This paper presents the application of multi-inputs single-output (MISO) models to estimate thethermophysicals parameters of a building. ARARMAX, Box-Jenkins and the general MISO models areused to identify the U value, the time constant and the equivalent solar surface of the building.Optimization-based prediction error method (PEM) algorithm is used to estimate model parameters.This approach has been tested to analyze a passive solar house in Tunis. The identified parameterswere compared to theoretical values; good results have been obtained for the tested building.

Active solar heating was a favorite topic after the first energy crisis. Usage for space heating, however,proved to be completely uneconomic. Domestic hot water systems, instead, retained attention. Theycan be used year-around and have a much larger share in the hot water energy bill than space heatingsystems have in the heating bill. Of course, in the past, energy use for domestic hot water wasonly a fraction of the energy needed for space heating.

This paper aims to report the solar and thermal data for various common and innovative materialsused in outdoor urban applications. The tested materials include various types of coatings, tiles andasphalt pavement. In the framework of this research, the spectral reflectance and the emissivity of thematerials were measured using a UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer fitted with an integrating sphere andan emissometer. The solar reflectance of the samples was calculated.

Nowadays energy performance is an increasing concern to sustainable urban planning because of itsimplications in energy consumption patterns. Interactions between urban form and urban microclimatehas been broadly studied from large scale such as the city as a whole through heat island studies.However urban planning needs to be addressed at local scale as well.The purpose of the work is to study experimentally thermal conditions on outdoor spaces within theurban fabric at neighbourhood scale in Santiago city, Chile.

In this paper the thermal behaviour of a direct ground cooling system located in Milano, Italy, isstudied by means of dynamic simulations performed in the TRNSYS environment. The simulationmodel consists of a reference building equipped with radiant panels connected to a vertical groundheat exchanger. Room thermostats and chilled surface condensation sensors provide system control.The ground heat exchanger size is adjusted in order to provide summer comfort conditions in thebuilding as well as sustainable operation over a long period.

The goal of this study, carried out on a wooden building, is to apply the methodology of identification inorder to obtain the physical parameters which characterize the thermal behaviour of the building. Theidentification of the system is the methodology of modeling the system starting from the experimentaldata.

Since most important design decisions are taken during the first design phase, an evaluation ofthe total environmental impact is necessary at that moment. A first step in that direction is takenby the Flemish government through the introduction of the Energy Performance Norm (EPN) fromJanuary 2006 on. The EPN evaluates the overall energy consumption of buildings during the usephase instead of looking at thermal insulation and compactness only.

To achieve the intended results of building, managing and using a property requires knowledge,continuity and communication, which can be assured by a dynamic and flexible quality assurance(QA) system. Such a system, intended to ensure high-quality indoor environmental conditions, hasbeen developed and successfully applied over the last ten years. However, although clients have beenvery satisfied with the QA system and its results, the pressure for energy efficiency improvement hasincreased.

This paper presents a case study of a typically poor energy performing factory building singled outfrom nation-wide study on factory buildings for improving energy performance. Short term energymonitoring has shown that lighting system is the main energy consumer of landlord area energyusage in these naturally ventilated factory buildings. It aims to maximize significant energyperformance upgrading opportunities in the lighting system and explore the use of photovoltaics toachieve low-energy factory buildings.

The utilization factor is a relative well-known concept used in some simplified calculation methodssuch as the procedure described in the CEN EN-13790 where the FU depends on the inertia of thezone. In this paper we will analyse the inertia influence of each component of the zone in the inertia ofthe zone itself. With the results of this study, we will be able to know where to act if we desire to ariseor diminish the whole thermal inertia of a room. The present paper starts analysing the energy storedand released in building components as walls.