sustainability

Article
Web of Science Scientometrics on the Energy Efficiency of
Buildings to Support Sustainable Construction Policies
Constantin C. Bungau 1 , Francesca Ioana Hanga Prada 1,2, *, Tudor Bungau 3 , Constantin Bungau 4,5, * ,
Gabriel Bendea 6 and Marcela Florina Prada 1

1 Department of Architecture and Constructions, Faculty of Constructions, Cadaster and Architecture,

University of Oradea, 410058 Oradea, Romania; [email protected] (C.C.B.);
[email protected] (M.F.P.)
2 Doctoral School, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
3 Civil, Industrial and Agricultural Constructions Program of Study, Faculty of Constructions, Cadastre and
Architecture, University of Oradea, 410058 Oradea, Romania; [email protected]
4 Doctoral School of Engineering Sciences, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania
5 Department of Engineering and Management, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania
6 Department of Energy Engineering, Faculty of Energy Engineering and Industrial Management, University of
Oradea, 410058 Oradea, Romania; [email protected]
* Correspondence: [email protected] (F.I.H.P.); [email protected] (C.B.)

Abstract: A variety of strategies intended to support environmentally friendly and resource-efficient

building processes comprise sustainable construction policies. The limited number of bibliometric
analyses in the field may hinder the ability to assess the efficacy and impact of research efforts,
impede the potential for collaboration, and even limit the dissemination of best practices. Therefore,
the present study aims to analyze the impact of published data on the topic of energy efficiency of
buildings using the Web of Science core collection database. We perform a bibliometric analysis and
science mapping research that assesses significant parameters for the field. A total of 28,555 papers
were analyzed using the VOSviewer program. The data was divided into two periods to determine
the evolution of trends in this field. The most prolific countries in this field were China, the United
Citation: Bungau, C.C.; Hanga Prada, States, and England. Following the analysis of the collaboration maps, it was determined that there is
F.I.; Bungau, T.; Bungau, C.; Bendea, a strong collaborative relationship between these countries in the development of papers. The most
G.; Prada, M.F. Web of Science prolific papers of the first period were published in Energy Policy and Energy and Buildings, which also
Scientometrics on the Energy ranked first in the second period, followed by Energies. It was observed that the most frequent terms
Efficiency of Buildings to Support used in literature searches in the field differ according to the periods analyzed. In the beginning, the
Sustainable Construction Policies.
most frequent term was “energy efficiency and performance”, and between 2011 and 2023, the terms
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772.
“applied energy” and “renewable and sustainable energy” increased considerably with technological
https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118772
development. The results of this research demonstrate the significant and expanding scientific interest
Academic Editor: Thanikanti in this area and serve as a valuable asset for researchers studying the energy efficiency of buildings.
Sudhakar Babu

Keywords: building envelope; building management system; energy efficiency; renewable energy
Received: 28 April 2023
Revised: 24 May 2023
sources; scientometrics; sustainable construction; Web of Science; zero energy building
Accepted: 26 May 2023
Published: 29 May 2023

1. Introduction
In recent years, energy demand and energy consumption have grown rapidly as a
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
result of the ever-increasing needs of humankind in relation to the economy, industries
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
and agriculture. Depending on the region, global warming/cooling is occurring, and
This article is an open access article
the seasons are extremely variable due to climate change. These changes are leading to
distributed under the terms and
significant lifestyle changes, including trends towards a healthy built environment [1,2]. It
conditions of the Creative Commons
is undeniably true that increases in energy consumption are driven by the intrinsic structure
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
of the economy, and these trends in integrating the economy into the European context
4.0/).

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Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 2 of 27

lead to the need to adapt the national legislation of European countries to European energy
efficiency legislation and policies [3].
Existing buildings are responsible for up to 40% of final energy consumption, but
especially for a significant percentage of greenhouse gas emissions of CO2 [4]. Therefore,
constructions and their energy efficiency through innovative solutions [5] have become
a point of interest for the European Union, focusing on current and future trends and
concerns. For the period until 2050 [6], Europe will be focused on climate neutrality and
the decarbonization of the construction sector. This change is of great interest, and it can
be observed that a real revolution is taking place in this direction [7], in conjunction with
the existing path towards digitization [8]. In this context, the approaches to planning
new buildings are different compared with those for existing buildings, with the results
converging towards the same objective, namely that of energy efficiency. When planning
and developing sustainable buildings, numerous financial, cultural, and environmental
factors are considered, as well as their influence on the adjacent ecosystem. Implementation
at a practical level requires the active participatory collaboration of the most important
stakeholders in the field, including governments, universities, professional organizations,
and private industry [9].
In the case of new buildings, the general concern is achieving nearly zero energy
buildings (NZEB), which are buildings with a high energy performance and extremely low
overall energy consumption; the objective may even be to achieve zero energy buildings
(ZEB) [10,11]. Moreover, buildings are frequently referred to as “consumers”, but the
tendency is for them to be “prosumers” (both producers and consumers of energy from
renewable sources—sun and wind) and supply generated energy to the network (the
surplus of the generated energy in addition to that consumed) [12]. This can be achieved
in the case of SMART constructions that aim for suitable design of buildings, ensuring
that energy losses are almost zero and that appropriate equipment is installed. Such
constructions have become both a necessity and a requirement of SMART cities [13,14].
The suitable design of such buildings refers to both efficient insulation and the correct
approach to the building envelope in relation to the shape, surface and stratification. The
envelope of the building is its enclosing surface, which delimits the interior spaces from
the exterior ones, and therefore, the heated from the unheated volumes. (It is the surface
that delimits the building and through which the thermal transfer takes place.) The more
efficient the building envelope, the lower the heat loss [15,16].
Providing the building with high-performance equipment is mandatory for both
NZEB and “prosumer” constructions. This includes, on the one hand, equipment for
the provision of utilities to produce heating/cooling of the environment and domestic
hot water, ventilation equipment (with heat recovery), lighting, shading equipment, and
appliances, etc. On the other hand, moving to a superior design, the building is provided
with equipment that, based on the technology of their design and operation, produces
energy. Renewable energy is based on non-fossil sources (i.e., wind, solar, aerothermal,
geothermal, hydrothermal, ocean/hydropower, biomass, waste gas/biogas, wastewater
treatment) [17–19]. In contrast, energy from non-renewable sources is obtained from
resources that are depleted by exploitation (such as energy from fossil fuels) [20]. Energy
can be either consumed in real time, stored in energy storage batteries (to be thus usable
long after its production), or can be supplied to the network.
Another category of equipment is that used for monitoring, control, and controlled
operation of all equipment in the building for environmental comfort, security and safety.
Such equipment is known as a building management system or building monitoring system
(BMS) [21] and ensures efficient operation of the building, specific to SMART buildings.
In the case of existing buildings, the general concern is their thermal and energy
efficiency. This is addressed by rehabilitating building envelopes using suitably arranged,
thermally performant materials and working with the existing envelope elements, either
maintaining them or replacing the existing elements [22]. The energy efficiency of existing
buildings involves the rehabilitation of the systems adding utilities or upgrading of these
 Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 29
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 3 of 27

