Precise and reliable meteorological data are necessary for building performance analysis. Since meteorological conditions vary significantly from year to year, there is a need to create a test reference year (TRY), to represent the long-term weather conditions over a year. In this paper two different TRY data models were generated and compared: TRY and TRY-2. Both models where created by analysing every 3-hour weather data for a 30-year period (1984–2013) in Alūksne, Latvia, provided by the Latvian Environment Geology and Meteorology Centre (LEGMC). TRY model was generated according to standard LVS EN ISO 15927-4, but to create second model - TRY-2, 30 year average data were applied. The generated TRY contains typical months from a number of different years. The data gathered from TRY and TRY-2 models where compared with the climate data from the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers regulation No. 379, Regulations Regarding Latvian Building Code LBN 003-01. Average monthly temperature values in LBN 003-01 were lower than the TRY and TRY-2 values. The results of this study may be used in building energy simulations and heating-cooling load calculations for selected region. TRY selection process should include the most recent meteorological observations and should be periodically renewed to reflect the long-term climate change.
Latvian children under the age of 7 can spend up to 60 hours per week in daycare centers and therefore it is very important to establish a healthy and comfortable daycare environment that children will find pleasant and stimulating to stay in. This study investigates indoor air quality and thermal comfort within six daycare centers (old, renovated and new-built) in moderate climate zone of Latvia. Measurements of carbon dioxide, air temperature and relative humidity were carried out, and data regarding daycare center characteristics and maintenance activities was collected via combination of field visits, record analysis and interviews. It was found that carbon dioxide concentrations exceeded 1000 ppm in 75% of daycare centers studied, with the highest (1356 ppm) measured in a renovated facility with the natural ventilation system. Thus installation of more efficient ventilation system (mechanical) is recommended to provide acceptable indoor air quality, since opening of windows itself cannot provide the optimal conditions indoors. In all facilities the temperature was kept above 20°C and the average relative humidity was 40±5%, creating comfortable thermal environment for children.
The article summarizes the IAQ parameters of multi-apartment buildings before and after renovation in Latvia. In a building with natural ventilation system air exchange is significantly dependent on the position of the apartment within the building. If CO2 as an indicator of indoor air quality is analyzed, the results show that inhabitants' behavior has a considerable impact on IAQ. The planning of adequate investment in buildings to improve energy efficiency and choosing the modern, adequate and effective engineering solutions, it is possible to raise the comfort level of living space and to reduce heat and thermal energy consumption.
The focus of this research paper is to develop a verified simulation model for a cooling panel with integrated phase-change materials (PCMs)—a stainless steel panel filled with PCM and integrated hydronic piping circuit. This solution is targeted for passive cooling of residential buildings in Baltic Sea region that experience overheating for most of the year due to highly insulated building envelopes and extensive glazing—a phenomena for nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs). This approach aims to maintain comfortable indoor temperature all year round by passive means—free-cooling, adiabatic (evaporative) cooling or limited mechanical cooling. The simulations are performed with IDA ICE 4.8 and the measurements for simulation model verification are collected from a test chamber. The results show that reasonable agreement can be reached for simulated and experimentally measured data.
As building codes are pushing towards higher energy efficiency and the arrival of nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) requirements for all new buildings are just around the corner the need for alternative, high efficiency heating and cooling solutions for nZEB’s is greater than ever. Also as experience with renewable energy sources has proven the energy demand and energy generation rarely overlaps and it does not allow to fully utilise some renewable energy sources. This is a simulation study that focuses on integrated cooling and energy storage system utilising phase-change materials (PCM). Several types of thermally activated slabs with different PCM thicknesses were simulated in order to find the most optimal PCM thickness with melting point temperature that can support passive cooling methods based on adiabatic cooling principles. Two calculation tools were used for the study – IDA ICE 4.8 and U-NORM 2012-2 to calculate the properties of the slabs and potential of application in well insulated residential building in Baltic climate. The results showed that the optimal thickness for thermally activated PCM layer (large flat containers) range from 25 mm to 90 mm, and for layers with no thermal activation – 180 mm and more. Moreover the results show that apart from energy storage the thermally activated panel can increase thermal comfort conditions.
When dealing with the indoor microclimates of cultural and historical heritage cult buildings, it is important to know the types of these buildings by their spatial volumes and by the types of enclosing structures, and it is also important to understand the moisture transfer processes in these buildings, which would allow one to generate solutions on how to more effectively control the indoor microclimate. Due to the antiquity and specific load of these buildings, the existing standards are not applicable. This study summarizes 275 churches in Latvia, dividing them both according to five spatial volumes and according to the types of the materials used, which makes it possible to create potential air flows for all spatial volumes and to predict condensation risks in the future. Additionally, the results of temperature and humidity measurements in two different churches from one region of Latvia are given and the absolute humidity was calculated, and the data were analyzed depending on the outside air temperature. These measurements have yet to be followed up with the data of a full year.
The aim of the paper is to analyse evaporative cooling technologies used in the cooling system and to compare their energy efficiency with traditional cooling systems. Heating and cooling is the most significant energy end-use sector, accounting for about 40 % of total energy demand in the EU. The Member States must achieve cumulative end-use energy savings equivalent to new savings of 0.8 % from final energy consumption in the period and beyond. Therefore, the EU forces buildings and industries to shift to efficient, decarbonized energy systems based on renewable energy sources. The estimated number of cooling systems in Europe will double by 2030. The analysed data set provides results that show how energy efficient the evaporative cooling systems are. The results of this paper show that it is possible to improve the cooling system energy efficiency by using evaporative cooling. The results show that the chiller EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) can be improved by up to 63 % using the cooling tower. EER is 3.0 of the chiller with a water-cooled condenser -the dry cooler; 3.9 of the chiller with an air-cooled condenser and 4.9 of the chiller with a water-cooled condenser -the cooling tower. Indirect evaporative cooling for air handling units improves EER by 67 % compared when used without indirect evaporative cooling. EER is 4.3of the air handling unit without indirect evaporative cooling and 7.2 with indirect evaporative cooling. Indirect evaporative cooling is the right way how to increase energy efficiency and minimise carbon footprint by using renewable energy in new and existing air conditioning systems.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.