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Energy Efficiency in Buildings

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In: Energy Efficiency, Recovery and Storage ISBN: 978-1-60021-767-8
Editor: Konrad A. Hofman, pp. 223-245 © 2007 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 11

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS

Celina Filippín#1 and Silvana Flores Larsen2∗

1
Spinetto 785 – (6300) Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina
2
INENCO - Instituto de Investigaciones en Energías No
Convencionales – Universidad Nacional de Salta – CONICET, Avda.
Bolivia 5150 – CP 4400 – Salta Capital – Argentina

ABSTRACT
Of the total energy consumption in the world, the energy consumption of buildings is
between 35% and 40%, with a contribution of around 30% of the world emissions of
CO2. The use of environmentally-sensitive design strategies, the improvement of
buildings envelope, the change of energy consumption patterns in people through
information and awareness, the combination of sustainable technologies and dynamic
strategies, and the use of renewable energy are the main alternative ways to improve
energy efficiency and reduce gas emissions. Examples of “green” buildings are of
principal concern for the construction sector, and their thermal and energy auditing are
crucial to demonstrate how drastic improvements in thermal comfort and conventional
energy savings are obtained. This chapter describes the current trends on research and
development on energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings, and it includes an
analysis of an energy efficient educational building (1-year auditing of indoor
temperatures and energy consumption), characterized by high internal loads and
intermittent use.

INTRODUCTION
The 21st century is characterized by a growing global demand for energy. In the period
2001-2004, data from BP Corp indicates that the average increase of primary energy
consumption was 1.1% for USA, 2.2% for South and Central America, 1.3% for Europe,

#
Tel-Fax (54) 2954 434222 – E-mail: cfilippin@cpenet.com.ar
∗
Tel. (54) 387-4255424, Fax (54) 387 4255489, E-mail: seflores@unsa.edu.ar
224 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

5.3% for the Middle East, 3.7% for Africa, and 8.6% for Asia Pacific [1]. This implies a
world increase of 3.7% in the period. Even based on a low estimate of 2% average annual
growth, the primary energy demand would double by 2037 and triple by 2057 [2].
Besides, the vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is the result of the
human activities and not a natural occurrence, as recognised by the Green Paper on Energy
Efficiency “Doing More for Less” [3] and by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCC [4]. The initial cautious pronouncement by the IPCC of a “discernible” evidence of
human contributions to global warming was advanced in their 2001 Assessment to “There is
new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to
human activities” and it is strongly fossil fuel related.
As expressed in the ISES White Paper [1], it is possible and even mandatory that the
renewable resources will have to provide at least 20% of the world’s energy by 2020 and 50%
by 2050. It is becoming clear that for providing sustainable, competitive and secure energy
whilst simultaneously reduce greenhouse gass emissions, the world’s economic regions are
strongly dependent on each other. Because the technologies being developed cannot make a
sufficient difference on their own, the current trend on energy production is a broadband of
different energy sources and technologies that contribute together to the global demand, with
a reduction of risks and economic costs if one or more technologies fail to make the expected
progress. Grid related scenarios of combined electricity/heat generation and electricity from
renewable sources are being evaluated, predicted and compared in a time horizon 2030-2050.
The research and development of sustainable energy production is accomplished by a
simultaneous effort to reduce energy consumption and increase the efficiency of the energy
systems. Thus, the scientific research is oriented to topics like the improvement of the energy
efficiency of systems, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the climatic
changes, the energy awareness, and the use of renewable energy sources. The aim is to
achieve substantial cost reductions, increase efficiencies, further reduce environmental
impacts and optimise the use of technologies in different regional conditions.
The Kyoto Protocol came into force on February 2005. It is designed as a mechanism to
help industrialized nations to achieve their agreed greenhouse gas reduction targets. To
reduce the impact of CO2 in the world climate, the research is focused on the decrease of gas
emissions, together with capture and storage technologies for power generation with zero
emission, as in the case of renewable energies for heating and cooling, renewable fuel
production from biomass, concentrated solar power, use of photovoltaics, and renewable
energy from wind, ocean, and geothermal energy. Also there is an important effort to increase
the efficiency, flexibility, safety, reliability and quality of the energy distribution systems, to
develop and improve the called “smart” energy networks.
Some crucial issues, as the policy options and implementation mechanisms of the
transition to renewable energies, are synthesized in the ISES White Paper [1], that provides a
rationale for effective governmental renewable energy policies worldwide and information to
accelerate effective governmental policies. It concerns principally of national multi-year goals
(e.g., “Renewable Energy Standards”, also called in the US “Renewable Portfolio Standards”,
EU Renewable Directives, etc.), production incentives (“feed-in” laws, production tax credits,
net metering), system benefits charges, financing mechanisms, credit trading mechanisms,
integration of renewables into societal infraestructure, and uniform codes and standards,
between others.
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 225

ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND GREENHOUSE GASES EMISSION

OF THE BUILDING SECTOR

On this energy background, the contribution of buildings to the increase of energy

consumption and the world emissions of CO2 is alarming. Of the total energy consumption in
the world, buildings energy consumption is from 35% to 40% in industrial nations, figure that
grows up to 50% when energy costs of building materials and the infrastructure to serve
buildings are taken into account [1]. In Europe, buildings account for approximately 40% of
energy use, and contribute with a third part of the world emissions of CO2. In the United
States 37% of all primary energy and 2/3 of all of the electricity in the country is used in
buildings, that are the largest and fastest growing emitters of CO2, as shown in Figure 1. If
changes in buildings efficiency policy are implemented, important reductions in energy
consumption could be achieved (shown in the graph as “implementation”). This consumption
can be reduced even more if the Union of Concerned Scientist’s “Clean Energy Blueprint” is
also adopted, which means 10% of United States electricity from renewable energies by 2015
and 20% by 2025 (shown in the graph as “implementation + 10/20”).
Solar buildings are of great importance because of their long-life cycles: the energy and
mainteinance costs of buildings are many times more than the initial construction costs.
Besides, with an increased demand for higher comfort levels in offices and houses, the market
for heating and cooling is growing constantly. It is very common that air conditioners of
doubtful effficiency are used to cool thermally inefficient buildings.
The problem of comfort in summer is crucial: the air conditioning market is expanding
continuously. As explained in [5], in 1998 the Japan Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
News (JARN) and Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA)
reported a total annual number of sales was close to 35,188,000 units; by 2000 it had
increased to 41,874,000 units and to 44,614,000 units by 2002, and 52,287,000 units in 2006
[6]. Most of the units are installed in North America, where the sales are not expected to
increase further.

Figure 1. CO2 emissions and energy consumption of the building sector. The energy consumption can
be reduced with changes in buildings efficiency policy (“implementation”) and adoption of renewables
energies (“implementation + 10/20”). SOURCE: Edward Mazria, SOLAR TODAY, May/June 2003,
48-51, and [1].
226 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

In Europe, an increase of 22.3% is expected between 2002 and 2006, while the
corresponding increases are expected to be 39.2% for the remainder of Asia, 23.2% for
Oceania, 13.6% for Africa, 13.3% for South America and 10.5% for Middle East [5].
In this point, it seems evident that changes in buildings efficiency policy can lead to a
reduction in building energy consumption. The use of environmentally-sensitive design
strategies, the improvement of buildings envelope, the change of energy consumption patterns
in people through information and awareness, the combination of sustainable technologies
and dynamic strategies, and the use of renewable energy are the main alternative ways to
improve energy efficiency and reduce gas emissions of buildings. The application of the
“whole building” conception in the design enables major costsavings in actual construction,
normally yielding 30 % to 50 % improvement in energy efficiency of new buildings, at an
average of less than 2 % added construction cost, and sometimes at no extra cost [1]. Simple
cost paybacks are in the range from immediate to a maximum of five years.
Examples of national policy models are the German and Chinese renewable energy laws.
In developing countries, there are inadequate or even inexistent building regulations. Some
countries are starting with in-proof regulations, as the case of Brazil, that is implementing a
Building Energy Efficiency Law, through a voluntary labeling since 2007 (and obligatory in
five years) of the level of energy efficiency in commercial and public buildings [7]. In 1995,
the Tunisian government imposed new regulations that mandated that all large energy
consumers undertake mandatory energy audits of their operations [8].
The described efforts should be accomplished by all kind of actions trending to train
people in building energy efficiency. Knowledge based society, higher education, and
awareness in professionals are determinant. Energy efficient buildings that serves as examples
and research prototypes are of principal concern for the construction sector, and the measure
of their thermal behaviour and energy consumption are the weapons to convince the public
and private investors of the drastic improvements in thermal comfort and conventional energy
savings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT

RESEARCH TREND ON BUILDING EFFICIENCY
The general trend on research and development of energy efficiency in buildings is the
financial support of innovative projects with the participation of several countries. Flexibility,
collaboration and networking are fundamental due to the parallelism of the development of
policy, technology and markets. Some examples are the projects supported by the European
Union’s Intelligent Energy – Europe IEE Programme for promoting renewable energy and
energy efficiency [9], the PASCOOL Programme for passive cooling in buildings [10],
international cooperation projects between the Latin America and the European Union [11],
etc. Other programmes are being developed at a national level, as in the case of the project for
validation of thermal and energy performance in new buildings in Tunisia, executed by the
National Agency for Energy Conservation (ANME), and co-financed by the Global
Environment Facility and the French Funding for the Global Environment (FFEM).
Currently, the research and development on energy efficiency and renewable energy in
buildings are focused mostly on the following topics:
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 227

