Measurement and Interpretation Methodology for Determining Comfort in Passive Buildings and NZEB Buildings

Abstract

The article contains good practise recommendations related to the proper performance of measurements of comfort in passive buildings. Passive building is a high-quality building due to impeccable construction in terms of building physics. The passive building is so well insulated that it can only be heated by supplying fresh ventilation air. Such buildings have certain features such as: Balanced temperatures, there is no overheating of the rooms in summer due to the high insulation of the partitions, high insolation due to the optimal positioning of the windows, acoustic comfort, reducing pollution in the interior, high quality of thermal comfort, no aeration, high indoor air quality, permanent protection against moisture and fungiculation of partitions, etc. In all the features listed above, there was no vibration comfort, which could be a problem especially in the city centers with extensive transport infrastructure. This kind of comfort is mostly neglected during the design process, not only in the passive buildings. In this article comfort in passive buildings for all its aspects is described. The main emphasis in the article was put on the guidelines relating to the measurement of thermal comfort and measurements of vibration comfort. The recommendations contain all stages of the measurement process from the preparation of measurements with the local vision and the measurement plan, through the in-situ measurement to pre-processing and analysis of measurement data. All measurement stages are shown on the real example of passive building located in Poland. The good practise guidelines for comfort measurements could be very useful in the diagnosis of passive buildings and NZEB buildings.