Potential of Night Ventilative Cooling Strategies in Office Buildings in Spain - Comfort Analysis
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Date
2016-03-29Author
Irulegi Garmendia, María Olatz
Ruiz Pardo, Álvaro
Serra, Antonio
Salmerón, J.M.
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International Journal of Ventilation 13(2) : 193-210 (2014)
Abstract
Night ventilation has been applied successfully to many passively-cooled or low-energy office buildings. This paper analyses the thermal comfort achievable in office buildings in Spain according to European standard EN 15251:2007. Furthermore, the comfort level is evaluated using the Degree Hours (DH) criteria and the maximum
indoor temperature. Considering the high interest of architects and engineers in the evaluation of optimal comfort condition as a function of building typology (8 typologies), glazing ratio (30% and 60%) and climate (12 different Climate Zones), a total of 192 different study cases are simulated. For every case, an optimal air
change per hour (ACH) that can range from 1 to 50 ACH is then determined. The research shows that passive night ventilation should be considered as an effective strategy for all Spanish Climates to reduce cooling demand in buildings with high daily internal gains (i.e. offices buildings), improving comfort conditions and flattening
peak temperatures.