Creating an efficient ward environment is crucial for the sustainable development of healthcare buildings. This study proposes a methodological framework integrating a phase change material-based thermal energy storage outdoor air system (PCM-TES-OAS) to enable personalized ward environments, aiming to enhance patient comfort and respiratory health with low energy consumption. Four representative cities from different building climate zones in China, namely Beijing, Shenyang, Chengdu, and Shenzhen, were selected for a conceptual case study. The proposed system was theoretically evaluated against a conventional fan coil unit (FCU) plus dedicated OAS (FCU + DOAS) for its summer operational performance, indoor air quality impact, and energy-saving potential. The results indicate that the PCM-TES system remains operational for over 60 % of the time across all four cities. Moreover, the new system achieves an air change rate (ACH) of 8 h⁻¹ to 10 h⁻¹ while maintaining ward CO₂ concentrations consistently at a low level (below 500 ppm). In terms of energy performance, the total summer electricity savings are estimated to be no less than 60 kWh/m² in all evaluated cities. These theoretical findings demonstrate the system’s conceptual potential to simultaneously improve patient comfort, enhance inhaled air quality, and reduce energy consumption in ward environmental control. Additionally, it is recommended that the maximum cooling capacity of the OAS and FCU in the new system be approximately 3 times and 0.3 times that of the conventional system, respectively. This study is anticipated to offer a conceptual framework and a promising new approach to designing comfortable, healthy, and sustainable ward environments.

With the increasing energy consumption in buildings, developing efficient and low-energy ventilation technologies has become essential. The earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE) systems utilize relatively stable soil temperatures to precondition outdoor air and reduce building cooling and heating loads. However, conventional horizontal EAHE systems suffer from limitations such as large land occupation, condensate drainage difficulties, and shallow pipe burial depth. To address these issues, a novel vertical coaxial pipe earth-to-air heat exchanger (VCP-EAHE) is proposed and experimentally investigated using a scaled sandbox setup under different soil moisture contents and seasonal conditions in Changsha. The results show that under summer conditions, the system provides stable precooling performance with a maximum inlet–outlet temperature difference of 1.68 °C. Higher soil moisture enhances thermal buffering capacity, reducing the standard deviation of the temperature difference from 0.190 to 0.158. During the transition season, the system exhibits bidirectional thermal regulation, achieving a maximum cooling of 1.31 °C and heating of 0.78 °C. Overall, the VCP-EAHE demonstrates effective thermal regulation and stable operation, providing experimental support for the design and application of vertical geothermal ventilation systems.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) restricts the dilution of skin-emitted bio-effluents, which may lead to pollutant accumulation in the breathing zone and thus intensify inhalation exposure of the wearer. This study quantifies the inhalation exposure risk caused by skin-emitted bio-effluents under PPE using ethyl acetate as a tracer combined with a mannequin method. The distributions of thermal-fluid parameters were predicted using computational fluid dynamics. The dispersion of skin bio-effluents was visualized, and the influence of breathing organ, pulmonary ventilation rate, bio-effluent emission rate, and emission location on inhalation exposure was examined. Wearing protective clothing increased the average air temperature and air velocity in the breathing zone by 0.9 °C and 0.09 m/s, respectively, compared with conditions without PPE. The neck and cuffs served as the dominant pathways for leakage of skin-emitted bio-effluents. Protective clothing led to higher inhalation exposure to skin bio-effluents than no PPE, with nasal breathing receiving slightly higher inhalation concentrations than oral breathing. When pulmonary ventilation rate increased from 6 to 9 L/minute under a standing posture and oral breathing, the relative inhalation concentration and the relative exposure index increased by 30.6% and 17.8%, respectively. Inhalation exposure also rose sharply when emission rates exceeded 700 μg h⁻¹p⁻¹. Emission location strongly affected inhalation exposure. Bio-effluents emitted from the groin resulted in substantially higher inhalation exposure than those emitted from the armpit. These findings would enhance the scientific understanding of human-related bio-effluents and further support the rational improvement of PPE design and the effective control of human-related pollutants.

