The use of predictive equations in the thermal performance evaluation of a residential prototype built with alternative materials

Abstract

It is possible to generate predictive equations that provide initial information on the temperature to be reached by indoor environments, based on outdoor and indoor temperature measurements of buildings. This method offers a relatively precise picture of the thermal behaviour of an environment, based on few environmental variables, without the need for performance simulations. Moreover, the equations represent the pattern of relations between indoor and outdoor conditions of a building in a purely mathematical way, allowing the evaluation of thermal performance of climatic conditions different from the original. This paper presents the procedures of generating predictive equations for a residential prototype built with alternative materials. It presents the results of thermal monitoring of two different periods: summer and winter of 2002. Based on these results, the equations were generated and thermal performance evaluations were conducted for a broader and more significant period of time, the climatic reference year (TRY) for Curitiba.