Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

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Energy and Buildings

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild

Internal environment in the museum buildingAssessment and

improvement of air exchange and its impact on energy demand
for heating
Joanna Ferdyn-Grygierek , Andrzej Baranowski
Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 20, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 7 July 2014
Received in revised form
16 December 2014
Accepted 20 January 2015
Available online 29 January 2015
Keywords:
Museum
Ventilation
Air change rate
Building simulation
Heating demand

a b s t r a c t
The paper presents the results of the analysis of the impact of various ventilation systems on the energy
consumption performed for one Polish museum building that was built in 19291930. Simulations were
carried out with the use of two computer codes: CONTAM and ESP-r. Multi-zone models including the
exhibition rooms and the staircase were prepared. The simulations were made of synthetic weather data
for one of the Polish towns for two months of the heating season. Twenty-four hour variability of internal
heat gains was taken into account. The results show clearly that the natural ventilation system (which
is currently used in the building) enables the air exchange with fresh air on the rst oor only. The air
inltration on the upper levels is close to zero. Rebuilding the ventilation system generates changes in
the energy demand of the building. It is presented how the heat demand increases with the increase of
the ventilation air ow and what is the impact of the air inltration on the heat demand for different
variants of ventilation.
2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Parameters of internal environment in buildings are strictly
dependent on the function that these buildings perform. For general
purpose premises such as apartments, ofces, etc., determination
of the requirements for internal air quality is precisely dened,
for example by appropriate standards. In special purpose facilities, e.g. museums, the determination of desired or even necessary
parameters of indoor environment is difcult and ambiguous. The
established and maintained indoor environment parameters in the
museum premises must be appropriate both to ensure proper conditions to prevent degradation of the objects due to external factors
and to create comfortable indoor environment for visitors.
Three groups of threats to the museum collections can be distinguished:
hygrothermal conditions of the environment,
air pollution: dust, chemical, biological,
excessive internal gains (lighting, heat and humidity gains from
the people).

Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 32 237 2912; fax: +48 32 237 2559.
E-mail addresses: joanna.ferdyn-grygierek@polsl.pl (J. Ferdyn-Grygierek),
andrzej.baranowski@polsl.pl (A. Baranowski).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2015.01.033
0378-7788/ 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The level of threat posed by these factors is different for different types of collections. In some countries, especially in those
with a large number of historic monuments, there are appropriate regulations determining optimum environmental factors for
the protection of the exhibits on the museum premises [1,2]. Some
guidance regarding the environmental conditions can be found in
ASHRAE publications [3,4].
Removal of the above threats can be accomplished by various
means, both through the use of appropriate technical solutions, e.g.
dehumidication or humidication of museum rooms which are at
risk, heating, cooling and air-conditioning of exhibition halls [5,6],
as well as through the protection of the exhibits by the use of closed
display cases, special display cassettes, etc. [7,8].
In order to determine the optimum microclimatic conditions in
the exhibition halls it is necessary to assess the current state. The
assessment is carried out by monitoring temperature and relative
air humidity [912] as well as CO2 concentration, the latter being
an indicator used to evaluate heat gains from the visitors [13], and
the quality of the ventilation in the building [14]. Particular attention should be paid to sharp peaks in temperature and air humidity,
because instantaneous acute changes in these parameters are dangerous to the exhibits. As to other threats, the monitoring can be
more sophisticated than simple tracking of changes in temperature
and air humidity. This concerns especially the level of gaseous pollutants on the premises, monitoring of which requires advanced
technologies [15].

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J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

Fig. 1. The museum building selected for the analysis.