buildings involves the rehabilitation of the systems adding utilities or upgrading of these
systems
systems toto provide
provide the building with
the building with new
newequipment
equipmentin inaaunified
unifiedefficient
efficientdesign,
design,possibly
possibly
with
with energy production equipment (preferably using renewable sources). The nextstep
energy production equipment (preferably using renewable sources). The next stepof
efficiency is the monitoring and control of the existing equipment and
of efficiency is the monitoring and control of the existing equipment and the comfort pro- the comfort provided
(indoor climate)
vided (indoor with monitoring
climate) and control
with monitoring equipment,
and control a BMSa[21].
equipment, BMS [21].
Depending on the particular objective and nature
Depending on the particular objective and nature of the study, of the study,thethecritical
criticalparameters
parameters
in the context of the energy efficiency of buildings can vary. Architecture,
in the context of the energy efficiency of buildings can vary. Architecture, insulation, and insulation, and
building
building envelope
envelope materials
materials havehave an
an important
importanteffecteffectononenergy
energyefficiency.
efficiency.Factors
Factorssuchsuchasas
thermal
thermal efficiency
efficiencyand andair airpermeability
permeabilityplay playananessential
essential role when
role when assessing
assessingthethebuilding’s
build-
overall energyenergy
ing’s overall performance [23]. The
performance [23].heating, ventilation,
The heating, and air
ventilation, and conditioning systems
air conditioning sys-of
buildings are significant energy consumers. System effectiveness,
tems of buildings are significant energy consumers. System effectiveness, maintenance, maintenance, sizing, and
control practices are a few examples of factors that can have a significant
sizing, and control practices are a few examples of factors that can have a significant im- impact on energy
efficiency [24]. efficiency [24].
pact on energy
The
The efficacy of
efficacy of lighting
lightingsystems
systemshas hasaadirect
directeffect
effecton onenergy
energyconsumption.
consumption.InInbuilding
build-
structures, energy
ing structures, efficiency
energy is affected
efficiency by illumination
is affected technologies,
by illumination management
technologies, systems,
management
daylighting approaches,
systems, daylighting and illumination
approaches, levels [25].
and illumination levels Utilizing sources
[25]. Utilizing of renewable
sources of renew- en-
ergy, such as solar photovoltaic systems, can help improve energy
able energy, such as solar photovoltaic systems, can help improve energy efficiency. Im- efficiency. Important
considerations include include
portant considerations the capacity of renewable
the capacity energyenergy
of renewable systems, their integration
systems, within
their integration
the building’s energy infrastructure, and their general efficiency
within the building’s energy infrastructure, and their general efficiency [26]. [26].
Occupant
Occupant behavior,
behavior,occupancy
occupancytrends,trends,andanduseruser
participation in energy-efficient
participation in energy-efficient strate-
gies can all have a significant impact on energy consumption. Relevant
strategies can all have a significant impact on energy consumption. Relevant variables in- variables include
occupant behavior
clude occupant characteristics
behavior such such
characteristics as inhabitant density,
as inhabitant utilization
density, structures,
utilization and
structures,
knowledge
and knowledge of energy-efficiency
of energy-efficiency measures
measures[27].[27].
ForFora comprehensive
a comprehensive knowledge
knowledge of of
en-
ergy efficiency, it is essential to consider the entire life cycle of a structure
energy efficiency, it is essential to consider the entire life cycle of a structure from con- from construc-
tion to operation
struction to operationto eventual
to eventualdemolition.
demolition. ForFor
a comprehensive
a comprehensive evaluation,
evaluation, parameters
parame-
such as embodied energy, operational electricity consumption,
ters such as embodied energy, operational electricity consumption, and end-of-life and end-of-life aspects are
aspects
essential [28].
are essential [28].
The
The main
main factors describing the
factors describing the energy
energy consumption
consumptionofofaabuildingbuildingand andthetheenergy
energy
performance indicators are summarized
performance indicators are summarized in Figure 1. in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Main factors describing the energy consumption of a building and the energy performance
indicators. A–G energy rating scale.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 4 of 27

Analyzing the development potential of the study topic, as well as some of the current
unmet needs in terms of bibliometric analysis and mapping studies focused on subfields,
led to the establishment of the objectives of the present study:
• To identify bibliographic resources in the published scientific literature in the field
of energy efficiency and analyze the impact of already published data on the topic,
classified according to Web of Science (WoS) domains;
• To contribute in a new and unique way to revealing the importance of this field by
centralizing the most prolific journals, collaborative networks, publications etc.;
• To highlight and rank the most prolific/important authors, journals, and countries by
time intervals to better assess scientific trends;
• To open up new possibilities for collaboration between authors;
• To provide a conceptual overview of the research topics and practical approaches
for future authors to target different journals, topics, publications, and collaborative
networks;
• To highlight the most frequently cited articles so that the most significant data can be
retrieved more rapidly and precisely;
• To demonstrate the rapidly rising interest in energy efficiency;
• To provide time-saving tools for researchers interested in the topic by performing a
visualization and bibliometric analysis of the available research on renewable energy.
Future researchers can, therefore, approach the most prominent journals, as well as
the most relevant authors in the domain of energy efficient buildings, by observing the
current work. The novelty of this topical approach resides in the fact that our research
topic is less focused on science mapping and analysis than such studies in other scientific
areas (i.e., economics, chemical compounds, medicine). Instead, we provide a complex
bibliometric analysis showing the increasing trend of studies in this field concomitant
with technological development. Moreover, the present paper addresses in a distinct
and targeted way, the field of energy efficiency in buildings because the field of energy
efficiency in general is much broader. Therefore, the results of the present research will
provide a clearer understanding of the evolution of energy efficiency within the framework
of sustainable construction and considering the context of the most recent national and
international energy regulations and policies.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Web of Science Search and Filter Algorithm
Due to the advantages offered by WoS in terms of filtering and export possibilities, as
well as the validity of the articles indexed in this database, it was selected for the present
bibliometric analysis. Figure 2 shows the search algorithm in WoS, with the Boolean OR
operator maximizing the number of results provided by the database. The papers that were
identified were written in a total of 25 different languages, with the majority of the papers
being written in English. Other languages identified in higher proportions were Spanish
and German, and the rest of the languages presented fewer than 300 papers in total. The
present study includes original research articles and review articles written in English, thus
limiting the number of papers to 28,555.
Figure 3 depicts the classification made by WoS in terms of fields. The remaining
categories were assigned fewer than 6000 papers.

2.2. Algorithm Analysis and Explanatory Detailing of Graphical Elements

The papers required for this study were downloaded using the Export function avail-
able in the WoS interface. They were downloaded in tab-delimited file format, and the
“Record count” was selected as “Full Record and Cited References”.
Dividing the analysis into two periods enables a clearer understanding the evolution
of the research field over time, which is in close correlation with the development of
technology. The first period covers articles from 1978 to 2010, and the second period
covers data from 2011 to 2023. For each period the following datasets were analyzed:
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 5 of 27

Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 29

most productive charges in the field, most prolific journals, citation analysis of publication
in the evaluated period, analysis of most productive organizations, and most prolific
research areas. In addition to these analyses, the science mapping studies focused on
co-authorship by country, the average year of publication of source and citation maps,
and term maps and network maps of term co-occurrence. These were performed using
VOSviewer version 1.6.19. [29].

Figure 2. Flow diagram showing the search and sorting algorithm. building*, symbol used to find
also the results containing the term buildings.

Figure 3 depicts the classification made by WoS in terms of fields. The remaining
categories were assigned fewer than 6000 papers.
Figure 2. Flow diagram showing the search and sorting algorithm. building*, symbol used to find
also the results containing the term buildings.

Figure 3. 3-D stacked bar chart of the top 10 WoS categories.

Figure 3. 3-D stacked bar chart of the top 10 WoS categories.
On the network map of the co-authorship by country, the color indicates the cluster
in which the respective country is located. Countries that have stronger collaborative
links are represented closer together on the map. The size of the node/bubble is directly
proportional to the number of articles published, and the thickness of a line connecting two
bubbles/nodes is directly proportional to the degree of collaboration between the countries.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 6 of 27

For the bubble map of the average publication year, the color of the bubble indicates
the average year of publication of the articles in the respective journal. The years are
represented as year.decimal, where the decimal represents a fraction of the year. In the case
of the citation network maps, the size of the bubble is directly proportional to the number
of papers published by the respective journal, and the color of the bubble represents the
cluster in which the respective journal is distributed. Typically, journals that are in the same
cluster and are closer to each other in the graphical representation contain papers that often
cite each other. The thickness of a line connecting two bubbles is directly proportional to
the degree of citation between the two journals.
In the bubble map of high-frequency terms, the color of the bubble is influenced by
the average citation/paper and the size of the bubble is directly proportional to the number
of occurrences of that word. In the case of the network map of term co-occurrence, the size
of the bubble is directly proportional to the number of occurrences of the respective word,
and the color of the bubble indicates the cluster in which the word is embedded; usually,
words that occur more often in the same article are grouped in a cluster. The thickness of
a line linking two words is directly proportional to the degree of co-occurrence of these
words in an article.

3. Results
3.1. Period 1978–2010
3.1.1. Evaluation of the Most Productive Countries in the Field
Researchers from a total of 90 countries have written papers that fit the search terms
presented above. Moreover, 41 (45.55%) have had at least 10 papers published. The most
prolific country was the United States, with 518 (22.02%) published papers and a total of
34,422 citations. Although Canada ranks 6th in terms of the number of papers published, it
stands out with a high average citation/manuscript, indicating that papers published by
authors from this country had a high impact. Table 1 details the top 10 countries in terms
of the number of papers published.

