Małgorzata Fedorczak-Cisak

Cracow University of Technology | PK · Malopolska Laboratory Of Energy Efficient Constructions

The construction sector is a significant contributor to energy consumption and emissions. With the steady increase in the cost of energy carriers and the costs of energy production, the cost for consumers is also increasing. Therefore, the search for solutions capable of reducing energy consumption by increasing the energy efficiency of building st...

Global policy identifies achieving neutrality in sectors with the highest energy intensity rates as a priority for action. Countries are taking important and necessary measures to achieve this goal. The European Union has introduced a near-zero energy building standard in the construction sector. The next step is the Fit to 55 package, which is a m...

Timber log walls are a unique form of construction - erected from solid material, they are both a building structure and a thermal barrier. Walls of wooden logs have numerous advantages, especially favourable physical and mechanical properties, including insulation and thermal capacity. The technical conditions, which are the Polish interpretation...

The evolution of sustainable architectural development in Vietnam demonstrates a strategic response to climate change and environmental challenges. The Vietnamese government has implemented key policies, including the establishment of the Department of Environment in 1990 and the Law on Environmental Protection in 1993. Regulations such as QCXDVN 0...

The energy efficiency of the building should be understood as the degree of preparation of the building to ensure the comfort of its use in accordance with its intended use with the lowest possible energy consumption of the building. The article presents an in-depth analysis of the possibility of changing the utility function of a historic building...

The article presents issues related to the possibility of improving the energy efficiency of historic buildings. This group of buildings, in Poland, currently has no defined requirements for minimum energy demand values. However, taking into account the long-term strategy of decarbonization of Europe and the Long-Term Strategy for Renovation of Bui...

Z miany klimatyczne oraz postę-pująca degradacja środowiska naturalnego są efektem przede wszystkim zwiększającej się emisji gazów cieplarnianych, szczegól-nie CO 2. Powoduje to nie tylko proble-my związane ze złą jakością powietrza, ale także coraz częściej zauważalne klę-ski żywiołowe [1]. Skutki ocieplenia klimatu są już na tyle groźne, że przy-...

Historic buildings constitute a specific group of buildings where the possibilities of improving energy efficiency and comfort are significantly limited because of the existing construction features and heritage values. Each building has a different history so the scope of renovation and/or retrofitting must be determined individually for each buil...

In the early days of energy conservation(1980s) several countries took the need for energy efficiency seriously enough to sponsor some demonstration buildings. For instance, a US university design concept was built in Regina, Canada in1978. The Saskatchewan Energy Conservation house [1s]demonstrated a new, passive technology. It had super-insulated...

Protests during the 2021 Climate Conference in Glasgow exemplified our dilemma. The establishment perpetuates old thinking, while young people demand a new approach to mitigate the impact of climate change. The authors agree with the young people, and as a solution we propose to replace the current fragmentary approach with a new holistic one. The...

Improving the energy quality and performance of historic buildings is a complicated task, both from the research, design and executive point of view. The aim of this paper and the main motivation of the authors was to improve the energy quality and energy performance of one of the building partitions of a historic church in terms of not deteriorati...

This article reviews the evolution of local environmental policy in the context of energy transition and particularly the implementation of RES. The study concerns Kraków, whose policy has been compared with other cities and metropolises and was analysed in a timespan of about 30 years. It was hypothesised that, until recently, RES were treated in...

The article presents a proposal for the classification of historic buildings in terms of improving energy efficiency, ensuring the comfort of users and their impact on the environment. In the case of historic buildings, Polish law does not require energy efficiency improvement. The proposed classification also takes into account the function of the...

The article will discuss the design and construction aspects of nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEB) in Poland. It is the newest building standard introduced by the Directive on the energy performance of buildings 2010/31/EU. The directive made the implementation of nZEB buildings compulsory in European countries. The article will present analyzes o...

Lowering energy consumption is one of the most important challenges of the modern world. Since the construction sector accounts for 40% of total energy consumption worldwide, the Parliament of the European Union has developed a Directive, according to which all newly designed and thermally upgraded buildings should meet the requirements of almost z...

Mining shocks are dynamic phenomenon induced by underground and surface mining activities. In Poland, human activity generates rockbursts. They are the most intense so-called paraseismic sources. They refer to exploration of copper ore, hard and brown coal, gold, diamonds, non-ferrous metals and also originating from pile driving, driving sealed wa...

For some time, a trend has been noticeable in the construction sector to reduce energy consumption. It is manifested by the tightening regulations of thermal protection of buildings, an increasing number of low-energy and even passive buildings, new technologies available on the construction market, or the new name of the “nearly zero energy” (NZEB...

Achieving a satisfactory level for indoor environments of historical buildings is an ongoing problem that needs to be solved due to a large demand for deep retrofits in the whole of Europe. The implementation of the indoor environmental quality index (IEQ) to predict an occupant's satisfaction in thermo-modernized historical buildings is a new conc...

This paper presents a proposal for a historic building thermal diagnostics algorithm for the example of a historical townhouse located in Lviv, Ukraine. The authors proposed a testing and diagnostics procedure that should precede design and renovation work associated with improving the energy standard of the buildings under discussion. The procedur...

