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Dr. Marta Gangolells
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - Barcelona Tech

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0 Life Cycle Assessment
0 Environmental Management

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Short Biography

Marta Gangolells is industrial engineer and PhD in Construction Engineering since 2010. She currently works as associate professor in the Department of Project and Construction Engineering at the Technical University of Catalonia. Her research expertise is related to improving the energy efficiency of buildings from multiple perspectives, including building renovation, applied ICT solutions for building automation, pro-environmental behaviours and new building energy efficiency standards. She is also an expert on life-cycle environmental impact modelling and sustainability metrics. Within the Group of Construction Research and Innovation, she participated in several EU funded research projects within the H2020 and FP7 programs devoted to reducing the buildings’ energy consumption and the corresponding carbon footprint, such as the EnerGAware project (2015-2018) and the SEAM4US project (2011-2014). Dr. Gangolells (h-index 20) has published more than 45 papers in top-ranked international journals and has authored or co-authored several conference papers.

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Journal article
Published: 18 March 2021 in Sustainability
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This paper analyzes the impact of an innovative approach based on gamification to promote reduced energy consumption in social housing. The game was developed and validated under the auspices of the EU-funded project EnerGAware-Energy Game for Awareness of energy efficiency in social housing communities in an affordable housing pilot located in Plymouth (United Kingdom). The results showed that the future exploitation of the game holds important energy- and emissions-saving potential. Assuming that the game is distributed freely by European energy providers to their domestic end-users, the game was found to be able to save more than 48.9 secondary terawatt-hours per year (TWhs) and 18.8 million tons of CO2e annually, contributing up to around 8% to the target set for the European buildings sector to keep global warming under 2 °C. The results also showed that the game is highly feasible from the energy point of view, even when we consider the energy consumed upstream, due to its low cumulative energy demand and its potential for household energy reduction. The results of this research provide helpful information for private and public stakeholders, as they contribute to determining the sustainability of promoting energy saving through gaming.

ACS Style

Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Marcel Macarulla; Núria Forcada. Exploring the Potential of a Gamified Approach to Reduce Energy Use and Carbon Emissions in the Household Sector. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3380 .

AMA Style

Marta Gangolells, Miquel Casals, Marcel Macarulla, Núria Forcada. Exploring the Potential of a Gamified Approach to Reduce Energy Use and Carbon Emissions in the Household Sector. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (6):3380.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Marcel Macarulla; Núria Forcada. 2021. "Exploring the Potential of a Gamified Approach to Reduce Energy Use and Carbon Emissions in the Household Sector." Sustainability 13, no. 6: 3380.

Journal article
Published: 22 January 2021 in Applied Sciences
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Accurate information on the actual thermal transmittance of walls is vital to select appropriate energy-saving measures in existing buildings to meet the commitments of the European Green Deal. To obtain accurate results using the heat flow meter (HFM) method, good thermal contact must be made between the heat flow meter plate and the wall surface. This paper aimed to assess the influence of the non-perfect thermal contact of heat flow meter plates on the accuracy of in situ measurement of the façades’ U-value when a film was applied to avoid damage to the wall surface. Given the fact that to avoid harm to the wall surface, the laying of a film is a usual procedure in the installation of equipment during the building’s operational stage. The findings show that deviations between measured U-values when an HFM was installed directly on the wall surface and when an HFM was installed with a PVC film were found to differ significantly from the theoretical effect of including a PVC film during the monitoring process.

ACS Style

Katia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. Influence of HFM Thermal Contact on the Accuracy of In Situ Measurements of Façades’ U-Value in Operational Stage. Applied Sciences 2021, 11, 979 .

AMA Style

Katia Gaspar, Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells. Influence of HFM Thermal Contact on the Accuracy of In Situ Measurements of Façades’ U-Value in Operational Stage. Applied Sciences. 2021; 11 (3):979.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Katia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. 2021. "Influence of HFM Thermal Contact on the Accuracy of In Situ Measurements of Façades’ U-Value in Operational Stage." Applied Sciences 11, no. 3: 979.