Solar collectors for air and water heating: the research is oriented to develop higher
efficiency and lower cost solar collectors. There is a general tendency to replace the current
materials used in the solar collectors by new materials, as the substitution of glass by new
generation of plastics, the use of optical coatings with higher effectiveness to absorb or
transmit the solar radiation, the use of self cleaning materials, insulation with high thermal
performance, and so on. Thus, collectors working at higher temperatures (in the range of
80°C to 250°C) are being developed.
Small scale solar cooling units: The increase of family income in developed countries
has made the use of air conditioning systems highly popular. The volume of air-conditioned
buildings in Europe is expected to increase four times by the year 2010 [8]. In the United
States, the penetration of air conditioning is extremely high: more than 3.5 billion m2 of
commercial buildings are cooled [8]. The impact of air conditioner usage on electricity
demand is an important problem as peak electricity load increases continuously. There is a
lack of small scale cooling devices (up to 5 to 10 kW capacity), that have not yet fully entered
into the market. The research is focused on the development of high efficiency integrated
systems of small scale, low price, high performing cooling systems to replace traditional
electric cooling devices in the household sector. Also there is a need of promotion of auditing
and inspection of air-conditioning owners.
Development and demonstration of standardized building components: it deals with the
development and demonstration of building components like photovoltaics which comply
with existing standards and building codes, efficient façade panels, solar collector walls,
double skin facades, and so on. The current trend is to include multidisciplinary groups of
architects, researchers, testing laboratories, and building industry. The building industry
should have the lead of the initiative, with involvement of architects and testing laboratories.
Test results should be communicated together with the products (educational material and
tools for professionals and students) in order to obtain market adoption and penetration of
innovative building technologies.
Software for building simulation: focused on the simulation of temperature, ventilation,
lighting, and energy needs of buildings. The computer programs can calculate the thermal
behaviour of buildings and change different variables, as the climatic conditions, geometry,
materials, etc., to evaluate their thermal response. Nowadays, a wide variety of simulation
programs is available, with different complexity levels, as TRNSYS [12], ESP-r [13], DOE-2
[14], BLAST [15], Energy Plus [16], TAS Building Designer [17], DEROB-LTH [18],
SIMEDIF [19], etc. The current trend is the development of software both, for the assessment
in the selection of alternatives for energy savings in new or existing buildings and for the
high-detailed simulation of thermal behavior of buildings, through very sophisticated
softwares that include CFD techniques (Computational Fluid Dynamics) [20].
Integration of renewable energy supply: it is oriented to integrate external energy supply
with self-supply from renewable energies (co-generation/tri-generation), suited to different
building types and different climate zones, with the objective of a drastic reduction in the
specific and overall consumption of conventional energy. There are research programs that
deals with this integration at a large scale level, as the CONCERTO initiative [21], to be
applied for both new and retrofitted communities and municipal zones in the European Union.
The research also is contributing to assist the implementation of legislation, as
international standards and certification of buildings, primarily focused on new buildings. As
228 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

an extension, within the IEE Programme [9], since beginning of 2005 a number of policy
projects have been implemented to collect data concerning the actual status of construction
and consumption in existing buildings, demonstrating that there is an important lack of
reliable data on construction and consumption.

ENERGY SAVINGS THROUGH SOLAR PASSIVE CONDITIONING:

CASE STUDY OF AN EDUCATIONAL BUILDING
The overall process of design and monitoring of an educational energy-efficient building
with intermittent use and high internal load is described. The building is located in General
Pico (La Pampa, Argentina), and it consists of: an Auditorium for 200 students, a Library
(Reading Room, Book Shelves Area, Reception and Attention Area), a Computer Room (with
30 computers), Hall and Services, covering a total area of 600 m2. The design guidelines were
to lower the conventional energy consumption for heating and cooling through bioclimatic
strategies and solar passive techniques and to provide a pleasant indoor environment, with
thermal and luminic comfort. Based on a previous analysis of the site and climate, the passive
and bioclimatic strategies were proposed. The building was carefully monitored during a
whole year and the results showed that energy consumption for heating was reduced up to
50%, and that the comfort in summer was significantly improved when compared to a
building with conventional layout.

Location and Climate

The city of General Pico, at 35º7’S, 63º8’W, and 141 m over the sea level, is located in
the temperate semi-arid region of central Argentina, with an average annual rainfall of 800
mm. Ecologically this is an area of natural lands, croplands and cultivated pastures, that has
potential for further rural development. Figure 2 shows the localization of General Pico in the
province of La Pampa and the surrounding landscape. Table 1 gives information about the
geographical situation and some climatic features.

Figure 2. Localitation of General Pico.

