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Papers by Dr Abdullahi Ahmed

Water Science & Technology: Water Supply, 2015

This paper presents an overview of interpretative analysis of a survey to evaluate the potential ... more This paper presents an overview of interpretative analysis of a survey to evaluate the potential for public engagement/ positive public participation in integrated urban water management (IUWM) in Saudi Arabia. The research targeted different stakeholders to investigate the current practices and visions, in order to determine the extent to which IUWM could be enhanced by positive stakeholder participation and public awareness. The paper concentrates on teachers'/schools' perspectives; even though the wider study investigates the views of a number of key public stakeholder groups within Saudi society, all of the selected stakeholder groups have a public interface within the selected section of society. Data collection was through in-person administering of hardcopy questionnaires in Riyadh, Jeddah and Albaha, collecting responses from a wide range of stakeholder groups, including teachers, policy makers, water professionals and managers, environmental managers, technical prac...

There is a rising demand for conventional mechanical cooling systems in UK buildings over the las... more There is a rising demand for conventional mechanical cooling systems in UK buildings over the last 10 years, which is due to increase in building internal and solar heat gains. Use of passive and low energy strategies for cooling and heating of buildings is an attractive alternative for providing comfortable indoor environments with low energy use. Earth-air heat exchanger (EAHX) is a low-energy system that utilises the stable subsurface soil temperature to reduce ventilation air temperature. There appears to be very limited research and published data on their thermal performance in the UK. This paper evaluates the thermal performance of the earth-air heat exchanger under different configurations and operating conditions in the UK. Transient Systems Simulation Software (TRNSYS) has been used to model EAHX using UK climatic and soil parameters. The result reveals significant improvement in indoor thermal conditions and the potential to reduce use of energy intensive conventional coo...

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

The impact of greenhouse gas emission resulting from burning of fossil fuel for electricity gener... more The impact of greenhouse gas emission resulting from burning of fossil fuel for electricity generation is a global challenge that can be tackled by using renewable energy sources. Nigeria is a fast growing country with population estimated at about 140 million people. Steady economic and population growth is putting significant strain on the country’s electricity supply and distribution infrastructure. More than 64% of Nigeria’s electricity is generated from fossil fuel sources. However, the direct cost of infrastructure required for generation, transmission and the environmental implication of burning additional fossil fuel will have significant impact on the country’s rate of growth and the global carbon dioxide emission. Abundant renewable energy sources all over the country can be utilised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as a strategy for rural electrification. One of the key constraints affecting the use of alternative or renewable energy technologies is the lack of ...

Designs

There is international pressure for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are blame... more There is international pressure for countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are blamed as the main cause of climate change. The countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region heavily rely on fossil fuel as the main energy source for buildings. The concept of nearly zero energy buildings (nZEB) has been defined and standardized for some developed countries. While most of the developing countries located in the MENA region with hot and tropical climate lack building energy efficiency standards. With pressure to improve energy and environmental performance of buildings, nZEB buildings are expected to grow over the coming years and employing these buildings in the MENA region can reduce building energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Therefore, the paper focuses on: (a) reviewing the current established nZEB standards and definitions for countries in the hot and warm climate of Europe, (b) investigate the primary energy consumption for current existing buildings ...

E3S Web of Conferences

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is essential for the health and productivity of building users... more Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) is essential for the health and productivity of building users. The risk of overheating in buildings is increasing due to increased density of occupancy of people and heat emitting equipment, increase in ambient temperature due to manifestation of climate change or changes in urban micro-climate. One of the solutions to building overheating is to inject some exposed thermal mass into the interior of the building. There are many different types of thermal storage materials which typically includes sensible heat storage materials such as concrete, bricks, rocks etc. It is very difficult to increase the thermal mass of existing buildings using these sensible heat storage materials. Alternative to these, there are latent heat storage materials called Phase Change Materials (PCM), which have high thermal storage capacity per unit volume of materials making them easy to implement within retrofit project. The use of Passive Cooling Thermal Energy Storage ...

