Tese de Doutoramento em Geografia na especialidade de Geografia Física apresentada à Universidade Aberta; A avaliação do conforto térmico humano constitui uma importante ferramenta no sentido de uma melhor gestão e adequação dos processos de planeamento de ações ambientais a implementar em várias áreas da atividade humana. Permite, igualmente, a proposta de medidas de adaptação, que evitem ou reduzam os impactes negativos e maximizem os positivos, nomeadamente tendo em conta que o clima constitui um recurso com inúmeras potencialidades que podem ser aproveitadas na melhoria das condições bioclimáticas, possibilitando, por exemplo, o uso mínimo da climatização mecânica ou até a substituição dos métodos tecnológicos agressivos por soluções limpas e em consonância com o meio ambiente. O tema da presente dissertação insere-se no âmbito da Bioclimatologia Humana, tratando a problemática do desconforto gerado pelo calor durante o Verão, de uma maneira geral e em particular o resultante da ocorrência de vagas de calor em Portugal Continental. Pretende-se, ainda, avaliar a perceção da população perante a problemática atual das alterações climáticas e os seus impactes no conforto térmico humano...

The microclimate of six different urban tissues was simulated on a typical summer day in São Paulo using a combination of the mesoscale model BRAMS and the micro-scale model ENVI-met. The simulated air temperature and relative humidity were fairly similar in all areas, whereas both wind speed and mean radiant temperature varied greatly between and within the areas. The index Temperature of Equivalent Perception (TEP) was used to assess human comfort during the period 11:00–15:00. Thermal comfort at this period of the day is well above the comfort zone defined for TEP, i.e. above 27.2 C. Thermal comfort is especially poor in non-shaded areas where TEP reaches above 45 C. The bare soil, wooded area, with a complete cover of tree canopy, was the most comfortable with TEPs below 35 C. In the case the streets have no shading trees, high-rise buildings are better than low-rise since they give more shade at street level. For high-rise buildings a street pattern oriented northwest–southeast and southwest–northeast gives more shade than a north–south and east–west pattern. It was shown that street trees greatly improve the thermal comfort in built-up; Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction

Nas cidades, os materiais utilizados para o revestimento do solo possuem propriedades que alteram o balanço dos ciclos naturais, induzindo a formação de fenômenos danosos como as ilhas de calor e as inundações urbanas. A partir desta constatação, atualmente muitas cidade vêm buscando uma recuperação da vegetação enquanto alternativa tecnologia que proporcione conforto ambiental sem prejudicar o desenvolvimento sustentável. Mas apesar de seu potencial para a amenização ambiental passiva, nem sempre é possível uma inserção considerável de áreas verdes nas cidades, tendo em vista que a valorização e demanda pelo uso do solo relegam-na a um segundo plano. Neste sentido, os revestimentos vegetais oferecem uma alternativa ao utilizarem a envoltória dos edifícios para introduzir a vegetação nas cidades; normalmente as coberturas e paredes dos edifícios configuram espaços subutilizados, mas com uma influência direta sobre o ambiente interno. Por causa disto, a tecnologia dos revestimentos vegetais tem atraído a atenção de muitos pesquisadores da área de clima urbano e conforto ambiental. Dentro deste contexto o trabalho aborda uma variação da tecnologia conhecida como muros vivos, que propõe a criação de uma pele vegetal sobre a alvenaria dos edifícios. A pesquisa teve como enfoque a análise térmica...

Estágio realizado na Armines - École des Mines de Paris e orientado pelo Prof. Jérôme Adnot; Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Mecânica. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2008

Vernacular architecture is characterised by a type of formal expression that has been developed in response to a number of factors â climatic, lithologic, cultural and economic â characterising the local area or region. In its various forms, a range of techniques has been employed in different regions to mitigate the effects of climate. Despite the fact that Portugal is a small country, it has a territory full of contrasts, which gave origin to many different architectural manifestations. The approaches adopted in the design and construction of vernacular buildings have the potential for further development and could be adapted in response to contemporary needs. In the future, a blend of tradition and modernity should be aimed at in order to develop a new form of aesthetics and functional construction. Portuguese vernacular architecture is associated with a fund of valuable knowledge that should be studied and aligned with the principles of sustainability. In this paper, is presented the climatic contrast between the northern and southern parts of Portugal and the relation with the purpose of different passive solar techniques used in vernacular architecture to provide comfort. The focus is on the effectiveness of passive cooling techniques (e.g. high thermal inertia...

