In these studies, we show that the seismic risk of large cities in developing countries is most often due to the high vulnerability of apartment buildings. To reduce the seismic risk in the territory ...of such cities, it is important to study the dynamics of its change over time, since the risk is not formed immediately and for various reasons. Establishing these causes is important for both risk prevention and reduction. As an object of study, we chose the capital of Armenia, the city of Yerevan, whose high seismic risk was formed mainly due to the construction of a large number of seismically vulnerable apartment buildings and the associated rapid mechanical population growth. The seismic risk of the territory of Yerevan has been repeatedly estimated, while the dynamics of risk growth over time has not been studied. This paper is aimed at studying the dynamics of the growth of seismic risk in the territory of Yerevan for 1900–2019, depending on the seismic hazard level, the number of vulnerable apartment buildings, and the number of residents in these buildings. To estimate the risk, a special methodology based on the lessons of the devastating Spitak earthquake 1988 was used. It was confirmed that a high level of seismic risk was formed mainly from 1957 to 1989 due to an underestimation of the seismic hazard, the construction of a large number of apartment buildings with high and medium seismic vulnerability, rapid growth, and an uneven population distribution.
This paper deals with the question of whether migrants pay a rent premium for apartments of comparable quality and neighborhood characteristics. We use a two-step selection-correction model augmented ...by a control function to account for nonrandom neighborhood choice. The estimation sample is a uniquely assembled panel comprising the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), information on household and apartment characteristics, as well as georeferenced data describing neighborhood quality. Our estimates reveal that people with migration backgrounds are not penalized in the German local rental market in terms of higher rental payments.
The issues of reducing energy consumption in buildings and their decarbonisation are currently among the most pressing. However, such an important aspect of the problem under discussion as the impact ...of unavoidable degradation processes on energy demand in buildings remains poorly understood. In addition, there are only a limited number of practical guidelines that can be used to take this factor into account at the design stage and during the further operation of buildings. The aim of this work was to assess the potential impact of component degradation and ageing on heating energy consumption in buildings, including insulated glass units, thermal insulation, airtightness, heat recovery of mechanical ventilation systems, and photovoltaic modules. The detached and apartment buildings were considered to be in a cold climate in the context of the Republic of Belarus. The study was based on simulation research using EnergyPlus. As a result, it was found that a possible increase in heating energy consumption might reach 17.6–61.2% over 25 years in detached houses and up to 23.6–89.8% in apartment buildings. These indicators turned out to be higher than the previously identified values for cooling energy consumption in a hot–humid climate. Based on the findings, recommendations for considering the degradation factor in cold climates in practice were developed, which were compared and integrated into the author’s existing guidelines.
A Baby Acre by Grid LLC, led by Andrew Adkins, traded the apartments for a 0.3acre commercial site at the northeast corner of Asher Avenue and Cedar Street in Little Rock and four residential lots ...covering 5.4 acres in the Waterview Estates neighborhood of west Pulaski County. Special Ops Move A 5,776-SF industrial project in south Little Rock rang up a $215,000 sale. Estates Sale A 5,422-SF home in the Mills Mountain Estates neighborhood of west Pulaski County changed hands in a $730,000 deal.
This study makes a novel attempt to analyse the effect of the bypass control and room control modes on ventilation energy saving in an 84 m2 housing unit, which is the most frequently constructed ...unit-type among newly constructed apartment buildings in Korea. A heat recovery ventilation system was installed. The fan power consumption was measured via field experiments and analyses were made for potential energy savings. Experiments to confirm the power-saving effect owing to the application of the room control mode were performed under the heat recovery and bypass modes, using three air flow rates (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 ACH). Additionally, the annual energy saving based on the application of the mixed mode (both bypass and room control modes) was calculated. The results obtained showed that when the mixed mode was employed, ventilation energy saving up to 10.76%–16.56%, which is greater than that obtained using only the heat recovery mode, was realized. Additionally, compared with all-room-ventilation, 26.69%–61.84% of ventilation energy could be saved if the mixed mode was applied only to the living room.
This study investigates the profitability of implementing active and passive building retrofitting measures, either individually or combined, within the framework of contracting. Three contracting ...models are investigated: (i) Photovoltaic (PV) contracting, (ii) renovation contracting, (iii) PV and renovation contracting including a heating system change. Since this study’s practical approach focuses on the client (building owner), an optimisation model is developed that maximises the client’s net present value, subject to a guaranteed pay-off including profit for the contractor. An algorithm allows to exactly quantify the impact of renovation measures on the heat load. The results show that PV system contracting is profitable for contractors and clients, while the profitability of passive retrofitting measures (e.g. building envelope renovation) significantly depends on the additional costs for CO2 emissions as well as on the default heating system. The contracting framework itself decreases the profitability of retrofitting measures since the contractor as a third party awaits to gain profit as well. The significance of said impact depends heavily on the contractor’s expected interest rate. In conclusion, in order to boost the shares of holistically retrofitted buildings (with or without PV integration), increasing costs for CO2 emissions increase attractiveness for both the contractor, and the clients.
