English

The present energy consumption of European Buildings is higher than necessary, given the developments in control engineering. Optimization and integration of smart control into building systems can save substantial quantities of energy on a European scale while improving the standards for indoor comfort.

The work presented in this paper was done in 1997 as a final thesis in mechanical engineering, supervised by TRANSSOLAR Energietechnik GmbH in cooperation with the Institute for Thermodynamics and Heat Technology (ITW), University of Stuttgart. The contents of the work is the investigation of natural ventilation through window openings (single sided and cross ventilation) in an existing office space. Both measurements and computer simulation have been conducted.

This paper describes the results coming out of the European Commission supported THERMIE Target Project Energy Comfort 2000. This was the first Target project, containing eight non-domestic buildings, started in July 1993 and to be completed at the end of 1998. The project aimed to design and construct buildings which use less than 50% of the energy of a traditional equivalent, by using passive methods, particularly to avoid the need for air-conditioning. High quality internal conditions were to be achieved.

The present study applies the N3S CFD code to the air cooling simulation on an "architectural reference object", namely the "Maison Ronde" of Mario Botta. The summer night situation is examined when natural ventilation creates indoor air motion and cools the building structure. The transient behavior of the walls is represented by a thermal model coupled with the CFD code. The simulation evaluates the unsteady temperatures of the outdoor and indoor air flow together with those of the wall surfaces.

This study is a contribution to European projects Pascool/Joule II and Altener/Sink that deal with the usability of passive cooling systems in Europe. The first phase of this work was to define design methodology in order to evaluate natural cooling potential according to the climatic quantification criteria of the site, the cooling needs of the building, the cooling system performances, and comfort criteria defined by the couple of temperature and relative humidity set points.

During 1997, an energy efficient building was designed, featuring energy conservation, passive solar heating, natural cooling and daylighting strategies. It is located in the province of La Pampa, in the temperate semi-arid region of central Argentina. The resulting compact design houses takes 634m2 of useful floor area with main spaces. An audience class, two laboratories, four research offices, one simple class and services make up the building. Solar windows are provided for all main spaces, except in the audience class. Clestories contribute to add solar gains and natural lighting.

In summer, it is possible to achieve a satisfactory comfort in residential buildings with purely passive means as thermal inertia, possibility of cross ventilation and solar protection of the external envelope. These parameters have to be taken into account at the earliest stages of building design.

This paper examines historical data on Government expenditure on grants for home energy efficiency improvements, and the effect that this had on the uptake of insulation measures. The analysis focuses on loft insulation, this being the main measure that has been targeted by grant schemes. The paper shows that variations in loft insulation uptake between 197 4 and 1996 were closely tied to changes to grant schemes. Furthermore, there is a clear correlation between the uptake rate achieved and the level of funding provided by the Government.

As everybody knows, today the air quality of an indoor environment may have several effects on our health; the beginning of serious breathing pathologies and of some forms of cancer, are with no doubt due to the presence of polluting and extremely noxious agents in the places we most frequently use. That's the reason why it is very important that indoor rooms are correctly aired also in our homes where, due to several incidental factors, the healthiness of the environment is still guaranteed by the mere and discretionary operation of users of opening the windows.

Smoking restrictions in the workplace and increased health consciousness at home have seen a sizable reduction in the number of spaces where smoking is permissible. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ventilation in public houses, one of the few remaining public spaces where smoking is still socially acceptable. Little is known about the situation with shared occupancies, where relatively large areas are intended to accommodate both smokers and non-smokers.