Table 1. Top 10 prolific countries in the field of energy efficiency (period 1978–2010).

Average Citation/
Country Papers Citations TLS
Manuscript
United States 518 34,422 66.45 147
China 223 11,457 51.38 66
England 213 16,142 75.78 83
Germany 103 7160 69.51 77
Sweden 93 6416 68.99 41
Canada 93 9259 99.56 32
The Netherlands 90 4506 50.07 47
Italy 69 4227 61.26 41
France 66 4669 70.74 51
TLS, total link strength value attributed by VOSviewer.

3.1.2. Assessment of the Most Prolific Journals in the Field

During this period, 557 journals were identified that published at least one paper in
the evaluated field. Of these journals, 29 (5.20%) had at least 10 papers published. The
most prolific journal was Energy Policy with 415 (17.64% of the total) papers published. This
journal has an impact factor (IF) of 7576, or 7014 without self-citations, and on average,
each paper had 60.59 citations, indicating that papers published in this journal have had a
significant impact in this field. The second journal in terms of number of papers published
was Energy and Buildings. This journal published 179 (7.61%) papers (a significant difference
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 7 of 27

from Energy Policy with 415 papers published) and has an IF of 7201 or 6147 if self-citations
are excluded. Table 2 details the most prolific journals in this period, and Figure 4 shows
the journals with at least 10 papers published.

Table 2. Top 10 prolific journals in the field of energy efficiency (period 1978–2010).

Average Citation/ Impact IF without

Source No. Citations Publisher
Paper Factor/2021 Self-Citations
Energy Policy 415 25,146 60.59 7.576 7.014 Elsevier
Energy and Buildings 179 14,259 79.66 7.201 6.147 Elsevier
Renewable
122 1854 15.20 8.634 7.711 Pergamon-Elsevier
Energy
Energy 103 4619 44.84 8.857 7.271 Pergamon-Elsevier
Building and
66 3432 52.00 7.093 5.741 Pergamon-Elsevier
Environment
Energy
Conversion and 66 3395 51.44 11.533 9.932 Pergamon-Elsevier
Management
Applied
55 2822 51.31 11.446 10.305 Elsevier
Energy
Energy
46 2090 45.43 3.134 2.890 Springer
Efficiency
Sustainability
Renewable 2023,
and15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 8 of 29
Sustainable Energy 42 6482 154.33 16.799 15.532 Pergamon-Elsevier
Reviews
Building
Research and In- Routledge Journals,
Research and 41 2195 60.59 4.799 4.483
formation Taylor and Francis Ltd.
Information

Figure 4. The
Figure4. The most
most prolific
prolific journals
journals (at
(at least
least 18
18 published
published documents)
documents) among
among journals
journalsin
inthe
the field
field of
of
energy
energyefficiency
efficiency(period
(period1978–2010).
1978–2010).

3.1.3. Citation Analysis of Publications in the Evaluated Period

A total of 2352 papers were published during the period under examination. The top
10 most cited papers of this period that fell within the search terms are shown in Table 3.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 8 of 27

3.1.3. Citation Analysis of Publications in the Evaluated Period

A total of 2352 papers were published during the period under examination. The top
10 most cited papers of this period that fell within the search terms are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. The most influential manuscripts in the field of energy efficiency (period 1978–2010).

First Author
Title Journal Impact Factor Citations Ref.
(Year)
Perez-Lombard A review on buildings energy
Energy and Buildings 7.201 3701 [30]
(2008) consumption information
Energy storage Renewable and
Ibrahim, H.
systems—Characteristics and Sustainable Energy 16.799 1325 [31]
(2008)
comparisons Reviews
Granqvist, Claes G. Transparent conductors as solar energy Solar Energy Materials
7.305 1231 [32]
(2007) materials: A panoramic review and Solar Cells
Modeling of end-use energy Renewable and
Swan, LG
consumption in the residential sector: Sustainable Energy 16.799 1133 [33]
(2009)
A review of modeling techniques Reviews
Energy efficiency and
Greening, LA
consumption—the rebound effect—a Energy Policy 7.576 1125 [34]
(2000)
survey
Fuel processing for low-temperature
and high-temperature fuel
Song, CS
cells—Challenges, and opportunities Catalysis Today 6.562 950 [35]
(2002)
for sustainable development in the 21st
century
Jones, AP Atmospheric
Indoor air quality and health 5.755 935 [36]
(1999) Environment
Renewable and
Omer, AM Energy, environment and sustainable
Sustainable Energy 16.799 922 [37]
(2008) development
Reviews
Review and comparison of nanofluid
Yu, Wenhua Heat Transfer
thermal conductivity and heat transfer 2.431 858 [38]
(2008) Engineering
enhancements
Proceedings of the
Household actions can provide a
National Academy of
Dietz, T behavioral wedge to rapidly reduce US 12.779 843 [39]
Sciences of The United
carbon emissions
States of America

The first ranked article, “A review on buildings energy consumption information”, was
published by Perez-Lombard in 2008 in the journal Energy and Buildings, which has an IF of
7.201. This article received the highest number of citations in this period (3701). The second
article in terms of number of citations (1325), “Energy storage systems—Characteristics and
comparisons”, was published by Ibrahim H. in 2008 in the journal Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews, which has an IF of 16,799.

3.1.4. Bibliometric Analysis of the Most Active Organizations in the Field

A total of 1623 affiliations were identified for papers published during this period. The
most active organization was the United States Department of Energy with 202 published
papers (8.59% of the total), followed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory with 137
(5.82%) published papers, and University of California System with 132 (5.61%) published
papers (Table 4).
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 9 of 27

Table 4. The most active organizations in the field of energy efficiency (period 1978–2010).

Organization Papers %
United States Department of Energy (DOE) 202 8.59
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 137 5.82
University of California System 132 5.61
University of California Berkeley 105 4.46
Hong Kong Polytechnic University 37 1.57
Tsinghua University 31 1.32
Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain 29 1.23
Utrecht University 27 1.15
Lund University 26 1.10
Oak Ridge National Laboratory 26 1.10
Chongqing University 22 0.93
City University of Hong Kong 21 0.89
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft 21 0.89
University of Cambridge 20 0.85

Most Prolific Research Areas

The papers were classified by WoS into 74 categories. Figure 5 shows the categories
in which
Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW most of the papers were classified. The category with the most articles10(1271)
of 29
was “Energy Fuels”, followed by the category “Environmental Sciences Ecology” with
769 articles.

Figure 5. The
Figure 5. The most
most prolific
prolific research
research areas
areasin
inthe
thefield
fieldof
ofenergy
energyefficiency
efficiency(period
(period1978–2010).
1978–2010).

3.2. Science Mapping Analysis Tools

3.2.1. Country Co-Authorship Assessments
Figure 6 shows a map of co-authorship by country. In this figure, the countries that
have at least 10 published papers (41 or 45.55%) are represented. These countries are
grouped into five clusters: the red cluster contains 22 countries and is led by England (by
number of articles); the green cluster includes 7 countries and is led by the United States;
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 10 of 27

3.2. Science Mapping Analysis Tools

3.2.1. Country Co-Authorship Assessments
Figure 6 shows a map of co-authorship by country. In this figure, the countries that
have at least 10 published papers (41 or 45.55%) are represented. These countries are
grouped into five clusters: the red cluster contains 22 countries and is led by England
(by number of articles); the green cluster includes 7 countries and is led by the United
States; the blue cluster contains 5 countries and is led by Spain; the yellow cluster contains
4 countries and is led by Australia; and the purple cluster contains 2 countries and is led by
Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 11 of 29
Thailand. The countries that have collaborated most often are the United States and China,
the United States and England, and the United States and Germany.

Figure 6. Network map of country co-authorship between 1978 and 2010 (VOSviewer).
Figure 6. Network map of country co-authorship between 1978 and 2010 (VOSviewer).

