The comparison of four methods for the calculation of deep-basement heat loss is presented along with measured data for three basement types. The Mitalas method was found to give results in best agreement with measured data followed by the finite element method (FEM) program, the European Standard and the ASHRAE Fundamentals method. The studied methods, with the exception of the European Standard of which the physical background was unknown, were chosen because each of them is also representative of a particular physical model of decreasing complexity in the above order.
The idea that intend temperatures can be reduced by ventilating the air-space between the ceiling and the roof (the attic) of a house, is widely acknowledged by Civil Engineers and Architects. This phenomenon was evaluated through three softwares (CASAMO-CLIM, COMFIE and SPIEL) which were designed for the analysis of the thermal performance of buildings, by comparing the results of all three.
This paper presents the results of a monitoring programme on a medium sized educational building which has had the external walls re-clad. The objective behind the re-cladding was to improve the durability of the building and to improve the thermal performance. The objectives of this work were to establish the viability of the calculation techniques used to simulate the ventilation, thermal and moisture performance of the re-cladding system. The results have shown that there is a good agreement between the methods currently being used and the actual performance.
In the frame of the European PASCOOL project, several experiments regarding single sided ventilation were carried out at BBRI in the outdoor PASSYS test cel. The test room of 30 m³ has a vertical window of about 1 m². During a first measurement period, an open cold box, which allows one to control the vertical wind speed, was placed in front of this window. During a second measurement period, the window was directly exposed to "real wind". The air change rates were evaluated by using two different methods: a tracer gas technique and the heat balance approach.
This paper presents the estimation of air infiltration in a building using the COMIS multi-zone model. The applicability of this information in the design of buildings is demonstrated and the effect of air infiltration in the thermal performance of buildings is investigated. An integrated method incorporating both air infiltration estimation and building thermal simulation is proposed.
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