POTENCIAL DEL SISTEMA DE VIGA FRÍA ACTIVA PARA MEJORAR EL COMPORTAMIENTO ENERGÉTICO Y EL CONFORT TÉRMICO EN EDIFICIOS ACRISTALADOS

Abstract

New buildings should provide a high-quality interior environment with the least energy consumption in order to reach the 2020-target set by the European Council. The following research has been developed in a glazed office building located in a typical Mediterranean climate.

Firstly, the most energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) was chosen and applied to the building case study. Then, the system was sized according to the building’s function, construction technology and external environment. Finally, the indoor thermal comfort in a typical storey plan was evaluated through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations assessing indoor air temperature and velocity, age of air and indexes of thermal comfort included in the UNE-EN ISO 7730 standard.

Results show that the active chilled beam system (ACB) is the HVAC-system that guarantees the highest energy-saving. An external air handling unit (AHU) provides primary air which passes through the ACB at a high velocity thanks to nozzles. The renovation air is discharged in the zone once mixed with the induced room air that cools down as it passes through the ACB’s cooling coil. Indoor air temperature is always inside the comfort boundaries and its spatial distribution profile close to the ideal one.