Colin Porteous

An assessment of environmental conditions in bedrooms of contemporary low energy houses in Scotland

This paper describes the monitored environmental conditions in the bedrooms of 26 low energy houses in Scotland, include both naturally ventilation and houses with mechanical ventilation with heat recovery systems (MVHR). The context of the paper is the performance gap that is emerging between design predictions and actual performance of housing, and this paper focuses on the environmental performance of bedrooms. Bedrooms are of particular interest as they are the spaces in which occupants have the greatest exposure to the indoor environment, and in which conditions are relatively constant. The study indicates that ventilation is generally poor in these spaces and that both temperature and humidity frequently exceed accepted parameters for comfort and health. Increased window opening is a mitigating factor, but effects are limited by overall ventilation strategies.

Do sunspaces work in Scotland ? Lessons learnt from a CEC solar energy demonstration project in Glasgow

SYNOPSIS The paper examines the extent to which users intervention may compromise the thermal performance of small sunspaces in the context of a Solar Energy Demonstration Project at Easthall in Glasgow (55°52′N), which was monitored from September 1992 to May 1994. Results indicate a tendency to close down windows etc, late in autumn and open them up early in spring relative to heat demand. In other words a user-driven energy load due to ventilation is higher in autumn and spring than in the central winter period. However, effective rate of ventilation, taking account of the preheat effect of the glazed spaces, is found to be more steady over an entire heating season. Thus, inclusion of glazed buffers has been shown to lessen the thermal burden of window opening in autumn and spring; while saving in winter due to preheated air for ventilation tends to be slightly higher than predicted. Results also indicate that amount and frequency of opening/ventilation relates to specific social and occupancy charact...

Comparative Performance of BAPV Systems in Scotland: 4 Case Studies with Differing Energy Contexts

The paper compares the performances of four building-added photovoltaic (BAPV) systems, one located in a North-East maritime location, one in a North-West maritime location and two in East Central Scotland. Each BAPV system will be described within the overall energy context of its host building, all with varying functions – a refurbished further education campus, a new-build community centre, bespoke new offices and an existing factory and company headquarters. The last two are concerned with solar branding, while the first two place BAPV discreetly within a wider energy strategy that exploits solar energy thermally by various means, some less directly than others. The paper confirms respectable outputs from each of the PV arrays, ranging from 705 to almost 900 kWh/kWp, but with varying output significance, partly due to PV array area and configuration range from 72 to 647 m2, relative to the overall energy demand.

Domestic laundering: Environmental audit in Glasgow with emphasis on passive indoor drying and air quality

As the UK and Scottish governments aim for zero-carbon housing, with tightly sealed building envelopes becoming paramount, indoor air quality (IAQ) and its implications for health has become a concern. This context relates to a 2008–2011 study, ‘Environmental Assessment of Domestic Laundering’, concerning the prevalence of passive indoor drying (PID). Assessment of PID impacts, shaped by built and social context including occupants’ habits and trends, draws on monitored data from 22 case studies out of a wider survey of 100 dwellings in Glasgow. The smaller group included analysis of air samples and provided scenarios for enhanced dynamic modelling via laboratory work on moisture buffering. The evidence suggests PID has important implications for energy consumption and IAQ; in the latter case because moisture levels are likely to boost dust mite populations and concentrations of airborne mould spores. Thus, findings indicate possible negative impacts on health, and the paper recommends amended standards allied to design guidance for improved practice, as well as further work related to volatile organic compounds.