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The REHVA www.rehva.eu
Contents
European HVAC Journal Download the articles from www.rehva.eu -> REHVA Journal
Volume: 60 Issue: 1 February 2023

Editor-in-Chief: EDITORIAL 50 Mycoaerosol in historic places –

Jaap Hogeling calculated ill health potential
[email protected] 4 2023 the Year of Fundamental Elena Piecková, Renáta Lehotská &
Paradigm Swifts? Soňa Wimmerová
Editorial Assistant:
– The signs cannot be ignored 54 Estimation of Cross-Ventilation
Marie Joannes
Jaap Hogeling Through Roof Windows in Attics
[email protected]
Valérie Leprince, Nolwenn Hurel &
General Executive:
Christoffer Plesner
Ismail Ceyhan, Turkey
ARTICLES 60 Energy Savings with Aeroseal
REHVA BOARD Ductwork Sealing in Europe
President: 5 Effects of Feed-In Power Nolwenn Hurel, Valérie Leprince &
Cătălin Lungu Limitations of Photovoltaic Simon Tölke
Vice Presidents: Systems
Matthias Krammer & Florian Wenig 65 Integration of Domestic
Lada Hensen Centnerová
Ventilation Systems with Vertical
Livio Mazzarella 10 Operational building energy Axis Wind Turbine Ventilation
Pedro Vicente-Quiles performance Technology
Johann Zirngibl Ondřej Horák & Karel Kabele Jirayut Sitthipuk
Ivo Martinac
Kemal Gani Bayraktar 15 Identification of Performance 69 Statistical analysis of the French
Gaps of Heat Pump Systems in building airtightness database
EDITORIAL BOARD Real Operation with Model-Based Bassam Moujalled, Adeline Mélois,
Murat Cakan, Turkey Data Analysis Valérie Leprince & Gaëlle Guyot
Guangyu Cao, Norway Sebastian Dragosits & Roman Stelzer
Tiberiu Catalina, Romania
Francesca R. d’Ambrosio, Italy 20 Farm Constructions in Relation to
Ioan Silviu Dobosi, Romania the Quality of the Environment REHVA WORLD
Lada Hensen, The Netherlands Jana Lendelová, Ingrid Karandušovská,
Karel Kabele, Czech Republic Miroslav Žitňák & Milada Balková 75 REHVA is happy to welcome a new
Risto Kosonen, Finland
25 Indoor Climate After Energy supporter: Saint-Gobain!
Jarek Kurnitski, Estonia
Renovation of Family house
Livio Mazzarella, Italy
Anna Predajnianska, Eva Švarcová &
Dejan Mumovic, United Kingdom
Dušan Petráš
Ilinca Nastase, Romania IAQ CORNER
Natasa Nord, Norway 31 SMART Solutions for Energy
Dusan Petras, Slovakia Saving and Better Indoor 77 The Seven Essentials of Healthy
Olli Seppänen, Finland Environment Indoor Air
Branislav Todorovic, Serbia Jiří Hirš & Ali Badai
Peter Wouters, Belgium
35 Laboratory for testing of heating/
CREATIVE DESIGN AND LAYOUT cooling radiant systems
Jarkko Narvanne, [email protected] Martin Šimko, Dušan Petráš & EVENTS & FAIRS
Daniel Szabó
ADVERTISEMENTS 78 Exhibitions, Conferences and
Nicoll Marucciová, [email protected] 40 Comparison of Daylighting in Seminars in 2023
Different Climatic Conditions
SUBSCRIPTIONS AND 79 ISH 2023 interim result:
Iveta Skotnicová, Vojtěch Kolarčík &
CHANGES OF ADDRESSES Ondřej Fadrný growing anticipation
REHVA OFFICE: 81 SuDBE International Conference
45 Study of the Pressure Resistance
Washington Street 40
of Odour Traps 2023
1050 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32-2-5141171 Martin Sokol & Jana Peráčková 81 EfS 2023
[email protected], www.rehva.eu

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Member Associations and other institutions. The views expressed
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REHVA will not be under any liability whatsoever in respect of
contributed articles. Instructions for authors are available at www.rehva.eu (> Publications & Resources > Journal
Cover photo: / Information). Send the manuscripts of articles for the journal to Jaap Hogeling [email protected].
EDITORIAL

2023 the Year of Fundamental

Paradigm Swifts?
– The signs cannot be ignored

The war in Ukraine causes immense suffering to the Ukrainian people which is not to compare
with the discomfort in Europe due to the gas dependency on Russia.

T
he RepowerEU plan, the EU Green Deal, make our buildings more epidemic resilient. We have
Renovation Wave, Fit for 55 by 2030 and the to advice residents who are working more from home
ongoing revision of the EPBD are the policy compared to the pre-covid years given the fact that
actions that will have a great impact on the HVAC&R this will not change in the future. Homes are often not
industry in 2023. The European Commission advises designed for using spaces as office, ventilation, thermal
to change from gas-fired boilers to electric Heat Pump comfort acoustics and lighting are not always meeting
systems to reduce the European gas consumption. This the standards. This may affect health and productivity.
should be done anyway as the phasing out of fossil When upgrading homes to make them more energy
fuel use in buildings, is clearly mentioned in the draft efficient and sustainable, this situation has to be taken
EPBD. Using gas-fired boilers to heat our buildings in account.
should be phased out to be able to decarbonise our
building stock by 2050. The war situation and the last To summarise: the keywords for 2023 are improving
IPCC report on climate change indicating that it will the energy performance of our buildings, decarbonisa-
be almost impossible to stay below our 1.5–2.0 degree tion, health and ventilation. I expect that as in this
threshold, made it just more urgent. RJ issue, these themes will be prominent in 2023,
sometimes addressing details but also global holistic
When discussing with your customers energy saving approaches. I thank the contributing authors who will
measures, phasing out fossil fuels and investing in sus- address these issues during 2023.
tainable energy systems the cost effectiveness of our
proposals is always on the table. Supporting financial
incentives available at national level may support your
proposals, convincing arguments that it is our obliga-
tion to save the world for the future generations should
help. And in the case that you are able to produce an
acceptable offer we encounter shortage of professional
capacity and delayed delivery schedules of products.

And not to forget in this first post-epidemic year

we still have to improve our ventilation systems and JAAP HOGELING
solutions as the health authorities warn us that a new Editor-in-Chief
epidemic is possible and we should use our time to REHVA Journal

4 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Effects of Feed-In Power Limitations of

Photovoltaic Systems

MATTHIAS KRAMMER FLORIAN WENIG

Center for Building Technology Center for Building Technology
Forschung Burgenland, Pinkafeld, Austria University of Applied Sciences Burgenland,
[email protected] Pinkafeld, Austria

Limiting the feed-in power of residential photovoltaic systems is an important tool for electric
grid operators to maintain a reliable energy supply. PV curtailment is effectively loss of green
energy, therefore, this article aims to raise awareness that the PV potential lost through
curtailment is far less than it is widely believed.

Keywords: photovoltaic; curtailment; feed-in limitation; inverter oversizing; grid management

T
he basic principle of a power system is that the [2]. Curtailment of PV power at the feed-in point may
produced electric power must be equal to the be necessary to match supply and demand within the
current consumption. Due to the falling costs grid. One of the key issues is to maintain sufficient
in production, the solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity is flexibility and balancing capability within the grid to
projected to more than double by 2030 and overtake balance demand and supply with controllable energy
coal in the mid-2030s to become the second-largest generators [3]. A prescribed feed-in curtailment may
installed global capacity [1]. The growing number hinder reaching the full potential of the maximum
of photovoltaic systems, however, which are mainly available renewable energy generation at a specific
connected to low-voltage electric grids, lead to new location, because PV arrays may tend to be designed
challenges for grid operators in terms of maintaining smaller to avoid running into the curtailment. Hence,
a safe and reliable grid operation. On days with high this article discusses the effects on the annual electricity
solar radiation grid operators are faced with periods yield of a small-scale residential photovoltaic system
of overproduction of electricity and the high simulta- under multiple curtailment scenarios. The effects of
neity of solar energy generation, especially in poorly self-consumption and/or an optional battery storage
developed grids, can lead to overloading of the grid. An are not taken into account. These assumptions ensure
alternative to cost-intensive grid reinforcement is the that only the PV electricity generated is taken into
so-called feed-in management of photovoltaic systems. account in the evaluation and that the results are inde-
The simplest form is to limit or curtail the AC feed-in pendent of individual boundary conditions. As a result,
power of the generator to a constant value below the the outcome of this report has a higher informative
rated DC power of the photovoltaic array. PV curtail- value and applies both to a curtailment by the inverter
ment can be done at two points in the grid - directly and to a feed-in limitation by the local grid operator.
at the inverter or at the feed-in point. Curtailment
at the inverter can occur by oversizing the inverter.
Methodology
Oversizing of inverters describes the situation when a
PV array is assembled with a higher capacity than the In order to investigate the effects of feed-in power
rated size of the inverter. This is quite possible, as PV limitations on the annual yield, an Example Plant was
systems often produce less than their rated power. In defined. The representative plant has a rated power of
times of optimal performance, the inverter limits the 10 kilowatt-peak (kWp) and is composed of twenty
AC output by controlling the voltage and current. This “FuturaSun FU 500 SILK Premium”-modules and a
means that the PV power is curtailed by the inverter “Fronius Symo 10.0-3-M”-inverter and was situated in

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 5

ARTICLES

five European capitals. In order to obtain representa- After curtailing the simulation data, the corresponding
tive results, the locations for the calculations have been curtailed annual electrical yield can be calculated for
chosen in such a way that they are evenly distributed each feed-in limit. The ratio between the yield under
over the longitudes of Europe. Not only was the location curtailment and the yield of a PV system without
of the Example Plant varied, but also the orientation and curtailment is referred to as yield-ratio in this paper
inclination. The fictitious PV system was aligned in six and provides information on how a curtailed system
different orientations and for each of these orientations, performs compared to a system in unimpaired opera-
the modules were set up with an inclination of 30°, 60°, tion. This yield-ratio can take any value between 0
and 90°. Since the orientation does not matter for an and 1 and the actual relative yield loss due to curtail-
inclination of 0°, this setup was simulated only once for ment is defined as the difference between 1 and the
each site. The selected locations and some additional yield-ratio.
information are listed in Table 1 a), b) and c), from
the northernmost location to the southernmost. A list Before the curtailment results are presented, the next
of the parameter variation performed at each simulation section shows the different results from the parameter
site is given in this table as well. For the elaboration of study. For the following illustrations, the values of the
the results in this article, a total of 95 simulations were y-axis are in relation to the nominal power of the PV
performed. All data featured in this paper was simulated generator. Figure 1 shows the summed monthly yield
with PV*SOL premium 2022 [4]. The output of the for a south-facing plant with a 30° inclination at all
simulations is the course of the grid feed-in in kWh locations. It can be seen that the southernmost plant
over an entire year in a one-minute resolution. This has the highest yield on average and the northernmost
value is used to calculate the electrical grid feed-in power the lowest. Figure 1 also shows for a representative
of the PV system in kW. To keep the time required week how the subsequent curtailment of the simula-
for the simulations low, they were carried out without tion results was carried out, using the example of
curtailment. The PV curtailment was implemented a 25%, 50%, and 75% feed-in limit. A fictitious
in post-processing with MATLAB. The approach of feed-in limit was applied over the entire simulation
introducing a feed-in limit in post-processing makes it horizon, the values above this limit are considered
possible to apply a power limitation to any value over as curtailment loss, and the values below the limit as
the entire range of the rated power. Thus, a statement curtailed PV power. Due to the higher global radia-
can be made not only about a certain curtailment value. tion and the higher proportion of direct radiation,
For the purpose of this paper, the ratio of the maximum it can be seen that the power limit is exceeded more
permitted feed-in power to the nominal power of the often for the PV system in Rome than for the system
PV generator is referred to as the feed-in limit. in Oslo.

Table 1 a). List of Locations, used Table 1 b). List of Orientations Table 1 c). List of
for the study. (Azimuth) used for the study. Inclinations used for the study.

Location; Latitude; Longitude; Database; Time Period;

Orientation (Azimuth) Inclination
annual sum of global radiation (% diffuse)

east/west(-) 0°(south)
Oslo; 59.95°; 10.72°; Meteonorm 7.2c3; 1991-2010;
900 kWh/m² (51.1%) east (90°)
30°
Berlin; 52.52°; 13.41°; DWD; 1995-2012; south/east (135°)
1042 kWh/m² (52.1%) 60°

Vienna; 48.23°; 16.50°; Meteonorm 6.1; 1991-2010; south (180°)

90°
1188 kWh/m² (47.5%)
south/west (225°)
Ljubljana; 46.07°; 14.52°; Meteonorm 8.1; 1996-2015;
1229 kWh/m² (47.9%) west (270°)

Rome; 41.88°; 12.46°; UNI 10349; 1986-2005;

1611 kWh/m² (38.1%)

6 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Results
has a greater effect on the yield losses. This is due to
The figures in this section show the most important the fact that global irradiation is higher in these areas,
findings from the calculations. To illustrate the results, resulting in more frequent and higher peaks in PV
the ratio of curtailed yield to maximum yield is plotted generation. Above a feed-in limit of 75%, no major
over the feed-in limit. In Figure 2, the AC power differences can be observed between the individual
values after the inverter are plotted according to their locations.
frequency over the entire simulation year. The area
under the curve thus represents the electrical yield in Similar behavior can also be observed with a change
kWh. As can already be seen in Figure 1, a higher PV in orientation and inclination, as shown in Figure 3
output is achieved in Rome and thus also a higher - more direct irradiation of the modules by the sun
yield. The yield above the feed-in limit is considered leads to greater losses in yield due to the increased
a loss due to the curtailment. Figure 2 also shows the PV generation. A further comparison between the
difference between the individual sites with a southern locations Oslo and Rome is carried out in Figure 3.
orientation and 30° inclination. It can be seen that in “Rome - South - 30°” represents the PV system with
the southern locations the curtailment in the lower area the highest curtailment loss.

200 10
Oslo - south - 30°
180 9 Rome - south - 30°
PV curtailment at 25%/50%/75%
160 8

140 7
PV power in kW

120 6
kWh/kWp

100 5

80 4

60 3
Oslo - south - 30° - 933.6 kWh/kWp/a
40 Berlin - south - 30° - 1045.3 kWh/kWp/a 2
Vienna - south - 30° - 1180.2 kWh/kWp/a
20 Ljubljana - south - 30° - 1220.7 kWh/kWp/a 1
Rome - south - 30° - 1567.6 kWh/kWp/a
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Jun 01 Jun 02 Jun 03 Jun 04 Jun 05 Jun 06 Jun 07
month of the year 2022

Figure 1. Comparing the monthly yield over all locations (left) and
Example of curtailing the simulated PV power in MATLAB (right).

Figure 2. AC load distribution after inverter for Oslo and Rome (left) and
Comparing the yield-ratio over all locations (right).

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 7

ARTICLES

Table 2. Yearly yield-loss at different levels of curtailment for the majority of the simulations.

Yearly yield-loss at 30° 60° 90°

feed-in limit in %
25% 50% 75% 25% 50% 75% 25% 50% 75%
east/west 23.9 2.5 0.0 19.4 0.2 0.0 14.0 0.1 0.0

east 34.8 9.2 0.8 37.3 13.0 1.7 33.3 10.2 0.8

south/east 40.2 13.5 1.8 43.1 16.7 2.9 37.6 11.3 0.9
Oslo

south 41.7 14.7 2.1 44.6 17.3 2.9 38.0 10.7 0.9

south/west 39.9 13.1 1.6 43.1 16.4 2.6 37.8 11.4 0.9

west 33.7 8.5 0.6 36.2 12.0 1.3 32..4 9.4 0.5

east/west 28.1 4.4 0.1 21.1 0.2 0.0 13.0 0.1 0.0

east 37.0 11.6 1.1 36.9 13.4 1.8 30.6 9.3 0.5

south/east 42.4 15.6 2.6 44.0 17.9 3.2 37.3 11.4 0.8
Berlin

south 43.1 15.9 2.8 44.1 17.1 2.8 35.5 9.7 0.9

south/west 40.8 14.0 2.1 41.6 15.5 2.5 34.5 9.6 0.7

west 34.7 9.6 0.8 34.3 11.3 1.2 28.4 8.0 0.4

east/west 30.6 5.6 0.1 22.8 0.3 0.0 13.7 0.1 0.0

east 39.4 12.6 1.3 38.7 14.1 1.8 31.9 9.7 0.6

south/east 44.2 16.2 2.6 44.4 17.3 2.7 36.0 9.8 0.7
Vienna

south 45.2 17.0 2.9 45.1 17.0 2.6 34.9 8.9 0.9

south/west 43.9 15.7 2.4 43.8 16.7 2.4 36.5 10.5 0.8

west 38.4 11.4 1.0 37.9 12.7 1.4 31.1 8.5 0.4

east/west 30.9 5.8 0.2 22.5 0.3 0.0 13.4 0.1 0.0

east 39.0 12.0 1.2 38.5 13.5 1.7 31.7 9.4 0.6
Ljubljana

south/east 44.1 16.0 2.4 44.7 17.4 2.7 36.7 10.6 0.9

south 45.2 16.9 2.7 45.4 17.2 2.9 35.7 10.1 1.1

south/west 43.8 15.5 2.2 44.3 17.0 2.5 36.4 10.4 1.0

west 38.1 11.1 0.9 37.4 12.3 1.2 30.6 8.2 0.4

east/west 37.2 8.2 0.2 26.0 0.3 0.0 14.4 0.1 0.0

east 45.5 15.2 1.5 44.2 15.9 1.8 35.5 10.1 0.6

south/east 50.1 19.3 2.7 49.5 19.4 2.6 39.4 10.4 0.8
Rome

south 50.7 19.9 2.9 49.1 18.2 2.5 36.1 9.1 0.7

south/west 49.4 18.6 2.5 48.6 18.2 2.1 38.0 9.2 0.6

west 44.4 14.1 1.2 42.7 14.0 1.1 33.6 8.0 0.3

8 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

1 1

0.9 0.9

0.8 0.8

0.7 0.7
max

kWhcurtailed/kWh max
/kWh

0.6 0.6
curtailed

0.5 0.5

0.4 0.4
kWh

0.3 Vienna - east/west - 30° - 960.8 kWh/kWp/a 0.3 Oslo - east/west - 30° - 737.8 kWh/kWp/a
Vienna - east - 30° - 948 kWh/kWp/a Oslo - south - 30° - 933.6 kWh/kWp/a
0.2 Vienna - south/east - 30° - 1113.3 kWh/kWp/a 0.2 Oslo - south - 90° - 703.9 kWh/kWp/a
Vienna - south - 30° - 1180.2 kWh/kWp/a Rome - east/west - 30° - 1284.3 kWh/kWp/a
0.1 Vienna - south/west - 30° - 1119.6 kWh/kWp/a 0.1 Rome - south - 30° - 1567.6 kWh/kWp/a
Vienna - west - 30° - 953 kWh/kWp/a Rome - south - 90° - 976.3 kWh/kWp/a
0 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
feed-in limit in kW/kWp feed-in limit in kW/kWp

Figure 3. Comparing the yield-ratio for Vienna over all orientations (left) and
Comparing the yield-ratio for the extreme scenarios Oslo and Rome (right).

Conclusion
overall yield of the PV system decreases. However, a large
For the future maintenance of grid stability, curtailment portion of the yield is still available for use. If the feed-in
of the PV power fed into the electricity grid is of great power is reduced to 50%, there is a 19.9% loss of yield
importance, as the discrepancy between supply and in the worst case. Taking all 95 simulation results into
demand is minimized. It is also clear that through this account, the average loss is 11.2% at this feed-in limit.
measure, some of the green energy generated is lost. In In the worst case, the feed-in power must be reduced
general, it can be said that due to an optimal placement to 25% of the nominal power in order to record 50%
of the PV modules, power peaks occur more often and of the yield as a loss. The resulting yield losses from
the curtailment intervenes more frequently. Due to the majority of the simulations are listed in Table 2 for
these circumstances, the curtailment losses also increase. defined feed-in limits. One way to further reduce the
However, by evaluating the 95 simulation results, it can losses caused by curtailment at the feed-in point is to
be stated that these losses are less than expected compared integrate a battery storage system. On high-yield days,
to the yield of a PV system with no curtailment. At a however, the battery storage is often fully charged at the
feed-in limit of 75% of the nominal power, a maximum time of maximum PV generation. This can be remedied
loss of only 3.2% can be observed. When the relative by forecast-based battery charging. With this method,
losses of all simulations are averaged at this feed-in limit, the charging of the battery storage is postponed to times
the average loss is only 1.3%. At lower feed-in limits the with high PV power output [5].

References
[1] International Energy Agency (IEA), 2018. World Energy Outlook 2018. International Energy Agency.

[2] Neill, S., Stapleton, G., & Martell, C. (2017). Solar Farms: The Earthscan Expert Guide to Design and Construction of
Utility-scale Photovoltaic Systems. Routledge.

[3] Kato, T., Imanaka, M., Kurimoto, M., & Sugimoto, S. (2020). Impact of Power Output Curtailment Control of
Photovoltaic Power Generation on Grid Frequency. IFAC-PapersOnLine, Vol. 53 Issue 2, 12157-12162.

[4] Valentin Software GmbH: PV*SOL premium 2022(R7), Stralauer Platz 34,10243 Berlin, Germany.

[5] Weniger, J., Bergner, J., Tjaden, T., & Quaschning, V. (2016). Effekte der 50%-Einspeisebegrenzung des KfW-
Förderprogramms für Photovoltaik-Speichersysteme. Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin (HTW Berlin),
Berlin, Studie.

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ARTICLES

Operational building energy performance

ONDŘEJ HORÁK KAREL KABELE
Czech Technical University in Prague Czech Technical University in Prague
Faculty of Civil Engineering Faculty of Civil Engineering
Department of Indoor Environmental Department of Indoor Environmental and
and Building Services Engineering Building Services Engineering
[email protected] [email protected]

Building Energy Performance is evaluated in form of a certificate before the construction.

However, how can we ensure low energy consumption during building operation? The
paper presents the user-friendly interface that provides information about all energy flows
in assessed building.

Keywords: building energy performance, intelligent buildings, building systems data

evaluation, low-energy buildings

B
uilding energy performance in Czechia is The Energy Performance functionality has the aim
evaluated on the basis of the Czech Decree of evaluating the energy flows in an assessed building
on the Energy Performance of Buildings [1]. during its operation. The main principle is the com-
The main output is in the form of Energy Performance parison between evaluated year of operation with so
Certificate, which is calculated on monthly basis and called reference year. The reference year may be based on
even before the construction or refurbishment of the Energy Performance Certificate, building simulation or
building starts. one of the previous years of operation. The functionality
structure corresponds with the Certificate (Evaluation
Therefore, the paper deals with the topic of assessment of Total Energy Delivered and partial energies, Non-
of operational building energy performance. The struc- renewable primary energy, division to energy carriers).
ture of the assessment is based on above mentioned Beyond the scope of legislation, the evaluation of elec-
legislation with the aim of user-friendliness and clear- tricity consumption by appliances is also included.
ness of the interface.
Evaluation procedure
TRIO Project, Energy Performance
The operational energy performance is evaluated
functionality
according to the algorithm in Figure 1. First of all, an
The paper presents the Energy Performance func- evaluation period of 1 year has to be selected (Step 1).
tionality, which is part of the “Smart House product Subsequently, in Step 2, the data from the building’s
management system extension” project, on which the measurement system, which are relevant for the evalu-
Department of Indoor Environmental and Building ation, are read and in Step 3, their summarization is
Services Engineering of the Faculty of Civil Engineering carried out. Step 4 is used to evaluate the data of the
of the CTU in Prague collaborates with Brand-tech reference year. Then the reference and evaluation data
company. The project is part of the “TRIO” Applied are compared and in Step 5, a percentage evaluation of
Research and Experimental Development Program the evaluated data is performed against the reference
announced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of data in Step 6. Step 7 contains a menu for displaying
the Czechia. [2] The whole system consists of 11 func- details for shorter time periods and in Step 8 these are
tionalities which are focused on all building systems, then displayed (in graphical and tabular form).
energy sources, facility management etc. The project
outputs are part of a functional sample called To make the outputs understandable, they are struc-
Modular House Monitoring System with Advanced tured similarly to the building energy performance
Environmental and Energy Systems Assessment. [3] certificate. The interface consists of screens depicting

10 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Case Study of a Family House

the energy flows in monthly time steps. Above them
there are main screens that summarize the total energy The functionality is tested on a low-energy family house
delivered and non-renewable primary energy. located in town Rýmařov, Czechia. It is a one-story,
low-energy wooden building with an unheated attic.
The main screen shows the main navigation of the
functionality and a summary evaluation of the total The main source of heat is a stove with a fireplace,
energy delivered and partial energies: evaluated where the piece wood is burnt. The fireplace is equipped
compared to the reference year, the percentual evalu- with a heat exchanger to a hot water two-pipe heating
ation and triage by emoticon for clarity at a glance. By system. The second source is an electric boiler.
clicking on “Details” the monthly data are shown. It is
also possible to select the evaluated and reference year Domestic hot water is prepared in an accumulation
on the main screen. By clicking on “Primary Energy” tank connected to the heating system. There is another
the screen of energy carries, electricity consumption circuit for DHW preparation connected with solar
by appliances and Primary energy from non-renewable thermal collectors. The tank is also equipped by
sources is evaluated in the same principle. electric heat cartridge.

