thermal comfort

Biomimicry offers opportunities to advance the development of flexible building facades. Here, the combination of external fur, bioheat transfer (blood perfusion) and internal surface evaporation are combined into a model of a commercial office building façade. Temperatures and heat transfer are calculated in a dynamic simulation for summer conditions in a temperate climate (Melbourne, Australia). Thermal comfort, in terms of PMV and PPD, is assessed and compared to a reference case. 

Corporate tenants require ever-greater design certainty with respect to all aspects of proposed developments. Because of this, its relative novelty and a design methodology that differs from ceiling-based Variable Air Volume (VAV) air conditioning, Under Floor Air Distribution (UFAD) has faced significant scrutiny. Building simulation offers methods to understand the implications of design decisions.

The thermal comfort of the “Home for Life” dwelling in Denmark, the “LichtAktiv Haus” in Germany and “Sunlighthouse” in Austria is investigated with a particular focus on the control strategies and the role of solar shading and natural ventilation (ventilative cooling). These houses are three of six buildings in the Model Home 2020 project (Feifer, 2013). They have generous daylight conditions, and are designed to be energy efficient and CO2 neutral with a good indoor environment.

This paper presents a study of the potential for the use of natural ventilation systems in Portuguese multi-family residential buildings under winter climatic conditions. The behaviour of various natural ventilation systems is tested in a standard residential dwelling, using the TRNSYS 15 and COMIS 3.1 software programs. This study leads to the conclusion that the use of hybrid ventilation systems can save a considerable amount of the energy normally spent on continuously operating mechanical ventilation systems.

As a novel air distribution system, diffuse ceiling ventilation combines the suspended acoustic ceiling with ventilation supply. Due to the low-impulse supply from the large ceiling area, the system does not generate draught when supplying cold air. However, heat sources play an important role on thermal comfort in the occupant zone. Another characteristic of this system is its lower pressure drop compared with conventional ventilation systems, which reduces the noise problem and, at the same time, the energy consumption of the fan can be reduced.

Thermal comfort study has been conducted in two Jakarta’s private universities, namely Tarumanagara University (Untar) and Mercu Buana University (UMB). Ninety architecture students involved in this study, collecting 900 thermal votes from various indoor temperature conditions. Comparing to the previous study done in Jakarta in 1993 the result of this study was quite different, subjects were comfortable in much lower temperature. Even when compared with the previous study in Bandung with a lower outdoor temperature, subjects’ comfort temperature in this study was about similar..

The main purpose of this paper is to review the effect of the dynamic aspect of natural air movement on occupants’ thermal comfort. Recent advanced investigations addressed the dynamic aspect of air movement in terms of turbulence intensity, probability distribution and power spectrum. This paper is not only about providing a thorough description and discussion on the underlying physical mechanisms of these factors, it is also about reviewing the effect of these parameters on occupants’ thermal sensation, perception and comfort under different thermal conditions.

A post-occupancy evaluation was carried out in three prefabricated timber housing developments in the UK to identify the potential of summertime overheating. All the case studies selected are recipients of various low-energy or sustainability awards built within the last eight years. Two of the case studies are modern multi-storey apartments blocks (Bridport and Stadthaus) and the third one (Oxley Woods) a housing development with ten different prototypes.

This paper develops and validates an agent-based model (ABM) of occupant behaviour using data from a one-year field study in a mid-sized, air-conditioned office building.  The full ABM is presented in detail using a standard protocol for describing this type of model.

For testing different engineering solutions for energy-efficient buildings, a low-energy building was built at the University of Tokyo as a pilot project. In this building, a radiant heating/cooling ceiling panel system is used. This study aims to not only clarify the system performance but also to share our experience and results for them to serve as a reference for other similar projects. Here, the system performance in relation to its heating/cooling capacity and thermal comfort has been evaluated.