Balcony Space Research Articles

Evaluating a proposed retrofit measure for a multi-unit residential building which uses an air-source heat pump operating in an enclosed balcony space

To improve the energy performance of Toronto's post-war multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs), these buildings must be energy retrofitted. Here, a novel energy retrofit strategy employing air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) operating in enclosed balcony spaces is assessed. The enclosed balcony provides a thermal buffer zone (TBZ) which can improve the coefficient of performance of the ASHP compared to typical exterior operation by accessing captured solar gains. The estimated energy savings associated with implementing this retrofit strategy was determined using a hybrid modeling approach. A calibrated energy model of a 1968 MURB represented the base case energy consumption. Then, a supplementary algorithm, developed based on laboratory testing, was used to determine the quantity of energy that could be extracted from the TBZ and delivered to the north- and south-facing suites as well as to hot water storage. The modeling exercise yielded estimated whole-building energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings of 39% and 45%, respectively. Due to utility prices at the time of writing, the energy cost savings do not present a compelling financial case. However, the qualitative benefits of this retrofit strategy include suite-based control for occupants and the ability to sub-meter space heating energy use at the suite-level.

냉방에너지 저감을 위한 PCM적용 축열벽 시스템 연구

The regulations to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission in building sectors are being developed and promoted all over the world. However, in Korea, as balcony extension of the apartments has been legally allowed, it became prevalent and resulted in excessive energy consumption. This study derived the possibility of PCM application to the thermal storage wall system through theoretical consideration and investigated the problems occurring when the balcony space has been extended to the diverted space. In addition, this study aims at the possibility of verifying the installation and confirming the cooling energy reduction effect, by conducting measuring tests with the actual installation of PCM applied thermal storage wall system. As a result of theoretical consideration, it is determined that the disadvantages with the existing thermal storage wall system can be complemented by applying PCM, and this study suggests the PCM applied Thermal Storage Wall System. The study was conducted on 1/6 of a miniature inner room of a domestic apartment with 84 ㎡ of exclusive area. From the results of actual measurements, it is confirmed that the balcony extension structure can gain 11.3% of more calories than the existing balcony structure, resulting in the increase in cooling energy usage. It is determined that the installation of the PCM applied Thermal Storage Wall System may gain 25.2% of less calories to reduce cooling energy usage.

Testing and simulation of a low-temperature air-source heat pump operating in a thermal buffer zone

Air-source heat pumps (ASHPs) are commonly used in temperate climates throughout Europe and Asia to provide energy efficient heating and cooling. However, ASHPs have not been widely adopted for heating in colder climates because the coefficient of performance (COP) is lower when outdoor temperatures are colder. While many researchers are working on improving the cold-temperature performance of ASHPs by altering the design of the equipment, this work examines an innovative way to improve performance by operating an existing ‘off-the-shelf’ ASHP within a thermal buffer zone. This paper shows that operating an ASHP in a thermal buffer zone (TBZ) created by an enclosed balcony space can improve the COP in cold temperatures. An ASHP operating in a TBZ was tested in a climate chamber where the performance was monitored under a variety of climatic conditions. The temperature drawdown of the TBZ and the associated impact on the COP were observed. The TBZ solar heat gain rates required to improve the COP were identified for a range of exterior temperatures. Then, a suite-based energy model was developed and calibrated to simulate the performance of the ASHP operating in the TBZ. The model provided a reasonable prediction of the ASHP performance below 10 °C.

A Design Criteria of Ventilation Holes to Reduce a Vapor Condensation on the Balcony Walls in Apartment Housings

LH has installed sashes to the balcony to save energy and increase residential space. Then, it is very difficult to protect a condensation of vapor on the walls in the winter time, because the space is closed and the wall surface temperature becomes very low in a balcony. We have tried to get the optimal thermal design methods to reduce the condensation on the walls. The one of the chosen method is to make holes on the walls, and then the condensation shall be reduce because the dew point temperature will be lower due to the effect of dehumidify. In this case, it is just necessary to find as like that how many holes should be perforated through the wall, what's their size, and where is their positions. In this study, a computational fluid dynamics was applied to analyze the temperature, the pressure and the velocity distribution for an incompressible flow in the balcony spaces. And field tests were also carried out to get the data to compare to the simulation results. Finally the design criteria of the ventilation holes in the balconies was suggested by analysis of the computer simulation models.

Double window system with ventilation slits to prevent window surface condensation in residential buildings

Many Korean apartment units use balconies as semi-indoor spaces by installing external windows. These balconies form environmental buffer spaces to improve comfort and reduce cooling and heating costs. However, the balcony spaces of some units have been removed and have been placed in living rooms. The removal of these environmental buffer spaces has caused problems. Significant heat loss through windows is one of the most serious problems; window surface condensation caused by low surface temperatures in the winter makes residents uncomfortable and damages construction materials. Therefore, it is evident that window design requires improvements. This study introduces a double window system with improved thermal performance and ventilation slits to solve the window surface condensation problem in apartment units without balconies. To verify the thermal performance of the proposed system, temperature factors were analyzed by field measurements. The condensation frequencies were also evaluated by temperature factors at an indoor temperature of 25 °C and 55% humidity. Ultimately, the double window system was able to reduce condensation frequency greatly. An examination of the air volume by ventilation slit operational mode found that the case with an open outer window bottom vent and an inner window top ventilation slit, discharged the indoor vapor effectively and increased the dew point of the window's surface.

