TABS, THERMAL ACTIVATED BUILDING SYSTEM, TO IMPROVE COMFORT IN SCHOOLS

Indoor air quality has caught attention of the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and theEnvironment and a large campaign was started in 2005 to make the public aware of the dangers tohealth as result of poor ventilation in housing. Indoor Air Quality and thermal climate in schools isproblematic in many countries. The status quo in the Netherlands is presented. The goal of a firststudy was to evaluate the performance of exhaust-only ventilation systems and in 5 schools weremeasurements undertaken. In a following study, 6 schools with different ventilation systems werestudied. Main conclusions from these studies were: IAQ in the evaluated schools did not meet therequirements; more ventilation was essential for better IAQ and also the thermal comfort was notadequate. As many studies focus on the ventilation aspects we focus more on the thermal comfort ofthe schools. A new approach to design adequate solutions for school buildings was developed duringthe last years. Hydronic Radiant Heating Systems or also called Thermally Activated Building Systems,with thermo activated concrete is used. In three of these new schools the systems were examined andmeasurements were undertaken to determine the comfort generated by these new indoor climateconcepts. The results are described in the paper.