PR2001

The International Space Station (ISS) is the biggest multinational space program ever with 16 countries involved. Since November 2000 the station is permanently occupied with a crew of 3 astronauts. Till 2006 the station will be further assembled and the crew will be increased to 7 astronauts. To maintain a comfortable and safe environment under micro gravity conditions in a completely sealed space habitat advanced ventilation technology had to be developed to maintain air temperature, air humidity and air velocity as well as contaminant concentrations well below required levels.

In the framework of SOLVENT project, work was carried out to develop strategies and dissemination material to assist the efficient application of solar and passive ventilation in urban buildings. The information gathered during the project is synthesized in a website designed for the 'informed' architect and also useful to HVAC engineers in their discussions with their clients.

This study investigates the application of night ventilation techniques in ten urban canyons, situated in the extended region of Athens, Greece. In order to determine the impact of the urban environment on the night ventilation performance, the outdoor air temperature and wind profile have been measured inside and outside the experimental canyons.

The Building Regulations with regard to the energy performance of buildings in the Netherlands is an attempt to a performance oriented requirement in conjunction with a test standard. The test standard in fact means a calculation procedure. The requirements are given in the Dutch Building Decree. This Decree is coupled to the building act. Within the scope of an application for a building permit is has to be proven that the energy use of the building does not reach the maximum allowed energy amount set for that building.

In urban areas, people stand the most of their time in indoor environment. In this context, indoor air quality is more and more a subject of concern. Outdoor air quality can have a large impact on indoor air quality. An experimental study has been conducted into a dwelling, in collaboration between the LHVP and the CSTB, in order to study the indoor concentration of pollutants depending on the outdoor pollution and the air renewal due to ventilation system. Different experiments have been conducted in an empty dwelling situated in a polluted area in Paris during winter and summer periods.

The airtightness performances of buildings and ventilation systems can have a major impact on the indoor climate (IAQ, thermal comfort,...) and on the energy performance. Measurement results for Belgian buildings clearly show that the airtightness is often moderate to very poor. As part of the proposed energy performance legislation for the Flemish Region, it is envisaged to pay attention to the airtightness of buildings and ductwork. In the first part of the paper, results found for Belgian buildings and systems are briefly presented and discussed.

The main problem in natural ventilation is that its efficiency depends very tightly on the meteorological conditions : high wind velocity and outside temperature lower than inside are optimal conditions for efficient ventilation. Consequently, air renewal inside buildings is very fluctuating from one moment to another, and extreme comportments can be reached from one season to another : in winter, ventilation is usually very satisfying, whereas in summer unwanted reverse airflows can hardly be avoided.

Ventilation plays an important role in the RT 2000 regulation. This new French thermal regulation takes into account energy for heating and lighting through a C coefficient (primary energy in kWh), as well as summer comfort for non air-conditioned buildings. The paper focuses on the calculation of the C Coefficient. For the ventilation side of it, the calculation method aims both to have simple input data and physically based algorithms. The fact that it was chosen to have a computer based approach made this possible.