Teacher

prof. Onorio SARO

Credits

6 CFU

Objectives

The aim of this module is providing students with the necessary background for the design of plants with mass and heat transfer components. The acquired notions are utilized for the design of building heating plants with reference to the more recent plant technologies, to the national and international Standards on the design and evaluation of the thermal performance of buildings and building components.

Acquired skills

The use and the understanding of the appropriate terminology in the design of heating plants;
The evaluation of the building thermal losses;
The evaluation of the energy requirements of heating plants according to the Standards;
The design of the thermal insulation in civil, commercial and industrial buildings;
The dimensioning of heating plants with radiators, fan-coils and radiant panels;
The heating plant component selection;
The design of air heating plants;
The design of solar collector plants;
The estimation of the risk of interstitial condensation in building components.

Contents

Outline of heat transfer in buildings
Outline of steady and unsteady heat conduction, convection and thermal radiation laws. Heat transfer through building envelope, thermal bridges. (8 h)
Thermal comfort
Human thermoregulation, metabolic heat and human activity, environmental indices: PMV, PPD, effective temperature, internal air quality. (3 h) Winter thermal loads
Evaluation of the thermal losses by transmission and ventilation. Calculation of thermal fluxes through the ground. References to the Standard requirements. Calculation of heating thermal power for rooms and whole building. (6 h)
Heating plants with radiators
Thermal performance of radiators. Radiator selection. Calculation of water mass flow rate. (2 h)
Pipe sizing
Parallel circuits, series loop circuits; one-pipe circuits, two pipe circuits. Calculation of mass flow rate and pressure losses. Performance curves of pumps, system curves; selection of pump. (6 h)
Radiant panels heating systems
High temperature systems, low temperature systems. Dimensioning of heating systems with floor, wall and ceiling radiant panels. (6 h)
Convectors and fan-coils heating systems
Behaviour of convectors and fan-coils. Selection of terminal units; calculation of water mass flow rate; control. (2 h)
Distribution systems
Distribution design considerations; configuration of primary and secondary distribution circuits. Water loop plants. (2 h)
Heat generators
Furnaces, Central plant, heat pumps. Solar thermal collector plants. Expansion tanks and safety valves. (6 h)
Ventilation of buildings
Ventilation requirements in buildings. Indoor air quality. Ventilation efficiency. (2 h)
Energy performance of buildings
Calculation of energy use for heating, solar and internal gains, efficiency factors for the building-plant system. Mean global system efficiency factor. Energy performance and efficiency of buildings. (6 h)
Hygrothermal performance assesment
Calculation of the water vapour pressure distribution within building components according to the Glaser method and the EN Standard (3 h)
Lighting
Lighting parameters: lighting intensity; luminance. Artificial lighting of internal environments: design methods, daylighting. (6 h)

References

- G. Moncada Lo Giudice e L. De Santoli, Progettazione di impianti tecnici, CEA, Milano, 2000
- E. Bettanini e P.F. Brunello, Lezioni di Impianti tecnici, volume primo, CLEUP, Padova
- T.H. Kuehn, J.W. Ramsey and J.L. Threlkeld, Thermal Environmental Engineering, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 1998
- Teaching aids delivered or downloadable

Type of exam

Written and oral