Retrofitting: The Energy and Environment of Buildings

The challenge to create a next generation technology and methods for testing its performance, led to Integration of heating/ cooling and ventilation with wall structures. Passive and Thermo-Active Cluster (PTAC) integrates hydronic heat exchangers with solar panels and underground water tanks (providing thermal storage) for heat pump.  PTAC delivers a verified technology with 90 % energy reduction in new buildings and 70 % in retofitted (benchark 2004). It uses:

1)    two-stage construction process to modify the pattern of financing. 

2)    building automatics to control contributions of sub-systems.

3)    adaptable indoor climate and HVAC integrated with the building structure, jointly with monitoring and performance evaluation (MAPE) optimizes energy and indoor environment under service conditions.

4)    climatic district network, with minimum two (historic buildings), will optimize energy use in the network.

PTAC selects practical improvements to the triangle: occupant-controlled comfort, energy efficiency and the smart energy grid to initiate a discussion on the public-private consortium linked with public education activities to develop the PTAC approach with a view to slow climate change.

MARK BOMBERG, Prof. Dr., (Technology Dr., Lund U., Sweden 1974, Dr in Science, Engineering, Warsaw Technical U, Poland, 1965), is a Research Prof. of Building Physics at Mechanical Eng., Clarkson U, Potsdam NY, and a Principal at Innovative Building Systems, Radom, Poland, Life Member of Building Enclosure Technology and Environment (BETEC) Committee of the National Institute of Building Science (NIBS) in Washington, DC. Worked at National Research Council of Canada (1975-2000), was an Editor-in-Chief of J. Building Physics (1984-2018) at Sage Corp. His Background includes Heat, Air and Moisture, Material Sciences and Durability of construction materials. He wrote more than 250 reviewed papers and 7 books, has 96,000 reads on the Research Gate.

DAVID W. YARBROUGH, Prof. Dr., Vice-President, R&D Services, Professor Emeritus, ChE, Tennessee Technological University, 2002, Chairman of Chemical Engineering, TTU. 1987-2002, Professor 1976 – 2002, Research Staff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (full or part-time) 1978-2010. Awards: Fellow of the Tennessee Academy of Science,1986, Distinguished scientist 1998, Fellow of the International Thermal Conductivity Conference. 1987, Outstanding Faculty Award (TTU) 1990, 1987, International Thermal Conductivity Conference Award, 1995, ASTM C 16 – Awards 1992, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2015, National Institute of Building Sciences 2012, 2014

HAMED H. SABER , Prof. Dr., is Professor at Jubail Industrial College and Chair of the Research and Consultations Department, Royal Commission in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Mansoura University, Egypt, and his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of New Mexico, USA. He has held positions at the Institute for Space and Nuclear Studies and the Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department at University of New Mexico, and National Research Council of Canada. Prof. Saber has authored more than 290 scientific contributions and received several distinctions, including the International Alexander Schwartz Award. He is also consistently listed among the top 2% of scholars worldwide , according to the global Stanford University ranking.  His research spans plasma-based decontamination of radioactive materials advanced radioisotope space power systems for planetary exploration, building science, CFD, and energy efficiency of buildings.