•Profitability of building retrofitting measures within the framework of contracting.•PV system contracting is profitable for building owners as well as the contractor.•Building envelope renovation can break-even by introducing costs for CO2 emissions.•PV system implementation increases the overall profitability of holistic building retrofit.
Office Acquisition A 4,516-SF office building in downtown Little Rock sold for $500,000. Commercial Land A 1.45-acre parcel near the northwest corner of Kanis and Pride Valley roads in west Little ...Rock changed hands in a $465,000 deal. Heights House A 3,960-SF home in the Heights area of Little Rock was recovered in a $624,266 foreclosure sale.
As lots of the total energy was used by buildings, the number of residential buildings has dramatically increased in South Korea. Thus, it is imperative to pay more attention to energy consumption by ...residential buildings. In addition, it is important to predict energy consumption in residential buildings accurately. While several studies have currently focused on the data-driven method to predict energy consumption, it requires much information for multivariate data. The present study developed a predictive model for energy consumption for residential buildings by using the statistical method. Using the response surface methodology, the relationships between design factors, and heating and cooling energy use in residential buildings were outlined. The response values were calculated by using the simplified geometries in the energy simulation tool. The relationship has confirmed the dependencies of the energy consumption on various design variables of envelope systems in residential buildings in that the predictive model for the heating and cooling energy consumption was developed. The developed model was compared with the data obtained in the apartment buildings in two cities in South Korea. As a result, a coefficient of variation of the root mean squared error (Cv (RMSE)) was ranged from - 0.3% to 15% and all the comparisons were within the acceptable range. Moreover, heating and cooling energy consumption was predicted by varying the values of design variables such as thermal transmittance, solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), and air infiltration rates. Among the variables, the largest heating energy was required as with the increase in the air infiltration rates, while the largest cooling energy was consumed as the SHGC was increased for both apartment buildings. Moreover, the increase in thermal transmittance values resulted in about 27% - 29% of the increase in the heating energy consumption. For cooling, 8% to 26% of the energy consumption was decreased when the thermal transmittance was increased. As can be shown, the developed model can offer a rapid energy prediction for apartment buildings with simple information on design variables. Furthermore, it can easily figure out the most important design factor to make a more energy-efficient residential building design.
•Development of an energy consumption prediction model for apartment buildings•Analysis of the correlation between building design variables and energy use•Statistical approach for the accuracy of the energy prediction model•Validation of the prediction model with the energy consumption data•Energy prediction for apartment complexes by varying design variables
Indoor air pollution has become a pressing issue in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to poor ventilation, inadequate airtightness, and using chemicals in building materials. Accordingly, the UAE is ...currently experiencing more cases of sick building syndrome (SBS) than any other country. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the bake-out strategy in reducing indoor air pollutants in a new apartment building in the UAE. The study evaluated a reduction in toluene (C7H8), ethylbenzene (C8H10), xylene (C8H10), styrene (C8H8), and formaldehyde (HCHO) at room temperature and relative humidity. The airtight unit without winter bake-out had higher indoor concentrations of hazardous chemicals than the ventilated units, and the emission of dangerous substances increased with temperature. Moreover, harmful chemicals were only effectively reduced with ventilation times of at least seven days after the heating period. The release rate of contaminants after the bake-out was lower than before. The indoor concentration of hazardous chemicals was lower when bake-out and mechanical ventilation were combined, resulting in a reduction of 92.8% of HCHO. Furthermore, units with a certain amount of ventilation maintained a low indoor pollutant concentration, regardless of whether a bake-out was performed.
Increasing building efficiency is a key topic in territorial policies at different scales, for which new pathways and actions are progressively introduced. However, the evaluation of building ...consumptions according to energy features and urban and socio-economic variables is crucial to better assess building efficiency measures. This study presents a place-based statistical model for the evaluation of energy demand at the building scale, starting from disaggregating consumption values at the block level. The case study is the central district of Toronto (Ontario, Canada), part of the 2030 Toronto Platform. The existing interactive tool shows energy data only at the block scale, limiting specific evaluations and benchmarking. Therefore, the analysis presents a set of statistical models for assessing residential building consumption by archetypes. The aim of this study is to extend the application and visualisation of the energy demand of the whole city by GIS software. The statistical models underline more reliable results for electricity use, distinguished by appliances and space cooling. Low-rise apartments are the most challenging category to be assessed for appliance use. The variability of natural gas consumption does not allow to build only one model and values for apartment buildings are more variable for different construction ages.
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