THIS PAPER DISCUSSES THE APPLICATION OF INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS FOR THE DESIGN OF LOW-COST HOUSING IN CHILE. IT AIMS TO QUESTION COMMON PRACTICE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING BASED ON PRESCRIPTIVE REGULATIONS AND NON-INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK, WHICH HAS RESULTED IN POOR QUALITY BUILDING REQUIREMENTS. THE FIRST STAGE CONSISTED IN DEFINING PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR ASPECTS SUCH AS ENERGY DEMAND, U VALUE, AIR TIGHTNESS AND INDOOR AIR QUALITY FOR A SPECIFIC CASE OF LOW-COST HOUSES LOCATED IN THE CITY OF TEMUCO. AN INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS WAS CARRIED OUT BY AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS SPECIALIZED IN EACH OF THE PERFORMANCE ASPECTS THAT WERE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. THE CONSTRUCTION AND POST-OCCUPANCY STAGES WERE CHARACTERIZED BY VERIFYING THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS, WHICH RESULTED IN A LOW-COST HOUSE PROTOTYPE THAT INCLUDED STRATEGIES FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND A HEALTHY INDOOR ENVIRONMENT.

THE CURRENT DEPLETION OF FOSSIL FUELS AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION ARE REQUIRING GREATER ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN BUILDINGS, PARTICULARLY IN THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR. HOWEVER, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT ACTIONS FOR DWELLINGS ARE USUALLY BASED ON GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS, WITHOUT IDENTIFYING THE MOST APPROPRIATE MEASUREMENTS TO BE TAKEN IN EACH CASE, OR REVIEWING THEIR APPLICATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS. THIS ARTICLE PUTS FORWARD A STRATEGY TO PROPOSE EFFECTIVE AND FEASIBLE MODIFICATIONS IN THE DESIGN OR REFURBISHMENT OF SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES TO REDUCE ENERGY USE WHILE MAINTAINING INDOOR COMFORT. THE IMPROVEMENTS PROPOSED ARE BASED ON DYNAMIC ENERGY SIMULATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL MODELS ADAPTED TO LOCAL REALITIES THAT CAN BE CARRIED OUT BY REGULAR PROFESSIONALS. THE PROCESS INCLUDES THE REVIEW OF STUDIES AND INFORMATION ON THE GEOGRAPHIC AREA, AND COMPILATION OF THE CONSTRUCTIVE FEATURES AND OCCUPANCY DATA OF EACH HOUSE TO CREATE A PROPER ENERGY BEHAVIOUR MODEL. POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BUILDING ARE THEN SIMULATED SEPARATELY IN EACH MODEL AND THE RESULTS RECORDED. SUBSEQUENTLY, A BUDGETARY ANALYSIS OF THESE ALTERNATIVES ACCORDING TO CONSTRUCTION COSTS AND FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS IS CARRIED OUT IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY RETROFIT PACKAGES AND CONSULT THE OPINIONS OF RESIDENTS AND BUILDERS. THE APPLICATION OF THIS STRATEGY IS DEMONSTRATED IN THE STUDY OF SEVERAL HOUSES IN CONCEPCIÓN, CHILE, WHERE DIFFERENT SETS OF MEASURES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED TO ACHIEVE HIGH REDUCTIONS IN ENERGY DEMAND WHILE HAVING LOW COST AND BEING HIGHLY APPRECIATED BY THE PARTICIPANTS. THIS PROVIDES A METHODOLOGY FOR DEVELOPING AND VALIDATING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING DWELLINGS AND NEW HOUSING PROJECTS.

HIGH MOISTURE CONTENT, LOW VENTILATION LEVELS, AND CHANGES IN THE HYGROTHERMAL DESIGN OF WOODEN DWELLINGS COULD GENERATE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS FAVORABLE FOR DEVELOPING THE ROT FUNGUS SERPULA LACRYMANS, WHICH IS KNOWN AS THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE FUNGUS OF ITS KIND. THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO DEVELOP AN EXPERIMENTAL METHODOLOGY TO DETERMINE THE CONDITIONS OF THE APPEARANCE OF THE FUNGUS S. LACRYMANS, THROUGH IN SITU MEASUREMENT OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FREQUENCY INDICATORS FOR WOODEN DWELLINGS IN SOUTH CENTRAL CHILE.

