Following the study by V H C Crisp and P J Littlefair (CIBS, 1984)1 on Average Daylight Factor Prediction, the arguments for the use of average daylight factor as a design criterion are reviewed in light of new experimentalassessments.
This paper describes some of the thinking behind the thermal comfort provisions of the new European StandardEN15251 (CEN: 2007) which deals with all aspects on the indoor environment. The paper will present the evidence on which its provisions are based (focusing on thermal comfort) and the advantages they present for those concerned to design buildings which use the minimumof energy.
In urban canyons where, apartment buildings can be beneficial in terms of their close proximity to offices, shops etc, causing less traffic congestion and pollution, saving fuel costs and bringing people in close proximity to city centres. At the same time trying to accommodate people in city centres, leads to the development of congested and confined narrow deep apartments which have to be mechanically ventilated and artificially lit. To reduce costs, in 1962 designers began building narrow structures with light curtain walls and thin frames to increase daylight and natural ventilation.
This study examines, by means of energy simulation softwares, the thermal behaviour of a real heavy masonrybuilding designed with a full application of bioclimaticstrategies, located in Mediterranean climate; the results are then compared with the performances of a twin building, which differs for one single feature, that is thermal mass.
The objective of this work is to demonstrate through a case study of a Shopping Centre in Portugal how daylighting and Passive Solar Strategies can be efficient in this kind of buildings, always characterized by large transparent areas and, in consequence, with enormous heat gains that cause overheating problems, especially in summer. Different strategies will be showed applied to a real case. The Shopping Centre in analysis has considered, since the first phase of the design process, natural ventilation, daylighting and others efficient strategies.
The solar cooling plant in the Rethymno village Hotel supplies cooling energy to the dinning room as well as it supplies hot water to its central Domestic Hot Water (DHW) network. The solar cooling system is based on an absorption type machine, LiBr/H2O, able to be generated at the level of 80oC, since it is of single effect. The favorable environmental impact of the installation is highly important since the oil displacement by the solar energy yields to high CO2 emissions reduction.
This paper describes major elements of the design of three low-energy solar homes in Canada. Two of these are part of a demonstration program. The major features of the houses are: 1. direct gain passive solar design that emphasizes utilization of distributed thermal mass in the south-facing part of the ground floor; 2. a building-integrated photovoltaic-thermal (BIPV/T) system; 3. a two-stage ground-source heat pump with ECM (electronically commutated motor) fan used to heat/cool air in the house or an air source heat pump using BIPV/T air as the source to heat a storage tank; 4.
Installation of an evaporatively cooled hydroponic greenhouse on the roof of building can yield net energy savings for the combined structure, when compared to conventional air conditioning, and can conserve space by adding productive capacity to the rooftop. The proposed system offers energy and water savings far exceeding the levels achieved by traditional green roofs, but requires circumstances that favor co-location of a technically sophisticated agricultural facility with the building.
A two-storey wood frame house for the experimental study of hybrid residential ventilation was built in the campus of the Brno University of Technology in 2003. The house is fitted with a demand controlled hybrid ventilation system assisted with solar chimneys. Demand control of the system is based on the monitoring of carbon dioxide concentrations in rooms. There is a data acquisition installed in the house that monitors a number of parameters related to the performance of the house and the ventilation system.
Due to the exhaustion of fossil resources and greenhouse warming, the control of energy has become a key subject for the 21st century. To control energy demand, each countryhas to conceive low and very low energy buildings.In this context, we first inquire what characterize low and very low energy building so as to agree on a definitionof those buildings. Then, the paper introduces the seven guidelines of design of low energy buildings and describes techniques to set them up.
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