The large advancement in the market of building materials and of HVAC systems leads to a wide variety of technical solutions that can be employed to build an efficient low energy commercial building.The comparison between different combinations of parameters representing the main elements of the envelope, lighting management and solar blinds, office automation, plug consumptions and efficiency of the HVAC system is always of special interest to building owners and HVAC design engineers; however, such a study is rarely totally accomplished because of the time required.The paper describes a f

Already 20 years ago, Gro Harlem Brundlandt stated «I believe the time has come for higher expectations, […] for an increased political will to address our common future» ([1], p. 13). Indeed reading the newspapers one could get the notion that finally po

The paper shows the life cycle of a low-energy detached house from the viewpoint of CO2-emissions. It compares the energy use in the course of its service life in relation to energyinput necessary for its assembly and manufacturing of single building products. The servicelife is described using both the standardized calculation methods for energy balance ofbuildings and the open software tools, e.g. esp-r, as well.

The following article presents a method that outlines how to effectively construct buildingsthat emit only minimal concentrations of harmful airborne substances. The conception andimplementation of a label that certifies the ambient air quality of newly constructed andrenovated buildings by carrying out accredited, post-construction air quality evaluations, willtouched upon as well. In addition, a certified building of Swiss Life, Zurich will also beprofiled.

The article deals with air parameters in building exterior and interior. External air temperatureis the most important air parameter in the exterior. The temperature is influenced by local areaparameters. The annual external air temperature measurement in city centre and periphery inCentral Europe is presented. The article also contains multizone modeling and simulation ofindoor air quality during different boundary conditions (external environment), variousoccupations of interior and different types of ventilation and ventilation air amount.

Emissions and odors from different common indoor surface materials (waste woodenproducts, vinyl, linoleum, carpet, gypsum board, paint, wall coating materials etc.) wereinvestigated within this study. The measurements were conducted in a test chamber understandardized conditions (23C, 50%) and different ventilation rates. Chemical measurements(TVOC) and sensory assessments (odor intensity, perceived air quality) were done after the3rd day of building material exposure to standardized conditions.

The printers emit the chemical compound when its temperature rises during normal operations. And it primarily influenced the chemical concentrations such as formaldehyde and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) in a living space. The measurements on the various types of prints from different manufacturers such as laser jet type, inkjet type were performed in emission test chambers of 1m3 and 5m3 with ventilation rate of 1.0 ACH(air change rate) supplying low-polluting clean air.

In the present study Multi gas-sensor systems (MGSS) are used to evaluate the odor intensityas it is perceived by humans. These systems measure volatile compounds in a holistic mannerand present a signal pattern of the air sample. The model for the determination of the odorintensity consists of two major parts: discrimination into odor classes and subsequentquantification of the intensity. The discrimination is achieved by multivariate statisticalmethods or neural networks. The correlation to the intensity is done by odor class specificregression methods.

In the german research project a method had been developed and tested, which enables thesimple and safe integration of sensory tests into current test procedures under the AgBBscheme (see below). The method can provide a proper amount of sample air to the panellistsfor assessment, regardless of the size of the emission test chamber.A round-robin test is conducted to evaluate the combined emission/odour testing scheme. Astandardized building product is evaluated by eight laboratories concerning chemical andodorous emissions.

This paper shows first results of an ongoing research project, which aims to develop a transfermodel to link the odor intensity with the perceived air quality assessments. This model isbased on basis odors, which were in this research project selected according to the primaryodors defined by Amoore. Each basis odor measurement of the perceived intensity and airquality establish a transfer function between the intensity and the acceptability values. Thebasis odor samples are generated by using the saturation method and a dilution process withclean air.