Building science

Building science is the science and technology-driven collection of knowledge in order to provide better indoor environmental quality (IEQ), energy-efficient built environments, and occupant comfort and satisfaction. Building physics, architectural science, and applied physics are terms used for the knowledge domain that overlaps with building science. In building science, the methods used in natural and hard sciences are widely applied, which may include controlled and quasi-experiments, randomized control, physical measurements, remote sensing, and simulations. On the other hand, methods from social and soft sciences, such as case study, interviews & focus group, observational method, surveys, and experience sampling, are also widely used in building science to understand occupant satisfaction, comfort, and experiences by acquiring qualitative data. One of the recent trends in building science is a combination of the two different methods. For instance, it is widely known that occu

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CIVIL-450: Thermodynamics of comfort in buildings

This course provides an integrated approach to analyzing human indoor thermal comfort by examining the correlation between human thermoregulation, heat exchange with the indoor environment, overall and local thermal sensation of occupants.

AR-496: Behind/Beyond future cities

We are living in an urban world and the design of sustainable cities is essential in order to decrease our energy footprint. This course provides the instruments to understand the complex urban metabolism, as well as the solutions for planning future smart and sustainable cities.

CIVIL-212: Fundamentals of indoor climate

Indoor climate is of great significance to our well-being. This course offers a fundamental knowledge of the parameters that influence indoor climate (air quality and thermal environment). It also gives an overview of building controls methods that contribute to more comfortable and safe spaces.

Building performance simulation

Building performance simulation (BPS) is the replication of aspects of building performance using a computer-based, mathematical model created on the basis of fundamental physical principles and soun

Ventilation (architecture)

Ventilation is the intentional introduction of outdoor air into a space. Ventilation is mainly used to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants; it can also be used to

Zero-energy building

A Zero-Energy Building (ZEB), also known as a Net Zero-Energy (NZE) building, is a building with net zero energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basi

Daylight – visual comfort and non-visual functions

Mirjam Münch

Within the last decades it became evident that light through the eyes is essential for both visual and non-visual functions. One of the most important non-visual functions of light is the daily entrainment of the circadian clock by environmental light conditions. As most people spent the majority of their time inside of buildings, room light quality defines not only vision related properties but also many physiological and behavioral functions. This is true for acute light responses but also for circadian (and probably even longer lasting) light effects. Another emerging question is to what extent visual and non-visual functions might be associated with each other. We tested whether visual comfort is associated with subjective alertness, mood and physical wellbeing. By comparing these effects under two different office lighting conditions in healthy young subjects during daytime, we found that associations of visual comfort with alertness, mood and wellbeing were not only dependent on the light condition but also on the time of day. We also found repercussions of different light conditions during the afternoon on cognitive performance in the evening. We conclude that for optimized environmental light conditions visual and non-visual human aspects of light need further to be integrated into architectural and building science.

2011

Energy Demand Analysis for Building Envelope Optimization for Hot Climate: A Case Study at AN Najah National University

Silvia Coccolo, Jérôme Henri Kämpf, Dasaraden Mauree, Sameh Monna, Jean-Louis Scartezzini

The study aims to analyse the heating and cooling demand of the An Najah university campus, and to optimize the building envelope for selected buildings, in order to achieve energy efficiency, and make use of renewable solar energy. Building and urban simulation programs are used to evaluate the effects of applying different technologies and design strategies on the energy consumption. The university campus hosts 11 university buildings. The proposed methodology makes use of an urban energy modelling tool, called CitySim and Design Builder based on EnergyPlus model to analyse the heating and cooling demand of the university campus and assess the solar potential of the site. The energy calculation considers the hourly heating and cooling demand per building, and for the whole campus. The solar irradiation received by the buildings envelope (walls and roofs) consider the impact of the urban environment, including the inter-reflections between buildings and albedo of the outdoor surfaces. The climatic data provided by Meteonorm. The geometrical information of the campus and selected buildings retrieved by GIS while the physical characteristics of buildings are based on on-site previous studies. The results point to the potential for a significant decrease in energy consumption for cooling and heating.

2016

Building Environment and Interiors Comfort in 20th-Century Architecture: understanding issues and developing conservation strategies-International Conference organised by EPFL-ENAC-TSAM

Franz Graf, Giulia Marino

EPFL-ENAC-TSAM2012