The PV panels cooling allows one to increase the photovoltaic conversion efficiency, as well as to obtain the waste heat, which can be utilized for various purposes. This paper presents the model of the radiator used for photovoltaic (PV) panels cooling. The cooling liquid is a water-glycol mixture, the PV panel electrical power output is 280 W. Th...

The paper discusses thermal quality improvement in historic buildings. It is based on a case study of a wooden historical building in an architectural style typical of Zakopane, located in the Podhale region of Poland. The building’s historical value and timber structure prevent the application of typical thermal retrofitting solutions. This paper...

Adapting historic buildings to new, modern forms generates not only financial benefits for developers but can also allow them to survive for future generations through proper remodelling. The variety of decision criteria related to the selection of a new function of a historic building makes this problem multidimensional. Many of these criteria are...

The Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings has introduced the standard of “nearly zero-energy buildings” (NZEBs). European requirements place the obligation to reduce energy consumption on all European Union Member States, particularly in sectors with significant energy consumption indicators. Construction is one such sector, a...

The authors studied the impact of indoor air humidity in the range of 60% to 90% on building user perception in the temperature range of 26 to 28 °C. The research thesis was put forward that the impact of humidity on indoor air quality dissatisfaction of building users in a warm and humid indoor environment is greater than that indicated in thermal...

Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is among the most urgent social development tasks due to the scale of energy consumption in this industry. At the same time, it is essential to meet high requirements for indoor environmental quality and thermal comfort. The issue of overheating is most often analysed in summer but it also occurs in tran...

The growing popularity of buildings with integrated sub-systems requires a review of methods to optimize the preheating of ventilation air. An integrated system permits using geothermal heat storage parallel to the direct outdoor air intake with additional treatment in the mechanical room as a part of building an automatic control system. The earth...

Growing popularity of buildings with integrated sub-systems, requires a review of methods to optimize the preheat of ventilation air. An integrated system permits using geothermal heat storage parallel to the direct outdoor air intake with additional treatment in the mechanical room as a part of building automatic control system. Earth Air Heat Exc...

Growing popularity of smart and integrated buildings requires a review of methods to optimize the preheat of ventilation air. An integrated system permits using heat ex-changers located in the mechanical room or in the future even using an exterior wall as a heat exchanger. One may ask the question how does the earth-air heat exchanger (EAHX) techn...

In the pursuit of energy efficiency one has developed a complex technology of earth-air heat exchangers (EAHX). In this process, one discovered some drawbacks such as possible entry of radon gas or high humidity in the shoulder seasons. Elsewhere, we highlighted that when the outdoor temperature changes frequently, one needs using two different air...

The authors present the preliminary results and analyses of research performed in an experimental residential building located in the town of Nyiregyhaza in Hungary. The building is equipped with an innovative system for direct coupling a ground heat exchanger with a wall heat exchanger. In 2012, the creator of the system, Tamas Barkanyi, obtained...

Optimization is considered as a decision-making process to get the most out of available resources for the best attainable results. Many real-world problems are multi-objective or multiattribute problems that naturally involve several competing objectives that are required to be optimized simultaneously, while respecting some constraints or selecti...

Near zero energy buildings (NZEB) and passive buildings are designed to minimize the energy consumption. The building’s “almost zero energy demand” standard, which will be in force in Europe from 2021, additionally imposes an obligation on buildings to use the energy from renewable sources. It should be remembered that in addition to the applicable...

The construction sector consumes around 40% energy for the purposes of heating. The policy of sustainable development that has been implemented for many years also transfers to actions in the construction sector. The European Union is introducing a standard of buildings with a near-zero energy demand. This standard can be achieved only by altering...

The article contains good practise recommendations related to the proper performance of measurements of comfort in passive buildings. Passive building is a high-quality building due to impeccable construction in terms of building physics. The passive building is so well insulated that it can only be heated by supplying fresh ventilation air. Such b...

Due to the increasing requirements in the field of buildings’ energy saving, impossible to meet only due to the thermal insulation of the building envelope, it is necessary to pay attention to the energy efficiency of technical installations and application of automatic control systems. Computer simulations on the building structure or functioning...

Thermal protection regulations for the buildings change. Currently, the construction sector aims to minimize the energy consumption. Energy Performance Directives have introduced the standard of “Nearly Zero Energy Building” (NZEB). After 2021, the design of NZEB buildings will be mandatory. The parameters of NZEB buildings in Poland are very diffi...

The aim of this article is to check comfort in the passive buildings located in Libertow (close to Cracow). The two aspects of comfort are described: a thermal comfort with tightness and humidity and a vibrational comfort. The main results of measurements of the comfort aspects are described and shown. Passive buildings which were investigated are...

Computer simulations of buildings in the context of improving their energy efficiency, performed by Design Builder-type computer programs, are a very useful tool. However, in the case of simulation studies on the impact of automatic control systems on energy efficiency of buildings, the results are often overly optimistic. Energy savings are overes...

