The paper reviewed the supply opening models of describing inlet boundary conditions for indoor airflow simulation firstly. Then examples of isothermal free air jets from a grille are presented to validate full representation of supply openings. Some results by the simplified method called N-point supply opening model, are also shown to compare with the full representation method. Four different outlet conditions of a grille are studied. The k-e turbulence model is applied.

When studying improvements on room by room air conditioning appliances (RAC), it is necessary to know for how long these appliances function and which is their effectiveness - EER - on average (or Seasonal) known as SEER. A method was developed for Europe, taking into account the cycling losses, the fouling losses and the variations due to outside temperature and humidity. Further to this the load was represented by an equivalent number of hours at full load.

Thermal bridges are the typical locations for moisture and mould problems in buildings. Low surface temperatures in combination with a high humidity level in buildings can lead to severe problems and complaints by the occupants. Thermal bridges lead also to a significant increase of the energy losses in well insulated buildings. At present, thermal bridge problems still frequently occur in new buildings but especially in rehabilitation projects. In several countries so-called thermal bridge atlases already exist.

In this paper the experimental results of the measurements obtained after the completion of a test room realised in the laboratories of the Dipartimento di Energetica dell'Universit di Ancona and the development of the monitoring system are reported. The same authors have already discuss in others works the preliminary studies about these themes and in which it is possible to read the first data of the effectuated studies about climatization phenomena.

Building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) systems are increasingly common in developed countries and have the potential to contribute significantly to electricity generation as a benign alternative to fossil fuel generation. The University of Nottingham has recently completed a new campus, The Jubilee Campus. PVs are integrated into the roofs of four atria for the teaching buildings in the new campus. This paper presents the performance of roof-integrated PVs using CFD (computational fluid dynamics).

Earth-air heat exchangers can be used to reduce energy consumption in building ventilation systems. The idea is to pre-heat air in winter and pre-cool air in summer using the thermal capacity of the soil. To do this concrete and plastic tubes are put underground, through which the ventilation air is drawn. In this paper a 3D unstructured finite volume model is derived, which allows evaluating the earth-air heat exchanger. The model solves conduction through the soil and the convection from air to the tube wall.

A major concern of those wishing to limit the energy use in buildings is the growing trend towards installing air-conditioning in new and refurbished buildings. Building design, high thermal loads, and a desire for perceived comfort, contribute to an ever-growing demand for full air-conditioning. Therefore, to counter the impact on building energy use, it is essential that building design and operation is developed to minimise the use of air conditioning systems.

The performance of a Ventilated wall component under real weather conditions was tested, during two weather seasons, winter and summer. The component was built in a 1:1 scale, consisting of two equal area parts, a Ventilated wall with and without a radiant barrier. It was installed at the South faade of a PASSYS outdoor Test Cell at CRES. Air openings were located at the bottom and top of each wall component in order to facilitate the air movement through the air gap.

Dynamic insulation is a very good example of a ventilation system integrated with the building envelope. The paper describes two recent studies carried out at Nottingham on dynamic insulation. One study concerns a system based on mechanical ventilation. The other describes a purely natural system. Although there are few existing applications of dynamic insulation, it is argued that there is potential for both systems, particularly with certain types of building. The natural system is technically more challenging than the mechanical system, but the potential energy savings are larger.

This paper briefly exams the role of the building envelope in determining the internal environmental conditions in buildings and the scope for holistic design of building services and building envelope. It then looks at how holistic design may be undertaken, the barriers to be overcome to enable this to happen and the incentives that are necessary.