Investigating Advanced Building Envelopes for Energy Efficiency in Prefab Temporary Post-Disaster Housing

Lorenzo Rapone, Afaq A. Butt, Roel C. G. M. Loonen, Giacomo Salvadori () and Francesco Leccese
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Lorenzo Rapone: Department of Energy, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Afaq A. Butt: Department of Building Physics and Services, Eindhoven University of Technology, De Zaale, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Roel C. G. M. Loonen: Department of Building Physics and Services, Eindhoven University of Technology, De Zaale, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Giacomo Salvadori: Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Constructions Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy
Francesco Leccese: Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Constructions Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 56122 Pisa, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: Prefabricated temporary buildings are a promising solution for post-disaster scenarios for their modularity, sustainability and transportation advantages. However, their low thermal mass building envelope shows a fast response to heat flux excitations. This leads to the risk of not meeting the occupant comfort and HVAC energy-saving requirements. The literature shows different measures implementable in opaque surfaces, like vacuum insulation panels (VIPs), phase change materials (PCMs) and switchable coatings, and in transparent surfaces (switchable glazing) to mitigate thermal issues, like overheating, while preserving the limited available internal space. This paper investigates the energy and overheating performance of the mentioned interventions by using building performance simulation tools to assess their effectiveness. The optimization also looks at the transportation flexibility of each intervention to better support the decision maker for manufacturing innovative temporary units. The most energy-efficient measures turn to be VIPs as a better energy solution for winter and PCMs as a better thermal comfort solution for summer.

Keywords: energy savings; building envelope; passive systems; sustainability; energy storage system; energy demand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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