Dr Alejandro Moreno-Rangel

Lecturer

Architecture

Contact

Personal statement

Alejandro is the Director of Technology Studies (UG & PG) & Lecturer in Building Performance Evaluation and Net Zero Design. Alejandro’s main research interests are sustainable architecture and the indoor environment – indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort –, particularly Passivhaus buildings. Ultimately, the connections between sustainable architecture to health and human behaviours to create healthy homes through design research methods. Recently, Alejandro has developed an interest in using low-cost sensors as research tools and their effect on residential behaviour, design, and human health & well-being. Alejandro is also a certified Passivhaus Designer.

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Publications

EG-ICE 2025 : AI-Driven Collaboration for Sustainable and Resilient Built Environments Conference Proceedings
Moreno-Rangel Alejandro, Kumar Bimal
(2025)
https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00093315
Optimising environmental sensor placement in residential settings : evaluating the Ei1025 for accurate indoor air quality monitoring
Farooq Muhammad Zaeem, Moreno-Rangel Alejandro, Nistor Silviu, Sharpe Tim, Sirimanne Praveen
EG-ICE 2025 EG-ICE 2025: International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering (2025)
https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00093297
Net zero housing design in practice : evaluating infrared heating in Passivhaus
Moreno-Rangel Alejandro, Maguire Kirsty, Yong Tan Jia
EG-ICE 2025 EG-ICE 2025: International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering (2025)
https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00093285
Integrating intelligent computing for optimized vertical farming systems in arid climates : a case study on wheat production in Algeria
Hallas Nour Elhouda, Moreno-Rangel Alejandro
EG-ICE 2025 EG-ICE 2025: International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering (2025)
https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00093272
Ten questions concerning the future of residential indoor air quality and its environmental justice implications
Booker Douglas, Petrou Giorgios, Chatzidiakoud L, Darpan Das, Farooq Faisal, Ferguson L, Jutila OE, Milczewska Kaja, Modlich Manlina, Moreno-Rangel Alejandro, Thakrar S, Yeoman A, Davies M, Mead MI, Miller Mark, Wild OE, Shi Z, Mavrogianni Anna, Doherty R
Building and Environment Vol 278 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2025.112957
Impact of indoor environmental quality on health and wellbeing in a warming climate
Al-Khatri Hanan, González Lezcano Roberto Alonso, Toledo Linda, Moreno-Rangel Alejandro
Building Research and Information Vol 53, pp. 1-2 (2025)
https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2025.2460001

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Research Interests

Alejandro’s main research interests are net zero buildings, particularly Passivhaus homes, and its connections to health, urban and human behaviours. Through this, Alejandro explores the architectural design, energy efficiency methods, passive techniques and their impact on the indoor environment – indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort–, particularly in homes and their relation to the urban environment to create healthy homes. Architecture has well responded to climate change mitigating the effects of the built environment. However, its impact on health is usually left aside. Alejandro’s approach to architectural design seeks to improve the quality of life for all citizens in an ageing society, delivering sustainable interventions that take a “whole house” approach. Alejandro’s research uses design research methods to explore the interactions between resident behaviours and the built environment to deliver healthier indoor environments, considering the impact of bio-psychological-social aspects of health, climate change impacts, and energy efficiency methods interactions. Alejandro’s research interests also extend to the use of low-cost sensors as research tools and the effect that they could have on residential behaviour, design and human health & well-being.

Professional Activities

GEMINOA Project - Impact & Insights Workshop
Participant
25/4/2025
Indoor Air Quality engagement event with children
Recipient
15/1/2025
Scotland’s response to COP29: A call to action
Invited speaker
10/12/2024
Meet the Expert - See your Indoor Air Quality
Host
9/11/2024
Electric Wallpaper TV news
Recipient
17/10/2024
2024 Clean Air Conference
Participant
2/10/2024

More professional activities

Projects

Human-Centric, Healthy, Net-Zero Housing and the Role of Digitisation
McGill, Grainne (Principal Investigator) Dragojlovic-Oliveira, Sonja (Co-investigator) Moreno-Rangel, Alejandro (Co-investigator)
02-Jan-2024 - 02-Jan-2025
Optimising Environmental Sensor Placement in Residential Settings: AICO Ei1025 Environmental Sensors
Moreno-Rangel, Alejandro (Principal Investigator) Sharpe, Tim (Co-investigator) Farooq, Muhammad Zaeem (Researcher)
The project will involve conducting real-world experiments and statistical analysis. To achieve this, multiple sensors will be placed strategically within a controlled residential room environment in the living room, bedroom and kitchen for one week at a time in each room. A maximum of 22 sensors (5 ceiling, 1 centre of the room and 16 walls) will be placed in each room. A maximum of 4 dwellings will be targeted. The data collected from these sensors will be analysed to identify trends and discrepancies in environmental readings based on the sensor's location. The monitoring would be carried out during a 3 to 4 week period within an agreed seasonal period.
01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2025
Electric Wallpaper Evaluation via Cyber-Physical Systems for Clean Heating: A Pilot Study
Taha, Ahmad (Principal Investigator) Moreno-Rangel, Alejandro (Principal Investigator)
The UK's homes are among the oldest in the world and the worst insulated in Europe, which contributes to their high carbon footprint. The average UK home loses heat three times faster than, e.g., a German property. Heating in homes and buildings is a major contributor to carbon emissions in Scotland and the UK. In the UK, heating accounts for about 37% of the total carbon emissions, with three quarters of that coming from homes. In Scotland, occupied buildings account for 13% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions, and around 30% of its total energy consumption. Gas central heating is the most common type of heating in Scotland, with 84% of households using a gas or oil boiler as their primary source of heat. Mains gas is the most common fossil fuel used for heating homes. However, more than one million homes in Scotland are not connected to the gas grid and use electric heating or other alternative fuels. The Scottish New Build Heat Standard (NBHS) requires new buildings and limited conversions that apply for a building warrant from April 1, 2024, to use climate-friendly heating systems.
Electric Wallpaper (EWP) is gaining significant attention as an innovative replacement to gas central heating, Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP), and alternative clean heating mechanisms. West of Scotland Housing Association (WSHA) are piloting the use of NexGen EWP technology in 12 tenemental properties to test the effectiveness of this innovative new clean heating product. This project therefore aims to conduct a pilot study to evaluate the performance of EWP technology in pre 1919 tenements in Glasgow using cutting edge monitoring technology empowered by the Internet-of-Things and AI-enabled data analytics. Data will be collected via a smart sensor system from 12 tenemental properties, owned by WSHA, that already have EWP installed and advanced analytics and forecasting will be applied to generate insights on heating levels, heat retention, and energy consumption taking into account tenants’ comfort level and feedback.
01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2025
Low Carbon Passport Programme
McElroy, Lori (Principal Investigator) Moreno-Rangel, Alejandro (Co-investigator)
15-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2025
U-value in situ test - Old Shettleston tenement buildings
Moreno-Rangel, Alejandro (Principal Investigator)
01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2024
An integrated typology-based approach to guide the future development of European historic buildings towards a clean energy transition (FuturHist)
Sharpe, Tim (Principal Investigator) Gonzalez-Longo, Cristina (Co-investigator) McElroy, Lori (Co-investigator) Moreno-Rangel, Alejandro (Co-investigator) Farooq, Muhammad Zaeem (Researcher)
01-Jan-2024 - 31-Jan-2027

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Contact

Dr Alejandro Moreno-Rangel
Lecturer
Architecture

Email: alejandro.moreno-rangel@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 3995