PRIMARY CARE CENTERS ARE ESTABLISHMENTS WITH ELEVATED SOCIAL RELEVANCE AND HIGH OPERATIONAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION. IN CHILE, THERE MORE THAN 628 FAMILY HEALTHCARE CENTERS (CESFAM) HAVE BEEN BUILT IN THE LAST TWO DECADES AND WITH PLANS FOR HUNDREDS MORE IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS. WE REVISED THE ARCHITECTURE, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND ENERGY PERFORMANCE OF FIVE CESFAM CENTERS TO DETERMINE POSSIBLE INSTANCES OF OVERALL IMPROVEMENT. STAFF WAS INTERVIEWED, AND STATE DOCUMENTS REVIEWED, WHICH ALLOWED THE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF THE ARCHITECTONIC AND ENERGY STRUCTURE OF THE CENTERS, AS WELL AS THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTATION. AT THE SAME TIME, ENERGY SIMULATIONS WERE DONE FOR EACH ONE OF THE CENTERS, CONTROLLING FOR DIFFERENT CLIMATES, CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS AND ORIENTATIONS. OUR STUDY REVEALED THAT STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY THE PRIMARY HEALTHCARE CENTERS IN CHILE HAVE AIDED A PROGRESSIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF ESTABLISHMENTS WITH ELEVATED COSTS AND MATERIALIZATION TIMES, AS WELL AS NEGLECT FOR CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. THESE ENERGY EVALUATIONS SHOW RELEVANT AND CONSISTENT IMPACTS OF THE ARCHITECTURAL FORM AND MATERIAL CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHERN ZONES, DEMONSTRATING THE NEED TO WORK WITH SHARED KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES SUCH AS BIM. THERE IS A CLEAR NECESSITY TO DEFINE TECHNOLOGICAL, MORPHOLOGICAL AND CONSTRUCTION STRATEGIES SPECIFIC TO EACH CLIMATE ZONE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE ENERGETICALLY EFFICIENT AND INTELLIGENT HEALTHCARE ESTABLISHMENTS.

ENERGY SIMULATION SYSTEMS ALLOW ANALYZING THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND DEMAND OF BUILDINGS, BUT THEY MUST HAVE RELIABLE AND PROPER PROCEDURES. THIS PAPER IDENTIFIES RELEVANT CONDITIONS OF ENERGY SIMULATION SYSTEMS FOR THE STUDY OF SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES, BASED ON THE ANALYSIS OF A DOZEN PROGRAMS AND VARIOUS EXPERIENCES IN SOUTH CENTRAL CHILE. A REVIEW OF CAPABILITIES WAS CONDUCTED, SIMULATING THE SAME CASE IN ALL SYSTEMS AND MAKING INTERVIEWS WITH EXPERT USERS. BESIDES IT STUDIED THE INCIDENCE OF BACKGROUND DATA AND DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR ANALYSIS THE ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF HOUSING. REVEALING SIGNIFICANT CHARACTERISTICS IN THE ENERGY STUDY OF DETACHED RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS. FINALLY IT SUGGESTS REVIEWING CERTAIN CONDITIONS TO ENSURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND SUBSEQUENT ACTIONS.

THE PROBLEMATIC OF THE ARTICLE RISES FROM THE NEED OF IMPROVING THE THERMAL QUALITY OF THE BUILT ENVELOPE IN THE WALL COM-PLEX, SPECI?CALLY IN THE CASE OF REINFORCED CONCRETE (MOST USED MATERIAL IN HIGH-RISE HOUSING IN CHILE). CONSIDERING THE USE OF INSULATION ON THE INSIDE FACE OF THE WALL, INTERRUPTS THE CONTINUITY OF THE INSULATING MATERIAL WHERE THE MEZZANINE SLAB AND THE PERIMETER WALLS MEET, GENERATING A THERMAL BRIDGE KNOWN AS MEZZANINE FRONT. THE PURPOSE THEN, IS TO KNOW THE IMPACT OF THE MENTIONED THERMAL BRIDGE STUDYING ITS PROPERTIES THROUGH EXPERIMENTAL TESTS ON A THERMAL CHAMBER. LATER, THE RESULTS WILL BE INTEGRATED TO A CASE OF STUDY THAT ALLOWS ESTABLISHING THE INCIDENCE OF THE BRIDGE IN THE OVERALL ENERGETIC BEHAVIOR OF THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF THE RESULTS INTO THE THERMAL ANALYSIS SIMULATION SOFTWARE (TAS). FINALLY, IT IS CONCLUDED A LOW INCIDENCE IN THE INNER HEAT LOSES, BECOMING RELEVANT THE BEHAVIOR OF THE SUPER?CIAL TEMPERATURES.

