Natural ventilation in office-type buildings - results and conclusions of monitoring activities.

Since the beginning of this decade, natural ventilation in office buildings has been receiving specific interest. There are two sorts of application. Natural ventilation can be a strategy for indoor air quality control. It can also be used as night ventilation during warm or hot periods. In this case the objective is to cool down the thermal mass and improve the thermal summer comfort. The EC JOULE NatVent project wanted to identify the barriers to the application of natural ventilation in office-type buildings in moderate and cold climates and to provide solutions. In the framework of the NatVent project, 19 naturally ventilated buildings across Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland) were monitored. This paper briefly presents the monitored buildings and the major findings.