3.2.2. Source
3.2.2. Source Average Publication Year and and the
the Citation
Citation Network
NetworkMap Map
Figure 7 shows the average publication years of the
Figure shows the average publication years of the 29 journals29 journals thatthat
hadhad
at least 10
at least
papers published. Energy Policy, the most prolific journal of this period with 415
10 papers published. Energy Policy, the most prolific journal of this period with 415 papers papers
published, had
published, had anan average
average publication
publication year
year of
of 2004.79.
2004.79. The
Theaverage
averagepublication
publicationyear
yearofof
Energy and
Energy and Buildings,
Buildings, the
the second most prolific journal,
journal, was
was 2005.72.
2005.72.Renewable
RenewableEnergy
Energyhadhad
anaverage
an averagepublication
publicationyear
yearofof1999.11
1999.11and
andEnergy,
Energy, 2002.50.
2002.50. The
The journals
journals that
that published
published the
the most
most articles
articles towards
towards the of
the end endtheofperiod
the period analyzed
analyzed were Renewable
were Renewable and Sustainable
and Sustainable Energy
Energy Reviews
Reviews (2007.95),
(2007.95), Journal Journal
of GreenofBuilding
Green Building (2008.71),
(2008.71), and Energy
and Energy Efficiency
Efficiency (2008.87).
(2008.87).
The parameters used for filtering the included journals were also used in the analysis
shown in Figure 8, which depicts the citation network map between journals. According to
Figure 8, the journals are grouped into three clusters. The red cluster contains 15 journals
and is led by Energy and Buildings; the green cluster contains 8 journals and is led by Energy
Policy; and the blue cluster contains 4 journals and is led by Climate Policy. The journals
Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 29

Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 11 of 27

most strongly connected by frequently cited papers are Energy Policy and Energy, Energy
Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW
Policy 12 ofand
and Energy Economics, Energy Policy and Energy Efficiency, Energy and Buildings 29

Building and Environment, and Energy and Buildings and Energy Policy.

Figure 7. Bubble map of the average publication year 1978–2010.

y

The parameters used for filtering the included journals were also used in the analysis
shown in Figure 8, which depicts the citation network map between journals. According
to Figure 8, the journals are grouped into three clusters. The red cluster contains 15 jour-
nals and is led by Energy and Buildings; the green cluster contains 8 journals and is led by
Energy Policy; and the blue cluster contains 4 journals and is led by Climate Policy. The
journals most strongly connected by frequently cited papers are Energy Policy and Energy,
Energy Policy and Energy Economics, Energy Policy and Energy Efficiency, Energy and Build-
Figure 7.
7. Bubble
Bubble map
map of the
the average
average publication year 1978–2010.
Figure
ings and Building andofEnvironment, publication
and Energyyear 1978–2010.
and Buildings and Energy Policy.
The parameters used for filtering the included journals were also used in the analysis
shown in Figure 8, which depicts the citation network map between journals. According
to Figure 8, the journals are grouped into three clusters. The red cluster contains 15 jour-
nals and is led by Energy and Buildings; the green cluster contains 8 journals and is led by
Energy Policy; and the blue cluster contains 4 journals and is led by Climate Policy. The
journals most strongly connected by frequently cited papers are Energy Policy and Energy,
Energy Policy and Energy Economics, Energy Policy and Energy Efficiency, Energy and Build-
ings and Building and Environment, and Energy and Buildings and Energy Policy.

Figure
Figure 8.
8. Source
Source citation
citation network
network map
map between
between 1978
1978 and
and 2010
2010 (VOSviewer).
(VOSviewer).

3.2.3. Term
3.2.3. Term Map
Map andand Network
Network Map
Map of
of Term
Term Co-Occurrence
Co-Occurrence
Figure 99 shows
Figure showsthe
thebubble
bubblemap
mapofofhigh-frequency
high-frequency terms
terms forfor
thethe period
period 1978–2010.
1978–2010. In
this figure, only words with a minimum frequency of 25 are shown. The terms terms
In this figure, only words with a minimum frequency of 25 are shown. The that
that had a
had a high average citation/paper are “conservation” (47 occurrences, average citations
100.49), “consumption” (74, 90.99), and “electricity” (35, 93.66). The words with the
highest occurrence, such as “energy efficiency”, have an occurrence of 732 and an average
citation/paper 53.99. Other keywords including “sustainability” (53, 66.02), “renewable
Figure 8. Source citation network map between 1978 and 2010 (VOSviewer).

3.2.3. Term Map and Network Map of Term Co-Occurrence

Figure 9 shows the bubble map of high-frequency terms for the period 1978–2010. In
this figure, only words with a minimum frequency of 25 are shown. The terms that had a
 Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of 29

Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 high average citation/paper are “conservation” (47 occurrences, average citations 100.49),
12 of 27
“consumption” (74, 90.99), and “electricity” (35, 93.66). The words with the highest occur-
rence, such as “energy efficiency”, have an occurrence of 732 and an average citation/pa-
per 53.99. Other keywords including “sustainability” (53, 66.02), “renewable energy” (109,
energy” (109, 59.58), “sustainable development” (83, 63.80), and “energy” (127, 72.22) also
59.58), “sustainable development” (83, 63.80), and “energy” (127, 72.22) also have a high
have a high prevalence.
prevalence.

Figure9.9.Bubble
Figure Bubblemap
mapof
ofhigh-frequency
high-frequency terms
terms (39
(39 terms)
terms) (1978–2010).
(1978–2010).

Themethod
The methodofoffiltering
filteringthe
thewords
words included
included in in Figure
Figure 10 10
was was
thethe same
same asthe
as in in previous
the pre-
vious assessment.
assessment. This figure
This figure showsshows the network
the network map map of term
of term co-occurrences.
co-occurrences. TheThe terms
terms are
are grouped into three clusters: the red cluster includes 17 terms, the green
grouped into three clusters: the red cluster includes 17 terms, the green cluster includes cluster in-
cludes
11 11and
terms, terms,
the and
bluethe blue contains
cluster cluster contains 11 The
11 terms. terms. The following
following terms an
terms show show an in-
increased
creased co-occurrence:
co-occurrence:
•• “energy
“energyefficiency”
efficiency” with
with “performance”, “energy
“energy policy”,
policy”,“renewable
“renewableenergy”,
energy”,“per-
“per-
formance”, “buildings” and “consumption”;
formance”, “buildings” and “consumption”;
•• “policy”
“policy”with
with“energy”,
“energy”,“efficiency”,
“efficiency”,“consumption”,
“consumption”,“conservation”
“conservation”andand“renewable
“renewa-
ble energy”;
energy”;
•• “renewable
“renewableenergy”
energy” with
with “power”, “sustainable
“sustainable development”,
development”,and and“energy
“energypolicy”.
policy”.

3.3. Period 2011–2023

3.3.1. Evaluation of the Most Productive Countries in the Field
The total number of countries contributing to the development of papers increased
to 150 from 90 in the previous period. Furthermore, 55 countries (36.66%) had more than
100 papers published. China was the country with the most published papers (6126)
followed by the United States and England. In terms of the number of citations, the United
States ranked first, followed by China and England, indicating that papers published by
authors from the United States had a higher impact with an average citation/manuscript of
33.97. Table 5 shows in detail the top 10 countries in terms of the number of papers published.
Sustainability 2023,15,
Sustainability2023, 15,8772
x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of
14 of 27
29

Figure 10.
Figure 10. Co-occurrence
Co-occurrence network
network map
map of
of field
field related
related terms
terms between
between 2001
2001 and
and2011.
2011.