 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 229

Table 1. Geographical coordinates and climatic data of location: General Pico, La

Pampa Argentina

Geographical coordinates: latitude–35º7’, longitude 63º8’, altitude 141 m.a.s.l.

Dry bulb temperature

Annual records July December
Climatic data
Mean max. Mean min. Mean minimum Mean maximun
22.9 9.9 3.1 29.8
Annul average monthly global solar radiation over horizontal surface: 16.3 MJ/m2
Annual heating DD (Base 18ºC): 1187
Annual average relative humidity (%): 71
S F Aérea
Source: Fuerza Aé Argentina
A i (1992).
( )

In summer, the mean air temperatures oscillate between 22º and 24 ºC, the mean
maximum temperature is 31ºC, and the solar irradiance on horizontal surface is 23.4 MJ/m2.
The winter periods are cold-temperate, with mean temperatures between 8º and 10ºC, mean
minimum temperatures between 1.8º and 3 ºC, 7.2 MJ/m2 of daily solar irradiance on
horizontal surface, and clearness index Kt around 0.52. The analysis of the climatic
conditions indicates that the number of annual degree days for heating (DDh) is around 1204
(Base temperature, Tb = 18ºC) and the number of annual degree days for cooling (DDc) is 473
(Base temperature, Tb = 23ºC). Considering mean records of temperature and relative air
humidity, Olgyay’s diagram [22] indicates that 83% days in the year are out of thermal
comfort (Figure 3).

Figure3. Olgyay’s diagram.

230 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

Thus, the adoption of solar design is highly recommended. Passive solar systems, thermal
storage, natural ventilation, insulation devices, external shades, building orientation and
dwelling grouping are suggested techniques to achieve thermal comfort along the year [23],
[24] (Figure 4).

Figure 4. Givoni’s diagram (Mean air temperature, ºC and relative humidity, %

1- Mean temperature and relative humidity.

2 - Minima mean temperature and maxima mean relative humidity.
3- Maxima mean temperature and minima mean relative humidity.
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 231

Building Shape and Internal Planning

The building has the following functional areas: Auditorium (for 200 occupants), Library
(Reading Room, Book Shelves Area, Reception and Attention Area), Computer Room (for 30
computers), Hall and Services. The non-residential building is situated in the College of
Veterinary Medicine campus, on the edge of a low-density residential area. Distinctive
characteristics have an important bearing on environmental design: a) Occupancy schedule b)
Density of occupation c) Types of spaces and occupants’ activity. The complex is
characterized by high internal heat gains (metabolic processes and heat generated by
computers, lights, and appliances) and an important density of occupation. A compact shape
was achieved by the adoption of a linear disposition along the East-West axis. The
Auditorium and the Library face North and the Computer Room faces South. The building
covers an area of about 600 m2. Entrance is through the SE (Figure 5).

NORTNH
A
LIBRARY

BOOK SHALVES
T

AREA HALL AUDITORIUM

M
deposito

IO

COMPUTER ROOM

SALA DE BOOKDE
DEPOSITO AULA INFORMATICA
READING
LECTURA
ROOM LIBROS
SHELVES COMPUTER ROOM
AREA

Figure 5. Plant and section A-A.

General Description of the Applied Strategies

The design guidelines were to reach low-energy consumption and to create a comfortable
indoor environment with a minimum thermal zoning between areas. Bioclimatic design,
passive solar heating, natural cooling and daylighting, insulated high-resistance envelope,
thermal storage, double glazing, and hermetic aluminum carpentry were used.
232 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

Strategies to minimize winter loads during the cold period:

• Direct solar gain through double glazing: incorporated to the North wall for
daylighting and heating
• Indirect solar gain through ventilated façade panel
• Insulated envelope

Strategies to minimize summer loads during the warm period:

• Insulated envelope
• Cross ventilation
• Buried pipes
• Shading devices, deciduous vegetation to shade to the North walls, and higher
ventilation levels through aeolian suction pipes
• An earth berm to protect the walls and providing additional thermal storage

