Simplified Tools - NORMA - Example

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Base case/Conventional Reference Building

The following example demonstrates how to use NORMA for the base case and considers only natural ventilation. There are additional examples in the NORMA manual that consider different aspects of solar control including:

  1. The role of shading
  2. The role of internal gains
  3. The use of Night Ventilation, and
  4. Buried Pipes and Night Ventilation

The building considered is described in the diagram to the left.

STEP 1 - Creation of the Opaque Elements

Define the opaque elements, i.e., the walls , floor and roof. The three elements are made up as follows:

Element 1 Element 2 Element 3
Walls Roof Floor
CODE mm CODE mm CODE mm
LAYER 1 701 20 701 20 525 20
LAYER 2 503 60 506 150 701 20
LAYER 3 407 50 407 80 509 40
LAYER 4 417 150 505 100 407 30
LAYER 5 503 60 701 20 507 100
LAYER 6 701 20 - - - -

STEP 2 - Calculate the air flow under Natural Ventilation

Ventilated Volume 350m2
Number of external windows 3
External Temperature 32oC
Internal Temperature 28oC
wind speed 1m/s

For each window, enter geometrical characteristics from the diagram as required. Follow the Pressure Coefficient Help routine to determine the Pressure Coefficients. Using the following information, you should get the coefficients shown below.

Window Wind Direction Wind Angle Pressure Coefficient
W1 Windward 0 deg 0.4
W2 Upwind 90 deg -0.4
W3 Upwind 180 deg -0.25

STEP 3 - Description of the building

The building under consideration has 5 External Opaque Elements - 4 walls and a roof. The floor is not considered as it is in contact with the ground. The data for each of the 5 elements are as follows:

Facades Roof
1 2 3 4
Area 31 32.5 31 35 100.0
Absorptivity 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.5
Tilt 90 90 90 90 0
Azimuth 0 90 180 -90 0
Opaque Element 1 1 1 1 2

After completion of the external opaque elements, you must proceed to the Glazed elements - option 2 of the Building Characteristics menu. Enter the data for each window as follows:

W1 W2 W4
Tilt 90 90 90
Azimuth 0 90 180
Transparency 0.69 0.69 0.69
Area 2.0 2.5 4.0
Shading Factor 1 1 1
U Value 2.78 2.78 2.78

Next, proceed to the Floors and Operational Data - option 4 of the Building Characteristics menu, and enter the data as follows:

Floor Area 100m2
Volume 350m2
Absorptivity 0.2
Infiltration Rate 0.5 ach
Design Indoor Temperature 28o C
Code of Floor 3
Occupational Factor 3

Next, Describe the internal gains of the building - option 5 of the Building Characteristics menu, enter the data as follows:

Horizontal area of building 100m2
Number of persons 3
Load due to lighting 10 W/m2
Load due to electrical equipment 10 W/m2
Any other load 0 W/m2

Finally, you must input the Natural Ventilation Data - option 6 on the Building Characteristics menu. As previously calculated, there are 12 air changes per hour.

STEP 4 - Calculations

Before proceeding to the calculations, you must first load the relevant Climate File. This example was based on the ATHENS climate. To calculate the performance of the building when Air Conditioning is used press the C calculation option, (example screen image)