A busca do Homem por um maior conforto tem levado a um maior consumo de energia e à rápida redução dos recursos naturais. Assistimos, desde há algum tempo, ao regresso às fontes energéticas renováveis, na tentativa de se conseguirem consumos sustentáveis. Neste enquadramento redescobrimos a energia geotérmica de baixa profundidade. Esta energia resulta da grande inércia térmica do solo, em relação à energia solar que absorve. Ao estar exposto ao Sol, o solo aquece, mas como tem uma grande massa aquece muito lentamente. Pela mesma razão, o arrefecimento também é lento. Isto faz com que a sua temperatura a poucos metros de profundidade tenha uma variação muito menor do que a do ar ambiente. Consequentemente, a temperatura do solo é superior à do ar durante o Inverno e inferior durante o Verão. Este fenómeno já era empiricamente conhecido na antiga Pérsia e continua a ser utilizado pelos povos que habitam casas escavadas no solo, de modo a tirar partido deste efeito. Recentemente, têm sido instalados, em diferentes tipos de edifícios, sistemas de tubos enterrados onde o ar ao passar aquece ou arrefece, dependendo da sua temperatura em relação ao solo, sendo depois introduzido dentro de casa. A estes sistemas chamamos permutadores de calor ar-solo. A variação da temperatura...

Vernacular architecture is characterized by a type of formal expression, which has been developed in response to a number of factors – geographic, climatic and economic – characterizing the local area or region. Despite the fact that Portugal is a small country, there are many different architectural approaches and a range of techniques have been employed in different regions to mitigate the effects of climate. These vernacular approaches have the potential for further development and could be adapted in response to contemporary needs. In this paper, a range of different passive solar techniques used in Portuguese vernacular architecture to provide comfort is presented. The specific focus is on the effectiveness of passive cooling strategies (namely, high thermal inertia, use of light colours and courtyards), and the findings of a case study in which the thermal performance during the summer of a vernacular residential building located in the south of Portugal are presented.

Vernacular architecture is characterised by a type of formal expression that has been developed in response to a number of factors – climatic, lithologic, cultural and economic – characterising the local area or region. In its various forms, a range of techniques has been employed in different regions to mitigate the effects of climate. Despite the fact that Portugal is a small country, it has a territory full of contrasts, which gave origin to many different architectural manifestations. The approaches adopted in the design and construction of vernacular buildings have the potential for further development and could be adapted in response to contemporary needs. In the future, a blend of tradition and modernity should be aimed at in order to develop a new form of aesthetics and functional construction. Portuguese vernacular architecture is associated with a fund of valuable knowledge that should be studied and aligned with the principles of sustainability. In this paper, is presented the climatic contrast between the northern and southern parts of Portugal and the relation with the purpose of different passive solar techniques used in vernacular architecture to provide comfort. The focus is on the effectiveness of passive cooling techniques (e.g. high thermal inertia...

This study presents the results of a monitoring study carried out in residential buildings with considerable glazing areas (more than 70% of the façade) with different solar exposures in Lisbon. The monitoring was performed during the summer and winter months in 2007-2008 (first phase) and 2008-2009 (second phase). Temperature and relative humidity sensors were installed in 23 units (45 compartments) with different solar dispositions and localizations in several buildings with specifi relevant characteristics for study. A large portion of the units showed uncomfortable temperatures most of the time during summer and winter monitoring (comfort temperatures 20ºC and 25ºC respectively for winter and sunmer). Some factors were of great influence on the results: these were in some way directly related to the daily habits of the residents. The professional needs to take care with the glazing areas and solar protectio in these kinds of buildings, to make them more sustainable.

The European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) explicitly refers to a "passive cooling techniques, primarily those that improve indoor climatic conditions and the microclimate around buildings". However, in Europe the demand for air conditioning is rising, especially in office buildings and is expected that the cooled floor area will be four times higher in 2020 when compared with 1990 figures. About 40% of our energy use is consumed in buildings and air conditioning represents a significant part. he overcome this problem conventional answer consists on to improve of the energy efficiency of cooling. However, this startegy showed limited results in terms of saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, cooling can be avoided (or the need to use energy for cooling) or significantly reduced without risking summer thermal comfort for building occupants, having thus the potential to achieve substantial reductions in energy demad and contributing to the overall objective of reduction CO2 emissions, minimizing the risk of the global warming and of the European climate protection commitments. This paper presents the conclusions of two surveys undertaken in the frame work of the Keep CoolII Project. One centered on evaluating current practices in cooling design...

This document reports the results of an ESMAP project in Comoros that was carried out between summer 1997 and September 1999 and funded by the French Ministry of Cooperation. It also is a discussion paper exploring alternative ways to promote solar electricity. The project was meant to develop the market for solar electricity and to help non-electrified households attain higher comfort levels without waiting for the electricity company to expand its distribution network. The outcome of the project showed that large projects were not necessary to begin developing the market for solar equipment.