Technology Description

The Auditorium (252 m2) was constructed during 2004 (first stage) and it is a medium-
inertia building (between 150 and 400 kg/m2). In winter, a quick response of indoor
temperature to the heating system is desirable, together with a reduction of the heating load.
The external vertical envelope is framed in brick wall (thickness = 0.18m), finished by pine
wood in the internal side, with thermal insulation (thickness = 0.05m). The roof is a parabolic
galvanized steel sheet with a ventilated air chamber, to prevent the heat transfer between the
hot metal roof and the indoor air. The roof is insulated with 0.075m of mineral wool, finished
with pine wood in the internal surface, as shown in Figure 6. Double glazing and hermetic
carpentry were used to reduce thermal loss and air infiltration. Windows facing North (for
direct solar gain) and South are protected with internal blackout curtains. Indirect solar gain
through three ventilated façade panels (in the North wall) were designed (4m2 each one, see
Figure 7). They have a polycarbonate cover and a summer external protection with removing
awnings. Higher ventilation was promoted through 3 aeolian suction pipes of 0.6m in
diameter, incorporated in the ridge of the roof, that have a mechanical system (a manual
crank) to regulate the air changes during summer and winter. For a mean wind velocity of 10
km/h, the manufacturer specifications indicate 11 air changes per hour for this particular
building, which is higher than the minimum recommended by the norm.
The global loss coefficient (G-value) was estimated around 0.89 W/m3K, which is lower
than the maximum admissible by norms [25]. The total covered area is around 252 m2, and the
volume is 1240m3. An air heating system was installed, with the heat distribution ducts at ceiling
level, over the circulation areas. The thermostat temperature was set in 21ºC.
The Library (172 m2) has direct solar gain from North, an insulated envelope, thermal
storage, cross ventilation, and daylighting. Eaves and a metallic pergola over the external
North wall provide shading and prevent against direct sun penetration during summer.
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 233

AUDITORI UM

1. Wall wi th thermo-accoustical coating

2. Pine wood coating
3. Cable hanger
4. Thermal insulation and pine wood ceiling
5. galvanized steel sheet
6. Dumping chute
7. Cover
8. Metalic pergola

10
9
11
LIBRARY 8
7
1. Structure
6
2. Subfloor of lean concrete
12
3. Florr
4. Brick and plaster (thickness = 0.20m) 13
5. Splay of window 14
6. Prefabricated slab
7. Expanded polystyrene(0.07m)
8. Lean concrete 5 5
9. Waterproof membrane
10. Parapet 4
11. Plaster 15
3
12. Drip 2
13. Plaster
14. Aluminium carpentry 1
15. Double waterproofing over ceramic wall (0.12m)

COMPUTER ROOM

Vertical envelope:
1. Plaster
2. Brick wall ( 0.30m)
3. Plaster

Horizontal envelope: to seeLibrary’s technology

Figure 6. Envelope’s technology.

The walls, with plaster on internal and external surfaces, have three layers, from the
inside: a- brick (thickness = 0.18m), b- expanded polystyrene (thickness = 0.05m) c- ceramic
block (thickness = 0.10m) (U-value = 0.45 W/m2K ). The roof has six layers: a- ceiling, b-
slab structure, c- sub-floor of lean concrete, d- expanded polystyrene (thickness = 0.075m), e–
lean concrete, f- aluminium waterproof membrane (Figure 6). Solar collection area to the
North is around 20% of the useful area and comprises 30 m2 of windows in the North wall
and 6.7 m2 of upper windows (to see the cross section). Upper windows supplement daylight
234 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

and heating for the adjacent Computer Room. At 5m from North-facing windows, three
natural light tubes were incorporated in the roof to minimize luminance zoning.

External view of the ventilated façade panel during

winter (left) and summer(right))

5 3

6 4

2 1. Inlet
2. Bedframe
1 3. Insulation
4. Convection chanel
5. Cavity - Absorber
6. Poly carbonate
7. Outlet
Fi

Internal view of the ventilated

façade panel

Figure 7. Technology and design of the ventilated façade panel.

The Computer Room (92m2) located near the Library is facing South (to avoid glare on
the work plane). It was designed to naturally achieve adequate thermal conditions through
upper windows in Library’s Book Shelves Area (see the cross section of the building) and
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 235

thermal exchanges with adjacent room through windows in the partition wall. According to
the density of occupation (30 students) and the occupancy schedule (8-12 a.m. and 4-8 p.m.)
the daily load is around 15 kW= 432 MJ (metabolic activity and use of appliances =
500W/student). The Computer Room is a heavyweight masonry construction (780 Kg/m2)
which has the library’s roof technology. Masonry external walls are framed with 0.27 thick
brick (Figure 6).
The walls’ structure combines inertia and capacity of accumulation (MJ/m2ºC) to
minimize overheating or overcooling and to maintain an internal thermal swing below 5ºC
[26]. The air change required would be 15 cfm/person (30 students = 2 air changes/h) ([27],
or 4 air changes/h [28]). During the pre-design stage, 3 air changes/h were considered. The
envelope’s technology complies IRAM Norms 11601-11605-11625 [29], [30], [31] about
thermal conductance and humidity condensation. Interior and exterior pictures are shown in
Figures 8 to 11.

Performance Auditing

The building was monitored from June 21, 2005 to August 31, 2006. Wind velocity and
direction, outdoor air temperature, solar irradiance on horizontal surface, and indoor
temperatures were monitored. HOBO sensors were used for temperature measurements. Wind
velocity and direction and solar irradiance on horizontal surface were measured at a
Meteorological Station belonging to INTA (Rural Technology National Institute).

Figure 8. Norh façade ( left: Auditorium,right: Library).

