English

This article presents a simulation study comparing the thermal interior comfort performance, the energy consumption and the efficiency of (i) nighttime ventilation concepts considering varying air change rates, (ii) three thermo-active building systems (TABS) and (iii) ceiling mounted radiant cooling panels in a low energy office building for a chosen climate of the Test Reference Year (TRY) weather database as well as for the hot summer 2003 in South-West Germany.

There is an increasing demand for energy efficient and environment-friendly buildings with a high  thermal comfort. On the other hand, the Kyoto protocol binds the developed countries to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases at least by 5% by 2008-2012.

Significant progress has been made in the area of common data exchange in the building industry with the development of information technology. Currently, the Industry Foundation Class (IFC) and Green Building XML (gbXML) are two prevalent informational infrastructures in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.

This paper deals with a common moisture problem in Swedish houses – the occurrence of high moisture levels in attics, and with a remedy proposed by building authorities – the ventilation of attic by outdoor air. The aim of the work is to identify  operating scenarios for an attic that lead to a moisture accumulation on internal side of the roof and to investigate whether ventilation (governed by wind) may help in removing the moisture excess. The role of the attic ventilation is analyzed by comparing attics with different air infiltration rates from a dwelling.

Energy consumption by residential sector of 20 Japanese cities was modeled at the city-scale. In the model, households were classified into 228 categories based on the family and building type. We evaluated the effectiveness of energy conservation measures, such as improving energy efficiency of home appliances, improving heat insulation of buildings, changing preset temperature, and all family members watching TV together. In addition, we also discussed differences in energy saving effects between cities.

In case contaminants are found in an aircraft cabin, it is useful to identify the contaminant source location and strength. This can be done through inverse Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling. Since inverse CFD equations are ill-posed, this study proposes to solve a quasi-reversibility (QR) equation and a pseudo-reversibility (PR) equation. The QR equation improves the numerical stability by replacing the second-order diffusion term with a  fourth-order stabilization term in the governing equation of contaminant transport.

This paper provides an overview of Daylight1-2-3, a new daylighting/energy analysis software for design professionals and architectural students with an interest in daylighting and sustainable design, but no required previous knowledge of either daylighting concepts or simulations. The initial version of Daylight 1-2-3 focuses on private offices, open-plan offices, and classrooms.

An energy management system (EMS) is a dedicated computer that can be programmed to control all of a building’s energy-related systems, including heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water, interior lighting, exterior lighting, on-site power generation, and mechanized systems for shading devices, window actuators, and double facade elements. Recently a new module for simulating an EMS was added to the EnergyPlus whole-building energy simulation program.

The subway station is a special location with very dense crowd. Because subway station situates in underground, people can not evacuate to ground easily. Once a fire occurs in subway station, it is very dangerous for people to stay in it. So, a well designed smoke exhaust system must be installed in subway station to control the smoke’s propagation and descending.

Natural ventilation airflow rate is generally calculated using indoor and outdoor temperature difference without consideration of heat balance based on the vertical air temperature distribution in simple analytical method.