도시주거의 발코니에서 나타나는 내부이용 및 외부표현 특성 - 고대부터 19세기 말까지의 동.서양 주거문화사적(文化史的) 고찰을 중심으로 -

The purpose of this study is to analyze the uses and exterior design of the balconies in urban housing from the ancient times to the 19th century. In doing so, the paper seeks to investigate the cultural identity of the balcony in urban housing. The results are as follow. First, in the urban housing the balcony space were made for protection from the heat, light and ventilation; gardening; views toward the streets, city, waterside, inner court, domain for men; breathing french air; watching ceremony, festivals and events; simple houseworks like drying, carpet cleaning and hair coloring; lever installation and fire escape. Second, as part of exterior design the typical projecting characteristic of the balconies was emphasized and they became an impotent decorative element. The monotonous facade changed to a lively design with a rhythmical sense. On the facade the effects of horizontal movement, symmetry or asymmetry from the main entrance, and the center-projection (rialto) were created. In the urban housing the balconies were used for cultural activities which supplement and enlarge the function of the interior space, and moreover the rich effects of the facade contributed to the creation of attractive urban landscape.

Back to Life

FRANCESCA WOODMAN VICTORIA MIRO LONDON, ENGLAND JUNE 19-JULY 28, 2007 FRANCESCA WOODMAN TATE MODERN LONDON, ENGLAND MAY 1, 2007-APRIL 13, 2008 Francesca Woodman's reputation precedes her. Precocious prodigy, feminist case study, tragic suicide--the critical constructions of the artist since her early death in 1981 are symptomatic of the repeated display of just a fraction of the eight hundred or so photographs she produced. Often faceless, masked, or blurred to the point of nearly total indistinction, Woodman's photographic iconography of an apparently precarious self has been interpreted as a project of almost obsessive self-representation. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Two shows in London dispel the limits of this narrow focus, introducing unseen, experimental work by Woodman. Emphasizing for the first time her obvious fascination with her chosen medium, Woodman is represented as an artist engaged with pushing the limits, a photographer's photographer grappling with the conditions of photography itself. Tate Modern offers a rare opportunity to view vintage prints made between 1975 and 1980, which were gifts to a boyfriend who appears alongside her in one double portrait. The handcrafted prints' lure is undeniable, their precious detail inviting the viewer into a seductive encounter. But the spurious nature of that encounter is revealed, as time and again Woodman evades photographic capture, manipulating light as the agent of her own erasure. In one untitled image from 1977 she remains obscured in a darkened corner as a shaft of falling light fails to reach her, as if too weak to expose her image. In another from the late 1970s she holds up a fragment of mirror as if rehearsing a familiar trope of feminine representation. But rather than revealing her face, the glass shard deflects light to tear deep black and searing white cuts across the surface, barring our gaze. Although recalling the contrasting tones of Man Ray's solarized technique (confirming Woodman's connection to Surrealism and the placement of her work in the Tate's galleries dedicated to its legacy), Woodman's prints are the result of careful staging rather than darkroom trickery, introducing a performative element to her photography that is sometimes overlooked. Performance is central to the newly restored Selected Video Works (1975-78) playing in a marginal balcony space separated from the main gallery. Here, the moving image is manipulated to further explore the themes of her still photography: in one fragment we see the artist's silhouette behind a sheet of paper on which her name is written in a shaky hand. Picking delicate tears in its surface, Woodman gradually reveals glimpses of her body before finally stepping through the paper, at which point the camera pans to reveal her face masked by another photograph as if obscured by the conditions of a medium she cannot fully escape. In a second video, she strips for the camera before lying on a floor scattered with white powder. She stands, leaving only her trace as a darkened imprint on the floorboards--the cast shadow that is the focus of one of the frequently reproduced photographs in the gallery next door. Drawing attention to the indexical nature of photography, Woodman's act recalls Roland Barthes's description in Camera Lucida (1982) of photography's fugitive conditions--as if tracing with her body the necessary absence on which its representation depends. Across town at Victoria Miro a similar urge to flee was in evidence, culminating in the aptly-named Swan Song series produced in 1978 as Woodman's thesis show at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. …

窓からの廻り込み音の影響を考慮した室間遮音性能予測手法の研究

Among several types of flanking transmission, windows path sound remarkably exerts a bad influence on the sound insulation performance of the multiple dwelling house of RC building. This study was carried out on the windows path sound in detail using a full-scale test model. As the results, the estimation method which is conducted by dividing balcony space was proposed, and the result good agreement with measurement value was confirmed. Though some problems which divided space is hypothesized as the diffuse sound field are left in it, It is practically good method in the view of prediction accuracy and simple.

신조 크루즈 선박의 설계 및 건조 경향에 관한 조사 연구

The concept of recent cruise ship design is changing rapidly according to the expansion of cruise fleet sizes, emphasis on passenger safety and tightened requirements for ecotourism. In this view point, this study focuses on investigative analysis for the recent trends in cruise ship design and construction. Based on the shipyard production logs and the cruise industry's annual news, the data for principal dimensions of newly built cruise ships, their hull forms and propulsion devices and the characteristics of cabin and public spaces are collected and analysed. As expected, it is found that the size of cruise ships is growing and the design concept is becoming more leisure-oriented for all ages rather than lust sightseeing. For producing a greater ton/pax ratio, the adoption of podded electric propulsion system, outside cabins and balcony spaces is a common trend in recent cruise ship design.