THIS RESEARCH SEEKS TO VERIFY THE CARBON FOOTPRINT IN THE THERMAL INSULATION OF ENCLOSURES FOR RESTORATION PROJECTS IN EDUCATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, USING THE LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS. THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CASES FOCUSES ON VEGETAL, MINERAL, AND SYNTHETIC INSULATION MATERIALS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT THE CARBON FOOTPRINT IN COMPARED SOLUTIONS DECREASES ONLY WHERE LOCAL THERMAL INSULATION IS USED, AS IN THE CASE OF BLOW-IN CELLULOSE AND EXPANDED POLYSTYRENE (EPS). SOLUTIONS WITH IMPORTED INSULATORS WITH NEGATIVE CARBON FOOTPRINT IN THE EXTRACTION-MANUFACTURING STAGE (SUCH AS CORK SLABS OR ROCK WOOL) INCREASE THEIR FOOTPRINT IN THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE BY UP TO THREE TIMES COMPARED TO LOCAL SOLUTIONS DUE TO THE IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION. THE CONCLUSION IS THAT THE IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ENCLOSURES CONSIDERABLY INCREASES CO2 EMISSIONS IN THE PROJECT?S LIFE CYCLE, WITH LOCAL INSULATION BEING THE MOST SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION.

THIS STUDY DISCUSSES A METHODOLOGY PROPOSAL FOR THE DESIGN OF CONFORTABLE AND RESILIENT EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. BASED ON FIELDWORK PERFORMED IN EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES THROUGHOUT CHILE, THE FIRST COMPONENT OF THE METHODOLOGY FOCUSED ON DETERMINING CONFORTABLE TEMPERATURES FOR SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN, WHICH ENDED UP BEING CONSIDERABLY LOWER THAN CURRENT STANDARDS, MAINLY DUE TO THE CHILDREN?S ABILITY TO ADAPT. THE SECOND COMPONENT OF THE METHODOLOGY INVOLVED IDENTIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMFORT AND CHILDREN?S SCHOOL PERFORMANCE; THIS WAS AIMED AT ESTABLISHING THE BENEFITS OF IMPROVING THE FACILITIES? QUALITY IN TERMS OF THE STUDENTS? HEALTH AND WELLBEING. FINALLY, THE METHOD INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TOOL TO VIEW THE FINDINGS OF THE THERMAL SIMULATIONS IN PASSIVE BUILDINGS, WHEN THE OUTPUT IS INDOOR TEMPERATURE INSTEAD OF ENERGY DEMAND

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.

THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF A FIELD STUDY ON THERMAL COMFORT IN SCHOOL BUILDINGS IN CHILE, THE AIM OF WHICH WAS TO DETERMINE THE COMFORT TEMPERATURE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. RESULTS ARE GIVEN FOR TWELVE SCHOOLS THAT ARE LOCATED IN SANTIAGO, A CITY WITH RELATIVELY LOW TEMPERATURES IN WINTER AND HIGH TEMPERATURES IN SUMMER, AND THAT ARE TYPICALLY FREE-RUNNING, AS THEY HAVE NEITHER A HEATING NOR A COOLING SYSTEM. THE METHODOLOGY INCLUDED MEASUREMENTS OF THERMAL PARAMETERS COMPLEMENTED WITH QUESTIONNAIRES BASED ON THE ADAPTIVE COMFORT MODEL AND MODIFIED TO BE UNDERSTOOD BY 9?10 YEAR-OLD STUDENTS. THE FIELDWORK WAS ORGANISED INTO TWO PHASES: WINTER (JULY?AUGUST) AND SPRING (NOVEMBER?DECEMBER), AND IN EACH PHASE STUDENTS ANSWERED THE QUESTIONNAIRE UP TO THREE TIMES PER DAY OVER A PERIOD OF THREE TO FOUR DAYS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT INDOOR TEMPERATURES IN THE CLASSROOMS ARE EXTREMELY LOW DURING OCCUPANCY HOURS IN WINTER AND QUITE HIGH IN SPRING, BUT THE STUDENTS THERMAL SENSATION VOTES SHOW THAT THEY TEND TO ADAPT QUITE DRAMATICALLY TO THIS WIDE VARIATION. COMFORT TEMPERATURE IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THAT CALCULATED FROM THE ADAPTIVE COMFORT MODEL AS ESTABLISHED FOR ADULTS, WITH TEMPERATURES AS LOW AS 14.7 °C - 15.6 °C IN WINTER AND 22.5 °C ? 23.1 °C IN SPRING. ADDITIONALLY, STUDENTS FROM HIGHLY VULNERABLE SCHOOLS VOTED FOR A LOWER COMFORT TEMPERATURE IN WINTER THAN THOSE FROM LESS VULNERABLE REALITIES, THEREBY IMPLYING THAT THERE IS A STRONG RELATION BETWEEN COMFORT TEMPERATURE AND THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN THIS CONTEXT.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE PLEA 2016. 32ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PASSIVE AND LOW ENERGY ARCHITECTURE. CITIES, BUILDINGS PEOPLE: TOWARD REGENERATIVE ENVIRONMENTS. 11-13 JULIO 2015, LOS ANGELES

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.