New Research Laboratory to Measure Sustainability Features of Building Materials

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:32:00 GMT

When working on sustainable projects, design professionals often make projections on levels of performance or fixed reductions of operating costs based off a predictive model that is intended to replicate actual facility performance. One of the concerns design professionals have is that the facility’s actual performance could diverge significantly from the predictive model due to the end user’s behavior. Another concern is that complex systems are difficult to model accurately.

A new research facility being constructed may help design professionals obtain real performance data about how products actually perform in the real world. It has been reported that the University of North Texas is building a research laboratory that they can use to test new products in a real-life setting. Approximately one-third of the facility will be a fully furnished living area, and the rest will be a laboratory. The building is transformable, allowing researchers to study, test, and measure the performances of different materials. In order to test multiple projects at a time the facility will use weather simulation to mimic the four seasons of the year. Key performance indicators including light, temperature, and energy consumption will be measured. Construction is expected to be complete in early 2012.

Ultimately, this kind of performance data from actual building performance may help design professionals develop more realistic models.

Schinnerer's RM Blog - sustainable projects tag

New Research Laboratory to Measure Sustainability Features of Building Materials