883 2012-11-02T17:04:12Z 2009-06-22T00:00:00Z

Optimising Life Cycle Energy Performance of Housing: The Value of Occupancy Control Hernandez, Patxi; Kenny, Paul There is a trend towards reducing heating and cooling requirements of buildings by using high levels of insulation, minimizing thermal bridging, and ensuring excellent air tightness, together with the operation of efficient mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) systems. In temperate climates, this approach has already raised questions about potential risks of over-specifying some construction elements and installations. This study argues that in maritime climates, appropriate building design with occupant controlled natural ventilation could provide an optimum life cycle energy performance. A heating demand analysis of a sample case study house with MVHR and of the same case study with naturally ventilation is presented, testing different levels of insulation for each case. Embodied energy data of the additional envelope insulation and the MVHR system is added to the operational energy , and the options are compared from a life cycle perspective. PLEA2009 - 26th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Quebec City, Canada, 22-24 June 2009

2009-06-22T00:00:00Z Hernandez, Patxi Kenny, Paul http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3882 2012-11-02T16:22:45Z 2008-09-21T00:00:00Z

Life Cycle Energy Performance: Exploring the limits of passive low energy buildings Hernandez, Patxi; Kenny, Paul There is an increasing trend in reducing energy demand of buildings by improving building envelope thermal characteristics. Proven construction examples as used with the German PassivHaus standard achieve substantial reductions on the heating demand compared to mainstream construction, generally by using high levels of insulation together with ensuring excellent air tightness and minimizing of thermal bridges. However, the limits to which levels of insulation in a building can be increased and still represent overall life cycle energy savings are not clear. Particularly for temperate climates, adopting very-high insulation standards can lead to a danger of over specifying construction elements: once we reach certain levels of insulation, any extra material used can have larger energy costs or “embodied energy” than the energy it saves in the life cycle of the building. This paper presents the heating energy use of sample houses in the Irish maritime climate, and analyses the life cycle energy use including the embodied energy of the materials used. A 50-year perspective is presented, and conclusions about the limits to which the heating energy consumption can be lowered by “passive” means on a particular climate are drawn. This paper demonstrates the life-cycle benefits of optimizing the building design ensuring a correct orientation and sizing of the openings, but respecting certain limits when using energy intensive insulation materials. World Sustainable Building Conference (SB08), 2008, Melbourne, Australia, 21-25 September 2008

2008-09-21T00:00:00Z Hernandez, Patxi Kenny, Paul Cohen, R. http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3785 2012-09-05T14:11:13Z 2007-09-12T00:00:00Z

Energy ratings based on measured energy consumption : a practical approach for implementation of EPBD and identification of high-energy use buildings. Hernandez, Patxi; Kenny, Paul; Cohen, R. Article 7 of the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive requires Member States to implement energy certification for buildings, and particularly for large public buildings, requires an energy certificate to be displayed in public. This paper outlines a simplified procedure for the certification of existing public buildings based on measured energy consumption, which is applicable even in countries where information on the building stock is not currently available. Energy consumption data collected for a number of buildings is used to develop energy benchmarks for typical and good practice energy performance. The rating procedure is based on a comparison between the energy consumption of each building and the derived benchmarks; a process that is illustrated in a sample of 88 Irish primary schools. The paper concludes with a discussion on the next steps to a more detailed measured rating procedure. SB07 Sustainable Building 07 : Sustainable Construction, Materials and Practices "Challenge of the Industry for the New Millennium", Lisbon, Portugal, 12-14 September 2007

2007-09-12T00:00:00Z Kenny, Paul Brophy, Vivienne http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3784 2012-09-05T13:55:44Z 2011-10-18T00:00:00Z

A Methodology to Develop Judgment Skills in Sustainable Architectural Education Kenny, Paul; Brophy, Vivienne Students of sustainability, in particular architectural students, are faced with a vast body of published work that forms an important part of their reference library. The idea of the precedent study is, traditionally, central to the education of an architectural student, introducing them to exemplary projects of all types. However many of the buildings published and purporting to be ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’ lack rigorous and impartial review. In the absence of such credible evidence how is a student, or for that matter, their instructor, to know that a particular building is an authentic exemplar upon which to base research or teaching. This paper presents a project and the methodology used by second year architectural students in University College Dublin designed to instil a strong sense of discernment in the student, developing critical and research skills that enable them to differentiate between an authentic sustainable exemplar and one over which there may be doubt. The project first asked each student to arrive at their own definition of sustainable architecture. This was then tested by applying it to three ‘sustainable’ projects of their own choice. They were then asked to choose the most credible of those three and apply a specifically developed environmental rating system, supplied to them, against which to assess their chosen exemplar. The objective and result of the project was to develop within each student the ability to research authoritative information online, in books and journals and to use this to support and argue for authentic exemplars of sustainable practices in architectural design. The highest rated case studies were then available to the whole class as genuine examples of the highest international standard in sustainable architectural practice. The best five exemplars of the class were then published in a national sustainable construction magazine, Construct Ireland, along with the methodology developed for the project and used in their assessment. World Sustainable Building Conference, 18 - 21 October, 2011 Helsinki, Finland