Figure 1. Scheme of algorithm which evaluates the operational energy performance.

Figure 2. Family house in Rýmařov and its scheme of technical systems. [4,5]

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 11

ARTICLES

The whole house is equipped by sensors which are This rating is accompanied by an emoticon to inform
measuring all the energy flows, indoor air quality and the user how the given energy flow is doing.
outside meteorological conditions. The data have been
collecting starting January 2016 in 15-minute time step. By clicking on “Details” the monthly graphic and
tabular evaluation of delivered energy is shown.
The percentual evaluation and emoticon triage have
Evaluation and outputs – Delivered energy
the same principle.
The figures below show the evaluations of total energy
delivered and partial energies during the operation of The main screen on Figure 3 shows the annual results
the building. The dark-beige-coloured buttons are of comparison between measured and reference data.
serving for navigation and clicking between screens. Between the reference and the evaluated year there
It is also possible to choose evaluated and reference was a decrease in energy consumption of approxi-
year. In this case study, the authors evaluate the period mately 15%. When divided into partial energies, the
from 1st July 2021 to 30rd June 2022. Year 2017 was differences are visible. The energy consumption for
chosen as a reference. heating fell by 14%. This is caused (and monthly data
confirm this) by differently hard winters. As shown on
The principle of tabular evaluation is always to display Figure 4 in the reference year, the energy consumption
the measured energy (left column with beige numbers), in November, December and January was significantly
the reference value of supplied energy (middle column higher. On the other side March 2022 was quite cold
with grey numbers). The third column then indicates [6], so the energy consumption is about 54% higher
the percentage rating Measured/Reference×100%. than in reference year.

Figure 3. The main screen with annual evaluation of partial and total energy delivered. [7]

Figure 4. Detailed
monthly analysis of energy
consumption of heating. [7]

12 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Evaluation and outputs – Primary energy

the recalculation of the reference period so that the
This chapter is focused on evaluation of primary boundary conditions are as comparable as possible.
energies. The Figure 5 shows the main screen about For example, these are meteorological data, data on
primary energy. The principle of evaluation is the the presence of people, data on the ventilation of the
same as on delivered energy. The screen is further interior space, etc. All this requires the installation of
supplemented with graphs dedicated to the shares of additional measuring sensors in the building, but at
individual energy carriers. the same time it can provide even clearer information
about the evaluated period in terms of energy demand.
The diagrams on Figure 6 confirm that the building
owners use piece wood more frequently in the evalu-
ated year. It is visible mostly in November when the
share of electricity dropped almost to zero (electricity
covered only the consumption for lighting).

The Graph on Figure 7 shows the electricity consump-

tion of appliances, the increase of consumption may be
caused by purchasing new appliances (for example TV
and computers for kids) and a larger share of home-
office due to a COVID-19 pandemic.

The appliances consume more energy than for example

DHW preparation, so their consumption is not negli-
gible and may be included in overall evaluation.

Conclusion
The functionality “Energy Performance” has the aim to
provide proper, clear information about energy flows
to the building user. The interface should be user-
friendly. In present time of rapidly rising energy costs,
the functionality can affect the budgets of building
users. However, the presence of measurements of all
energy flows in the building is a basic assumption to
be able to carry out the assessment.
Figure 6. Cuttings from screens from interface showing
The aim of the authors for further development detailed monthly consumption of electricity and heat
(beyond the scope of the TRIO project) is to improve energy covered by piece wood. [7]

Figure 5. Main primary energy screen. [7]

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ARTICLES

Another goal is the ability to click

energy flows down to the level of
days to hours for more detailed evalu-
ation of, for example, system failures
or to optimize the operation of the
building, which could lead to lower
the energy consumption.

Another conclusion is that in the

future it is also appropriate to focus
on the consumption of electricity by
appliances that are not included in the
assessment according to the current
legislation. In the family house, these
are mainly household and office appli-
ances. The aim of the assessment is to
reduce electricity consumption and
thus reduce payments.

Figure 7. Cuttings from screen from interface evaluating electricity

consumption of appliances. [7]

Acknowledgments
This project was implemented with financial support from the state budget of the Czech Republic through the
Ministry of Industry and Trade in the TRIO-FV40183 programme in cooperation with Brand-tech company.
The full paper was presented at the Indoor Climate of Buildings 2022 conference and is printed in the
conference proceedings. [7]

References
[1] 264/2020 Sb. Vyhláška o energetické náročnosti budov. Zákony pro lidi - Sbírka zákonů ČR v aktuálním
konsolidovaném znění [online]. Copyright © AION CS, s.r.o. 2010 [cit. 21.11.2022]. URL: https://www.zakonyprolidi.cz/
cs/2020-264.

[2] Vyhlášení čtvrté veřejné soutěže v programu TRIO | MPO. Ministerstvo průmyslu a obchodu [online]. Copyright ©
Copyright 2005 [cit. 18.11.2022]. URL: https://www.mpo.cz/cz/podnikani/podpora-vyzkumu-a-vyvoje/vyhlaseni-
ctvrte-verejne-souteze-v-programu-trio--239644/.

[3] Kabele, K.; Brůha, P.; Dvořáková, P.; Frolík, S.; Horák, O.; Kabrhel, M.; Urban, M.; Veverková, Z. et al. Modulární
monitorovací systém domu s pokročilým systémem hodnocení prostředí a energetických systémů [Functional
Sample] 2021.

[4] Kabele, Urban: Grant no: te02000077 Smart Regions – buildings and settlements information modelling, technology
and infrastructure for sustainable development

[5] Horák, O.; Kabele, K. Predicted and Actual Energy Performance of Residential Buildings in Czechia. Case Study on
Evaluation of Detailed Energy and IEQ Monitoring in Family House. In: Roomvent&Ventilation 2018: Excellent Indoor
Climate and High Performing Ventilation. Helsinki: SIY Indoor Air Information Oy, 2018. ISBN 978-952-5236-48-4.

[6] Portál ČHMÚ: Historická data: Počasí: Územní teploty. Portál ČHMÚ: Home [online]. URL: https://www.chmi.cz/
historicka-data/pocasi/uzemni-teploty#.

[7] Horák, O.; Kabele, K. Operational Building Energy Performance. In: Indoor Climate of Buildings 2022 Healthy Built
Environment and Energy Security. Bratislava: Slovenská spoločnosť pre techniku prostredia, 2022. p. 196-203. ISBN
978-80-8284-004-2.

14 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Identification of Performance Gaps of

Heat Pump Systems in Real Operation
with Model-Based Data Analysis
SEBASTIAN DRAGOSITS ROMAN STELZER
Center for Building Technology, Center for Building Technology, Forschung
Forschung Burgenland GmbH, Research Burgenland GmbH, Research Centre
Centre Pinkafeld, Austria Pinkafeld, Austria
[email protected] [email protected]

This paper presents an analysis model that can be used to automatically assess the efficiency
of heat pumps under real operating conditions and identify performance gaps based on
measured data. For the model validation historical data from a real plant from a time period
that the plant is known to have operated inefficiently was used. The validation showed that
the model was able to detect the corresponding inefficiencies. The model is highly scalable,
i.e. the more measurement data and plant information available, the more detailed analyses
and results are possible.

Keywords: heat pump, performance gaps, scalable model, real operation environment,
data analysis, data validation

I
n Austria, but also in the EU (EU 27), energy con- to be developed, among other things. Heat pumps are
sumption in the household sector has remained often used to provide heating and cooling in buildings,
very steady at around 20 to 25% of total consump- which is why the research project took a closer look
tion in recent years. [1] In order to reduce the total at the heat pump as a building services system along-
energy consumption and thus to increase the overall side HVAC systems (Heating, Ventilation and Air
energy efficiency, this sector can therefore be a good Conditioning). In this paper, the developed analysis
opportunity. Building services equipment in particular model for heat pumps is presented in more detail.
should be examined here, as incorrect design or inef-
ficient operation often goes undetected, as long as the
Methodology - structure of the analysis
plant meets user requirements. Directive 2018/844/EU
model
(EPBD) aims to counteract such undetected inefficien-
cies by requiring regular inspections and a monitoring The analysis model was developed with Matlab.
system, depending on the size of the system. [2] The chosen approach allows the evaluation of the heat
pump performance in interaction with the connected
In the course of the “digital Twin” research project, devices, thus considering the surrounding system as well.
modular and scalable inspection and diagnostic Therefore, specific plant information (e.g. design power)
methods for the automated operational performance as well as historical measurement data are combined to
analysis of building services equipment and systems are calculate various key performance indicators.

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ARTICLES

In order to create the broadest possible field of applica- • Identification of the switch-on times of the sec-
tion for this overall model, individual analysis submodels ondary pump
were developed, which can be used depending on
the information basis. In existing plants, the avail- • Identification of the switch-on times of the primary
able measurement technology often does not allow pump
detailed analyses to be carried out, which makes such
an approach with a scalable analysis model attractive. • Analysis of heat storage tank (temperature stratifica-
tion, loading errors)
Depending on which variables are measured by a plant,
other submodels can be selected, which in sum result • Analysis of cold storage tank (temperature stratifica-
in the overall analysis and evaluation. In general, the tion, loading errors)
more information is available and the more quanti-
ties are measured, the more accurate the analysis and Since the heat and cold supply is often coupled with
evaluation of the investigated plant will be. It should balancing storage tanks, simple analysis options for
also be mentioned here that both reversible and non- heat and cold storage tanks.
reversible heat pumps can be investigated with this
analysis model, since the input and calculation struc- The first three submodels each contain two different
ture were defined so generally in advance. options on which information basis the analysis and
calculation should be performed. For the identification
The following submodels are present in the analysis of the heating and cooling period (ID H/C) of the heat
model, which can identify various performance gaps pump, for example, there are the options to determine
in real operation mode and environment: the respective periods with the help of the measured
thermal power or the measured supply and return tem-
• Identification of the heating and cooling period of perature, as can also be seen in Figure 1. In addition to
the heat pump the individual model options, for all sub-models except
the first two (they form the basic variant for evaluating
• Identification of the heat pump switch-on times the heat pump and are therefore always executed) there
is the option to skip the respective evaluation if these
• Performance ratio

Figure 1. Example of a submodel structure (submodel: identification of heating and cooling period).

16 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

aspects are not to be evaluated or the information and When all submodels are executed, the following evalu-
measurement data required for this are not available. ation results and ratings are returned to determine
specific performance gaps:
All required inputs for all submodels together are
shown in Figure 2. Depending on the submodels and • Switch-on times of the heat pump
submodel options chosen, not all of the information
shown in the Figure 2 is required. • Cycle rates or cycle durations of the heat pump per
operating mode (heating/cooling)
In addition to the individual submodels, the overall
analysis model also includes a resampling of the • Performance ratios
measured data, an input check of the input variables
and a rough check of the data quality. For the individual • Coefficient of Performance (COP)
calculations and evaluations in the submodels, a uniform
and constant time step size of the measurement data is • Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER)
required. Therefore, the model includes a resampling
that is performed by default each time the program is • Seasonal Coefficient of Performance SCOP
executed. Since the overall model has many submodels,
an input control of the input variables was implemented. • Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER)
On the one hand it is checked whether all inputs were
made in the necessary format and on the other hand • Comparison of the switch-on times of the heat
whether the necessary information for the in each case pump with those of the feed pumps on the evapo-
selected models was entered before. If an input does not rator and condenser side
fit or is not existing, an error message including a cor-
rection notice will be displayed automatically. The data • Temperature stratification in the heat and cold
quality check includes statistical (number of statistical storage tank
outliers, rate of change of the respective measured
variable) and rule-based checks (no negative volume • Loading errors during heat pump operation (heat
flows, no negative changes in cumulative measured data). storage tank is loaded with too low or cold storage
If the analysis and evaluation of a plant yields unusual tank with too high temperature)
results, the results of the data validation can be checked
to see if a faulty data set is responsible.

Figure 2. Total required inputs for all submodels together for reversible heat pumps.

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ARTICLES

Validation
The switch-on times of the heat pump are analyzed
in order to compare whether it was operated in the The analysis model was developed and validated using
desired or energetically optimal periods. The cycle rates measurement data from a real plant. The investigated
or cycle durations of a heat pump quickly provide system is a reversible heat pump used in an office
information about how efficiently the heat pump is building. On both the heating and cooling sides, strati-
operated and whether the control or the design are fied charging storage tanks are available. However, it
generally suitable. The performance ratios (COP, was mainly used to provide cooling energy. For vali-
EER, SCOP, SEER) directly indicate the efficiency dation, a historical annual data set was taken from a
of the heat pump and are thus an essential result of period in which inefficient operation of the plant was
the analysis model. The comparison of the switch-on known.
times between the heat pump and the feed pumps
provides information about the timing between these The model determined, that the heat pump had very
components, i.e. whether the control of the feed short cycle durations (six minutes on average), which
pumps roughly fits. Regarding the storage tanks, the was mainly due to the system being oversized relative
difference between the highest and lowest measured to the actual cooling energy demand (Figure 3).
temperature is evaluated to check the temperature
stratification (for stratified charging storage tanks). The fact that the heat pump was used almost exclusively
The calculation of the loading errors is again mainly to provide cooling was also shown by the visualization
aimed at checking the control whether the respective of the switch-on times, which were mainly concen-
storage tank is actually always loaded with the correct trated in the summer months (Figure 4).
temperature.
Furthermore, the SEER was somewhat low at 3.3.
With regard to the evaluation of the individual results, Regarding the feed pumps, it was found that they
limit values can be defined in the model itself, which were active for almost the entire period, i.e. not well
are then used for visualization. matched to the heat pump operation. The analysis

0.35
Cooling case
0.30 Heating case

0.25
Relative frequency

0.20

0.15

0.10

0.05

0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Cycle duration in minutes

Figure 3. Cycle durations of the heat pump in cooling and heating case.

18 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Figure 4. Hourly electrical power consumption of the evaluated heat pump in kW.

of the two storage tanks showed that there was no measured quantities, which is an advantage especially
effective stratification in the cold storage tank (the when investigating existing plants with few installed
temperature difference between the upper and lower sensors. Furthermore, this approach of a scalable
sensors averaged 1 K in the cooling period). This analysis model can also be applied to other building
result again coincides with the almost continuous flow systems and components (e.g. HVAC systems).
of the feed pump, since the water in the cold storage
tank was constantly circulated outside the heat pump Currently, this analysis model is decoupled from the
operation. But also, during active cooling operation measurement and further processing of the analysis
some loading errors (cold storage was loaded with too and evaluation results. The aim of the “digital Twin”
high temperature) could be identified. project is not only to develop such a stand-alone
analysis model, but also to link it to data acquisi-
tion (using measurement data stored in a database
Conclusion
directly for analysis) and the visualization of results
The validation showed that the analysis model was in e.g. online dashboards. This would move the actual
able to identify the expected problems and inefficien- Matlab model including operation into the back-
cies of the plant under investigation. The approach of ground and the user would thus receive information
a scalable analysis model is promising, since existing on the plant performance on the dashboards directly
plants often do not have sufficient measurement tech- after the measurement has been carried out, and this
nology to allow detailed analyses. With this model, it with comparatively less handling effort.
is possible to perform simple analyses with only a few

References
[1] Eurostat, Energy balances, Energy Balances in the MS Excel file format (2022 edition), Available online: https://
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/energy/data/energy-balances (accessed on Sep 26, 2022).

[2] Directive (EU) 2018/844 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive 2010/31/
EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, Available online: https://
eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32018L0844 (accessed on Sep 26, 2022).

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 19

ARTICLES

Farm Constructions in Relation to the

Quality of the Environment

JANA LENDELOVÁ INGRID KARANDUŠOVSKÁ MIROSLAV ŽITŇÁK MILADA BALKOVÁ

Institut of Agricultural Institut of Agricultural Institut of Agricultural Institut of Agricultural
Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering Slovak University Engineering Slovak University Engineering Slovak University Engineering Slovak University
of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovakia
[email protected]

Environmental research and progress in the introduction of innovations and the construction
of new facilities also offer significant structural challenges in the construction of stables in
our breeding practice. The aim of the article was to verify the quality of the environment in
two different types of buildings in terms of the production of harmful gases and the state of
heat load indicators in a small-scale renovated building using motor ventilation and many
innovative solutions - in comparison with a large-scale, excellent modern building, which by
its parameters surpassed the novelty of many construction solutions on a global scale and
highlighted the trend of low-energy solutions in precision breeding. The effects of a high
concentration of animals in the old building predicted the emergence of unsuitable living
conditions for both animals and people. But the integration of major innovations in the past
transformed the old building and created much better conditions for both animals and people.
On the other hand - according to the new assignment of the project as well as the high-
quality execution of building structures and technological equipment of the new barn, it was
assumed that in this new building, it would be possible to create much better well-being of
animals in a more hygienic environment and with less heat load for the animals even without
the installation of motorized ventilation. During hot summer days, there were no significant
differences in the heat load indices THI and ETIC between the small-volume building with
forced ventilation compared to the index values in the large-volume building with natural
ventilation. In the large-volume building without motorized ventilation, NH 3 and CH4 levels
were lower by more than 34.2% and 41.5% (P < 0.01), which, including other open design
conditions, predicts more effective conditions to ensure the required environmental hygiene.

Keywords: gas concentrations; heat stress index; barn volume; technical solution

D
airy cow farming is one of the largest sources livestock and livestock breeders. Poor ventilation can
of NH₃ and CH₄ within livestock produc- increase the relative humidity and the concentration
tion (Poteko, 2019). Their high concentration of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and ammonia.
in production buildings has a negative effect on both The concentration of carbon dioxide depends to a large

20 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

extent on the type of building, the ventilation system the middle area made of double-cavity polycarbonate
and the density of the animals. A significant source of corrugated roofing 1,865 m² with a slope of 15° and
CH₄ is the manure because it contains cellulose that the northern roof (PUR-panel) area 1,440 m² with a
is degraded by methane-producing bacteria (Maurer slope of 24°. Two large vertical slits were made along
et al., 2016). Ammonia contributes to eutrophication the entire roof, which ensure the removal of air through
and soil acidification, and it exerts an adverse impact on natural ventilation. The upper continuous intermediate
biodiversity and ecosystems (Witkowska & Sowińska, vertical opening in the ridge was 3.3 m high, the second
2017). Many factors influence the concentrations of vertical roof opening was high of 1.5 m.
harmful gases, in especially high temperature, emitting
area and emission source, etc. Due to climate change, The dimensions of massive old brick building “B” for
even in temperate climates, the issue of high air temper- 158 dairy cattle were 70 m in length and 11.5 m in
atures and increased heat load is increasingly becoming width. The height of the side (longitudinal) wall was
more common and affects high producing dairy cows 4.3 m and a ridge height was 9.7 m. An outdoor feeding
the most (Herbut, 2019). One option to reduce heat area with a length of 70 m and a width of 3.25 m was
load in dairy cows and increase air quality is by using added to the building. The ceiling parts were removed
flow cooling through natural and forced ventilation. due to the increase in the volume of the building from
Natural ventilation is dependent on weather and struc- the original 2,329.6 m³ to 5,154.1 m³. The ridge of the
tural design and is often not adequate in summer. Then roof was opened to a width of 350 mm and parts of the
it is required to provide cooling by forced ventilation roof covering were illuminated by five vertical strips 1 m
or by a combination of several methods (evaporative wide. In the old building, there was an air volume of
cooling, shading, spraying of animals, etc.) (Fournel, 34.3 m³ per animal, a floor area of 4.85 m² per animal
2017). To assess the quality of the environment, in indoors and 6.37 m² per animal including the outdoor
scientific practice, combined methods are used - part covered feeding area. Five basket fans were installed in
of practical measurements and part of theoretical the longitudinal axis above the double cubicles, each
calculations, or the detection of production or health with a capacity of 16,500 m³h-1 (total 82,500 m³h-1).
indicators. The worst combination is when extremes
in both high concentration of pollutants and high heat The concentrations of CH4, NH3, N2O, and CO2
load of animals occur. The article is devoted to the were measured using a photo-acoustic multi-gas
comparison of the state of air chemistry and the level analyser 1309 (Inova, Denmark). Gas concentrations
of heat load in two structurally different types of barns. were measured at 4 indoor locations in the object
A and 4 indoor locations in the object B and 1 outdoor
location. Air was sampled from the various locations
Material and Methods
using 10–30 m long polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
The research was performed during the summer season tubes with an inner diameter of 3.2 mm. The air tem-
in two types of dairy cattle barns, in the same farm. perature and relative humidity were measured every
The barns differed in herd size, housing system, and 5 min using datalogger Comet. The two types of
manure management. indexes were used to evaluate the heat load of animals.
The temperature humidity index (THI) combines
The new PUR panel-hall building “A” for 444 dairy the air temperature and relative humidity into one
cows had two internal feeding corridors, the length of value to estimate the heat load. We assessed heat stress
the building was 85.4 m, the width of the building was according to the levels set as follows: mild heat stress
51.8 m. The total height of the 3-sector counter roof in 72 < THI < 79, moderate stress 80 < THI < 89 and
the ridge was 18.2 m. The steel structure system with severe heat stress THI > 89 (Armstrong, 1994;
4 longitudinal rows of columns was made in a module Hoffmann et al., 2019). The Equivalent Temperature
of 5 m. The height of the wall was h s=8 m on the Index for dairy Cattle (ETIC - calculated according to
south side, hn=7 m on the north side. The front walls Wang et al., 2018) takes into account - in addition to
were made of PUR-panels with a thickness of 40 mm, temperature and relative air humidity - air velocity and
8 gates for the entry of the mechanisms were made up solar radiation (Hempel et al. 2019). We valuated ETIC
of remote-controlled green plastic blinds. The roller according 4 categories: mild category 18 ≤ ETIC < 20,
shutter system was also used on the side walls, where a moderate category 20 ≤ ETIC < 25, severe category
fully openable roller shutter 85 m long and 4.8 m high 25 ≤ ETIC < 31, emergency category 31 ≤ ETIC
was made above the 2.2 m high fixed wall. The roof (Hempel et al. 2019). The quality of the workers’
area was composed of three roof boards - the southern working environment was evaluated according to Law
area made of PUR-panels 1,500 m² (with slope of 15°), No 355/2007 and DECREE No 99/2016.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 21

ARTICLES

The aim of this study was to compare the concentra- extremely high outdoor air temperatures, so that air
tions of harmful gases and microclimatic properties chemistry and heat load were assessed for critical cases.
of indoor air in two different building and benefits The climatic data were recorded during the period with
of construction types of dairy housing in the summer outdoor air temperature 30°C < Text < 32°C, relative
season with an emphasis on the evaluation of the effect humidity 47% < RHext < 53% and airflow velocity
of structural innovation on air chemistry and animal 0.2 m.s-1 < vext < 1.2 m.s-1. The average values from
heat load indexes, as well as parameters of the quality climatic measurements at 65 indoor points in the
of the employees’ environment. building A without the use of motor ventilation were:
T int,AVG=32,61±0,71°C, RH int,AVG=50,94±2,86%,
Data on climatic parameters, gas concentrations in v int,AVG=0,47±0,28m.s -1. According the two heat
two barns with different housing systems were pro- indexes were not found a significant differences in
cessed statistically. Since all variables had a normal that values; the THIA,AVG=82.09±0.89 and ETICA,A
distribution, single factor ANOVA was performed. VG=26.12±0.71 (Figure 1). Heat stress level was not
The significance of differences between the mean significantly different (P > 0,05) compared these two
values of gas concentrations in barns was determined buildings - it was moderate (for THI) and severe (for
by Tukey’s test. All calculations were made using ETIC) cathegory, but there were different possibilities
Statistica 10 for Windows (StatSoft, CZ). to modify this level. For old one - very limited possibili-
ties, for new one there were a lot of technical solutions.
Result and Discussion
According to results of the evaluation of on-farm climatic
During the assessment of indoor climate parameters, measurements at the 16 indoor points in the building B
no significant differences were found between objects using motor ventilation we found, that the average values
A and B (p > 0.05), however, the pre-ventilation fans were: Tint,AVG=32,22±0,45°C, RHint,AVG=52,92±2,14%,
were not operating in building A during the research as vint,AVG=0,37±0,23m.s-1. The Temperature-Humidity
per the methodology. The intention of the breeder was Index was higher that limit level with value of
to provide the new building with a large-cubicle space THIB,AVG=81.93±0.87 and Equivalent Temperature
with low-energy, quiet and low-emission operation. index for Dairy Cow was ETICB,AVG=26.07±0.71, which
is about the limit level (Figure 2).
The optimum temperature in dairy cow housing
is 8–16°C (Kołacz and Dobrzański, 2019). As Mean concentrations of greenhouse gases and
aspected - in neither building was the optimal tem- ammonia differed significantly (P < 0.01) between
perature ensured. In the location of Central Europe, facilities. Building A (new) was characterized by
this is almost impossible during the day in summer. lower (P < 0.01) mean concentrations of GHGs
Moreover, the methodology of the experiment was and ammonia compared to building B (Figure 3).
aimed at monitoring situations during days with The detected amounts of all gases were lower than

60 5 90 30
T(L) THI(L)
58
RH(L) ETIC(R)
56 v(R) 89 29
Temperature and relative humidity of indoor air

54
4 88 28
52
50
87 27
48
air flow rate, m.s-1

46 3 86 26
44
°C, %

ETIC
THI

42 85 25
40
2 84 24
38
36
83 23
34
32 1 82 22
30
28 81 21
26
0 80 20
1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13 1 4 7 10 13

profile A profile B profile C profile D profile E profile A profile B profile C profile D profile E

Figure 1. Results of microclimate conditions in low-volume new barn A.