Website
Published: 25 November 2020 in eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction
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Knowledge and learning are the basis for the development of whatever business activity. There are plenty of knowledge management tools and also e-learning management tools. Basically, they are separated initiatives and their approach is specific to the targets of each particular area. The main problem is the inexistence of a common language which difficults the exchange of experiences and information. This paper describes the background and methodology to integrate a Knowledge Management Strategy (KMS) for a construction company and an e-learning management system. Two central objectives structure this Paper: 1. To identify categories of important information generated and shared between knowledge management and e-learning, 2. To integrate vast amounts of contents from diverse repositories created in several KM systems as well as e-learning platforms by implementing “Concept Indexes” for tagging contents.

ACS Style

N. Forcada; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; X. Roca. Knowledge management and e-learning management as a basis of the conceptualization of information for construction companies. eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction 2020, 583 -589.

AMA Style

N. Forcada, Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells, X. Roca. Knowledge management and e-learning management as a basis of the conceptualization of information for construction companies. eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction. 2020; ():583-589.

Chicago/Turabian Style

N. Forcada; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; X. Roca. 2020. "Knowledge management and e-learning management as a basis of the conceptualization of information for construction companies." eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction , no. : 583-589.

Journal article
Published: 24 November 2020 in Applied Sciences
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Within the European framework, the passive house has become an essential constructive solution in terms of building efficiency and CO2 reduction. However, the main approaches have been focused on post-occupancy surveys, measurements of actual energy consumption, life-cycle analyses in dynamic conditions, using simulation, and the estimation of the thermal comfort. Few studies have assessed the in situ performance of the building fabric of passive houses. Hence, this paper explores the applicability of non-destructive techniques—heat flux meter (HFM) and quantitative infrared thermography (QIRT)—for assessing the gap between the predicted and actual thermal transmittance of passive house façades under steady-state conditions in the Mediterranean climate. Firstly, the suitability of in situ non-destructive techniques was checked in an experimental mock-up, and, subsequently, a detached house was tested in the real built environment. The findings revealed that both Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques allow for the quantification of the gap between the design and the actual façades U-value of a new passive house before its operational stage. QIRT was faster than the HFM technique, although the latter was more accurate. The results will help practitioners to choose the most appropriate method based on environmental conditions, execution of the method, and data analysis.

ACS Style

Blanca Tejedor; Kàtia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. Analysis of the Applicability of Non-Destructive Techniques to Determine In Situ Thermal Transmittance in Passive House Façades. Applied Sciences 2020, 10, 8337 .

AMA Style

Blanca Tejedor, Kàtia Gaspar, Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells. Analysis of the Applicability of Non-Destructive Techniques to Determine In Situ Thermal Transmittance in Passive House Façades. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10 (23):8337.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Blanca Tejedor; Kàtia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. 2020. "Analysis of the Applicability of Non-Destructive Techniques to Determine In Situ Thermal Transmittance in Passive House Façades." Applied Sciences 10, no. 23: 8337.

Journal article
Published: 07 October 2020 in Building and Environment
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Elderly people are vulnerable to cold environments, due to aging's impact on the density of nerve fibers. Nevertheless, automatic controls of HVAC systems do not consider the user's real-time thermal sensation and most of algorithms were tested in manikins using climatic chambers or simulated by CFD. Indeed, a standardization of a non-invasive technique as infrared thermography (IRT) for human body responses was not detected in the literature review. This paper proposes a method to determine the indoor thermal comfort of elderly people by IRT. The campaigns took place in a nursing home of the Mediterranean Climate during Winter. A total of 15 old adults were monitored to measure the skin temperature of four face points (nose, forehead, cheekbone and chin) and clothing temperature. A thermal sensation questionnaire and indoor conditions were also collected. The results demonstrated that the IRT model could estimate the thermal exchange from three body-segments (head, back-pelvis, thorax-limbs) to the surroundings by user's features and environmental parameters. The thermal neutrality was achieved when all facial points reached a skin temperature of 35 °C, the clothing temperature was equal to 31 °C, and the operative temperature and relative humidity were 23.5 °C and 54% respectively. Statistically, 31.70% of the variance of PMV could be attributed to increases of facial skin temperature, while changes in user's features could have minor influence (from 0.88 to 6.40%). As regards the main contributions of heat losses, they were given by respiration (11–21%), convection (20–32%) and radiation (35–39%). Finally, an innovative HVAC control strategy was posed.