Auditorium (period 2005 – 2006)

Twelve sensors were located in different zones inside the Auditorium (three sensors
parallel to the North wall, three parallel to the South wall, three in the center, one at the
speaker platform and two next to the access door). The locations of the sensors are shown in
Table 2 and Figure 12. The air temperatures at inlet and outlet of the ventilated façade panels
were also measured. The vertical thermal stratification was 1°C between the speaker’s
platform and the lowest sitting level. Only two representative periods were selected: one
during the winter holidays, when the heating system was turned off and the building was
unoccupied (July 15 to 18), and one in spring, approaching summer, when the building was
under complete occupation (November 15 to 18). An extra period of four sunny winter days
was selected to show the performance of the ventilated façade panel (August 30 to September
2).
236 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

Figure 9. South façade (top, right: Auditorium;left: Computer room).

Figure 10. Internal views: Auditorium (left); direct and indirect solar gain through a ventilated façade
panel in the North wall (centre); windows in the South wall (right).
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 237

Figure 11. View of the different funtional areas. 1: Reading room, 2: Direct solar gain in Book Shelves
Area and Indirect solar gain to the Corridor and Computer room, 3: Natural light tubes at the botton of
the Library, 4: Computer room, upper windows to the books file 5: Windows in the Computer room to
the SW.
238 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

Reading room Book Shelves Area Computer room

Figure 12. Location of sensors.

Table 2. Location of the sensors on the auditorium

1 2 3 17 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 14
-0.80m
North Northe Hall West South South Stage Armchair
North South

The results are shown in Figures 13 to 16. Figure 13 shows the measurements for the
winter holiday period (July 15 to 18), when the building was unoccupied and the heating
system was off. The outdoor mean temperature during the occupancy period (8:00am to
7:00pm) was around 9°C, while the mean temperature inside the Auditorium was around 17°.
When the metabolic heat gain of the students is considered, the mean temperature falls within
the comfort zone during all the occupancy period. When the heating system functioning with
an automatic thermostat (set at 21°C) a daily energy consumption of 0.94kWh/m2day
(3.4MJ/m2day) was measured, with mean indoor temperatures around 20.6°C. Figure 14
shows the air temperature at the inlet and outlet of the ventilated façade panel and solar
irradiance on horizontal surface. At the ventilated façade panel inlet, the air temperature
shows the temperature of the Auditorium, around 24°C. This air is warmed while it flows
inside the collector, reaching temperatures as high as 50°C in the solar midday, when the
solar irradiance reaches its maximum value. This hotter air returns to the Auditorium by
natural convection and warms the indoor space. As explained in the next section, the heat
gain of the three ventilated panels is 65.2 MJ/day, which corresponds to a daily heat gain of
5.4 MJ/m2.
Figure 15 shows the results for a hot period, from November 15 to 18, when the building
was under complete occupation and use. The indoor temperature during the occupancy period
(8:00am to 7:00pm) was always below the outdoor temperature and, for almost the whole
day, within the comfort zone for developing and hot countries [32].
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 239

30 1000
900
25
800
20 700

I (W/m2)
600
T (°C) 15
500
10 400
5 300
200
0
100
-5 0
15/07 16/07 17/07 18/07 19/07

Auditorium Outdoor air Solar irradiance

Figure 13. Monitored outdoor temperature, solar irradiance on horizontal surface, and indoor
temperature for a winter holiday period (July 15th to 18th, 2005), when the heating system is turned off
and the building is unoccupied.

60 900
800
50
700
40 600

I (W/m2)
T (°C)

500
30
400
20 300
200
10
100
0 0
30/08 31/08 01/09 02/09 03/09
Inlet temperature Outlet temperature Solar irradiance

Figure 14. Monitored temperature at the inlet and outlet of solar air collector and solar irradiance on
horizontal surface, for a winter period (August 30th to September 2nd, 2005), when the building is used
by teachers and students.

30 2000
25
I (W/m2)

20 1500
15
T (°C)

10 1000
5
0 500
-5
-10 0
15/11 16/11 17/11 18/11 19/11
Outdoor air Auditorium Solar irradiance

Figure 15. Monitored outdoor temperature, solar irradiance on horizontal surface, and indoor
temperature for a summer period (November 15th to 18th, 2005), when the building is occupied by
teachers and students.
240 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