Ensuring proper parameters of indoor environment depends to a

large extent on proper ventilation of the exhibition galleries. Appropriate level of air exchange allows both removing the excess of
moisture and heat from the premises, and reducing air pollution.
The optimal solution is to equip the museum premises with the airconditioning system. The strategy for the use of the air-conditioning
should be carefully planned. The way it is used should be optimal
from the point of view both ensuring proper microclimatic conditions and energy saving. Many historical museum buildings are
massive ones. The studies [16] show that night ventilation for cooling of such buildings in summer can be applied. When indoor and
solar gains are accurately controlled and minimized, the synergic
effect of high thermal mass of the building and nocturnal air ventilation allows maintaining appropriate conditions for the preservation
of museum objects without the use of mechanical cooling system.
It should be noted that the use of the air-conditioning system may result in rapid changes in temperature and air humidity,
which can be harmful to the exhibits in the exhibition rooms [9].
To develop an optimal strategy for the use of the air-conditioning,
numerical simulations using building energy performance simulation codes [1721] are useful.
In some cases, the improvement of the ventilation system is
considerably impeded due to historic nature of the facilities and
prohibition against any interference in the structure of the building. In some historic buildings there are architectural structures
that can be considered as a kind of natural ventilation system
[22]. Medieval buildings often have natural ventilation ducts which
were deliberately constructed. In both cases, it makes sense to
check the effectiveness of working of this kind of ventilation. Due
to their nature, historical building offer limited possibilities for
environmental conditions measurement. Consequently, one of the
methods to evaluate the ventilation system is computer simulation
[23].
The paper presents the results of numerical simulation of various ventilation systems which could be applied in one Polish
museum where only natural ventilation currently occurs. The proposed ventilation systems were analysed in terms of air exchange
and their impact on heat demand. The results of the study presented in the paper are only a part of larger project. The analyses
of internal environment in terms of air temperature and humidity
have been described in detail in a separate publication [20].
2. Description of the analyses
The museum located in Upper Silesia of Poland was selected
for the analyses. It is double-winged ve-storey building erected in
19291930 and was specially designed for exhibition purposes. The
main entrance is in the west part of building (Fig. 1). The exhibition
rooms are located on the rst, second and third oors. The total
exhibition area amounts to: 250 m2 (Flora&Fauna exhibition) and

170 m2 (Temporary exhibition) on the rst oor, 860 m2 on the

second oor (Ethnography exhibition) and 630 m2 on the third oor
(Gallery of Painting). The height of exhibition rooms is about 3.6 m.
The building has mixed walls constructionmade partly of reinforced concrete and partly of bricks. The building is equipped with
various types of windows (wooden, aluminium, PVC). The window
panes on the west side are covered with anti-reection coating.
Additional ways of protection from the sun at the exhibitions are
internal blinds and plasterboard walls separating the room from
external partitions. The building is equipped with the central heating system with radiators. There is the heating and cooling system
with fan coils in the Gallery of Painting hall. The major disadvantage of this building is the lack of a ventilation system. Originally
the building was equipped with a mechanical ventilation system.
After World War II, the old-fashioned and not modernized system
was dismantled but no new system was installed instead. Currently
the whole ventilation of the building is provided by means of inltration only.
The analysis was performed with the use of two computer codes:
CONTAM, the programme designed for multi-zone analysis of the
ventilation and indoor air quality in buildings [24]; and ESP-r, the
energy simulation system which is capable of energy and uid ows
modelling [25]. Due to the aim and requirements of the study, it
was decided to represent the building in the form of multi-zone
macro-scale models. In such a model the building is represented as
a series of idealized zones with constant parameters of air within
the entire zone. The zones are connected with each other and with
the external space by the ow paths of the air or heat that reect
the actual paths of the energy and mass exchange.
Two numerical models were built: the rst one, CONTAM model,
was used to simulate the ventilation air ow in the building. The
results of the simulation were used as an input data in the second modelESP-r thermal model. The zoning was assumed in both
models, which was imposed by very complicated internal structure of the building. All simulations were performed with 1-h time
step for weather data from the local meteorological station for the
period from 1 January to 30 September 2010.

3. Simulation analysis of the air ow

Multi-zone numerical model of the museum, representing all
identied air ow paths both inltrating through the cracks of windows and doors as well as inter-zone air ows, was built. The model
includes exhibition rooms on three oors and the whole staircase.
The model did not include the ground oor (there is no connection
between the ground oor and the part of the building that houses
exhibitions, and thus there is no air ow path) and the rooms on the
fth oor (it is the unused part of the building connected with the
staircase only through one closed door). The staircase was modelled
from the level of the entrance to the exhibition area, up to the top
oor of the building. The staircase located centrally in the building
having the nature of the atrium is a potentially important path
of air ow throughout the building. The staircase was modelled
as a vertical series of zones connected by low resistance openings
through the oors. Fig. 2 shows three levels of the museum building
represented in the CONTAM program.
One of the biggest uncertainties was the value of the air inltration coefcient, which describes air tightness of the windows. Air
inltration coefcients were adopted based on the literature data
veried by the authors own measurements [26,27]. After the model
calibration the air inltration coefcients were set as follows:
PVC and wooden windows: a = 0.2 m3 /(m h Pa0.67 ), aluminium windows: a = 0.5 m3 /(m h Pa0.67 ), entrance door: a = 1.0 m3 /(m h Pa0.5 ),
internal doors: a = 1.5 m3 /(m h Pa0.5 ). Temperature in the model
was kept at 20 C in exhibition rooms and 18 C in corridors.