THIS STUDY REPORTS A POST OCCUPANCY EVALUATION PERFORMED ON A SOCIAL HOUSING COMPLEX CONSISTING OF 400 APARTMENTS, IN WHICH SYMPTOMS AND DAMAGE PRODUCED BY HIGH MOISTURE LEVELS NEEDED INVESTIGATION. THE RESULTING KNOWLEDGE IS OF SPECIAL INTEREST FOR OTHER PROJECTS DESIGNED TO BE MASS-PRODUCED SUCH AS SOCIAL HOUSING. LARGE COSTS FOR REPAIRS CAN BE REDUCED BY APPLYING MEASURES TO AVOID MOISTURE PROBLEMS IN INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS. THE EVALUATION WAS PERFORMED OVER THREE STAGES, INDICATIVE, INVESTIGATIVE AND DIAGNOSTIC. THE PROCESS WAS MAPPED AND THE DATA STORED USING BIM STANDARDS SO IT CAN BE USED BY STAKEHOLDERS TO TAKE FURTHER ACTIONS. IN THE INDICATIVE STAGE, DATA WAS COLLECTED THROUGH QUESTIONNAIRES AND SURVEYS, AND A QUICK EVALUATION WAS CONDUCTED OF THE AFFECTED UNITS. IN THE INVESTIGATIVE STAGE, AN ANALYSIS OF THE ENTIRE BUILDING COMPLEX WAS CONDUCTED THROUGH SIMULATION AND TESTED AGAINST THE BUILDING ENERGY STANDARDS. IN THE DIAGNOSTIC STAGE, IN-SITU AND LABORATORY MEASUREMENTS WERE MADE AND USED FOR CALCULATIONS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT MANY FACTORS WERE INVOLVED IN THE MOISTURE DAMAGE, WHOSE MAIN CAUSES WERE OVERCROWDED SPACES, INADEQUATE THERMAL REGULATION FOR THE LOCAL CLIMATE, POOR APARTMENT AND COMPLEX DESIGN, AND FLAWS AND INCONSISTENCIES IN THE QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION.

IN ORDER TO LIMIT THE ENERGY DEMANDS THE BUILDING ORDINANCES ESTABLISH REQUIREMENTS FOR REDUCING TO ACCEPTABLE LEVELS THE ENERGY LOSSES AND/OR GAINS. THIS SITUATION OBLIGES TO DEFINE ACCEPTABLE STANDARDS FOR THERMAL PARAMETERS. THIS REPORT COVERED THE EVALUATION OF REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLES OF CHILEAN HOMES BUILT IN 2007 AND 2010 IN THE 54 PROVINCIAL CAPITALS OF THE COUNTRY. A SAMPLE OF 191 UNITS WAS DETERMINED, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CONSTRUCTION, MATERIALS AND HOUSING ARCHITECTURE IN CHILE. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES WERE USED (BLOWER DOOR TEST) FOR OBTAINING AIR TIGHTNESS OF SAMPLES; NUMERICAL MODELS (LBL MODEL) FOR RELATING THE AIR TIGHTNESS PROPERTIES WITH THE WEATHER CHARACTERISTICS OF EVERY PROVINCE IN ORDER TO OBTAIN INFILTRATION COEFFICIENT CLASSIFIED BY TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION AND PROVINCE; SIMULATION TECHNIQUES (THERMAL ANALYSIS SIMULATION SOFTWARE) FOR DETERMINING THE ENERGY DEMAND OF HOUSING THE AIR TIGHTNESS CLASSES ARE ESTABLISHED COMBINING TWO CRITERIA: THE ONE THAT MEASURES THE CURRENT STATE OF AIR TIGHTNESS OF HOUSINGS AND OTHER THAT LIMITS THE INFILTRATION DEMAND TO A LIMIT VALUE THAT EXPLAINS ITSELF ECONOMICALLY.

