PR2017

New buildings have to satisfy stricter standards regarding energy efficiency and consumption. This results in higher insulation levels and lower air leakages that reduce heating demands. However, together with the heating demands reductions, higher temperatures in summer and particularly shoulder season are more frequent even at moderate to cold climates. In order to ensure acceptable indoor environment quality, removal of excess heat becomes unavoidable. Using mechanical cooling in residential buildings is considered incompatible with achieving zero energy buildings (ZEB).

RenovActive is a renovation project which took place in Brussels based on the concept of Climate Renovation that implies achieving an excellent indoor climate as well as a high energy performance. The house belongs to a social housing association and is renovated within the financial frame for social housing in Brussels, and renovated using standard solutions and products to facilitate future replications of the result. Seven generic replicable elements were applied; these elements can be used in other renovation projects and are described in the paper.

Nearly all retail locations use mechanical cooling systems to ensure indoor comfort temperatures and mechanical ventilation to ensure adequate air exchange, primarily for hygienic reasons. Because of the big volumes involved and the lack of knowledge in natural ventilation design, shopping centres designers have been relying on basic HVAC equipment, without considering the potential of ventilative cooling to reduce cooling needs and to maintain an acceptable indoor environmental quality.

The modelling framework IAPPEM was redeveloped to predict indoor radon concentrations in dwellings that have undergone an energy retrofit, and have experienced a consequent air tightness change. The framework is flexible, and allows for simulations to be carried out under various pre-retrofit radon concentration levels, multi-zone building geometries, ventilation configurations and retrofit types. However, detailed real-time radon concentration and ventilation data is necessary for model validation, and such data is non-existent in the Irish context.

Increasing use of air-conditioning in India is applying upward pressure on energy demand and may have implications on dependability. Electrical energy can be saved if favourable outdoor conditions are effectively utilized for cooling buildings with the minimum use of energy. This could be specifically applicable to residences where night-time use is more predominant for cooling by air conditioning systems but also aligns favourably with suitable outdoor conditions to be used as ventilative cooling.

There are three common methods used to analyse Indoor Air Quality in buildings: in-site measurements, laboratory measurements, or the simulation of indoor spaces using a validated computational model. Each have their advantages, but computational models are generally used to predict air quality in a wide range of indoor environments because they are quick, cheap, and non-invasive. A wide range of inputs are required to accurately simulate airflow and pollutant transport. However, this information may not exist or may only exist in abstract forms.

The harsh Norwegian climate requires buildings designed according to high standards. The airtightness of the building envelope is crucial to attain an energy efficient building and to avoid moisture problems. A considerable part of building defects registered in the SINTEF Building defects archive are related to compact roofs.

This paper aims to present the elaboration of a device able to modify the airtightness of a test House. This project has been conducted with three Master student groups in the framework of their research projects from 2015 to 2017. The TIPEE IEQ test House, comprising of two floors and eight rooms, is dedicated to the study of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), thermal comfort and energy consumption. Its envelope has been designed to reach an airtightness target slightly lower than the French Energy Efficiency Standard RT2012 requirement for dwellings i.e.

Indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations have been used in the fields of building ventilation and indoor air quality (IAQ) for decades. Specific applications include the estimation of ventilation rates, control of outdoor air ventilation rates based on indoor CO2 as an indicator of occupancy, and use of CO2 as an IAQ performance metric. All of these applications require values for the CO2 generation rates of the occupants of the space or building being considered. Human CO2 generation rates depend on their level of physical activity as well as their sex, age, and body size.

It is estimated that HVAC systems represent the highest energy consumption (approximately half of the total energy consumed) and one of the highest cost, especially in non-residential buildings. Therefore, that energy consumption in related to the cost of the building, the energy consumption and the thermal comfort.
Although the comfort of the users should be a factor to be aware of, it may not be the only one. It is advisable to have a balance between this variable and energy consumption, because of its impact on the environment and climate change.