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New North Community School

 Views of the Dynamic Thermal Simulation Model

 Flow Analysis Ltd were commissioned to assess whether the proposed design for the New North Community School would meet the approved BB101 internal design conditions.

The analysis was performed using dynamic thermal simulation (see some views of the model of the entire school to the left).

Some novel features of the design are the use of 'windcatchers' (shared between several classrooms on each floor) for ventilation and the use of thick concrete floor slabs to provide thermal mass.

 

The windcatchers are designed to work in conjunction with grilles placed above each window and doorway to provide a constant air flow route for ventilation. These grilles also allow for the possibility of using a night-cooling strategy.

The simulation results showed that the thermal mass of the concrete slab is extremely effective at reducing the peak daytime resultant temperature (see the example to the right). In fact it was demonstrated that the design conditions could be met even if night-cooling was not used.

The results are even more remarkable considering the high-density occupation and high equipment loads - giving total internal gains of about 80 W per square metre.

In addition, it was found that the high internal gains means that the winter heating requirement is much reduced.

example of predicted temperatures in a classroom over a 24hr period

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