J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

47

3.2. Case studies

The aim of the calculations was to examine air exchange and
inltration in particular exhibition halls for actual conditions of the
local climate.
The following four cases were simulated:
Case 0: existing natural ventilation system.
Case 1: exhaust ventilation system by roof fan of constant air
ow rate ((a) 1000 m3 /h, (b) 3000 m3 /h, (c) 5000 m3 /h), located
above the staircase.
Case 2: exhaust ventilation system by fans of constant air ow
rate (1000 m3 /h), located in each exhibition room.
Case 3: mechanical, supply and exhaust ventilation system
supply fans located in the Ethnography hall (600 m3 /h) and the
Gallery of Painting hall (600 m3 /h), and one roof exhaust fan with
constant air ow rate (3000 m3 /h) located above the staircase.
3.3. Results and discussion

Fig. 2. Model of the museum for calculations using CONTAM code.

3.1. Model calibration and validation

The major source of uncertainty in models representing air ows
in the building is air permeability of the windows. In the studied
facility it was impossible to carry out appropriate measurements
(e.g. pressure tests). To verify the validity of the simulation results,
the recorded CO2 concentration in the museum premises was used.
Since there were no sources of CO2 in the halls, it was assumed
that the reason for the variation in CO2 concentration was the
presence of the people in particular premises. In order to determine air exchange in particular museum halls the method of the
tracer gas concentration decay was used [28]. The obtained results
were compared with the simulation results in order to modify
the air inltration coefcients for windows that had been initially
assumed.
Model calibration was performed for the simulation results for
the period from 1 to 31 March, because at that time the museum
premises were monitored several times by checking the number
of visitors, which allowed to state that the recorded peaks in CO2
concentration were not random. The results of calculations of air
exchange based on the measurement of CO2 concentration decay
should be treated as approximate gures, as there was no way
of guaranteeing that the tracer and the air had been mixed thoroughly in a large room. Fig. 3 presents exemplary results of the
simulation for two different coefcients of air inltration (of unit
m3 /(m h Pa0.67 )) for the hall on the rst oor (Flora&Fauna exhibition). It was assumed that smaller value of the coefcient of air
inltration is more realistic (in the whole period of the simulation
air change rate is closer to the measurement results) and this value
was adopted for further calculations.

When calculating and presenting the results one should distinguish between air exchange and inltration. Air exchange is
calculated from the balance of all air uxes owing through the
zone in question and thus also the streams from the adjacent rooms
(it is the sum of air ow through the windows from the outside
and through the doors from or to the adjacent rooms), whereas air
inltration is calculated as air ows between a given zone and the
surroundings of the building (it is only fresh air inowing from the
outside through the windows).
Figs. 410 present air change rate in exhibition halls calculated
as the sum of air ows inltrating from the outside of the building
in relation to the volume of a given zone (inltration) or as the sum
of all air ows (inltrating from the outside of the building and
inowing from the adjacent premises, e.g. from the staircase) in
relation to the volume of a given zone (air exchange).
As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the air exchange is generally greater
than the inltration. The simulation results show that the highest level of air inltration into the building takes place mainly in
the rooms on the rst oor of the museum. However, these are
small valuesof approximately 0.15 h1 (130 m3 /h) for the analysed period in the Flora&Fauna hall and about 0.13 h1 in the
hall of temporary exhibitions (75 m3 /h). On upper levels external
air inltration is insignicant (Fig. 4): the average in the halls of
Ethnography and Gallery of Painting amounts to about 0.01 h1
(30 m3 /h). The total air exchange on these oors is slightly better (Fig. 5), because due to the lack of ventilation ducts the air
from the halls on the rst oor ows into the staircase, and then
into the rooms on the upper levels. However, the air change rate is
too small, even in relation to the minimum hygiene requirements.
The average value in the analysed period in the Gallery of Painting amounts to 0.12 h1 (270 m3 /h), and only 0.04 h1 (37 m3 /h) in
the Ethnography hall. Table 1 contains mean, maximum and minimum air change rate for the selected months. On the second and
third oor air change rate is denitely too small and the method of
ventilation is improperas a result, mainly stale air, not fresh outside one ows into the exhibition rooms. Air change rate decreases
with the increase in outdoor temperature. As an example, the average value of air change rate in the Flora&Fauna room amounts to
0.28 h1 in February, 0.16 h1 in April, and only 0.11 h1 in July.
The simulation results showed that in case of the staircase
located centrally in the building, thermal buoyancy that causes vertical air ow (about 300 m3 /h) is generated. Forcing greater air ow
in the staircase may cause an increase in air inltration through the
windows in particular exhibition halls.
Analysing the results for the case 1 it can be seen that already
in the rst case (case 1a) the air change rate both on the second
and third oor signicantly increases (Fig. 6), mainly due to the

48

J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

a=0.5

0.8

a=0.2

0.7

measurement

Air change rate, h-1

0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
1/Jan

10/Jan

19/Jan

28/Jan

6/Feb

15/Feb
Date

24/Feb

5/Mar

14/Mar

23/Mar

1/Apr

Fig. 3. Comparison of air change rate on the rst oor (Flora&Fauna exhibition) for different parameters of window tightness.

