Using Passive Environmental Energies. (Part 1)

Using Passive Environmental Energies.

    We can understand that buildings exchanged thermal energy (hot-cold) with the environment around them, with buildings sharing party walls or facades and roofs in contact with the environment as well as the land on which it is based, this process is from the hot reservoir to the cold reservoir naturally.

   So environmental factors involved in this natural mechanism of energy exchange with the building are: the atmosphere and the ground, where the elements of the enclosure act as exchangers. The energy-conscious architectural design is linked to the exploitation of natural resources of the site where the building up: active and passive solar, wind, ambient temperature, humidity, orientation, vegetation, etc ... 

   The use of natural cooling strategies consist of passive techniques applied to the design of buildings to maintain thermal comfort of its interior spaces without reducing energy consumption or is minimal. 

    If we understand the behavior of ambient energy, our case study, we apply the customs of each area and made ​​a small effort to not use industrial techniques (air conditioning, heating, heat pumps, air conditioners, etc.., Etc..) regardless of the environment and time. We may come to live more respectfully with the environment obtain thermal comfort while an economic and energy savings. We can define this action as a passive cooling strategy heating hot and cold periods periods. 

Thermal comfort: humans and the environment 

   Living organisms exchange energy with the environment around them, and tend to match zero or balance the energy balance of this exchange. 

  Thermal comfort is considered the state of balance or zero energy balance, ie, when the human body produces the same energy that you exchange with the outside, this is neither absorb or release energy (temperature), and experiencing a neutral feeling in way. 

   If your environment gives you a lot of heat to man (it will absorb heat), high ambient temperature, the organism to meet the balance to zero, tend to sweat (evaporation), resulting in a loss state thermal comfort.       When the human body produces more heat than it exchanged with the environment, resulting in the loss of comfort to give off heat in an environment of lower temperature the opposite occurs, with low ambient temperature.

 Fig.1 - temperature interrelation with the environment. 

taken from http://facultad.bayamon.inter.edu/arodriguez/images/Image12.gif