This paper presents a design method to definethe settings of HVAC systems in order toprovide thermal comfort in high MRTenvironment in hot climates. The method,firstly, discuss the use of simplified thermalload calculation methods, in face of thespecificities of the theme. Then, dynamic heat,air and moisture envelope simulations areperformed in order to define the surfaces'internal temperatures. The distribution system,including terminal sizing and positioning, flowrate and temperature, is defined based on CFDsimulations.

In this study, field measurements andinvestigations have been carried out tounderstand the energy consumption and indoorenvironment of a sustainable designed officebuilding. The office building is located in thenorth of Sendai City, northeast area of HonshuIsland, Japan. It was completed in June 2006and covers an area of 4090 m2. The building isconstructed in wood so as to reduce thegeneration of C02.

Translucent thermal insulation walls forJapanese houses have been designed to allowsolar radiation and daylight to pass through thewalls into the house (Fig. 1) in order to reducethe amount of energy required for heating andlighting and to create a comfortable lightingenvironment. The walls are made of translucentor transparent materials such as glass andthermal insulation material.The walls have been developed withconsideration given to conditions of variousregional climates and housing lots.

Experimental study was conducted onimproving air-conditioners' energy efficiencyusing hydroponic roof plants. The air-coolingeffect caused by the solar-shading andtranspiration of hydroponic-cultivated sweatpotato was measured. Using the measured data,it is estimated that how much the energyefficiency of an air-conditioner can be improvedif the cooled air is introduced into the outdoorunit of air-conditioners. The measured airtemperatures and cooling loads were used tocalculate the energy consumption of theair-conditioner.

Sales data shows that the use of air-to-air heatpumps in New Zealand houses is rapidlyincreasing. This rapid uptake will lead to newenergy and peak power demands on theelectricity supply system. Recent monitoringwork lias found solid fuel burners provided 56%of home heating energy while only 24% waselectricity. Heat puinps are therefore inainlydisplacing non-electric heating, and this mustultimately require additional electricitygeneration, transmission and distributioninfrastructure. Patterns of use will be critical tothe long-term impact.

According to the definition, passive houses inEurope meet a target energy demand for heatingof less than 15 kWh per square meter and peryear. This low level for the heating demand isbased on heating by a small post-heater in thehygienic ventilation system at 52 C maximum,while the ventilation system can be dimensionedpurely for ventilation purposes. In theory thusthe installed heating power is less thanapproximately 10 watts/m2.But what happens in practice?

A new innovative design concept for the indoorair conditioning systems is proposed. Thisconcept uses passive control and modularly airdiffusion devices and aims complying with boththernial conifort and energy efficiencyobjectives. Passive control aspect is studiedthrough the comparison between a circularreference jet and a lobed jet having the sameexit area and initial flow rate. It is shown that across-shaped lobed orifice allows a consequentincrease of the entrainment within a large rageof initial Reynolds numbers. Moreover the jet'sthrow is conserved despite its strong initialinduction.

Energy consumed in the Canadian residential sector for space cooling has more than doubled from 1990 to 2002. Cooling requirements, expressed by cooling degree-days have also increased. In parallel, there has also been a noticeable increase in the penetration rate of airconditioning systems: almost 45 percent of households were equipped with some type of air-conditioning system in 2003. A comprehensive ventilation approach requires not only air exchange but also indoor liuinidity control.

Realistic knowledge of window-opening andfans use behaviour is needed, for the thermalsimulation of naturally ventilated buildings. Ifcontrols such us windows and fans wereefective and easy to use, thermal discomfortcould be largely avoided. In practice theremay be constraints that hinder the use of suchcontrols. In uny thermul simulation theseconstraints need numerical values. In thispaper, we explore the nature and extent ofsome of the constraints operating on the use ofwindows and fans, making numericalestimates of their magnitudes from extensivefield databases.

People who become too warm or too cool willadjust their clothing or reset building controls(windows, blinds, fans, thermostats) with theainz of restoring comfort or reducingdiscomfort, if they are free to do so. However,the trigger-temperatures for warm and colddiscomfort depend on (among other things)the clothing and the ,fan setting. The trigger temperaturesdiffer from person to person andfrom time to time. If several controls areavailable, people will first use those that areuser-friendly, effective and withoutundesirable consequences.