0.5

Flora&Fauna, 1st floor

Ethnography, 2nd floor

Infiltration, h -1

0.4

Gallery of Painting, 3rd floor

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
1/Jan

31/Jan

2/Mar

1/Apr

1/May

31/May
Date

30/Jun

30/Jul

29/Aug

28/Sep

Fig. 4. Variation of air inltration over time in three exhibition halls of the museum for the case 0.

0.5

Flora&Fauna, 1st floor

Ethnography, 2nd floor

Air exchange, h-1

0.4
Gallery of Painting, 3rd floor
0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0
1/Jan

31/Jan

2/Mar

1/Apr

1/May

31/May
Date

30/Jun

30/Jul

29/Aug

28/Sep

Fig. 5. Variation of air exchange over time in three exhibition halls of the museum for the case 0.

1.4

Flora&Fauna, 1st floor

Air exchange, h-1

1.2

Ethnography, 2nd floor

Gallery of Painting, 3rd floor

1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
1/Jan

31/Jan

2/Mar

1/Apr

1/May

31/May

30/Jun

30/Jul

29/Aug

28/Sep

Date

Fig. 6. Variation of air exchange over time in three exhibition halls of the museum for the case 1a (exhaust of 1000 m3 /h in the staircase).

Air exchange, h-1

J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

1.4

Flora&Fauna, 1st floor

1.2

Ethnography, 2nd floor

49

Gallery of Painting, 3rd floor

1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
1/Jan

31/Jan

2/Mar

1/Apr

1/May

31/May

30/Jun

30/Jul

29/Aug

28/Sep

Date

Fig. 7. Variation of air exchange over time in three exhibition halls of the museum for the case 1b (exhaust of 3000 m3 /h in the staircase).

1.4

Air exchange, h-1

1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
Flora&Fauna, 1st floor
0.4
Ethnography, 2nd floor
0.2
0.0
1/Jan

Gallery of Painting, 3rd floor

31/Jan

2/Mar

1/Apr

1/May

31/May

30/Jun

30/Jul

29/Aug

28/Sep

Date

Air exchange, h-1

Fig. 8. Variation of air exchange over time in three exhibition halls of the museum for the case 1c (exhaust of 5000 m3 /h in the staircase).

1.4

Flora&Fauna, 1st floor

1.2

Ethnography, 2nd floor

Gallery of Painting, 3rd floor

1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
1/Jan

31/Jan

2/Mar

1/Apr

1/May

31/May

30/Jun

30/Jul

29/Aug

28/Sep

Date

Air exchange, h-1

Fig. 9. Variation of air exchange over time in three exhibition halls of the museum for the case 2 (exhaust of 1000 m3 /h in the exhibition halls).

1.4

Flora&Fauna, 1st floor

1.2

Ethnography, 2nd floor

Gallery of Painting, 3rd floor

1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
1/Jan

31/Jan

2/Mar

1/Apr

1/May

31/May

30/Jun

30/Jul

29/Aug

28/Sep

Date

Fig. 10. Variation of air exchange over time in three exhibition halls of the museum for the case 3 (exhaust of 3000 m3 /h in the staircase, supply of 600 m3 /h in the halls of
Ethnography and Gallery of Painting).

50

J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

Table 1
Air exchange and inltration (italic) in the museum (case 0).
Floor/exhibition

April

February
Mean

Max

Min

Mean

July
Max

Min

Mean

Max

Min

0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.02
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.01
0.00

0.11
0.03
0.10
0.003
0.44
0.003
0.03
0.01
0.41
0.002
0.07
0.05
0.42
0.004

0.26
0.16
0.23
0.03
1.11
0.03
0.06
0.05
1.03
0.03
0.17
0.15
1.03
0.04

0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00

h
First oor/Flora&Fauna
First oor/temporary exhibition
First oor/corridor
Second oor/Ethnography
Second oor/corridor
Third oor/Gallery of Painting
Third oor/corridor

