Passivent provides building modelling service

To help designers comply with Part L of the Building Regulations, Passivent has developed an environmental modelling service with the Institute of Energy & Sustainable Development at De Montfort University. This service provides three levels of evaluation. Dynamic thermal simulation geometrically models the entire building envelope. It takes into account all internal heat sources, including people and computers, and the effect of surrounding buildings. It can predict air changes per hour, internal carbon-dioxide concentration and hours exceeding peak internal temperatures. It does not model spatial distribution and assumes each room has a single, well mixed volume of air. Computational fluid dynamics establishes the detailed ventilation performance and thermal analysis of a building. It also shows how the appropriate regulations are met and that the ventilation system operates as intended. It provides data according to typical days and hours — not worst-case scenarios, as these are rare and short lived. Daylight modelling shows how natural illumination of a building and solar gain affects internal temperature, enabling judgments to be made on solar shading, type of glazing and the number and positioning of windows and rooflights — helping to achieve a realistic assessment of how the Sun will affect the ventilation and cooling strategy.

Related links:

• www.passivent.com