A tool to estimate indoor temperature in buildings with a risk of overheating in the temperate European climate zone

Inst. of Civil Engine., Warsaw University of Technology, Łukasiewicza 17, 09-400 Plock, Poland

^* Corresponding author: dor.bzowska@gmail.com

Abstract

A regression model is proposed, as a simple tool, for estimating indoor temperature in thermally insulated buildings, applicable to situations when only natural ventilation in midsummer is concerned. Knowledge of this temperature, at a primary stage of a design process, might help avoiding the risk of overheating during summertime. The proposed regression model is applicable for buildings located in the temperate European climate zone. To create the regression model, the values of indoor temperature are calculated for incrementally increasing thermal resistance of outside walls, and gradual enlargement of windows. The outside partitions were covered with an insulating material with a thickness of 3 to 30 cm. For every insulation layer the window surface to wall surface ratio (wwr) was changing from 5% to 50%. The wwr changes were applied to a selected window, facing east, south and west in turn while wwr for the remaining orientations was kept at a constant value 1/10 of the wall. The considered building is representative for a single family house located at an open space. The algorithm of computations was based on the finite differences method, where feedback between the thermal model and the airflow model was applied.