MC Building Physics

Design question examples - Fabric

These are example design questions pertaining to climate data.

The envelope of a building defines, to a large extent, its performance and many other characteristics.

Because of this design decisions relating to the envelope can benefit from detailed investigation.

MC Building Physics can answer these types of questions using a number of methods depending on your requirements.

Can solar control glazing improve my building's performance?

Why investigate the feature?

Perhaps more than any other element, windows affect a building's performance. As a results improving the performance of windows can provide benefits in many areas.

Glazing sankey diagram

What are the issues?

  1. Maintaining sufficient daylight.
  2. Energy savings.
  3. Reduced daylight.
  4. Aesthetic considerations.
  5. Comparison with external shading.

What are the criteria for adoption?

Possible criteria are -:

  • Financial - Simple payback, NPV
  • Increased occupant satisfaction and hence productivity.

Break the issues down

Define a minimum light transmission and colour rendering.

Predict the energy performance with and without the high performance glazing.

Is there a risk of condensation in my building?

Why investigate the feature?

The risk of condensation is significantly reduced with modern levels of insulation and ventilation control.

However, the risk can still occur whether due to large scale building features such as roof glazing or small scale such as thermal bridges.

Condensation photo

What are the issues?

  1. Where condensation could occur.
  2. The amount of condensation.
  3. When condensation might occur (season, time of day).
  4. How often condensation might occur.

Break the issues down

Identify areas where condensation might be a problem.

  • Vulnerable details such as thermal bridging.
  • Roof glazing.

Analyse these areas. The following needs to be considered -:

  • Climate data.
  • Level of detail.
  • Required tool.

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