This paper discusses a housing development in an urban setting designed and built with sustainable principles. The project is the Christie Walk development in the City of Adelaide, the only housing of its kind in South Australia. The paper specifically reports the actual performance of this development in the three key areas of sustainability: environmental, social and economic performance. The three units monitored have different construction/materials and orientation to solar access; however, the monitoring results show that from summer to early winter this year the indoor conditions are within the occupants’ thermal comfort range. The calculated embodied energy in each of the three units is also about half of the embodied energy of a similar house with a brick veneer-construction. The occupants have also expressed satisfaction with the performance of their house and the sense of community of the whole development. One strong message learned is that the success of any sustainable development depends on the commitment of the people involved. This development is successful in terms of its environmental and social performance outcomes because all of the ‘stakeholders’ have been committed to the idea of sustainable living, even if that means a change in the way they live.

SÍNTESIS: La eficiencia energética es fundamental para conseguir un mundo sostenible. Eficiencia trata de cómo usar los mínimos recursos posibles para conseguir el máximo efecto. Es el arte de usar la menor cantidad posible de energía (electricidad, gas, gasóleo, etc.) para conseguir la satisfacción de nuestras necesidades de luz, calor, frío y comodidad en general. En el ámbito de la edificación, el consumo energético lo podemos reducir a través de proyectos que se adapten a las condiciones climáticas, aprovechando así los recursos disponibles naturales inagotables para reducir el impacto ambiental. El presente proyecto propone la solución para una nave industrial teniendo en cuenta la eficiencia energética. Trata las soluciones desde la envolvente hasta las instalaciones de la misma, así como sus consumos. El proyecto desarrolla una nave industrial en el polígono Los Villares de Salamanca. Elegí esta ubicación, porque así tenemos la posibilidad de analizar un proyecto desarrollado en una zona de temperaturas más extremas, bajas en invierno y muy altas en verano. El presente proyecto está compuesto por el documento n°1 memoria, documento nº2 planos, documento nº3 pliego de prescripciones y documento n°4 presupuesto. Además se profundiza en los anejos...

This thesis assesses the benefits of using ground source heat pump systems for space conditioning in buildings, in an integrated perspective, in terms of potential impacts such as increasing energy efficiency, increasing the use of renewable energy resources and reducing carbon emissions, as well as their use as a flexible load with thermal storage for balancing demand and supply, namely for the integration of intermittent renewable generation in the context of smart grids. Part of these impacts were evaluated based on the experimental results obtained in the ground source heat pump system installed in a public service building in Coimbra, under the European Project Ground‐Med from the Seventh Research Framework Programme ‐ FP7. The high efficiency of an advanced ground source heat pump system, which integrates state of art components in an optimal manner, was assessed by calculating the seasonal performance factors based on the monitored data of the experimental ground source heat pump system. The results demonstrated the feasibility of high efficiency ground source heat pumps, reaching a seasonal performance of 5.4 for the heating season and 6.4 for the cooling season. A control system was developed to allow programing the daily operation period of the overall system in order to guarantee temperature comfort when users arrive and to implement load control strategies. By the tests performed during summer and winter...

Urban greening has been widely recognised as a key factor to mitigate the adverse effects of urbanisation in a sustainable manner [1]. Green spaces characteristics include trees, soft surfaces and wind shelters that can influence thermal sensations by inducing changes in such variables as solar radiation, temperatures of surrounding surfaces, air temperature, humidity and wind speed [2,3]. As part of the ongoing research entitled GreenUrbe (PPCDT/AMB/59174/2004), both users surveys and structured experiments are being developed, trying to establish relation between green spaces characteristics and thermal comfort. The city of Bragança is located in north-eastern Portugal. Local climate is characterised by a cold rainy winter and relatively short (June to September) hot and dry summer.; FCT-MCTES

There is a growing energy demand for cooling in European buildings. It is expected that the cooled floor area will be four times higher in 2020 when compared with 1990 figures. Cooling is already the energy use in the building sector with the highest increase rate. This evidence is not contributing to the overall objective of reduction CO2 emissions. The conventional answer to this problem is to improve of the energy efficiency of cooling. However, this strategy showed limited results in terms of saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, cooling can be avoided (or the need to use energy for cooling) or significantly reduced without risking summer thermal comfort for building occupants, having thus the potential to achieve substantial reductions in energy demand. However, avoidance or even major reduction of cooling implies a new approach in building design, construction and operation phases. Different scientific and technological advances shall coherently be used and be offered to building promoters or building owners as a new service. The new adaptive comfort theory, the possibility for local adaptation for building users and facilities, the capability to intervene in the surrounding urban environment, the use of mature passive cooling solutions...