Mean indoor temperatures, around 23°C, were common, which is a successful result,
considering that metabolic heat contributes with values as high as 5°C to the indoor
temperature.
Figure 16 shows the mean air temperature in the different areas of the Auditorium during
winter (June 21 – September 21, 2005), and summer (December 21 2005 - March 21 2006).
During winter and considering both, the attendance period and holidays, the mean
temperature was 18ºC and the mean thermal amplitude was 3ºC. The mean temperature
during summer was 25.5ºC and the mean thermal amplitude was 4ºC. The thermal amplitude
value is both cases below the recommended limit of 5ºC for the indoor temperature swing.
An analysis of the thermal zoning allowed us to complete the energy behaviour
evaluation. It was carried under two conditions: a- in winter, under real conditions of use
(with auxiliary heating and thermostat set temperature = 21ºC); b- in winter, without
attendance during holidays (without auxiliary heating) and the results are shown in Figure 17.
a- In the first case, the air movement inside the Auditorium is forced by the heating
system. The temperature distribution was symmetric respect the East-West axis according to
the heating ducts design (over the northern and southern corridors). The mean air temperature
in the central axis was around 22.4ºC and 24ºC at the North-East and South-West areas. A
thermal stratification around 2ºC was measured between sensors at -0.80m (in front of the
stage), and + 0.80m (in the corridor at the West).
b- In the second case, the air internal movement is through natural convection. Figure 17
shows a low thermal zoning during the period. The South area reached a mean air temperature
around 14ºC, 1.2ºC below that in the North area (mean air temperature = 15.2ºC) according to
the solar collection area localization (glazed area and the ventilated façade panels). The mean
air temperature in the west part of the north area was 0.6ºC over the temperature in the East
(during the morning, an area of the ventilated façade panels is shaded).

Thermal Behaviour of the Ventilated Façade Panels

The air is drawn in through the inlet section, heated up in the convection channel and
discharged through the outlet section, reaching the maximum temperature at noon (maximum
solar irradiance). Additional heat is delivered to the Auditorium by natural convection and,
thus the heating load can be reduced. The useful heat gain Q (W) provided by the panel is:

•
Q = m c p ΔT (1)

•
where m is the mass flow rate (kg/s), cp the air specific heat (J/kgK) and ΔT the temperature
difference between outlet and inlet temperatures.
The panel efficiency η is defined as:

Q
η= (2)
A panel I panel

where Apanel is the panel area (m2) and Ipanel the incident solar irradiance on the panel (W/m2).
During a working day, the useful heat gain as well as the efficiency vary from hour to hour.
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 241

Q and η were estimated for a clear sky day in winter (September 5). The outdoor air
temperature varied between 6 and 18.4ºC. The horizontal solar irradiance was 18.4 MJ/m2
and 17.6 MJ/m2 over the North vertical plane. The mean air velocity during the day was
4.4m/s. The air velocity into the channel oscillated between 0.26 m/s (at 16 PM) and 0.37 m/s
(12 PM), with a mean value of 0.33 m/s. The heat gain Q delivered by the panel varies
between 320 and 1000 W and the efficiency between 0.30 and 0.36. These values of
efficiency agree with the results found in [33] for ventilated façade panels of similar
characteristics. The total gains of the three ventilated panels are 65.2 MJ/day, which
corresponds to a daily heat gain of 5.4 MJ/m2 with a mean efficiency 0.31.

Auditorium, Computer Room and Library

The Computer Room and the Library were inaugurated in March 2006. The different
areas were monitored from March 21 2006 to August 31 2006. Four periods are analysed: a -
end of summer with students’ attendance; b- beginning of autumn without attendance (during
Holy Week); c- winter with attendance d- winter holidays.

a-end of summer under real conditions of use

During the period (between March 31 and April 7) the solar irradiance on horizontal
surface oscillated between 600 and 700 W/m2 (clear sky conditions). The maximum outdoor
air temperature was 35ºC. Temperature readings showed a maximum temperature around
25ºC on April 3 under overcast sky conditions. The mean indoor air temperature in the
Auditorium was 23ºC, 2.4ºC higher than the mean outdoor. The mean indoor temperature in
the Library (facing North) was 25.3ºC, 2.3ºC higher than that of the Computer Room facing
South (23ºC). Bookshelves and Reception and Attention Areas showed a mean temperature
around 24.9 and 25.4ºC respectively. The thermal performance in a cross section along the
North - South axis showed 2.3ºC lower in the South-facing areas (Computer Room) than in
the North- facing ones (Figure 18).

b-beginning of autumn without attendance (during Holy Week)

The maximum outdoor air temperature reached 25ºC and 700 W/m2 of solar irradiance on
horizontal surface. The mean temperature was 13ºC. The Auditorium showed a mean
temperature around 19ºC (without auxiliary heating) and the minimum temperature reached
16ºC. The daily thermal fluctuation was in accordance with the pre-design’s guidelines. The
mean temperature in the Library areas showed a difference of around 0.2ºC. During noon, the
indoor luminance near the windows was 1600 lux and under natural light tubes it reached
1100 lux. Therefore the Daylight Factor (DF) near windows on the work plane was 1.5 (fair
daylight contribution) and under the tubes was around 1 (fair daylight contribution) (outdoor
luminance = 108416 lux) (Figures 19-20).

c- winter with attendance and auxiliary heating

Figure 21 shows the mean indoor air temperature in the different functional areas and the
values of different points in each area. In the auditorium it was 21.9ºC and in the Library -
Computer Room 21.3ºC (Mean outdoor air temperature = 11.7ºC).
242 Celina Filippín and Silvana Flores Larsen

d-winter holidays
The mean indoor air temperature in the Auditorium and in the Library - Computer Room
(without internal gains and with auxiliary heating) was 21.5ºC and 19.9ºC, respectively (mean
outdoor temperature = 11ºC) (Figure 22).