ACS Style

Blanca Tejedor; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; Marcel Macarulla; Núria Forcada. Human comfort modelling for elderly people by infrared thermography: Evaluating the thermoregulation system responses in an indoor environment during winter. Building and Environment 2020, 186, 107354 .

AMA Style

Blanca Tejedor, Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells, Marcel Macarulla, Núria Forcada. Human comfort modelling for elderly people by infrared thermography: Evaluating the thermoregulation system responses in an indoor environment during winter. Building and Environment. 2020; 186 ():107354.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Blanca Tejedor; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; Marcel Macarulla; Núria Forcada. 2020. "Human comfort modelling for elderly people by infrared thermography: Evaluating the thermoregulation system responses in an indoor environment during winter." Building and Environment 186, no. : 107354.

Journal article
Published: 19 August 2020 in Sustainability
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ICT-based solutions are seen to be almost totally environmentally friendly, but game-based solutions for energy saving have not been explored yet. This paper describes a comprehensive analysis and an in-depth interpretation of the life cycle environmental impact of a game-based solution for domestic energy saving, developed and validated within the EU-funded Horizon 2020 project EnerGAware—Energy Game for Awareness of energy efficiency in social housing communities. Life cycle impacts were calculated with SimaPRO 8.5.2.0 using the ReCiPe 2016 v1.02 midpoint and endpoint methods and information contained within the Ecoinvent v3.4 database. Although the pre-competitive solution, directly arising from the research project, was found to have a relatively high environmental impact, its future exploitation, which mostly relies on existing infrastructure, was found to be highly competitive from an environmental perspective. The game will help reduce the life cycle impact of domestic energy consumption on damage to human health (3.68%), ecosystem quality (3.87%), and resource availability (4.81%). Most of the environmental impact of the market solution was found in the manufacturing phase (77.96–80.12%). Transport (8.86–7.57%), use (3.86–5.82%), and maintenance (7.24–7.54%) phases were found to contribute little to environmental impact. This research provides a useful reference for decision-making as it contributes to the environmental benchmarking of competing energy-saving strategies.

ACS Style

Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Núria Forcada; Marcel Macarulla. Life Cycle Analysis of a Game-Based Solution for Domestic Energy Saving. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6699 .

AMA Style

Marta Gangolells, Miquel Casals, Núria Forcada, Marcel Macarulla. Life Cycle Analysis of a Game-Based Solution for Domestic Energy Saving. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (17):6699.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Núria Forcada; Marcel Macarulla. 2020. "Life Cycle Analysis of a Game-Based Solution for Domestic Energy Saving." Sustainability 12, no. 17: 6699.

Erratum
Published: 13 June 2020 in Energy and Buildings
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ACS Style

Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; Marcel Macarulla; Núria Forcada; Alba Fuertes; Rebecca J. Hafner; Rory V. Jones. Corrigendum to “Assessing the effectiveness of gamification in reducing domestic energy consumption: Lessons learned from the EnerGAware project” [Energy Build. 210 (2020) 109753]. Energy and Buildings 2020, 223, 110193 .

AMA Style

Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells, Marcel Macarulla, Núria Forcada, Alba Fuertes, Rebecca J. Hafner, Rory V. Jones. Corrigendum to “Assessing the effectiveness of gamification in reducing domestic energy consumption: Lessons learned from the EnerGAware project” [Energy Build. 210 (2020) 109753]. Energy and Buildings. 2020; 223 ():110193.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; Marcel Macarulla; Núria Forcada; Alba Fuertes; Rebecca J. Hafner; Rory V. Jones. 2020. "Corrigendum to “Assessing the effectiveness of gamification in reducing domestic energy consumption: Lessons learned from the EnerGAware project” [Energy Build. 210 (2020) 109753]." Energy and Buildings 223, no. : 110193.

