Nuestros investigadores

The air-tightness of the thermal envelope of buildings is one of the measures to reduce their energy demands in order to achieve global warming reduction targets. To this end, airtight sheets with different water vapour permeability characteristics are used. The different products studied are highly dispersed in terms of equivalent air thickness values, leading to confusion. After the analysis carried out, it is concluded that all airtight sheets are vapour barriers. To clarify whether or not these sheets are necessary as vapour barriers, a condensation analysis was carried out on 13 different facades for 3 climate zones with severe winters as defined in Spanish regulations. The results reveal that interstitial condensation occurs in only 7 of the 39 case studies, with the traditional facades of brickwork with render causing the greatest problems if the appropriate products are not used. In these cases, airtight sheets with water vapour barrier characteristics must be applied on the interior face of the insulating material. In all other cases (32), the airtight sheets must be permeable to water vapour if it is looked for a more breathable wall to water vapour and a better control of the interior humidity conditions.

The provision of proper indoor thermal conditions in winter is a requirement for health and comfort that is seriously compromised in Southern European countries by poverty and inadequate housing. According to Eurostat (EU-SILC, 2016), 10.1% of the population in Spain state they are "unable to keep their home adequately warm" in winter, unveiling one of the critical consequences of energy poverty. Although relevant field monitoring assessment have been conducted in other European countries, very little research has been carried out in the context of Spain. In this study we collected winter indoor temperature data, socio-economic, building and heating system characteristics from 112 multi-family dwellings in social housing built in the 40-80s in the North of Spain. The main building determinants of temperature variation were examined and assessed according to the socioeconomic situation through a mediation analysis. The principal findings showed that households living within district heating networks maintained temperatures above 18 degrees C on a continuous basis, whereas 54% of households living outside these heating networks presented temperatures below this threshold during night periods in bedrooms, while 25% had temperatures below 18 degrees C during both day-time and night-time occupied periods. Within this 25% of cold homes, 16.4% corresponded to households under the poverty threshold. As the mediation analyses showed, poorer households in the sample were associated with lower temperatures and higher temperature contrast throughout their dwellings for the following reasons: a lower incidence of vulnerable cases within district heating networks, heating restriction behaviours, higher dependency on room-heaters, lack of central heating and more thermally inefficient dwellings. The evidence presented in this paper offers a new framework for comparing the assumptions derived from other contexts to the situation in Spain about the effects of space heating and housing deprivation on thermal conditions, provides a basis for reviewing some possible intervention, and aims to raise social and political awareness further about this issue. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Since the origin of the Modern Movement, there has been a basic commitment to improving housing conditions and the well-being of occupants, especially given the prediction that 2/3 of humanity will reside in cities by 2050. Moreover, a compact model of the city with tall buildings and urban densification at this scale will be generated. Continuous constructive and technological advances have developed solid foundations on safety, energy efficiency, habitability, and sustainability in housing design. However, studies on improving the quality of life in these areas continue to be a challenge for architects and engineers. This paper seeks to contribute health-related information to the study of residential design, specifically the influence of the geomagnetic field on its occupants. After compiling information on the effects of geomagnetic fields from different medical studies over 23 years, a case study of a 16-story high-rise building is presented, with the goal of proposing architectural design recommendations for long-term occupation in the same place. The purpose of the present work is three-fold: first, to characterize the geomagnetic field variability of buildings; second, to identify the causes and possible related mechanisms; and third, to define architectural criteria on the arrangement of uses and constructive elements for housing.

This investigation deals with the thermal performance of two passive solar components. An attached sunspace with horizontal heat storage and another one with vertical thermal storage were designed in order to optimize the use of solar gain, its storage and distribution in an industrialized component. These sunspaces have been tested under real conditions, comparing their thermal performance with two commonly used components in residential buildings in Spain: a window and a double window making up an attached sunspace. Different series of experimental measurements were made in two test-cells exposed to outdoor conditions in Pamplona (Northern Spain). As a result, nine scenarios during winter 2011 and six ones during summer 2012 have been carried out, comparing all the prototypes two by two with different use modes. Resu**lts show that a sunspace with heat storage takes advantage of the solar energy and improves the indoor thermal performance of the adjacent room during winter in a better way than a window or a simple sunspace, and that it has also a better performance in summer. The best results in winter and summer were obtained when an appropriate use of the component is performed, in concordance with outdoor conditions; some thermal control actions for the good performance of these components are suggested.

Este libro recoge las tipologías de fachadas, los principales componentes que se pueden emplear en cada una de ellas y los puntos singulares, para que sirvan para una adecuada definición y resolución constructiva. Se ESTRUCTURA en ocho capítulos. En el primero se exponen las exigencias que deben cumplir las fachadas de los edificios y los criterios de diseño de estos cerramientos. Los capítulos segundo, tercero y cuarto recogen las diferentes tipologías de fachadas: la fachada tradicional, la fachada industrializada opaca y la fachada de materiales traslúcidos, respectivamente. En el quinto capítulo se presentan las carpinterías exteriores y en el sexto, los sistemas de protección solar y visual. Todos estos apartados siguen un esquema similar: en primer lugar, se describe el comportamiento de la tipología correspondiente, en segundo lugar, los distintos componentes y soluciones constructivas, y, a continuación, se presenta la resolución de los puntos singulares. En el capítulo séptimo se muestran directrices para la elaboración del proyecto de fachada mediante fichas de autocontrol que pueden servir para la definición de los distintos documentos que lo componen. El último capítulo, dedicado a la Patología y Rehabilitación de Fachadas, pretende analizar los problemas que pueden surgir, para evitarlos o para llegar a la reparación adecuada.