Journal of Architectural Engineering

There is a growing interest in integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) into building design decision making due to LCA’s comprehensive and systemic approach to environmental evaluation. Many green building rating systems (GBRSs) use LCA to various degrees. In this paper, a comparative study was performed to evaluate the LCA software tools available to building designers. A whole-building LCA was performed for a large building using three software LCA tools. The software tools vary in key aspects, such as intended users (e.g., LCA experts or novices), design stage in which they can be used, and time. The evaluated LCA tools varied significantly in the possibility of their use in early design and decision making. Some of the applications rely on a bill of materials that changes constantly in design alterations. However, others showed a greater advantage in that they can be integrated from the beginning of the design process. The comparative LCA results indicated that the impact of LCA software is dependent on the impact category and the precision in the process of material quantities takeoff. The case study was influenced by the building type and its intense operational energy requirements. Conventional energy efficiency measures, such as increasing the lighting efficiency, far exceeded what can be done to mitigate the embedded impact of construction materials. Thus, advancing the requirements of the LCA baseline building and addressing the operational phase in a more comprehensive framework are discussed. Finally, this paper examines the traditional building’s systems that are usually involved in LCA and the possibility of adding other systems, such as plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems, using building information modeling (BIM).

Various societies across the globe, including that in the United States, encounter difficulties fulfilling freshwater consumption needs. Implementation of decentralized systems, such as rainwater-harvesting technologies and strategies (RwHTS), in capital projects not only alleviates developmental patterns of humans on water resources but also helps facilities achieve net-zero resource consumption. However, implementation of RwHTS can quickly become complex because of multiple factors associated with the design of the capital facility. Although building information modeling (BIM) possesses inherent capabilities to reduce the complexity of systems, the impact it has on the adoption of RwHTS needs to be assessed. This research characterized implementation patterns for RwHTS and BIM by architectural firms for facilities constructed between 2000 and 2010 in six southeastern states and Washington, DC, using electronic surveys. In addition, the authors analyzed the relationship between the implementation of RwHTS and BIM from architectural firms’ perspectives. Furthermore, the study also identified the relationship between RwHTS/BIM implementation and a firm’s demographics, previous experience with federal projects, and green buildings. Last, the study identified the least and most adopted RwHTS types and BIM functions. Future research needs to investigate into reasons for adopting RwHTS and the process associated with it.

This study experimentally investigated water penetration through semi-interlocking masonry (SIM) walls using a standard test methodology. The main objective of this study was to investigate the water-penetration performance of dry-stacked SIM walls and the effects of using gap-fillers on the testing walls. The performance of a traditional unreinforced masonry wall was used as the benchmark against which the results for SIM walls were compared. This paper reports the water-penetration performance results of several types of SIM walls investigated in this study.

Canopies attached to residential and other buildings are predominantly lightweight structures with both surfaces exposed to the wind; therefore, their design is mostly governed by wind-induced loads. Currently, only limited information exists for the design of attached canopies against wind action in building codes and wind standards, which justifies the need to further investigate the wind effects on these structures to establish reliable design recommendations. The pressure distribution on the canopy surfaces, as well as the net component, is highly affected by the wind field around the canopy; therefore, its dimensions, location, and wind direction need to be considered. To investigate the effects of these parameters, in this study, a set of six 1:6 scaled model configurations of a low-rise building with different attached canopy dimensions and locations were tested at boundary-layer flow in the Wall of Wind Research Facility at Florida International University. The results are presented as local and area distributed pressure coefficients on the upper and lower surfaces of the canopy as well as net values. The interpretation of the experimentally acquired data revealed that the increase of the installation height of the canopy can lead to higher net suction pressures on its surface, whereas the length and horizontal location of the canopy will not significantly affect the peak wind-induced pressures. Finally, the results were utilized to develop envelope lines for codification purposes, which were also compared to the limited available studies and design provisions.

Although buildings smaller than 4,645 m² account for nearly half of the energy used in U.S. commercial buildings, energy-efficiency programs to date have primarily focused on larger buildings. Stakeholder interviews conducted during a scoping study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) indicated interest in energy efficiency from the small commercial building sector, provided solutions are simple and of low cost. To address this need, an energy management package (EMP) was developed to deliver energy management to small commercial buildings via HVAC contractors, because they already serve these clients and the transaction cost to market would be reduced. This energy-management approach is unique from, but often complementary to, conventional quality maintenance or retrofit-focused programs targeting the small commercial segment. This paper presents an overview of the EMP, the business model to deliver it, and preliminary demonstration findings from a pilot use of the EMP. Results from the pilot validated that contractors could deliver the EMP in 4–8 h per building per year and that energy savings of 3–5% are feasible through this approach.

Retuning is a form of scaled-down retrocomissioning for commercial buildings that targets low- and no-cost control changes to building automation systems (BASs) to achieve immediate energy savings. A retrospective analysis of retuning for a set of 26 federal office buildings and courthouses is presented, detailing the retuning process that was employed, the types of retuning measures that were commonly implemented, the most effective of those measures, and the energy and cost savings achieved as a result of the process. The buildings that participated in these retuning efforts were benchmarked as having, on average, very efficient baselines. However, these buildings achieved, on average, 12.1% annual energy savings as a result of the retuning efforts, with an associated cost savings of $1.62/year per square meter ($0.151/year per ft²) of floor space. Several key factors that are observed to promote successful retuning outcomes are discussed as well.

This research article discusses methods for designing high-performance facades with a focus on minimizing heat transfer and improving energy usage. The facade is one of the most significant contributors to the energy budget and comfort parameters of any building. Control of physical environmental factors, including methods for minimizing heat transfer, must be considered during the design process. High-performance facades need to block adverse external environmental effects and maintain internal comfort conditions with minimal energy consumption. The research was conducted by initially modelling conductive heat transfer in four different exterior wall types, including a brick cavity wall, a rain-screen facade with terracotta cladding, a rain-screen facade with glass fiber–reinforced concrete cladding, and a curtain wall, to compare their relative thermal performances. Then, heat-transfer modelling was conducted for three thermally improved systems, including curtain walls with thermally broken framing, rain-screen facades with thermal spacers, and rain-screen facades with thermal isolators. Effects on energy use were also investigated; energy usage was modeled for an office space enclosed with the analyzed facade types for all U.S. climate zones. The results show the performance of analyzed exterior wall types in terms of thermal performance and energy usage.

Air leakage through recessed lighting fixtures has been identified as a common issue that causes extra energy consumption in residential buildings. However, few quantitative studies in this area were found. As such, a preliminary assessment of the magnitude of this type of energy loss was conducted by using three-dimensional (3D) transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. A hypothetical layout of recessed lighting fixtures was designed with boundary conditions of four different seasons, which were obtained from recorded roof/attic temperature data sets. The results of the study indicate that leakage of recessed lighting fixtures could be a significant channel of energy loss in such attic-related residential buildings, especially in the summer and winter.

Changes in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fall-protection guidelines for residential construction since late 2011 have required the use of fall-protection and fall-arrest systems for workers past a certain height. Evaluation of fall-arrest anchor capacity depends on placement within a structure and includes strength of connections, truss/rafter elements, and bracing. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of a displacement-rate test for evaluating the strength and stability of fall-arrest anchors connected to truss assemblies as a supplement to currently used drop-test methods. A two-truss assembly with bracing was used for comparison. A range of displacement rates from 254 mm/min (10 in./min) to 381 mm/min (15 in./min) was recommended for evaluating the capacity of truss assemblies. A comparison of truss-assembly failures found similar results for the displacement-rate test and the drop test. The addition of the displacement-rate test can provide valuable information about truss performance, including an estimation of maximum load on structures, the ability to identify individual truss/bracing element failures, and the measurement of individual member deflection.