Abstract
The objective of this study is to determine the potential energy savings and thermal comfort benefits of
exposing concrete in the ceiling to the indoor air as an alternative to suspended ceiling. The performances
were assessed through monitoring of room air and surface temperatures in an office building in
operation, and simulation of different scenarios with a calibrated building simulation model. In this
study, it is shown that ESP-r is capable of simulating an advanced controlled office building in operation
with good agreement with the measurements. The results presented in this paper indicate that exposed
concrete in the ceiling both reduces the number of hours with excessive temperatures considerably and
create a better and more stable thermal environment during the working day. Also, exposed concrete
increases the achievements of utilizing night free cooling significantly. However, by removing the
suspended ceiling, only minor annual heating energy savings are achieved.
exposing concrete in the ceiling to the indoor air as an alternative to suspended ceiling. The performances
were assessed through monitoring of room air and surface temperatures in an office building in
operation, and simulation of different scenarios with a calibrated building simulation model. In this
study, it is shown that ESP-r is capable of simulating an advanced controlled office building in operation
with good agreement with the measurements. The results presented in this paper indicate that exposed
concrete in the ceiling both reduces the number of hours with excessive temperatures considerably and
create a better and more stable thermal environment during the working day. Also, exposed concrete
increases the achievements of utilizing night free cooling significantly. However, by removing the
suspended ceiling, only minor annual heating energy savings are achieved.