FLEXLAB, short for the Facility for Low Energy Experiments, opened this summer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Scientists, architects, and engineers can use these four buildings to mimic the conditions inside and outside just about any building on Earth to test different elements for energy efficiency.
The buildings can simulate temperature, sun exposure—even the body heat of people sitting inside them. One of the test beds rotates 270 degrees to track the movement of the sun so that it can emulate the light exposure a building would get at different latitudes or in different seasons.
The new $16 million facility’s biggest value will come from validating models that can predict how a certain window or a shade will perform in a particular location. The facility lets researchers swap out cladding, shades, and windows to test different configurations.
About 1,000 sensors monitor multiple building dynamics such as power, airflow, and lighting. Portable “occupant thermal generators” mimic the body heat of people sitting in a space. Large cooling and heating systems can make up for the lack of temperature and humidity variation in the Bay Area.
(http://gizmodo.com/the-rotating-building-where-the-offices-of-the-future-w-1602471614)
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Apr 12, 2018
Corruption in New York City construction industry is common
Scale of projects, number of players involved contributes to problem.
Codes and Standards | Apr 11, 2018
Urgent need for government to make communities, infrastructure more resilient
More than 350 people died from extreme weather events in 2017.
Codes and Standards | Apr 10, 2018
Boosting energy efficiency helps reduce health risks
Cleaner air results in fewer heart attacks, respiratory disease, and premature deaths.
Codes and Standards | Apr 9, 2018
U.K. business leaders call for zero-carbon buildings by 2030
Real estate, construction industry executives among those supporting the goal.
Codes and Standards | Apr 5, 2018
In Houston, proposed rules would require building above 500-year flood level
Change would impact 85,739 pieces of property.
Codes and Standards | Apr 4, 2018
New ASTM standard supports stucco use in construction
Provides way to measure tensile strength in vertical applications.
Codes and Standards | Apr 3, 2018
LEED v4.1 O+M for Existing Buildings available for beta testing
Update said to be most inclusive and transparent platform to date.
Codes and Standards | Apr 2, 2018
Experts chosen for ICC, ANCR buildings resilience benchmarks project
Specialists to focus on community preparedness for disasters.
Codes and Standards | Mar 29, 2018
Contractors have paid $5.2 million for failing local resident employee mandate on Detroit arena
Companies were only able to meet half of the 51% local worker requirement over course of the project.
Codes and Standards | Mar 28, 2018
Washington State moving to promote mass timber construction with legislation
Bill would require all 12-story or less public buildings to be built with mass timber.