An Overview of Experimental and Simulation Work on Indoor Climate and Control in Historic Houses and Monumental Buildings

In Eindhoven University of Technology, the Building Physics and Systems Unit is working on topics of building physics and HVAC systems. The group, which has a number of experimental facilities, has been working for over thirty-five years on the computer simulation of the indoor climate of buildings in general and on the thermal comfort of people in particular. The group has a lot of contacts with institutes involved in the preservation of monumental buildings and collections. Therefore, a special section is working on the topic of building physics and systems in monuments. This group of people is working on topics of heating, cooling, and ventilation in historic houses and buildings; effects of humidification and dehumidification; monitoring and controls; pollution and soiling; and the balance among conservation, human comfort, and sustainability. The purpose of their work is threefold: increasing the knowledge of building physics and systems in monumental buildings; improving the indoor climate and durability of the buildings and their collections; and propagating this knowledge to students, engineers, and architects in practice.