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Thermal comfort improvement at the lowest energy consumption is a key issue when dealing with sustainability in buildings. An appropriate passive design is mandatory under those circumstances. Prior to construction, simulation tools help to make designs more sustainable. However, it is recognized a gap between real performance and the predicted one. This article presents the comfort methodology applied in an office building located in the north of Spain, characterized by a continental Mediterranean climate.

The most representative typology of residential buildings of Catalonia has been simulated in TRNSYS to evaluate the impact of both infiltration and natural ventilation. The typology is a block of apartments constructed during 1950-1980. 

The transformation of the building energy sector to a highly efficient, clean, decentralised and intelligent system requires innovative technologies like microscale trigeneration and thermally activated building structures (TABS) to pave the way ahead. The combination of such technologies however presents a scientific and engineering challenge. Scientific challenge in terms of developing optimal thermo-electric load management strategies based on overall energy system analysis and an engineering challenge in terms of implementing these strategies through process planning and control.

The control of heat losses, inwards/out, in nearly zero energy buildings is of high importance. The transmission losses through the building envelope are easily reduced using larger amounts of insulation. Calculation of the impact of this action on the total energy demand of the building, is quite standard. It’s however much more difficult to determine the efficiency of actions to increase the airtightness of the building and the influence of the ventilation system.

We conducted observations of wind velocity profiles above a high-density area in Tokyo, Japan, using a Doppler LIDAR system. Obtained data of the exponent index for the power law, which is commonly used to describe the wind velocity profile, displayed diurnal variation, decreasing in the daytime, which is expected in unstable atmospheric conditions. This paper provides information on the uncertainty in the calculated ventilation airflow rate due to the use of a constant value for the exponent index.

With a tighter building envelope more minimal influences come into consideration. As how the thermal and hygrothermal properties of the materials may improve the ventilation or whether the dust distribution is altered with the new surface temperatures and flows and of course how all other new chemicals which we introduce to living environments affects the IAQ. Preferably the in situ measurement data from the filed campaigns and case studies will be defined as ST5 in Annex 68.

The objectives of Subtask 4 are to develop design and control strategies for energy efficient ventilation in residential buildings which ensure high indoor air quality. The strategies must go beyond the current common practice and actively utilize recent research findings regarding indoor air pollutants and combined heat, air and moisture transfer as well as benefit from recent advances in sensor technology and controls.

The objectives of Subtask 3 Modeling are to improve the understanding and develop prediction models on the impacts of outdoor pollutants, thermal environment, building materials and envelope, and indoor furnishing and occupant activities on the indoor air quality, and the energy necessary to achieve the desired IAQ level in residential buildings, considering the IAQ metrics and pollution loads to be developed in Subtask 1 and 2, respectively.

First the Subtask will organize a literature survey and make researcher contacts to gather relevant data and existing knowledge on major pollutant sources and loads in buildings, including models. Laboratory testing and model setup to provide examples of new types of data which shall be beneficial to improve knowledge on combined effects that must be taken into consideration in order to achieve new paradigms for energy optimal operation of buildings.

Subtask 1 of IEA EBC Annex 68 will aim at defining the metrics to enable a proper consideration of both energy and IAQ benefit in building design and operation