Publications related to Split-pane electrochromic window control based on an embedded photometric device with real-time daylighting computing

An explorative method to support design decisions based on carbon constraints and daylight sufficiency needs

The global construction industry contributes to 37% of carbon emissions associated to both building operations and construction. To help achieve the net-zero targets set by 2050, it is mandated to achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. As we ...

EPFL2024

In-Sensor Passive Speech Classification with Phononic Metamaterials

Luis Guillermo Villanueva Torrijo, Daniel Moreno Garcia

Mitigating the energy requirements of artificial intelligence requires novel physical substrates for computation. Phononic metamaterials have vanishingly low power dissipation and hence are a prime candidate for green, always-on computers. However, their u ...

Wiley-V C H Verlag Gmbh2024

Solar-assisted clean steam generator, a cleaner production approach for sustainable healthcare facilities

Fernando Porté Agel, Ahmad Arabkoohsar, Mohammad Jamshidmofid

Healthcare sector buildings, particularly hospitals, significantly contribute to global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Hospitals require a substantial amount of steam, including the essential hygienic or " clean steam, " that is currently ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2024

Transparent structured conductive coating for applications in smart windows

Jérémy Jacques Antonin Fleury

Solar radiation reaching the surface of the earth for a period of one hour contains more energy than that consumed by mankind over an entire year. Some of this solar energy is already collected by photovoltaic cells to cover the electricity needs of buildi ...

EPFL2023

Discomfort glare from daylight: Influence of transmitted color and the eye's macular pigment

Sneha Jain

Designing architectural façades that allow sufficient daylight to create visually comfortable and pleasant environments is a challenging aspect of building design. It requires accounting for visual comfort and discomfort glare risks and understanding the f ...

EPFL2023

Taking a step back from glass towers facades to make them compatible with the 2050 targets

Bernard Paule, Sergi Aguacil Moreno

Skyscrapers or glass towers are an extremely common model throughout the world. In the current context of climate change and resource depletion, we need to develop new postures towards these objects, especially for existing buildings that are becoming obso ...

2023

Perceived glare from the sun behind tinted glazing: Comparing blue vs. color-neutral tints

Marilyne Andersen, Andreas Schueler, Jan Wienold, Maxime Lagier, Sneha Jain

While the influence of a glare source's spectrum on sensitivity to discomfort glare has been demonstrated repeatedly under electric light conditions, it has not yet been studied under actual daylit conditions. To investigate the influence of spectral alter ...

2023

Assessment of Monitoring Strategies for Inhalation Exposure and Occupancy in Office Environments

Seoyeon Yun

Given people's significant time spent indoors, ensuring good indoor air quality (IAQ) is essential because it significantly influences occupants' health and productivity. Office buildings consume about 50% of commercial building energy and 18% of total bui ...

EPFL2023

Glare analysis of an integral daylighting and lighting control strategy for offices

Stephen William Wasilewski

Complex Fenestration Systems (CFSs) can significantly impact both the visual and non-visual daylight effects on the occupants as well as the energy performance of buildings. To ensure that those impacts improve the overall situation, proper control algorit ...

2023

DIET Controller: Dynamic Indoor Environment using Deep Reinforcement Learning

Arnab Chatterjee

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems utilize much energy, accounting for 40% of total building energy use. The temperatures in buildings are commonly held within narrow limits, leading to higher energy use. Measurements from office bui ...

EPFL2023

A modelling framework for modern heritage buildings energy simulation

Franz Graf, Giulia Marino, Giuseppe Galbiati

The latest European polices highlight the urgent need to rehabilitate the existing building stock, responsible for 40 % of the EU's total energy consumption. In this process, a key role is played by thermal simulations, assessing the effective energy perfo ...

Elsevier2023

Efficient and Accurate Peer-to-Peer Training of Machine Learning Based Home Thermal Models

Rachid Guerraoui, Omid Ardakanian, Alexandre David Olivier Maurer

The integration of smart thermostats in home automation systems has created an opportunity to optimize space heating and cooling through the use of machine learning, for example for thermal model identification. Nonetheless, its full potential remains unta ...

Assoc Computing Machinery2023

Tuning the Solar Performance of Building Facades through Polymer 3D Printing: Toward Bespoke Thermo-Optical Properties

Arno Schlueter, Stephen William Wasilewski

Facades are the primary interface controlling the flow of solar energy in buildings and affecting their energy balance and environmental impact. Recently, large-scale 3D printing (3DP) of translucent polymers has been explored as a technique for fabricatin ...

Wiley2023

PePTM: An Efficient and Accurate Personalized P2P Learning Algorithm for Home Thermal Modeling

Rachid Guerraoui, Omid Ardakanian, Alexandre David Olivier Maurer

Nowadays, the integration of home automation systems with smart thermostats is a common trend, designed to enhance resident comfort and conserve energy. The introduction of smart thermostats that can run machine learning algorithms has opened the door for ...

MDPI2023

Traversing Time Dependent Light Fields for Daylight Glare Evaluation

Stephen William Wasilewski

To understand how daylight gives shape and life to architectural spaces, whether existing or imagined, requires quantifying its dynamism and energy. Maintaining these details presents a challenge to simulation and analysis methods that flatten data into di ...

EPFL2023

A systemic study for enhanced waste heat recovery and renewable energy integration towards decarbonizing the aluminium industry

François Maréchal, Daniel Alexander Florez Orrego, Réginald Germanier

The aluminium remelting industry relies on natural gas to transform recycled aluminium into aluminium feedstock, entailing significant atmospheric emissions. Hydric resources are also affected as they are used as sinks of waste heat from the casting proces ...

2023

Preserving suspended structures with light façades (1960-1980). Architectural study and retrofitting proposals

Giuseppe Galbiati

Nowadays, the energy efficiency of the existing building stock is internationally accepted as a topical issue. Energy retrofitting is encouraged, improving the thermal performances of buildings, but often altering the historical image of our cities. Attent ...

EPFL2023

Accurate color characterization of solar photovoltaic modules for building integration

Christophe Ballif, Antonin Faes, Jordi Escarre Palou, Alessandro Francesco Aldo Virtuani, Alejandro Borja Block

Accurate and reproducible color characterization is essential for colored building integrated photovoltaic products, both for manufacturing quality control and assessing long-term color stability. However, existing characterization techniques struggle to a ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2023