English

The objective of this research was to investigate thermal comfort with respect to the mass of the building inside a test room which is naturally ventilated. The room is an existing portable cabin of light mass, located at Loughborough University. The comfort parameters for different mass of the cabin were predicted. For this purpose a simulation package, is used to calculate the thermal parameters defined by Fanger. Medium and high thermal masses were added to the test room and their effects on thermal comfort were investigated.

The effects of surface air movement on material emissions were investigated experimentally. A field study was carried out to understand the characteristics of surface air movement in real rooms, and a velocity-controlled test chamber was designed and built, based on the field study results, to provide a uniform mean air flow and boundary layer condition over the test area. An extensive experimental study on the effects of air movement on material emissions was carried out, under different mean flow velocities and turbulence fluctuations, by using the small velocity-controlled test chamber.

BRE has developed a new technique for measuring time-averaged ventilation rates in occupied buildings using a perfluorocarbon tracer gas. It was conceived as a way of solving the problems which arise when conventional tracer gas techniques are used in large or multi-roomed buildings. Potentially, the new technique will allow routine performance monitoring of both natural ventilation and forced air supply systems, thereby helping users to save energy and to meet the health, safety and comfort requirements of the building's occupants.

Windows are where we often look to improve the energy performance in old homes. But don't rip out those old sashes yet. A field study in Vermont suggests that "remove and replace" is not necessarily the way to go when it comes to old windows.

This paper presents an investigation into natural ventilation in the field of computational fluid dynamics using in particular rather rough mesh cells. The CFD results were then  compared to the wind tunnel results obtained by Gouin at the Centre Scientifique et Technique du Batiment ( CSI'B) in Nantes. The role of eaves, and that of window configuration on windward and leeward sides of buildings was also investigated to search for a better interior airflow.