INDOOR ENVIRONMENT :
Efficiency+ Comfort
Have you ever been in an office building where the temperature is so high, that you have to wear a jacket inside? Or a restaurant that serves food that sizzles, making the restaurant uncomfortably warm? Or, a retail store with extreme heating once you enter? Ever wondered, why do they install such extreme temperature conditions?
While designing the HVAC system for any space, usually the maximum occupancy of the space determines the system’s configurations and capacities. But not all the times during the lifetime of the designed space, will the occupancy be 100%. Imagine how much energy can be saved if there is a way to regulate this and achieve comfort in spaces.
Intense researches are being conducted to find out ways to increase energy efficiency in indoor spaces and making them more comfortable for types of occupancy. At UBC, the researchers have been trying to find solutions for regulating temperature at an individual scale, rather than the scale of a floor or building. For example, at an office, the regulations can be given to individual's workstations.
This won’t only result in saving energy, but also make everybody more comfortable. People have different preferences for their comfortable temperature, and hence they end up compromising their comfort in spaces which are regulated by the organizations. If the employees in an office would be more comfortable by their specific need, they tend to be much more productive and happy. Some solutions also suggest targeting devices to regulate temperature that are made for human body parts that are temperature sensitive. For example, has a heated chair in an office, or tailoring other furniture pieces, and having various temperature controlling equipment on workstations.
Besides having customized temperature controlling for spaces, having flexible by laws for ventilation systems are also needed, for controlling the indoor environment. At times outdoor air quality is unhealthy, especially in countries like China, India etc. The building codes often suggest having enough natural ventilation, coupled with mechanical, which ends up unhealthy indoor air quality. This kinds of decisions along with building orientation and form govern the sustainable solutions in a building, which is often not included in building code. ASHRAE’s new guidelines suggest having practical design solutions to have functioning net-zero buildings that use the suggested systems throughout the building life, rather than for a short period of time which could earn them certain certifications.
We are a point in time where permanent solutions to achieve net-zero buildings has become more important than having mesmerizing buildings and structure. Designers, architects and most importantly, governmental bodies across the world need to address this change in infrastructure, as it contributes most towards the rising global temperature.
Sources:
https://www.ashrae.org/File%20Library/Technical%20Resources/Bookstore/IAQ-Guide-primer-from-the-May-2010.pdf
https://news.berkeley.edu/2013/08/27/office-too-hot-or-cold-researchers-aim-for-comfort-energy-efficiency/
Image Credits:
https://www.cbe.berkeley.edu/mixedmode/aboutmm.html