3.3. Period 2011–2023

Table 5. Top 10 prolific countries in the field of energy efficiency (period 2011–2023).
3.3.1. Evaluation of the Most Productive Countries in the Field
Country Papers Citations Average Citation/Manuscript TLS
The total number of countries contributing to the development of papers increased
to 150China
from 90 in the6126 152,483Furthermore, 55 countries
previous period. 24.89 (36.66%) had more3343 than
100 papers
United published.
States China was
4792 the country with the most
162,762 33.97published papers (6126)
3125 fol-
lowed by
England the United States
1956 and England.
60,583 In terms of the number
30.97 of citations, the United
2271
States ranked first, followed by China and England, indicating that papers published by
Italy 1867 50,175 26.87 1409
authors from the United States had a higher impact with an average citation/manuscript
Spain
of 33.97. 1521 in detail32,196
Table 5 shows the top 10 countries in21.17
terms of the number of999 papers
Germany
published. 1171 36,555 31.22 1461
Australia 1100 29,858 27.14 1183
Table 5. Top 10 prolific countries in the field of energy efficiency (period 2011–2023).
India 995 16,805 16.89 711
Country
South Korea Papers
866 Citations
21,408 Average Citation/Manuscript
24.72 TLS
632
China
Canada 6126
823 152,483
27,942 24.89
33.95 3343
943
TLS,United
total linkStates 4792
strength value attributed by162,762
VOSviewer. 33.97 3125
England 1956 60,583 30.97 2271
3.3.2. Assessment
Italy of the Most Prolific
1867 Journals in the Field 26.87
50,175 1409
ASpain 1521 were32,196
total of 2888 journals 21.17 papers in this domain,
identified as having published 999
which is a significant increase
Germany 1171 from36,555 the first period (557), indicating
31.22 that interest in this area
1461
has increased
Australiaconsiderably. 1100 The number 29,858 of journals that had27.14
at least 50 papers published
1183
was 60India(2.07%). The most 995 prolific journal was Energy and16.89
16,805 Buildings with 1877 papers
711
published
South Korea(7.17% of the
866total output in
21,408 this period). This journal
24.72 has an IF of 7.201 632and
an IF score without self-citations of 6.147, with an average of 30.77 citations/paper. The
Canada 823 27,942 33.95 943
second journal in terms of number of articles published, Energies (1358, 5.19%), has an IF of
TLS, total link strength value attributed by VOSviewer.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 14 of 27

3.252 and an IF without self-citations of 2.466. Table 6 details the top 10 journals ranked by
number of papers published, and Figure 11 shows journals with at least 100 papers published.

Table 6. Top 10 prolific journals in the field of energy efficiency (period 2011–2023).

Average IF without
Source No. Citations IF/2021 Publisher
Citation/Paper Self-Citations
Energy and Buildings 1877 57,763 30.77 7.201 6.147 Elsevier
Energies 1358 12,176 8.97 3.252 2.466 MDPI
Sustainability 983 8365 8.51 3.889 3.008 MDPI
Journal of Cleaner
962 34,286 35.64 11.072 9.707 Elsevier Sci Ltd.
Production
Energy Policy 950 33,101 34.84 7.576 7.014 Elsevier
Applied Energy 875 39,770 45.45 11.446 10.305 Elsevier
Energy 808 24,959 30.89 8.857 7.271 Pergamon-Elsevier
Renewable and Sustainable
676 39,635 58.63 16.799 15.532 Pergamon-Elsevier
Energy Reviews
Energy
606 7062 11.65 3.134 2.89 Springer
Efficiency
Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 16 of 29
Building and Environment 484 14,828 30.64 7.093 5.741 Pergamon-Elsevier

Figure11.
Figure 11.The
Themost
mostprolific
prolificjournals
journals(at
(atleast
least100
100published
publisheddocuments)
documents)ininjournals
journalsininthe
thefield
fieldofof
energy efficiency (period 2011–2023).
energy efficiency (period 2011–2023).

3.3.3.Citation
3.3.3. CitationAnalysis
AnalysisofofPublications
Publicationsininthe
theEvaluated
EvaluatedPeriodPeriod
Duringthe
During theperiod
periodunder
underinvestigation,
investigation,aatotal
totalofof26,203
26,203papers
paperswere
werepublished.
published.The
The
top1010most
top mostcited
citedpapers
papersofofthis
this period
period that
that fell
fell within
within thethe search
search terms
terms areare shown
shown in Table
in Table 7.
7.

Table 7. The most influential manuscripts in the field of energy efficiency in 2011–2023.

First
Title Journal IF Citations Ref.
Author (Year)
Yang, ZG
Electrochemical Energy Storage for Green Grid Chemical Reviews 72.087 3600 [40]
(2011)
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 15 of 27

Table 7. The most influential manuscripts in the field of energy efficiency in 2011–2023.

First
Title Journal IF Citations Ref.
Author (Year)
Yang, ZG
Electrochemical Energy Storage for Green Grid Chemical Reviews 72.087 3600 [40]
(2011)
Overview of current development in electrical
Luo, X
energy storage technologies and the application Applied Energy 11.446 2032 [41]
(2015)
potential in power system operation
IEEE Transactions on
Palensky, P Demand Side Management: Demand Response,
Industrial 11.648 1782 [42]
(2011) Intelligent Energy Systems, and Smart Loads
Informatics
Bocken, NMP A literature and practice review to develop Journal of Cleaner
11.072 1465 [43]
(2014) sustainable business model archetypes Production
Raman, AP Passive radiative cooling below ambient air
Nature 69.504 1334 [44]
(2014) temperature under direct sunlight
Gielen, D The role of renewable energy in the global
Energy Strategy Reviews 10.01 1224 [45]
(2019) energy transformation
Dincer, I Review and evaluation of hydrogen production International Journal of
7.139 1173 [46]
(2015) methods for better sustainability Hydrogen Energy
Cabeza, LF Materials used as PCM in thermal energy storage Renewable and Sustainable
16.799 1084 [47]
(2011) in buildings: A review Energy Reviews
Di Renzo, M Spatial Modulation for Generalized MIMO:
Proceedings of the IEEE 14.91 1030 [48]
(2014) Challenges, Opportunities, and Implementation
Thermally insulating and fire-retardant
Wicklein, B
lightweight anisotropic foams based on Nature Nanotechnology 40.523 865 [49]
(2015)
nanocellulose and graphene oxide

The first article, by number of citations, “Electrochemical Energy Storage for Green
Grid”, was published by Yang, Z.G., in the Journal Chemical Reviews, which has an IF of
72,087; this article has gathered a total of 3600 citations. In second place is Luo, X., with the
article entitled “Overview of current development in electrical energy storage technologies
and the application potential in power system operation”, which was published in t Applied
Energy with an IF of 11.446 and a total of 2032 citations. Due to the high number of citations
gathered by these articles, they have had a significant impact in the field of sustainability.

3.3.4. Bibliometric Analysis of the Most Active Organizations in the Field

A total of 11,453 affiliations of authors publishing during the period evaluated were
identified. The most active organization was the United States Department of Energy,
with 1393 published documents (5.32% of the total). Furthermore, the Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory with 606 (2.31%) published papers and the University of California
System with 576 (2.20%) published papers were the next most prolific. The most active
organizations in the evaluated domain are presented in Table 8.
The papers were classified by WoS into 107 categories. Figure 12 shows the categories
in which most papers were classified. The category with the most articles (10,686) is “Energy
Fuels” followed by “Engineering” with 10,642 articles. It is important to note that a paper
can be classified into more than one WoS category.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 16 of 27

Table 8. The most active organizations in the field of energy efficiency (period 1978–2010).

Organization Papers %
United States Department of Energy (DOE) 1393 5.32
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 606 2.31
University of California System 576 2.20
Tsinghua University 450 1.72
Chinese Academy of Sciences 411 1.57
National Renewable Energy Laboratory USA 361 1.38
University of California Berkeley 360 1.37
University of London 290 1.11
Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain 264 1.01
Udice French Research Universities 257 0.98
Polytechnic University of Milan 254 0.97
Hunan University 253 0.97
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 251 0.96
Hong Kong Polytechnic University 245 0.94
Chongqing University 222 0.85
University College London 221 0.84
Aalto University 206 0.79
National University of Singapore 206 0.79
Norwegian University of Science Technology (NTNU) 202 0.77
City University of Hong Kong 200 0.76
Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 18 of 29
Tianjin University 200 0.76

Figure 12. The most prolific research areas in the field of energy efficiency (period 2011–2023).

Figure 12. The most prolific research areas in the field of energy efficiency (period 2011–2023).

3.4. Science Mapping Analysis Tools

3.4.1. Country Co-Authorship Assessments
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 17 of 27

3.4. Science Mapping Analysis Tools

3.4.1. Country Co-Authorship Assessments
Figure 13 shows the map of the co-authorship by country. In this figure shows the
countries that have at least 100 published papers (55 or 36.66%). The countries are grouped
into four clusters: the red cluster contains 24 countries and is led by Italy (by number
of articles); the green cluster includes 17 countries and is led by China; the blue cluster
contains 11 countries and is led by England; the yellow cluster is led by Spain. The countries
showing a strong collaborative relationship are represented by China, the United States,
Australia, Canada, and England. The United States collaborated often with Germany,
Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 19 of 29
Canada, South Korea, Italy, and England.

