Exergetic approach to the understanding of built environment—state‐of‐the‐art review

Abstract

Abstract Exergy is a thermodynamic concept that allows us to articulate what is consumed and where it occurs in a working system. This paper provides an overview of the present state‐of‐the‐art of exergy research done by the author over the last 3 decades. In this paper, first, a brief introduction of warm and cool exergy concepts as quantities of state and flow, which can be rationally derived from the 2 fundamental laws of thermodynamics, is presented. Then, 3 typical applications are demonstrated: (a) exergetic evaluation of window systems with shading devices; (b) human body exergy analysis for summer seasons; and (c) exergetic evaluation of a heat‐pump system. Thorough and connective thinking with the concept of exergy helps us understand the essential points in environmental planning and design of the built environment.

Keywords

• building envelopes
• exergy
• heat pumps
• human body
• thermodynamics