The feasibility of off-hour accelerated ventilation as passive cooling in commercial buildings using the integrated trnsys/contam model

Throughout the night, the outdoor air temperature often drops below the comfort temperature, even during summer, and is considered as a cooling source. This low outside temperature can be used to reduce the energy consumption of cooling processes in commercial buildings. They are ventilated with large volumes utilizing 100 % outdoor air either at night or during the off-hours. This study first involved the evaluation of an integrated multi-room airflow model, CONTAM, with the multi-room thermal model Type 56 from TRNSYS. The results from the thermal and airflow studies show that a coupled airflow/ thermal model must be considered. Additionally, a simulation study was undertaken to investigate the feasibility of off-hour accelerated ventilation in a real 9 floor commercial office building in reducing the air conditioning energy consumption while maintaining acceptable indoor environmental conditions. The mechanical system is designed to be employed in either normal or accelerated ventilation (free-cooling) mode.