2 research outputs found
An investigation into the energy and control implications of adaptive comfort in a modern office building
PhD ThesisAn investigation into the potentials of adaptive comfort in an office
building is carried out using fine grained primary data and computer
modelling. A comprehensive literature review and background study into
energy and comfort aspects of building management provides the
backdrop against which a target building is subjected to energy and
comfort audit, virtual simulation and impact assessment of adaptive
comfort standard (BS EN 15251: 2007). Building fabric design is also
brought into focus by examining 2006 and 2010 Approved Document
part L potentials against Passive House design. This is to reflect the
general direction of regulatory development which tends toward zero
carbon design by the end of this decade. In finishing a study of modern
controls in buildings is carried out to assess the strongest contenders that
next generation heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technologies
will come to rely on in future buildings.
An actual target building constitutes the vehicle for the work described
above. A virtual model of this building was calibrated against an
extensive set of actual data using version control method. The results
were improved to surpass ASHRAE Guide 14. A set of different scenarios
were constructed to account for improved fabric design as well as
historical weather files and future weather predictions. These scenarios
enabled a comparative study to investigate the effect of BS EN
15251:2007 when compared to conventional space controls.
The main finding is that modern commercial buildings built to the latest
UK statutory regulations can achieve considerable carbon savings
through adaptive comfort standard. However these savings are only
modestly improved if fabric design is enhanced to passive house levels.
Adaptive comfort can also be readily deployed using current web-enabled
control applications. However an actual field study is necessary to
provide invaluable insight into occupants’ acceptance of this standard
since winter-time space temperature results derived from BS EN
15251:2007 constitute a notable departure from CIBSE environmental
guidelines