Climate change impact is one of the most important global concerns at present. In the building environment, climate-responsive design may help to enhance the adaptation capacity through a better building energy performance. In this sense, this study addresses an adaptation strategy to reduce the effects of global warming on low-income houses, for which bioclimatic passive strategies should be prioritized, aiming to improve environmental sustainability. The technique chosen to be analyzed is thermal mass for cooling. Thus, the goal is to evaluate the energy consumption and thermal performance impact of implementing bermed earth-sheltered walls on bedrooms in low-income housing (LIH), considered deployed in tropical climate regions. For that, a base scenario (1961–1990) is considered, alongside two future scenarios: 2020 (2011 to 2040) and 2050 (2041 to 2070), both considering the effects of climate change, according to the Fourth Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The methodologies adopted are (i) computational simulation to estimate the annual energy consumption demand and (ii) quantification of the cooling degree-hours (CDH), with the subsequent comparative analysis based on Brazilian regulation for energy efficiency in buildings (RTQ-R). The predictions show that there will be an increase in the energy consumption for cooling and in the CDH in both 2020 and 2050 scenarios, regardless of using a bermed earth-sheltered wall. Nonetheless, this adaptive measure enables the building to be resilient in terms of cooling energy demand in the 2020s, since it is 12.3% lower than in the building without the strategy use, compared with the base scenario. In the 2050s, resilience was almost reached with energy consumption only 10.7% higher, for the same conditions described previously. Therefore, bermed earth-sheltered walls work as a climate-responsive design strategy to face the potential global warming effects, promoting building sustainability in tropical climate regions.

With the current concerns about sustainable development and energy consumption in buildings, water pumping systems have become essential for reducing energy consumption. This research aims to develop guidelines for the energy assessment of water pumping systems in multifamily buildings. The methodological procedures are: (i) definition of the efficiencies of electric motors; (ii) definition of pump efficiency levels; (iii) determination of energy consumption; and (iv) construction of the efficiency scale and guidelines for projects and assessments. The results obtained were that centrifugal pumps with 40% efficiency have higher energy consumption, regardless of the efficiency class of the electric motors, showing a 20% increase in electrical energy consumption. Lower efficiencies directly impact the energy efficiency rating of the water pumping system. Thus the 40% efficiency obtained energy efficiency rating “Very Low—VL” for all motor efficiency classes (between IE1 and IE5). At 60% efficiency, the energy efficiency level of the system was “Average—A”, gradually increasing to “Very High—VH”, as the energy consumption in the pumps decreased and the motors’ energy efficiency classes increased. It is concluded that designers and professionals in the area must consider the efficiency of the pumps, as they play a fundamental role in the classification of the system’s energy efficiency. It is also recommended to verify the energy efficiency of the water pumping system and implement design guidelines so that the pumping system achieves lower energy consumption, contributing to the building’s energy efficiency and sustainability.

Pesquisas que foquem em incorporar materiais recicláveis na produção de elementos e componentes construtivos são importantes com vistas a reduzir o consumo de recursos naturais não renováveis. Objetiva-se demonstrar a viabilidade técnica de produção de concretos secos com incorporação de resíduos de polietileno tereftalato (PET) para a fabricação de blocos de concreto simples do tipo vazado. Seguiu-se as seguintes etapas metodológicas: estudo de dosagem, confeccionado corpos de prova com concreto seco substituindo a areia por resíduo de PET nas percentagens de 0, 5, 10 e 15%; avaliação das propriedades físicas e mecânicas dos corpos de prova; e, produção dos blocos de referência e com substituição de areia por flakes de PET; avaliação das propriedades físicas e mecânicas dos blocos. A introdução progressiva de PET na matriz cimentícia do concreto elevou a absorção de água e de índice de vazios nos traços, reduzindo a massa específica e resistência à compressão. Os blocos atenderam aos requisitos dimensionais e físicos. Para atendimento da resistência, a porcentagem de incorporação de PET no traço deve ser reduzida para 7%. A reciclagem de PET é tecnicamente viável para produção de blocos de concreto, evitando sua destinação a áreas ilegais e aterros, contribuindo com a sustentabilidade urbana.

