- Fan studied first Physics and then Architectural Technology in Zhejiang University. In late 80s’ he worked as a university lecturer in building physics and architectural engineering and his research concerned vernacular technology and architecture and low cost building design. His early studies into thermal behaviour of earthen tower buildings, one of traditional Chinese dwellings earned him two major scholarships to continue his research in University of Sheffield in UK. ... moreFan studied first Physics and then Architectural Technology in Zhejiang University. In late 80s’ he worked as a university lecturer in building physics and architectural engineering and his research concerned vernacular technology and architecture and low cost building design. His early studies into thermal behaviour of earthen tower buildings, one of traditional Chinese dwellings earned him two major scholarships to continue his research in University of Sheffield in UK. In Sheffield he developed a number of CFD models examining heating problems in large heavy buildings, radon entry in houses with cellars, and flow optimisation in continuous casting. Then he brought the modelling expertise to Battle McCarthy, a very active consulting firm specialised in environmental design, where he worked closely with engineers, architects and planners on various projects on environmental and sustainable building design, including the World Trade Centre in Amsterdam and the Millennium Tower in Nairobi.Since joining Heriot-Watt, Fan has been teaching subjects in architectural engineering and carrying out research in airflow and thermal modelling. His special interests are in VAC in hot climate, wind safety and comfort in built environments and building/system thermal performance modelling. More recently he has been exploring how modelling can help optimising control algorithm to achieve best performance of building systems. Fan’s engagement in green building design also includes promoting practise in low energy buildings design and sustainable urban development, for which he has been invited to give guest lectures as visiting professor in China, the most populated and rapidly industrialised country. He is technical advisor to Dept of Development and Renovation, Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences. He was a member of Peer Review College of the UK government funding research council Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) from 2000 to 2003.He has received research awards from various organisations, from research councils, like EPSRC, Royal Academy of Engineering, Innovate UK and governments, such as Scottish Executives and Malaysia Education Ministry. His most recent research is a KTP project for a Scottish Company Craigalan Control Ltd on developing smart control for building management systems.edit
The indoor thermal comfort of an existing glazed and air-conditioned airport terminal in Thailand was assessed by objective and subjective assessments and analyses. The environmental variables examined included internal and external air... more
The indoor thermal comfort of an existing glazed and air-conditioned airport terminal in Thailand was assessed by objective and subjective assessments and analyses. The environmental variables examined included internal and external air temperatures, internal glazed roof surface temperatures, relative humidity and illuminance over the departure lounge. The objective measurements were reviewed against the subjective results of a questionnaire-based survey. It was found that the internal air temperatures remained stable within the space. Slightly high indoor air temperatures normally occurred between 1200 and 1700 h, corresponding to higher afternoon outdoor temperatures. The internal glazed roof surface temperatures were recorded as 40°C by around midday. As a result, the operative temperature within the space, exceeded the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Airconditioning Engineers' 55 standard of 26°C, which led technically to overheating and thermal discomfort. The measured results were in fair agreement with the subjective survey results. The overall comfort vote and perception found the occupants to be slightly uncomfortable and dissatisfied. However, to resolve these problems, the proposed solution for large glazed air-conditioned airport terminals in the tropics would be to provide suitable external or internal sunshades, which are the most applicable and flexible methods in all climates.
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The indoor environment quality in large glazed space such as airport terminals affects its users in many ways. The indoor environment quality assessment of such a building was typically conducted objective measurement using measurement... more
The indoor environment quality in large glazed space such as airport terminals affects its users in many ways. The indoor environment quality assessment of such a building was typically conducted objective measurement using measurement and subjective assessment using questionnaire survey. However, limited resources and measurement period imply that would be incomplete and cannot provide accurate results. Computer modelling is thus an additional tool in the integrative approach for indoor environment quality assessment and analysis to improve its comfort and energy performance. Field measurement on the objective variables defined the environment quality and energy consumption , as well as questionnaire survey on the subjective judgment defined the indoor comfort. While the computer modelling was assessed across the air temperature, indoor glazed roof surface temperatures, mean radiant temperatures, operative temperatures and illuminance, to examine the building energy performance across the annual cooling load in 2010. The inner surface temperature over glazed roof were recorded as 56 • C due to high level solar penetration , even when the indoor air temperatures over the floor level remain stable within the standard comfort zone. This rose the mean radiant temperature and was considered as main cause for indoor discomfort revealed by the survey. The survey found the employees to be slightly uncomfortable and dissatisfied , particularly in summer. The total energy consumption in 2010 was very high compared against the energy benchmarking. This study confirms that the large proportion of glazed roof is the cause for both overheating and thermal discomfort even with excessive use of the cooling system. In addition, recommendation was made to improve the thermal comfort condition in the large glazed air-conditioned terminal.