Influence of movable reflector on thermal response of an atrium building

Abstract

This paper presents the influence of a movable reflector on the thermal response of an atrium building. Various positions of thermal insulation in the building envelope were used to control thermal dynamics, while the atrium roof with reflector was used for solar heating. The influence of the roof reflector was calculated on a large number of cases differing with regard to wall structures, use of night insulation on the atrium roof and operational heating mode. The heating energy used in the building was assessed by the computer program KAMRA-RW using the actual weather data during typical time periods. This program had been previously tested on a scale model in real-time conditions and compared with the results obtained by the TRNSYS program. The tests showed acceptable consistency. The research proved that a reflector mounted on the atrium roof accelerates the dynamics of the thermal response of a building and substantially diminishes the quantity of the required heating energy.