0.28
0.28
0.25
0.23
1.24
0.04
0.05
0.004
1.15
0.002
0.19
0.00
1.16
0.002

0.40
0.40
0.36
0.33
1.76
0.07
0.09
0.06
1.62
0.04
0.26
0.03
1.59
0.00

0.09
0.09
0.07
0.04
0.38
0.01
0.02
0.00
0.36
0.00
0.06
0.00
0.37
0.03

0.16
0.15
0.14
0.12
0.64
0.004
0.04
0.01
0.60
0.004
0.10
0.004
0.62
0.003

improvement of air inltration on these oors. By increasing the

ow of exhaust air to 3000 m3 /h (case 1b), the satisfactory level of
0.40.5 h1 air exchange is obtained in the halls of Ethnography and
Gallery of Painting (Fig. 7). The benecial inuence of the exhaust
air on the stabilisation of air change rate throughout the simulation
period should be emphasized. The uctuations of air change rate
on the lowest oor result from the fact that the inltration, which
determines the air exchange in these parts of the building, changes
according to outdoor temperature uctuations and wind action.
The exhaust of 5000 m3 /h of air (case 1c) further improves the
air exchange on all oors. The calculated air change rate (Fig. 8)
corresponds to the ux of approximately 600 m3 /h of the air on
each oor.
In the case 2, a single exhaust of air with the ow of 1000 m3 /h in
each of the three main exhibition halls was assumed. The obtained
results (of the air change rate) are similar to the case 1 (Fig. 9),
except in the Gallery of Painting, where the ventilation air ow is
greater.
The use of direct air supply to the exhibition rooms (case
3) results in the equalization of the air exchange in the building (Fig. 10). Air exchanges in the exhibition halls are similar
(0.40.5 h1 on average).
One should emphasize a favourable impact of air exhaust on
the stabilization of the air change rate during the whole simulation
period. The uctuations in the air change rate on the lowest oor
(case 0) result from the fact that air inltration, which changes
according to outdoor temperature uctuations and wind impact,
determines these exchanges.
The summary of the air change rate (mean, maximum and minimum values in considered period from January to September) is
presented in Table 2.
Proper air change rate to ensure the protection of the exhibits
is not clearly dened by any standards. The protection of collection
items aims mainly at maintaining proper temperature and relative humidity in the rooms. In typically used standard museums
there are no sources of pollution, which would require very intensive air exchange (obviously it does not apply to the world-famous
galleries and museums with a large number of visitors contributing to the signicant heat and humidity gains). Consequently there
are no explicit criteria for choosing the optimal solution. It can be
assumed that air exchange at the level of 0.40.5 h1 is completely
sufcient for the removal of possible pollution in the examined
museum. It is also a satisfactory value from the point of view of air
quality for the visitors. Polish standard for public buildings specify
20 m3 /h per person as the required air ow. The air change rate
at the level of 0.5 h1 provides the requisite air ow for 15 to 75

0.30
0.30
0.27
0.05
1.33
0.05
0.09
0.06
1.22
0.04
0.20
0.07
1.22
0.03

peopledepending on the location of the room. The average number of visiting groups ranges from 15 up to 30 people. On the other
hand, large air exchange can have an undesirable effect as it causes
additional dehumidication of air and makes it impossible to maintain appropriate environmental conditions in storage areas [29,30].
When analysing the obtained results, one can observe that none
of the variants meets such a criterion accurately. Most equalized
air change rate can be obtained when using the case 3the combination of the exhaust through the staircase roof with the supply
of the air in the worst ventilated rooms (the Ethnography and
Gallery of Painting halls). For this variant, the average air change
rate in all halls is close to 0.5 h1 . The solution 1b can be considered as a minimal variantthe minimum air change rate does
not fall below 0.3 h1 in any room. Exceeding one air exchange
seems aimless. When taking into consideration the volume of the
premises, air ows for such volumes of facilities are from 800 to
3000 m3 /h. Improper supply distribution could be harmful to the
exhibits because of the possibility of the occurrence of too high air
velocities.
4. Analysis of the impact of ventilation systems on heat
demand
The model of the museum consisting of nine zones covering
the following rooms of total volume of 8008 m3 was built in ESP-r
program:
rst oor: Flora&Fauna exhibition hallone zone, temporary
exhibition hallone zone, corridorone zone, vestibuleone
zone,
second oor: Ethnography exhibition halltwo zones (due to the
large number of partitions it was impossible to model the room
as a single zone), corridorone zone,
third oor: the Gallery of Paintingone zone, corridorone zone.
The following uxes are computed in the thermal model of the
building:
heat uxes through the external and internal partitions (walls,
oors, windows) that occur due to air and surface temperatures
and climate data,
heat uxes due to solar radiation transmitted through and
absorbed by external surface (walls and windows) and solar radiation absorbed by different internal surfaces,
heat uxes transferred with the air inltration into the building,