Journal article
Published: 12 June 2020 in Sustainable Cities and Society
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The European Green Deal establishes the need to renovate buildings in an energy efficient way, to address climate and environmental challenges. The purpose of this study was to devise a model for identifying environmental, cost-effective retrofitting measures by assessing their energy, economic and environmental impact when they are applied to the entire office stock. The methodology builds upon the energy performance certificate scheme to identify the life-cycle energy, economic and environmental impacts of a set of energy renovation measures for each representative office. The results can then be applied to the entire office stock. For any real office, a dozen characteristics are entered. Then, a user-friendly interface provides information about the expected performance of the renovation measures in that case along with the representativeness of the results. This methodology was implemented in a Spanish case study of 13,701 energy performance certificates. The findings showed that the most efficient energy renovation measures are heat pump replacement (18.1 %) and replacement of lamps with LEDs (14.4 %). Although the most effective retrofitting solutions depended on the evaluation criteria (energy, economic or environmental), 99.5 % of the cost-effective measures also reduced emissions during the life cycle.

ACS Style

Marta Gangolells; Katia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Jaume Ferré-Bigorra; Nuria Forcada; Marcel Macarulla. Life-cycle environmental and cost-effective energy retrofitting solutions for office stock. Sustainable Cities and Society 2020, 61, 102319 .

AMA Style

Marta Gangolells, Katia Gaspar, Miquel Casals, Jaume Ferré-Bigorra, Nuria Forcada, Marcel Macarulla. Life-cycle environmental and cost-effective energy retrofitting solutions for office stock. Sustainable Cities and Society. 2020; 61 ():102319.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marta Gangolells; Katia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Jaume Ferré-Bigorra; Nuria Forcada; Marcel Macarulla. 2020. "Life-cycle environmental and cost-effective energy retrofitting solutions for office stock." Sustainable Cities and Society 61, no. : 102319.

Journal article
Published: 30 December 2019 in Energy and Buildings
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The application of gamification to encourage energy conservation behaviour in house occupants is an emerging field of research. However, empirical evidence of its effectiveness is lacking. This paper presents lessons learnt from the EU-funded EnerGAware research project, in which an innovative serious game (a game designed for purposes other than purely entertainment) was developed to promote reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions by changing social housing tenants’ energy efficiency behaviour. The game was validated in a sample of European social housing using a longitudinal, two-stage experimental design, employing both pre-post and control group approaches. While some aspects of the game did not work as intended, there were nevertheless some positive impacts. The intervention increased social housing tenants’ awareness and engagement in certain energy saving behaviour and provided an average electricity saving of 3.46% and an average gas saving of 7.48%. Although savings were found not to be statistically significant, an effect size was detected (0.2). Therefore, future steps should exploit all available opportunities to replicate the pilot and increase the sample size so as to gain stronger evidence of the game's impact. Preliminary results support the utility of gaming investment in the household energy efficiency field, and provide useful insights and pathways that could be incorporated into the development of future serious game interventions to foster their effectiveness.

ACS Style

Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; Marcel Macarulla; Núria Forcada; Alba Fuertes; Rory V. Jones. Assessing the effectiveness of gamification in reducing domestic energy consumption: Lessons learned from the EnerGAware project. Energy and Buildings 2019, 210, 109753 .

AMA Style

Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells, Marcel Macarulla, Núria Forcada, Alba Fuertes, Rory V. Jones. Assessing the effectiveness of gamification in reducing domestic energy consumption: Lessons learned from the EnerGAware project. Energy and Buildings. 2019; 210 ():109753.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; Marcel Macarulla; Núria Forcada; Alba Fuertes; Rory V. Jones. 2019. "Assessing the effectiveness of gamification in reducing domestic energy consumption: Lessons learned from the EnerGAware project." Energy and Buildings 210, no. : 109753.

