The requirements to know indoor thermal comfort ask for a more detailed study of room temperature responses. Although CFO (Computational Fluid Dynamics) techniques can be applied successfully to the prediction of indoor temperature distributions, using them for the dynamic calculation of temperatures and air flows is still a very expensive expenditure. For indoor climate control systems, it is necessary to make quick calculations of the dynamic temperature distributions in a room.

To control the indoor thermal environment within the comfortable range, the dynamic temperature distributions and flows of room air must be correctly predicted. While the CFO (Computational Fluid Dynamics) technique can be used to carry out such a prediction task, its drawback is also obvious: too time-consuming. To solve this problem, the dynamic temperature distributions can be predicted with some fixed air flow fields calculated with CFD codes. That is, sacrifice the dynamics of indoor air flows and only preserve the dynamics of the temperature distributions.

In the frame work of IBA Task XIII, a pilot project URBAN VILLA has been realized in Amstelveen, The Netherlands, Ref. /1/. This project concerns the development of an apartment building of 42 luxurious apartments, of which 16 will have extreme low energy consumption. Success and failure of every new domestic design are ruled by the sensation of comfort, experienced by the residents. Therefore, in order to make this a successful project comfort requirements should be fulfilled.

 Calibrating air flow measurement devices is a constant headache for users in the field. Peter Downing explains how sophisticated ultrasonics can overcome the problem.            

A study comparing the effectiveness (as reported by occupants) of passive stack ventilation (PSY) and mechanical extract fans (MEFs) was carried out during the winter of 1996. This involved a face-to-face survey of 437 homes in England. More than 50% of the homes in the study had MEFs, 14% had PSV and 8% had humidistat-controlled MEFs (HMEFs). About 25% of the homes had either a kitchen or a bathroom with no ventilation device and 16% had no ventilation device in the home.

The propagation of low-amplitude air pressure transients within the drainage and vent systems of underground habitable structures may result in system failure due to trap seal loss and foul odour ingress into the occupied space. This paper develops the simulation of such transient response, and presents comparisons between predicted system air pressures and those monitored during the operation of the drainage and vent system in a large London Underground tube railway station.