Passive solar design strategies for buildings are necessary for annual heating energy demand reduction. This paper presents a mathematical model for interior room temperature calculation of a building that integrates a combined passive solar system consisting of an unvented Trombe wall and a direct passive solar system for direct insolation. The model was applied to a residential building located in Niš, Serbia, which is not additionally heated by conventional fuels. Two variations of a combined passive system were taken into consideration. The first combined passive system consisted of a Trombe wall made of 0.45-m-thick concrete and the second combined passive system consisted of a 0.20-m-thick concrete Trombe wall. To calculate the complex mathematical model, depending on the size of the window opening, window slope (slanting or vertical position), and orientation of the room, two software packages were developed, RMSun and InSunTr. In addition, the indoor air temperatures of a thermally insulated residential building with an unvented Trombe wall and a direct passive solar system for different building orientations and different Trombe wall thicknesses were analyzed during the winter period between January and March.

The increase in energy consumption in building design and construction and the issues related to environmental protection have steered many current researchers toward examining the ways to reduce total CO2 emissions, which resulted in the development of various measures to increase energy efficiency. One measure for more cost-efficient and rational use of energy resources in individual residential buildings is the application of passive solar systems with a sunspace. This paper presents the effects of the shape factor of a residential building with a passive sunspace on the total consumption of heating and cooling energy. The total amount of energy required for building heating and cooling was calculated by means of dynamic modelling using EnergyPlus software. The simulations were run according to the meteorological parameters for the city of Nis. For simulation purposes, models of residential buildings with a passive sunspace and square- and rectangle-shaped floors were designed. The variations between the models include different building shape factor, floor geometry, surface area of the southern fa?ade, and glazing percentage, i.e. window-to-wall ratio (WWR). Examination of the models with WWR=20%, WWR=40%, and WWR=60% revealed that the elongated shape of a building with the aspect ratio of 2.25:1, with the longer side of the fa?ade facing south, is the most favourable in terms of heating energy consumption. For the same WWRs, the elongated shape of a building with the aspect ratio of 1.56:1, with the longer side of the fa?ade facing south, is the most favourable in terms of cooling energy consumption. As WWR increases, so does the amount of energy required to cool the building. The biggest increase in heating energy consumption was observed in buildings with the aspect ratio 1:2.25, with the shorter side facing south.

Outdoor thermal environment is affected by variables like air temperature, wind velocity, humidity, temperature of the radiant surfaces, and solar radiation, which can be expressed by a single number - the thermal index. Since these variables are subject to annual and diurnal variations, prediction of thermal comfort is of special importance for people to plan their outdoor activities. The purpose of this research was to develop and apply the extreme learning machine for forecasting physiological equivalent temperature values. The results of the extreme learning machine model were compared with genetic programming and artificial neural network. The reliability of the computational models was accessed based on simulation results and using several statistical indicators. According to obtained results, it can be concluded that extreme learning machine can be utilized effectively in short term forecasting of physiological equivalent temperature.

During emergencies which occur as a result of uncontrolled effects of natural disasters, major technical and technological accidents and major epidemics of infectious diseases, the health and life of people and the persistent environmental degradation may be affected. Therefore, it is necessary to assess the vulnerability of the settlements from natural disasters and other accidents. The assessment must be professionally and scientifically established with a multidisciplinary approach. This paper defines methodology for vulnerability assessment of given populated areas during emergencies arising from uncontrolled effects of natural and other disasters which involves a complex analysis of actual hazard probabilities and the level of impact on humans, animals, property, cultural wealth, and the environment.