English

One trend in whole building simulation is the incorporation of hygric interaction of room and enclosure. This allows besides a more detailed comfort assessment the optimization of building components to avoid moisture related damage or failure. Still, the main interest in the building design and optimization phase is the energy use combined with the occupants comfort. Several existing standards and guidelines allow the validation of building energy simulation tools, like ASHRAE 140 (ANSI/ASHRAE 140-2007 2007) or VDI 6020 (VDI Richtline 6020 2001).

For the surface temperature of clothing, body surface temperature, and detailed temperatures and heat flow phenomena of soles contacting the floor, results of measurement experiments using human subjects were compared with results of simulations conducted by CFD using a thermal mannequin. 

This study aims to conduct an Integrated Building Design process (IBD), collaborating a Building Information Modeling (BIM) application with a Building Energy Simulation tool (BES) to perform energy analysis, and improving the building energy performance of a Generalizable Building Design (GBD), an universal application on health care facilities design in Thailand, to state recommendations and guidelines of the BIM-BES integration for architects. A baseline model is created using a BIM system, exported by means of gbXML into a BES tool.

This paper proposes to study the role and the user in the operation of the building and its impact on energy performance of buildings.  Some comparisons of the energy consumption and production of the buildings were calculated during the design stage are made against the measured data of the consumption and production of the buildings when they are being utilized.

In this paper, numerical building energy simulations were  carried  out  with  weather  data  for  Karasjok,  Stuttgart  and  Seville,  to  evaluate  the  energy  saving potential of a floor with integrated PCM panels.  The  reference  case  was  a  lightweight  wood  frame  floor  construction.  The  effect  of  adding  different thicknesses  of  PCM,  concrete  and  wood  was  investigated. The main conclusions are: 

--There  is  a  significant  energy  saving potential  by  adding  thermal  mass  in  the  warmer climates in Stuttgart and Seville. 

This paper describes the full scale tests for air flows in a test chamber subject to heat loads generated by human occupancy and equipment. The Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was used to investigate buoyancy-driven flows near the human thermal manikin “Victoria”. Based on the experimental facility details, a full scale 3-D CFD model of the test facility was generated. The results obtained from the CFD simulation were compared with data obtained from the PIV results. Results compare very well and demonstrate the potential usefulness of PIV as a CFD validation technique.  

A simulation study was undertaken to assess the effects of vegetated walls on the thermal performance of a building. A thermal model of climbing plants was formulated using ECOTECT environmental simulation software and was validated against the data obtained by field measurements. This model was applied to a further simulation study and the results showed that plant cover improved indoor thermal comfort in both summer and winter, and reduced heat gains and losses through the wall structure.

Energy savings in the residential area are essential in order to achieve the overall goal for energy savings outlined in the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. This was adopted by the European Parliament in 2010. Unfortunately, the large focus on energy performance has reduced the focus on indoor environment. This has, among other problems, resulted in problems with overheated buildings. Therefore, a need for a simple and cheap method for evaluation of possible problems with overheating has arisen among the designers.

This paper evaluates the daylighting performance of a prototype external dynamic integrated shading and light redirecting system. The demonstration project was carried out on a building with an open-plan office. The prototype and original façades were placed on the same floor with the same orientation and similar surroundings. The existing façade was used as the reference for measurements and simulations. The focus of this research project was to employ available simulation tools for the system performance evaluation.

The insulation glass unit as a part of a window plays a key role in the design of low energy buildings. The paper focuses on a selection of glass units and the analysis of their contribution to the design of a low-energy school in Slovak climate conditions. The analysis was performed using “Designbuilder” software. The glass units were used in simulations with an emphasis placed on maximizing heat gains while minimizing heat losses in winter and minimizing heat gains in summer.