Researchers from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Edificación and the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) have published a study in the journal Energy and Buildings on the best architectural strategies and solutions to save energy and improve hygrothermal conditions in commercial buildings with heavy foot traffic.
After detailed analysis, they have shown that conventional air curtains provide little benefit, but the use of high-efficiency air curtains produces significant improvements in both efficiency and energy savings.
The main objective of current international legislation is the design and construction of facilities that reduce energy consumption and improve indoor hygrothermal conditions.
The commercial sector, in which there are many obsolete technical installations, requires energy conservation measures to reduce electricity consumption, which is increasingly high due to the demand for space cooling . This problem is key in commercial premises located in hot and humid climates and with a lot of human traffic, where the doors are constantly being opened.
A solution to reduce unheated air infiltration is to install an air curtain that creates an invisible barrier to separate two different environments and without limiting people’s access. It consists of a fan placed in the upper part of the door that projects a jet of air downwards in such a way as to separate the interior environment from the exterior.
In addition to stopping the hot and cold air currents, the air curtains keep the interior environment of the premises clean of insects, dust, suspended particles, contamination and odors.
The object of the research has been a commercial premises in Jávea, a coastal town in Alicante, with a hot and humid climate, where thermal loads and hygrothermal conditions have been studied under three situations: without climatic separation, with a conventional air curtain and with a high-efficiency air curtain.
The results show that the energy savings in commercial buildings after the implementation of the latter system exceeds 30%.
Photo: Wikipedia