Climate change and extreme weather events are imposing threats to city power systems with regional power shortages. To enhance urban power system's resilience amid climate change, photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESS) are crucial for maintaining self-sufficient power during outages. However, the optimal installation location and capacity sizing of BESS remain uncertain when considering multi-criteria, including safety, energy flexibility, accessibility and energy resilience. This study proposes a new approach, i.e., Geographic Information System (GIS) integrated with Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) and capacitated p-median problem, to identify optimal installation locations and capacity allocation of BESS. This approach comprehensively considers geographical conditions (such as slope, land use, open space), safety, energy flexibility, accessibility and energy resilience, while accounting for the entire distribution network's granularity, intermittent solar supply, and unstable electricity demand. The methodology can guide the optimal BESS siting and sizing for energy resilience under future climate change and associated extreme weather events. Results indicate that suitable installation locations based on the proposed GIS-MCDM method are concentrated in central and southern regions in Yau Tsim Mong. Subsequently, BESS with the optimal and specific installation location and capacity allocation is in districts with high electricity demand and favourable safety geographical conditions. Compared to BESS without GIS-MCDM, the optimal BESS deployment with GIS-MCDM decreases the power shortage from 13,184 MWh to 12,931 MWh. Additionally, it increases the maximum power shortage reduction density from 176.04 kWh/m2 to 364.2 kWh/m2, and the area with a power shortage reduction above 100 kWh/m2 expands from 1.24 × 105 m2 to 2.17 × 105 m2. This study contributes a new approach to determine optimal BESS installation locations and capacity allocation in urban-scale information modelling, planning and deployment, with frontier guidelines for system designers and urban planners to collaboratively develop resilience and survivability of urban power systems under extreme events.

The thermal performance of cylindrical latent heat storage units (C-LHSUs) in hot water tanks can be improved by using a hollow geometry structure, which effectively reduces the average distance between the heated/cooled wall and the solid-liquid interface during the charging and discharging process. To comprehensively evaluate this improvement, an unconstrained melting model for phase change materials (PCMs) was developed, enabling detailed investigation of the thermal behavior of hollow geometry LHSUs (H-LHSUs). Moreover, the impact of the ratio between the inner hollow tube radius (r) and outer tube radius (R) on the charging/discharging performance of H-LHSUs was analyzed. The results demonstrated substantial enhancements in heat transfer performance for H-LHSUs compared to conventional C-LHSUs. Specifically, the average heat transfer coefficient increased by 82.9 % during charging and 176.47 % during discharging. This improvement translated to a charging rate that was 2.46 times and a discharging rate that was 3.9 times higher than those of the C-LHSU. Furthermore, the study revealed that as the r/R ratio increased, both charging and discharging rates improved significantly, with the rate of heat transfer enhancement becoming more pronounced at higher r/R values. This research provides actionable insights for optimizing the design of LHSUs in practical applications. It underscores the importance of balancing thermal performance gains with the associated capital costs when selecting the optimal r/R ratio. The findings contribute to the advancement of energy storage technologies, offering a robust framework for improving the efficiency of thermal energy systems in hot water tanks.

This study addresses the challenge of designing cost-effective and energy-efficient solar energy systems for large-scale, multi-functional building complexes, which typically exhibit high and diverse energy demands. Although integrating solar power with energy storage has shown promise, existing research rarely considers the full complexity of such building types or the trade-offs between cost and renewable energy use. To fill this gap, this study develops a novel assessment framework that quantitatively evaluates system performance across both energy and economic dimensions. The framework is applied to a real-world airport cargo terminal comprising ten functional zones, evaluating six system configurations with different photovoltaic areas and battery capacities. Two optimization objectives are considered: maximizing the share of energy supplied by solar generation and minimizing the levelized cost of electricity. The results show that two of the six configurations stand out as most representative: Case 3 adopts full rooftop and façade photovoltaics with an 87.94 MWh battery, enabling 60 % renewable energy penetration and the highest overall performance score of 4.6 (out of 6), though it requires 14.5 % higher investment; Case 5 uses only façade photovoltaics without storage, delivering the maximum cost saving of 10.4 % and the lowest energy cost of 0.49 CNY/kWh. The findings reveal a clear trade-off between maximizing renewable energy use and minimizing cost. This work contributes a novel, scalable framework for evaluating and optimizing solar energy systems in complex building environments, offering practical decision support for designers, policymakers, and investors seeking to promote sustainable urban energy transitions.

