OVERHEATING IN BUILDINGS - INVESTIGATION AND SOLUTIONS: A case study of the Science and Technology building in Gelsenkirchen, Germany

摘要

Buildings in temperate (cooler) regions with large glazing areas exposed to the sun, can easily become thermal collectors during the short summer periods as a result of rising temperatures, thus overheating. This uncomfortable phenomenon may be a result of poor planning on the side of designers, lack of consultation with experts in different fields resulting in insufficient consideration of the influence of nature on the buildings as regards air circulation and sun shading etc. and possibly also the overemphasising of the aesthetic aspects which may result in excessive use of some building materials like glass which when unnecessarily used can become contributors to overheating in buildings.