Active Control System Based on the Application of Passive Solar Architecture Measures
Abstract
The quality of indoor environment in buildings is directly connected to the productivity and health of occupants as well as to the energy efficiency of the building. In such a context the provision of satisfactory internal conditions is an issue that has implications on a socio-economic scale (Fisk, 2000, Sobocki, 2006) reaching beyond the scope of construction related professions. Nonetheless, the problems concerning design and regulation of the indoor environment can be addressed directly and efficiently on the level of the building design and management. Buildings as artificially created objects can be split into two distinct but codependent entities – building envelope and indoor environment. In contrast to the external environment, indoor environment for people represents a place of control on the physiological as well as psychological level. Because these two environments are not discrete but in constant exchange of energy, mater and information (Krainer, 1993), the function of the building envelope is to enable the desired indoor conditions with regard to the external climatic conditions. Quality indoor environment provided with the formulation of an appropriate building envelope is at the base of bioclimatic design and passive solar architecture (PSA). Building performance (Fig. 1) can additionally be raised by correct use of installed devices (e.g. heating and cooling systems) and especially by providing automated regulation to the functioning of the whole building (Košir et al., 2006). Automated control systems represent a solution to a complex problem of balancing the user demands with external climatic conditions with respect to the comfort and energy use criteria. The end result of such applications is the design of healthy and comfortable internal environment with low energy consumption and not the other way around (Krainer, 2008).