Occupant Behaviour in Buildings: Advances and Challenges

Enedir Ghisi, Ricardo Forgiarini Rupp, Pedro Fernandes Pereira

• Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781681088327
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Civil Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Occupant behaviour in buildings is a point of interest for building designers around the world. Functional buildings have a significant energy demand; therefore, improving the thermal and energy performance of such buildings requires knowledge about the variables that influence them. However, to increase the potential for improving thermal and energy performance of buildings, studies must also consider the occupant's interactions with the built environment. The occupant behaviour influences the conditions of the internal environment through the occupation of indoor building spaces and through the interaction with building elements, such as air-conditioning, lighting, blinds and windows. Occupant Behaviour in Buildings: Advances and Challenges brings together reviews of these influential aspects, presenting updates on advances and questions that pose challenges in our current understanding of behavioural modeling and its application to building design. Special topics covered in the book include methods to survey occupant behavior, building design choices, occupant behaviour impact on a building's thermal and energy efficiency, and, finally, a simulation of occupants in a building. Key Features- Presents up-to-date information on occupant behaviour in buildings- Eight chapters, written by renowned researchers, provide readers with useful insights on the subject- Includes a case study of buildings in Brazil- Structured reader-friendly content- References for further reading This reference is an informative resource for students and professionals in architecture, civil engineering, building information design, and urban planning. Readers interested in social and behavioural sciences will also gain insights on research methods that are helpful in investigating human behavior in urban dwellings.

Indoor Climate Management of Museums: the Impact of Ventilation on Conservation, Human Health and Comfort

Hugo Entradas Silva^{1, *}, Fernando M. A. Henriques¹

¹ Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal

Abstract

Cultural heritage plays an important role in society, not only in cultural terms but also due to its touristic interest. From a purely economic point-of-view, the increasing number of visitors can be a way to achieve financial sustainability. However, it is necessary to ensure that conservation and comfort conditions are not affected, since the human body releases heat, moisture, CO₂ and odours.

A suitable relation between ventilation and occupancy may be used to minimize some of these effects, but it is not easy to reach because there is no unanimity in the literature on comfort and health issues. Besides, the information about ventilation and occupancy that is used in cultural heritage buildings is scarce, even after the recent publication of the EN 15759-2.

In this chapter, a sensitivity simulation study using a hygrothermal simulation model of a generic museum is developed. This chapter aims to analyse the impact of the binomial ventilation vs. occupancy, simulating various combinations of ventilation and air recirculation on the indoor air quality, conservation and energy consumption in museums. Since the visits to major national museums take usually long periods, the concept of adaptation was analysed to reduce the airflow of fresh air per visitor. The study was carried out using the software WUFI^® Plus for the hygrothermal and energy simulation.

Keywords: Air recirculation, Cultural heritage, Conservation, Computational simulation, Indoor air quality, Museums, Occupancy, Preventive conservation, Ventilation.

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^* Corresponding author Hugo Entradas Silva: Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal; Tel: [phone]; E-mail: [email protected]

Introduction

Museums play an important role in storing collections, allowing different forms of art to be presented to the world. Museums must ensure the conservation of collections and at the same time a pleasant experience for visitors, providing adequate conditions of comfort and health [1].

Despite the unquestionable importance of visitors, it is important to note that they release heat, moisture, carbon dioxide (CO₂), odours and act as an open door for exterior pollutants, which can affect the equilibrium of the indoor microclimate.

Although historic buildings are characterized by high thermal inertia, they usually present a poor hygrothermal response, which can contribute to an unstable microclimate and render it difficult to obtain a serious compromise between conservation, comfort and sustainability [2]. Sometimes the use of powerful climate control systems is unavoidable and the impossibility of changing the building façades to avoid identity losses [3] means that one of the adopted strategies for energy reduction is linked to ventilation [4]. However, it cannot be dissociated from the human occupancy since it influences the air renewal and consequently the moisture, pollutants and odours.

An excessive occupancy can constitute a serious risk to the microclimate stability and a challenge to heritage management due to degradation of the indoor air quality (IAQ) and the increase of moisture. Some articles attest the visitors’ effect on the indoor climate [5, 6] and the risks of undue occupancies for conservation [7^-9]. There are some cases of common sense in which it was necessary to limit the number of visitors or their impact to mitigate co...

Table of contents

• Welcome
• Table of Content
• Title
• BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD.
• PREFACE
• List of Contributors
• Exploring The Potential of Combining Technological Innovations with Qualitative Methods in Occupant Behaviour Research
• Monitoring Occupant Window Opening Behaviour in Buildings: A Critical Review
• Supporting the Decision-making Process of Building Users in the Selection of Energy-Efficient Heating Solutions by Identifying and Evaluating Co-benefits
• The Impact of Occupants in Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings
• Detecting Occupant Actions in Buildings and the Drivers of Their Behaviour
• The (Not So) Close Relationship Between Occupancy and Windows Operation
• Investigating the Uncertainties of Occupant Behaviour in Building Performance Simulation: A Case Study in Dwellings in Brazil
• Indoor Climate Management of Museums: the Impact of Ventilation on Conservation, Human Health and Comfort