A new thermal simulation model, QUICK II, is presented and numerous verification case studies performed on naturally ventilated buildings are discussed. Four new case studies performed on two buildings located in the Negev desert in Israel are discussed in detail. All the measurements pertaining to these new case studies were taken independently by the Desert Architecture Unit of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research. These measurements are provided, along with a description of the buildings.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to improve the thermal quality of newhomes, most of which are being built in the sunbelt by large building development companies.Low-infiltration production (tract) homes need ventilation systems that satisfy the low-costpriority of the builders as well as the safety, health and low operating cost expectations ofhomeowners.
Testing was performed in 9 restaurants to identify uncontrolled air flows and pressureimbalances, building and duct system airtightness, building air barrier location, pressuredifferentials, building air flow balance, and ventilation rates. All restaurants are depressurizedunder normal operating conditions, ranging from -1.0 to -43 pascals. Space depressurizationis a function of exhaust fan flow rates, missing or undersized make-up air, intermittentoutdoor air caused by the cycling of air handlers, dirty outdoor air and make-up air filters, andbuilding airtightness.
Although most new houses in the Hokuriku region are equipped with air conditioners, some people living in farmhouses still feel that cross ventilation is more desirable. Comparative measurements were made between a new house and a farmhouse. Simplified simulations were also carried out to clarify the effects of thermal insulation and earth floors on cross ventilation in summer. The role of thermal insulation in hot and humid regions is different from that in cold regions, where there is a large difference between outside and inside air temperatures.
Most modern office blocks in Southern Africa are air conditioned, for obvious reasons, but some developers are eager to find ways of reducing the capital cost of these projects. Fred Smith of Ove Arup Partnership reports on one· particularly innovative project in Zimbabwe where passive cooling ·met the brief.
Since the combustion of fossil fuels is the leading causative factor in global climate change, the "Westernmodel'' of adopting energy-using technologies and using ever-greater amounts of energy will have important consequences for the future of human life on the planet if it is transferred on a wholesale basis to the developing world. It is thus important to Uy to understand, in the context of global development.
A detailed evaluation methodology, originally developed for PG&E's Act2 Project, was used to design cost-effective packages of energy efficiency measures (EEM's) for two residential sites in the Coachella Valley desert region of Southern California Design of the packages was based on "mature market" cost assumptions, which assume that the EEM has achieved volume production and widespread application in the marketplace. EEM packages were installed at the two sites (one new construction and one retrofit) and monitored for nine months during 1995.
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