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Abstract: Free-cooling by ventilation is one of the most energy efficient techniques for cooling. When ventilation is used for cooling, variable airflow rates should to be used in order to achieve comfortable room temperatures and to minimize the energy demand for mechanical ventilation. Thus, free-cooling, requires, obviously, the existence of a potential for cooling and needs control mechanisms for the airflow. In this study, the free cooling potential by ventilation for office buildings is evaluated by the free-running temperature. The free-running temperature approach is based on the energy balance of heat gains and losses. It is adapted to evaluate the potential for free cooling by ventilation of office buildings for which the gains through the walls are negligible as compared to the internal and solar gains. The free-running temperature of each office room considers solar and internal heat gains, outdoor temperature, indoor temperatures and ventilation air flow rates. The approach is applied to 14 office rooms in a passively cooled office building in Germany and is used to estimate the potential and to evaluate the total energy saving by free cooling by ventilation. The good fit between monitoring data and calculation procedure proves that the free cooling potential can be accurately estimated by using the difference between the comfort limits, i.e. the target value of the indoor temperature, and the free-running temperature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In designing an earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHX), a decision on design goals has to be made. If the air flow is given by the ventilation system and the construction site is known, the question is: is it more important to achieve a high specific energy performance based on the surface area of an EAHX, a high adoption of air temperature to ground temperature or a very small pressure loss? This paper deals with the performance of three EAHXs for mid European office buildings in service, with the aim of characterising their efficiency. A general method to compare EAHXs in operation will be introduced. First, the temperature behaviour is described by plots over time and characteristic lines, and compared by standardised duration curves. Second, the energy gain is illustrated by standardised graphs. Third, a parametric model is used to provide general efficiency criteria. Thermal efficiency should be defined by both the dynamic temperature behaviour and energy performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The increasing installation numbers of ventilation units in residential buildings are driven by legal objectives to improve their energy efficiency. The dimensioning of a ventilation system for nearly zero energy buildings is usually based on the air flow rate desired by the clients or requested by technical regulations. However, this does not necessarily lead to a system actually able to renew the air volume of the living space effectively. In recent years decentralised systems with an alternating operation mode and fairly good energy efficiencies entered the market and following question was raised: "Does this operation mode allow an efficient air renewal?" This question can be answered experimentally by performing a tracer gas analysis. In the presented study, a total of 15 preliminary tests are carried out in a climatic chamber representing a single room equipped with two push-pull devices. The tests include summer, winter and isothermal supply air conditions since this parameter variation is missing till now for push-pull devices. Further investigations are dedicated to the effect of thermal convection due to human heat dissipation on the room air flow. In dependence on these boundary conditions, the determined air exchange efficiency varies, lagging behind the expected range 0.5 < ε a < 1 in almost all cases, indicating insufficient air exchange including short-circuiting. Local air exchange values suggest inhomogeneous air renewal depending on the distance to the indoor apertures as well as the temperature gradients between in- and outdoor. The tested measurement set-up is applicable for field measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]