Building Owner
Why sustainable cooling and how to implement it?
Thermal comfort in buildings, including summer comfort, is a recognized need nowadays, contributing to quality of life and productivity. This is a pre-requisite of good indoor climate. However, good indoor air quality is also necessary to obtain a healthily indoor climate. Indoor air quality is achieved by reduction of local pollution sources and by providing the adequate air renovation flow-rate using outside air. Natural ventilated buildings have the advantage to avoid energy consumption, which arises from forced ventilation, and also the benefit of preventing building pathologies (e.g. sick building syndrome) derived from air contamination in ducts and other air handling equipment. Natural ventilated buildings are a first option when one wants to achieve sustainable summer comfort.
The aim of a sustainable summer comfort methodology is to provide tertiary buildings the thermal comfort they need at low or no conventional energy consumption. This implies choosing the best path, which minimizes life-cycle energy consumption at an affordable net cost, from a variety of technological or design options, ranging from architectural choices to appliances.
Costs should be analysed also using the "Life cycle approach", taking into account not only the lower running costs due to reduced energy consumption but also the avoided capital cost related to investments in large cooling systems, the reduced cost of maintenance, and, eventually, accounting for the surplus available floor area (and space) otherwise used by the machinery. Reduced system complexity for users is an intangible advantage.
Reducing energy consumption reduces also environmental impacts and increases the security of energy supply. This later aspect is important, as the power industry would certainly welcome a control or smoothening of summer power peak demand, thus avoiding black-outs and limiting expenditures on infrastructure (production, transport and distribution of electric power).
Environmental benefits of sustainable cooled buildings include lower greenhouse gas emissions, lower local atmospheric air pollutants (for electricity, at the generation site), reduced noise, especially low frequency noise, and eventually a better indoor climate.
Finally, having the “stamp” of green building image is an important asset, which increases property value and attracts modern minded tennats.
The Keep Cool checklist provides guidance on the right procedures to follow and the common mistakes to avoid.