An assessment of the QUB method for predicting the whole building thermal performance under actual operating conditions
Résumé
The performance gap between the design and the as-built thermal performance of buildings is an issue of high importance for the construction industry and reducing this gap has been the subject of significant research. Assessing the design thermal performance is straightforward; however estimating the as-built performance of a building presents several technical challenges that often restrict its wider implementation. One of the most common challenges is the time required to perform such testing. The QUB method is a transient method developed to estimate the Heat Loss Coefficient (HLC) in a single night without occupancy. The ability of the method to provide reliable results was demonstrated experimentally in a climate chamber with controlled conditions in a previous work.
The work presented in this paper reports on the findings from a long-term field study conducted in order to assess the applicability of the QUB method under actual operating conditions and to identify key parameters that may affect its performance. A series of tests were performed during the whole heating period in a detached house located in the University Park campus, University of Nottingham considering two distinct conditions: as-built and with increased air tightness. The results suggest that the QUB method was able to estimate the HLC of the house with reasonable repeatability in both cases. The reliance of the results to the experimental conditions that may affect the test is also discussed in order to improve the robustness of the method.
Domaines
Thermique [physics.class-ph]
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)
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