J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

51

Table 2
Air exchange in exhibition halls of the museum for different ventilation variants.
Case

Flora&Fauna
Mean

Ethnography
Max

Min

Mean

Gallery of Painting
Max

Min

Temporary exhibition

Mean

Max

Min

Mean

Max

Min

0.12
0.14
0.44
0.88
0.53
0.48

0.32
0.28
0.52
0.90
0.58
0.61

0
0.07
0.34
0.86
0.49
0.37

0.16
0.29
0.37
1.04
0.96
0.43

0.44
0.58
0.41
1.20
1.07
0.70

0
0.01
0.35
0.93
0.90
0.24

h
0
1a
1b
1c
2
3

0.18
0.32
0.74
1.17
0.96
0.48

0.50
0.65
0.96
1.35
1.07
0.79

0
0.04
0.58
1.05
0.90
0.27

0.04
0.14
0.38
0.62
0.37
0.39

0.12
0.21
0.41
0.64
0.41
0.46

sensible and latent casual heat gains emitted by occupants and

lights.
All walls of the building were modelled according to the actual
state. Internal partitions adjoining the rooms that had not been
modelled were assumed as adiabatic. Adjacent buildings that may
provide shade for the modelled building were also included in the
model.
The temperature was kept at 20 C in the exhibition rooms and
18 C in the corridors. Twenty-four hour variability of internal heat
gains was taken into account (the number of visitors was assumed
according to the existing data, gains from the lighting were adopted
according to the inventory). It was assumed that people stay in
the zones between 10 am and 3 pm. The amount of heat for one
person was adopted according to ASHRAE [31]: Qsensible = 75 W,
Qlatend = 55 W. It was assumed that it takes 1 h for one person to
visit the museum, the lighting is switched on for 2 h, and then the
average heat gain for visiting hours was determined.
4.1. Model validation and calibration
The preliminary calculations were made and the results of the
simulation were compared with measurement results.
The validation was performed for indoor temperature for
non-heating season (from mid-June to late August) of all non-airconditioned zones of the building. The Gallery of Painting with a
temperature regulated throughout the whole year was excluded
from the comparison. When conducting the study it was assumed
that there were no internal heat gains, as they are minimal in the
summer season. Thus one of the most uncertain parameters was
excluded. Subsequently the tuning of the model to the real object
was performed.
Fig. 11 presents the course of variation of numerically calculated
and measured average daily indoor temperature in two zones. Percentage differences are presented in Table 3. Empirical verication
regarding indoor temperature makes the results of the simulation
calculations reliablethe relative error is small. The differences do
not exceed the value of 10% in any of the zones, and for more than
90% of the time they do not exceed 5%.
The results obtained with the use of numerical calculations are
sufciently close to those obtained by measurements. The courses
are characterized by large convergence. Based on that, it can be
stated that the presented model is characterized by sufcient accuracy and can be used for thermal calculations of the building.
4.2. Results and discussion
The solutions aimed at improving the ventilation of the museum
inuence the change in heat demand for heating up inltrating air
and total heat demand of the building.
The simulations were performed for the selected, above analysed, ventilation variants: case 0, case 1b, case 2 and case 3.

