LoginThe vote of acceptance of the thermal conditions of a built space varies with the individual. The design of the space should consider the occupant's thermal comfort therefore the future users' opinion on thermal conditions.
Bibliographic database Airbase
AIRBASE is the Bibliographic Database of the AIVC. It contains publications and abstracts of articles related to energy efficient ventilation. Where possible, sufficient detail is supplied in the bibliographic details for users to trace and order the material via their own libraries. Topics include: ventilation strategies, design and retrofit methods, calculation techniques, standards and regulations, measurement methods, indoor air quality and energy implications etc. Entries are based on articles and reports published in journals, internal publications and research reports, produced both by university departments and by building research institutions throughout the world. AIRBASE has grown and evolved over many years (1979 to present day, over 22000 references and 16000 documents available online). For most of the references, the full document is also available online.
Access to the publications is free of charge.
Human thermal comfort in warm conditions can often be improved inexpensively by increased air movement. Two automatic ceiling fan systems are described that regulate air speed to maintain comfort in changing conditions.
In the mid 1990's the 'need' to mechanically air condition school buildings became a political issue in North Queensland. Research suggests that school children are susceptible to heat stress, acclimatisation or cultural factors aside.
In buildings with passive downdraught evaporative cooling (PDEC), occupants are subjected to environmental conditions which might be characterised by elevated relative humidities, increased air speeds, and time-varying internal conditions.
This paper presents the findings of two recent studies on the thermal preferences of householders in upland and coastal tropical environments.
The SUNH and SHINE European Commission THERMIE 1996 Targeted Projects aim to demonstrate for European urban housing sector the relevance of a serie of innovative technologies (applied on 10 new 1;onstructions within SUNH and 6 retrofrtting project
The paper compares the design and measured performance of the relatively conventional Autonomous House and the earth-sheltered Hockerton Housing Project, both in Nottinghamshire, England.
The construction of dwellings for people with low incomes in developing countries encompasses a broad range of issues starting from the choice of the building site, to the construction phase and finally to the evaluation of the building itself.
For a house to be habitable it needs to be comfortable. In the warm humid climates interiors need to be cool for most of the year in order to be comfortable vis a vis habitable.
A "new" approach to passive design for residential buildings in a tropical climate. | 1999 | English
The typical passive design suggested for residential buildings in tropical hothumid climates is a lightweight building with many openings on the north and south walls to allow continuous natural ventilation, shaded by wide overhangs.
A study by the Australian Institute of Tropical Architecture was undertaken using the energy rating software BERS to determine the influence of using low absorptance paint on the thermal performance of uninsulated houses in the warm humid tropics
In many countries, besides the hot dry climate, the lack of energy resources is one of the brakes to the development: without air conditioning, it is not yet possible to give good conditions of working inside offices; air movements, dust, pollutio
The XIV-century Palaces of the Lions and Comares constitute the principal residential complex of the Alhambra in Granada. Both are distributed around gardens enclosed in courtyards, originally with abundant vegetation and water.
Passive cooling strategies can offer significant opportunities for improving the occupants' ambient comfort conditions whilst reducing the energy consumption in hot climates.
A recent European project explored combinations of radiative and evaporative cooling processes involving the roof for application in the Mediterranean region.
This paper describes part of an EC funded Joule project in which computer simulation has been used to investigate the viability of applying passive downdraught evaporative cooling (PDEC) to non-domestic buildings in hot dry climates.
The results of numerical simulation on the effects of solar chimney and underground cooling system for ventilation and heating in the new building of Faculty of International Environmental Engineering Kitakyushu University, Japan are described.