22 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

the recommended environmental limits for workers CH4 concentrations were 41.5% lower than in the
and animals during the experiment. old facility.

The average CO2 concentration in the new barn (A) Microclimatic parameters are an important physical
was 9.8% lower than in barn B. The most significant factor of3the working environment, which in Slovakia
improvement in view of chemistry was observed for is subject to Act No. 355/2007 and decree no.
2,5

mean concentrations of NH3

NH3, which was 34.2% lower in the new facility, and 99/2016 Coll.
2

mg.m-3
60 5 90 1,5 30

89 1 THI(L) 29
Temperature and relative humidity of indoor air

ETIC(R)
55
4 88 0,5 28

50 87 27
0
Reconstr. New
3 86 26
buildings
Air flow rate
45 NH3
T(L)
°C, %

m.s-1
3

ETIC
THI
RH(L) 85 25
3 v(R) 1450
40
2 84NH2 3 2,5 24
2,5 1400
mean concentrations of NH3

concentrationsofofCO

35 83 21350 23
2
meanconcentrations

1
1300
-3 -3

82 1,5 22
mg.m
mg.m-3

30 1,5 1250
mg.m

81 11200 21
1
25 0 80 1150 20
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 0,5
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
mean

0,5
profile A profile B profile C profile D 1100
profile A profile B profile C profile D
0
0 Reconstr. 1050 New
Figure 2. Results of microclimate
Reconstr. conditions in large-volume
New
NH3 old - reconstructed
Reconstr. barn B.
buildings
New
NH3 buildings CO2 buildings
3 1450
1450 25
1400
4 2

2,5
2 3

of CO
NH

1400
concentrationsofofCO

1350
of CH

21350 20
concentrations

1300
meanconcentrations

concentrations

1300
-3 -3
-3 -3

1,5 15
1250
mg.m
mg.m

1250
mg.m

mg.m

1200
11200 10
1150
0,51150
mean

1100
5
mean

mean

1100
0 1050
1050 Reconstr. New 0 Reconstr. New
Reconstr. New CO2 Reconstr. New
NH3 buildings buildings
CO2 buildings CH4 buildings
1450 25
25 0,92
1400
4 2

of Nof2OCH4
of CO

0,91
20
1350
of CH

20 0,9
concentrations

concentrations

1300
15
0,89
concentrations

concentrations
-3 -3

-3 -3

15
1250
mg.m

mg.m

0,88
mg.m

mg.m

1200 10
0,87
10
1150 0,86
5
mean

mean

1100
5 0,85
mean

mean

1050 0,84
0
0 Reconstr. New 0,83 Reconstr. New
CO2 Reconstr. buildings New CH4 Reconstr. buildings New
CH4 buildings N2O buildings
25 0,92
Figure 0,92
3. Results of mean concentrations of ammonia and greenhouse
0,91gases measured in reconstructed and new barn.
rations of Nof2OCH4

ntrations of N2O

0,91
20 0,9
0,9
0,89
entrations

15
0,89 The 0,88
REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 23
-3 -3

g.m-3
.mg.m

0,88
0,87
ARTICLES

For working class “1b”, the optimum temperature is The vertical openings between the roof slabs (ARr) with
Top=22–25°C, permissible relative humidity RH=30– the area of the upper opening ARr,1=280 m² and the
70% and permissible air velocity v ≤ 0.3 m.s-1. lower vertical opening ARr,2=127 m² effectively helped
the flow regime. In total, there were 2.7 m² of structural
A new structural barn design and innovative housing openings per animal in barn A which positively influ-
technology have increased the comfort of the housed enced lower concentrations of harmful gases.
animals and the air quality in terms of ammonia pro-
duction, greenhouse gases as well as microclimatic
Conclusions
parameters which are also supported by the findings
of other researchers (Witkowska, 2017; Dimov et al. Large-cubature buildings prevent quick changes in the
(2019). The productivity of labour has also increased, environment and large openings are a guarantee to the
the cubic volume of the environment has increased from possibility of rapid air exchange. If the roof covering is
the original VB=34.3m³ to the new VA=82.5 m³ per cow. thermally insulated and sufficiently protects the over-
heating of the structures, the larger air volumes around
The design of ventilation openings in buildings with the animals, act as a buffering factor for the cleaning
natural ventilation is also an important element subject period of the buildings even in cases of midday solar
to beneficial innovative changes Li et al. (2020). In radiation. More detailed research is needed to assess the
accordance with his testing, the design of the side walls overall decline in production parameters attributable
of barn A of our experimental farm stands out, where to the occurrence of extreme summer heat situations at
the wall openings occupied the area (ARw), protected a particular farm location and the balance of benefits
by a controllable roller shutter system, ARw=882 m². of using motor ventilation.

Acknowledgement
The research presented in this scientific paper is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport
of the Slovak republic, by the project VEGA 1/0709/21: “Scientifically justified proposals for technological solutions of
housing facilities ensuring optimal microclimatic conditions for livestock and their practical verification”.

References
[1] Armstrong, D. (1994). Heat stress interaction with shade and cooling. J Dairy Sci 77(7), 2044–2050.
[2] Dimov, D., Marinov, I., Penev, T., Miteva, Ch. & Gergovska, Z. (2019). Animal hygienic assessment of air carbon dioxide concentration
in semi-open freestall barns for dairy cows. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 25(2), 354-362.
[3] Fournel, S., Rousseau, A.N., Laberge, B. (2017). Rethinking enironment control strategy of confined animal housing systems
through precision livestock farming. In: ö, 155, 96-123.
[4] Hempel, S., Menz, C., Pinto, S., Galan, E., Janke, D., Estelles, F., Müschner-Siemens, T., Wang, X., Heinicke, J., Zhang, G., Amon, B.,
del Prado, A., Amon, T. (2019). Heat stress risk in European dairy cattle husbandry under different climate change scenarios -
uncertainties and potential impacts. Earth Syst. Dynam. Discuss, 1–38.
[5] Herbut, P., Angrecka, S., Godyn, D., Hoffmann, G. (2019). The physiological and productivity effects of heat stress in cattle - a review.
Ann. Anim. Sci. 19, 579–593.
[6] Hoffmann, G., Herbut, P., Severino, P., Heinicke, J., Kuhla, B., Amon, T. (2019). Animal-related, non-invasive indicators for determining
heat stress in dairy cows. Biosystems Engineering, 199, 83 -96.
[7] Kolacz, R., Dobrzanski, Z. (2019). Animal hygiene and welfare. Univerzity of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland, pp.
41, 78–79.
[8] Maurer, D., Koziel, J.A., Harmon, J.D., Hoff, S.J., Rieck - Hinz, A.M., Andersen, D.S. (2016). Summary of performance data for
technologies to control gaseous, odor, and particulate emissions from livestock operations: Air Management Practices Assessment
Tool (AMPAT).
[9] Poteko, J., Zähner, M. & Schrade, S. (2019). Effects of housing system, floor type and temperature on ammonia and methane
emissions from dairy farming: A meta-analysis. Biosystems Engineering, 182, 16-28.
[10] Wang, X., Gao, H., Gebremedhin, K. G., Bjerg, B. S., Van OS, J., Tucker, C. B., Zhang, G. (2018). A predictive model of equivalent
temperature index for dairy cattle (ETIC). Journal of Thermal Biology, 76, 165–170.
[11] Witkowska, D. & Sowinska, J. (2017). Identification of microbial and gaseous contaminants in poultry farms and developing
methods for contamination prevention at the source. Poultry Science, London: IntechOpen.

24 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Indoor Climate After Energy Renovation

of Family house

ANNA PREDAJNIANSKA EVA ŠVARCOVÁ DUŠAN PETRÁŠ

Ing., Department of Building Ing., Department of Building Prof. Ing., PhD, Department
Services, Slovak University Services, Slovak University of Building Services, Slovak
of Technology in Bratislava, of Technology in Bratislava, University of Technology
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, in Bratislava, Faculty of Civil
Bratislava, Slovakia Bratislava, Slovakia Engineering, Bratislava, Slovakia
[email protected]

The model renovation of typical family houses in Slovakia can help everyone who want to
indulge in modern 21st century living with a healthy indoor environment even in an older
house. This project is not only a source of inspiration. In addition to proven tips and practical
advice from experts, it will also provide complete instructions for the reconstruction of a
family home with an emphasis on healthy living.

Keywords: energy, renovation; family house; indoor climate, energy evaluation

T
he results of an international study entitled that takes into account parameters in three funda-
Healthy Home Barometer 2017 showed that mental categories – quality of housing, impact on the
every sixth Slovak is not satisfied with their environment and operating costs.
housing. Slovaks are troubled by insufficient light
conditions or excessive humidity causing mold. Up
Family House Renovation
to 21% of Slovak households are not economically
able to heat their house or apartment to a comfort- Family houses built between 1950s and 1970s had a
able temperature. The speed of the renovation process typical square floor plan and material composition.
in Slovakia is also insufficient. According to available At present, many of them are inhabited, but they do
statistics, there are more than 950 000 family houses not meet today´s strict thermal technical require-
in Slovakia, of which only 35% have been renovated. ments. Exterior walls were built without thermal
The renovation project of typical family houses has insulation. The interior and exterior finishing of the
them ambition to change this unfavorable statistic. walls, ceilings, and floors are in unsatisfactory condi-
The model renovation for healthy living is intended tions. Single or double windows with simple glazing
to inspire Slovaks how they can renovate their house were used in these houses. The ceilings were made
in a financially optimal way. At the end of the entire of wooden beams. In many cases, the roof system is
process, they will receive modern and healthy housing degraded by time, especially due to weather conditions.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 25

ARTICLES

The project documentation of these house was drawn or different heat sources. A detailed description of the
by hand, as no drawing software was uses at that time various renovations will not be given. However, an
(Predajnianska et al. 2021, 2022; Švarcová et al 2021). energy evaluation was created for the various renova-
The original state of family house is showed in the tions which is given in Table 1 and Figure 3. The aim
Figure 1. Renovation of building structures is very of the energy evaluation is to compare the energy
important. However, it is not the only parameter that needed for the family house in different variants and
improves the energy efficiency of the building. A large after the renovation. As a part of the energy evalua-
share in the energy efficiency of building also plays tion, the building is classified into classes based on
building services. The new heat source in the renovated the energy need for heating, energy need for domestic
family house is a gas condensing boiler, which repre- hot water preparation, energy need for ventilation or
sents an excellent price-quality ratio. For domestic hot forced air extraction, total needed energy, primary
water preparation was used storage heat system with energy and emission CO₂. The renovations were
volume of 120 ℓ. Heating in the building is provided designed in such a way that it was possible to create
by radiators. Renovated family house is showed in the a passive building that corresponds to class A1 in the
Figure 2. classification system. The most demanding renovation
was designed in such a way that it was possible to create
a nearly zero energy building, which corresponds to
Energy Evaluation
class A0 in the classification system. The criteria to
At the beginning of the project, several reconstruction specific total energy use for different types and global
variants were created for the family house. Each variant indicator classification of buildings are defined in
included different thicknesses of thermal insulation, Regulation No. 364/2010 (Decree No. 625; Standard
STN EN 15603/NA: 2012).

The results of the energy evaluation are summarized

also in the following graph, in which it is possible
to compare the individual energy needs within the
various variants of the reconstruction of a family
house. The graph clearly shows the huge difference
between the energy required for a family house in its
original state and the energy need for a family house
after any proposed renovation.

450
400
Energy need (kWh/m².a)

350
300
Figure 1. Original state of family house in Šaľa. [Authors]
250
200
150
100
50
0
Heating Total Primary Emission
needed energy CO2
energy

Original state Reconstruction 1

Reconstruction 2 Reconstruction 3
Current state

Figure 3. Energy needed based on energy evaluation.

Figure 2. Renovated family house in Šaľa. [Authors] [Authors]

26 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Indoor Climate Measurements

experience with operation, monitoring and measuring
The model renovation for healthy living is intended to key parameters began. These current measurements
inspire Slovaks how they can renovate their house in a are ensured by the Department of Building Services
financially optimal way. The main criteria of the reno- at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava.
vation project is the house that provides comfortable With the consent of the family, measuring devices are
and healthy living which is affordable and repeatable. currently installed in the family house, which record
At the end of the entire process of the reconstruc- the interior temperature, CO₂ concentration and air
tion of the family house, there is an increase on the humidity in every room. The measuring devices placed
living space to 115 m², an increase in energy savings in the family house are COMET U3430. The data-
of up to 80%, but above all a healthy living full of logger measures and records the values in its internal
daylight and fresh air. Renovated family house has been memory. Figure 4 shows the floor plan of the first
occupied by a young family of four since September floor, where an entrance hall, a bathroom, a kitchen
2019. At the beginning of 2022, the stage of gathering a living room and a children’s playroom are located.

Figure 4. Measuring device’s location in first floor. [Authors]

Table 1. Energy evaluation of different types of renovation. [Authors]

Energy need
Energy need Energy need Total needed Primary
Variant for DHW Emission CO₂
for heating for ventilation energy energy
preparation
kWh/(m².a) kWh/(m².a) kWh/(m².a) kWh/(m².a) kWh/(m².a) kg/(m².a)

Original 353,0 34,0 0 387,0 425,7 117,92

state G (>258) C (25-36) Not evaluated G (>258) D (325-432) -
63,9 28,1 0 92,0 101,2 28,03
Renovation 1
B (43-86) C (25-36) Not evaluated B (55-110) A1 (55-108) -
53,7 15,4 0 69,1 76,01 21,05
Renovation 2
B (43-86) B (13-24) Not evaluated B (55-110) A1 (55-108) -
40,8 12,2 0 53,0 33,17 6,37
Renovation 3
A (<42) A (<13) Not evaluated A (<54) A0 (<54) -

Current 40,5 11,4 0 51,9 29,29 18,36

state A (<42) A (<12) Not evaluated A (<54) A0 (<54) -

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 27

ARTICLES

Results of Indoor Climate Measurements

In addition to the corridor, there is a datalogger in each
room, which records the mentioned values. The ideal The aim of the experimental measurements is to record
location of datalogger is in the middle of the room, the temperature, humidity and CO₂ concentration in
but this is not possible in all cases. The location of the the interior of a renovated family house and evaluate
dataloggers is adapted to the location of the furniture them. Measurement started in February 2022 and
in the interior. It was also more than necessary to take will run for two years. The values are recorded in the
into account the fact that the house is inhabited by a internal memory of the dataloggers COMET U3430.
young family with children and the dataloggers should The recording interval is once per four hours. For the
not disturb the comfort of residents. ongoing evaluation of the data, the measured quanti-
ties were taken from the memory of the dataloggers in
On the second floor there is a bathroom, parent´s the interval from February 2, 2022 to July 28, 2022.
bedroom and children´s room. In these rooms, the A two-week period from March 7, 2022 to March
comfort of the residents and the placement of furniture 21, 2022 was selected for the ongoing evaluation of
in the rooms were also taken into account. The location the measured data. Figure 6 shows the progress of air
of the dataloggers is shown in Figure 5. temperatures in each measured room. The indoor air

Figure 5. Measuring devices location in first floor. [Author]

Indoor air temperature (°C)

29

27

25

23

21

19

7.3.22 8.3.22 9.3.22 10.3.22 11.3.22 12.3.22 13.3.22 14.3.22 15.3.22 16.3.22 17.3.22 18.3.22 19.3.22 20.3.22 21.3.22

Figure 6. Indoor air temperature in each measured room. [Authors]

28 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

temperature ranged from 19 to 30°C. The drop in The following Table 2 summarizes the minimum,
temperature to a lower value corresponds to the time average and maximum temperature, CO₂ concentra-
when the room was naturally ventilated. tion and air humidity in each room.

This corresponds also to the concentration of CO₂ The datalogger VR2 in the children´s playroom did
at the given time, which is shown in Figure 7. It is not work after two days from the start of the measure-
clear that the object was regularly naturally ventilated, ment. Therefore, data on temperature, humidity and
which corresponds to a regular decrease in CO₂ con- CO₂ concentration in this room are unknown. After
centration. The last Figure 8 shows the progress of talking with the owners of the family house, informa-
air humidity in the interior of each measured room. tion was found that this room is used very rarely.

Table 2. Summary average temperature, CO₂ concentration and humidity [Author]

Room Device Temperature (°C) CO₂ concentration (ppm) Humidity (%)

Min Avg. Max Min Avg. Max Min Avg. Max

Kitchen VR1 19,6 22,1 31,4 475 746 1113 12,8 34,8 46,8

Playroom VR2 - - - - - - - - -

Livingroom VR3 20,2 22,0 23,5 488 810 1399 26,8 34,8 43,9

Bathroom 1NP VR4 20,3 22,6 25,0 494 706 1035 24,1 35,2 41,2

Bedroom VR5 21,5 23,2 24,9 500 1141 1955 18,2 34,5 41,3

Children bedroom VR6 21,4 23,5 25,7 445 869 1272 14,9 31,5 37,5

Bathroom 2NP VR7 21,5 23,8 28,5 457 729 1162 20,3 31,5 43,8
CO2 concentration (ppm)

1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400

7.3.22 8.3.22 9.3.22 10.3.22 11.3.22 12.3.22 13.3.22 14.3.22 15.3.22 16.3.22 17.3.22 18.3.22 19.3.22 20.3.22 21.3.22

Figure 7. CO₂ concentration in each measured room. [Authors]

50

40
Humidity (%)

30

20

10

7.3.22 8.3.22 9.3.22 10.3.22 11.3.22 12.3.22 13.3.22 14.3.22 15.3.22 16.3.22 17.3.22 18.3.22 19.3.22 20.3.22 21.3.22

Figure 8. Humidity in each measured room. [Authors]

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 29

ARTICLES

Conclusion
results showed that thanks to the renovation of the
The original family house was in a desolate state and building, the required indoor climate for the residents
uninhabited for many years. Therefore, in such a case is ensured in terms of temperature, air humidity and
like this one, is not possible speak about a satisfactory CO₂ concentration.
indoor climate. Renovation of a family house should
ensure satisfactory conditions for living in terms of You can find a square family house in almost every
indoor climate. Not only the renovation of building Slovak village. Most often in original condition.
structures and technical equipment, but also the The owners are attracted by reconstruction, but
operation of the building has a great impact on the they don´t know where to start. The RenovActive
comfort in the building. Therefore, it is more than model renovation will help everyone who wants to
important that even the owners of the family home indulge in modern 21st century living with healthy
care about its quality. This is mainly connected with indoor environment even in an older house. Owners
the ventilation of the building. In cooperation with of typical square family houses, such as the one in
Department of Building Services at Slovak University Šaľa, can find the complete instruction on how to
of Technology in Bratislava, measurements of the renovate the house and transform it into healthy and
indoor climate of building are carried out. The interim modern living.

Acknowledgment
This work has been supported by Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of Slovak Republic
through the grant VEGA 1/0303/2021, VEGA 1/0304/2021 a KEGA č. 005STU-4/2021.
Thanks to the Velux company which established cooperation with the Department of Building Services at
Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava and made it possible to be a part of the RenovActive project.

References
Decree No. 625 of the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic dated November 22,
2006, implementing the Law No. 555/2005 Coll. on the energy efficiency of buildings and on the amendment of
some laws.

Standard STN EN 15603/NA: 2012 on Energy efficiency of Buildings. Total energy demand and definition of energy
assessment. National Annex.

PREDAJNIANSKA, Anna - ŠVARCOVÁ, Eva - SÁNKA, Imrich - PETRÁŠ, Dušan. Nearly zero energy buildings as a standard of
21st century - Velux RenovActive. In CLIMA 2022 [elektronický zdroj]: proceedings of the 14th REHVA HVAC World
Congress, 22-25 May 2022, Rotterdam. 1. vyd. Delft: TU Delft OPEN Publishing, 2022, online, s. 35-40. ISBN 978-94-
6366-564-3. V databáze: DOI: 10.34641/mg.33.

PREDAJNIANSKA, Anna - PETRÁŠ, Dušan - KRAJČÍK, Michal - SÁNKA, Imrich. Energy Efficiency Trends for Houses in
Slovakia. In AEE World Energy Conference and Expo 2021 [elektronický zdroj]. 1. vyd. New Orleans: [s.n.], 2021, USB
kľúč, s. 1706. ISBN 978-17-13838-65-4.

ŠVARCOVÁ, Eva - SÁNKA, Imrich - PREDAJNIANSKA, Anna - PETRÁŠ, Dušan. Renovation of a Family House with
Achievement of a Nearly Zero Energy Building Requirement. In ISHVAC 2021 and 2021 KIAEBS Autumn Conference
[elektronický zdroj]: Healthy, Smart and Interactive Built Environment. November 24 to 26, 2021, Virtual (Seoul, Korea).
1. vyd. Seoul: Korean Institute of Architectural Sustainable Environment and Building Systems.

30 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

SMART Solutions for Energy Saving and

Better Indoor Environment

JIŘÍ HIRŠ ALI BADAI

Prof. Ing. PhD, Brno University of Ir., MSc., Kraaijvanger Architects,
Technology, Czech Republic Rotterdam, The Netherlands
[email protected]

This article contains partial results of a case study in the urban area of Brno - Nový Lískovec
in the Czech Republic and partial results of a dynamic analysis of energy use in a case study
setting in the Netherlands. Future research tasks, municipal visions and goals are discussed
in order to fulfil the vision of the SMART Region concept in these locations. The article
contains a brief presentation of some outputs and application of experiences from the
National Centre of Competence project focused on energy flows in buildings, regions and
distribution networks with a focus on heat/cooling supply, efficient use of RES, improvement
of environmental quality and user comfort.