Figure 13.
Figure 13. Network
Network map
map of
of country
country co-authorship
co-authorship between
between2011
2011and
and2023
2023(VOSviewer).
(VOSviewer).

3.4.2.
3.4.2. Source Average Publication
Publication Year
Year and
and the
the Citation
CitationNetwork
NetworkMap
Map
Figure
Figure 14
14 shows the average yearsyears ofof publication
publicationfor forthe
the6060(2.07%)
(2.07%)journals
journalsthat
thathad
had
at
at least
least 50
50 papers
papers published. The average
published. The average publication
publicationyear yearofofthe
themost
mostprolific
prolificjournal
journalinin
this Energy and
this period, Energy andBuildings,
Buildings,isis2017.20;
2017.20;the the journal
journal Energies
Energies ranked
ranked second
second in terms
in terms of
of
thethe number
number of of papers
papers published
published in inthis
thisarea
areaandandhashasananaverage
averagepublication
publicationyearyearofof
2019.83; Sustainability,
2019.83; which is
Sustainability, which is ranked
rankedthird,
third,has
hasan anaverage
averagepublication
publicationyear
yearofof2019.73.
2019.73.
The
Thejournals
journalsthat
thatpublished
publishedthethe
most articles
most at the
articles at end
the of thisofperiod
end are Buildings
this period (2021.00)
are Buildings
and Energy
(2021.00) Reports
and Energy(2021.30).
Reports (2021.30).
 Sustainability2023,
Sustainability
Sustainability 2023,15,
2023, 15,8772
15, xxFOR
FORPEER
PEERREVIEW
REVIEW 2018
20 ofofof
2927
29

ee

Figure14.
Figure 14.Bubble
Bubblemap
Bubble mapof
map ofthe
of theaverage
the averagepublication
average publicationyear
publication year for
yearfor the
forthe period
theperiod 2011–2023.
period2011–2023.
2011–2023.

Thefilter
The filterparameters
filter parametersfor
parameters forthe
thejournals
journals
journalsare are the
arethe same
thesame
sameas as those
asthose
thosein ininthe
the previous
theprevious
previous figure.
figure.
figure.
Figure 15
Figure 15 showsshows
shows the the citation
the citation network
citation network map between
networkmap between journals. journals. According
journals.According to
AccordingtotoFigure Figure
Figure15,15, the
15,thethe
journalsare
journals aregrouped
are groupedin in three
inthree clusters
threeclusters differentiated
clustersdifferentiated
differentiated bybybycolor.
color.
color. TheThe
The redred
red cluster contains
cluster
cluster contains
contains 20
20
journals
20 journals
journals and
and isisled
and led
is ledbyby
by the
the theJournal
Journal ofofCleaner
Journal ofCleaner
Cleaner Production,
Production,
Production, the
thethegreen
green
green cluster
cluster
cluster contains
contains
contains 1313
13 jour-
jour-
jour-
nalsand
nals and isis led
led by by the
the mostmost prolific
prolific journal
journal of of this
this period,
period, Energy
Energy
and is led by the most prolific journal of this period, Energy and Buildings, and theand and Buildings,
Buildings, and and
the the
blue
blue
cluster cluster
contains contains
11 11
journals journals
and is and
led is
by led by
Applied Applied
Energy. Energy.
The The
following
blue cluster contains 11 journals and is led by Applied Energy. The following journals are following
journals journals
are are
strongly
strongly
connected connected
by frequentlyby frequently
cited papers: cited papers:
Energy andEnergy
Buildingsand Buildings
and
strongly connected by frequently cited papers: Energy and Buildings and Applied Energy, Applied and Applied
Energy, Energy,
Renewable
Renewable
and
Renewable andSustainable
Sustainable
and Sustainable
Energies and Energies andBuilding
Building
Energies and Building
and andEnvironment.
Environment.
Environment.
and Another Another
group group
Another group
of ofjournals
journals
of journals
linked
linked
by by
frequent
linked frequent citations
citationscitations
by frequent includes
Energy Policy,
includesincludes Energy Policy,
EnergyJournal
Policy, ofJournal
Cleaner
Journal of Cleaner
of Production, Production, Energy
Energy Efficiency,
Cleaner Production, Energy
Efficiency,
Energy,
Efficiency, and Energy,
Energies.
Energy, andEnergies.
and Energies.

e
e

Figure15.
Figure 15. Sourcecitation
citation networkmap
map between2011
2011 and2023
2023 (VOSviewer).
Figure 15. Source
Source citation network
network mapbetween
between 2011and
and 2023(VOSviewer).
(VOSviewer).
 Sustainability2023,
Sustainability 2023,15,
15,8772
x FOR PEER REVIEW 21 19
of of
2927

3.4.3. Term
3.4.3. Term Map
Map and
and Network
Network MapMap ofof Term
Term Co-Occurrence
Co-Occurrence
Figure 16 shows a bubble map of high-frequency
Figure 16 shows a bubble map of high-frequency terms for for
terms the the
period 2011–2023.
period In
2011–2023.
this figure, only the words with a minimum occurrence of 250 (81 terms)
In this figure, only the words with a minimum occurrence of 250 (81 terms) are shown. are shown. The
terms
The withwith
terms highhigh
average citations/paper
average were “office
citations/paper buildings”
were “office (398, 32.74),
buildings” “life cycle
(398, 32.74), “life
assessment” (500, 32.67), “electricity consumption” (299, 31.95), “greenhouse
cycle assessment” (500, 32.67), “electricity consumption” (299, 31.95), “greenhouse gas emis- gas
sions” (253,(253,
emissions” 36.66), “carbon
36.66), emissions”
“carbon (379, (379,
emissions” 30.04),30.04),
“economic growth”
“economic (523, 29.70),
growth” and
(523, 29.70),
“electricity”
and (393,(393,
“electricity” 30.49). OtherOther
30.49). keywords for the
keywords fortopic of interest
the topic were were
of interest “renewable
“renewableen-
ergy” (1390,
energy” 25.31),
(1390, “residential
25.31), “residentialbuildings”
buildings”(898,
(898,27.60),
27.60),“sustainability”
“sustainability”(1123,
(1123,19.05),
19.05),and
and
“efficiency” (1709, 22.18).
“efficiency” (1709, 22.18).

Figure 16. Bubble map of 39 high-frequency terms (1978–2010).

Figure 16. Bubble map of 39 high-frequency terms (1978–2010).
The method of filtering the words included in Figure 17 remains unchanged from the
The method of filtering the words included in Figure 17 remains unchanged from the
previous figure. In this figure, the network map of term co-occurrence is shown. The terms
previous figure. In this figure, the network map of term co-occurrence is shown. The terms
are grouped into three clusters: the red cluster includes 34 terms, the green cluster in-
are grouped into three clusters: the red cluster includes 34 terms, the green cluster includes
cludes 25 terms, and the blue cluster contains 22 terms. The following terms show a re-
25 terms, and the blue cluster contains 22 terms. The following terms show a re-estimated
estimated co-occurrence:
co-occurrence:
- “energy efficiency with “performance”, “consumption”, “buildings”, “design”, “op-
- “energy efficiency
timization” with “performance”, “consumption”, “buildings”, “design”, “opti-
and “impact”;
- mization” and “impact”;
“performance” with “consumption”, “simulation”, “buildings”, “design”, “thermal
- “performance” with “consumption”, “simulation”, “buildings”, “design”, “thermal
comfort” and “optimization”;
comfort” and “optimization”;
Sustainability 2023,15,
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ofof2927

-- “optimization”
“optimization” with
with“renewable
“renewableenergy”, “thermal
energy”, comfort”,
“thermal “residential
comfort”, buildings”,
“residential build-
and “buildings”.
ings”, and “buildings”.

Figure 17. Co-occurrence network map of RA related terms between 2001 and 2011.
Figure 17. Co-occurrence network map of RA related terms between 2001 and 2011.