This study explores Dutch homeowners' intentions to adopt shallow geothermal solutions for the energy transition in existing buildings, using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework. Through a mixed-methods approach combining qualitative elicitation interviews with 20 homeowners and a quantitative survey of 800 representative Dutch households, the study identifies key psychological and socio-demographic factors influencing adoption intentions. The findings indicate that approximately 33% of surveyed homeowners express intention to adopt geothermal technology within the next five years. Structural Equation Modeling reveals that attitudes toward geothermal technology and subjective norms significantly influence adoption intentions, while perceived behavioral control has no significant impact on intention. Economic benefits and environmental protection emerge as the strongest attitudinal drivers, with uncertainty about investment payback periods acting as the primary barrier. Normative influences from environmental advocates, suppliers, and community members also strongly shape adoption intentions. Among socio-demographic factors, higher energy cost-to-income ratios, higher income levels, and homeowners’ association membership positively influence adoption intentions, while age shows a negative correlation. These insights provide evidence-based guidance for policymakers to develop targeted interventions addressing specific psychological barriers experienced by different homeowner segments, potentially accelerating the transition to renewable heating systems in the Netherlands' existing housing stock.

One significant challenge in lightweight modular integrated construction (MIC) is to determine the optimal performance of external wall to minimize life-cycle energy consumption, economic costs, and environmental impact (3E). This study compares 3E-objective and single-objective optimization methods for determining the optimal thickness of MIC across five distinct climatic zones in China. Additionally, it analyzes how factors like heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) operational duration, climate change, grid emission factors, and building lifespan affect the optimal thickness. Results reveal that the 3E-objective optimization method achieves the highest cost-benefit ratio in carbon reduction, outperforming the energy or environmental method. Lightweight external walls, with low thermal mass, have an optimal thickness deviating from the current nearly zero-energy building standard, with deviations reaching up to 200 mm in optimal thickness. Reduced HVAC operational duration, global warming, decreased grid emission factors, and extended building lifespan contribute to a potential reduction in the optimal wall thickness by up to 140 mm. These deviations in the configuration of these factors, although they may lower life-cycle cost investments compared to the optimal thickness, could potentially be unfavorable or detrimental to reduce life-cycle energy consumption and carbon emissions. The deviation in HVAC operational duration exhibits the most significant impact on life-cycle 3E results, reaching up to 8.4 %. Climate change has a relatively minimal impact on the life-cycle 3E results. This research can advance the cost-benefit ratio in carbon emission reduction of MIC and highlight the need for flexible building standards to accommodate climatic and operational variations.

Green construction transforms traditional construction practices by prioritizing energy efficiency, environmental protection, and long-term sustainability. With the construction sector accounting for 36 % of global energy consumption and 37 % of energy-related CO₂ emissions, the critical and systematic analyses of policy-based initiatives driving green construction and implementation barriers in China remain critically needed. This study addresses these gaps through a comprehensive mixed-method approach, incorporating extensive analysis of 189 publications, complemented by 9 in-depth interviews with experienced professionals (each with over 10 years of expertise). Key contributions include: (1) development of a multi-dimensional policy classification framework analyzing administrative, economic, and technological perspectives; (2) Systematic identification of five major implementation barriers through expert validation using Delphi methodology; (3) Successful international case studies are examined to offer comparative insights and targeted policy recommendations for China. This study also identifies key barriers and formulates practical solutions through a multi-stakeholder lens, integrating interview findings to enhance the relevance and applicability of the recommendations. The innovations encompass the integrated literature-expert triangulation framework for China's green construction policy assessment, combining policy document analysis with stakeholder validation to ensure robust findings. The study reveals critical policy gaps in interdepartmental coordination, financial mechanisms, and public engagement, while proposing actionable strategies including enhanced assessment systems, improved policy coherence, and expanded financial access. These findings provide evidence-based guidance for policymakers to accelerate China's construction industry transition toward carbon neutrality goals.

