Running Buildings on Natural Energy

<p>New thinking is essential if we are to design and occupy buildings that can keep us safe with unpredictable economies, climates, energy systems and resource challenges. For too long designers have relied on mechanical solutions for heating, cooling and ventilating buildings. The 21st century dream has to be of a better architecture that enables buildings to be run for as much of a day or year as possible on local, clean, reliable, affordable natural energy. Examples are included from different climates where the fundamental building design is right, its orientation, opening sizes, mass and its natural ventilation systems and pathways. Many modern buildings are poorly designed for climate as manifested by growing incidences of overheating experienced indoor, explored here. The inability of many rating systems to record and improve the climatic design of buildings raises questions about how they deal with issues of basic building performance. This books points the way towards how we can understand such problems, and move forward from over-mechanised poorly designed buildings to a new generation of adaptable buildings designed and refurbished to run largely on natural energy and capable of evolving over time to keep their occupants safe and comfortable, even in a warming world. The chapters were originally published in <em>Architectural Science Review</em>.</p> <p>1. Introduction: Running buildings on natural energy: design thinking for a different future <em>Sue Roaf and Fergus Nicol</em> 2. Adaptive heating, ventilation and solar shading for dwellings <em>E. E. Alders</em> 3. Thermal comfort and indoor air quality in super-insulated housing with natural and decentralized ventilation systems in the south of the UK <em>Paola Sassi</em> 4. Estimating overheating in European dwellings <em>Luisa Brotas and Fergus Nicol</em> 5. Experimental validation of simulation and measurement-based overheating assessment approaches for residential buildings <em>Raimo Simson, Jarek Kurnitski and Kalle Kuusk</em> 6. Performance of naturally ventilated buildings in a warm-humid climate: a case study of Golconde Dormitories, South India <em>Mona Doctor-Pingel, Hugo Lavocat and Nehaa Bhavaraju</em> 7. The scope of inducing natural air supply via the façade <em>Peter J. W. van den Engel and Stanley R. Kurvers</em> 8. The importance of air movement in warmer temperatures: a novel SET* house case study <em>John J. Shiel, Richard Aynsley, Behdad Moghtaderi and Adrian Page</em> 9. Saving energy with a better indoor environment <em>Gary J. Raw, Clare Littleford and Liz Clery</em> 10. Ventilation strategies for a warming world <em>Richard Aynsley and John J. Shiel</em></p>