4. Discussion
4. Discussion
Global scientific and economic interest has grown in recent years towards solving
Global scientific and economic interest has grown in recent years towards solving
unmet energy consumption needs by applying sustainable green building concepts and
unmet energy consumption needs by applying sustainable green building concepts and
practices or retrofitting old buildings for increasing energy efficiency [28].
practices or retrofitting old buildings for increasing energy efficiency [28].
In the framework of environmentally friendly growth and the efficiency of energy in
In the framework of environmentally friendly growth and the efficiency of energy in
buildings, policies and initiatives implemented by the government play an essential part
buildings, policies and initiatives implemented by the government play an essential part in
in the process of supporting sustainable practices and setting energy-efficient transitions.
the process of supporting sustainable practices and setting energy-efficient transitions. The
The incorporation of pertinent energy policies into research not only provides useful in-
incorporation of pertinent energy policies into research not only provides useful insights
sights into the regulatory system but also opens the way for additional investigation [50].
into the regulatory system but also opens the way for additional investigation [50]. The
The assessment of the energy consumption of both existing buildings (rehabilitated/or
assessment of the energy consumption of both existing buildings (rehabilitated/or not)
not) and newly built buildings Is done through the energy certification of the building
and newly built buildings Is done through the energy certification of the building [51].
[51]. The certification entity must be independent of the building owner, investor, con-
The certification entity must be independent of the building owner, investor, constructor,
structor, architect, and material supplier so that the entire building certification system
architect, and material supplier so that the entire building certification system becomes an
becomes an essential tool for sustainable development [52].
essential tool for sustainable development [52].
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 21 of 27

In Romania, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) provides information on the

energy consumption of a building from conventional or renewable sources to provide
utilities, including heating, cooling, domestic hot water, ventilation and lighting, and the
amount of CO2 emissions is also assessed. This system assigns each building to an energy
class (indicated with letters between A and G) and a grade between 1 and 100. In the EPC,
the auditor provides recommendations for reducing energy consumption. The EPC system
is regulated by Law no. 101/1, July 2020 [53] and Law no. 37/13, December 2005 [54].
Governments frequently enact building energy codes and standards, which typically
specify the minimum energy efficiency requirements for newly constructed buildings and
significant renovations. These building regulations and norms can be examined in order to
determine the effect that they have on the amount of energy that is consumed by buildings
as well as the spread of energy-efficient technology and practices [55].
Numerous governments and enterprises that work directly together offer financial
incentives, grants, and subsidies in order to encourage the construction of energy-efficient
buildings, retrofits, and the incorporation of renewable energy sources. Researchers are
able to study the efficacy of these incentives in promoting investments in energy efficiency
and the consequent effects on lowering energy usage [56].
Green building certification systems, such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environ-
mental Design) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment
Method), provide voluntary frameworks for evaluating and recognizing the sustainability
performance of buildings. Evaluating the degree to which these certification systems have
been adopted and how much of an impact they have had may offer perspectives on the
important function that they play in advancing sustainable construction practices [57].
Modern facilities and associated tools such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart
infrastructure have transformed the design, construction, and operation of buildings. The
combined application of cutting-edge technologies and architectural principles seeks to
improve energy efficiency, comfort for residents, and sustainability as a whole [58].
With IoT-enabled intelligent facilities, buildings may incorporate multiple systems,
including lighting, heating/cooling, security, and energy management, allowing for cen-
tralized control and efficient administration. In this regard, sensors may track occupancy
levels, humidity, temperature, and illumination conditions, optimizing the use of energy
while preserving comfort. Intelligent lighting systems may adjust luminance dynamically
based on natural light, occupancy, and customer preferences, thereby reducing wasteful
energy consumption [59]. Furthermore, contemporary building design prioritizes the use
of eco-friendly materials and construction methods. Energy-efficient building envelopes
with improved insulation, efficient glazing, and adequate shade serve to reduce heat gain
and loss. Green roofs, rooftop solar panels, and precipitation collection systems assist in
the production of energy and the preservation of water [59,60].
Energy management in newly formed smart cities is an important area of research
and practice. It attempts to maximize the efficiency of energy use, lower the amount
of carbon emissions produced, and improve the overall sustainability of metropolitan
environments. Smart cities work toward the goal of effective management of energy
resources by incorporating emerging forms of technology, data analytics, and artificial
intelligence into their infrastructure [61].
In order to obtain insights into patterns of energy usage, smart cities gather and
examine large volumes of data from a variety of sources, such as sensors, smart meters,
and devices connected to the IoT. Identifying energy usage patterns, locating anomalies,
and developing forecasting algorithms for energy demand may all be accomplished with
the help of advanced data analytics techniques such as machine learning and intelligent
technology. These methods, which are driven by data, make it possible to arrive at more
accurate energy management plans and decision-making procedures. The demand response
solutions that are implemented in smart cities enable residents to make adjustments to the
amount of energy they use depending on real-time price or demand signals [62].
 Sustainability 2023, 15, x FOR PEER REVIEW 24 of 29
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 22 of 27

Theenergy
The energystorage
storagesystems
systemsthat thatare
areintegrated
integratedinto intosmart
smartcities
citiesareareused
usedtotostore
storethethe
surplus of renewable energy that is generated. This stored energy
surplus of renewable energy that is generated. This stored energy is available for use during is available for use dur-
ing times
times of intense
of intense demand
demand or when
or when there
there is aisshortage
a shortage of of renewable
renewable generation.Battery
generation. Battery
storage systems, hydroelectric power storage, and other cutting-edge technologies areare
storage systems, hydroelectric power storage, and other cutting-edge technologies beingbe-
ing implemented
implemented to increase
to increase the proportion
the proportion of sources
of sources of clean
of clean energy energy
whilewhile simultane-
simultaneously
ously improving
improving the dependability
the dependability and adaptability
and adaptability of the energy
of the energy grid [63]. grid [63].
Everysingle
Every singlesmart
smartcity cityvaries
variesin interms
termsof ofitsitsinnovations,
innovations,regulations,
regulations,and andstrategies,
strategies,
but they all use cutting-edge technology and environmentally
but they all use cutting-edge technology and environmentally friendly techniques to friendly techniques to en-
en-
hance the quality of life for inhabitants while reducing adverse
hance the quality of life for inhabitants while reducing adverse environmental effects. There environmental effects.
There
are are several
several examples examples
of recently of recently
developed developed
smart urban smartareas
urbanaround
areas around
the world thewhich
world
which demonstrate
demonstrate innovative innovative
technologies technologies and environmentally
and environmentally responsibleresponsible practices:
practices: Delhi and
Delhi and [64],
Stockholm Stockholm [64],[65],
Singapore Singapore
Masdar[65],CityMasdar
[60], and City [60], and[66].
Barcelona Barcelona [66].
Thepresent
The presentbibliometric
bibliometricanalysis
analysishighlights
highlightsaasubject subjectthat
thatisisless
lessaddressed
addressedininthe the
literaturebybyinvestigating
literature investigating thethe growing
growing trend
trend towards
towards optimizing
optimizing energy energy efficiency
efficiency and
and sus-
tainable
sustainabledevelopment
development withwith renewable energy
renewable (in the
energy (inmanagement
the management of sustainable buildings).
of sustainable build-
In this In
ings). respect, the possibilities
this respect, for collaboration,
the possibilities for collaboration,settingsetting
search search
patterns in the in
patterns scientific
the sci-
literature, and identifying
entific literature, the current
and identifying thestate
currentof knowledge for detecting
state of knowledge current unmet
for detecting currentneeds
un-
and
metfuture
needsresearch
and future directions
researchbecome highly
directions important.
become highly important.
Overall,
Overall,China Chinahashaspublished
publishedthe themost
mostpapers
papersin inthis
thisfield
field(6349),
(6349),followed
followedby bythethe
United
United States with 5310 published papers and England with 2179 published papers.In
States with 5310 published papers and England with 2179 published papers. In
total,
total,these
thesecountries
countriespublished
published13,838 13,838(48.46%)
(48.46%)of ofthe
thetotal
totalnumber
numberofofpapers,
papers,indicating
indicating
that
thatsustainability
sustainabilityisisa atopic topicofofprimary
primary interest
interest in in
these
thesecountries.
countries. Figure
Figure 18 shows
18 showsin detail
in de-
the
tailevolution
the evolution over time
overoftime the number of papers
of the number of published by these by
papers published countries. The number
these countries. The
of articles published by these countries has gradually increased,
number of articles published by these countries has gradually increased, and since 2010, and since 2010, a much
faster
a much increase
faster can be observed
increase can be in correlation
observed with technological
in correlation development.
with technological The first
development.
year
The first year in which China surpasses the United States in the number of articles (343
in which China surpasses the United States in the number of articles published pub-
vs. 325)(343
lished is 2016.
vs. 325) is 2016.

