English

The performance of a passive heating system was evaluated as part of design works for the project of an office building. The passive heating system incorporates an array of buried pipes together with a solar chimney. The solar chimney collects solar energy, heating fresh air and pulling it from an array of buried pipes. The array of buried pipes was used as an open loop earth-to-air heat exchanger and air circulation inside pipes is due to the action of the solar chimney. We studied the heating fractions due to the solar chimney and to the buried pipes.

It is important to understand and model the behaviour of occupants in buildings and how this behaviour impacts energy use and comfort. It is similarly important to understand how a buildings design affects occupant comfort, occupant behaviour and ultimately the energy used in the operation of the building. In this work a behavioural algorithm for window opening developed from field survey data has been implemented in a dynamic simulation tool. The algorithm is in alignment with the proposed CEN standard for adaptive thermal comfort.

This paper presents results from a window blind usage field study that was conducted in California, USA. In this study, the measurements of physical environmental conditions were cross-linked with participants’ window blind controlling preferences (n=83). A total of seven predictive window blind control multivariate logistic models were derived. As hypothesized, the probability of a window blind closing event increased as the magnitude of physical environmental and confounding factors increased (p < .01).

The energy demand for heating is decreasing significantly in modern highly-insulated dwellings. Due to larger glass areas and well insulated buildings overheating becomes a problem. In a research project several hydraulic schemes with ground-coupled heat pumps and passive cooling with borehole heat exchanger have been evaluated. A parametric study with MATLAB/Simulink simulations using a residential low-energy building with floor heating system has been carried out. Simultaneous simulation of building and mechanical system showed dynamic interaction of floor and ground heat exchanger.

Reliable information regarding user presence and behavior in buildings is crucial for building performance simulation applications (energy consumption, indoor environment). In this context, the present contribution describes an effort to observe control-oriented occupant behavior in 29 offices of a large high-rise office complex over a period of one year. The observations regarding control behavior tendencies suggest relationships to both indoor environmental conditions and outdoor environment parameters.

The effectiveness of building performance simulation can be increased if more reliable information regarding user presence and behavior in buildings become available. In this context, the present contribution describes a study of control-oriented actions by the occupants of 6 offices in an office building over a period of nine months. The results suggest that control behavior may be related to both indoor environmental conditions and outdoor environment parameters.

This study aims to reveal the advantages of district heating and cooling system (DHC) in energy efficiency as an urban energy system in the future. In this study, an existing absorption-chiller-and-boilertype DHC plant, which utilizes large-scale combined heat and power (CHP), is chosen for a case study. We evaluate the energy-saving potential of the plant in the future by a simulation model.

As in most buildings windows, shades, luminaries, radiators, fans, and other control devices can be operated by building occupants, information on user control behavior is crucial toward accurate prediction of building performance (energy consumption, indoor environment). The present contribution describes an effort to observe control-oriented occupant behavior in an educational building over a period of one year.

Guiyang is the capital city of Guizhou province in southwest China, located in the Mild Climatic zone in China. With the economy booming in recent years, the energy consumption in heating and cooling buildings in Guiyang continues to increase. This paper presents a computer simulation study using DeST software package, which is broadly used to simulate building energy consumption in China.

This paper describes the development of computational thermal manikins (CTMs) to be used in a coupled simulation envrionment to simulate the human thermoregulary response in buildings. 3D graphic design and engineering tools have been used to create CTMs with different postures and clothing insultation levels. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of a nude CTM in a space with displacement ventilation has shown good agreement with experimental data of measured convective and radiative heat transfer coefficients.