This study try to understand which aspects were fundamental to indoor climate and how to obtain them in order to provide the best possible experience in the thermal comfort of individuals. Thus, arose the studies of Fanger, which was the seed for a new era of discoveries in the area and founded the knowledge our society have today in this globally used standards and norms. Referring to these fundamental aspects of the indoor comfort, data collection was taken in situ to show in details what was happening. This study was executed in order to demonstrate the differences between the data previous and after a process of retrofitting in dwellings built in the 60s and 70s of the century past, in the district of Tjärna Ängar, Borlänge, Sweden. The comparative results using criteria such as Predicted Mean Vote (PMV), Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD), Draft Rate (DR), air velocity, Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT), Relative Humidity (RH) and air temperature, showed an improvement in 6 of the 8 parameters analyzed. Confirming the expectation that through the retrofitting the residents will be more satisfied, obtain better quality of indoor climate comfort and also increase occupied area in these dwellings.

Tese de mestrado. Engenharia de Segurança e Higiene Ocupacionais. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2011

Energy use in buildings account for about one third of the total global energy supply and contributes as much as 30% of the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. It is estimated that energy use in buildings will increase to 67% by 2030. The need for better thermal comfort and air quality in indoor environments is the leading cause for high energy use in buildings.  Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems take up about 50% of the total energy use in buildings which is about 10-20% of the national energy use in most developed countries. The development and adoption of sustainable ventilation systems is a viable solution to mitigate climate change and curtail carbon emissions. The experimental study was conducted in a room resembling a modern office in a laboratory environment. The study involved investigating the ability of the system to provide cooling and heating. Concentration decay tracer gas technique using Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) gas was used to determine the local air change index and air change efficiency in the room. Low-velocity omni-directional thermistor anemometer type CTA88 were used to measure the air velocity and temperature in the room. Smoke was used to visualise the flow patterns created in the room.  The climate chamber was used to mimic climatic conditions in winter. Fifteen cases were investigated with five air flow rates set points (30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 l/s) at three supply air temperatures, i.e., 17.6 °C, 21.0 °C and 25.3 °C. The results of the local air change index and air change efficiency for the nominal supply temperature of 17.6 °C showed that the system had strong characteristics of a mixing ventilation system. At the supply air temperature of 21.0 °C, the performance of the system deteriorated slightly to below that of a mixing ventilation system and could not satisfactorily provide heating at supply temperature of 25.3 °C. Better performance of the system at all supply air temperature setpoints was observed at lower airflow rates. At all supply air temperature setpoints, relatively higher degree of temperature stratification was observed at lower supply. The draught rate levels decreased with increase in supply air temperature and height. The location of the air inlet terminals in relation to the workstations had significant effect on the performance of the system. The stratum ventilation system did not work efficiently because the air streams were heavily mixed before reaching the occupants.