Educational buildings represent an indivisible part of every society, and it is necessary to make them energy efficient. In the current research on the energy-efficient retrofit of school buildings, the impact of several passive design strategies is studied. These interventions include improvement of the building envelope characteristics and parameters related to select passive design systems. In order to determine whether applying a green roof, double-skin facade, or Trombe wall, with or without shading contributes to heating and cooling energy consumption reduction, building energy performance was simulated using the EnergyPlus and jEplus software. This holistic approach takes into consideration parameters that may be critical for the success of the energy-efficient retrofit of school buildings. The results revealed which parameters provide the most significant heating and cooling energy savings of the modeled school buildings in local climatic conditions. By applying the appropriate combination of interventions, the heating energy saving can be up to 77%, while with a proper mix of the proposed measures, the maximum cooling energy savings are up to 79%.

This study demonstrates the benefits of comprehensive school building (SB) energy efficiency (EE) improvements through building envelope renovations, lighting upgrades, and changes to cleaner heat sources. The parametric study in the building energy simulation software was used to check the application of various interventions on the energy consumption of existing SBs while reducing CO₂ emissions with the most profitable return on investment (ROI). The energy savings from window replacements did not correspond with expectations. However, other measures such as the wall, roof insulation, and lighting modernization improved EE by up to 152 kWh/m² and 41 kg/m² CO₂/m² annually. The study also points to a significant trade-off between district heating (which reduces CO₂ but has a slower ROI) and other heating solutions. The results suggest that climate-specific insulation thickness and glazing type needs are required, and optimal insulation strategies are shown to improve EE by 48–56% and CO₂ reductions of 45–56%. Lighting replacement and biogas boiler use were both impactful. The findings support the importance of sustainable practices, which should stimulate educational awareness and environmental responsibility. This research presents actionable insights for EE and sustainable development from within educational facilities.

This paper analyzes the impact of Trombe wall construction on heating and cooling demands of building with form (rectangular single-store building of about one hundred square meters area) which is common for individual residential buildings in the Republic of Serbia. Trombe wall, as a representative of a passive solar design, was installed on the south wall of the building. Model of the building was made in the Google SketchUp software, while the results of energy performance were obtained using EnergyPlus and jEplus. Parameters of thermal comfort and climatic data for the area of city of Belgrade, Republic of Serbia, were taken into account. Coverage of the south fa?ade was varied, as well as the thickness of the thermal mass and orientation. Energy consumption of the object is discussed, based on obtained results of the analysis. According to comparative analysis of the above mentioned models it can be concluded that the application of the Trombe wall structure on south side may lead to savings of 33% on heating, but also the higher energy consumption for cooling. Total energy consumption on an annual basis is reduced by using this system.

Buildings are one of the biggest energy consumers in urban environments, so its efficient use represents a constant challenge. In public objects and households, a large part of the energy is used for heating and cooling. The orientation of the object, as well as the overall heat transfer coefficient (U-value) of transparent and non-transparent parts of the envelope, can have a significant impact on building energy needs. In this paper, analysis of the influence of different orientations, U-values of envelope elements, and size of windows on annual heating and cooling energy for an office building in city of Nis, Serbia, is presented. Model of the building was made in the Google SketchUp software, while the results of energy performance were obtained using EnergyPlus and jEplus, taking into ac-count the parameters of thermal comfort and climatic data for the area of city of Nis. Obtained results showed that, for varied parameters, the maximum difference in annual heating energy is 15129.4 kWh, i. e per m2 27.75 kWh/m2, while the maximum difference in annual cooling energy is 14356.1 kWh, i. e per m2 26.33 kWh/m2. Considering that differences in energy consumption are significant, analysis of these parameters in the early stage of design process can affect on increase of building energy efficiency.

The paper examines outdoor thermal comfort in summer in the multi-family housing area Duvaniste in the city of Nis, Serbia, combining objective and subjective evaluation assessments. Objective evaluation obtained field measurements of microclimatic parameters at selected sites and mean radiant temperature, predicted mean vote, and psychological equivalent temperature calculation using RayMan software. Subjective methodology assessment is performed using survey questionnaires based on thermal sensation vote and overall comfort vote. The paper aims to find the correlation between measured and calculated parameters on one side and Thermal Sensation Vote values. The results show that air temperature significantly correlates to human thermal sensation in the subject area. Obtained results also indicate high prediction accuracy of psychological equivalent temperature in the outdoor thermal comfort evaluation in summer. Finally, to feel comfortable, neither warm nor cold, in continental climate regions with hot summer conditions, the neutral psychological equivalent temperature should be between 15-24.3 ?.