Keywords: Smart region, Buildings Refurbishment, Energy simulation, Indoor climate,

Monitoring, Web map application

I
n Project [1], solved out from 2014 to 2019 in the which includes the efficient use of heat from the water of
Czech Republic, a multidisciplinary and interdisci- the healing springs and a study of natural lighting with a
plinary system of cooperation between companies focus on the colours of interior wall surfaces and interior
and research organizations for the development of furnishings, leading to a reduction in energy consump-
energy-efficient and environmentally friendly techno- tion for lighting. A dynamic analysis of unused thermal
logical systems, equipment, components, methods and energy sources in the region is a topic being worked
strategies for buildings in smart regions was analysed. on by a PhD student in the Netherlands. It deals with
the usable energy flows between buildings that are in
The outputs of the project have led to the establish- permanent cooling mode all year round (supermarkets,
ment of a basis for a resilient approach in the pilot food warehouses, medicine stores) and other buildings
sites to address the energy and environmental situation that need heating in winter. The analysis also addresses
of a set of buildings and the surrounding area/envi- the dynamics of the mismatch between energy supply
ronment. A typical site is the urban district of Nový and consumption (heat and cold) and the use of solar
Lískovec with a detailed design of prefabricated resi- energy storage in the asphalt roads in the region.
dential, educational, office and civil buildings as well
as a central and decentralized heat supply system and The last sub-part of the smart region concept pre-
the use of renewable energy. Energy management was sented in this paper focuses on the possibility of using
introduced in this area in 2000 and is still in operation wind energy for power generation. It solves the CFD
today. Another example of smart solutions for the region simulation of wind flow over the roofs of buildings.
is the analysis of energy flows and indoor environment This issue has also been researched by a PhD student
and the solution of sub-issues in the Spa Piešt’any site, in recent years.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 31

ARTICLES

SMART city district BRNO – NOVÝ LÍSKOVEC

The values of the heating system heat consumption
The Brno - Nový Lískovec district is located in the obtained by implementing energy management with
South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. a weekly interval and related to the outdoor tem-
Currently, the area of this locality is 1.66 km² with perature plotted in the so-called E-T curve for the
11 500 inhabitants. At the end of the 1990s, the Brno selected regenerated apartment building are shown
- Nový Lískovec municipal district launched an ambi- in Figure 2. Research in this location in recent years
tious plan to revitalize the prefabricated apartment has been focused on the use of IoT technologies for
buildings in its ownership. Since the late 1990s, the efficient energy use in controlling the operation of
municipality has introduced a building energy man- school buildings.
agement system in its own housing stock to obtain
valuable data on the energy behaviour of the buildings.
SMART region SPA PIEŠŤANY
Now, 22 years of intensive long-term monitoring of
building energy consumption (heating and DHW) The world-famous Piešt’any Spa is located in the
has provided and continues to provide decision- western part of the Slovak Republic, in the Trnava
makers with valuable data and information when region, in the valley of the lower reaches of the
implementing renovation strategies and concepts and longest Slovak river Váh. It is located on a spa island
helps to facilitate important decisions in the future. of 60 hectares at an altitude of 162 m. The spa island
Since 2014, indoor climate and indoor air quality is one of the largest and most exceptional spa com-
(IAQ) has been monitored in selected apartments and plexes in Europe. Its reputation is mainly due to its
municipal offices. Selected indoor climate and IAQ unique natural springs with thermal mineral water,
parameters such as air temperature, relative humidity which springing from cracks in the tectonic plates at
and carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration have been a depth of 60 to 200 meters underground. The water
measured. A comparison of the energy performance on the surface reaches a very high temperature of
of the pilot building type T06B before and after 67–69°C, so it is first cooled before being used in
renovation is shown in Figure 1. The heating energy the spa. Thermal mineral water is unique for its high
consumption in the selected years shows a significant sulphur and hydrogen sulphide content. The natural
decrease of 67% in 2004 and 78% in 2014 compared healing water pumped from the boreholes is piped into
to the building energy consumption before retrofit. a storage station. Part of the natural healing water from
The energy consumption for hot water preparation the springs flows directly into the distributor, from
shows only a gradual decrease in the selected measure- where it flows into the balneotherapy department,
ment period. the other part flows into the graphite heat exchanger

HEAT ENERGY CONSUMPTION BEFORE AND AFTER RETROFITTING

150
BEFORE RETROFITTING AFTER RETROFITTING
140
130
120
110
Heat energy (kWh/m2)

Space heating
100
Domestic hot water
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2000 2001 2004 2009 2014
Year

Figure 1. Comparison of the pre- and post-retrofitting results.

32 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

SMART region in Netherland

block, where it is cooled to a temperature of about
24°C and flows into the cooled water distributor, from A pilot analysis of energy flows was carried out on a
where it flows into the balneotherapy department. case study in the Netherlands. In the selected location,
The hot natural healing water distributor separates a the combination of energy systems in a supermarket,
partial quantity of this water into hot natural healing an adjacent asphalt road, single-family and apartment
water storage tanks, where it is stored at a tempera- buildings and truck traffic to supply the supermarket
ture of approximately 67°C and a pressure of 180 kPa. was analysed. To reduce the carbon footprint from
The cold natural medicinal water distributor separates truck traffic, the location of the greenhouse adjacent
a partial quantity of the cooled natural medicinal water to the supermarket was chosen. The location of the
into storage tanks of cooled natural medicinal water, collector in the road was investigated in terms of solar
where it is stored at a temperature of about 24°C and a energy use. For residential and single-family homes,
pressure of 240 kPa. The pressure in the tanks is main- the option of ground energy accumulation was inves-
tained by air compressors. In the event of greater water tigated, and for the supermarket, the objective was to
demand, this stored water can be used in the distribu- analyse mainly the residual heat from refrigeration.
tion system. The idea of implementing the SMART The role of the four partners in the thermal energy
region principle in the Piešt’any Spa was based on a exchange network was defined from dynamic simula-
detailed dynamic analysis of the temperature condi- tions and the evolution of the time dependence of
tions of natural healing water in the distribution system the energy flows. The Figure 4 show the cooperation
and in the source wells with relation to the require- schemes in energy use between the partners.
ments of the healing processes and the management
of the used healing water. The following measures
WIND in SMART region
have been developed and implemented: extension
and improvement of the monitoring system of energy One of the scientific papers related to the SMART
flows and water temperature parameters, systematic region concept deals with the use of wind flow over
evaluation of information and data on the operation a building to provide information to determine
and use of natural medicinal water, efficient use of the energy potential for a small wind power plant.
warm natural medicinal water in swimming pools, A detailed 3D CFD simulation model including the
optimization of the technology of the accumulation surrounding terrain in two variants was used to analyse
station, dynamic analysis of the generation of natural the wind flow over the roof of the FAST BUT science
medicinal water from the source and the requirements centre building. The variants differed in the use of
and utilization of natural healing water for therapeutic boundary conditions for the building surroundings.
processes, design and implementation of a new heat The resulting findings, in particular the processed
exchanger for cooling of natural medicinal water based images of the wind flow fields, can be used to optimize
on experimental measurements and simulation model, the location of the wind turbine on the roof of the
and analysis of interior daylighting as a function of building and contribute to expanding the use of renew-
interior colour and with impact on electricity con- able energy potential in the region and in the building.
sumption for artificial lighting.

8.8
Hea�ng consump�on (kWh/m2 per 7 days)

8.0 BEFORE RENOVATION

7.2 AFTER RENOVATION

6.4
5.6
4.8
4.0
3.2
2.4
Varia�on A Varia�on B
1.6
Surface reflectance Surface reflectance
0.8 -walls and soffit = 0.86 -walls and soffit = 0.33
0.0 -carpet and upholstery 0.74 -carpet and upholstery 0.13
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Corresponding 7-day average outdoor temperature (°C)

Figure 2. E-T curve for heating of prefabricated Figure 3. Room interior, in variation A and B (DIALux
apartment building T06B (from 2000 year). simulations).

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 33

ARTICLES

Winter Summer
Green house
Heat pump NZEB buildings NZEB buildings

Heat exchange
Use of rejected heat
Heat pump
Supermarket

aquifer aquifer
±70 m ±70 m

Figure 4. Collaboration between road and dwellings and between supermarket – greenhouse.

Conclusion
locations have been presented. The methodology and
Creating a model and implementing the vision of a the form of the elaboration allows to repeat the appli-
SMART region is a long-term activity that, thanks to cation in other regions.
modern technologies, enables efficient operation not
only of energy systems, but also the use of data and
information for further decision-making processes. Acknowledgment
The concept of the SMART Region can be built This article has been worked out under the
gradually, by developing partial solutions that build project Competence Centre TE02000077
on each other and are compatible with each other. supported by the Technological Agency of the
In the paper some solutions in recent years in several Czech Republic.

References
[1] Project TE02000077, “Smart Regions - Buildings and Settlements Information Modelling, Technology and
Infrastructure for Sustainable Development”, (2014-2019), Technology Agency of the Czech Republic - Centre of
Competence.

[2] J. Hirš, S. Dermeková, R. Wawerka, T. Volařík, J. Mohelníková, “Information modelling process based on integrated data
acquisition”, Energy and Buildings, Volume 130, 2016, Pages 122-130, ISSN 0378-7788.

[3] A. Badai, “Environmental benefits through Storage, Exchange of thermal energy in smart city”, Journal of Engineering,
27(3), pp. 130–142, 2021, ISSN 1726-4073.

[4] P. Komínek, J. Hirš, “The Use of a Mathematical Model for the Management and Distribution of Heat”, Applied
Mechanics and Materials, ISSN: 1662-7482, Vol. 824, p. 299-306, 2016, Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.

[5] D. Miček, J. Hirš, “Energy, economic and environmental analysis of opened natural healing water source”. In E3S Web
of Conferences. Francie: EDP Sciences, 2019. p. 1-8. ISSN: 2555-0403.

[6] J. Hirš, J. Mohleníková, D. Miček, S. Floreková, “Daylighting Simulation Analysis for Historical Hotel Rooms. International
Conference on Innovative Applied Energy/IAPE 2019, Oxford, United Kingdom, ISBN: 978-1-912532-05-6.

[7] J. Hirš, Z. Auer, “E-T curves for energy management”. In VIII. symposium GREEN WAY 2017. Společnost pro techniku
prostředí (STP), Praha, 2017, p. 50-51. ISBN: 978-80-02-02731-7.

[8] E. Tůmová, S. Pokorná, J. Hirš. “Wind flow CFD simulation over the building rooftop.” World Multidisciplinary Civil
Engineering – Architecture - Urban Planning Symposium (WMCAUS) 2022, Prague.

34 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Laboratory for testing of

heating/cooling radiant systems

MARTIN ŠIMKO DUŠAN PETRÁŠ DANIEL SZABÓ

Department of Building Department of Building Department of Building
Services, Faculty of Civil Services, Faculty of Civil Construction, Faculty of
Engineering, Slovak Engineering, Slovak Civil Engineering, Slovak
University of Technology, University of Technology, University of Technology,
Bratislava, Slovakia Bratislava, Slovakia Bratislava, Slovakia
[email protected]

The aim of this study is to describe the laboratory for testing of the floor, ceiling and wall
radiant systems. The laboratory consists of three identical rooms located to the east, with
a floor radiant system integrated in the first room, a ceiling radiant system in the second
room and a wall mounted radiant system in the third room. The laboratory is part of an
administrative building owned by the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Bratislava. The heat/
cooling source is an air-to-water heat pump located on the roof of the building.

Keywords: laboratory, radiant floor system, radiant ceiling system, radiant wall system,
heating/cooling

W
e live in a time when climate change is Radiant systems are particularly suitable for combi-
increasingly forcing us to deal with the nation with renewable sources, provide high sensible
question of the right choice of heating or output and can be used for both heating and cooling
cooling system for living spaces. Due to global warming, [1,2,3].
we are experiencing milder winter seasons and then,
without a pleasant transitional period of spring, we Compared to other systems, large-area radiant systems
find ourselves in hot summer days. The question of provide a fundamentally more even distribution of
how to cool residential buildings during hot summer temperatures indoors. In terms of design, radiant
days therefore comes to the fore. heating/cooling systems can be integrated into the
wall, ceiling or floor. The common advantage of all
There are different choices of heating or cooling three technical solutions is that they can be imple-
systems. One option for both heating and cooling mented as part of retrofitting, so they can be used in
design is the use of water-based radiant systems. building renovation [4,5,6,7,8].

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 35

ARTICLES

Laboratory for testing heating/cooling systems

Uponor Siccus system board, the installation of the
The laboratory consists of 3 office rooms of a north- sensors, the installation of the Uponor comfort pipe
east facing office building, with the same boundary plus 14 × 2,0 mm, the installation of the PE foil, the
conditions (Figure 1). floor dry-screed board BRIO represented final layer of
the radiant floor system and measured devices: globe
In the first office room number 202.1, a Siccus dry thermometer, heat flux sensor, sensor of the surface
radiant floor system was installed in two circuits with temperature and data logger.
150 mm pipe spacing, using Comfort Pipe PLUS
14 × 2.0 mm, with a radiant area of 15 m². In the second
Radiant ceiling system
room number 202.2, a Uponor Renovis dry radiant
ceiling system using Uponor PE-Xa pipe 9.9 × 1.1 mm In Figure 3, on the right side, you can see the office
with 8 Uponor Renovis panels (2000 × 625 mm) was room number 202.2, where the radiant ceiling system
installed with a radiant area of 10 m². In the third office was investigated and on the left side in Figure 3 you
room number 203 a Uponor Renovis wall-mounted can see the Uponor Renovis dry ceiling system.
radiant system with Uponor PE-Xa 9.9 × 1.1 mm pipes The placement of the sensors is shown on the right
with 8 Uponor Renovis panels (2000 × 625 mm) and side in Figure 3. Numbers 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 41, 43,
a radiant area of 10 m² was installed. The heat and 44, 45, 46 represent the sensors type PT100 CRZ-
cooling source was an air-to-water heat pump F2040-6. 2005-100-A-1-Ni and number 53 represents the heat
flux sensor type FQA017C with accuracy within ±5%
of the measured value.
Radiant floor system
In Figure 2, is shown the floorplan of the office room In Figure 3, is shown the installation of Uponor
number 202.1, where the radiant floor system was Renovis radiant ceiling system.. The Uponor Renovis
investigated. ceiling system is a dry ceiling system. The Uponor
Renovis ceiling system consists from CD profiles
Numbers 2, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52 for Uponor Renovis Panels with Uponor PE-Xa
in Figure 2 represent the sensors type PT100 CRZ- 9.9 × 1.1 mm pipes. We can also see the Tichelman
2005-100-A-1-Ni and number 55 represents the heat loop with supply and return pipe for the Uponor
flux sensor type FQA017CSI with accuracy within Renovis Panels. In Figure 3, is shown the installation
±5% of the measured value. In the Figure 2, you of the sensors (type PT100 CRZ-2005-100-A-1-Ni).
can see also the installation of the Uponor Siccus dry In Figure 3, is shown the building of the final structure
floor system. The Figure 2 shows the building of the of the Uponor Renovis dry ceiling system. The Uponor

Heat
Pump
Radiant Radiant Radiant
Wall Ceiling Floor

Figure 1. Office building with laboratory for testing radiant systems. (Author: Martin Šimko)

36 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Renovis ceiling system is a dry ceiling system and system is 10 m². The Figure 3 on the right shows the
this system consists from 8 Uponor Renovis panels measurement equipment: globe thermometer, heat flux
(2000 × 625 mm). The radiant area of the ceiling sensor, sensors of surface temperatures.

Figure 2. Floorplan of the room 202.1 with radiant floor system and placement of sensors. (Author: Martin Šimko,
Uponor, s.r.o.)

Figure 3. Floorplan of the room 202.2 with radiant ceiling system and placemant of sensors (Author: Martin Šimko,
Uponor, s.r.o.)

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 37

ARTICLES

Radiant wall system

In Figure 4, we can see the final structure of the
In Figure 4, is shown the section through the office Uponor Renovis dry wall system and measurement
room number 203, where the radiant wall system equipment: globe thermometer, heat flux sensor,
was investigated. On the right side in Figure 4 is sensors of surface temperatures and data loggers
shown the Uponor Renovis dry wall system. In
Figure 4, is shown also placement of the sensors.
Experimental verification of radiant systems
Numbers 37, 38, 39, 40, 42 represent the sensors
in cooling mode
type PT100 CRZ-2005-100-A-1-Ni and number
54 represents the heat flux sensor type FQA017C From 26.08.2022 to 01.09.2022 three radiant systems
with accuracy within ±5% of the measured value. In in cooling mode were verified. We verified the effect of
Figure 4, is shown also the building of the Uponor radiant systems on the indoor climate. We investigated
Renovis wall system. The Uponor Renovis wall radiant dry floor system in office room 201.1, radiant
system is dry wall system and this system consist ceiling system in office room 202.2 and radian dry wall
from 8 Uponor Renovis panels (2000 × 625 mm). system in office room 203. The effect of three radiant
The radiant area of the wall system is 10 m². systems on the interior air were investigated for one
The Figure 4 from the left shows the Tichelmann week from 26.08.2022 to 02.09.2022. The thermal
loop with supply and return pipe for the Uponor gradient was 15/19°C.
Renovis Panels. The final structure of the Uponor
Renovis wall radiant system consists of CD profiles Figure 5 shows relation between indoor and outdoor
with Uponor Renovis Panels. air temperature in three office rooms with radiant

Figure 4. Radiant wall system and placement of sensors. (Author: Martin Šimko, Uponor, s.r.o.)

Temperatures of interior air in offices with radiant systems

32,0
Temperature [°C]

27,0

22,0

17,0

Date, time
Floor system - interior temperature Exterior temperature
Wall system - interior temperature Ceiling system - interior temperature

Figure 5. Relation between indoor and outdoor air temperature (Author: Martin Šimko)

38 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

systems from 26.08.2022 to 02.09.2022. We verified The effect of the three radiant systems in cooling mode
effects of the three radiant systems on the indoor on the indoor climate of these offices in summer was
climate (interior air) in three offices. The measure- sufficient. These results show that radiant systems can
ments of interior air were recorded with data loggers create a pleasant thermal comfort even in summer.
COMET U3430 and COMET S3120. The red curve
represents the course of the outdoor air temperature,
Conclusion
the blue curve represents the course of the indoor air
temperature in the room 201.1 with radiant floor The paper shows the laboratory for testing of radiant
system, the yellow curve represents the course of the floor, ceiling and wall systems. We explored the effect
indoor air temperature in room 202.2 with radiant of three radiant systems in cooling mode on the indoor
ceiling system, and the gray curve represents the climate in summer. There is a significant potential of
course of the indoor air temperature in room 203 with these three radiant systems to create a pleasing thermal
radiant wall system. The results of the indoor air were comfort in summer. In terms of thermal comfort in
measured using data loggers Comet U3430 in office cooling mode, radiant floor system was weaker than
rooms 201.1, 202.2 and the results of the indoor air radiant wall or radiant ceiling. In future research it
in office room 203 were measured using data loggers would be good to verify these three radiant systems:
Comet S3120. The maximum value of the outdoor air in terms of performance in both cooling and heating
was measured on 26.08.2022 at 13:00, at that time the mode, how much energy does each radiant system
temperature of indoor air in office room 201.1 with consume individually, the temperature profile of each
radiant floor system was 24.6°C, the temperature of office in both cooling and heating mode, the surface
indoor air in office room 202.2 with radiant ceiling temperatures of the radiant systems and the effect of
system was 23.8°C and the temperature of indoor air in the shading elements on the cooling performance of
office room 203 with radiant wall system was 24.2°C. the three systems.

Acknowledgment
This research was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under contract No.
APVV-21-0144 and Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sport grants VEGA 1/0303/21 and 1/0304/21.

References
[1] J. Babiak, B.W. Olesen, D. Petráš. Low temperature heating and high temperature cooling. REHVA Guidebook No 7. 3rd
revised ed. Brussels, Belgium: REHVA (2013).

[2] M. Krajčík, M. Arıcı, O. Šikula, M. Šimko, Review of water-based wall systems: Heating, cooling, and thermal barriers,
Energy and Buildings. vol. 253 (2021).

[3] M. Krajčík, M. Šimko, O. Šikula, D. Szabó, D.Petráš, Thermal performance of a radiant wall heating and cooling system
with pipes attached to thermally insulating bricks, Energy and Buildings. vol. 246 (2021).

[4] U. Akbulut, O. Kıncay, Z. Utlu. Analysis of a wall cooling system using a heat pump. Renew Energ 85 (2016).

[5] D. Petráš, M. Krajčík, J. Bugáň, E. Ďurišová. Indoor Environment and Energy Performance of Office Buildings Equipped with
a Low Temperature Heating / High Temperature Cooling System. Adv Mater Res 899 (2014).

[6] X. Wu, L. Fang, B.W. Olesen, J. Zhao, F. Wang. Comparison of indoor air distribution and thermal environment for different
combinations of radiant heating systems with mechanical ventilation systems. Building Serv. Eng. Res. Technol. 39 (2018).

[7] Á. Lakatos. Comprehensive thermal transmittance investigations carried out on opaque aerogel insulation blanket. Mater.
Struct. 50 (2017).

[8] EN ISO 11855-2:2012. Building environment design - Design, dimensioning, installation and control of embedded
radiant heating and cooling systems - Part 2: Determination of the design heating and cooling capacity.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 39

ARTICLES

Comparison of Daylighting in Different

Climatic Conditions
IVETA SKOTNICOVÁ VOJTĚCH KOLARČÍK ONDŘEJ FADRNÝ
Assoc. Prof. Ph.D., Eng. Eng.
[email protected]

This article compares daylighting in administrative building located in different climatic zones.
Depending on the simultaneous identical changes in window geometry and wall reflectance,
the changes of distribution and values of daylight factor were monitored and compared in
each case of localization of the building.

Keywords: daylighting, daylight factor, administrative building, Czech Republic, Sweden,

Greece

D
Considered input values
aylight has been used as the main source of
light in interiors for centuries and has always The considered input values, which were used for mod-
been an integral part of architecture since elling in the Building Design simulation program, were
buildings have existed. Not only does it replace electric taken from ČSN EN 17037 [4], Table A3. These are
lighting during the day, reducing electricity consump- the median diffuse skylight horizontal illuminance,
tion, but it also affects heating and cooling, making and the requirements for the value of the daylight
it an important parameter in energy efficient design. factor in the residence room in each case.
Research has shown that daylighting is of great benefit
to the health and comfort of occupants [1]. Nowadays,
Data about the compared room
in the context of a significant increase in energy prices,
the contribution of daylight to the interior of buildings The assessment room is located in a multi-storey
is becoming increasingly important. Many studies have building. Residence room number 104 on the first
shown that the right daylighting space can improve floor of the building under evaluation was selected.
occupant productivity, reduce electricity consumption, The room is oriented southeast and located in the
and thus contribute to sustainable design. The dynamic corner of the building. It is a children’s playroom.
nature of daylighting presents many challenges when The dimensions of the room are 4,000 × 5,000 mm
considering the metrics that define good and efficient and its clear height is 2,600 mm. A regular set of points
daylighting design [2,3]. In the following work, the with a spacing of 571 × 600 mm has been placed in
evaluation of daylighting in different climatic condi- the room, which is set back a minimum of 500 mm
tions of the Czech Republic, Sweden and Greece is
investigated. The research focuses on the calculation Table 1. Considered input values and requirements of daylighting.
and evaluation of daylighting in a residence room
(spaces that may be regularly occupied by people) Czech Rep. Sweden Greece
in a multi-storey building located in Ostrava (Czech City Ostrava Stockholm Athens
Republic), as well as in Stockholm (Sweden) and Athens
Latitude 50.10° 59.65° 37.90°
(Greece). The choice of countries is characterized by
Median diffuse horizontal
different latitudes and thus different median diffuse skylight illuminance
14,900 lx 12,100 lx 19,400 lx
horizontal skylight illuminance. A static simulation
D over 100 lx 0.7% 0.8% 0.5%
method in Building Design was used to determine the
daylight illuminance in the room under evaluation. D over 300 lx 2.0% 2.5% 1.5%

40 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

from the walls of the room. The point array was placed The ISO-line were then used to show the levels where
at a height of 800 mm above the floor of the room the daylighting requirements of ČSN EN 17037 [4]
under assessment. The simulation was carried out for are met. The isolines show the level at which the value
2 model situations in which simultaneous changes in of the daylight factor is constant.
window geometry and wall reflectance of the room
took place. The changes were considered the same in
Simulations and results
all cases (Czech Republic, Greece, Sweden).
Czech Republic
The minimum value of the daylight factor (0.7%) must
Description of model situations
be met on at least 95% of the room area according to
In the model situation No.1 the following windows the legislative requirement. The required value of the
dimensions were considered: width – 1,750 mm, daylight factor (2.0%) shall be met by a minimum of
height – 1,500 mm, sill height – 900 mm. Clear, 50% of the room area as required by legislation.
double glazing with a transmission coefficient of
0.92 (for each glazing) was considered. Both windows By simulation in the Building Design software and
in the room have identical dimensions and glazing subsequent calculation for model situation 1 was
properties. The simulation was performed with the found, that the minimum value of the daylight factor
considered reflectivity of the walls surrounding the (0.7%) is met in 100% of the room area. The required
room – 0.5. The floor reflectivity was chosen to be daylight factor value (2.0%) is met for 54% of the
0.3 and the ceiling reflectivity 0.7. room area. The boundary where the required value is
met is shown in ISO-line green.
In the model situation No.2 the following windows
dimensions were considered: By simulation in Building Design and subsequent
calculation for model situation 2 was found, that
Window 1: width – 1,750 mm, height – 1,500 mm, the minimum value of the daylight factor. (0.7%) is
sill height – 900 mm. Clear glazing with double met in 100% of the room area. The required daylight
glazing with a transmission coefficient of 0.92 (for factor value (2.0%) is met for 83% of the room area.
each glazing) was considered. The boundary where the required value is met is shown
in ISO-line green.
Window No. 2: width – 2,500 mm, height –
1,500 mm, sill height – 900 mm. Clear, double glazing Sweden
with a transmission coefficient of 0.92 was considered. The minimum value of the daylight factor (0.8%)
The simulation was carried out with the considered must be met in at least 95% of the room area according
reflectivity of the walls surrounding the room – 0.77. to the legislative requirement. The required value of
The floor reflectance was chosen to be 0.3 and the the daylight factor (2.5%) shall be met by a minimum
ceiling reflectance 0.7. of 50% of the room area as required by legislation.

