Abstract
Background: The aim of our study was to identify an optimal heating system for the analyzed church. We also evaluated the energy consumption of the existing system and of those proposed in order to choose the best heating system. Methods: We analyzed the current existing heating system, a mixed system (static heaters and hot air heating) in a Romanian heritage church, build in the 16th century, and we compared it with an underfloor heating system that has been mentioned in the literature as an alternative for church heating. We used a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the indoor climate with two turbulence models (k-ε and k-ω). Results: Comparing the two heating systems through boxplot graphs, we could highlight pertinent conclusions regarding the temperatures and velocities of the measured air currents. Thus, of all the heating systems, the underfloor heating had the lowest temperatures, but the highest air velocities, in the churchgoers area, especially under the towers zone. Conclusions: We observed that the underfloor heating system was more efficient than the existing heating system (static heaters and hot air heating), ensuring heritage conservation and high thermal comfort to the churchgoers.
Highlights
Buildings are key elements for European Union (EU) actions on energy efficiency
In order to reduce the energy consumption of the lighting system, we proposed the following solutions: (1): the complete restoration of the lighting installations and (2) the correct establishment of the number of luminaries according to the destination of the room and the level of illumination required according to the specific activity that is carried out in them, as well as the use of luminaires with fluorescent lamps or LEDs because they have a high luminous efficiency
By comparing the two different types of turbulence models, we observed that the k-ε model had temperature and air velocity values that were closer to those measured with indoor air quality (IAQ) sensors
Summary
Buildings are key elements for European Union (EU) actions on energy efficiency. In Romania, 45% of the total energy consumption of a building is used for heating it. The preservation of interior paintings should be a major concern at the state level, as both national and world heritage are involved This is the minimum requirement that is associated with heritage buildings in the spirit of European Directive 31/2020/EU [4]. Methods: We analyzed the current existing heating system, a mixed system (static heaters and hot air heating) in a Romanian heritage church, build in the 16th century, and we compared it with an underfloor heating system that has been mentioned in the literature as an alternative for church heating. Conclusions: We observed that the underfloor heating system was more efficient than the existing heating system (static heaters and hot air heating), ensuring heritage conservation and high thermal comfort to the churchgoers
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