0
0.10
0.36
0.60
0.34
0.37

Each of the cases was simulated for two months of the heating
seasonFebruary (one of the coldest months) and April (transition period when heating system still works during the days with
low external temperature and can be turned off in time of higher
external temperature, in the whole building or locally in rooms) at
one-hour time step, using real weather data.
Fig. 12 presents monthly (February) heat demand of four
museum halls for different ventilation variants. The demand for
ventilation is specied. It can be seen that in the basic variant
(case 0) only the rooms on the rst oor (Flora&Fauna exhibition
and temporary exhibition halls) are ventilated with an outdoor air
(Fig. 12a and b). The air inltration on the upper oors is close to
zero (Fig. 12c and d). The heat demand in cases 1b and 2 is similar
due to the fact that total exhausted air ow is the same; however
the air change rate is bigger in all rooms for the case 2.
During further analyses it was examined how the demand for
power for heating increases compared to the case 0, and what is the
percentage share of air inltration in total heat inputs for different
variants.
The average monthly increase in average daily power for heating
in February (in relation to the case 0) is similar in all halls. It is, however, variable due to the used ventilation system. In the cases 1b
and 2 it ranges from 30 to 35% and in the case 3 it is lowerranging
from 14 to 18% (Fig. 13, left). In warmer April (Fig. 13, right)
when losses resulting from heat penetration through the external walls decrease, the average daily thermal power increases with
the increase of the amount of ventilation air. The largest increase,
almost 1.5 times, occurs in the Gallery of Painting (cases 1b and 2).
In other halls the power increases from 30% for the case 3 to 80%
for the cases 1b and 2.
The percentage of heat for ventilation in total heat demand
changes in particular cases (Fig. 14). Compared to the case 0, the
highest increases occur in the Gallery of Painting and the Ethnography hall, where the inltration is the lowest. The use of mechanical
exhaust ventilation causes an increase in the inltration. The share
of heat demand for heating up the ventilation air in April in exhibition halls ventilated naturally (case 0) practically does not change in
relation to cooler February. After the implementation of mechanical
ventilation the share of heat demand for inltration, in relation to
February, slightly increaseson average from 8 percentage points
in the cases 3 to 10 percentage points in the cases 1b and 2.
The total monthly heat demand for the whole building (all modelled zones) for different proposed ventilation systems was also
analysed (Table 4). Having analysed the total heat demand for the
building (all modelled zones) in February, it can be concluded that
the largest growth in heat demand occurs when the cases 1b and 2
are used (around 30% more than in the case 0). The greatest impact
belongs to the increase in heat demand for heating much larger
inltration ow (nearly 6-fold increase). Slighter increase in heat
demand occurs in the case 3. During the transition period (April),
the increase in heat demand is much smaller due to the increase
in outdoor air temperature. Even the decrease in heat demand for

J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

35

30

30
oC

35

25

20
simulation

15

Temperature,

25
20
simulation

15

measurement

measurement

Date

25/Aug

5/Aug

26/Jul

16/Jul

26/Jun

16/Jun

25/Aug

15/Aug

5/Aug

26/Jul

16/Jul

6/Jul

26/Jun

16/Jun

Date

6/Jul

10

10

15/Aug

Temperature, oC

52

Fig. 11. Comparison of average daily values of measured and calculated indoor temperature in the period from June to August for two selected zones: Flora&Fauna hall (left),
Ethnography hall (right).

Table 3
Percentage differences of average daily values of indoor temperature for four zones (measurementsimulation).
Zone

Relative difference (%)

4.85.8
3.38.8
3.83.8
2.09.0

32

Qinf

28

Qtot-Qinf

The share of the time when the

difference is less than 10% (%)

The share of the time when the

difference is less than 5% (%)

0.981
0.980
0.986
0.964

100
100
100
100

96.1
90.9
100
89.6

a)
Monthly heat demand, kWh/m2

Monthly heat demand, kWh/m2

Ethnography
Flora&Fauna
Temporary exhibition
Corridor on the 1st oor

Correlation factor

24
20
16
12
8
4
0

32

Qinf

28

Qtot-Qinf

b)

24
20
16
12
8
4
0

1b

1b

32

Qinf

28

Qtot-Qinf

Case

c)
Monthly heat demand, kWh/m2

Monthly heat demand, kWh/m2

Case

24
20
16
12

8
4
0

32

Qinf

28

Qtot-Qinf

d)

24
20
16
12

8
4
0

1b

2
Case

1b

Case

Fig. 12. Monthly (February) heat demand (Qtot total heat demand, Qinf heat for inltration), (a) Flora&Fauna exhibition (1st oor), (b) Temporary exhibition (1st oor), (c)
Ethnography exhibition (2nd oor), (d) Gallery of Painting (3rd oor).

case 1b

140%

case 2

case 3

120%
100%

80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Flora&Fauna

Temporary

Ethnography

Exhibition room

Percentage increase of thermal power

Percentage increase of thermal power

J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

140%

case 1b

case 2

53

case 3

120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%

Gallery of
Painting

Flora&Fauna

Temporary

Ethnography

Exhibition room

Gallery of
Painting

Fig. 13. Average increase (in relation to the case 0) of average daily thermal power in February (left) and April (right).

50%

case 0
case 2

50%

case 1b
case 3

45%

40%

40%

35%

35%

Qinf/Qtot

Qinf/Qtot

45%

30%
25%
20%

25%
20%
15%

10%

10%

5%

5%
Flora&Fauna Temporary Ethnography

Gallery of
Painting

Exhibition room

case 1b
case 3

30%

15%

0%

case 0
case 2

0%
Flora&Fauna Temporary Ethnography

Gallery of
Painting

Exhibition room

Fig. 14. Share of heat for inltration (Qinf ) in total monthly heat demand (Qtot ) in February (left) and April (right).