Tropical climate is characterised by high ambient temperatures and solar radiation, a combination... more Tropical climate is characterised by high ambient temperatures and solar radiation, a combination of these factors causes thermal discomfort in buildings. The common approach to maintaining comfortable thermal environment in buildings in such climates is using mechanical airconditioning systems. High energy demand is needed to operate and maintain these systems continuously over long periods of time. With the rapid increase in population and economic growth of countries in the tropical regions, it is becoming inevitable that passive and low energy strategies must be used as suitable alternatives. Earth-air heat exchanger (EAHX) is a subterranean ventilation system that explores soil temperature below the surface to pre-cool or pre-heat ventilation air. Performance of EAHX varies with climatic and soil condition of the area. Climatic and soil parameters affecting the thermal performance of EAHX has been determined for Tropical climate of Nigeria. Thermal simulations have been carried...

Proceedings Frontiers in Education Conference, 1988

Two approaches to software-firmware design techniques for generating read-only memory code for 80... more Two approaches to software-firmware design techniques for generating read-only memory code for 8088/8086 microprocessor-based systems are presented. All the code-generation activities discussed can be centered around any XT/AT-type compatible personal computer. The first approach is to develop software exclusively in assembly language. The second approach is to develop software using the C language, utilizing the `Turbo C' compiler. This approach places all the powers of the C language in the hands of the software developer. The developer can perform in-line assembly code if and when needed. In-line assembly code provides tight control over the hardware and additionally provides speed where execution time is at a premium in certain segments of the software. The benefits of this approach result from the software designer having all the power, convenience, and ease of the C language mixed with the precise control of assembly language. This converts the personal computer into a software development system that can generate ready-to-burn standard Intel Hex code for any EPROM

Energies, 2021

Building performance improvement through low-energy renovation traditionally involves building pe... more Building performance improvement through low-energy renovation traditionally involves building performance diagnostics of the existing building, technology evaluation, selection and implementation. Effective building performance diagnostics, post-retrofit assessment and user engagement are essential to deliver performance as well as achieving socio-economic and environmental benefits at every stage of the renovation project life cycle. User’s views are often ignored when renovating a building, causing sub-optimal energy performance, user comfort and wellbeing. This paper seeks to critically evaluate the low-energy renovation process and the role of user and stakeholder engagement in the strategic implementation of low-energy retrofit technologies for performance improvement of higher education buildings. The research focuses on renovation methodology, innovative materials/systems and end-user engagement throughout the renovation project phases (pre-renovation, the renovation process and post renovation). A mixed research method was adopted, which includes building performance modelling, monitoring and user evaluation questionnaires pre and post-renovation. The research is part of European Union (EU)-funded project, targeting 50% reduction in energy consumption using innovative materials and technologies in existing public buildings. The surveys allow comparative analysis of comfort levels and user satisfaction as an indicator of the efficacy of renovation measures. A new renovation process and user engagement framework was developed. The findings suggest that there is a direct relationship between retrofit intervention, improving energy performance of low-carbon buildings and the comfort of occupants. The technologies and strategies also appear to have different impacts on user satisfaction.

cebe.cf.ac.uk

... This paper discusses a study that investigated the use of intensive block weeks in the archit... more ... This paper discusses a study that investigated the use of intensive block weeks in the architecturaldesign and technology context. The design week was mainly introduced to improve student participation and engagement, while teaching technical principles and promoting the ...

Retrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings ... more Retrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings (RESSEEPE) is an EU funded project which aims to bring together design and decision making tools, innovative building fabric manufacturers and a programme to demonstrate the improved building performance achievable through the retrofit of existing buildings at a district level. The RESSEEPE framework is being validated by a strong demonstration programme, envisaging the renovation of 102,000 square metres of public buildings. The core idea of the project is to technologically advance, adapt, demonstrate and assess a number of innovative retrofit technologies implemented on several pilot cases with different climate conditions across Europe (Coventry-UK, Barcelona-Spain and Skellefteå-Sweden) to ensure a high potential replication of the retrofit solutions. The three demonstration sites are involved as the main promoters of a very ambitious district level renovation, demonstrating a systemic approach to technology installation and evaluation, taking into account the benefits of a set of technologies, which properly combined in terms of cost effectiveness and energy performance could achieve reductions around 50% in terms of energy consumption. Coventry University is acting as a Living Lab in order to test some advanced technologies already in the market and others developed specifically within the RESSEEPE project. Those innovative technologies implemented in the pilot case are: Vacuum Insulated Panels, PCM tubes, Ventilated façade with Photovoltaic Panels, Electrochromic windows and Aerogel Mortar. The main feature of this installation is that it acts as a testing bed for where to install different advanced technologies covering specific areas of the building, rather than refurbishing it as a whole. This paper documents the testing of prototype technologies in a pilot case in Coventry University, analysing the process of selection of the different technologies and showing all the challenges faced during installation and coordination of installation activities. The installation 1 This research was supported by the RESSEEPE project, which has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme, Project ID: 609377 The article reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. The information in this document is provided as is and no guarantee or warranty is given that the information is fit for any particular purpose. The user thereof uses the information at its sole risk and liability. 257 The International Journal ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES ISSN 2345-0282 (online) http://jssidoi.org/jesi/ 2017 Volume 4 Number 3 (March) process is shown and discussed, highlighting the difficulties, setbacks and challenges faced during the low carbon refurbishment. The key issues are related to technical and health and safety risks. Also, to financial, coordination, planning and legislation barriers etc. It will also show ways forward and solutions adopted. The study also analyses the process of monitoring the energy performance of the spaces retrofitted and the data obtained through the monitoring of the building before and after the installation of the different technologies. The idea behind the Living Lab pilot case is to monitor the performance of those installations in isolation in order to obtain results which allow us to make conclusions about the replicability of the technologies selected in other locations. Ultimately, what is discussed is the overall process followed. This discussion seeks to show the lessons learnt throughout the process and to obtain conclusions from the barriers and engagement issues faced during the installation when retrofitting a public building.

There is urgency to transform Europe into a low-carbon economy to reduce the risk of climate chan... more There is urgency to transform Europe into a low-carbon economy to reduce the risk of climate change and achieve sustainable energy security. One of the most cost-effective measures to meet energy reduction targets, as clearly specified in the " European Economic Recovery Plan " , is to address performance of existing building stock. Buildings account for about 40% of the EUenergy consumption and one third of the GHG emissions. In particular, the state of the European building stock contains a high improvement potential. REtrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Edification (RESSEEPE) is an EU funded project that focuses on the refurbishment of existing public buildings in three European cities: Coventry (UK), Barcelona (SP) and Skelleftea (SW). The aim of the project is to bring together design and decision making tools and innovative building fabric manufacturers to collaborate and improve building performance through low impact retrofitting interventions to achieve energy reduction in the region of 50%. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the process of low-energy retrofit and the selection and evaluation of low-energy technologies for retrofit. Specifically the paper looks at the decision making procedure to select advanced building technologies for high energy performance retrofitting, using Coventry University estates as a case study. The paper reviews innovative technologies and using analytical methods investigates the benefits of these potential technologies as applied to existing case study buildings within Coventry University. The interconnectivity of these buildings within the urban environment within which they sit is also evaluated.

There is urgent need for Europe to transform into a low-carbon economy to reduce the risk of clim... more There is urgent need for Europe to transform into a low-carbon economy to reduce the risk of climate change. The building sector is responsible for nearly 40% of the total energy consumption in Europe. In order to achieve substantial energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, low-energy retrofitting of existing buildings becomes a very important challenge/opportunity in both domestic and non-domestic buildings. A considerable number of existing buildings are either protected or contain hazardous materials limiting the potential for conventional retrofitting approaches for improving the existing façades. Retrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings (RESSEEPE) is an EU-funded research project that focuses on the refurbishment of existing public buildings in different European cities. A case study approach is used to implement and monitor the performance of a range of building fabric materials. The case study focuses on a demo building in Coventry University, located within the city centre of Coventry. The paper documents the materials selection and the low-carbon refurbishment, monitoring and simulation process followed. As asbestos was found in the building, it was necessary to ensure that the materials and technologies selected didn't interfere with the existing elements of the façade. The materials finally installed were specifically selected to work as an addition of layers rather than substitution of elements. The living lab nature of the demo-site aims to set an example for low carbon refurbishment in protected or existing buildings with hazardous materials, with a non-invasive approach based on state-of-the-art materials and technologies.

Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) Conference, 2008

The impact of greenhouse gas emission resulting from burning of fossil fuel for electricity gener... more The impact of greenhouse gas emission resulting from burning of fossil fuel for electricity generation is a global challenge that can be tackled by using renewable energy sources. Nigeria is a fast growing country with population estimated at about 140 million people. Steady economic and population growth is putting significant strain on the country's electricity supply and distribution infrastructure. More than 64% of Nigeria's electricity is generated from fossil fuel sources. However, the direct cost of infrastructure required for generation, transmission and the environmental implication of burning additional fossil fuel will have significant impact on the country's rate of growth and the global carbon dioxide emission. Abundant renewable energy sources all over the country can be utilised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as a strategy for rural electrification. One of the key constraints affecting the use of alternative or renewable energy technologies is the lack of understanding of the factors that affect performance of the system. To remove this constraint, the potential of solar PV systems have been evaluated using the TRNSYS Simulation Environment and RETSCREEN Simulation Tool to establish performance data for a range of solar PV products and locations. Results show that PV systems have significant potential as stand alone applications in buildings and other application.

Water Science & Technology: Water Supply, 2015

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

Designs

E3S Web of Conferences

Proceedings Frontiers in Education Conference, 1988

Energies, 2021

cebe.cf.ac.uk

Association of Researchers in Construction Management (ARCOM) Conference, 2008

The impact of greenhouse gas emission resulting from burning of fossil fuel for electricity gener... more The impact of greenhouse gas emission resulting from burning of fossil fuel for electricity generation is a global challenge that can be tackled by using renewable energy sources. Nigeria is a fast growing country with population estimated at about 140 million people. Steady economic and population growth is putting significant strain on the country's electricity supply and distribution infrastructure. More than 64% of Nigeria's electricity is generated from fossil fuel sources. However, the direct cost of infrastructure required for generation, transmission and the environmental implication of burning additional fossil fuel will have significant impact on the country's rate of growth and the global carbon dioxide emission. Abundant renewable energy sources all over the country can be utilised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as a strategy for rural electrification. One of the key constraints affecting the use of alternative or renewable energy technologies is the lack of understanding of the factors that affect performance of the system. To remove this constraint, the potential of solar PV systems have been evaluated using the TRNSYS Simulation Environment and RETSCREEN Simulation Tool to establish performance data for a range of solar PV products and locations. Results show that PV systems have significant potential as stand alone applications in buildings and other application.

[The purpose of this study is to establish what is known regarding BIM implementation in organisa... more [The purpose of this study is to establish what is known regarding BIM implementation in organisational settings. It aims to highlight and explain factors that might affect BIM implementation processes in ACE organisations. Therefore, it also investigates BIM training as a part of that process. The study identifies opportunities for further studies. It reviews existing data on the topic using the systematic literature review method. It utilises 'CIMO logic' to identify studies and analyse the data. This study has a focus on the research published in the last ten years and it includes only peer-reviewed papers and reliable conference material. The literature provides various advice on how can BIM be integrated within Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) organisations. This study investigates solutions with an emphasis on social dimensions, provides a comparison between top-down and bottom-up perspective and investigates solutions to some of the challenges affecting implementation, in particular, communication, motivation and collaboration.] Introduction The literature regarding implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in organisational settings is an important area of present discussions for both academia and people in organisations, those who are willing to implement or develop their BIM working practices. Providing a strict, systematic overview of existing literature suggestions would therefore be beneficial and will be the main aim of this study. There are, in the existing literature: investigated case studies, industry surveys, literature on challenges, opportunities with BIM and some advice on BIM implementation tactics. However, a systematic review is needed to gather practical advice and understand critical factors, main suggestions and relations between them. The process of BIM adoption on its own suggests that it is important to establish what needs to be learned in order to control and measure the BIM implementation process and understand how to integrate BIM to improve organisational performance (Succar and Kassem, 2015, Succar et al., 2013).

The assessment of user acceptance is an important process for understanding user satisfaction and... more The assessment of user acceptance is an important process for understanding user satisfaction and perception of the building. When planning the refurbishment of an existing building it is essential to engage the users on their perception of how the building performs relative to their comfort, health and wellbeing. This important view is often ignored leading to retrofit actions that do not optimise comfort and health of users.

REtrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Edification (RESSEEPE is an EU funded project that focuses on low-energy refurbishment of existing public buildings in three European cities. The aim is to bring together design, decision making tools and manufacturers to improve building performance through low impact retrofitting interventions in order to achieve a 50% reduction in energy consumption. Coventry University as a demo-site integrates a range of technologies to improve the comfort, energy and environmental performance of selected buildings.

The project follows a process of stakeholder engagement and evaluation of user acceptance relative to comfort levels and general management of the buildings, using questionnaires deployed to building users. The factors being investigated include: user characteristics; user experience and comfort factors such as thermal comfort, noise, lighting comfort, indoor air quality and level of control.

