thermal performance

A universal lumped model is developed with the aim to predict the thermal performance of Double Skin facade. Three modules – ventilation, heat transfer and penetration - are coupled to comprehensively describe the energy and mass transfer processes. The unknown parameters, resistance coefficient and heat convection coefficient, are discussed and estimated. The influences of cavity shading position, cavity depth and ventilation height on energy performances are analyzed at the end of the paper based on the simulation results.

The last object of this study is to develop standard method for building insulation performance on-site evaluation using Infra-red camera.

This paper reports on an investigation of the natural ventilation and heat gain reduction of a new façade design referred to as the Thai modern façade (TMF). Two configurations were considered namely: Thai modern façade wall (TMF) and Thai modern façade wall with fin (TMF-WF). The first (TMF) was composed of two layers which consisted of an inner layer of clear glass and an outer layer consisting of a combination of fibre cement and clear glass slats. The second configuration TMF-WF included an external layer made from aluminium fins and installed at the front of the outer layer.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the influence of the selective ventilation in the thermal performance of modern naturally-ventilated houses built in the 1950’s and 1960’s in Goiânia, located in middle-west of Brazil. The selective ventilation is one of the passive thermal conditioning strategies recommended for buildings located in this city, in the summer.

Buildings represent the major energy consuming sector in India. Sustainable and climate responsive architecture offers possible solutions to this high energy demand. Vernacular buildings, in contrast to modern 20th century buildings, are more climate receptive to the environment and are based on principles evolved over many generations. The traditional architecture of housing in Chettinadu, Tamil Nadu, India is known for its use of natural and passive methods for a comfortable indoor environment. However, it has not been proved by a detailed and quantitative evaluation method so far.

In a hot-humid climate, comfort ventilation involving air movement over the skin of the human body is a prime consideration for thermal comfort. In developing countries with such a climate, the use of an air conditioner is not economically feasible by a majority of the population. Therefore, ceiling fan assisted cooling strategies hold significance. Fans increase the air movement inside rooms, thereby causing the layer of sweat over the occupant's body to evaporate. This paper aims to assess the evaporative cooling effect of a ceiling fan in a naturally ventilated house.

This article is part of a research in progress about comparative study methods for the Brazilian reality using among many other authors, Givoni (1969), Voght and Miller-Chagas (1970), Fanger-ISO(1970), ASHRAE (55-1992), Mahoney (1971), Humphreys (1978) and Olgyay (1962) methods. This research presents the principal concept to be evaluated by the Universal Fuzzy Controlled aiming to establish a reference to determine a possible interference of the acclimatization factor to determine thermal comfort.

This paper presents an analysis of the transient thermal performance of dynamic insulation. A modelbased on heat transfer through porous media is introduced, considering two types of boundaryconditions: (1) indoor temperature and outdoor temperature are constant; (2) indoor temperature isconstant while outdoor temperature changes. By solving the model numerically, it is found that for thefirst kind of boundary condition, the temperature profile in the wall will reach steady-state within onehour, when the porosity is high.

The potential for passive cooling of roof slabs incorporating an air cavity is important with respect tothermal comfort. Roof systems in traditional buildings, incorporated a ventilated roof or an air cavity.The concept has been proposed again in contemporary buildings in the construction of roof slabs,using a modular formwork system, where the cast in situ concrete slab is isolated from the screed with the introduction of a ventilated air space. The cavity is primarily intended to curtail the conduction and inward radiation of heat from the intense solar insolation on the concrete roof.

IQ-Test is a Thematic Network supported by the European Community under the EESD Programme.The objective of IQ-TEST is to further develop common quality procedures for the PASSYS/PASLINK test cell facilities that exist in 12 European countries. This should consolidate thenetwork, integrate the new test sites and strengthen its common approach of support for new product developments in the field of innovative building components.Round robin tests are underway to assess both the inter-site quality of testing and analytical procedures of the participants.