cooling energy savings

Because of the customers’ need of best possible comfort condition and satisfaction, shopping centers are conditioned by means of basic HVAC systems, often without considering the potential of natural ventilation to reduce energy consumption related to cooling and ventilation. Within the European project CommONEnergy, EURAC researchers are dealing with ventilative cooling strategies as retrofit solutions for shopping centers.

Because of the customer need of best possible comfort condition and satisfaction, shopping centers are conditioned by means of basic HVAC systems, often without considering the potential of natural ventilation to contribute to air change rate, and to reduce the cooling demand. Mechanical ventilation systems are also preferred to natural ventilation because more controllable and reliable since they are not affected by the uncertainty of natural forces.

Cooling energy savings in a building with the roof coated by high reflectance paint are examined. It is difficult to recognize the cooling energy savings by using the data observed every hour. It is assumed that factors affecting to cooling energy load are the internal heat generation, the set temperature, weather conditions, etc.

Cool roof coatings remain cooler than absorptive roofs and thus predominantly are used in buildings that require the reduction of the indoor temperature and the cooling loads. Cool roofs can also reduce the ambient temperature. A currently contentious aspect of solar reflective cool coatings is the extent to which an initially high solar reflectance decreases with time.