Although Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) offer a clear path to reducing energy use and carbon emissions, different stakeholder groups face numerous barriers at four stages of implementation. Existing reviews catalog these barriers but lack precise stakeholder–stage alignment and fail to match each barrier with its most effective mitigation strategy. We reviewed 89 publications, identified 42 barriers and nine strategy categories, and applied Simple Correspondence Analysis (SCA) to quantify the couplings between barriers and strategies based on the consensus in the literature. We then developed a barrier–strategy mapping and prioritization framework to identify the dominant academic strategies associated with each barrier. The results show: (1) barriers shift from early financing–policy frictions to later human–technology frictions; (2) 90 % of barriers link to at least one highly significant strategy; (3) information coordination gaps and frequent design changes show no significant coupling with any mitigation strategy. The framework offers three values: (1) Practical guidance: it provides clear, stage‑specific guidance for barrier identification and strategy selection; (2) Theoretical foundation: it lays a structured basis for context‑sensitive empirical studies across regions, project types, and scales, enabling localized validation and optimization of the NZEB barrier–strategy model; (3) Mapping paradigm: this study proposes a strategy–barrier mapping paradigm grounded in systematic literature consensus. It provides a structured basis for selecting and prioritizing strategies across diverse regional conditions, project typologies, and real-world applications.

Zero-carbon community (ZCC) is essential in addressing critical social and environmental challenges, particularly in reducing energy consumption, lowering carbon emissions, and decreasing reliance on fossil fuels. However, several issues are still unclear, including inconsistent definitions of ZCC, the lack of detailed policy analyses, and limited exploration of implementation challenges and solutions persist. This study addresses these gaps by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the drivers and barriers to ZCC development in China. It begins with a detailed review of the definitions of ZCC, comparing and contrasting them from both domestic and international perspectives. Then, it evaluates existing incentives, categorizes them into policy documents, laws, and standards while assessing their evolution and real-world applications. This study also presents case studies of exemplary ZCC, including the Beddington Community in the UK and the Zero Carbon Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo Park in China. These cases offer insights into practical approaches, societal impacts, and advanced practices, proposing a ZCC construction model tailored to China’s unique economic and policy environment. Furthermore, the study identifies key barriers to adopting ZCC in China and proposes targeted recommendations across five domains: administrative, economic, technological, socio-cultural, and environmental. A “macro-meso-micro” implementation pathway is developed, emphasizing stakeholder collaboration as a core element for successful execution. This study systematically reviews and critically analyzes current policies and practices related to ZCC, and offering valuable theoretical guidance for developing regulations and standards, along with practical solutions to address current implementation challenges.

The building sector plays a pivotal role in climate change mitigation. By regulating the demand for services and products from supply sectors, building sector can contribute to decarbonization. To assess the decarbonization and cost-saving potential of demand-side solutions for China’s residential building sector, this study develops a demand-side solution framework and an end-use technology model. The model covers the building sector and major supply sectors, considering the heterogeneous impacts of demand-side solution measures on different supply sectors. Here we show that the most optimistic cost-effective demand-side solution can reduce cumulative CO₂ emissions by 47% (42.21 Gt CO₂-eq), while achieving a 16% saving in the net present value of costs over the period 2020−2060. Additionally, results indicate that the demand-side solution enable China’s rural residential buildings to achieve carbon neutrality without carbon dioxide remove options, while simultaneously mitigating uncertainties in reaching carbon neutrality targets.

