Glazed Areas Research Articles

Attic Air for Home Heating: Effect of Attic Construction on Accumulated Heat

ABSTRACT TESTS conducted at the Rural Housing Research Unit have shown that attic air can be used for home heating when attic temperatures are no more than 3 to 6 °C (5 to 10 °F) warmer than the desired living area temperature. Although most attics are designed for summer cooling, partial sealing and installation of roof surface glazing for winter operation will result in higher attic temperatures and thus increase the potential for heating with attic air. Installation of glazing equal to 2 to 4% of the roof area in a partially sealed attic and no special storage provided 50 to 100% of the energy required for home heating on sunny days in the South Carolina Piedmont area. Additional tests are being planned to explore the potential of increasing the glazed area, providing backup storage, and improving attic construction.

Climate, design and user parameters for building heat needs

The paper briefly reviews the expected heat need, supplied by casual gains and auxiliary heating, when solar gains through a window may contribute significantly to the total need. The variation of heat need is presented as a function of glazed area, and parameters are month of the year, type of glazing and window insulation, choice of comfort temperature and ventilation rate. Annual needs are similarly indicated and comparable results for a glazed wall presented. Two possible ways of obtaining such results from meteorological statistics are outlined.

Thermal network predictions of the daily temperature fluctuations in a direct gain room

This paper studies the daily temperature fluctuations in a direct gain room measuring 6.1 × 4.57 × 2.44 m 3 (20 ft × 15 ft × 8 ft). The room is assumed to have losses on three faces and 8.36 m 2 (90 ft 2) of south glazing. Let r denote the ratio of the surface area of the mass wall to the area of the south facing glazing. The effect of r on mass walls 10.16, 20.32 and 30.48 cm (4, 8 and 12 in.) thick was determined for values of r equal to 1, 2, 4, 8 and 11.1. The temperature and solar insolation values for a typical January day in Nebraska were duplicated thirty consecutive times and were used for the weather data input to the modeling program. Using thirty consecutive like days has the advantage of damping out the transient solution to the point where it is negligible. It was found that for each thickness of wall, the temperature fluctuations over a day decrease as r increases, and it was also found that for a fixed value of r, the daily temperature fluctuations decrease as the wall thickness is increased. These results are consistent with those reported by Mazria. In addition cloudy day storage was considered for both the 10.16 and 20.32 cm (4 and 8 in.) walls, with r fixed at 4, runs were made with 20, 33, 50 and 100 per cent cloudy days. The results are presented in graphical form and indicate a rapid recovery of the system in most cases.

Calculating heat transfer through windows

To calculate the energy performance of buildings, one must know the heat-transfer characteristics of the windows as functions of environmental variables, such as temperature and wind speed. Window designs are becoming more complex in response to the need for energy conservation. In this paper, we develop a general procedure for calculating the net energy flux through the glazed area of a window composed of an arbitrary number of solid layers. These layers, which may have thin-film coatings, can have any specified solar and thermal radiation properties and enclosed spaces between solid layers can contain either air or other gases. We verified our results by comparing them with experimental measurements of heat flow using a calibrated hot-box.

Multivariable linear models for peak cooling loads in the UK

A collective system approach to the analysis of design cooling loads under the variable influences of climatic parameters resulted in obtaining simple multivariable linear models. It has been found that the peak cooling load bears linear correlations against four building parameters: height, length-width ratio, percentage of glazed area and roof area.

Do people like energy-saving offices?

The innovative design features and energy-saving HVAC systems of the Norris Cotton office building in New Hampshire, USA, have been much discussed. But how comfortable or appealing have they proved to be to people who work there? The answers, discussed here by researchers at the US National Bureau of Standards' Center for Building Technology, suggest that ‘efficient’ lighting, minimal glazed areas and sophisticated ventilation control can sometimes leave much to be desired.

Multivariable Modelling for the Climatic Design Cooling Loads in Built Environments

A collective system approach to the analysis of design cooling loads under the variable influences of climatic parameters resulted in obtaining simple multivariable linear models. It has been found that the peak cooling load bears linear correlations against four building parameters: height, length-width ratio, percentage of glazed area and roof area. Attempts to obtain linear correlations between the design cooling load and first or higher order values of the climatic parameters (e.g., mean ambient air temperature, maximum diurnal swing of ambient air temperature, mean solar radiation and maximum daily swing of solar radiation) did not succeed.

Useful solar gains through a south-facing window in the U.K. climate

The back-up heat needed to maintain a mean design temperature T d in a room depends on the one hand upon the loss of heat by ventilation and through the opaque part of the fabric, and on the other hand upon the difference between conducted loss and solar gain through windows. This second term depends on a quantity T sai (a form of sol-air temperature applicable to an enclosure interior), which includes the ambient temperature T ao , and the solar gain and conducted losses for the glazing concerned. If T sai is less than T d , the glazing is disadvantageous as a contributor to the total heat needed. Tables are presented of the month-by-month joint distribution of daily mean values of T ao and the total irradiance on a near south-facing wall for a site on the north Wirral ( 53.4°N), based on 50 years' records. From these and assumed windows characteristics, cumulative functions of T ao and T sai are calculated. Estimates of the back-up heat needed to maintain T d are presented in graphical and numerical form to show its dependence on month, fraction of glazed area, ventilation and fabric loss, glazing characteristics and design temperature.