Figure 1. The location of the rated room in the building.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 41

ARTICLES

Table 2. Data considered for the calculation of Table 3. Data considered for the calculation of
daylighting in Czech Republic. daylighting in Sweden.

Czech Rep. Sweden

City Ostrava City Stockholm

Latitude 50.10° Latitude 59.65°
Median diffuse horizontal skylight illuminance 14,900 lx Median diffuse horizontal skylight illuminance 12,100 lx
D over 100 lx 0.7% D over 100 lx 0.8%
D over 300 lx 2.0% D over 300 lx 2.5%

2
2

ow
ow

nd
nd

Wi
Wi

Wi Wi
nd nd
ow ow
1 1

Figure 2. Distribution of the daylight factor in the treatment room for the first and second model situation in
Czech Republic.
2
2

ow
ow

nd
nd

Wi
Wi

Wi Wi
nd nd
ow ow
1 1

Figure 3. Distribution of the daylight factor in the treatment room for the first and second model situation in
Sweden.

42 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

By simulation in the Building Design software and daylight factor (1.5%) shall, according to the legislative
subsequent calculation for model situation 1 was requirement, be met at least for 50% of the room area.
found, that the minimum value of the daylight factor
(0.8%) is met in 98% of the room area. The required By simulation in the Building Design software and
value of the daylight factor (2.5%) is met in 48% of subsequent calculation for model situation 1 was
the room area. The boundary where the required value found, that the minimum value of the daylight factor
is met is shown in ISO-line green. (0.5%) is met in 100% of the room area. The required
value of the daylight factor (1.5%) is met in 71% of
By simulation in Building Design and subsequent the room area. The boundary where the required value
calculation for model situation 2 was found, that the is met is shown in ISO-line green.
minimum value of the daylight factor (0.8%) is met
in 100% of the room area. The required value of the By simulation in Building Design and subsequent
daylight factor (2.5%) is met on 67% of the room calculation for model situation 2 was found, that the
area. The boundary where the required value is met is minimum value of the daylight factor (0.5%) is met
shown in ISO-line green. in 100% of the room area. The required value of the
daylight factor (1.5%) is met for 100% of the room
Greece area. The boundary where the required value is met is
The minimum value of the daylight factor (0.5%) must shown in ISO-line green.
be met in at least 95% of the room area according to
the legislative requirement. The required value of the Conclusion
Based on the modelling, simulation and subsequent
calculation for each model situation, the following
Table 4. Data considered for the calculation of was evaluated: In the baseline model situation, the
daylighting in Greece. daylighting requirements were met in the case of the
Czech Republic and in the case of Greece. In the
Greece case of Sweden, the minimum target daylight factor
City Athens requirement was not met, which was only met for 48%
Latitude 37.90° of the assessment room area (the standard requirement
Median diffuse horizontal skylight illuminance 19,400 lx
is 50% of the assessment room area). The requirement
for the target daylight factor was met. After the changes
D over 100 lx 0.5%
made to the window geometry and wall reflectance
D over 300 lx 1.5% in the assessment room, the daylighting requirements
2
2

ow
ow

nd
nd

Wi
Wi

Wi Wi
nd nd
ow ow
1 1

Figure 4. Distribution of the daylight factor in the treatment room for the first and second model situation in
Greece.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 43

ARTICLES

have already been met, even for the building location is the least affected, given that the median horizontal
in Sweden. sky illuminance is the lowest in the case of Sweden
(12,100 lx).
As can be seen from the simulations and calculations
carried out, the change in window geometry and It has been found that in the case of the Swedish
wall reflectance will be the most significant in terms building location, larger window openings or higher
of daylighting in the case of Greece. This is due to wall reflectance than in Greece or the Czech Republic
both the requirement for a target daylight factor of have to be considered in order to meet the daylighting
1.5% (lowest) and the median horizontal sky illumi- requirements. This is due to the fact that the median
nance, which is highest in Greece (19,400 lx). On the horizontal sky illuminance decreases with increasing
other hand, in the case of Sweden, the change in the latitude, while at the same time the minimum and
geometry of the lining and the reflectivity of the walls required daylight factor in the living room increases.

Acknowledgment
Authors want to thank the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports for financial support in the framework of
the Student Research Grant Competition of the Technical University of Ostrava under identification number
SP2022/128.

References
[1] NOVÁKOVÁ, Petra, VAJKAY, František. Factors influencing the value of daylight factor. In MATEC Web of Conferences.
MATEC Web of Conferences. 10th International Scientific Conference Building Defects (Building Defects 2018). CEDEX
A, France: E D P SCIENCES, 2019. ISSN: 2261-236X.

[2] ABU-DAKKA, Moana Ghazi. The Use of Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI) to Test New Designs for Improving Daylight
Performance of Office Buildings in Dubai-UAE. Dubai, 2009. Master Thesis. Faculty of Engineering, The British
University in Dubai. Prof. Bassam Abu-Hijleh.

[3] BHAVANI, R. G. and KHAN, M. A., (2006) Present Trends and Future Direction of Lighting Control in Dubai. Middle East
Economic Survey (MEES) 2007, vol. 50, no. 30, pp 23-24.

[4] ČSN EN 17037+A1, Daylight in buildings (EN 17037:2018+A1:2021).

Energy Efficient Renovation of Existing

Buildings for HVAC professionals

Energy Efficient Renovation of Existing Buildings for HVAC professionals.

This REHVA Guidebook shows the baseline for specific energy efficiency and other
renovation measures in existing buildings for which the HVAC systems play an
important role. It presents the best available techniques and solutions that can be
used as part of the energy modernization of the HVAC systems.

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+32-2-5141171 [email protected] WWW.REHVA.EU

44 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Study of the Pressure Resistance of

Odour Traps
MARTIN SOKOL JANA PERÁČKOVÁ
Department of Building Services, Department of Building Services,
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak
University of Technology, Bratislava, University of Technology, Bratislava,
Slovakia Slovakia
[email protected]

The paper deals with the study of the pressure resistance of odour traps, which are the
only ones that protect the interior from the spread of unpleasant smells and viruses from
the building’s drainage system. The study was carried out on two reference types of odour
traps based on earlier research and our simulation in Ansys.

Keywords: pressure fluctuations, drainage system, sanitary appliances, odour traps,

viruses, smells

O
dour traps are the only protection against the of the building occupants [1, 2]. Overpressure occurs
spread of unpleasant odors and viruses from most often over stack direction changes as a result
the building’s drainage system. The issue of of hydraulic jump, Figure 1b. At lower overpressure
pressure fluctuations in the foul water stacks and its values, water bubbles in the traps, and at higher
effect on the water level in the odour traps is not values, water is ejected or knocked out from sanitary
new, but the pandemic situation associated with appliances. Negative pressure occurs in the stack at
SARS-CoV-2 has brought it up to date once again. the connection points of the branch pipes with the
There has been a lot of research in recent years that flow or below the change of direction of the stack
confirms the presence of this virus in the building’s where the air core of the stack closes, Figure 1a, c.
sewer system. When the function of the odour traps When the negative pressure limits are exceeded, water
is lost, this virus can get out and endanger the health is sucked out of the odour trap [3].

Figure 1. Water flow and pressure fluctuations in the waste pipe. a) at the point of connection of the branch pipe
to the stack, b) at the point of transition of the stack to the drain, c) at the point of stack offset, 1 – annular flow, 2 –
water flow from the branch pipe, 3 – piston effect, 4 – air core, 5 - water impact on the wall of the arc, 6 – steady
state flow regime, 7 – hydraulic jump.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 45

ARTICLES

Pressure resistance of odour traps

traps on the market that have a pressure resistance of
According to EN 12056 [6] and Slovak national around 400 Pa or quite a bit higher, which does not
standard STN 73 6760 [7], the minimum water level correspond to these calculations. This information is
in the trap at the connection to a foul water pipe is also not found in the manufacturers’ datasheets, which
htot = 50 mm, and at the connection to the rainwater would greatly reduce the error rate of the designs.
pipe, it is htot = 80 mm. The pressure resistance of
odour traps at different water level heights is shown
Mathematical simulation of the pressure
graphically in Figure 2. The pressure resistances were
resistance of an odour trap
calculated based on formulas that were developed in
the 1980s and are still in use today [4]. However, these Our simulation observed the effect of pressure fluctua-
formulas have one major drawback in that they do tions in a stack on the water level in the trap. Two
not take into account the shape of the odour traps, reference traps, which are most commonly used for
which has a major impact on its pressure resistance. sinks or basins and toilets, were used, Figure 3a, b.
Currently, there are a large number of 50 mm odour Pressure ranging from – 550 Pa to + 1500 Pa was

Figure 2. Resistance of the trap to pressure according to the water level. without taking into account evaporation
according to Formula (1), taking into account the evaporation after 14 days of not using the sanitary appliance
(evaporation 0,5 mm/day), Δpcr – the maximum pressure that the trap can resist (Pa), ρ – water density (kg/m³), g –
gravitational acceleration (m/s²), htot – the height of water in the trap (m), he – decrease of water in the trap due to
evaporation (m).

Figure 3. Traps used for simulation. a) trap for sink or basin with 50 mm height of the water, b) trap for WC with
50 mm height of the water, c) WC connection to the stack, d) connection of the sink or basin to the stack, 1 – DN
100 stack, 2 – DN 100 branch pipes with a length of 1 m, 3 – DN 50 branch pipes with a length of 1 m, 4 – the trap
for WC with a water seal height of 50 mm, 5 – the trap for the sink or basin with a water seal height of 50 mm, 6 –
pressure outlet (atmosphere), 7 – pressure inlet (– 550 to + 1500 Pa).

46 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

simulated in the stack. The range of values was chosen • water bubbling due to overpressure (loss of
based on various experimental measurements outside function),
of Slovakia, where similar ranges of pressures were • ejection of water due to overpressure (loss of
measured [4, 5]. The boundary conditions of the function).
simulation are shown in Figure 3c, d. The following
inputs and settings were used for the simulation:
Effect of negative pressure on the water
level in the trap
• the trap contained water with a density of
999.1 kg/m³, The traps from Figures 3a, c, were tested for negative
• air with a density of 1.225 kg/m³ was present in the pressures ranging from 0 to 550 Pa. The above-men-
stack and branch pipe, tioned water level conditions were observed in the
• pressure values ranging from – 550 Pa to + 1500 Pa trap. The toilet trap, which could withstand a negative
were generated in the stack [4, 5], pressure of pn = 525 Pa without any loss of function,
• calculations were performed with 1000 time steps, a achieved the best results in this test. The trap for the
time step length of 0.005 s, and a number of itera- basin or sink withstood a negative pressure of pn =
tions per time step of 40. 475 Pa. The detailed simulation results are shown in
Table 1 and Table 2.
The following water level conditions were monitored
in the trap: From the point of view of safety, the lowest risk of
sucking water out of the water seal is the negative
• water level fluctuations due to overpressure or pressure pn ≤ 300 Pa. At these values, the water drop
negative pressure (without compromising the func- in the trap is minimal, Figure 4a. The safest design
tioning), method is to assess the stacks for a negative pressure
• the suction of part of the water due to negative pn ≤ 300 Pa. There was more water suction from the
pressure (without compromising the function/ with trap and a negative pressure from 300 to 450 Pa, but
compromising the functioning), the functioning of the trap was not compromised.
• complete suctioning of the water due to negative The maximum recorded water drop in the trap was
pressure (loss of function), 25 mm, Figure 4b. Considering issues of safety and

Figure 4. Effect of negative pressure on the water level in the trap. a) no impact on the water level, b) water level
losses (without compromising its functioning) c) water level losses with air intake from the interior (compromising
its function) d) complete suction of water from the odour trap (loss of functioning).

Table 1. Effect of negative pressure on the water level in Table 2. Effect of negative pressure on the water level in
the sink trap. the WC trap.
Negative Effect on the water level Negative Effect on the water level
pressure pn pressure pn
(Pa) (Pa)
without compromising its functioning, without compromising its functioning,
≤ 300 ≤ 300
drop in water minimal drop in water minimal
without compromising its functioning, without compromising its functioning,
300 to 450 300 to 450
drop in water up to 25 mm drop in water up to 25 mm
compromising its function, drop in water compromising its function, drop in water
450 to 475 up to 30 mm, suctioning of air from the 450 to 525 up to 35 mm, suctioning of air from the
interior interior

loss of functioning, complete suction of loss of functioning, complete suction of

> 475 > 525
water from the trap water from the trap

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 47

ARTICLES

costs, assessing stacks to a negative pressure pn ≤ 450 Pa The problems with the high overpressure values cannot
is an economical solution and is still relatively safe. be solved by the correct design of the stack’s dimen-
sions. An incorrectly resolved change in the direction
of the stack can cause overpressure above 1000 Pa
Effect of overpressure on the water level in
even in low buildings (10 floors). Nowadays, there
the trap
are various accessories for stacks, including positive
The traps from Figures 3a, c, were tested for overpres- pressure attenuators, which can sufficiently eliminate
sures ranging from 0 to 1500 Pa. The high overpressure such high values.
range was chosen based on experimental measurements
from outside of Slovakia when the overpressure of
Summary of results
1500 Pa was measured. The overpressure was measured
at the incorrectly chosen technical solution of the Based on the simulation of the effect of pressure on
stack offset in a 9 – story building [5]. The above- the water in a trap, it can be stated:
mentioned water level conditions were observed in
the trap. The best results in this test were achieved by • the safest solution is to assess the stacks for a negative
the toilet trap that could withstand an overpressure pressure of pn ≤ 300 Pa, which has a minimal effect
po = 875 Pa without any loss of functioning. The trap on the water level in the trap,
for the basin and sink withstood an overpressure po = • after taking into account the costs and safety, it is
725 Pa. The detailed simulation results are shown in acceptable to design stacks for
Table 3 and Table 4. • a negative pressure of pn ≤ 450 Pa when there is
a drop in the water in the trap, which does not
From a safety point of view, an overpressure of endanger its functioning,
po ≤ 725 Pa (sink, basin) and po ≤ 875 Pa (WC) runs • at a negative pressure of pn > 450 Pa, the functioning
the lowest risk of the water bubbling or the ejection of traps is compromised due to the suctioning of
of water from the sanitary appliance. At these values, air from the interior; and when pn > 475 Pa, the
the water level in the trap only fluctuates, without functioning of the trap ceases due to the suctioning
any undesirable processes occurring, Figure 5b. of the water seal,

Figure 5. Effect of overpressure on the water level in the trap. a) no impact on the water level, b) water level
fluctuations (without compromising its functioning), c) water bubbling (loss of function), d) complete ejection of
water (loss of function).

Table 3. Effect of overpressure on the water level in the Table 4. Effect of overpressure on the water level in the
sink or basin trap. WC trap.
Overpressure Effect on the water level Overpressure Effect on the water level
po (Pa) po (Pa)
without compromising functioning, without compromising functioning,
≤ 725 ≤ 875
water level fluctuations water level fluctuations

725 to 1025 loss of function, water bubbling 875 to 1025 loss of function, water bubbling

loss of function, complete ejection of loss of function, complete ejection of

> 1025 > 1025
water water

48 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

• when the overpressure of po > 725 Pa, water bubbles for the correct limit values. The most important part
in traps, which leads to the spread of annoying of assessing stacks is assessing the maximum negative
smells in the building, pressure because the overpressure can only be influenced
• when the overpressure of po > 1025 Pa, the water is by the correct design of the stack offset. Consideration
ejected from sanitary appliances, must be given to direct vent stacks, which may exceed
• the shape of a trap affects its pressure resistance. the maximum negative pressure if adequately designed
according to the standards. The assessment of the stacks
All results will be verified by experimental measure- at a negative pressure of pn ≤ 450 Pa represents a safe
ment in the future. and cost-effective route based on the simulation and the
assumption of a 50 mm high water seal. However, this
value should be very well considered in spite of these
Conclusion
results, and any odour traps that are planned to be used
The proper design of foul water stacks is crucial, on the stack should be analysed. It would be a great
particularly in high-rise buildings. To avoid undesir- help if manufacturers would just add this information
able effects that may arise when water is sucked or to their datasheets, as this information must be available
ejected from the traps, it is necessary to assess them to them before they can be placed on the market.

Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Research, and Sports of the Slovak Republic
through the Scientific Grant Agency VEGA 1/0303/21 and KEGA 005STU-4/2021.

References
[1] GORMLEY, M., ASPRAY, T., KELLY, D. Building Drainage System Design for Tall Buildings: Current Limitations and Public
Health Implications. In: Buildings. 2020, 11 (2). Available at https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30112-1.

[2] HUNG, H. C., CHAN D. W., LAW, L. K., CHAN, E. H., WONG, E. S. Industrial Experience and Research into the Causes of
SARS Virus Transmission in a High-Rise Residential Housing Estate in Hong Kong. In: Building Serv. Eng. Res. Tech.
2006, 27(2), s. 91–102. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1191/0143624406bt145oa.

[3] POMOGAEVA, V., MATECHKO, L., PROKOFIEV, D., NAREZHNAYA, T. Investigation of the motion processes of wastewater
in sewerage of high-rise buildings. In: E3S Wew of Conferences. 2018, s. 1 – 9. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1051/
e3sconf/20183302013.

[4] VALÁŠEK, J. Vodovody a kanalizácia vo vysokých budovách (Water supply and drainage in high-rise buildings).
Bratislava: Alfa, 1982, Slovakia, s. 131-157. ISBN 63-021-82.

[5] YABE, S., OTSUKA, M., KAWAGUCHI, T., SUGIMOTO, R. Experimental Investigation of the Influence of Different Offset
Piping Methods on the Drainage Performance of a Drainage Stack. In: CIB W062 Symposium. 2015, s. 30 - 55.
Available at: https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB_DC30620.pdf.

[6] EN 12056:2002 Gravity drainage systems inside buildings.

[7] STN 73 6760:2009 Kanalizácia v budovách (Drainage in budlings).

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 49

ARTICLES

Mycoaerosol in historic places –

calculated ill health potential

ELENA PIECKOVÁ RENÁTA LEHOTSKÁ SOŇA WIMMEROVÁ

Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Public
Slovak Medical Slovak Medical Health, Slovak Medical
University, Bratislava, University, Bratislava, University, Bratislava,
Slovakia Slovakia Slovakia
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Material and Methods

Statistically processed quantitative analysis
of airborne mycobiota at the depositaries Nine localities of running research works with human
of conserved human remains led to remains or of their public expositions in Slovakia and
Hungary are observed from 2012 onward. Indoor
extrapolation of mycoaerosol inhalation risk
and related outdoor air in mausoleums, deposi-
for specialists and visitors. Indoor sources taries, crypts, reliquaries, museums and an archive,
of the aerosolized fungal propagules and as given in the Figure 1, was sampled by mean of
no seasonal impact on their quantity were an impactor. The DG18 agar (HiMedia, Mumbay,
proven at the locations with glass-covered India) was employed as the isolation medium for
undergrounds without air circulation. 67 complex air samples, incubated at 25 and 37 °C
3 – 7 days as recommended by the IUMS Committee
Keywords: organic materials; aeroscopy; on Environmental Mycology. The average cultivable
microbial cultivation; fungal load; inhalation fungal load in cfu/m³ was calculated and statistically
processed by the pair t-test.

V
isually clean air contains denser bioaerosol
than the dirty one as bigger propagules
Results and Discussion
sediment faster. Airborne fungi are commonly
forming conglomerates similar to fine fog (10 – 20 µm Experts working at the sampling places and visitors are
in diameter) [1]. groups of interest from the mycoaerosol exposition point
of view. Esp. the later ones might be in health condi-
Employees dealing with material rich in nutrients and tions when being more sensitive to health damage due
prone to fungal colonization due to damp conditions to fungal bioaerosol, incl., fungal toxic products, e. g.
might be exposed to extreme fungal concentrations allergic, elderly or polymorbid persons. Quantities of cul-
(10 9 colony forming units, cfu/m³) – condition tivable aeromycobiota are summarized in the Figure 1.
known as “particle burst”, and plenty of mycotoxins.
Inhalation of pathogen / toxicant / irritant may result Presence of internal sources of fungal contamination
in health damage at 100-times lower loads than after in glass covered undergrounds without air circulation
ingestion, due to the crossing over even haemo-enceph- is documented in the Table 1. According to the WHO
alitic barrier [2]. Inhalation exposition to mycoaerosol recommendation [5], the indoor fungal concentration
is not a part of routine analysis of indoors yet [3, 4]. must not exceed the outdoor one. The qualitative com-
position of both fungal aerosols must cope with each
The study on quantitative aeromyco-analysis of places other. And no pathogenic and toxic fungal species are
with relevant historical artefacts with estimation of allowed indoors. If, even, one of the given conditions
possible fungal load to the individuals is presented. is missing, the indoors is classified as the sick one.

50 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 1000
1200

0
200
400
600
800

17
EK - Department of Anthropology, FNS CU
EK - Institute of Forensic Medicine, FM CU

232
EK - Mausoleum

576
EK - Mausoleum vicinity

201
ES - Department of Anthropology, FNS CU

362,25
[CFU/m³]
Kovarce
EO summer - crypt
Locality

Okolicne

204,5
Bratislava
EO summer- church, interior

169,5
Sladkovicovo

36
Zofia Serediova
EO summer- church, exterior
EO spring - crypt

292
Castle
Spring
EO spring - church, interior
Summer

87,5
EO spring - church, exterior

453

11
ЕŽ - by the coffin Chapel St. James

45
EŽ - corridor
EKo - Department of Anthropology, FNS CU - bone storage

483
EKo - vicinity

979,5

33
ETO - church, interior TT
ETO - reliquary - Gredecký, Pongrác

110
ci

30
11

543
483
190
187
441

ETO - church, exterior O

430
[cfu/m³]

ETO - reliquary - Križan

110
MPSB - Chapel of St. James- outside

33 30
Concentration of airborne fungi

MPSB - Chapel of St. James - inside

– Bratislava, AH - Archive Hlohovec.

6
co

33
45
36

MPSB - Celtic oven - stairs inside

453
201

22.5
979.5

MPSB - Celtic oven - inside

150
source present, ci/co > 1 – indoor fungal source likely.

