English

This paper is a presentation of a concept for a new automated tool that uses the capabilities of Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS). Some parts of the commissioning process can be automatized and can generate benefits over the whole life of a building.

This paper proposes a new hybrid model for automatic diagnostics and optimal supervisory control. Detailed physical parameters represent half of the model and identified parameters describe another half. That hybrid model can be used to predict accurately the cooling and heating energy consumption of buildings in a wide range of operation conditions.

Standard 62.2. is the first and only recognized Indoor Air Quality standard for residential buildings in United States. It provides a variety of ways to improve at minimal cost the indoor air quality. This standard became official on October 2003. It may be applied to both new and existing houses.

In Norway and Sweden's schools, hybrid or natural ventilation with ground-coupled fresh air intake ducts (or culverts) is the popular way of conditioning air.The ground-coupled ducts are normally made of concrete and easily accessible for inspection and cleaning; they can be divided into two parts: the air-intake culvert and the air-distribution culvert. Measurements show that the use of ground-coupled ducts along with a suitable airflow regulation is a guarantee that the supply air is colder than room air.

Capture hoods are the most common measuring method for volumetric air flows from exhaust. The hoods have been continuously improved in order to prevent some deviations from calibrated values. In most cases a satisfactory accuracy can be achieved by this measuring method.

Preliminary experiments with a novel glazing system developed at the Desert Architecture and Urban Planning Unit of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev indicated that it may provide improved visual and thermal performance in buildings with large glazed areas located in sunny regions (hot and cold). In winter, it allows solar space heating but reduces glare, local over-heating and damage to furnishings caused by exposure to direct solar radiation.

The potential of controlling techniques for an electrochromic device is investigated in a systematic way, using both experimental and theoretical tools. Concerning the theoretical part a model was developed in the TRNSYS environment and validated against experimental data. These data were collected from experiments, which were carried out in a PASSYS test cell with a movable wall. Having established a good model performance several cases of window types (such as a 4mm clear window and a low-e double glazing) and controlling strategies for the electrochromic device are simulated.

An energy balance over an urban area and over a rural one, reveals that the first case is always more complex than the last one. The urban context is able to change all the energy transferences mainly due to its own layout. Thus, analysing all the energy transferences one by one, we can find how they affect in a different way depending on the surroundings, among other influences.

The aim of this paper was to examine the effect of two different dust collection devices, widely used in epidemiological studies. The device used for dust sampling has a significant influence on the amount of dust collected and may lead to uncertainty in the measurement of biomarkers.

This paper provides scientific evidence that electrified homes in South African rural villages have lower levels of air pollution compared to the non-electrified homes using fuel or wood. The measured air pollutants were RSP (stationary respirable particulate matter), the CO in the kitchen and the CO on the child.