Due to the increasing requirements in the field of buildings' energy saving, impossible to meet only due to the thermal insulation of the building envelope, it is necessary to pay attention to the energy efficiency of technical installations and application of automatic control systems. Computer simulations on the building structure or functioning...

Near zero energy buildings (NZEB) and passive buildings are designed to minimize energy consumption. The building's "almost zero energy demand" standard, which will be in force in Europe from 2021, additionally imposes an obligation on buildings to use energy from renewable sources. It should be remembered that in addition to the applicable criteri...

Designing and constructing near zero energy buildings (NZEBs) is a challenge not only from a structural point of view, but also from the point of view of ensuring appropriate climate comfort for users. The standards describing how to ensure comfort were created in times when the challenges of building ZEB/NZEB were not yet explored and energy issue...

Renewable energy sources have a significant impact on improving a building's energy balance. These sources are increasingly used in modern construction. One such source is a ground air heat exchanger (earth-air heat exchanger – EAHX), which is used in a building's mechanical ventilation system. This solution allows for the initial preparation of in...

One of the ways to improve the energy balance of buildings is through the use of local, renewable energy sources, for example, ground air heat exchanger. This article continues the study on improving energy efficiency of an EAHX working in cooperation with a ventilation unit. In the previously reported study (Romańska-Zapała et al., 2017), performe...

Energy efficiency is a very important factor in the Building sector. Building sector consumes about 40% of the world total energy. At present, new buildings in Poland and other European countries are designed according to very strict requirements. The problem arises when we take into consideration large number of the existing buildings. These build...

Energy efficiency is a very important factor in the construction sector. Construction consumes about 40% of total energy consumption in the world. New buildings in Poland and other European countries are designed according to strict requirements. An important aspect is to ensure thermal protection of the external partitions. To meet the requirement...

The aim of this article is to check vibrational comfort in near zero energy building (NZEB) which is often neglected for this type of building but could be annoying for residents. Building chosen for analysis is experimental building of Malopolska Laboratory of Energy Efficient Building which fulfils requirements for NZEB. The main advantage of thi...

The idea of Sustainable Development means caring for the environment and the natural resources. Building and transport are the sectors with the highest energy consumption. Building is responsible for about 40% of total energy consumption. Thermal protection regulations for buildings are becoming more and more severe. The 2010/31 / EU Directive on t...

In this article, the authors propose ways to evaluate the criteria for the considered variants of utility functions in the adaptation of historic regional architecture. The proposed set of assessment criteria (thermo-modernisation criteria, comfort of use, financial considerations, criteria of social benefits, and protection of cultural heritage) e...

This article draws attention to the need of certifying Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEB). It concerns buildings with a very low energy demand that will have to meet certain standards after 2021. Certification process should include on-site tests confirming quality of buildings and comfort of their use. This research presents methods of building c...

Placing emphasis exclusively on minimizing energy consumption in low-energy buildings can adversely impact thermal comfort and vibrational comfort. Vibrational comfort is extremely important in building design, especially within mining or seismically active territories, and due to car transportation in city centers. In this article, a new approach...

Introduction of EPBD in legislation of the EU member states caused that buildings must meet very stringent requirements of thermal protection and energy efficiency. On the basis of EPBD provisions, EU Member States introduce standard of NZEB (Nearly Zero- Energy Buildings). Such activities cause a need for new, innovative materials and technologies...

The quest for a sustainable built environment brought dramatic changes to architectural design because of the integrated design process. The integrated design process is the modern way to realize “performance architecture,” that is, design with a view to field performance. Integrated design process permits merging of concepts from passive-house des...

Experimental buildings for "in situ" research are a very important tool for collecting data on energy efficiency of the energy-saving technologies. One of the most advanced building of this type in Poland is the Maloposkie Laboratory of Energy-saving Buildings at Cracow University of Technology. The building itself is used by scientists as a resear...

Residents of buildings are increasingly calling on designers to take comfort conditions of using rooms into account in their analysis in addition to the safety of use or functionality. This is particularly important in the case of low-energy and passive buildings, buildings for which only we elaborate rules of good design. Ensuring comfort of using...

The dissertation presents a strategy of sustainable development and procedures aiming at its implementation, carried out in the world as well as in Poland. Building fulfilling the conditions of sustainable development, energy-saving building and low-energy buildings were discussed. Optimization tasks were formulated for problems in designing low-en...

This paper summarizes analysis of possibilities of considerable energy consumption decrease, connected mainly with heating and exploitation of the buildings. The aims, tasks and methods of estimation of sustainable buildings were presented. Estimation of energy efficiency in all life cycle was presented too. The division the buildings in considerat...

Optimization tasks were formulated for problems in designing low-energy apartment buildings. It is multicriteria (minimum costs and minimum energy consumption) and multilevel optimization problem. Effects possible to be attained in limiting heating energy consumption were defined.

In the article is framed the problem: efficiency of use the thermoinsulation shutters, choice size of glazing external walls and choice thermal characteristics of windows. That problems are framed as a two-criteria optimization problems. In work are framed two inverse criterions: minimum building cost including cost of materials and erection extern...