climate

Most European standards and national regulations about ventilation rates are based on indoor air quality assumptions in terms of contamination. On the other hand, indoor air humidity is important for human health as well. In case of high flow rates during the heating seasons in cold climates, the indoor air humidity tends to low values.

This paper analyses the energy efficiency of a Ventilated Active Façade (VAF) applied to office buildings in Spain in comparison with conventional façades that comply with the minimum energy requirements of the Spanish Technical Building Regulation (Código Técnico de la Edificación - CTE). The analysis considers the climatic diversity of the 12 climatic zones of Spain. The studied VAF consists of an outer layer element of 2 mm galvanized steel panels and a 3 cm air cavity through which the ventilation air is preheated in winter and exhausted in summer.

The fungal index is a biological climate-parameter, which represents the environmental capacity toallow fungal growth. The author developed software that determines the computed fungal index,which was estimated using the Excel software "INDEX" from the measured temperature and relativehumidity. The computed fungal index and the measured fungal index, determined using a fungaldetector encapsulating fungal spores, were determined in 10 rooms in six dwelling houses.

This work is based on an extended research from a doctorate thesis developed in a partnership between Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in Brazil and INSA of Lyon, Thermal Centre of Lyon, Building Physics Team (CETHIL/ETB) in France. The purpose is to examine the envelope building design considering the outside microclimate to achieve a comfortable indoor climate. The context of exterior climatic features and site location are considered, taking in account an indoor discomfort sequence over a typical warm season.

This paper investigates the generation of typical meteorological years (TMYs) and example weather years (EWYs) for Hong Kong, and studies their effects on the simulation results of the performance of building energy and renewable energy systems, i.e., solar and wind energy systems. According to various methodologies, different TMYs and EWYs were calculated using Hong Kongs weather data from the past 22 years. The results were used for a building energy simulation and for a

This paper presents a case study : under extremely hot and arid climate, the thermal perception of 36 students has been tested. For the calculations, energy balance models of Fanger and Gagge et al. were used. There was a discrepancy between the observed and calculated values during daytime under extremely hot conditions.

Temperatures in buildings with low and high thermal mass levels have been monitored during the warm period in Kenya. The effect of thermal mass in lowering the maximum indoor daytime temperatures has been evaluated as very effective.

The applicability of natural ventilation depends strongly on climate. The potential of natural ventilation represents a measure of the feasibility of natural ventilation in a specific climate. A quantitative measure of this potential, expressed in degree-hours, may be estimated based on adaptive thermal comfort and monthly mean temperature. Degree-hours for natural ventilation represent the sum of the degree-hours for cooling saved by using natural ventilation when adaptive thermal comfort is considered.

The key objective of Precis was to evaluate the potential of renewable energies, including natural ventilation, in cities by exploring the relationships between urban form and energy/environmental performance.

This paper briefly outlines the development of a design tool for ascertaining thermal comfort in high rise buildings in the tropics. The design tool, based on wind tunnel studies and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations, was then applied to four cities in the tropics: Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta and Hong Kong. Can thermal comfort be achieved using solely natural ventilation? The overall conclusion was that natural ventilation alone cannot generally provide thermal comfort in high rise buildings in the tropics.