Enhanced Sustainable Cooling for Low Energy Office Buildings in Continental Temperate Climate
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 5
Abstract
Developing efficient, sustainable, and affordable buildings requires combinations of passive and active measures that exploit specific onsite features. However, in temperate climates, reducing the heating demand (by south-oriented, triple-glazed curtain walls) has as a direct consequence an increased cooling demand. Using data collected over three years (2013–2015) in a mountain temperate continental climate, this paper analyzes the effect of (passive) natural night ventilation and (active) ceiling cooling on reducing the cooling demand in large office spaces in energy-efficient buildings. The results match those modeled using in-field climatic input data, whereas simulations using interpolated data lead to differences compared with experimental data. The results show that natural night ventilation decreases the cooling demand by 97% in June, and reductions of 33% are reached during the hottest month, August. When involving natural night ventilation and ceiling active cooling (heat pump in reversed mode), 88% coverage of the cooling demand is reached in August. A significant indoor temperature gradient (10°C) is registered during hot days, with peak differences in early afternoon, suggesting a need for customized cooling algorithms.
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Acknowledgments
This paper is supported by the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development (SOP HRD), financed by the European Social Fund and by the Romanian Government under project number POSDRU/159/1.5/S/134378.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 5 • October 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 3, 2016
Accepted: May 1, 2017
Published online: Aug 12, 2017
Published in print: Oct 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Jan 12, 2018
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