This paper proposes a new mode of ventilation for indoor airflow. Computational results show that with properly designed supplied air velocity and volume, locations of diffusers and exhausts, the proposed system should be able to maintain better thermal comfort with a smaller temperature difference between the head and foot level, and possibly lower energy consumption, if compared with conventional systems. It looks promising that better indoor air quality (IAQ) in the breathing zone could also be achieved but that further work is needed to determine if IAQ benefits are significant.
Traditional residential buildings in Anhui, Southern China, maintain comfortable indoor thermal conditions in the summer without any air-conditioning. To understand this phenomenon, the building thermal environment was simulated to study the physical principles for maintaining natural thermal comfort. Measured data such as outside temperatures, solar radiation intensities, the thermal characteristics of the structure, and the interior gain were used as the boundary conditions.
Efficient energy utilization and indoor air quality (IAQ) inside office premises and other public places have become issues of increasing concern in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The Government of HKSAR has launched a territory wide consultation in 1999 on the proposed Indoor Air Quality Management Programme for offices and public places. This paper briefly introduces the proposed Indoor Air Quality Management Programme and its proposed target objectives.
Relationship between sick building symptoms and type of heating system were investigated through a questionnaire in 4815 dwellings from 231 multi-family buildings built before 1961. Results do not demonstrate that energy savings measures in general increase the risk of sick building syndrome, but major reconstruction of old dwellings may increase this risk.
In addressing the goals of energy-efficiency and indoor air quality (IAQ) in homes, industry teams in the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America program are installing mechanical ventilation systems in tight homes. A variety of designs - some simple and inexpensive, some more sophisticated - have been demonstrated. The advanced designs provide more consistent ventilation over time, more uniform ventilation among rooms, and source control measures that reduce the air-change requirement.
Describes how a Wisconsin engineer is using basic thermodynamic principles and readily available equipment to design innovative heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems. The hybrid HVAC designs offer two crucial elements: supply ventilation composed of 100% outdoor air and significantly reduced energy consumption. The new systems are both competitive in price to conventional systems and also less expensive to maintain. In one case study the hybrid system ventilates a 33 year old school building with 100% outdoor air and reduces building energy costs by at least 21%.
Many methods of estimating energy savings from measured weather-dependent energy consumption data attempt to compensate for varying weather conditions between the pre- and post-retrofit periods by identifying an empirical model of pre-retrofit energy consumption and outdoor air temperature. Even though the pre-retrofit model may include a balance-point or change-point temperature, savings determined using this method implicitly assume that the indoor air set-point temperature and internal heat gains are the same during the pre- and post-retrofit periods.