The consequences of global warming have gained worldwide importance, also in the scope of built environment when related with the thermal comfort conditions of users. In this way, the objective of this research is to analyse the effects of global warming on the hours of thermal comfort of dwellings, with different thermal insulators in the external walls, considering the emission scenario A2 of the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the IPCC. The methodological procedures consist of four stages: preparation of climate files for Future Scenarios (2020, 2050 and 2080) from the base climate file (base scenario); definition of a dwelling for study object (Tbase); preparation of thermal insulating intervention proposals, such as: EPS (T1), rock wool (T2) and glass wool (T3) and evaluation of thermal comfort conditions using the adaptive thermal comfort method. The results indicate that the air temperature increases by 21.5% and the relative air humidity reduces by 22% until the 2080 scenario if compared to the base scenario. From these new conditions, the percentages of Tbase comfort hours suffer a reduction of 63.61%, increasing the hours of heat discomfort by 98.48%, in the scenario of 2080 in relation to the base scenario. With the adoption of insulation, the T1 typology presented comfort hours of 58.4%, reducing to 17.9%. However, typologies T2 and T3 presented similar behaviour, with 27.2% of hours in comfort and 67.4% of hours in heat discomfort, in the 2080 scenario in relation to the baseline scenario. Therefore, it can be concluded that typologies T2 and T3 presented greater resilience to the effects of global warming, but it is necessary to incorporate constructive interventions to absorb the impacts of climate changes and provide better conditions of thermal comfort.

This study addresses passive adaptation strategies to reduce the effects of global warming on housing, focusing on low-income houses, for which passive adaptation strategies should be prioritized, aiming for environmental sustainability. The passive strategy chosen is thermal mass for cooling, through the adoption of earth-sheltered walls in contact with the ground. Thus, the goal of this study is to evaluate the thermal load and thermal impact of implementing a thermal mass strategy for cooling, using bermed earth-sheltered walls in bedrooms, for a building located in a tropical climate region. For that, a base scenario (1961–1990) is considered alongside two future scenarios: 2020 (2011 to 2040) and 2050 (2041 to 2070), both considering the effects of climate change, according to the Fourth Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The methodologies adopted are (i) the computational simulation of the annual thermal load demand and (ii) the quantification of the Cooling Degree-Hours (CDH) with the subsequent comparative analysis. The results show that in both the 2020 and 2050 scenarios there will be an increase in the thermal loads for cooling and the CDH, regardless of using a bermed earth-sheltered wall. Nonetheless, it is shown that this passive strategy works as a global warming adaptation measure, promoting building sustainability in tropical climate regions.

The rational use of energy systems is one of the main discussions in sustainability in the 21st century. Water pumping systems are one of the most significant consumers of electricity in urban systems, whether for urban water supply, sewage, or use in vertical buildings. Thus, this work aims to present Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies applied in buildings’ water pumping systems, focusing on energy efficiency, supervision, and control of the pumping system. The work involves four steps: (i) identifying the existing I4.0 technologies and (ii) mapping the possibilities of applying Industry 4.0 technologies in building pumping systems. The study includes the analysis of (16) articles published in journals between 2018 and June 2021 to identify I4.0 technologies cited in the publications. It identified and grouped eighteen (18) technologies based on twenty-two (22) terms observed in the papers. The study classified the identified technologies into three possible applications in a building water pumping system. The applications include: (i) directly applicable, (ii) partially applicable, and (iii) application not yet identified. Therefore, the study presents the advantages of I4.0 technologies developed primarily for the industry sector, also applicable in residential building water pumping systems. These technologies’ benefits include energy efficiency, user control, a reduction from periods of failure of the pumping system (maintenance), water quality, and moving towards Intelligent Pumping or Pumping 4.0.