Initial experimental tests on the use of small passive-solar test-boxes to model the thermal performance of passively solar-heated building designs

Small passive-solar test-boxes can be a useful tool in the thermal-modelling of a passively solar-heated building designs. Several cubic-meter sized test-boxes have been constructed that incorporate basic elements of passive-solar design: glazings to admit solar radiation, good thermal insulation, and large thermal storage capacity within the insulation-envelope. The experimental thermal behavior of these text-boxes has been accurately computer simulated using weather and solar radiation data inputs, and correlated with the performance of large passive test rooms nearby. Similar small test boxes can be constructed to perform as thermal models of a particular passive-solar building design, by normalizing the appropriate thermal design parameters to one critical parameter, such as south-facting glazing area, or building floor area. Thus a thermal model will not resemble a scaled architectural model of the building, but will be distorted in appearance so as to exhibit thermal behavior similar to the real building. For a particular passive-solar building design to be located at a given site, a small thermal model of the building can be constructed and placed at the site to investigate possible micro-climate effects, such as a south-facing slope or nearby trees. The use of small passive-solar test-boxes complements simulation analyses of the influence of macro-climate and geometry on the performance of passive solar heated buildings. The accuracy and limitations of using small test-boxes to predict passive-solar building performance are discussed.

Dos obras de Pei & partners – (EE. UU.)

Everson museum at Syracuse. This museum is a fine plastic expression of an architectural-sculptural composition, whose outstanding feature is the airy staircase to the higher floor. The lower level has an auditorium, a resting hall, a library, a large engravings show gallery, a hall for the exhibition of small sculptures, educational facilities, and administrative offices. The higher level includes the hall where large sculptures are exhibited, four ample galleries, three smaller ones, a resting space, a lecture hall and a central space. Artistic centre at des Moines. This centre is made mainly of reinforced, unfaced, concrete. A special architectural feature of the design is the contrast between the massive concrete surfaces and the large glazed areas. The building comprises two large zones for the exhibition of sculpture, an auditorium with 240 seats, and a number of additional spaces, including the lake enclosure, and an ample terrace which is also used for open air exhibitions.

Permanent supplementary artificial lighting of deep hospital wards

Possible methods of lighting deep hospital-ward-units, having restricted fenestration and reduced ceiling height have been investigated at the Building Research Station in co-operation with the Department of Health and Social Security. The experimental work was conducted in a full-scale mock-up of a six-bed bay, 7-9 m deep and 6-25 m wide with a 2-75 m ceiling height. With such a ceiling height and restricted fenestration, the daylight falls below the recommended minimum daylight factor and a sense of gloominess at the rear of the ward is experienced. Methods of supplementing the available daylight with artificial lighting were developed to dispel the gloominess by increasing the luminance of critical surfaces. Recommended levels of additional luminance required on the upper quarter of the side walls at the back of the bed-space and on the window wall were determined by subjective observations for glazed areas of 30 and 20 per cent of the window wall area. The results are summarized in tables, and details of experimental designs of suitable lighting fittings are given.

Edificio de la oficina general para la Upjohn Company

The architects, on realizing the vast possibilities of the site, decided to make use of the landscape as an integral part of the project, and sought to establish an intimate visual relationship between the exterior and interior, thus helping to make the work of the occupants of the building more pleasant. The resulting project has large glazed areas and is two storeys high. On the ground floor, besides general services and a garage, there is a hall, a cafeteria, a lounge, and a square patio that is highly landscaped. The second floor includes offices, board room, living quarters for the staff, dining hall, kitchen, dressing rooms and no less than seven patios, also much integrated with the outer environment. The roof is of a special metallic design, whose square pyramidal patterns are visible from the inside. These units are prefabricated. After careful planning, it was possible to eliminate the glare from the light, whilst achieving a good illumination level that has proved fully adequate to meet the functional requirements of the building and emphasize the shape and texture of things.

Heat conducting glass keeps ice from windshield

Automotive companies continue to pressure their suppliers to control cost, and the glass industry, in particular, has had a difficult time penetrating the automotive market with new, innovative, added value products. An exception where both the customer's needs and the supplier's ability to meet these needs have been satisfied is the application of coatings for automotive glazing to efficiently reduce solar heat load in vehicles. Automotive designers are pushing the limits on steep installation angles and increasing glazing areas in vehicles, while the demand for fuel efficiency and environmental concerns are driving the downsizing and efficiency of air conditioning units. Under these conditions the use of tinted glass, which absorbs solar energy, is limited in adequately providing driver comfort. The use of low-E coatings, which reflect the solar energy, is a more efficient way of reducing the solar heat buildup. The widespread use of coated low-E for solar glazing in vehicles owes its existence to a cost effective manufacturing process which requires that the glass is first coated flat, rather than bent. The flat coated glass is then subsequently bent and laminated, or tempered. Heat treatable multilayer coatings have been developed containing two layers of silver that are finding wide use today in both the automotive and building industries. In addition, since the coating is conductive, a windshield, e.g. can serve a range of functions such as antenna, or defroster and deicer.

DERMATITIS EXFOLIATIVA NEONATORUM (RITTER'S DISEASE)

Dermatitis exfoliativa neonatorum (Ritter's disease) has been described as an acute exfoliative and bullous cutaneous disease of unknown cause occurring in newborn infants. An opportunity to observe such a case was presented recently. REPORT OF A CASE An 8 day old Negro boy was admitted to this hospital on Feb. 14, 1945, with the following history: He was delivered spontaneously at home on February 6. At birth the physician in charge observed that the child had peculiar sharply demarcated red glazed areas on all four extremities. On the third day the skin sloughed from these sites, leaving hemorrhagic crusted raw surfaces. At the same time, ulcerations appeared over the hard palate and gums. Breast feeding was discontinued. The baby began to have diarrhea shortly afterward. The antepartum course of the mother was entirely uneventful. This was her fourth child. Serologic reactions of both parents were negative for syphilis and dark