Evaluation of the Thermal Comfort and Energy Demand in a Building with Rammed Earth Walls in Spain: Influence of the Use of In Situ Measured Thermal Conductivity and Estimated Values

Autor: Miguel Ángel Mellado Mascaraque, Francisco Javier Castilla Pascual, Víctor Pérez Andreu, Guillermo Adrián Gosalbo Guenot
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Buildings, Vol 11, Iss 12, p 635 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2075-5309
DOI: 10.3390/buildings11120635
Popis: This paper describes the influence of thermal parameters—conductivity, transmittance, and thermal mass—in the estimation of comfort and energy demand of a building with rammed earth walls, and consequently, the compliance with standards. It is known that nominal design data does not match in situ measured values, especially in traditionally constructed buildings. We have therefore monitored a room in a building with rammed earth walls, designed a computerised model, and compared four different alternatives where we have changed the value for the thermal conductivity (in situ vs. estimated) and the consideration of thermal mass. When we then analyse the compliance with the Spanish energy saving code, using measured values would result in lower differences with the standards’ limits and even comply with the global thermal transmittance (K-value) requirement. This would mean a more realistic approach to the restoration of traditional buildings leading to the use of thinner and more suitable insulation and retrofitting systems, encouraging the use of rammed earth in new buildings, and therefore reducing the carbon footprint due to materials used in construction. Results show that the building model that uses in situ values and considers thermal mass (S1) is closer to reality when assessing thermal comfort. Finally, using nominal data would result in requiring 43% more energy in the selected winter period and 102% more energy in the selected summer period to keep the same comfort conditions as in the alternative where measured values are used.
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