(SEP 2021) Dr. Ruffina Thilakaratne (Associate Professor, ARCH Dept., CHCHE) have have research collaboration with Prof. Wai Lun LO and Mr. C.H.Kay in 2021 and they have successfully got research funding for the following project. It is expected that the project will start in Jan 2022.
Building Envelope Environmental Performance Optimization Teaching Platform (BEEP)
Dr. Ruffina Thilakaratne (PI), Associate Professor, ARCH dept., CHCHE
Prof. Wai Lun LO (Co-I), Head of CS dept., Associate Dean FSE, CHCHE
Mr. C.H.Kay (Co-I), Senior Lecturer, CS dept., CHCHE
Quality Enhancement Support Scheme (QESS) under Self-financing Post-Secondary Education Fund, Education Bureau HKSAR
36 months, HK$1,986,463, 01/QESS/2021
Project Summary
Introduction
With the increase focus on Climate Change and Global Warming there is a serious need for designing energy efficient environmentally responsive buildings. Since the building envelope is the largest element that is exposed to environmental phenomena and therefore the optimization of building envelopes is crucial.
Currently there is no single platform that can perform building envelope performance analysis for testing number of environmental parameters. Available commercial software are often able to perform single or limited options of design analysis. They are also often based on unaffordable annual subscription rates.
Therefore, there is a great need for a teaching platform that is user friendly and efficient to perform building envelope design analysis to support teaching and learning and to compare most sustainable design options.
Also considering the increasing reliance on online learning, an open source teaching platform that is accessible to students and teachers is important to support learning.
Project Aims
The project aims to address the absence of a platform that can facilitate the teaching of designing optimized building envelopes through multi aspects environmental analysis not having to depend on a number of different commercial software. This is achieved by developing a Building Envelope Environmental Performance Optimization Teaching Platform (BEEP Optimization Teaching Platform) that will perform weather analysis, shadow analysis, optimum orientation analysis, envelope thermal analysis, interior daylight studies, and ventilation analysis, to support the teaching and designing of energy efficient buildings. It is expected that the platform will allow students to integrate their theoretical knowledge on environmental studies into building design and to compare different design options and learn through the process. It is envisioned that this will be a valuable teaching and learning resource for students and teachers across the tertiary education sector and secondary schools in Hong Kong.
