Head of research group: Alireza Afshari

Research focus

• Indoor environment quality (IEQ), perception
• Holistic evaluation methods for IEQ, user behavior
• Control systems
• Daylight, electric lighting
• Energy-efficient ventilation, heating and cooling systems, air cleaning and filtration
• Air flow processes in rooms, risk assessment in connection with fire, dispersion of smoke, contamination, transport of bacteria, etc
• Communication between indoor climate systems and grids
• Near room temperature heating and cooling systems
• Near room temperature district heating systems

The Indoor Environmental Quality and Building Systems Research Group is committed to provide optimal solutions in order to ensure the satisfactory indoor environment for a range of activities in buildings. Here’s how we do it:

• We focus on the indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustical quality and well-being.
• We analyse demands and defining suitable requirement, criteria and parameters on the indoor environment based on activities in buildings.
• We develop knowledge about solutions required for a satisfactory indoor environmental quality at lowest possible energy use for a given activity in a building.
• We focus on the evaluation of both individual and combined parameters within indoor environmental quality, with the main focus on the combined effects and evaluation of more than one parameter at a time.
• We focus on technical solutions, management strategies, qualitative and quantitative measurements, and assessment of light regarding light quality for the user.
• We focus on risk assessment in connection with fire, dispersion of smoke, contamination, transport of bacteria and dispersion of gases in disasters in buildings.
• We explore the consequences of the energy use and external environmental impact of the requirements of various activities in buildings.
• We investigate building energy systems, solutions and services for energy supply systems, technical building equipment and smart grid.

The research group provides research of highest quality within the fields of:

Holistic assessment of indoor environmental quality
The research within holistic assessment of indoor environment quality has a holistic perspective and focuses on the evaluation of indoor environment, and it’s close connection to sustainable buildings. The research focuses on a combined evaluation of indoor environmental quality and well-being for occupants. The well-being of people is defined in terms of their health, comfort and happiness. The research covers the evaluation of both individual and combined parameters within the indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustical quality, with the main focus on the combined effects and evaluation of more than one parameter at a time. Evaluation methods cover quantitative and qualitative methods, while also handling occupant behavior, robustness and its effect on the indoor environment. The research within indoor environment also contributes to new knowledge within social sustainability and thereby influence the overall assessment of sustainable buildings.

Lighting
The research within daylight and electric lighting in buildings and in urban environments focuses on the following: technical solutions and management strategies re­garding light quality for the user, qualitative and quantitative measurements and assessment of light, and the importance of light for indoor climate, energy use, and well-being.

The work includes building knowledge regarding the calculation of lighting conditions and light exposure in relation to comfort and well-being. The group conducts research that includes the measurement, testing, and study of technical solutions, pre­ferably conducted in the field. The group uses simulation and visualization software in its work and in disseminating the re­sults. The users’ perspective is considered through quantitative and qualitative interviews and questionnaire surveys, both in laboratory experiments and in field studies. The users’ inter­action with technical solutions is also involved in the testing of solutions. Nationally and internationally, the group contributes with scientific articles of the highest quality and contributes to standards and knowledge databases based on evidence-based studies on daylight and electric lighting.

Air distributions in buildings
This research focuses on air distributions in rooms in order to provide satisfactory indoor climate. It covers free and forced convection, boundary layer flow, jet flows of different nature, stratified flow and plumes above heat sources. The research also involves other areas, e.g. thermal conductivity, thermal radiation and mass diffusion, and has interfaces to medicine and physiology in connection with studies of air distribution and mass transport around persons.

In addition, the research focuses also on risk assessment in connection with fire, dispersion of smoke, contamination, transport of bacteria and dispersion of gases in disasters in buildings.

Building energy systems
The research group is providing energy efficient solutions for improving atmospheric climate and thermal conditions in buildings. The solutions are based on development of new technologies for ventilation, heating, cooling and air cleaning including control of the systems. Buildings included are office buildings, institutions and schools as well as residential buildings comprising both existing and new buildings.

Energy efficiency is considered not only in terms of reduced energy use, but also in terms of management and optimization of energy use in time, e.g. through the use of Smart Grids and bidirectional district low-temperature-heating/high-temperature-cooling systems. On building level energy efficient solutions comprise room based control of demand controlled systems combining ventilation, heating and cooling together with systems combining ventilation, phase change materials and renewable energy sources. The air cleaning solutions provided comprise technologies for reducing the concentration of both particles and gases considering indoor air quality and protection of the ventilation system.

Energy efficient solutions are developed through simulations, laboratory investigations, pilot projects, provision of prototypes and demonstrations in real buildings and typically in collaboration with e.g. the building sector, municipalities and relevant state agencies. Target groups for the proposed solutions are building installation engineers, building owners, HVAC-companies, municipalities and the occupants in the office buildings, schools, residential buildings etc.

Cooperation
The research group contribute to providing research based knowledge to the authorities e.g. in relation to the Danish Building Regulations, , international research institutions, standardization organizations, collaborate in EU-projects and contribute to the exchange and the transfer of knowledge within various IEA Annexes. The research group includes PhD-students and post docs, and contribute to the teaching at various courses at AAU. The research group collaborate with leading national and international companies within this field on many of the most central themes, such as: indoor climate, ventilation, heating, cooling, lighting and acoustic.