Journal article
Published: 12 November 2019 in Sustainability
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Buildings play a central role in the clean energy transition, which is why it is vital to understand how energy is consumed in this sector. Energy performance certificate databases are considered a key source of information on the characteristics of built building stock. Despite a growing portfolio of studies based on information from such databases, little is known about energy consumption in offices. This paper explores the modelled energy performance of existing offices in Spain, using data from 13,701 energy performance certificates collected by the Catalan Institute of Energy (ICAEN) in 2013–2018. Offices were found to consume between 202.66 and 212.10 kWhp/m2·year and were mostly ranked in classes C and D (~64%). Offices with E, F or G labels represent ~28% of the sample while A and B energy ratings are very scarce (~8%). Key drivers of energy consumption variation were found to be the office type, construction period, climate zone, renewable energy use, energy certification procedure and motivation for obtaining an energy performance certificate. Ownership was not found to affect average calculated energy consumption. The results will help policy makers to plan future energy conservation strategies.

ACS Style

Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Jaume Ferré-Bigorra; Núria Forcada; Marcel Macarulla; Kàtia Gaspar; Blanca Tejedor. Energy Benchmarking of Existing Office Stock in Spain: Trends and Drivers. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6356 .

AMA Style

Marta Gangolells, Miquel Casals, Jaume Ferré-Bigorra, Núria Forcada, Marcel Macarulla, Kàtia Gaspar, Blanca Tejedor. Energy Benchmarking of Existing Office Stock in Spain: Trends and Drivers. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (22):6356.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Jaume Ferré-Bigorra; Núria Forcada; Marcel Macarulla; Kàtia Gaspar; Blanca Tejedor. 2019. "Energy Benchmarking of Existing Office Stock in Spain: Trends and Drivers." Sustainability 11, no. 22: 6356.

Journal article
Published: 28 October 2019 in Energy and Buildings
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A large number of buildings must be evaluated to formulate energy retrofitting policies for existing building stock. In this context, it is crucial to identify reference buildings that can effectively represent the entire stock, since such buildings can then be used to assess the individualized cost-effectiveness of retrofitting measures. This paper presents a novel approach for identifying and defining a set of reference buildings by applying the k-means clustering method to energy performance certificate databases. To this end, a four-step methodology has been envisaged. First, an energy performance certificate database is prepared and variables that have an impact on energy consumption are pre-selected. Selected data are then pre-processed. Next, the k-means clustering method is applied. Finally, the resulting cluster centroids are used to identify the closest energy performance certificates in the database, in other words, the representative buildings that will then be used for cost-optimal retrofitting analysis. The methodology is illustrated using the energy performance certificate database managed by the Catalan Institute of Energy (ICAEN), which includes a sample of 13,701 offices. Due to the large number of missing values in the database, the k-means clustering algorithm was finally performed over 6,083 energy performance certificates. Seven representative office blocks and offices in industrial buildings and nine representative offices in residential buildings were identified. The results establish the basis for supporting strategic decision-making for energy saving retrofit interventions in existing Spanish offices.

ACS Style

Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Jaume Ferré-Bigorra; Núria Forcada; Marcel Macarulla; Kàtia Gaspar; Blanca Tejedor. Office representatives for cost-optimal energy retrofitting analysis: A novel approach using cluster analysis of energy performance certificate databases. Energy and Buildings 2019, 206, 109557 .

AMA Style

Marta Gangolells, Miquel Casals, Jaume Ferré-Bigorra, Núria Forcada, Marcel Macarulla, Kàtia Gaspar, Blanca Tejedor. Office representatives for cost-optimal energy retrofitting analysis: A novel approach using cluster analysis of energy performance certificate databases. Energy and Buildings. 2019; 206 ():109557.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Jaume Ferré-Bigorra; Núria Forcada; Marcel Macarulla; Kàtia Gaspar; Blanca Tejedor. 2019. "Office representatives for cost-optimal energy retrofitting analysis: A novel approach using cluster analysis of energy performance certificate databases." Energy and Buildings 206, no. : 109557.

