Page 45 - ZEB AnnualReport 2015

and doors. However, to fully evaluate the building services, interactive user interfaces building technologies, energy technologies,
real performance of a building component, and interplay with the energy system as a and indoor climate jointly study the interaction
exposure to real climatic conditions is whole. between the physical environment and the
necessary. This can be achieved in the ZEB users. The ZEB Living Laboratory is important
Test Cell Laboratory. The ZEB Living Laboratory is at the same time in making sure that the solutions developed
used to study various technologies and design within ZEB Centre are tested and veriied
The Test Cell Laboratory can be used for strategies in a real world living environment: at an early stage. The Living Laboratory
research, development, and testing of low- strengthens collaboration between industry
energy, integrated building systems under • User centered development of new and partners and researchers.
realistic operational conditions. The laboratory innovative solutions: the test facility is used Contact: Thomas Berker, Ruth Woods and
is made of two test rooms, each one within a comprehensive design process Hans Martin Mathisen.
surrounded by a control volume. Each room focusing on user needs and experiences.
has one surface exposed to the outdoor, so The next step: ZEB Flexible Laboratory
that different building envelope technologies • Performance testing of new and existing
can be tested in parallel, side by side. In solutions: exploring building performance in a ZEB Living Laboratory and ZEB Test Cells
addition to comparative and calorimetric tests context of realistic usage scenarios. Laboratory allow development and research
on building materials and building envelopes, on systems and technologies for smaller
the Test Cell Laboratory is a technical • Detailed monitoring of the physical behavior buildings. A laboratory facility for testing of
development facility where different building of the building and its installations as well as full-scale integrated systems for zero emission
equipment and terminals can be tested and the users’ inluence on them. commercial and public buildings in a Nordic
optimized, together with their control systems, climate is not yet available. The ZEB Flexible
in combination with building envelope ZEB researchers within the ields of Laboratory will be such a facility.
components. architecture, social science, materials science,
Contact: Francesco Goia and Einar Bergheim.

Facility for user-technology interaction
studies “ZEB Living Laboratory”

The “component” often having the most
inluence on the energy use of a building is
the user. A building laboratory is therefore not
complete without facilities for evaluation of
how different users interact with the buildings
and its technologies and how this interaction
inluences energy use.

The ZEB Living Laboratory is a test facility that
is occupied by real people, who are using the
building as their home. The focus is on the Figure 1. The igure shows a panorama view of building physics laboratory with rotatable hot box (grey
occupants and their use of innovative building box to the right), climate simulator (blue box in the middle), and RAWI box (rain and wind box, to the left).
technologies, such as the intelligent control of Photo: SINTEF Building and Infrastructure.

ZEB annual report 2015 45