0
MPSB - Fishing gate - outside
MPSB - Fishing gate - underground

442,5
MPSB - Celtic mint - inside

73,5
0.9
0.5
0.2
0.4
5.2
2.2

24.1
ci/co

MPSB - Celtic mint - reception inside

10,5
MPSB - remains of Celtic settl. - in front of the glass, inside
MPSB - remains of Celtic settl. - behind the glass, inside 252
969

MPSB - Roman corridor - Antique paving inside

408

MPSB - Courtyard outside

22,5

Figure 1. Quantification of cultivable airborne fungi in localities with different sampling sites. Legend: EK –
Table 1. Identification of indoor fungal sources in the localities with historical objects. Legend: ci – indoor air

AH - Archive Hlohovec inside

737

AH - Archive Hlohovec outside

303
concentration of fungi (average); co – related outdoor air concentration of fungi (average); ci/co > 1 – no indoor fungal

Sladkovicovo, ES – Solosnica, EO – Okolicne, EŽ – Zofia Serediova, Eko – Kovarce, ETO – Trnava and Esztergom, MPSB

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

51
ARTICLES
ARTICLES

Inhalatory exposition to aeromycobiota

From the hygienic conditions in terms of airborne
fungal content, the mausoleum yielded very high The exposition was calculated as total number of
concentration, while specialized departments con- inhaled propagules in one or eight hours at a normal
ducting research on the same mortal remains (the ventilation rate of 5 – 8 litres of air per min: 5 is the
university) presented loads lower. Apparently, due value in steady state person (visitor, inhaled volume
to regular decontamination of the environment and 0.3 m³) and 8 during a work shift (8 hrs, 3.84 m³) [7].
handling tools. Total fungal count in the indoor air of
the archive did not exceed its outdoor concentration Formula:
with statistical relevance.
V×C=X
Awad et al. [6] evaluated total indoor environ- V – inhaled air volume over an hour or 8 hrs [m³]
ment in a museum in Giza, Egypt. They found C – average concentration of airborne fungi [cfu/m³]
175 - 40,250 cfu/m³ of airborne fungi. Ratio
X – whole number of inhaled fungal propagules in
indoor/ outdoor air showed the outdoor environ- the particular exposition course [cfu]
ment was the main source of fungi isolated indoors.
Concentrations of aerial mycobiota in our study fit the
interval 6 – 979.5 cfu/m³. There is always a dynamic Table 2 shows the calculated fungal load in cfu inhaled
exchange between indoor and outdoor fungal bio- over 1 hour (visitor) or 8 hours (staff member).
aerosol as proved by genetic analysis [1].

Table 2. Sampling locality and inhaled fungal cfu per 1 hr (visitor) or 8 hrs (worker).

Locality C value [cfu/m³] cfu/1 hr cfu/8 hrs

Mausoleum 576 173 2,212

Sladkovicovo
Comenius University 98 29 375

Solosnica 362 109 1,391

Summer 229 69 880

Okolicne
Spring 193 58 74.5

Zofia Serediova 25 7 94.5

Kovarce 483 145 1,855

Trnava 84 25 324

Ostrihom 110 33 422

Bratislava 260 78 999

Hlohovec 303 91 1,163.5

52 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Inhaled particles of any origin are primarily released of cloths and bandages) vs. dominating paper in the
from a healthy organism by mucociliary effect. The basic archive (p = 0.031).
factor affecting its effectivity is the inhaled particle size.
During physiological ventilation, ca 1/3 of particles Performed quantitative analysis of indoor aeromyco-
(the biggest) is entrapped in the upper airways and biota pointed out:
is released first. The same portion of inhaled prop-
agules (the smallest, < 2 µm, mostly fungal hyphal • high concentrations of fungi might lead to ill health
fragments) might penetrate into the low airways and of persons staying in places, where esp. mycosis out-
enter the blood stream and the skull cavity. It is not breaks remain the less described – an infectious dose
possible to extrapolate the number of cfu eliminated of (opportunistic) pathogenic moulds is unknown
from the respiratory tract just according to the total in general (even one propagule perhaps), with
inhaled fungal load. remarkable amounts of fungal propagules inhaled
by the staff working on site for 8 hrs;
Chen et al. [9] monitored number of visitors in the
Museum of Terracota Army of the Emperor Qin • the settled aerosolized fungi might damage histori-
in China. Max indoor fungal cfu/m³ detected were cally valuable objects irreversibly and some indoor
90 and was clearly related to the peaking number of fungi (zygomycota) are early indicators of micro-
tourists present in the museum. climatic conditions favourable to biodeterioration.

Statistical analysis of air fungal Conclusion

concentrations in sampling localities
There is ongoing lack of standardized sampling
Concentrations of fungal isolates were analysed by pair methods as well as of set hygienic exposition limits to
t-test with the significance level α = 0.05 humans. The high complex bioaerosol composition
and very individualized responses of human organ-
Between paired localities, there were no statisti- isms being exposed might be a crucial complication.
cally relevant differences in quantities of air fungi Combination of several principles in sampling is highly
(p > 0.05), exc. of very complex nutrient samples recommended to describe the aeromycobiome and its
from Sladkovicovo (mummies, osseous remains, rests harming potential with the supreme objectivity.

References
[1] Pieckova E. Indoor microbial aerosol and its health effects: Microbial exposure in public buildings – viruses, bacteria,
and fungi. In: C. Viegas, et al. (Eds.): Exposure to microbiological agents in indoor and occupational environments.
Springer, Cham, (2017) 237 – 252. ISBN 978-3-319-61688-9.

[2] Pieckova E. Mycotoxins and Their Inhalatory Intake Risk. In: K. Singh, N. Srivastava (Eds.): Recent Trends in Human and
Animal Mycology. Part II: Mycotoxins in Relation to Human and Animal Health. Springer (2019), pp. 195 – 202. ISBN
978-981-13-9434-8.

[3] Malta-Vacas J., Viegas S., Sabino R., et al. Fungal and microbial volatile organic compounds exposure assessment in a
waste sorting plant. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A. 75 (2012) 1410 – 1417. ISSN 1528-7394.

[4] Viegas S., Pinheiro C., Sabino R., et al. Environmental mycology in public health. Fungi and mycotoxins risk assessment
and management. Elsevier–AP, London (2015) pp. 234. ISBN-13: 978-0124114715.

[5] WHO Regional Office for Europe: WHO guidelines for indoor air quality: dampness and mould. Geneve: WHO 2009,
pp. 228.

[6] Awad A., Saeed Y., Shakour A., et al. Indoor air fungal pollution of a historical museum, Egypt: a case study.
Aerobiologia. 36 (2020) 197 – 209. doi: 10.1007/s10453-019-09623-w.

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minute_ventilation. Online. 09/05/022.

[8] Chen Y.P., Cui Y., Dong J.G. Variation of airborne bacteria and fungi at Emperor Qin’s Terra-Cotta Museum, Xi’an, China,
during the “Oct. 1” gold week period of 2006. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 17(2) (2010) 478-485. doi: 10.1007/s11356-
009-0161-1.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 53

ARTICLES

Estimation of Cross-Ventilation
Through Roof Windows in Attics
VALÉRIE LEPRINCE NOLWENN HUREL CHRISTOFFER PLESNER
PLEIAQ PLEIAQ VELUX A/S
84 C Avenue de la Avenue de Mérande Ådalsvej 99
Libération 73 000 Chambéry, DK-2970 Hørsholm
69330 Meyzieu, France France
valé[email protected]

EN 16798-7:2017 considers that windows on roofs that have a pitch below 60° are not
included on the windward side whatever their orientation. It means that roof windows are
accounted for, but only on the leeward side when using the existing standard for calculation
of air flows, EN 16798-7:2017 [1].

Therefore, in the specific case of a room only equipped with roof windows (e.g. an attic) and
aeraulically independent from the rest of the building, whatever the orientation of the roof
windows, only the simplified “single-sided” calculation method of EN 16798-7:2017 is applicable.

However, this study has shown that, for a building with low buildings surrounding it, the simplified
single-sided method from EN 16798-7:2017 was underestimating the airflow rate by up to 77%.

Keywords: Cross-ventilation, roof window, attic, EN 16798-7:2017, calculation method

A
ccording to EN 16798-7:2017, roof windows According to the literature, a roof window may indeed
always have a negative Cp. So, the existing have a positive wind pressure coefficient when the wind
simplified cross-ventilation method from is attacking straight onto the roof, contrary to facade
EN 16798-7:2017 cannot be used in the case of this windows for which the coefficient is almost always
attic. Therefore, when using the existing standard, the negative when the wind angle is 45° (see Figure 1).
simplified single-sided equation shall be used to calculate
the airflow rate in this attic, as there are no other options. In this study, it is assumed that Cp coefficients are
constant for a roof pitch between 30–60 degrees. In
the following example, a roof with a pitch of 45 degrees
has been considered as illustrated in Figure 2. A linear
extrapolation was used on Cp coefficient from Figure 1
(see green markings in Figure 1 for the line “Roof > 30°
pitch”) for wind angles between 0° and 45°.

As the Cp depends on the surrounding of the building,

if the building is surrounded by obstructions equal to:

• half the height of the building (left table), then Cp

The existing simplified single-sided method from is positive for wind angles between −30° and +30°
EN 16798-7:2017 will be used as reference to be • the height of the building (right table), then Cp is
compared with the new developed method. positive for wind angles between −12° and +12°.

Theoretically, it is actually possible that an airflow rate [1] More information on the calculation method pro-
due to cross-ventilation occurs through 2 roof windows. posed in EN 16798-7:2017, including the valida-
tion of simplified formula with a pressure code, can
be found in (Leprince, Valérie; Carrié, François-Rémi,
54 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 2016) and (Larsen et al. 2018).
 ARTICLES

Figure 2 compares wind directions that induce positive cross-ventilation cannot occur when there are only roof
Cp coefficients for roof windows and facade windows. windows in a ventilation zone (e.g. in an attic).
It highlights that the wind angle that induces positive
Cp coefficient is narrower for roof windows than for
Objective and method
facade windows. Moreover the range is reduced by
roughly 60% if the building is surrounded by buildings The objective of this study is to test a new method,
with the about same height rather than half the height. based on a EN 16798-7:2017 method (called the
“adapted cross-ventilation method”), to take into
As EN 16798-7:2017 only divides the building into 4 orien- account cross-ventilation occurring through roof
tations, it considers that Cp coefficients for roof windows are windows and find the impact on estimated ventilation
always negative. Therefore, according to EN 16798-7:2017, airflow rate. The principle of this new method is, when

Figure 1. Wind pressure coefficient data from (Liddament 1996) for a rectangular building for 2 different shielding conditions.

Figure 2. Wind directions that induce positive pressure coefficients on roof and facade windows.

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ARTICLES

a zone with only roof windows is simulated, instead of The hypotheses used are detailed in Table 1.
dividing the plan into 4 zones, to divide the plane into:
The following configurations have been considered for
• 6 orientations (=360°/60°, where 60° is the range the test case (Table 2):
for positive Cp values) when the zone is surrounded
by obstructions half its height (case 1)
EN 16798-7:2017 method for cross-ventilation
• 15 orientations (=360°/24°, where 24° is the range
for positive Cp values) when the zone is surrounded Simplified formulas for cross-ventilation cannot be
by obstructions of the same height (case 2). used in our test cases as there are no facade windows,
however, this is the method that has been used to
Test Case
develop the “adapted method”.
The test case is an attic aeraulically independent from
the rest of the building. The roof is a two-sided roof To calculate the airflow rate coming in and out of a
with a pitch of 45° and equipped with one roof window ventilation zone when cross-ventilation occurs, EN 16798-
on each side of the room. 7:2017 proposes a simplified method based on Eq.1.

𝜌𝜌𝑎𝑎;𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 0,5 𝐴𝐴𝑤𝑤;𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 0,5

𝑞𝑞𝑉𝑉;𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎;𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 = 3600 × ∙ max (𝐶𝐶𝐷𝐷;𝑤𝑤 ∙ 𝐴𝐴𝑤𝑤;𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ∙ min (𝑢𝑢10;𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ; 𝑢𝑢10;𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠;max ) ∙ (∆𝐶𝐶𝑝𝑝 ) ; ∙ (𝐶𝐶𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ∙ ℎ𝑤𝑤;𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 ∙ 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎(𝑇𝑇𝑧𝑧 − 𝑇𝑇𝑒𝑒 )) )
𝜌𝜌𝑎𝑎;𝑒𝑒 2

Figure 3. Illustration of the test case.

Table 1. Hypotheses of the calculation.

Reference air density ρaref 1.2 kg/m³
External air density ρae 1.2 kg/m³
Discharge coefficient CD;w 0.67 -
Coefficient taking into account stack effect in airing calculations Cst 0.0035 m/s/(m.K)
Useful height for stack effect for airing: height difference between the bottom and the top of the windows hw;st 0.8 m
Coefficient taking into account wind speed in airing calculations Cwnd 0.001 1/(m/s)
Temperature difference between inside and outside ΔT °C
Wind pressure coefficient Cp -
Wind speed at 10 meter high u10,site m/s

Table 2. Configurations considered for the test case.

Assumption on Configurations considered

Temperature difference between inside and outside (°C) 0; 2; 5; 8; 10; 15; 20
Wind speed, u (m/s) 0; 1; 2; 3; 4; 5
Free window area: Aw;1=Aw;2= (m²) 0.15; 0.25; 0.35; 0.5
Difference of wind pressure coefficients between windward and leeward sides (ΔCp) see Table 1.
Case 1: building surrounded by obstructions equivalent to half the height of the building 0.75 (case 1)
Case 2: building surrounded by obstructions equal to height of the building 0.48 (case 2)

56 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

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Where the calculation of Aw;cros, representing the • Case 1: 6 angles of 60° (Nang = 6)
equivalent cross ventilation area, is made through an • Case 2: 15 angles of 24° (Nang = 15)
algorithm that divides the building into four orienta-
tions and calculate the window opening area in each Results from this equation will be named “Adapted
(see EN 16798-7:2017). cross-ventilation method from EN 16798-7:2017” and
will be compared to the simplified single-sided method.
The calculation of the airflow rate due to wind takes
into account roof windows only on the leeward side More information on the calculation method proposed
(never on the windward side). in EN 16798-7:2017, including the validation of sim-
plified formula with a pressure code, can be found in
(Leprince, Valérie; Carrié, François-Rémi, 2016) and
Adapted cross ventilation method for
(Larsen et al. 2018).
roof windows
To take into account the fact that cross-ventilation
Results
may occur through roof-windows located as described
in our example, in this study, instead of dividing the The graphs in Table 3 compare the ventilation airflow
plane into 4 angles of 90° each, it will be divided into: rates calculated with the simplified single-sided method

Table 3. Results for the simulations for case 1 and case 2.

- 77% - 45% - 13% No difference in the result of the No difference in the result of the 2 methods
2 methods - 28%

- 77% - 73% - 57% - 45% - 39% - 25% - 13% No difference in the result of
the 2 methods
- 28% - 15%

- 77% - 72% - 64% - 59% - 50% - 42% No difference in the result of

- 28% - 10%
the 2 methods

- 77% - 73% - 69% - 62% - 57%

- 28% - 15% - 4% Identical

- 77% - 76% - 70% - 65% - 28% - 24% - 6% Identical

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ARTICLES

from EN 16798-7:2017 (dark green bars) and the as long as the temperature difference remains below
ventilation airflow rate calculated with the “adapted” 20°C. This is shown by the airflow rates seen in the
cross-ventilation method (which takes into account light green bars being constant (for a given wind
cross ventilation that can occurs in a zone or room speed above 2 m/s, they are all having the same height
with two roof windows) illustrated in light green bars. whatever the temperature difference).

Results for wind speed from 1 to 5 m/s show an impor- The results also show that, for a given case, wind speed
tant difference between case 1 and case 2 (see table 3): and temperature difference, differences in percentage
between the 2 methods do not depend on the free
• when the building is surrounded by buildings of window area (as in both methods the flowrate is pro-
its own height (case 2) there are little differences portional to the free window area).
between the simplified single-sided method of
EN 16798-7:2017 and the adapted cross-ventila-
Conclusions
tion method. For 25 out of the 42 cases studied,
results are the same and the maximum difference The objectives of this study were:
is 28% when wind is the main driver (hence small
temperature difference and high wind speed) • to develop a more precise calculation method
• when the building is surrounded by building equiv- adapted to roof windows to take into account cross-
alent to half its height, the difference is significant: ventilation that may occur through them (even
only 11 out of the 42 configurations studied provide when there are no facade windows in the zone)
the same results, the maximum difference reaches • to compare results obtained with this method to the
77% and is observed for 11 configurations. simplified single-sided method from EN 16798-
7:2017
For case 1, with the adapted cross-ventilation method,
the wind is the main driver for ventilation from 2 m/s

58 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

The “adapted” calculation method developed is con- better estimate the airflow rate in the room. This new
sistent with the one proposed in EN 16798-7:2017, “adapted” cross ventilation method could be used as an
but simply further divides the horizontal plane to addendum to EN 16798-7:2017 for the EPB standard
better take into account the specific cases of roof systematic review for this specific application of zones
windows. The “adapted” method developed shall with only roof windows.
only be used for the specific case of zones with only
roof windows with multiple orientations. As the Nevertheless, while interpreting those results the fol-
Cp coefficient remains positive for a wider range of lowing limitations shall be kept in mind:
angles for facades windows (see Figure 2), applying
this new method to zones with facade windows may • The given airflow rates are averaged airflow rates
lead to falsely consider cross-ventilation. Combining which by no mean are instantaneous airflow rates,
the two methods would lead to much more complex assuming (among other things) an equiprobability
algorithms. of wind directions which may not be relevant in
certain places
In this study, where roof windows could have positive • Simplified equations used here have been developed
Cp values even if they have a pitch between 30-60 in the context of EN 16798-7:2017 and compared
degrees, we have shown, that: to models performed in CONTAM and to on-site
measurements (see (Larsen et al. 2018; Leprince,
• in case 2 (building surrounded by hight obsta- 2016.)). They slightly underestimate the airflow rate
cles), the new “adapted” cross-ventilation method as EN 16798-7:2017 focuses on the calculation of
provides results close to the simplified single-sided the building energy use in periods when there is a
method from EN 16798-7:2017, cooling demand, and they have not been checked
• in case 1 (building surrounded with lower building) for very small temperature differences.
cross-ventilation can theoretically occur quite • Cp coefficients used in this study are the ones
often and the simplified single-sided method from provided in (Liddament 1996), where other sources
EN 16798-7:2017 highly under-estimates the provide other values.
average airflow rate in this specific case. • The airflow rates only apply when windows are
open. In case of high-speed winds or high tempera-
Proposing this new adapted method for cross-ven- ture differences, when windows may only be open
tilation to calculate the airflow rate in the specific for very short periods of time, the averaged airflow
case of room with only roof windows would allow to rate may not be relevant.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank VELUX A/S for funding this study.

References
Larsen, Tine Steen, Christoffer Plesner, Valérie Leprince, François Rémi Carrié, et Anne Kirkegaard Bejder. 2018. «
Calculation Methods for Single-Sided Natural Ventilation: Now and Ahead ». Energy and Buildings 177 (October):
279‑89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.06.047.

Leprince, Valérie; Carrié, François-Rémi. s. d. « Comparative analysis of window airing models proposed in prEN 16798-7
and influence of internal resistances ». In CLIMA 2016 - proceedings of the 12th REHVA World Congress: volume 5. Aalborg:
Aalborg University, Department of Civil Engineering. Aalborg University, Denmark.

Liddament, Martin W. 1996. A Guide to Energy Efficient Ventilation: This Report Is Part of the Work of the IEA Energy
Conservation in Buildings & Community Systems Programme, Annex V. Coventry: Annex V. Air Infiltration and Ventilation
Centre.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 59

ARTICLES

Energy Savings with Aeroseal Ductwork

Sealing in Europe
NOLWENN HUREL VALÉRIE LEPRINCE SIMON TÖLKE
PLEIAQ, 2 Avenue Cerema, 2 rue Antoine MEZ-TECHNIK GmbH,
de Mérande, Charial, 69003 Lyon, Bierwiesenstraße 7,
73000 Chambéry, France 72770 Reutlingen,
France Germany
[email protected]

This paper presents the results of 7 ductwork sealing projects through aerosols injection in
Europe. The ductwork leakages were reduced from 87% up to 98% with an average of 93%.
The impact on the energy consumption is quantified, with savings reaching up to 36 k€/year
(for a 30 000 m² building).

Keywords: Ductwork leakage, sealing, aerosol, energy savings, fan consumption, Aeroseal

F
or years, ventilation and air-conditioning systems AIVC conference, including more data and calculation
have played an increasingly important role in details, and presenting also on-site experience from the
ensuring sufficient air exchange in buildings. sealing operators [4].
With time buildings are becoming more and more
airtight to avoid energy losses through uncontrolled
Methodology
air leakage and mechanical ventilation systems are
installed to ensure a good indoor air quality. What Aeroseal air duct sealing technique
is a good approach in theory can fail in practice due The aerosol-based sealing process was developed in the
to leaky ductwork. Various studies have shown a low 1990s at the University of Berkeley, USA [5], [6], and
awareness on this issue in most European countries was patented as the Aeroseal process (see Figure 1).
[1], with leaky ductworks impacting the energy use, The innovation consists in sealing ductwork from the
the indoor air quality or generating noise [2]. inside, within a short time and without having to search
for leaks beforehand. Chemically speaking, this tech-
One solution applicable both to new ductwork systems nique is based on an emulsion of water and vinyl acetate
not meeting the expected air tightness class and existing polymer, a stable, non-toxic and non-flammable mixture,
leaky ductwork, is a sealing through aerosols injection. that is aerosolized into 4–10 micron-sized particles [7].
This technique explained in [3] and patented as the
Aeroseal process, allows to seal air duct systems from The resulting aerosol is distributed under pressure
the inside within a short time and without having to inside the ventilation ductwork system [3]. The par-
search for leaks beforehand. Leakages with gaps of up ticles seal little by little leaks with gaps of up to 15 mm
to 15 mm are permanently eliminated by using a sealant forming a robust air sealing that will last for years while
that is certified according to VDI 6022. As reported by staying pliable and flexible and remains effective over
European resellers, almost 700 sealing projects have been a wide range of operating pressures, temperatures and
carried out using this method since 2015 in Europe. humidity levels found in residential, commercial and
industrial air duct systems [7]. Contrary to a coating
This paper presents the results of 7 ductwork sealing process, the particles deposit only at the leaks and not
projects performed during the year 2021 on existing elsewhere in the ductwork.
(mostly non-residential) buildings located in 7 different
European countries: Germany, France, Ireland, Czech Until today the Aeroseal process has been applied in more
Republic, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. than 125 000 ductwork systems of both residential and
An extended paper was presented at the Rotterdam non-residential buildings, mostly in the USA. In Europe

60 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

the product was introduced in the market in 2015 by Figure 2 presents the buildings’ characteristics of the
Mez-Technik located in Germany and since then there selected sealing projects, the reasons why a sealing was
have been almost 700 sealing projects in over 20 countries requested and the initial ductwork airtightness level.
thanks to Aeroseal partners companies from 18 countries. The building selection was made in order to cover
a wide range of parameters for both the buildings
Case study: selected 7 buildings across Europe (location, type, surface, year of construction) and the
In order to evaluate the performance of this aerosol- ventilation systems (flowrate capacities ranging from
based sealing technique, a survey was sent to 7 Aeroseal 6 000 m³/h for the CZ project to 301 407 m³/h for
partners across Europe to collect detailed data on the IE project; exhaust, supply and balanced ventila-
ductwork sealing projects performed in 2021. tion systems all represented).

Figure 1. Aeroseal sealant technology (Image courtesy of Aeroseal LLC).

Figure 2. Details on the studied buildings, reasons for ductwork sealing, and initial ductwork airtightness level.

