25 research outputs found
Bridging the domestic building fabric performance gap
It is recognized that there is often a discrepancy between the measured fabric thermal performance of dwellings as built and the predicted performance of the same dwellings and that the magnitude of this difference in performance can be quite large. This paper presents the results of a number of in-depth building fabric thermal performance tests undertaken on three case study dwellings located on two separate Passivhaus developments in the UK: one masonry cavity and the other two timber-frame. The results from the tests revealed that all the case study dwellings performed very close to that predicted. This is in contrast with other work that has been undertaken regarding the performance of the building fabric, which indicates that a very wide range of performance exists in new-build dwellings in the UK, and that the difference between the measured and predicted fabric performance can be greater than 100%. Despite the small non-random size of the sample, the results suggest that careful design coupled with the implementation of appropriate quality control systems, such as those required to attain Passivhaus Certification, may be conducive to delivering dwellings that begin to âbridge the gapâ between measured and predicted fabric performance
Summertime temperatures and thermal comfort in UK homes
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Building Research and Information [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09613218.2013.757886Internal summertime temperatures measured in 268 homes in the UK city of Leicester are
reported. The hourly data was collected from living rooms and bedrooms during the summer
of 2009, which was generally cool but with a short hot spell. Some household interviews
were conducted. The sample of homes is statistically representative of the socio-technical
characteristics of the cityâs housing stock. The data provides insight into the influence of
house construction, energy system usage and occupant characteristics on the incidence of
elevated temperatures and thermal discomfort.
The warmest homes were amongst the 13% that were heated. Significantly more of these
were occupied by those over 70 who are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures. The
national heatwave plan might usefully caution against summertime heating.
Temperatures in the 230 free-running homes were analysed using both static criteria and
criteria associated with the BSEN15251 adaptive thermal comfort model. These indicated
that that flats tended to be significantly warmer than other house types. Solid wall homes and
detached houses tended to be significantly cooler.
It is argued that adaptive criteria provide a valuable and credible framework for assessing
internal temperatures in free-running UK homes. However, the temperatures in the Leicester
homes were much lower than anticipated by the BSEN15251 model. Numerous possible
reasons for this discrepancy are discussed
The health impacts of energy performance investments in low-income areas: a mixed-methods approach
The study found improvements in subjective well-being and a number of psychosocial outcomes, but there was no evidence of changes in physical health
Hybrid ventilation for low energy building design in south China
Buildings and their related activities are responsible for a large portion of the energy consumed in China. It is therefore worthwhile to investigate methods for improving the energy efficiency of buildings. This paper describes a low energy building design in Hangzhou, south China. A hybrid ventilation system which employs both natural and mechanical ventilation was used for the building due to the severity of the climate. The passive ventilation system was tested using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and the
results showed that, in the mid-seasons, natural ventilation for the building is viable. The likely thermal
performance of the building design throughout the year was evaluated using dynamic thermal simulation(DTS) with local hourly standard weather data. It is evident from the modelling results that the hybrid ventilation system is a feasible, low energy approach for building design, even in sub-tropical climates such as south China
Commissioning management CIBSE commissioning code M
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