Dear All,
I am a building science professional with keen interest in Daylighting. I
have done MS Architecture from a very reputed institute in US. Now I want to
pursue doctoral research in daylighting. I would be really grateful if
somebody can suggest topics for doctoral research in daylighting. I thank
everybody in advance.
Best Regards,
Kabir
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Kabir
I have found a lack of information and expertise in modeling the thermal
mass energy-saving benefits of exposed interior finished concrete floors
relative to daylighting and HVAC operation.
In this economy, owners are stripping out vinyl tile and carpet and
refinishing the concrete with our Consolideck system to get the low
maintenance, life-cycle cost reduction, and the resulting sustainability
(Wal-Mart is a leader in this) - or, they are specifying exposed
concrete floors in new construction (such as the new Harvard library
administration LEED building).
I commissioned a LEED ASHRAE 90.1 computer modeling firm to demonstrate
what every architect and engineer seems to know and every text I've read
seems to say (that such floors save energy in summer and winter), but
they could not make the modeling software show that. I have since
learned that other modeling software systems do a better job handling
this.
Given the sustainable aspects of exposed concrete floors, I think
research into the energy benefits relating to daylighting of exposed
concrete floors would make an important contribution to Green building.
We found that modeling the light reflectivity of such floors and its
impact on lighting and HVAC use was less problematic than thermal mass
modeling -- but far from a trivial exercise. This too could be a worthy
area of research - probably best combined with the thermal mass study.
Paul Grahovac, LEED AP
PROSOCO, Inc.
3741 Greenway Circle
Lawrence, Kansas 66046
(785) 830-7355
(888) 376-3417 fax
pgrahovac at prosoco.com
web site http://www.prosoco.com/
I suggest you contact Prof Marilyne Andersen at MIT
Leon Glicksman
Leon R. Glicksman
Professor of Building Technology and Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room 5-418
Cambridge, MA, 02139
Phone 1 617 253 2233
FAX 1 617 253 6152
E-mail glicks at mit.edu
When you model a simple building in Energy-10 with a selected "Carpeted
Slab" as a basecase, and then change that to "Slab" only (i.e. expose
the slab or remove the carpet), and add the slab area under the
"Interior wall" tab (to simulate exposed thermal mass) and specify the
material of this exposed slab as concrete...
You can clearly see the energy savings in the output and the advantage
of thermal storage concrete floors
Nader
--------------------------------------------
Nader V. Chalfoun, Ph.D. LEED AP
Professor of Architecture
Director: The House Energy Doctor Program
http://houseenergydoctor.arizona.edu
Coordinator: Graduate Program on "Design and Energy Conservation"
Coordinator: Environmental Education Ph.D. Minor
Faculty on Global Change Ph.D. Minor
Address:
University of Arizona
College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
1040 N. Olive St., Tucson, AZ 85721, U.S.A.
Phone: (520)621-6751 Fax: (520)621-8700
Quoting glicks: