Thermal Diagnostics of Natural Ventilation in Buildings: An Integrated Approach

Joanna Ferdyn-Grygierek, Andrzej Baranowski, Monika Blaszczok and Jan Kaczmarczyk
Additional contact information
Joanna Ferdyn-Grygierek: Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 20, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Andrzej Baranowski: Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 20, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Monika Blaszczok: Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 20, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland
Jan Kaczmarczyk: Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 20, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 23, 1-22

Abstract: Diagnostics of natural ventilation in buildings is problematic, as the airflow rate changes considerably over time. One constant average airflow is usually assumed when calculating energy demand for a building, however, such a simplification could be fraught with considerable error. The paper describes a comprehensive methodology for the diagnostics of a natural ventilation system in a building and its practical application. Based on in situ measurements and simulations in two existing buildings (dwelling house and school) in Poland, the real values of the ventilating airflows were analyzed and resulting heat demand was compared with the design values. The pros and cons of various methods for evaluation of natural ventilation are discussed. The real airflow was determined by measurements in a ventilation grille or by a tracer gas concentration decay method. The airtightness of the buildings’ envelope was evaluated based on the fan pressurization test. The last stage entailed computer simulations of air exchange in buildings using CONTAM software. The multizone models of the buildings were calibrated and verified with existing measured data. Measured airflow in a multifamily house was small and substantially deviated from the Polish standard. In case of a school, the air flow rate amounted to an average of 10% of the required value. Calculation of the heat demand for ventilation based on the standard value of the airflow led to a considerable overestimation of this value in relation to the real consumption. In the analyzed cases, the difference was 40% for the school and 30% for the residential building.

Keywords: ventilation; air change rate; seasonal heat demand; thermal diagnostics; airtightness; energy consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/23/4556/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/23/4556/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:23:p:4556-:d:292289

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().