Earth, Wind & Fire

Natuurlijke Airconditioning

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Abstract

Collaboration between the Universities of Technology in Delft and Eindhoven has resulted in the development of a new concept for natural air conditioning of buildings. According to the so-called Climate Responsive Architecture developed in this research, the design of the indoor climate system, building physics, and services are linked to an architectural assignment. In this concept, no fans or air handling units are utilized; instead, air conditioning is accomplished by the employment of the free, available environmental energy in earth mass, wind, and the sun. The energy use for air conditioning of office buildings can, therefore, be substantially reduced. To make this possible, three responsive architectural elements have been developed: the Ventec-Roof, the Climate Cascade and the Solar Chimney by which the architect can play a significant role as technical and artistic co-designer of the climate system. The intensive cooperation between architect and HVAC engineer will, in principle, result in an improved building air quality at reduced failure costs. Ben Bronsema is an experienced consulting engineer in sustainable building services and the design of HVAC systems.