Thermal comfort conditions near highly glazed façades : an experimental and simulation study

There is a current trend of designing new commercial buildings with large glazed façade areas. Maintaining comfort in the perimeter zones of these buildings is difficult due to their exposure to solar radiation and cold outdoor air temperature. Designing these buildings with high-performance fenestration systems, however, can improve energy performance, provide a high-quality thermal and visual environment, and reduce thermal loads. This study presents an experimental and simulation study of thermal comfort conditions of a perimeter zone office with a glass façade and solar shading device. The study investigates the impact of climate, glazing type, and shading device properties on thermal comfort conditions. The objective of this study is to determine the façade properties that will provide a comfortable indoor environment without the need for secondary perimeter heating. Experimental measurements were taken in an office equipped with two different shading devices: venetian blind and roller shade. The thermal environment was measured with thermocouples, an indoor climate analyzer, and thermal comfort meter. For the simulation study, a one-dimensional transient thermal simulation model of a typical glazed perimeter zone office and a transient two-node thermal comfort model were developed. The impact of solar radiation and shading device properties on thermal comfort was also quantified. Simulation results were compared with experimental measurements. The impact of diffuser location for primary heating supply on indoor airflow and comfort is also investigated using computational fluid dynamics software and it is shown that good comfort is achieved without the presence of perimeter heating

Cause of Death and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Anticoagulated Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation : Data From ROCKET AF

M. Kaste on työryhmän ROCKET AF Steering Comm jäsen.Background-Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all-cause mortality may guide interventions. Methods and Results-In the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all-cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention-to-treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS(2) score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow-up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan-Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33-1.70, P= 75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51-1.90, P Conclusions-In a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, approximate to 7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereasPeer reviewe

Energy Use in the Building Sector and Climate Change: Modeling, Developments, and Future Trends

Climate change is going to have significant impacts among a wide range of areas and domains, including the building sector, characterized by constructions which may not be designed to be resilient to the evolutions in the warming climate that will occur in the next decades. The chapter investigates methodologies and approaches connected to the assessment of the effects of climate change to the energy use within the building sector. Methodologies are compared and the most relevant future trends expected are traced for the current century