THE ESTIMATION OF ENERGY DEMAND HAS MANY INPUTS THAT MUST BE REVIEWED TO BUILD SIMULATION MODELS THAT ALLOW REACHING RESULTS THAT ARE CLOSER TO REALITY. AIR-CONDITIONING PROFILES STAND OUT AMONG THE VARIABLES TO CONSIDER. CURRENTLY, THE HEATING PROFILES USED IN CHILE ARE MAINLY BASED ON DATA FROM STANDARDS, GUIDELINES, OR SIMULATION TOOLS. THIS CHAPTER USES DATA FROM ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING CENTERS IN CENTRAL-SOUTHERN CHILE TO BUILD REPRESENTATIVE HEATING PROFILES FOR HOUSING. THE STUDY IS RELEVANT GIVEN THAT THE MAIN HEATING SOURCE IS WOOD-BURNING; SEEN IN 74% OF CHILEAN HOMES. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT THE HOURLY PROFILES IDENTIFY TWO PERIODS IN THE DAY (MORNING AND LATE AFTERNOON?EVENING) WHERE USE IS CONCENTRATED, WITH A USE INTENSITY THAT RANGES BETWEEN 8 AND 13 HOURS A DAY, DEPENDING ON THE HARSHNESS OF THE WEATHER IN THE MONTH. FINALLY, IT HAS TO BE HIGHLIGHTED THAT THE TOP-DOWN METHOD USED IN THIS STUDY, VALIDATED THROUGH BOTTOM-UP DATA, CAN BE REPLICATED IN COUNTRIES WHERE THERE ARE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING STATIONS AND A TRADITION OF USING WOOD FOR FUEL.

THE THERMAL BRIDGES GENERATE A SERIES OF PATHOLOGIES WITHIN THE CONSTRUCTION THAT HARDLY REPAIRABLE ARE ONCE EXECUTED. THE PROBLEMS DERIVED BY THE LOSSES OF HEAT; SUPERFICIAL CONDENSATIONS; APPEARANCE OF MOULD AND DETERIORATION OF THE STRUCTURES IS THE EFFECTS MOST COMMON TO VERIFY IN LAND, NEVERTHELESS THE INDIRECT ONES HAVE TO DO WITH PROBLEMS OF HEALTH OF THE USERS AND THE COSTS DERIVED FROM THE MAINTENANCE AND OF ENERGY LOSS. THE THERMAL BRIDGE IS A DESIGN PROBLEM THAT WORSENS IN THE CONSTRUCTIVE PROCESS, FOR THIS REASON, TO ANALYZE ITS BEHAVIOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE ASSURES ONE BETTER BENEFIT THE SURROUNDING ONE. THE CHILEAN NORM IS WEAK IN ITS PRECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE WAY TO APPROACH THEM. THIS THESIS TRIES TO DEFINE A METHODOLOGY OF ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTIONS USING FOR IT THEORETICAL METHODS (SIMULATIONS) AND EXPERIMENTAL METHODS (THERMAL CAMERA) TO EVALUATE THE RELEVANCE OF THE USE OF A REFERRING FACTOR.

GLOBAL WARMING, IN ADDITION TO THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT, HAS RAISED TEMPERATURES AND WITH IT THE RISK OF OVERHEATING IN HOUSES LOCATED WITHIN INCREASINGLY OVERCROWDED URBAN ENVIRONMENTS. ALTHOUGH THE INCREASING DEMANDS FOR COOLING MAY BE SATISFIED BY NATURAL VENTILATION, OFTEN THIS CANNOT BE APPLIED DUE TO THE LACK OF OPTIMAL OPENINGS IN THE FACADES, OR WELL, FOR NOT HAVING THE NECESSARY EXPOSURE TO THE PREVAILING WINDS. AGAINST THIS, WIND TOWERS OR """"""""""""""""WINDCATCHERS"""""""""""""""" ARE PRESENTED AS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO CAPTURE WIND OVER THE ROOF LIMITS, CHANNELLING THEM INTO THE HOUSE. THIS WORK EVALUATED THROUGH SIMULATIONS THE POTENTIAL OF NATURAL VENTILATION IN HOMES BELONGING TO RESIDENTIAL COMPLEXES, AS WELL AS THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE WIND TOWER TO THESE. THE RESULTS EVIDENCE THE ABSENCE OF DESIGN CRITERIA FOR THE HOUSING COMPLEXES, WHICH CONSIDER WIND IN THE ORIENTATION AND EXPOSURE OF THE OPENINGS WHICH HOUSES. FOR UNFAVOURABLE CASES, THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE WIND TOWER IS CONFIRMED, WHICH THANKS TO ITS MULTIDIRECTIONAL NATURE CAN OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE ORIENTATION OF THE HOUSE WITH RESPECT TO THE WINDS.