The user satisfaction surveys have been deployed before and after all refurbishment works have been completed. The initial survey guided the selection of technologies that can alleviate the level of discomfort identified by users. The pre and post refurbishment surveys will also help in comparative analysis of comfort levels and user satisfaction as an indicator of efficacy of the retrofit intervention measures.

These surveys are an essential part of any refurbishment process not only for understanding user perception, but also for how we can respond to negative changes to improve user comfort, learn from the process followed and use the variables studied for future interventions. The user satisfaction has also proven to be an important tool for post-occupancy survey and tracking changes in user perception over time.

HERITAGE 2016 - Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Conference. Amoêda, R., Lira, S. & Pinheiro, C. (eds.). Barcelos, Portugal: Green Lines Institute for Sustainable Development, p., 2016

The building sector is responsible for nearly 40% of the total energy consumption in Europe. In o... more The building sector is responsible for nearly 40% of the total energy consumption in Europe. In order to achieve substantial impact in terms of energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, renovation and retrofitting of existing buildings becomes a very important challenge in both domestic and non‐domestic building sectors. Retrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings (RESSEEPE) is an EU funded project which aims to bring together design and decision making tools, innovative building fabric manufacturers and a program to demonstrate the improved building performance achievable through the retrofit of existing buildings at a district level. The RESSEEPE framework is being validated by a strong demonstration programme, envisaging the renovation of 102,000 square metres of public buildings. The core idea of the project is to technically advance, adapt, demonstrate and assess a number of innovative retrofit technologies implemented on several pilot cases with different climate conditions across Europe (Coventry‐UK, Barcelona‐Spain and Skellefteå‐Sweden) to ensure a high potential replication of the retrofit solutions. The three demonstrations sites are involved as the main promoters of a very ambitious district level renovation action to demonstrate a systemic approach to technology installation and evaluation, taking into account the benefits of a set of technologies, which properly combined in terms of cost effectiveness and energy performance could achieve reductions around 50% in terms of energy consumption. This paper is an overview of the process and of the challenges that Coventry University faced in this low carbon refurbishment. The main focus is the prioritization of the buildings to be refurbished and analysis of the processes involved in making refurbishment decisions. The building selection such as the building typology and energy benchmarking is explained. The process of making decisions about procurement, technology and alignment with local strategy is described and evaluated. A systemic process is also being implemented that will allow the selection of the best possible retrofitting mix, customized to the needs of the particular building.

Energy consumption in domestic buildings is up to 30% of total energy consumption in the UK, whil... more Energy consumption in domestic buildings is up to 30% of total energy consumption in the UK, while the total energy consumption in buildings has steadily increased over the years reaching about 40% of total energy consumption in UK and Europe. It is therefore essential to reduce energy consumed in buildings, which is one of the major priorities of the EU Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD). The necessity of improving the energy efficiency of the built environment resulted in the development of various techniques of better usage and conservation of energy in buildings. In recent years there is evidence of wide gap between predicted and actual energy consumption of buildings, this difference can be reduced through better commissioning, monitoring, targeting and evaluation of building performance in use.

This paper presents result of post occupancy evaluation of a newly constructed domestic house built to passivhaus principles. The project is funded by Technology Strategy Board as part of the domestic tranche of Building Performance Evaluation projects aimed at reducing building performance gap. The building consists of highly insulated innovative twin wall timber frame with low thermal bridging, triple glazing and low air permeability. The cooling and heating system include MVHR system with earth-duct pre-heating/pre cooling, thermal store linked to log burning stove and solar thermal system with optimum start control. The performance evaluation is carried out using robust experimental energy and environmental monitoring of the building and building systems. Wide range of diagnostic tools such as co-heating test, infra-red thermographic survey and airtightness tests have been used to identify areas of thermal weakness in the building fabric. The performance of this building has been compared with initial design intent. Initial results of in-sutu building fabric test show similarity with the design intent, however the system approach used to meet thermal energy requirement is not performing as intended mainly as a result of poor control and lower efficiency than specifies by manufacturers. The result of the study provides some insight into possible causes building performance gap.

This book illustrates experiences in the RESSEEPE project and serves as guidance to apply the met... more This book illustrates experiences in the RESSEEPE project and serves as guidance to apply the methodology of refurbishment developed within RESSEEPE