Review
Published: 09 August 2018 in Energy and Buildings
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The actual thermal behaviour of façades is important to identify suitable energy-saving measures and increase the energy performance of existing buildings. However, the accuracy of in situ measurements of façades’ U-values varies widely, mostly due to inadequate test durations. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the minimum duration of in situ experimental campaigns to measure the thermal transmittance of existing buildings’ façades using the heat flow meter method, and to analyse the thermal performance of the façade during the test. Minimum test duration was determined according to data quality criteria, variability of results criteria, and standardized criteria for different ranges of theoretical thermal transmittance and for the same range of average temperature difference. Then, the minimum test duration results were compared. The findings show that ISO criteria are more sensitive and provide more accurate results, requiring a longer test duration. However, when certification is not required, the duration of the test could be reduced by applying data quality and variability of results criteria. The minimum duration of experimental campaigns depends on the theoretical thermal transmittance and the stability of climatic conditions. Moreover, results are more accurate when the dynamic method is used.

ACS Style

Katia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. Review of criteria for determining HFM minimum test duration. Energy and Buildings 2018, 176, 360 -370.

AMA Style

Katia Gaspar, Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells. Review of criteria for determining HFM minimum test duration. Energy and Buildings. 2018; 176 ():360-370.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Katia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. 2018. "Review of criteria for determining HFM minimum test duration." Energy and Buildings 176, no. : 360-370.

Journal article
Published: 01 August 2018 in Measurement
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ACS Style

Marcel Macarulla; Miquel Casals; Núria Forcada; Marta Gangolells; Alberto Giretti. Estimation of a room ventilation air change rate using a stochastic grey-box modelling approach. Measurement 2018, 124, 539 -548.

AMA Style

Marcel Macarulla, Miquel Casals, Núria Forcada, Marta Gangolells, Alberto Giretti. Estimation of a room ventilation air change rate using a stochastic grey-box modelling approach. Measurement. 2018; 124 ():539-548.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marcel Macarulla; Miquel Casals; Núria Forcada; Marta Gangolells; Alberto Giretti. 2018. "Estimation of a room ventilation air change rate using a stochastic grey-box modelling approach." Measurement 124, no. : 539-548.

Journal article
Published: 01 July 2018 in Energy and Buildings
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Within the European context, most of the current residential building stock does not fulfil minimum thermal requirements and needs to be refurbished urgently. Quantitative internal infrared thermography can provide valuable information about the in-situ thermal transmittance of existing buildings for their future refurbishment. This paper aims to establish how operating conditions and thermophysical properties might affect the accuracy of the measured U-value using this technique. To assess the most influential operating conditions, one experimental room with a heavy single leaf-wall was chosen to develop the research in quasi steady-state conditions, with a wide temperature difference range (3.8<ΔT<21°C). A statistical analysis demonstrated that the variance in thermal transmittance could mainly be predicted by changes in the outer air temperature. To analyze the impact of the thermophysical properties, specifically the heat capacity per unit of area, four unoccupied residential buildings with heavy multi-leaf walls were tested (6<ΔT<10°C). The results mainly showed that the quantitative internal infrared thermography method is more accurate in heavy multi-leaf walls with high kappa values, reaching maximum deviations of 0.20%.

ACS Style

Blanca Tejedor; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. Assessing the influence of operating conditions and thermophysical properties on the accuracy of in-situ measured U -values using quantitative internal infrared thermography. Energy and Buildings 2018, 171, 64 -75.

AMA Style

Blanca Tejedor, Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells. Assessing the influence of operating conditions and thermophysical properties on the accuracy of in-situ measured U -values using quantitative internal infrared thermography. Energy and Buildings. 2018; 171 ():64-75.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Blanca Tejedor; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. 2018. "Assessing the influence of operating conditions and thermophysical properties on the accuracy of in-situ measured U -values using quantitative internal infrared thermography." Energy and Buildings 171, no. : 64-75.

