Conclusions
This study presented the field studies including the questionnaire-based survey on the students’ thermal satisfaction and field monitoring of indoor air temperature as well as thermal simulation analysis for the female secondary school building in the city of Tehran, using passive design strategies in cold season. The base case building was modelled on a building thermal simulation tool, which in this case was DesignBuilder. Based on the passive design strategies and the students’ thermal preferences, the optimum design solutions were defined for the secondary school buildings to improve the indoor thermal conditions. The suggested optimum solution includes buildings orientation, the use of thermal mass and thermal insulation in external walls and roof as well as appropriate double glazing. The primary simulation study was performed during a typical coldest week in February before school closure. The results of the questionnaire-based survey indicated that the indoor environment were considered comfortable based on the 7-point ASHRAE scale as more than 80 % of the votes were inside three central categories of ASHRAE scale while the heating system was in operation. However, the occupants preferred their indoor environment to be changed in cold seasons. In addition, the simulation results indicate that both the building fabric and the thermal properties had a significant influence on keeping the indoor temperature in an acceptable condition while the heating system is off, which also significantly help to reduce the energy consumption of the school building. Therefore, in order to create a high quality indoor environment and to increase the learning performance of the students, it is necessary to use the appropriate passive design strategies, which also reduce the need for mechanical systems in the school buildings and therefore save energy.
References
ASHRAE, 2004, ASHRAE Standard 55. Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy. Atlanta, GA: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
AUTODESK ECOTECT ANALYSIS, 2013, Passive Design [ Online ]. Natural Frequency. Available: http:// wiki. naturalfrequency. com / wiki / Passive _ Design [ Accessed 25th July 2013 ].
AUTODESK SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP, 2011, Building Design [ Online ]. Autodesk Education Community. Available: http:// sustainabilityworkshop. autodesk. com / buildings / thermal-mass [ Accessed 14th October 2013 ].
BYRNE, S. J., and RITSCHARD, R. L., 1985, A Parametric Analysis of Thermal Mass in Residential Buildings. Thermal Performance of the Exterior Envelopes of Buildings III. Clearwater Beach, Fla.: ASHRAE / DOE / BTECC.
CABE, 2010, Creating excellent primary schools. London: Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment. CBI, 2011, Annual Report. Tehran.
DESIGNBUILDER, 2013, Building Simulation [ Online ]. DesignBuilder Software Ltd Available: http:// www. designbuilder. co. uk / [ Accessed 15th May 2013 ].
FANGER, P. O., 1973, Assessment of man’ s thermal comfort in practice. British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 30, 313-324.
FEHR, R. L., 2009, Guide to Building Energy Efficient Homes, Kentucky, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, University of Kentucky.
FORD, B., SCHIANO-PHAN, R., and ZHONGCHENG, D., 2007, the Passivhaus Standard in European Warm Climate: Design Guildlines for Comfortable Low Energy Homes- Part 3. Comfort, Climate and Passive Strategies. Nottingham: The University of Nottingham.
GHAFFARI, A., 1998, Architectural design principles of educational spaces Tehran: State Organisation of Schools Renovation, development and mobilisation.
GIVONI, B., 1998, Climate considerations in building and urban design, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold. GORJI-MAHLABANI, Y., 2002, Climatic effects on school buildings. PhD Thesis, the University of Sheffield. HEIDARI, S., 2010, Coping with Nature: Ten Years Thermal Comfort Studies in Iran. Adapting to Change: New Thinking
Passive design strategies on indoor comfort of school buildings in hot-dry climates 761