A conceptual model for performance evaluation of energy consumption and user comfort of the atrium buildings

Atriyum tipi binalarda aşırı enerji tüketimi ve aşırı enerji tüketimine rağmen kullanıcı konfor koşullarının sağlanamaması bir sorun olarak ele alınmıştır. Bu soruna çözüm üretmek amacıyla, atriyum tipi binaların dış kabuğunu oluşturan en önemli alt sistem olan camlama sistemine ait seçeneklerin, binanın enerji tüketiminin azaltılması ve konfor koşullarının sağlanması için uygunluğunun belirlenmesine ve buna ilişkin bir denetim sisteminin geliştirilmesine yönelik bir performans değerlendirme modeli hedeflenmektedir. Atriyum tipi binalarda enerji tüketiminin azaltılması ve kullanıcı konforunun sağlanması için istenilen performans kriterlerinin karşılanması, camlama sisteminin soruna çözüm getirecek biçimde tasarlanmasıyla olanaklıdır. Geleneksel binalardan daha karmaşık hava olayları içerdiği için farklılaşan atriyum tipi binalarda, geleneksel binaların performansının belirlenmesinde kullanılan enerji simülasyon programları yetersiz kalmaktadır. Bu nedenle modelin uygulanabilirliğini sağlamak için atriyum tipi binalarda karşılaşılan karmaşık hava olayları ve bu olayların birbirlerine olan etkilerini simüle edebilecek pek çok programın kullanıldığı bir simülasyon modeli oluşturulmuştur. Önerilen simülasyon modelinde, binanın enerji tüketiminin ve kullanıcı konfor koşullarına uygunluğunun belirlenmesine yönelik iç ortam verilerinin elde edilmesinde enerji simülasyon programı EnergyPlus, Window 5.2, Comis ve Delight, atriumdaki hava tabakalaşmasının belirlenmesinde hesaplı akışkanlar dinamiği programı Fluent ve Gambit kullanılmıştır. Simülasyon modeli kullanılarak elde edilen verilerin çalışmanın başlangıcında hedeflenen performans gereksinmeleri doğrultusunda oluşturulan performans ölçütlerine uygunluğu araştırılarak, atrium tipi binanın enerji tüketimi ve kullanıcı konforuna yönelik performans değerlendirmesi yapılmaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Atriyum, bina simülasyonu, enerji, kullanıcı konforu, performans değerlendirmesi.The advantages of the atrium which is commonly used in modern architecture in recent years, have been listed as; performing impressive spaces, reviving the indoor space by admitting daylight, maximizing the benefit from direct solar gain, maintaining solutions for natural ventilation and acclimatization, increasing interaction and socialization of the people. The atrium acts as a filter of undesirable effects of outdoor environment factors such as rain, snow or wind, and retains the desirable effects of outdoor such as sunshine, fresh air and visual circumstances (Bryn, 1995; Bednar, 1986; Saxon, 1986). Formation of the appropriate indoor environment conditions to meet the requirements of the users' in performing their physical, social and functional activities, is the main function of a building envelope. Under the effects of outdoor environmental factors the desire of forming the indoor comfort conditions, requires the need of energy consumption in buildings. The required energy which is used in heating, cooling and ventilation is generally provided by consumption of the unrenewable energy sources. The consumed energy is related with the performance of the building envelope that balances the relation between the outer climatic factors and user. The performance can be defined as the envelope's optimum benefit from the outer effects. The biggest part of the energy consumption in atrium buildings is based on the glazing system which is one of the most important parts of the building envelope. A study has been performed in order to determine appropriate glazing system to solve the problems of excessive energy consumption and insufficient user comfort conditions in an atrium building. The study has projected that the glazing system that forms the outer envelope of an atrium has to be designed to solve the problem of meeting the performance criteria to supply the requirements of user comfort and energy protection by the principles of sustainability and energy efficiency. The model suggests a determination of an appropriate glazing and controlling system to meet reduction in energy consumption and user comfort conditions in atrium buildings. Thermal and optical properties of the glazing system, infiltration, air movements between the adjacent zones and atrium, day lighting has been included in the calculations of  total energy consumption of the atrium building and evaluations of the indoor environmental conditions in accordance with the comfort requirements. Furthermore calculations of the air stratification of atrium have been done. In the study, application of the conceptual performance model is provided by the simulation model. The model includes different types of programs in order to estimate complex phenomena of the atrium which were computed with the interaction of the different simulation programs EnergyPlus and Fluent, as well as the auxiliary tools Window 5.2, Comis, Delight and Gambit that support them. The process of the model, the interrelation between the parameters of the process has been evaluated by the system interaction approach in a conceptual framework. The model includes three steps. In the first step, objects, limitations have been defined, determined and reorganized in the context of energy performance and user comfort conditions. The relationship between the input factors in the model; outdoor environment, building envelope and user requirements that play important role on the design of the building envelope have been given. In the second step, the model which includes the comparison between different glazing alternatives and the selection of the appropriate alternative has been established. In the third step evaluation, comparison and selection of the optimum alternative has been suggested. Finally the data required during these steps of the process has been given in detail. The simulation tools for testing the model and the interaction between them have been demonstrated. By the help of the simulation model, the atrium building's glazing system that determines the optimum performance of the building envelope and the components of the system have been investigated by the means of the properties of the system that affect energy performance and user comfort conditions in accordance with the related standards and calculation methods. Keywords: Atrium, glazing system, building simulation, energy, performance evaluation

Energy and cost efficient window selection model for residential buildings in different climatic regions of Turkey

Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’de ılımlı-nemli, ılımlı-kuru ve sıcak-nemli iklim bölgelerindeki konut binaları için enerji etkin ve uygun maliyetli pencere sistemlerinin seçimine yardımcı olacak dinamik bir modelin alt yapısı anlatılmakta ve modelin işleyişine ilişkin değerlendirmeler sunulmaktadır. Modelin ana amacı, konut binalarının kullanıcıları, tasarımcıları ve yüklenicilerinin pencere ürünlerinin enerji ve maliyet performans değerlendirmeleri ışığında uygun pencere seçimi yapmalarını sağlamaktır. Bu amaca yönelik olarak konut binaları ile ilgili kullanıcı gereksinmeleri, sınırlamalar ve yönetmeliklere göre farklı konut binaları tasarlanarak Türkiye’deki konut binalarını temsil eden bir konut tipolojisi oluşturulmuştur. Konut binalarında pencerenin enerji ve maliyet performansını etkileyen parametreler, iklimsel özellikler, pencere alanı, yön, güneş kontrol araçları, farklı özelliklere sahip çift cam üniteleri ve bina tipleri olarak belirlenmiştir. Öngörülen parametrelerin kombinasyonu ile oluşturulan seçeneklerin yıllık ısıtma ve soğutma enerjileri ile yaşam dönemi maliyetleri hesaplanmıştır. Çalışmada değerlendirilen binalar, parametreler, pencere özelliklerine ilişkin veriler ile parametrik çalışma sonucunda belirlenen yıllık ısıtma ve soğutma enerji tüketimleri ile maliyet sonuçları bir veritabanına kaydedilmiş ve sorgular yardımıyla birbirleriyle ilişkilendirilmiştir. Geliştirilen bir ara yüz yardımıyla kullanıcılar veritabanından kendi binalarına ilişkin dış çevre ve yapma çevre verilerini tanımlayabilmektedir. Sonuç olarak, pencere seçim modeli (HiPerWin) yardımıyla belirli bir duruma ilişkin iklimsel özellikler, konut birimi, saydamlık oranı, güneş kontrol aracı gibi özellikler tanımlanabilmekte; söz konusu durum için geçerli pencere seçeneklerinin enerji etkinliği ve yaşam dönemi maliyetleri karşılaştırılarak, maliyeti en düşük ve enerji etkinliği en yüksek olan pencereler belirlenmektedir.  Anahtar Kelimeler: Konut binaları, pencere sistemleri, ısıtma/soğutma enerjisi kullanımı, maliyet etkinlik, parametrik çalışma, ilişkisel veritabanı.Windows are the most complex and interesting elements in residential design and owners are often confused about how to decide the most efficient window for their residence since there are many complex issues that are difficult to balance. Understanding the energy and associated cost implications of different window systems will help the users, owners or contractors to make the best decision for their particular case, whether it is a new building or a window replacement. However up-to-date, reliable and accurate, time and cost data can be provided from various sources such as manufacturers, contractors, and research institutions, time and cost data regarding the residential window systems are not well-organised in Turkey. A research project was completed to develop a dynamic model to select energy and cost efficient windows for residential buildings, namely "Energy and cost efficient window selection model for residential buildings in different climatic regions of Turkey - HiPerWin". The challenge was to attain a basic source which supports the user to provide the energy and cost data required for the decision making in the selection of the residential window systems. The ultimate objective of the research project was to develop a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) which incorporated the whole data and processed data into information regarding the window systems and helped the comparison of the alternatives. Hence query parameters were presented for helping the users to define the built environment and housing unit characteristics of their own case to find out the appropriate window alternatives by comparing the total annual heating/cooling energy consumption and associated capital and ownership costs. In the context of the research project, the alternatives of the Insulated Glazing Units (IGU) with different optical and physical properties were generated. The performance values which demonstrate the insulation and solar control capabilities of the IGU's were calculated by using Window5 software. In accordance with having many parameters such as climate, building type, orientation, window area, shading devices and window components, a comprehensive parametric study was conducted for providing the energy use and associated cost data of each case by using a powerful whole building simulation tool EnergyPlus. The analysis was performed for the biggest cities; Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir having the highest degree of mass housing potential and representing temperate-arid, temperate-humid and hot-humid climates, respectively. Standard representations of buildings (i.e. building model) required for simulations, involving geometrical and semantic properties were stored in the HiPerWin data base and with the help of the query parameters which were associated with the entire data of the building model a particular case can be defined. The present value of future cost of window systems was calculated by using the factors and indices, both operational energy costs calculated from the energy simulations and the capital and operating unit costs of window systems. The capital unit cost includes purchase, installation and finance costs, while operating unit cost includes ownership, maintenance and energy consumption costs and salvage value if applicable. Lastly, window selection model which uses the building model, the energy data provided by the simulation results and the cost information calculated using the energy and related data was developed. The RDBMS and query parameters allow users to define their particular cases and compare the energy and cost performances of appropriate window systems in consideration. The HiPerWin model provides the user to select the most energy and cost efficient window system for their own case by considering the issues which have influence on the residential window performance. The results of the research project is critically important for the purposes of satisfying the requirement of comparative information pertaining to heating/cooling and total energy consumption and particularly present value cost data of window systems in Turkey. Making the energy and cost efficient window system selection prevalent will contribute to the national economy by enabling the usage of the limited resources which supports the sustainable design on country base. Keywords: Residential buildings, window systems, heating/cooling energy use, cost efficiency, parametric study, relational database