University Building

A new building for a University in London is to be both heated and cooled using air supplied at a variable flow rate and variable temperature. There is particular concern that, in an open-plan arrangement there will be a significant temperature difference between the centre of the building and the perimeter spaces or rooms.

Flow Analysis Ltd was commissioned to examine the thermal performance of the building using dynamic thermal simulation in both open-plan mode and cellular/partitioned mode. The predicted resultant temperatures were analysed for winter, summer and mid-season design days.

For each design day, several variations of air supply rate and temperature were tested in order to find the optimum arrangement in terms of occupant comfort and energy costs.

To limit solar gains, the building design incorporates brise soleil which wraps around from the east, west and southern facades. In summary, Flow Analysis concluded that the results showed:

• For the open-plan arrangement, there is little air temperature variation throughout.
• In summer, the brise soleil is predicted to reduce the air temperature by up to 3 to 4 degrees.
• In winter, during a significant cold spell (prolonged daily average of zero degrees) comfortable conditions are predicted.
• In winter, it is predicted that additional start-up heating is only required during the 1^st hour of occupancy for the open-plan arrangement. For the cellular arrangement, some zones require more prolonged additional heating.
• In mid-season, some high temperatures may be expected in the south and west of the building.

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