Cooling by thermally activated building systems with underfloor air distribution: a simulation based analysis

Two interesting technologies which currently focus research interest are the Thermally Activated Building Systems and ventilation through raised floors. Both of them have several advantages and their combination might be useful for an integrated plant, where the sensible load, or part of it, may be stored in the slab during night time and the latent load might be removed by fresh air flowing in the space used as plenum below the floor. The most interesting operating conditions appear to be in the cooling period. A possibility might come by using external air and try to cool it directly through the slab, but moisture problems have to be avoided. In this paper the possibility and limits for using TABS with fresh air in raised floors for cooling offices in different climates are investigated. This work shows how it is possible to cool offices by means of these techniques, when it is possible to use direct external air without handling it, and the consequent comfort conditions and energy saving possibilities with these solutions.