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ARTICLES

Data Analysis: energy savings calculation

𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 = 𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 + 𝑄𝑄𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 − 𝑄𝑄𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙,𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (3)
The energy savings on the fan power are estimated in
this study considering that fans fully compensate for Fan efficiency
ductwork leakage. When the fan cannot, or only par-
tially, compensate for leakage, it is the environmental The fan efficiency varies with its flowrate. After sealing
air quality that is impacted [8]. it was calculated with Equation (1) when the flowrate
and pressure where known. Otherwise, a default value
Ductwork sealing can also induce significant of 0.4 was taken.
heating/cooling savings [9] [2], when conditioned
air leaks in a non-conditioned area. They were not The fan efficiency before the sealing was estimated
calculated in this study as it would require detailed using an equation from the support Excel sheet of
data that were not available [8]. standard EN 16798-5-1:

Fan power calculation 𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏

Apart from the IE project, the fan powers before/after 𝜂𝜂𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 ≈ √ × 𝜂𝜂𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (4)
𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎
sealing were not known by the survey respondents, and
were therefore calculated as follows:
Results
𝛥𝛥𝑝𝑝𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑖𝑖 × 𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑖𝑖
𝑃𝑃𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑖𝑖 = (1) Leakage reduction
𝜂𝜂𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑖𝑖 × 3600
With: All sealing projects allowed significant leakage reduc-
• i = bef / aft: ductwork state: before / after the sealing tions in percentages, as illustrated in Figure 3. On
• PAHU: the power of the air handling unit (AHU) (W) average the leakage flowrates were indeed reduced by
• ΔpAHU: the pressure difference at the AHU (Pa) 93.4%, with a minimum of 87.2% for the IE project
• QAHU: the air flowrate at the AHU (m³/h) and a maximum of 97.6% for the FR project. This is
• ηAHU: the AHU efficiency (-) done in a rather short time with cumulated aerosol
injection times for the whole projects ranging from
Air flowrates calculation about 1 and a half hour (for the CZ project with the
The AHU flowrate after the sealing was considered to smallest ductwork area) to 62 hours (for the FR project
be the flowrate capacity provided: with over 50 different AHU units).

𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 = 𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 (2) Impact of ductwork leakage on energy savings

The fan power savings by ductwork sealing with the
The flowrate before the sealing is deduced from the Aeroseal process are calculated for all projects according to
value after and from the leakage flowrates (Qleak) the methodology described in paragraph “Data Analysis:
measured before and after the sealing: energy savings calculation” and presented in Table 1.

Figure 3. Ductwork leakage rate decreases with the Aeroseal sealing process.

62 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

The absolute fan power savings vary a lot depending of initial fan power that can be saved by an Aeroseal
on the sealing project (between 0.6 and 38 kW) due sealing process is about twice the percentage of leakage
to the wide range of fan powers and initial leakage compared to the flowrate capacity:
rates. In percentage of the initial total fan power, the
savings represent from 1% (for NL project with the (𝑃𝑃𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 − 𝑃𝑃𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 ) 𝑄𝑄𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏
≈2× (5)
tightest initial ductwork) to 65% (for the FR project
𝑃𝑃𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏
with the worst initial airtightness level).

The energy and cost savings are also calculated assuming The annual cost savings can therefore be roughly esti-
a fan operating full time and according to national mated as in Equation (6).
electricity prices. The IE project has the highest savings
y = 1.951x ; R² = 0.987
(about 331 000 kWh/year corresponding to about 70%
FR (>2.5A;C)

Percentage of initial fan power

saved by ductwork sealing (-)
36 000 €/year) since it is the project with the largest 60% DE (2.5A;C)
ductwork, one of the highest initial fan power and 50%
leakage rates. On the other hand, the CZ project has the CZ (>2.5A;B)
40%
lowest savings (about 5 000 kWh/year corresponding PL (2.5A;B)
to about 900 €/year) despite having the highest initial 30%
IE (2.5A;B)
leakage coefficient, as it is the project with the smallest 20%
ductwork area and initially lower fan power. 10%
CH (A;C)
10%
NL (B;<D)
As illustrated in Figure 4, the percentage of initial 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
fan power saved by ductwork sealing is proportional Percentage of leakage compared to the AHU flowrate before sealing (-)
to the initial percentage of leakage compared to the
flowrate capacity. The linear regression shows indeed Figure 4. Percentage of initial fan power saved by sealing
a good correlation between these two parameters, with the ductwork according to the initial percentage of leakage
a coefficient of determination R² of 0.987. As a result, compared to the AHU flowrate (airtightness classes before
it seems that for a given ductwork, the percentage and after the sealing given into the brackets).

𝑄𝑄𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏
savings (€) ≈ 2 × 𝑃𝑃𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 (kW) × × 𝑡𝑡𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 (h) × 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 (€/kWh) (6)
𝑄𝑄𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴,𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏

Table 1. Calculation of fan power, energy and cost savings by ductwork sealing.
Project reference CH CZ DE1 FR IE NL PL
Total ductwork area (m²) 440 131 1202 844.24 2750 800 2210
Aerosol injection time (h) 36.1 1.4 21.1 61.5 49.6 2.1 35.9
Electricity price (€/kWh) 0.204 0.180 0.228 0.110 0.110 0.178 0.150
Total AHU flowrate before
128.7 7.1 18.1 28.0 299.9 271.8 79.0
sealing (103 m³/h)
Total required fan electrical
149.1 1.405 5.089 15.72 139.3 140.0 29.99
power BEFORE sealing (kW)
Fan power savings
Total saved fan power
3.9 0.57 3.08 10.3 37.8 1.6 11.5
(kW)
Percentage of initial total fan
2.6% 41% 60% 65% 27% 1.1% 38%
power saved (-)
Energy and cost savings for fan operating full time (8760 h/year)
Total saved energy
34.1 5.0 26.9 90.0 331.0 14.0 100.3
(103 kWh/yr)
Total cost savings
6 956 902 6 144 9 901 36 414 2 490 15 049
(€/yr)

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Conclusions
• saves fan energy use and money: from 5 000 to
The Aeroseal process, already widely used worldwide, 331 000 kWh per year leading respectively to about
allows to seal ductworks from the inside after their 900 € and 36 000€ of savings each year, depending
installation. Technical details from 7 sealing projects on the initial fan consumption and airtightness level.
performed in 2021 across Europe, on a large variety
of buildings and ventilation systems, were collected Moreover, it is observed with a linear correlation that
through a survey and analyzed in this paper. It allows the percentage of initial fan power that can be saved
to conclude that the Aeroseal ductwork sealing by an Aeroseal sealing process is about twice the per-
process: centage of leakage compared to the flowrate capacity.
This allows to roughly estimate of the savings before
• is efficient: ductwork leakages reduced on average sealing the ductwork with Equation (6).
by 93% (from 87% up to 98%);
• is rather fast: the cumulated injection time for These findings rely on only 7 sealing projects but a
the whole project varies from about 1 to 60 hours future study on a large number of projects is expected
depending on the ventilation system’s size and com- as more technical details will now be systematically
plexity (usually less than 1h per injection point); filled in by the operators for each sealed ductwork.

Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Aeroseal service providers which supported us and provided the specific
project information: Air Innovators B.V. (Netherlands); Energy Air Sp. Z.o.o. (Poland); Ventilace EU a.s.
(Czech Republic); Lippuner Energie- und Metallbautechnik AG (Switzerland); Map Clim (France); Spectrum
Engineering Ltd. (Ireland); Windmüller Technik GmbH (Germany).

References
[1] V. Leprince, F. R. Carrié, and M. Kapsalaki, ‘Building and ductwork airtightness requirements in Europe – Comparison of
10 European countries’, in AIVC, Nottingham, UK, Sep. 2017.

[2] V. Leprince, N. Hurel, and M. Kapsalaki, ‘VIP 40: Ductwork airtightness - A review’, AIVC, Apr. 2020.

[3] M. Modera, ‘Fixing Duct Leaks in Commercial Buildings’, Ashrae Journal, Jun. 2005.

[4] N. Hurel, V. Leprince, and S. Tölke, ‘Field experience with ductwork airtightness improvement after completion in
Europe’, presented at the 42nd AIVC-10th TightVent- 8th venticool conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Oct.
2022.

[5] M. Modera, D. J. Dickerhoff, O. Nilssen, H. Duquette, and J. Geyselaers, ‘Residential field testing of an aerosol-based
technology for sealing ductwork.’, in Proceedings of the 1996 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, ‘Profiting
from Energy Efficiency’, USA, Washington DC, 1996.

[6] F. R. Carrié and M. P. Modera, ‘Particle Deposition in a Two-Dimensional Slot from a Transverse Stream’, Aerosol Science
and Technology, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 235–246, Jan. 1998, doi: 10.1080/02786829808965524.

[7] Mez-Aeroseal, ‘Aeroseal Duct Seal Data Sheet’. [Online]. Available: https://www.mez-technik.de/media/wysiwyg/
Download/MEZ-AEROSEAL_Sealant-Data-Sheet_2022_EN.pdf.

[8] N. Hurel and V. Leprince, ‘Ductwork leakage: practical estimation of the impact on the energy overconsumption and
IAQ’, presented at the 42nd AIVC-10th TightVent- 8th venticool conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Oct. 2022.

[9] N. Hurel and V. Leprince, ‘Impact of ventilation non conformities: calculation methodology and on-site examples’,
presented at the 42nd AIVC-10th TightVent- 8th venticool conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Oct. 2022.

64 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 This article is based on a paper presented at the 42nd AIVC - 10th TightVent
& 8th venticool Conference “Ventilation Challenges in a Changing World” ARTICLES
held on 5-6 October 2022 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Integration of Domestic Ventilation

Systems with Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Ventilation Technology
This study focuses on the investigation
JIRAYUT SITTHIPUK
of a new concept of domestic ventilation
School of Engineering and
systems integrated with a vertical wind
Built Environment, Edinburgh
turbine ventilation technology. The results Napier University, Edinburgh,
indicated that the proposed wind turbine Scotland.
technology could potentially be capable of [email protected]
exerting significant influence on ventilation
performance, meeting the UK’s benchmark
for air extraction and supply flow rate. energy consumption and improve indoor air quality in
a building. Additionally, the aim is to achieve a detailed
Keywords: Turbine ventilator, Resilient understanding of the proposed system, in terms of
cooling, Ventilation, CFD, Wind Energy ventilation performance for both air extraction and
the supply of air by the turbine ventilator.

T
he use of natural ventilation components as an
enhancement for ventilation systems has become
Methodology
more desirable in the building sector. Mechanical
ventilation systems are responsible for almost 40% of the The model of a vertical wind turbine ventilator was
total energy consumption. Applications of low carbon created, as shown in Figure 1a, and consists of two parts:
ventilation technologies, for example powerless venti- fresh air intake and turbine extractor. The principle of
lators, offer a prominent solution for reducing energy the turbine ventilator design was to provide active and
consumption in buildings. Powerless ventilators hold passive ventilation through using the air intake vent for
a potential to facilitate ventilation, reduce energy con- air supplying and the rotating turbine for extracting
sumption and improve IAQ through the use of natural stale air. The study adopted Jadhav et al. (2016)’s CFD
energy sources (Khan et al., 2008; Tan et al., 2016). simulation approach of the wind tunnel domain setup
for numerical simulations. The approach replicates the
This study hypothesises the development of a new physical test rig for a wind tunnel. The whole compu-
concept of home ventilation system that employs a tational domain is divided into two main regions: the
wind driven turbine ventilator, as a means to reduce flow domain and the chamber (see Figure 1b).

Flow Domain

Wind flow
outlet
300mm

100mm
Wind
Wind flow inlet

Turbine
Ven�lator

Exhaust 250mm
outlet
35 mm
Air inlet
Open
Supply channel
inlet 140 mm Chamber
(a) (b)
Figure 1. Schematic: (a) Turbine ventilator principle and (b) CFD computational domain setup.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 65

ARTICLES

Boundary conditions were assigned to each face of With the incoming flow on the convex side of the
the computational domain. The entry of the compu- returning blade deflecting the rotation of the turbine
tational domain upstream was defined as a uniform ventilator, the highlighted region (the red circle shown
velocity-inlet boundary condition. The rotation of in Figure 2a & 2b) is stagnant and creates a large
turbine ventilators started when the wind speed was pressure gradient on the blade convex (Tian et al.,
higher than 2 m/s (Rimdžius et al., 2018). A pressure 2019). As a result, the flows started swirling in the
outlet boundary condition was assigned to the end of middle region of the rotor, which creates a vortex,
the domain downstream of the turbine ventilator, in allowing the airflow to be influenced and therefore
which the pressure was set equal to 0. The k-epsilon extracted from the duct (see Figure 2c)
turbulence model was used due to its robustness and
proficiency in economically simulating a wide range of On the other hand, the 8B-TV model exhibited better
mean flow characteristics for turbulent flow conditions performance for developing the swirling flows, as
with reasonable accuracy (Jadhav et al., 2016). shown in Figure 2e. The flows started entering the
inner domain of the turbine ventilator from the top
left corner and leaving through the bottom, causing
Results
the inner flows swirling in the interior of the turbine
Performance investigation of air extraction ventilator (see Figure 2f). Hence, the 8B-TV profile
flow rate had a great impact on the swirling flow pattern, which
The initial investigation was carried out by per- leads to an increase in exhaust airflow rate. The CFD
forming CFD simulations of the proposed model results of the 2B-TV and 8B-TV for air extraction per-
with two different blade profiles: 2 blades (2B-TV) formance were shown in Figure 3. It is noticeable that
and 8 blades (8B-TV). This allows us to quantify the the 8B-TV greatly outperformed the 2B-TV by 66%
influence of the turbine blade profile on the ventilation beyond a wind speed above 2 m/s, which manages to
performance in terms of exhaust volume flow rate. meet the UK’s minimum requirement of air extraction
The highlighted zones in Figure 2a indicate the influ- rate with the extracted volume flow rate of 35.59 ℓ/s
ence on pressure distributions on the 2B-TV model. at wind speed of 3 m/s.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

(e) (f) (g) (h)

(h)

(i) (j)

Figure 2. Velocity and pressure contours of 2B-TV, 8B-TV and modified 10B-TV.

66 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Performance investigation of air supply flow

To further explore ventilation performance of the turbine
rate
ventilator, a decrease in blade height was considered in
this study to determine the differences in performance The performance on air supply rates was assessed
of the turbine blades to be more efficient at a lower wind against an induced flow rate entering through the air
speed. Moreover, the number of blades was also increased intake vent (AIV). The results of CFD simulations
for the modified model (10B-TV). Figure 2i shows that show the induced flows passing through the opening
the flow behaviour was similar to the flow characteristics on the windward side of the channel (see Figure 4).
of the 8B-TV. However, in this case, the flows entered Moreover, the recirculation zones were formed on the
the inner domain from downstream as more inner flow outer wall at lower edge of the louver bend (red circles
swirled within the rotor. A vortex took place in the centre in Figure 4a) after the airflow entered the inlet opening.
of the rotor domain as the flows started swirling. Despite This then develops the high-pressure area causing a loss
the result of the modified 10B-TV exerting an exhaust in the air flow, which leads to a decreasing flow rate in
airflow rate of 45.81 ℓ/s at 6 m/s, it still underperformed the air supply channel. The CFD result of the volume
when compared to the 8B-TV model by approximately flow rates induced by the AIV is shown in Figure 5,
50%, as shown in Figure 3. with the maximum flow rate of 38.25 ℓ/s at 6 m/s. In
100 60
2B-TV AIV
8B-TV 50 Modified AIV2
80
Volume flow rate (l/s)

Volume flow rate (l/s)

Min. exhaust rate Min. rate
Modified 10B-TV 40
60
30
40
20
20 10

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Velocity (m/s) Velocity (m/s)

Figure 3. Comparison of air extraction performance Figure 5. Comparison of ventilation performance for
between 2B-TV, 8B-TV and modified 10B-TV. air supply between the AIV and modified AIV2.

(a)

(b) (c)

Figure 4. Velocity and pressure contours: (a) AIV, (b) modified AIV1 and (c) modified AIV2.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 67

ARTICLES

addition, it also meets the minimum ventilation rate for domestic ventilation systems, mainly due to the
for air supply of 25 ℓ/s when the wind speed is 5 m/s. required working environment, visual pollution for
some homeowners and unreliable resources available
Features of the AIV profile were altered to further for operation. It has been overlooked in ventilation
enhance its ventilation performance. Figure 4b strategies when compared to HVAC, but it is consid-
shows that the size of the recirculation zones (in ered to be more efficient in terms of both energy saving
the red circles) of the modified AIV1 was reduced, and ventilation performance.
which improved the ventilation performance by 5%
compared to the AIV. In contrast, the modified AIV2 As the proposed turbine ventilator is a primary
in Figure 4c outperformed the AIV by almost 20% design, the study shows a promising potential for the
due to an increase in an airflow rate of 48.11 ℓ/s at proposed home ventilation system integrated with the
6 m/s, with the results are compared in Figure 5. turbine ventilator. With further improvements, this
new concept of ventilation system could be a greener
alternative for future home ventilation for new builds
Conclusion
or conventional houses. It will be cheaper and greener
The application of a powerless turbine ventilator to for domestic dwellings if a new ventilation system
induce exhaust air flow rate through the roof is effec- integrated with a low carbon turbine ventilator that
tive and efficient for the industrial building (Khan maximises a natural source of wind energy for ventila-
et al., 2008). However, it is deemed as unnecessary tion and energy saving can be developed.

Reference
Jadhav GK, Ghanegaonkar PM and Garg S (2016) Experimental and CFD analysis of turbo ventilator. Journal of Building
Engineering 6: 196-202.

Khan N, Su Y and Riffat SB (2008a) A review on wind driven ventilation techniques. Energy and Buildings 40(8): 1586-1604.

Rimdžius D, Bielskus J, Martinaitis V, et al. (2018) Experimental Evaluation of Turbine Ventilators Performance under
Different Test Conditions. E3S Web of Conferences 64.

Tan YC, Ismail M and Ahmad MI (2016) Turbine Ventilator as Low Carbon Technology. Renewable Energy and Sustainable
Technologies for Building and Environmental Applications. pp.167-174.

Tian W, Mao Z and Ding H (2019) Numerical study of a passive-pitch shield for the efficiency improvement of vertical axis
wind turbines. Energy Conversion and Management 183: 732-745.

Guidebook
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- February
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Building Management

This guidebook aims to provide an overview on the different aspects of building

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+32-2-5141171 [email protected] WWW.REHVA.EU

68 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Statistical analysis of the French

building airtightness database

BASSAM MOUJALLED 1,2 ADELINE MÉLOIS1,2 VALÉRIE LEPRINCE 3 GAËLLE GUYOT 1,2
1 Cerema, BPE Research Team, 46 rue Saint Théobald, F-38081, L’Isle d’Abeau, France
2 LOCIE,
Université Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS UMR5271, F-73376, France
3 Cerema, Direction Territoire et Ville, 2 rue Antoine Charial, F-69426 Lyon, France

The French database of building airtightness was created in 2007 following the implementation
of the national qualification scheme for building airtightness measurement. It currently contains
about 570,000 measurements. This paper summarizes the results of the analysis of the
database regarding the evolution of air permeability, and the impact of detected leakages.

This article is based on a paper presented at the 42nd AIVC - 10th TightVent & 8th venticool
Conference “Ventilation Challenges in a Changing World” held on 5-6 October 2022 in
Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Keywords: building airtightness, measurements, database, field data, detected leakages

W
ith the constant evolution of the French • and adding penalties for measurements by sampling
EP-regulations, good building airtightness (final result multiplied by 1.2) or tests performed
has become mandatory to reach required before the completion of all work impacting the
energy performance. The EP-regulation RT2012 intro- envelope air permeability (final result incremented
duced for the first time in 2013 minimum requirements by 0.3 m³.h1.m2).
for building airtightness in all new residential build-
ings. The air permeability, expressed by the he French Compliance must be justified either by an air-
indicator qE4 (Q4Pa-surf in French: air leakage rate at tightness test performed by a qualified tester or by
4 Pa divided by the loss surface area excluding the applying a certified quality framework. Thanks to
basement floor) must be lower than 0.6 m³.h1.m2 for this requirement, more than 60,000 airtightness tests
single-family houses (i.e. around n50 = 2.3 h1) and have been carried out each year since 2015. Each
1.0 m³.h1.m2 for multi-family buildings. The new test performed by a qualified tester is recorded in
EP-regulation RE2020 has strengthen the require- the French database on building airtightness, which
ments since January 2022 by: is therefore growing rapidly (more than half million
in 2020). The structure of the database is presented
• introducing a new minimum requirement for non- by Mélois (Mélois et al., 2019). It is composed of
residential (a limit value of 1.7 m³.h1.m2 for office 39 data fields on the building, the measurement
buildings and schools of less than 3000 m² of surface); procedure and the test results.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 69

ARTICLES

Database Overview
and 28% for multi-family buildings with 157,469 tests).
Figure 1 shows the evolution of the number of building Only 4% of tests are carried out in non-residential
airtightness measurements and the distribution of buildings (35,958 tests). This is due to the mandatory
measurements depending on the use of the building. requirement that applies only to residential buildings.

The database currently contains about 570,000 meas-

Changes of air permeability in the last decade
urements. It takes into account the measurements
made in France until 2021. The implementation of the The results presented here are expressed according
regulatory requirement of the former EP-regulation to the air permeability French indicator Q4Pa-surf, as
RT2012 has initiated since 2013 a strong increase explained in the introduction. Only measurements
in the annual number of tests that fluctuates today performed upon completion are analysed hereafter in
between 65,000 and 80,000 approximately. order to perform relevant comparisons.

Residential buildings account for almost all of measure- Figure 2 presents the change over the last decade of
ments (68% for single-family dwellings with 388,442 tests, building air permeability and its distribution.

*The data for 2021 is not complete and corresponds to measurements made by around two-thirds of qualified measurers.

Figure 1. Evolution of the number of building airtightness test in France (left) and distribution of measurements
depending on the use of the building.

Figure 2. Boxplot of the building air permeability according to the year of construction in single-family, multi-family
and non-residential buildings.

70 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

For single-family dwellings, the air permeability values over the last three years as the number of buildings
decrease quickly in the first years and both median and measured increases. The median and mean values of
mean values of Q4Pa-surf stabilize around 0.4 m³.h1.m2 Q4Pa-surf tend to stabilize around 0.55 and 0.75 m³.
(median and mean values of n50 are 1.70 and 1.86 h1 h1.m2 respectively (median and mean values of n50 are
respectively) from 2015, clearly below the limit value 1.82 and 2.38 h1 respectively).
of the mandatory requirement (0.6 m³.h1.m2).
Analysis of the detected leakages
For multi-family buildings, the air permeability values
also decrease quickly in the first years and then increase During each test, a detailed qualitative leakage detec-
slightly from 2015. This is probably because every new tion is performed by testers in accordance with the
building is now tested and not only exemplary ones that Standard ISO 9972 (AFNOR, 2015) and the French
were applying for an EP-label. Indeed, the application standard FD P50-784 (AFNOR, 2016). Leakages are
of the mandatory requirement in multi-family buildings classified according to the leakage categories of FD
has been delayed by two years compared to single-family P50-784 (see appendix A) with 8 main categories and
dwellings. The median and mean values of Q4Pa-surf tend 46 sub-categories (see appendix A).
to stabilize around 0.65 and 0.8 m³.h1.m2 respectively
(median and mean values of n50 are 1.43 and 1.78 h1 Figure 3 shows the frequency of detected leakages by
respectively). They are both clearly below the limit value category in single-family, multi-family and non-resi-
of the mandatory requirement (1.0 m³.h1.m2). dential buildings. Leakages through doors and windows
(category C), electrical components (category F) and
For non-residential buildings, as seen above, the around penetrations through the envelope (category D)
number of measurements is much lower. However, are the most frequent leakages detected in all buildings.
results show an annual increase in the number of
measurements since 2011, with more than 3,000 non- In order to analyse the impact of leakages on the air
residential buildings tested in 2020. As for the permeability, we have constructed 46 subsamples cor-
multi-family buildings, air permeability drops rapidly responding to the 46 subcategories of leakages. Each
during the first years, then begins to increase slightly subsample contains the data where a particular leakage

Figure 3. Frequency of detected leakages in single-family, multi-family and non-residential buildings.

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 71

ARTICLES

is observed. We then compared the mean value of air Figure 4 shows the comparison between the boxplots
permeability of each subsample to that of the entire of n50 of all leakage subsamples and the mean value
sample using Wilcoxon tests. For this analysis, we of the entire sample. Leakage subsamples are sorted
used the air change rate at 50 Pa “n50” as indicator to in decreasing order of the mean value of n50. We can
analyse air permeability variations, as it has the lowest identify the leakage subsamples with highest values n50,
error with respect to repeatability, reproducibility, and the corresponding leakage can thus be considered to have
wind impact (Moujalled et al., 2021). greatest impact on the airtightness (p-value ≪ 0.01).

Figure 4. Boxplots of the measured air change rate at 50 Pa n50 in single-family, multi-family and non-residential
buildings depending on the type of the detected leakage.