Journal article
Published: 17 April 2018 in Energy and Buildings
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In situ measurements of low thermal transmittance façades are required to ensure compliance with energy performance strategies for new nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) and with energy policies for the transition of existing building stock to nZEB. The aim of this paper was to enhance the accuracy of the in situ measurement of low U-value façades, employing the widely used ISO 9869-1:2014 HFM method and exploring the limits of its conditions. To refine the testing conditions, three variables were analysed and compared with indications of ISO 9869-1:2014 and the existing literature: the temperature difference, the test duration and the accuracy of equipment. A continuous experimental campaign was conducted in a building mock-up. The findings showed that to accurately measure in situ low U-value façades, the temperature differences must be greater than those indicated in the existing literature. Temperature differences above 19 °C required a test duration of 72 h, while for lower temperature differences the test duration must be prolonged. The accuracy of temperature sensors had a greater impact on the accuracy of measurement in the initial cycles of the test. Likewise, the accuracy of ambient temperature sensors was found to have a considerable influence on the uncertainty of measurements.

ACS Style

Katia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. In situ measurement of façades with a low U-value: Avoiding deviations. Energy and Buildings 2018, 170, 61 -73.

AMA Style

Katia Gaspar, Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells. In situ measurement of façades with a low U-value: Avoiding deviations. Energy and Buildings. 2018; 170 ():61-73.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Katia Gaspar; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells. 2018. "In situ measurement of façades with a low U-value: Avoiding deviations." Energy and Buildings 170, no. : 61-73.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2017 in Energy and Buildings
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The thermal behaviour of a building is often underestimated or neglected during its construction and operation stages. In recent years, the heat flux meter (HFM) method has been commonly used to determine the U-value, a key parameter for assessing the thermal quality of the building envelope in steady-state conditions. However, this non-invasive test takes at least 72 h to execute, the accuracy is\ud 14–28%, and it is not reliable for non-homogeneous building elements. An alternative technique is based on infrared thermography (IRT). Although it is generally used for qualitative analysis, quantitative internal IRT methods may also be adopted for in-situ measurement of the U-value. This research presents\ud a method for determining in-situ U-values using quantitative internal IRT with a deviation of 1–2% for single-leaf walls and 3–4% for multi-leaf walls. It takes 2–3 h and can be used to provide information about the building envelope for the future refurbishment of existing buildings or to check the thermal behaviour of new building façades according to their design parameters.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

ACS Style

Blanca Tejedor; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; Xavier Roca-Ramon. Quantitative internal infrared thermography for determining in-situ thermal behaviour of façades. Energy and Buildings 2017, 151, 187 -197.

AMA Style

Blanca Tejedor, Miquel Casals, Marta Gangolells, Xavier Roca-Ramon. Quantitative internal infrared thermography for determining in-situ thermal behaviour of façades. Energy and Buildings. 2017; 151 ():187-197.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Blanca Tejedor; Miquel Casals; Marta Gangolells; Xavier Roca-Ramon. 2017. "Quantitative internal infrared thermography for determining in-situ thermal behaviour of façades." Energy and Buildings 151, no. : 187-197.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2017 in Energy and Buildings
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Most existing commercial building energy management systems (BEMS) are reactive rule-based. This means that an action is produced when an event occurs. In consequence, these systems cannot predict future scenarios and anticipate events to optimize building operation. This paper presents the procedure of implementing a predictive control strategy in a commercial BEMS for boilers in buildings, and describes the results achieved. The proposed control is based on a neural network that turns on the boiler each day at the optimum time, according to the surrounding environment, to achieve thermal comfort levels at the beginning of the working day. The control strategy presented in this paper is compared with the current control strategy implemented in BEMS that is based on scheduled on/off control. The control strategy was tested during one heating season and a set of key performance indicators were used to assess the benefits of the proposed control strategy. The results showed that the implementation of predictive control in a BEMS for building boilers can reduce the energy required to heat the building by around 20% without compromising the user’s comfort.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

ACS Style

Marcel Macarulla; Miquel Casals; Núria Forcada; Marta Gangolells. Implementation of predictive control in a commercial building energy management system using neural networks. Energy and Buildings 2017, 151, 511 -519.

AMA Style

Marcel Macarulla, Miquel Casals, Núria Forcada, Marta Gangolells. Implementation of predictive control in a commercial building energy management system using neural networks. Energy and Buildings. 2017; 151 ():511-519.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marcel Macarulla; Miquel Casals; Núria Forcada; Marta Gangolells. 2017. "Implementation of predictive control in a commercial building energy management system using neural networks." Energy and Buildings 151, no. : 511-519.

