Comfort in Buildings (Coursera)

The course covers various aspects of building environmental considerations, focusing on heat transfer, thermal and visual comfort, and sustainable building practices. Heat transfer is explained through conduction, convection, and radiation, with a specific emphasis on heat gain in buildings, both internal and external. The discussion extends to thermal comfort, considering factors influencing human perception of heat and cold, and includes models for air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned spaces. Visual comfort is explored in terms of lighting design, covering daylighting strategies and artificial lighting parameters in compliance with building codes.
This course is part of the Sustainable Design Practices in Building Design Specialization.

What you'll learn

• Understand the fundamentals of sustainable construction and gain knowledge on sustainable site selection and preservation of site resources.
• Evaluate the heat transfer through building elements and provide solution for avoiding heat ingress in the buildings.
• Understand the key parameters of psychrometry, thermal comfort and analyze thermal comfort models

Syllabus

Green development
The module offers a comprehensive overview of sustainability, highlighting its significance and the challenges encountered in the field of construction. It delves into the depletion of natural resources resulting from human activities, analyzes global energy consumption across various sectors, and anticipates future energy demands in India, all while exploring diverse energy sources. The discussion encompasses criteria for site selection, emphasizing its importance and examining various types of sites and their environmental impacts. The module also imparts knowledge on strategies for preserving site resources such as topsoil, water bodies, and plantations. Additionally, it provides a concise introduction to the integrated design approach, aligning project requirements with its associated benefits. The importance of basic amenities in proximity to buildings and an exploration of the urban heat island effect are also included in the discourse.

Heat Transfer in Buildings
Heat transfer involves the exchange of thermal energy between two distinct systems. The principles of thermodynamics elucidate the modes of heat transfer, namely conduction, convection, and radiation. This module focusing on heat transfer within buildings provides an overview of internal and external heat gain. External heat gain, originating from building components like roofs, walls, fenestration, as well as through ventilation and air leakage, is thoroughly explained, accompanied by examples and precise calculations of the heat absorbed by these elements. Additionally, the reasons behind internal heat gain in a building are explored, along with the determination of the heating and cooling loads necessary to condition a space for the occupants' comfort.

Thermal Comfort
Thermal comfort pertains to the subjective sensation experienced by the human body resulting from the influence of heat and cold sources in the surrounding environment. This module commences with a fundamental introduction to thermal comfort, elucidating the key parameters that shape its perception. The module also explores factors contributing to local thermal discomfort. Psychrometry, the study of thermodynamic properties of air and water vapor mixtures, is comprehensively explained using a psychrometric chart. The application of psychrometry in processes such as heating, cooling, humidification, and dehumidification is detailed, accompanied by illustrative examples. Thermal comfort models are examined for both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned spaces.

Visual Comfort
Visual comfort encompasses an individual's response to the lighting conditions within a space, characterized by adequate illumination, contrast, color, and the presence or absence of glare. This module on visual comfort introduces the fundamentals of lighting and the terminology employed in lighting design. Strategies for both daylighting and artificial lighting within a building are elucidated. The module delves into the aspects of daylighting for buildings, offering a detailed explanation of daylighting control strategies. Additionally, it outlines the various types of artificial lighting based on tasks. The design of artificial lighting is explored, and the necessary parameters, in accordance with the provisions outlined in the National Building Code (NBC), 2016, and the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), are elaborated upon with the aid of examples.