SIMGIS : GIS FOR THERMAL SIMULATIONS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AUTHORS
Building simulation programs perform thermal simulations in a stand-alone scenario and, therefore, the resulting building automation is unable to handle a broad scenario of environmental changes. Due to the time needed for a building to react properly to short-term sudden weather changes, standard building automation is not enough to control energy consumption and thermal comfort efficiently: the sensors placed on the external envelop of a building provide information about weather changes too short in advance about weather changes. A meteorological station can inform in advance a group of buildings in an area about weather changes, but is unable, unlike a GIS, to identify the buildings which are really interested in the phenomenon and to send the weather changes information only to those buildings. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) has developed a new methodology to optimize building thermal performances by utilizing GIS, simulation, on line meteorological data and building automation.
Computer Evaluation of the Solar Energy Potential in an Urban Environment
Note: EPFL Reference LESO-PB-CONF-2002-001 Record created on 2005-01-12, modified on 2016-08-08
Improving Building Efficiency in Developing Countries: Case Study of Insulation for Northern Pakistan
There is a need to improve building envelopes in many parts of the developing world. In cold climates, scarce fuel is consumed in an attempt to maintain reasonable indoor temperatures. In Northern Pakistan, traditional houses are made with stone walls while newer buildings, houses and schools, use uninsulated concrete block that has even lower thermal resistance. Evaluation and improvement of these buildings were undertaken with a regional non-governmental organization. Measurements were made of the thermal resistance of typical exterior walls. An energy analysis showed that using 1.0 kg of straw in an insulation board would save about 5 kg of firewood over a winter in a Pakistani school. Recent research has focused on development of an insulation that can be retrofitted over existing walls. The insulation board must be sufficiently strong to support itself during construction and resist damage at its surface. Several methods of containing and binding straw were examined; the most promising adhesive was commercially available methane di-isocyanate. Good mechanical properties were obtained at resin contents as low as 2% by weight. At densities of 128 and 160 kg/m3 (8 and 10 lb/ft3), these boards have thermal conductivities of 0.039-0.041 W/m-K (R-values of 3.7 and 3.45 per inch), respective y. The boards have an estimated materials cost per unit thermal resistance that is roughly half the delivered cost of competing insulations available in Pakistan. Straw insulation boards have the added advantage that they can be made on site with semi-skilled local labor and local materials.