Adaptive Thermal Comfort Potential in Mediterranean Office Buildings: A Case Study of Torre Sevilla

The design and construction of buildings is currently subject to a growing set of requirements concerning sustainability and energy efficiency. This paper shows a case study of the Torre Sevilla skyscraper, located in the city of Seville (in the south of Spain), which has high-tech energy-efficient...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Castaño-Rosa, Raúl, Rodríguez Jiménez, Carlos Eugenio, Rubio Bellido, Carlos
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2018
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositório:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/78784
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/78784
https://doi.org/su10093091
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Thermal comfort
habitability
infiltrations
energy efficiency
Descrição
Resumo:The design and construction of buildings is currently subject to a growing set of requirements concerning sustainability and energy efficiency. This paper shows a case study of the Torre Sevilla skyscraper, located in the city of Seville (in the south of Spain), which has high-tech energy-efficient features and which uses air-conditioning systems during most of its operating hours. The analysis carried out starts from a simulation in which occupants’ thermal comfort are obtained, based on the adaptive comfort model defined in the standard EN 15251:2007. With this approach, it is possible to determine the number of hours during operation in which the building has adequate comfort conditions only with the help of the envelope and natural ventilation. Consequently, the remaining useful hours require the use of air-conditioning systems. The results show that it is possible to improve the thermal performance of the building due to its location in the Mediterranean climate. To do this, advanced mixed mode (through manual-opening or mechanically-controlled opening windows) and active air-conditioning are suggested. This experimental proposal provides a reduction of the occupation hours which require the use of air-conditioning equipment by 28.57%, reducing the air-conditioning demand and, consequently, the energy consumption of the building.