Journal article
Published: 01 August 2017 in Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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ACS Style

Nuria Forcada; Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Marcel Macarulla; Marcel Macarulla Martí. Factors Affecting Rework Costs in Construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 2017, 143, 04017032 .

AMA Style

Nuria Forcada, Marta Gangolells, Miquel Casals, Marcel Macarulla, Marcel Macarulla Martí. Factors Affecting Rework Costs in Construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. 2017; 143 (8):04017032.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nuria Forcada; Marta Gangolells; Miquel Casals; Marcel Macarulla; Marcel Macarulla Martí. 2017. "Factors Affecting Rework Costs in Construction." Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 143, no. 8: 04017032.

Proceedings article
Published: 01 June 2017 in 2017 Global Internet of Things Summit (GIoTS)
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The energy consumption of the current building stock represents about 40% of the total final energy consumption in Europe. New gamification techniques may play a significant role in helping users adopt new and more energy efficient behaviours. This paper presents the advances achieved within the context of the EU-funded project EnerGAware - Energy Game for Awareness of energy efficiency in social housing communities. The main objective of the project, funded by the European Union under the Horizon2020 programme, is to reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions in a sample of European social housing by changing the energy efficiency behaviour of the social tenants through the implementation of a serious game linked to the real energy use of the participants' homes.

ACS Style

M. Casals; M. Gangolells; M. Macarulla; A. Fuertes; V. Vimont; L. M. Pinho. A serious game enhancing social tenants' behavioral change towards energy efficiency. 2017 Global Internet of Things Summit (GIoTS) 2017, 1 -6.

AMA Style

M. Casals, M. Gangolells, M. Macarulla, A. Fuertes, V. Vimont, L. M. Pinho. A serious game enhancing social tenants' behavioral change towards energy efficiency. 2017 Global Internet of Things Summit (GIoTS). 2017; ():1-6.

Chicago/Turabian Style

M. Casals; M. Gangolells; M. Macarulla; A. Fuertes; V. Vimont; L. M. Pinho. 2017. "A serious game enhancing social tenants' behavioral change towards energy efficiency." 2017 Global Internet of Things Summit (GIoTS) , no. : 1-6.

Journal article
Published: 01 May 2017 in Building and Environment
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Predictive control is the strategy that has the greatest reported benefits when it is implemented in a building energy management system. Predictive control requires low-order models to assess different scenarios and determine which strategy should be implemented to achieve a good compromise between comfort, energy consumption and energy cost. Usually, a deterministic approach is used to create low-order models to estimate the indoor CO2 concentration using the differential equation of the tracer-gas mass balance. However, the use of stochastic differential equations based on the tracer-gas mass balance is not common. The objective of this paper is to assess the potential of creating predictive models for a specific room using for the first time a stochastic grey-box modelling approach to estimate future CO2 concentrations. First of all, a set of stochastic differential equations are defined. Then, the model parameters are estimated using a maximum likelihood method. Different models are defined, and tested using a set of statistical methods. The approach used combines physical knowledge and information embedded in the monitored data to identify a suitable parametrization for a simple model that is more accurate than commonly used deterministic approaches. As a consequence, predictive control can be easily implemented in energy management systems.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

ACS Style

Marcel Macarulla; Miquel Casals; Matteo Carnevali; Núria Forcada; Marta Gangolells. Modelling indoor air carbon dioxide concentration using grey-box models. Building and Environment 2017, 117, 146 -153.

AMA Style

Marcel Macarulla, Miquel Casals, Matteo Carnevali, Núria Forcada, Marta Gangolells. Modelling indoor air carbon dioxide concentration using grey-box models. Building and Environment. 2017; 117 ():146-153.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marcel Macarulla; Miquel Casals; Matteo Carnevali; Núria Forcada; Marta Gangolells. 2017. "Modelling indoor air carbon dioxide concentration using grey-box models." Building and Environment 117, no. : 146-153.