1400

1200
1000
800

600
400
200

0
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

China England United States

Figure18.
Figure 18.Evolution
Evolutionover
overtime
timeofofthe
thenumber
numberofofarticles
articlespublished
publishedby
bythe
themost
mostprolific
prolificcountries.
countries.

Followingthe
Following the analysis
analysis shown in the the tables
tables highlighting
highlightingthe themost
mostprolific
prolificjournals
journalsin
the
in period
the periodunder
underanalysis, we can
analysis, we deduce
can deduce that in thein
that first
theperiod, the most
first period, theprolific journals
most prolific
journals
were Energy EnergyEnergy
were Policy, Policy, and
Energy and Buildings
Buildings and Renewable
and Renewable Energy
Energy with with
415, 179415,
and179
122and
pa-
122
perspapers published,
published, respectively.
respectively. In theIn the second
second period,period, theprolific
the most most prolific
journals journals were
were Energy
Energy and Buildings
and Buildings with 1877with 1877 papers,
papers, followed followed by Energies
by Energies and thenand then Sustainability
Sustainability with 1358with
and
1358 and 983 papers. The journal that stands out in both periods
983 papers. The journal that stands out in both periods due to its high IF and due to its high IF and
average
high average
citations per citations is Renewable
per paper and
paper is Renewable Sustainable andEnergy
Sustainable Energy
Reviews, Reviews,that
indicating indicating that
papers pub-
papers
lished published in this
in this journal journal
have have a significant
a significant impact
impact in this in this field.
field.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 23 of 27

Based on the analysis of the papers with the highest citation rate, it can be determined
that they cover several topics in the field of energy and sustainability. The paper ranked
first in the first period has the highest number of citations, but this may also be because it
was published much earlier compared with the papers published in Table 2. The papers
that received the most citations were published in journals such as Chemical Reviews and
Nature, which highlights the impact of these journals in the field.
The analysis of the collaboration maps between countries indicates that there is an
increasing trend. These maps allow us to analyze which countries collaborate frequently
with each other to produce quality papers and can serve as a guide for authors who are
interested in finding collaborators interested in the same topic. In both periods, there was a
strong collaborative link among the top three countries in terms of the number of papers
(the United States, China, and England).
In both periods, three clusters are formed around journals whose articles are frequently
cited by articles in other journals. In the first period, the clusters are formed around the
following journals: Energy policy, Energy and Buildings and Annual Review of Energy and the
Environment. In the second period, clusters are formed around Energy and Buildings, Journal
of Cleaner Production and Applied Energy.
The present paper applies bibliometric approaches to determine the most productive
nations, prolific journals, highly cited publications, active organizations, collaborative
networks, term co-occurrence maps, high-frequency terms, and research areas in the field.
This yields significant knowledge about the research landscape and contributes to the
field’s fundamental development.
The outcomes of the bibliometric analysis are equally practical and academically valu-
able. Moreover, policymakers and industry professionals may use the data on the most
prosperous states and active organizations to pinpoint potential collaborators for interna-
tional partnerships and knowledge sharing. In addition, being aware of the most prolific
journals in the field enables stakeholders to keep abreast of the most recent research and
developments in the field. This aids in the formulation of sustainable building regulations
and the promotion of energy-efficient building approaches.
From an academic point of view, the research findings provide an overview of the
existing knowledge and current developments in the field of energy efficiency of buildings
from 1978 (the year of the first publication that matched the search algorithm) to the present.
Furthermore, the terms co-occurrence mapping and high-frequency terms provide scientists
with a conceptual overview of the research topics and practical approaches, enabling them
to identify popular research areas and direct their studies accordingly. The recognition of
collaborative networks and research areas facilitates multidisciplinary cooperation and
the transfer of knowledge between researchers working on multiple facets of sustainable
construction policies.
The paper also makes significant contributions to the field’s fundamental research. It
offers an in-depth examination of the research landscape by conducting the first bibliometric
analysis based on a complex sorting algorithm on the energy efficiency of buildings in the
context of sustainable building policies. This evaluation offers a foundation for subsequent
studies by providing an initial comprehension of the current state, key contributors, and
current research trends in the field. Based on this analysis, researchers may proceed
deeper into specific sub-topics, investigate integrative connections, and identify areas of
investigation requiring additional study.
The results of this bibliometric evaluation can direct further study in multiple ways.
Initially, researchers can concentrate on countries that have demonstrated significant pro-
ductivity and collaboration potential, allowing for the formation of international research
networks and the exchange of best practices. In addition, an analysis of the identified highly
cited papers may offer insights into the most significant works in the field, highlighting
areas where future research can build on or challenge existing theories and methodolo-
gies. In the rapidly evolving scientific landscape of the present day, scientists strive to
keep abreast of the most recent developments in order to enhance their own work and
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 24 of 27

contribute to the field. In addition, the term co-occurrence map and high-frequency terms
emphasize emerging research areas and evolving trends in time (1978–present), which can
assist researchers in identifying novel research questions and inter-disciplinary links in a
way that is less time-consuming than every researcher individually searching through all
the scientific literature to determine the topic of study, journals to publish in, and identify
current trends, etc.
Although bibliometric analyses have certain advantages related to the method of
analysis, they also have several limitations. Their most significant disadvantage related
to the method of analysis itself, is that due to the large number of documents, the results
cannot be manually checked, so that certain articles may be included that are not exactly on
the subject being researched. Another disadvantage is that only articles written in English
were included in this article; thus, quality and influential documents written in another
language may be omitted.

5. Conclusions
Based on the outcomes of the bibliometric analysis, the present research paper has
several significant implications. Initially, it indicates the most productive states, emphasiz-
ing the global distribution of building energy efficiency research efforts. Policymakers and
funding agencies can use this knowledge to target certain nations for cooperation and the
allocation of resources. Secondly, the analysis identifies the most prolific journals, which
signifies the most relevant platforms for disseminating research results and facilitates the
identification of the most significant publications in the field. In addition, the centralized
identification of highly cited publications highlights significant contributions that have
considerably influenced the energy efficiency of buildings research topic.
The present study on the energy efficiency of buildings involves bibliometric and
visualization analysis in combination with specialized software applications that provide a
quantitative measurement of articles and reports completed to date, bridging chronological
gaps, and delivering a useful resource for academics interested in this area. Moreover,
28,555 papers were returned by the complex algorithm used in searching and sorting data
over a long period of time and constituted the resource for bibliometric analysis. Most
of the analyzed papers (91.76% or 26,203) were published in the second period analyzed
(2011–2023), indicating that this topic has gained high interest in this latter period due to
the advantages arising from technological advancement.
Scientists can make informed decisions regarding the topics they choose to research,
the working partnerships they form, and the journals they publish in by considering the
factors examined in this analysis and the displayed results. This aids in streamlining the
research procedure, accelerating the dissemination of knowledge, and maximizing the
impact of their work in the field of study.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, C.C.B. and M.F.P.; Data curation, C.C.B. and T.B.; Formal
analysis, F.I.H.P.; Investigation, C.C.B., T.B. and M.F.P.; Methodology, F.I.H.P. and G.B.; Project admin-
istration, C.B.; Resources, T.B.; Software, T.B. and G.B.; Supervision, C.B. and M.F.P.; Visualization,
F.I.H.P. and M.F.P.; Writing—original draft, C.C.B., C.B. and G.B.; Writing—review and editing, F.I.H.P.
and T.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was funded by the Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation and Dig-
itization through Program 1—Development of the National Research and Development System,
Subprogram 1.2—Institutional Performance—Projects for funding the excellence in RDI, Contract
No. 29 PFE/30.12.2021 with the University of Oradea.
Data Availability Statement: Information presented in this paper are supported by Web of Science
data base and by the references mentioned in the text.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Sustainability 2023, 15, 8772 25 of 27

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