My Work

Research Projects

GreenBuild: Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) Design/Build in Central PA

Rendering Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

During Construction, March 2018 Credit: Stephanie Swindle Thomas / Penn State. Creative Commons

(Image source: this image is captured from EEHR website, https://sites.psu.edu/eehr/projects/greenbuild/)

Since 2013, EEHR has partnered with the State College Community Land Trust (SCCLT) to develop a design for a zero-energy ready duplex (two attached homes) at 1394 University Drive. The project was used for the site of the 2015 Penn State Race to Zero design competition submission. Over the past three years, EEHR has engaged in community design charrettes, meetings between the SCCLT and local builders, and internal design reviews to develop a highly-researched home that optimizes energy efficiency, health, durability, affordability, and constructability with local labor.

In this project, I work with my advisor and am involved in the post-occupancy evaluation of this project, comparing actual energy usage and production to computer-generated models, understanding how people use the homes, and understanding the performance and durability of the home.

Westminster Place at Windy Hill Village

a Presbyterian Senior Living Communities, Buildings share a similar layout and are oriented the same.

Conventional construction apartment is three stories tall and has 36 units(one and two-bedroom apartments). It was completed in approximately 2005 and is 8 years into the 15-year LIHTC cycle. The Passive House construction was completed as a 2015-cycle LIHTC project. The passive building has four (4) stories. There are 48 apartments between 580 and 897 square feet.

(Sources: images are took from project site by team members.)

(Sources: made by team members.)

Passive House (PH) is a voluntary standard for improving the energy efficiency of buildings. The objective is to reduce the building energy demand using a high-performance enclosure (envelope) and efficient ventilation to reduce heat gains and losses. This research develops a holistic approach for the simultaneous understanding of how cost, IAQ, and energy use are different in a PH building compared to a conventional building using a case study, and how the results can be interpreted and replicated to be used in future developments of PH buildings in different climates and economic conditions in the United States.

In this project, I work with my advisor and the project team and help with the IAQ data comparison of the PH building and conventional building to understand how IAQ is different in a PH building compared to a conventional building.

Research and Creative Accomplishments

Publications

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Jie Li; Qichao Ban; Xueming Chen; Jiawei Yao. Glazing Sizing in Large Atrium Buildings: A Perspective of Balancing Daylight Quantity and Visual Comfort. Energies. 2019, 12, 701.

BAN Qichao; CHEN Bing; KANG Jian; Stephen SHARPLES; LI Jie; User Behavior Information Management and Design Quality Optimization of the Built Environment. Building Science. 2018, 34(6): 74-81.

Peer-reviewed Conference Papers

Jie Li; Xueming Chen; Qichao Ban; Zhiyuan Chen; Pang Wang. A Study on Bim-Based Green Building Collaborative Design and Information Platform. 2018 Paper Collection of International Conference on Green and Energy-Efficient Building. 2018.

Jie Li; Xueming Chen; Qichao Ban; Jiawei Yao. Optimisation of skylight sizing in commercial atrium based on both illuminance and visual comfort; Proceedings of 9th edition of the international SOLARIS conference. 2018, 8.

J. W. Yao; F. YANG; Z. ZHUANG; Y. H. Shao; Q. C. Ban; J. Li; F. Yuan. Outdoor Natural Ventilation and Construction Sequence based Urban Planning Strategies in Extended District of Lujiazui CBD, Shanghai; 4th International Conference On Building Energy, Environment. 2018.

Thesis

Jie Li. Comparison of Building Refurbishment solutions in German, UK and Chinese standards for existing low performing UK domestic house. MS Dissertation, University of Nottingham. 2012, 9.

Invitations to Speak

Jie Li; Xueming Chen; Qichao Ban; Jiawei Yao. “Optimisation of skylight sizing in commercial atrium based on both illuminance and visual comfort” (Presented at Chengdu, China, “The 9th Edition of the International SOLARIS Conference” 29-31 August 2018).

Proposals, Posters, Exhibitions, and Presentations

Proposals

Li, Jie (Student Author - Graduate Student). “Examining Building Energy Performance Gap Between Predicted Value and Actual Use.” 1st Doctoral Committee Meeting. State College, PA, USA, Completed. (May 12, 2022).

Research Exhibitions

Li, Jie (Student Author - Graduate Student). “Attain building energy efficiency in real life rather than in virtual computer models: examining the energy performance gap between the predicted value and the actual used value.” 37th Annual Graduate Exhibition of Penn State. State College, PA, USA, Second place winner. (Mar 22, 2022 - Mar 25, 2022).

Posters

Li, Jie (Student Author - Graduate Student). “Examining Building Energy Performance Gap Between Predicted Value and Actual Use.” Penn State Energy Days 2022. State College, PA, USA, Accepted. (May 25, 2022 - May 26, 2022).

Li, Jie (Student Author - Graduate Student). “Examining the relationship between design features and the actual performance of buildings designed and constructed under energy efficiency standards.” 2021 Stuckeman Research Open House. State College, PA, USA, Accepted. (Sep 23, 2021 – Sep 24, 2021).

Presentations

Li, Jie (Student Author - Graduate Student). “Examining the relationship between design features and the actual performance for buildings designed and constructed under energy efficiency standards.” 2021-2022 Stuckeman School PhD Colloquium. State College, PA, USA. (Oct 28, 2021).