Nizkoenergeticke chlazeni budov [Low-energy cooling of buildings]

This PhD thesis deals with the applicability of passive and low energy cooling technologies in the Czech Republic. The work includes climate analysis, gains analysis as well as buildings and systems analysis in order to estimate the potential of passive and low energy cooling technologies. The latter detailed design is based on case studies, which include building simulation and some monitoring. The role of computer simulation in low energy building design and optimisation is presented. Low energy cooling technologies provide cooling in an energy efficient manner, thus reducing energy consumption and peak electricity demand. They do so by making use of low quality sources of cooling; whether it is ambient air or ground temperatures or warmer chilled water. Those technologies may be considered passive and hybrid cooling systems. The following low energy cooling technologies are addressed in this thesis: · Night ventilation – lowers the temperature of the building thermal mass using night ventilation · Evaporative cooling – sensible heat is absorbed as a latent heat to evaporate water · Ground cooling – the air is cooled by the ground via matrix of piping or groundwater (aquifer) cooling · Slab cooling – thermal mass of slab is cooled by air or water