Abstract
This paper analyzes the historical consumption of natural gas in a multifamily high-rise building and the monitored winter thermal behavior of an apartment sample. The building is located in the center of Argentina (latitude: 36o27’S; longitude: 64o27’W), where the climate is a cold temperate with an absolute minimum temperature that may reach −10 °C. The building has two blocks, North and South. The building’s annual gas consumption and its variability between 1996 and 2008 are shown. The South block consumed 78% more gas, a situation expected due to lower solar resource availability and greater vulnerability regarding strong and cold SW winds. Indoor temperatures monitored during 2009 in four apartments are described. The outdoor minimum temperature reached −5 °C, with solar irradiance around 500 W/m2 at midday. Results showed that the average indoor temperatures were 20.1, 20.6, 24.0 and 22.1 °C. The highest consumption value corresponded to the apartment exposed to SW cold winds. Compared to the rest of the building, the apartment on the top floor consumes 59% more energy than the average for the gas consumed throughout the year. The authors assume that the energy potentials of intervention are different, and not necessarily all the apartments should have the same technological response.
Highlights
Buildings provide human beings with a life and work environment. 80% of human beings’ lives take place inside buildings; special attention must be paid both to the design of quality indoor environments and to the assessment of their energy-environmental performance [1]
In Europe during 2000, 45% of the produced energy was consumed by the building sector and 50% of the generated pollution had its origin in the same sector [4]
According to the average percentage estimated by the fluid distribution company, the 67% of the natural gas consumed in the study area is used to heat rooms [46]
Summary
Buildings provide human beings with a life and work environment. 80% of human beings’ lives take place inside buildings; special attention must be paid both to the design of quality indoor environments and to the assessment of their energy-environmental performance [1]. Buildings provide human beings with a life and work environment. 80% of human beings’ lives take place inside buildings; special attention must be paid both to the design of quality indoor environments and to the assessment of their energy-environmental performance [1]. The premonitory vision of the architect Buckminster Fuller regarding the finite nature of world resources dates back to the end of 1920 [2]. It was only in 1973, as a result of high oil prices, when energy conservation strategies appeared to be part of the environmental agenda. The building sector is under pressure: approximately half of the world’s resources are destined to condition indoor environments. In Europe during 2000, 45% of the produced energy was consumed by the building sector and 50% of the generated pollution had its origin in the same sector [4]
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