Heating Energy Consumption and Thermal Performance

During the period between June 24 (2005) and August 31 (2006) the heating natural gas
consumption was 6.4m3/m2, that is 238.7 MJ/m2 or 66 kWh/m2. The mean indoor air
temperature was 21ºC. A comfortable indoor environment was created through the design and
the technology of the building.
The environmental chart shows the intersection of relative humidity and air temperature
during the period between March and August 2006 (indoor-outdoor) in each functional area
(Figure 23). In the Library (with direct solar gain) 72% of the records are above 24.5ºC
during noon; 19% during the morning and 9% in the afternoon.
In the Computer Room (with indirect solar gain) 4.7% of the records are higher than
24.5ºC (the majority around 11.3 a.m.).
In the Auditorium (with direct and indirect solar gain and thermostat) 3 values are over
24.5ºC (14-15 and 16-h during August 24; outdoor temperature = 35ºC). From the total
records (1566) only 18 are lower than 24.5ºC (July 20, 9 pm to 12 pm; July 21, 0 am to 11
am).
The results show that overheating would be a consequence of high internal gains or
unnecessary heat (heating energy waste). The buildings with direct solar gain are vulnerable
to overheating during noon in winter.

CONCLUSION
This chapter briefly describes the current trends on research and development on energy
efficiency and renewable energy in buildings, and it includes, as an example of how the CO2
emissions and energy consumption can be lowered, an analysis of a group of energy efficient
educational buildings (1-year auditing of indoor temperatures and energy consumption),
characterized by high internal loads and intermittent use. The analyzed energy efficient
buildings (an auditorium for 200 people, a computer room and a library) are located in La
Pampa, Argentina (warm temperate climate). The design guidelines were low energy
consumption and environmental comfort. Bioclimatic design, passive solar heating (direct and
indirect solar gain through a ventilated façade panel), natural cooling (cross ventilation and
buried pipes), natural daylighting, insulated high resistance envelope, double glazing, and
hermetic aluminum carpentry, were used. The energy consumption of the auxiliary heating
system was around 1kWh/m2day, figure that is 50% lower than the consumption of a similar
conventional building.
During summer, under a diurnal occupation schedule and without auxiliary cooling
system, the mean temperature was 25.5º (0.5ºC above the external mean temperature) in the
auditorium, 23ºC in the computer room and 25.5ºC in the library. During the autumn 2006
and without attendance of students, the computer room and the library showed a mean
temperature around 23.7 and 20.1ºC, respectively.
 Energy Efficiency in Buildings 243

Conclusions from de above discussion include the following:

The heating energy consumption during the period July-August 2006 was 3822.55m3
(18675 kWh), 66 kWh/m2. The value is around 17% higher than MINERGIE (55 kWh/m2).
The daily heating consumption of natural gas to reach a mean indoor air temperature around
21.2ºC was 64 m3.
In spite of the fact the thermal and energy behaviour of the Non-Residential Energy
Efficient Building was satisfactory, periodic visits suggest that the occupants were not
accustomed to operating the building correctly, particularly with respect to ventilation and
thermostat setting. We suppose that during 2007, occupants will be more accustomed and
energy efficiency may be improved.
During summer the mean air temperature in the Auditorium was 25.5ºC. The maximum
temperature reached 28ºC during January 2006 (without cross ventilation and without
awnings). The cooling load reduces in 70% the requirements of conventional energy in
summer. To avoid overheating, a cooling system of 5kW is needed to maintain the mean indoor
temperature around 23°C and maximum values below 25.5°C.
The thermal behaviour of the Computer Room (facing South) at the end of summer was
satisfactory. The design without direct solar gain to the North was appropriate. The upper
windows (between Computer Room and Library) allowed an indirect heating of the Computer
Room from passive solar zones.
Significant energy saving can be realized in buildings if they are properly designed and
operated. Energy awareness and energy management are important measures during the life
of the building.
There is a great potential for energy savings and improvements in energy efficiency that
need to be harnessed. The way is the optimization, validation and demonstration of new
concepts and technologies for buildings. The actual trend is to incorporate the combination of
sustainable technologies and dynamic strategies for increased energy efficiency and the use of
renewable energy.

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