72 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 ARTICLES

Table 1 shows the top five leakages with the highest 65,000 and 80,000 approximately. Measurements from
values of mean n50 in single-family, multi-family and 2015 can thus be considered as representative of new
non-residential buildings. It is interesting to note that French residential buildings. With the new requirement
the B4 leak (junction between wall and ceiling or sloped in the current regulation RE2020 for non-residential
roof ) is among those with a significant impact on air- buildings, we can expect to see a large increase in the
tightness in all three types of buildings, even though it number of tests in office buildings and schools in the
is not very frequent. Overall, leakages through the main coming years, similar to residential buildings.
envelope area (A) and the junctions between walls and
floors (B) are less frequent but have a significant impact In new single-houses, the mean air permeability is about
on the air tightness of the building. As the search for 0.4 m³/(h.m²) at 4 Pa which is significantly below the
leakages is not exhaustive during a test, a bias might mandatory threshold value (0.6 m³/(h.m²)) and 94%
exist in the detection of the leakages: leakages can be of all houses meet the mandatory requirement. In new
found only where the testers have looked for. multi-family buildings, the mean air permeability is
about 0.8 m³/(h.m²) at 4 Pa which is significantly
below the mandatory threshold value (1.0 m³/(h.m²))
Conclusions
and 94% of all buildings meet the mandatory require-
Since its creation in 2007, the French database of ment. In new non-residential buildings, for which there
building airtightness has been annually fed by measure- is no mandatory test, the airtightness has improved over
ments performed by qualified testers. The total number the years and is now equivalent to the new multi-family
of measurements is now about 570,000 with a majority buildings level: 93% of the tested buildings are better
of residential buildings (68% single dwellings, 28% than the default value of the RT 2012 (1.7 m³.h1.m2).
multi-family buildings against 4% non-residential The analyses of detected leakages enable us to identify
buildings). This is due to the mandatory requirements the most critical leakages that are not always the most
of the former EP-regulation RT2012 that was imple- frequent ones: leakages through the main envelope
mented in 2013 only for new residential buildings. area and the junctions between walls and floors are
It has initiated since 2013 a strong increase in the less frequent but have a significant impact on the air
annual number of tests that fluctuates today between tightness of the building.

Table 1. The top five leakages with the greatest impact on air permeability.

Type of building Leakages with highest values of mean n50 (Occurrence)

B4-Junction between wall and ceiling or pitched roof (3%)

D6-Beam connection with floor or ceiling (3%)
Single-family D5-Beam or joist connection with walls (3%)
B2-Junction between two vertical walls (3%)
F5-Lighting components (13%)

F5-Lighting components (5%)

B3-Junction between wall and floor (13%)
Multi-family E2-Attic trap door (absent or ineffective seal) (5%)
B4-Junction between wall and ceiling or pitched roof (3%)
F4-Wiring inside internal walls (19%)

A5-False ceiling panels (8%)

B4-Junction between wall and ceiling or pitched roof (6%)
Non-residential A3-mortar/glue junction between masonry blocks, wall panels (3%)
D5-Beam or joist connection with walls (4%)
D2-Vapour barrier membrane through which duct, pipe, beams, hatches (4%)

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 73

 Appendix A – Leakage definition
ARTICLES
Classification of leakages according to the French standard FD P50-784 (AFNOR, 2016).

Leakage category Leakage sub-category

A1 - Other leakage on main envelope area
A2 - Vapour barrier membrane (or similar complex): adhesive junction between strips, puncture or tearing
A - Main envelope
A3 - Mortar/glue junction between masonry blocks, wall panels
area
A4 - Puncture (e.g.: wall plug) or unsealed junctions between panels
A5 - False ceiling panels
B1 - Other leakage through wall and slab junctions
B2 - Junction between two vertical walls
B – Wall, roof and
B3 - Junction between wall and floor
floor junctions
B4 - Junction between wall and ceiling or pitched roof
B5 - Junction between vapour barrier membrane and slab
C1 - Other leakage on windows and glazed doors
C2 - Window / glazed doors: junction between frame and opening panels
C3 - Window & glazed doors: junction between glass and frame defective seal)
C – Doors and C4 - Landing door or fire door: poor compression of seals (excluding threshold bar)
windows C5 - Landing door or fire door: absent or ineffective threshold bar
C6 - Sliding door: Excessive space between glass panels. and the frame
C7 - Sliding door: Evacuation of condensates
C8 - Rolling shutter casing
D1 - Other element through a wall
D2 - Vapour barrier membrane through which due pipe, beams, hatches
D -Penetration D3 - Crossing Floor, walls and/or partitions (any type of pipes and electrical wiring…)
through the D4 - Ventilation air terminals: leaks at periphery of exhaust/supply air vents
envelope D5 - Beam or joist connection with walls
D6 - Beam connection with floor or ceiling
D7 - Stairs: Junction flooring/stairs or vertical walls/stairs
E1 - Another trapdoor
E - Trapdoor E2 - Attic trap door (absent or ineffective seal)
E3 - Trapdoor to vertical technical duct (absent or ineffective seal)
F1 - Other electrical component
F2 - Electrical board
F - Electrical
F3 - Wiring inside external walls
component
F4 - Wiring inside internal walls
F5 - Lighting components
G1 - Other leakage through wall and door/window junction
G1 - Junction between walls and windows or glazed door
G - Door / window G3 - Junction between walls and landing door or Fire door
and wall junctions G4 - Junction between internal panels and window and glazed door
G5 - Junction between internal panels and landing door or Fire door
G6 - Junction between vapour barrier membrane and door or window
H1 - Other leakage
H2 - wood-burner, fireplace insert or boiler. or combustion-air air vent
H3 - Extractor hood with external evacuation
H - Other H4 - Trap door for smokes evacuation
H5 - Zenithal lighting roof lights
H6 - Elevator door (frame - connecting door…)
H7 - Arrival air extraction or not described in the thermal calculation

References
AFNOR (2015) ‘NF EN ISO 9972. Thermal performance of buildings - Determination of air permeability of buildings - Fan
pressurization method’.

AFNOR (2016) ‘FD P50-784. Thermal performance of buildings - Implementation guide for NF EN ISO 9972’.

Mélois, A.B. et al. (2019) ‘Improving building envelope knowledge from analysis of 219,000 certified on-site air leakage
measurements in France’, Building and Environment, 159, p. 106145.

Moujalled, B. et al. (2021) ‘Mid-term and long-term changes in building airtightness: A field study on low-energy houses’,
Energy and Buildings, 250, p. 111257.

74 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

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ƒƒ Free copy of new REHVA Guidebooks and 20% discount on list price for extra copies

Pricing
ƒƒ The annual fee for REHVA Supporters is only 3.000 €!
ƒƒ Additionally, REHVA offers Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze Supporter Packages wich offer complementary
promotion opportunities to its Supporters.
ƒƒ For more information visit www.rehva.eu/about-us/join-rehva or contact us at [email protected]

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 75

Visit us
at the ISH
in Frankfurt.

Belimo
Small devices, big impact.
The intelligent utilisation of energy protects against climate change and lowers operating costs.
With the small and extremely effective actuators, valves, sensors and meters from the world market
leader Belimo, you have perfect solutions for efficiently controlling, monitoring and optimising energy
flows in buildings. This enables you to ensure a healthy room climate – in new buildings as well as in
existing ones.

You can experience all our innovations and our product range in practical applications at our
trade fair booth.

See you soon – we look forward to meeting you.

ISH 2023 | Frankfurt am Main

13. – 17.3. | Hall 10.2 | Booth C75

BELIMO Automation AG
[email protected], www.belimo.com
 IAQ Corner

The Seven Essentials of Healthy Indoor Air

2. Accurate amount of air to the zone and controlled removal

of contaminated air

Air handling units usually supply air to the polluted air must also be removed
several zones in a building. It is important from the room. To ensure this, zones and
that each room receives the exact amount rooms must be supplied individually with
of fresh air it needs. If the number of variable air volume (VAV). If, for example, a
people in a room increases, e.g., in a larger room sensor detects excessively high CO₂
meeting room, one would expect the air content, the VAV units are opened and the
supply to increase accordingly. Similarly, room is flooded with additional fresh air.

Learn more about Belimo’s 7 essentials of healthy indoor air: Scan the QR code
https://www.belimo.com/ch/en_GB/indoor-air-quality/7-essentials-iaq

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 77

EVENTS Please send information of your event to Ms Nicoll Marucciova [email protected]

Exhibitions, Conferences and Seminars

February 2023
28 Feb – 3 March 2023 World Sustainable Energy days (wsed.at) Wels, Austria
March 2023
6–8 March 2023 HVAC Cold Climate Conference 2023 (ashrae.org) Anchorage, Alaska

13–17 March 2023 ISH 2023 (ish.messefrankfurt.com) Frankfurt am Main, Germany

14–16 March 2023 ACREX 2023 (acrex.in) Mumbai, India

May 2023
10–11 May 2023 Developing Economies Conference 2023 (ashrae.org) Mumbai, India

11–12 May 2023 REHVA Annual Meeting (rehva.eu) Brussels, Belgium

20–23 May 2023 IAQVEC 2023 (iaqvec2023.org) Tokyo, Japan

June 2023
11–14 June 2023 HB2023 Europe Conference, “Beyond disciplinary boundaries Aachen, Germany
– Transdisciplinary perspectives on multisensory stimulation for
innovative and creative solutions in a Post-Covid era” (ukaachen.de)

24–28 June 2023 2023 ASHRAE Annual Conference (ashrae.org) Tampa, FL

August 2023
14–16 August 2023 SuDBE 2023 (sudbeconference.com) Espoo, Finland
September 2023
28–30 September 2023 EFS 2023 (efs2023.uc.pt) Prague, Czech Republic
October 2023
4–5 October 2023 43rd AIVC – 11th TightVent & 9th venticool Conference: Ventilation, Aalborg University,
IEQ and health in sustainable buildings (aivc2023conference.org) Copenhagen, Denmark

25–27 October 2023 2023 Decarbonization Conference for the Built Environment Washington D.C., USA
(ashrae.org)

Due to the COVID-19 circumstances, the dates of events might change. Please follow the event’s official website.

78 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 EVENTS UPCOMING

ISH 2023 interim result:

growing anticipation
The focus of ISH - The world’s leading trade fair HVAC + Water, from 13 to 17 March 2023, is on
marketable solutions for a sustainable future. Currently, the organisers are expecting around
2,000 companies to present their solutions for renewable sources of energy, sustainable water
usage and clean air at the leading international trade event for the HVAC and water sector.

Meet new and potential customers personally, exchange expert knowledge and ideas and find new
inspiration: ISH in Frankfurt is the international meeting place for the sanitaryware, heating and air-
conditioning sector. Source: Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH

I
SH from 13 to 17 March 2023 is to be held under With 70 percent of exhibitors coming from outside
the motto, ‘Solutions for a sustainable future’. For Germany, the 2023 edition of the world’s biggest
five days, everything at the world’s leading trade fair meeting place for the sanitaryware, heating and air-
for HVAC + Water will revolve around innovations that conditioning sector is distinguished by a high level of
contribute to achieving climate-protection targets and a internationality. Besides the many German companies,
responsible and efficient use of resources. “The interim the majority of exhibitors will be making their way to
result is a source of growing anticipation for us. At Frankfurt from Italy, Turkey, Spain,
present, we expect around 2,000 exhibitors to participate
and take advantage of the power of attraction exercised China, Poland, France, the Netherlands, Austria,
by ISH for their businesses. They are spread fairly evenly Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland. They are spread
across the two main sections of the fair, ISH Water and across the two main sections of the fair, ISH Water and
ISH Energy. Accordingly, the coming ISH is an unri- ISH Energy. The focus of the ISH Water section is on
valled opportunity for them to present their solutions to modern bathroom design and sustainable technology
an international audience of trade visitors, to profit from in the use of water as a valuable resource. In Halls 1,
networking effects and to exchange valuable knowledge”, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, visitors will find innovative products
explains Stefan Seitz, ISH Brand Management Director. and solutions for the lifestyle-oriented bathroom,

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 79

EVENTS UPCOMING

ISH Digital Extension

a hygienic drinking-water installation, quick and easy
installation and fastening technologies and software The digital platform accompanying the trade fair will
solutions. run concurrently with ISH 2023 in Frankfurt and for
a week afterwards. From 13 to 24 March 2023, the
The spectrum of products at ISH Energy in Halls 8, ISH Digital Extension offers participants the chance
9, 10, 11 and 12 ranges from innovative heat gen- to take part in the fair virtually. One advantage is the
eration, especially sustainable heat-pump technology, opportunity to make targeted contacts. Thanks to an
modern heat distribution, delivery and systems, via AI-aided matchmaking system, it will be possible for
intelligent home and building automation, to cooling, participants to find potential customers or suppliers
air-conditioning and ventilation technology under the and to make contact with them either at the fair or
motto, ‘Air is essential for life’. digitally. Moreover, individual items on the programme
of events can be seen as on-demand videos whenever
The ISH Contactor offers an up-to-date overview it suits the user.
of all exhibitors taking part in the fair at www.ish.
messefrankfurt.com/contactor.
ISH – The world’s leading trade fair HVAC + Water
The top themes: the future in sight
ISH opens its doors in Frankfurt am Main from 13 to
“Solutions for a sustainable future’ is the motto of ISH 17 March 2023.
2023 where everything will revolve around innova-
tions that contribute to achieving climate-protection
targets and a responsible and efficient use of resources.
Buildings, which account for around 40 percent of
energy consumption, can play an important role in For more information, please visit our
this. Thus, sustainability is the most important issue website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
facing the sector and the determining factor for all top
themes. In the ISH Energy section, the focus is on the
expansion of renewable energies, decarbonisation, greater
energy efficiency, heat-pump technology and the use of
hydrogen. This is reflected by the top themes, ‘Solutions
for Heat Transition and Climate Protection’ and ‘Energy
Efficiency & Sustainability’. An integral part of ISH,
the subject of air, also makes an important contribu-
tion to the superordinate goal of CO2 reduction and
energy saving and will be given due prominence in 2023
by the top theme of ‘Indoor Air Quality’. In the ISH
Water section, the spotlight with ‘Resource Water’ is on
the sustainable use and supply-side security of drinking
water. The second top theme, the ‘Sustainable Bathroom’
puts the emphasis on ecological factors in the bathroom.

A blend of expert knowledge, trending

themes and networking
A multi-faceted programme of events awaits everyone
from the sanitaryware, heating and air-conditioning
business, e.g., from the installation trade, the retail
side, the industry, planning offices, the building and
housing sector and public authorities and utilities. For
the first time, the thematic grouping of events in the
form of hotspots will ensure rapid orientation at the
fair. Full details for the wide-ranging programme of
events at ISH 2023 can be found at www.ish.messe-
frankfurt.com/events.

80 The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023

 EVENTS UPCOMING

11th SuDBE International Conference

Sustainable Development in the Building and Environment （SuDBE)

Important Dates
Abstract submission deadline

Mar. 15th, 2023

Welcome!
Full paper submission deadline

Jun. 15 , 2023
th Aug. 14-18 , 2023
Conference date
th

Schedule
Themes
Conference Chair: August 14th Calland
Check-in forRegistration
papers
•Prof.
Green and
Risto Sustainable
Konosen, AaltoBuilding Development
University
Response to Climate Changes Plenary and Technical,
Submit to Email: [email protected]
Prof. Baizhan Li, Chongqing University August 15-16th Website: http://www.sudbeconference.com
• Practice and Development of Healthy Building Workshop Sessions
• Indoor Environment (air quality, thermal comfort, August 17-18th Technical Tour
acoustic, light)
• Low-carbon and Intelligent Buildings (energy,
system, and operation) Registration Fee
• Innovative Geo-techniques and Structural Participation fee: 650€
Engineering Student: 400€
• Urban Ecological Infrastructures
Note: registration fee includes a lunch, a
• Sustainable Urban Renewal coffee break and a welcome dinner on
• Youth Scholars Forum Aug. 15th and a lunch and a coffee break
• Students Forum on Aug. 16th.

The 11th International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Building and Environment will be held in
Espoo, Finland from 14th to 18th of August 2023. We wish you take away new innovative ideas and spark new
research and implementations in practice.
http://sudbeconference.com/

efs2023.uc.pt

The REHVA European HVAC Journal — February 2023 81

 MEMBERS

ATIC vzw–asbl – Belgium BAOVK – Bulgaria STP – Czech Republic DANVAK – Denmark EKVU – Estonia
www.atic.be www.baovk.bg www.stpcr.cz www.danvak.dk www.ekvy.ee

FINVAC – Finland
www.finvac.org

REHVAAICVF – France
www.aicvf.org
VDI–e.V. – Germany
www.vdi.de
ÉTÉ – Hungary
www.eptud.org
MMK – Hungary
www.mmk.hu

AiCARR – Italy
www.aicarr.org
Members
AHGWTEL/LATVAC – Latvia
www.lsgutis.lv
LITES – Lithuania
www.listia.lt
AIIRM – Republic of Moldova
www.aiirm.md
TVVL – The Netherlands
www.tvvl.nl

NEMITEK – Norway PZITS – Poland ORDEM DOS ENGENHEIROS – Portugal AFCR – Romania AGFR – Romania
www.nemitek.no www.pzits.pl www.ordemengenheiros.pt www.criofrig.ro www.agfro.ro

AIIR – Romania KGH c/o SMEITS – Serbia SSTP – Slovakia SITHOK – Slovenia ATECYR – Spain
www.aiiro.ro www.smeits.rs www.sstp.sk https://web.fs.uni-lj.si/sithok/ www.atecyr.org

SWEDVAC – Sweden DIE PLANER – Switzerland TTMD – Turkey CIBSE – United Kingdom
www.energi-miljo.se www.die-planer.ch www.ttmd.org.tr www.cibse.org

Network of 26 European HVAC Associations joining 120 000 professionals

REHVA Office: Rue Washington 40, 1050 Brussels - Belgium • Tel: + 32 2 514 11 71 - [email protected] - www.rehva.eu
 SUPPORTERS
Leaders in Building Services

Daikin Europe – Belgium EPEE – Belgium EVIA – Belgium Velux – Denmark Granlund – Finland
www.daikin.eu www.epeeglobal.org www.evia.eu www.velux.com www.granlund.fi

Halton – Finland Uponor – Finland Eurovent Certita Certification – LG Electronics – France Saint-Gobain – France
www.halton.com www.uponor.com France www.lgeaircon.com www.saint-gobain.com
www.eurovent-certification.com

Viega – Germany
www.viega.com
REHVA
Aermec – Italy
www.aermec.com
Evapco Europe – Italy
www.evapco.eu
Rhoss – Italy
www.rhoss.com
Purmo Group – The Netherlands
www.purmogroup.com

Royal Haskoning DHV –

The Netherlands
Supporters
SMAY – Poland
www.smay.eu
East European Business Center

E.E.B.C. – Romania
www.eebc.ro
Dosetimpex – Romania
www.dosetimpex.ro
Testo – Romania
www.testo.com
www.royalhaskoningdhv.com

Camfil – Sweden Fläkt Group – Sweden Lindab – Sweden Swegon – Sweden Systemair – Sweden
www.camfil.com www.flaktgroup.com www.lindab.com www.swegon.com www.systemair.com

Belimo Automation – Switzerland Arçelik – Turkey Friterm Termik Cihazlar Zoonex – United Kingdom
www.belimo.com www.arcelikglobal.com Sanayi ve Ticaret – Turkey www.zoonexsystems.com
www.friterm.com

rehva associate organisations:

EVHA – European Union Enerbrain srl – Italia Enviromech – United Kingdom ISIB – Turkey ECI – Belgium OAER – Romania
www.evha.eu www.enerbrain.com www.enviromech.co.uk www.isib.org.tr copperalliance.org www.oaer.ro
 REHVA EUROPEAN GUIDEBOOKS
REHVA Guidebooks are written by teams of European HVAC experts
Energy Efficient Heating and Ventilation of Large Residential Heat Recovery Ventilation. Heat recovery
No.15
Halls. This Guidebook is focused on modern methods ventilation is expected to be a major ventilation solution
for design, control and operation of energy efficient while energy performance of buildings is improved in
heating systems in large spaces and industrial halls. Europe. This European Guidebook prepared by REHVA
The book deals with thermal comfort, light and dark gas and EUROVENT experts includes the latest ventilation
radiant heaters, panel radiant heating, floor heating and
No.25 technology and knowledge about the ventilation system
industrial air heating systems. Various heating systems performance, intended to be used by HVAC designers,
are illustrated with case studies. consultants, contractors, and other practitioners.

HVAC in Sustainable Office Buildings – A bridge Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings. These
No.16
between owners and engineers. This Guidebook guidelines provide information to evaluate and improve
discusses the interaction of sustainability and heating, the energy performance of historic buildings, fully
ventilation and air–conditioning. HVAC technologies respecting their significance as well as their cultural
used in sustainable buildings are described. This book heritage and aesthetic qualities. The guidelines are
also provides a list of questions to be asked in various No.26 intended for both design engineers and government
phrases of building’s life time. Different case studies of agencies.
sustainable office buildings are presented.

Design of energy efficient ventilation and air-condi- HVAC Commissioning Process. This Guidebook
No.17
tioning systems. This Guidebook covers numerous describes the HVAC Commissioning Process compatible
system components of ventilation and air-conditioning with the routines in the building sector almost every-
systems and shows how they can be improved by applying where around the world. This is the first work that both
the latest technology products. Special attention is paid describes the process in a very hands-on manner and
to details, which are often overlooked in the daily design No.27 details the commissioning activities for various types of
practice, resulting in poor performance of high quality systems, complete with theoretical background, guid-
products once they are installed in the building system. ance & checklists.

Legionellosis Prevention in Building Water and NZEB Design Strategies for Residential Buildings
No.18
HVAC Systems. This Guidebook is a practical guide for in Mediterranean Regions - Part 1. The aim of this
design, operation and maintenance to minimize the risk Guidebook is to develop a basic framework of a design
of legionellosis in building water and HVAC systems. It guideline for planners, designers and engineers involved
is divided into several themes such as: Air conditioning in the passive/architectural design of buildings and the
of the air (by water – humidification), Production of hot No.28 selection process of the HVAC systems to deliver the

REHVA
water for washing (fundamentally but not only hot water most appropriate and cost-effective solutions for NZEB
for washing) and Evaporative cooling tower. in Mediterranean climates.

Mixing Ventilation. In this Guidebook most of the Quality Management for Buildings. This Guidebook
No.19
known and used in practice methods for achieving gives a brief overview on quality management services
mixing air distribution are discussed. Mixing ventilation Technical Monitoring (TMon) and Commissioning (Cx) to
has been applied to many different spaces providing building owners, developers and tenants. Avoiding tech-
fresh air and thermal comfort to the occupants. Today, nical details, it shows the tremendous economic potential,
No.29

Guidebooks
a design engineer can choose from large selection of air gives insights on the most important technical aspects
diffusers and exhaust openings. and provides hands-on advice for application in projects.

Advanced system design and operation of GEOTABS Hygiene in Potable Water Installations in Buildings.
No.20
buildings. This Guidebook provides comprehensive This REHVA Guidebook provides information on the
information on GEOTABS systems. It is intended to design, installation, commissioning, use, operation
support building owners, architects and engineers in an and maintenance of all water installations in buildings.
early design stage showing how GEOTABS can be inte- Central waterworks supply over 95% of the population
grated into their building concepts. It also gives many
No.30 with potable water round the clock and with virtually no
helpful advices from experienced engineers that have interruptions.
designed, built and run GEOTABS systems.

Active and Passive Beam Application Design Guide. NZEB Design Strategies for Residential Buildings in
No.21
is the result of collaboration by worldwide experts. It Mediterranean Regions - Part 1. The main objective
provides energy-efficient methods of cooling, heating, behind this Guidebook is to present and promote the
and ventilating indoor areas, especially spaces that use of equipment, technology and systems appropriate
require individual zone control and where internal to the cooling-demand–dominated requirements of the
moisture loads are moderate. The systems are simple No.31 Mediterranean climate.
to operate and maintain.

Introduction to Building Automation, Controls and Energy Efficient Renovation of Existing Buildings
No.22
Technical Building Management. This Guidebook for HVAC professionals. This Guidebook shows the
aims to provide an overview on the different aspects baseline for specific energy efficiency and other renova-
of building automation, controls and technical building tion measures in existing buildings for which the HVAC
management and steer the direction to further in depth systems play an important role. It presents the best avail-
information on specific issues, thus increasing the No.32 able techniques and solutions that can be used as part of
readers’ awareness and knowledge on this essential the energy modernization of the HVAC systems.
piece of the construction sector puzzle.

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