The Building Environment: Active and Passive Control Systems

The Building Environment: Active and Passive Control Systems is an essential reference for all specialized technologies, designers, architects, builders and contractors, providing information that will enable them to work together to plan the electrical and mechanical equipment that controls the indoor environment of all buildings.

Covering a wide range of topics, from passive methods to active HVAC systems, on-site power generation to lighting, this updated and revised edition will explain how to strategically plan and incorporate effective, efficient systems throughout today's buildings. This text covers the underlying thermal theories and thermodynamic principles and focuses on design that one handsome building environment while also minimizing the impact on the world's environment. This text goes beyond the ABCs of HVAC and covers:

Features:

• On-site power generation, including solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells and more.
• Fire protection, plumbing systems, conveying systems, signal systems and architectural acoustics.
• Procedures and/or formulas for performing heat gain, heat loss and energy use calculations, determining the rate of heat flow throughout the building, calculating solar energy utilization, doing load calculations and more.
• Details on the latest standards and building codes for reference.
• New information on sustainable design of building systems and energy efficiency, including the newest technologies.
• The latest thinking and data on a buildings impact on the environment, sick building syndrome and indoor air quality.
• Design economics, including the lifecycle cost, payback period, building commissioning and comparative value analysis.
• The practical on-the-job tool for all designers, architects, engineers, builders, contractors and other specialists. It's also a great reference for architecture students that will lead tomorrow's design teams.

The Building Environment: Active and Passive Control Systems - Table of Contents:

• Part 1: Thermal Control Concepts
  • Human Comfort and Health Requirements
  • Thermodynamic Principles
  • Thermal Dynamics of Buildings
  • Load Calculations
• Part 2: Thermal Control Systems
  • A Building's Impact on the Environment
  • Active HVAC Systems
  • Passive Methods
• Part 3: Electrical Systems
  • Lighting
  • Normal Electrical Service
  • On-Site Power Generation
  • Special Systems
• Part 4: Other Piped Systems
  • Plumbing Systems
  • Fire Protection
• Part 5: Related Support Services
  • Architectural Acoustics
  • Building Commissioning
  • Design Economics
• Appendix
• Index