This paper comprehensively investigates the purge mechanism of proton exchange membrane fuel cells during the shutdown process, which qualitatively examines the effect of purge parameters (including current density, stoichiometric ratio, and relative humidity) on water content variation, and further quantitatively investigates the remaining water content post-purge. In contrast to previous studies, this paper offers a novel perspective on analyzing the purge process and conducts a thorough examination of residual water content. This study presents a transient, isothermal, two-phase flow model for proton exchange membrane fuel cells, which is subsequently validated experimentally. Results indicate that the significance of purge parameters follows the descending order: stoichiometric ratio, relative humidity, and current density. During the purge, the stoichiometric ratio should be rapidly increased to above 9. Each incremental rise in the stoichiometric ratio from 6 to 14 leads to a respective reduction in residual membrane water content after purge of 2.19 %, 1.57 %, 1.18 %, 0.93 %, 0.76 %, 0.63 %, 0.53 %, and 0.46 %. Similarly, it is recommended to swiftly decrease relative humidity to below 40 %. Elevating the purge current density from 20 to 200 mA/cm2 decreases the time required to completely remove liquid water from 20.24 s to 6.59 s. Hence, employing a higher current density at the onset of the purge facilitates quicker removal of liquid water, albeit resulting in an increase in residual membrane water content post-purge, from 3.17 to 3.70. In summary, optimizing the purge strategy requires adjusting purge current densities according to the specific purge stage.

Energy piles, a technology integrating the heat exchange component within building pile foundations for shallow geothermal energy utilization, have proven economically efficient. They outperform conventional ground source heat pumps by mitigating additional borehole costs and space requirements. This paper systematically examines low-carbon considerations and optimization measures throughout the planning, design, construction, and operation stages of energy piles, considering the entire lifecycle. Furthermore, this paper discusses potential challenges associated with decarbonizing energy piles, offering solutions based on case studies and environmental impact assessments. Through a comprehensive critical review and analysis of existing knowledge, this paper presents a systematic theory and methodology for optimal decarbonization of energy piles, serving as a valuable resource for building practitioners and researchers in this field. The findings not only contribute to a solid theoretical foundation but also provide technical support for the advancement and application of energy pile systems.

The internal temperature of proton exchange membrane fuel cells significantly influences their shutdown purge process a key factor for ensuring operational stability and longevity. This study explores how cell temperature impacts water removal mechanisms during shutdown purge, emphasizing its importance for the operational stability of fuel cell. High-temperature purge experiments were conducted using an integrated stack experimental platform, revealing that prolonged high-temperature purging increased the high frequency resistance of a single cell to 639.44 mΩ∙cm2 and caused severe perforation of the membrane electrode assembly. To delve deeper into the mechanisms of cell temperature influence and the cause of perforation, an isothermal, transient, two-phase flow fuel cell model was developed. The cell temperature during purge was incrementally raised from 303.15 K to 358.15 K in 5 K steps. Detailed analyses of membrane desorption and water phase changes during purge processes were performed. At cell temperatures ranging from 338.15 K to 358.15 K, a 120-s purge reduced the membrane water content to below 4.8, with only a 5 % variation in residual membrane water. When the cell temperature exceeded 323.15 K, water activity increased with temperature, intensifying evaporation and leading to desorption of vapor from the membrane. Consequently, higher temperatures facilitated the removal of liquid water, with no liquid water remaining within cell above 323.15 K. Elevated cell temperatures accelerated the purge, resulting in lower liquid water content and increased vapor, but with minimal difference in membrane water content. The intense evaporation process and rapid purge at high temperatures were identified as direct causes of membrane electrode assembly perforation. This study highlights the critical role of cell temperature in the shutdown purge process, providing innovative insights into optimizing proton exchange membrane fuel cell operations for enhanced performance and durability.