2011-10-18T00:00:00Z Connolly, D. Finn, Donal Kenny, Paul http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3783 2012-09-05T13:47:08Z 2005-05-19T00:00:00Z

Sensitivity analysis of a maritime located night ventilated library building Connolly, D.; Finn, Donal; Kenny, Paul This paper assesses the role of design and operational parameters in a night ventilated library building that has been designed for a maritime type climate. The design rationale behind the building is elaborated and decisions associated with the various design parameters discussed. A model of the building is created using the ESPr simulation program which after experimental validation is used to carry out parametric and sensitivity studies on the building. The role of different building design and operational parameters are examined including building mass, external gains, internal gains, ventilation duration, ventilation rates, as well as ventilation operational strategies. Passive and Low Energy Cooling for the Built Environment (PALENC 2005), 19-21 May 2005, Santorini, Greece

2005-05-19T00:00:00Z Hernandez, Patxi Kenny, Paul http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3771 2012-09-03T13:35:56Z 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z

Defining Zero Energy Buildings - A life cycle perspective Hernandez, Patxi; Kenny, Paul A simple definition of a zero energy building (ZEB) is a stand-alone building which does not use any offsite energy source for its operation. The definition is easily extended to buildings with a net-zero annual on-site energy balance, where a building is connected to the electricity grid and annual energy use is the same as energy exported to the grid. In this paper we expand the ZEB definition adding a life cycle perspective including the embodied energy (cradle to site) of materials, which is considered as an additional off-site supply. The consideration of embodied energy adds a level that will help discern the life cycle benefits of different demand or supply side building design strategies to achieve ZEBs. Calculations of operational energy use and embodied energy for different house design options are presented, analyzing what options would move closer to this ZEB definition. Results show how the achievement of extreme reductions on energy demand by using high quantities of energy intensive materials are not an optimum solution over the life cycle of a building, active technologies becoming a better option after certain limits. PLEA 2008 – 25th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Dublin, 22nd to 24th October 2008

2008-01-01T00:00:00Z Hernandez, Patxi Kenny, Paul http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3729 2012-07-26T15:54:50Z 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z

Net energy analysis of domestic solar water heating installations in operation Hernandez, Patxi; Kenny, Paul The potential of solar water heating systems to reduce domestic energy use is frequently acknowledged. However there are two factors that are rarely discussed when studying this technology. Firstly the real performance of the installed systems in operation, and secondly a life cycle perspective of its energy use. These two issues are reviewed in this paper, and a field study in Ireland is also presented. In the review, some studies show that measured real performance of domestic solar water heating systems can be lower than expectations. Concerning their life cycle energy performance, existing studies show that the initial energy investment for the systems (their embodied energy) is a small portion of the energy savings over their lifetime with calculation paybacks generally lower than 2 years. On the field study carried in Ireland, representative of a maritime north European climate, the ‘energy payback’ based on the expected energy savings is between 1.2 and 3.5 years, values comparable to previous studies considering the less favourable climate and installation characteristics. However the measured energy savings generally worsened the life cycle energy performance of this technology and thus increased the energy payback period. The study concludes that while there is a real potential for life cycle energy savings through domestic solar water heating installations, devising mechanisms to ensure proper design, installation and operation of systems is essential for this technology.

2012-01-01T00:00:00Z O'Neill, Michael McDermott, James Swafford, John Mark Byrne, Jonathan Hemberg, Erik Brabazon, Anthony Shotton, Elizabeth McNally, Ciaran Hemberg, Martin http://hdl.handle.net/10197/2541 2010-11-05T14:37:28Z 2010-04-24T00:00:00Z

Evolutionary design using grammatical evolution and shape grammars : designing a shelter O'Neill, Michael; McDermott, James; Swafford, John Mark; Byrne, Jonathan; Hemberg, Erik; Brabazon, Anthony; Shotton, Elizabeth; McNally, Ciaran; Hemberg, Martin A new evolutionary design tool is presented, which uses shape grammars and a grammar-based form of evolutionary computation, grammatical evolution (GE). Shape grammars allow the user to specify possible forms, and GE allows forms to be iteratively selected, recombined and mutated: this is shown to be a powerful combination of techniques. The potential of GE and shape grammars for evolutionary design is examined by attempting to design a single-person shelter to be evaluated by collaborators from the University College Dublin School of Architecture, Landscape, and Engineering. The team was able to successfully generate conceptual shelter designs based on scrutiny from the collaborators. A number of avenues for future work are highlighted arising from the case study.

2010-04-24T00:00:00Z