Table 4
Monthly heat demand (total and for inltration) for different variants of ventilation
(the whole building).
Case

February

April

Total heat demand

Inltration

34.13
44.38
43.69
39.37

1.80
12.06
11.37
7.05

Total heat demand

Inltration

MW h
0
1b
2
3

8.87
13.99
11.78
13.73

5.59
5.41
3.15
5.14

ventilation, despite inltration raise, can be observed. This is the

result of a ow of the air, whose temperature is higher than the
inside the building, to the museum rooms in some days of a month.
5. Conclusions
Museum is a specic facility, which must meet very rigorous
requirements regarding indoor microclimate. On one hand, it provides proper conditions for stored and collected exhibits, and on
the other hand it meets expectations for thermal comfort of people working and visiting it. The adequate air exchange is the key to
obtain and maintain the desired parameters of indoor climate.
The studies refer to one specic museum, yet they do show
unfortunately not uncommon problem related the museum buildings modernization which were carried out improperly. This

concerns the situations when the cooling system was implemented

in particular halls, but the ventilation system ignored.
The performed simulations revealed that the ventilation in the
examined museum is insufcient. As a matter of fact, air inltration occurs only on the rst oor. The ow of air inltration in the
winter season at low outdoor temperature is at the medium level of
0.3 h1 . In warmer periods of the year it does not exceed 0.2 h1 on
average. Inltration on the remaining oors is very small and the
ventilation of these halls in larger part takes place mainly with the
stale air from the staircase. The ventilation air ow in the building
is possible thanks to the open construction of the staircase (atrium
kind), where the stack effect occurs. This way of ventilation is insufcient from the point of view of hygiene and the requirements of
exhibits protection. The average air exchange throughout the year
in individual rooms ranges from 0.04 to 0.15 h1 . Maximum values
slightly exceed 0.4 h1 , yet only in the winter in one exhibition hall
(Flora&Fauna exhibition on the rst oor). It is of vital importance
to improve the ventilation system in the museum.
Total modernization of ventilation systems in the museum
buildings can pose a great challenge for designers due to the historic
nature of these buildings. The acceptable solution is to use supplyexhaust ventilation in the exhibition halls. However, this would
require interference in the building structure, and also obtaining
the consent from the conservator-restorer and the building manager.
Performed simulation analyses proved the use of the exhaust fan
on the roof of the staircase to be a relatively simple way to improve
the ventilation. This method only slightly interferes in the structure

54

J. Ferdyn-Grygierek, A. Baranowski / Energy and Buildings 92 (2015) 4554

of the building and signicantly improves the air exchange in the

rooms on all oors: in the analysed case mechanical exhaust of
3000 m3 /h increases the air exchange fourfold. The advantage of
this solution is also the alignment of the ventilation air ow rate
throughout the year.
Forcing greater air ow in the staircase (case 1) or directly in
the exhibition rooms (case 2) will result in the increase of air inltration through the windows in particular exhibition halls. The air
exchange on upper oors increases. The satisfactory air exchange
level (0.4 h1 ) was obtained in the Ethnography hall and the Gallery
of Painting.
The most balanced air exchange of the building can be obtained
by the use of the case 3 (combination of an exhaust through the
staircases roof with an air supply) in the case of the worst ventilated rooms (the Ethnography room and the Gallery of Painting).
The average air change rate in this variant is close to 0.5 h1 . The
advantage of the use of mechanical ventilation system is providing a stable amount of ventilation air during the whole year, which
cannot be achieved with the use of natural ventilation system.
The simulations also showed that the change of ventilation system will generate changes in thermal needs of the building. The
average monthly increase in heat demand differs due to used ventilation system. In cold February total heat demand of the building
increases by about 30% in the case of using exhaust ventilation systems, and in the case of using supply and exhaust ventilation system
reduced by about 15%.
Among the proposed ventilation systems the least energyintensive is the case 3, which is also preferred on account of
improving air exchange. The case 1 is easier to implement (exhaust
fan on the staircase). The case 3 is economical; however, it requires
more investment outlay and presents problems due to the need for
the installation of air supply fans in the exhibition rooms.
The studies conrmed that the methods of numerical simulation
supported by measurement validation are a proper tool for the analyses and the search for optimal solutions for ventilation of buildings
of a complex internal structure. The performance of a series of
variant simulations carried out for different ventilation systems
will be a basis for making investment decisions by the building
manager.
Acknowledgment
The work was supported by Polish Ministry of Science and
Higher Education within research grant N N523 448136.
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