Climate room
The purpose of a full-scale climate laboratory test is to give the client, architect and consultant maximum security about the installation’s design, in an early stage. Especially when the design is new concept and not used before or when the building has specific characteristics, a climate laboratory test can prevent a lot of problems during construction, installation and commissioning.
HC Barcol-Air has two climate laboratories with in total four climate test rooms, one in the Netherlands and three in Switzerland . HC Barcol-Air’s climate room in Purmerend ( Netherlands ) has a maximum floor space of approx. 8 x 8 meter with flexible positional walls and ceiling up to a height of 3.3 meter . To perform full-scale tests, the room is built with exact (actual) dimensions. The climate façade simulates the outdoor conditions and can be cooled to simulate winter conditions and heated to simulate summer conditions. Uniquely this test room has two climate facades from bottom to ceiling, which enables to test also (difficult) corner rooms.
Mock-ups are not only built with actual dimensions but also façade, ceiling, furniture, floor covering, convectors and lightning can be incorporated according to project specification. Also special applications like hospital rooms, dealing rooms, laboratories can be tested.
Static and dynamic testing
In the climate laboratory of HC Barcol-Air static tests are performed. This means that thermal conditions in- and outside the mock-up are equally; there is no transmission loss via walls, floor or ceiling. In Barcol-Air Switzerland ’s climate laboratory both static and dynamic test are performed. For dynamic testing one of the climate rooms is completely (walls, floor and ceiling) built of concrete with water tubing in the core. This enables to control the temperature of all surrounding surfaces, which will be considered in the measurements and results. Broad experience about thermal indoor climate is achieved by testing in both facilities, including the effect of concrete slab activation and the accumulating capabilities of concrete, over more than 20 years.
Data Acquisition System
All measuring data is collected and processed with a, by “labVIEW®” supported, automatic “Data Acquisition System”. “labVIEW®” is a software program of National Instruments for virtual instrumentation.
Measuring robot
The most important part of the measuring system, in the actual size built mock-up, is the automatic moving measuring robot with accurate air temperature and velocity sensors. The height of the measuring sensors is according NEN-ISO standards 0,1 – 0,6 – 1,1 and 1,7 meter above the floor. These heights represent ankles, bottom, trunk and head of the human body. The robot measures the area from floor to ceiling and from front to back of the test room.
Extra sensors are mounted on the robot on other heights and in different measuring areas to detect possible irregularities (for instance asymmetry) of the air pattern. Extra sensors are also mounted 5 cm below the ceiling to check the air pattern of the supply diffusers.
Fixed sensors
Besides the sensors on the measuring robot there are also sensors mounted on fixed places for primary air temperature, supply air temperature, air volume, reference room temperature, window surface temperature (in- and outside) and surrounding temperature.
Accuracy air velocity and temperature sensors
The accuracy and response time of all sensors easily apply to the standards set in the ISO 7726 (1998). The temperature sensors have a relative accuracy of 0,1 ºC and a time constant of 2,3 second. The air velocity sensors have an accuracy of 0,014 m/s and a time constant of 0,03 second.
Standards
The climate laboratory meets the most recent standards for thermal comfort NEN-ISO 7726 and NEN-ISO 7730. The results of measurements and check of the air stream pattern and distribution is generally checked against DIN 1946, part 2. The calculated comfort parameters are checked against NEN-ISO 7730. It is also possible to check the climate laboratory test results and comfort parameters according to specific project demands.
Presentation test results
Air temperature and velocity measuring results are presented in both graphical and table format. The data acquisition system has a unique calculation module to present real time not only air temperature and velocity but also the PMV, PPD and DR. All displayed values are average values per 100 seconds.
Reporting
After the climate laboratory test has been finished and discussed with all porties involved, a complete and final report is made. This report describes in detail under which conditions and how the test has been performed. The measuring results and conclusion are a written proof of the performance of the tested installation concept. By recording accurately all data and results, the test can be reproduced.
Product development
Besides testing project specific installation concepts, the climate laboratory is used for product and system research and productdevelopment. One of Barcol-Air’s main competences is project specific design of air distribution components or modification of standard products. These new products can be tested easily to check whether they apply to the set standards.
Sound laboratory
Recently, HC Barcol-Air has built a reverberation room for sound testing of products and systems. This enables
HC Barcol-Air to test products and systems in the sphere of thermal indoor climate and sound production and absorption.
Criteria for thermal comfort
| DIN 1946, Teil 2 | 1994 | Ventilation and air conditioning; technical health requirements. |
| ANSI/ASHRAE 55a | 1995 | Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. |
| NEN-EN-ISO 7730 | 1996 | Moderate thermal environments. Determination of the PMV and PPD indices and specification of the conditions for thermal comfort. |
| NPR-CR 1752 | 1999 | Ventilation of buildings; design criteria for the indoor environment. |
| NEN-EN-ISO 7726 | 2001 | Ergonomics of the thermal environment; Instruments for the measurement of physical quantities. |
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