In response to the growing global demand for clean and sustainable energy solutions, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have emerged as vital components in diverse decarbonization strategies. Despite their increasing importance, a comprehensive synthesis of recent advancements, challenges, and future prospects in thermal and water management within this domain remains notably scarce. This paper aims to bridge this gap by conducting a meticulous literature review focused on thermal and water management in PEMFCs. Primarily, this study encapsulates the underlying mechanisms governing thermal and water generation in PEMFCs, intricately analyzing thermal and water generation analyses. Secondly, a multifaceted exploration of thermal and water transfer mechanisms, alongside their pivotal influencing factors, is presented. Furthermore, the discourse delves into sophisticated strategies for refining water and thermal management in PEMFCs. As well as delving into the complexities of high-power heat dissipation and water balance, especially water management for cold start and high temperature operating conditions. The culmination of this investigation yields valuable insights into the intricate dynamics of thermal and water management within PEMFCs, thereby culminating in forward-looking recommendations for future research trajectories. These findings not only offer scholars a vantage point to discern emerging research frontiers and trends but also extend theoretical precepts and reference points for technology innovators and product developers.

Urban sustainability is a pressing challenge that intertwines energy efficiency, social equity, technological innovation, and community involvement. With the growing global emphasis on reducing carbon footprints and addressing climate change, the need for sustainable urban housing and communities has become increasingly critical. This Research Topic, “Sustainable Transition for Urban Housing and Community,” brings together a Research Topic of research that examines the multifaceted issues surrounding sustainable development in urban contexts. By analyzing the interplay of energy consumption, governance, technological innovation, and digital transformation, the articles in this Research Topic present a holistic view of how urban sustainability can be achieved. [...]

The local climate zones (LCZs) classification system has emerged as a more refined method for assessing the urban heat island (UHI) effect. However, few researchers have conducted systematic critical reviews and summaries of the research on LCZs, particularly regarding significant advancements of this field in recent years. This paper aims to bridge this gap in scientific research by systematically reviewing the evolution, current status, and future trends of LCZs framework research. Additionally, it critically assesses the impact of the LCZs classification system on climate-responsive urban planning and design. The findings of this study highlight several key points. First, the challenge of large-scale, efficient, and accurate LCZs mapping persists as a significant issue in LCZs research. Despite this challenge, the universality, simplicity, and objectivity of the LCZs framework make it a promising tool for a wide range of applications in the future, especially in the realm of climate-responsive urban planning and design. In conclusion, this study makes a substantial contribution to the advancement of LCZs research and advocates for the broader adoption of this framework to foster sustainable urban development. Furthermore, it offers valuable insights for researchers and practitioners engaged in this field.

Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) with battery storage offers a promising avenue for enhancing renewable energy integration in buildings. Creating microgrids with backup power from closely spaced solar buildings is widely recognized as an effective strategy. Nevertheless, a notable gap exists between the preferences and priorities of electricity consumers residing in these solar-powered buildings and the interests of microgrid investors. The electricity consumers focus on decreasing the levelized cost of energy, while the microgrid investors focuses on achieving high net profit. This study proposes a novel game theory-based microgrid optimal design approach for designing power generations of the microgrid system and PV installation with battery storage on the building roofs, considering the different requirements and interests of electricity consumers and microgrid investors. The design optimization is framed around the Nash Equilibrium of the Stackelberg game, incorporating a bi-level optimization cycle that addresses the conflict and cooperation of electricity consumers and microgrid investors. A win-win situation can be yielded using the developed optimal design approach compared to conventional optimal design approaches. The results demonstrate a significant improvement, with the microgrid power generation yielding a large net profit (up to 0.08 USD/kWh) and concurrently reducing the levelized cost of energy by approximately 14 %.

This chapter addresses Social Innovation. It describes conditions, methods, and procedures to optimize engagement and strengthen people's and the community’s position in affordable energy renovations in buildings and on the district level. We focus on the lower- and middle-income occupants being tenants of not-for-profit or public housing associations and owner / occupiers in apartment buildings. [...]