Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP
Exterior view of the twin rooms on the 2nd floor of the VERU.
Energetic twin rooms
Energy Efficiency and Indoor Climate
The purpose of the twin rooms is to evaluate by means of comparative measurements the thermal properties and energy efficiency of façade technologies designed for office buildings, as well as the impact of such façades on the indoor climate and building services.
To this end, two identical test rooms are used, which are both located on the south-facing side and on the second floor of VERU (modular test facility for energy and indoor environment investigations) on the Fraunhofer IBP field test site in Holzkirchen.
The test rooms are enclosed by highly-insulated and temperature-controlled enveloping surfaces. As a result, heat flows via interior components that are not relevant to the experiments can be kept to a minimum. Thanks to this adiabatic concept, the thermal properties and energy efficiency of both rooms are almost identical.
The rooms are each 3.6 meters wide, 5.5 meters long and 2.8 meters high. The two test rooms are equipped with heating, cooling, ventilation and sun-shading systems, as well as dimmable lighting and extensive basic measurement and control equipment. Furthermore, the test rooms can be adapted to the respective research task in terms of structural and system components or control strategies. One of the two test rooms usually serves as a reference standard.
| Measurement | Comparative measurements of the thermal, visual and energetic performance of building components, building service components and control strategies |
| Measurement objects | Glass and metal façades, double skin façades, ventilated façades, (switchable) glazing, sun and glare protection systems, daylight redirection systems, façade integrated HVAC components, building integrated PV, solar thermal absorbers, general HVAC components and their integral interaction with the façade, decentralized storage systems and control strategies |
Technical data
| Clear height | 2.8 m |
| Façade surface area | 2 m² × 15 m² (on each test field) |
| Test cell area (W × D) | 3.6 m × 5.5 m |
Special features
| Adiabatic envelop | Featured by highly insulated and temperature-controlled building envelops it is possible to minimize the heat flow through internal partitions that are not relevant for the current experiment. This allows the calculation of an extremely precise energy balance for each room. |
| 1:1 full scale evaluations in step with real usage and climate situations | The two identical equipped office rooms provide the possibility for comparing investigations of different office concepts regarding their energy efficiency and the thermal and visual comfort in step with real usage conditions. |
Extensive basic equipment of measurement and control systems and building services:
- freely programmable, time-controlled ventilation system with heating and cooling functionality
- electrical room heating
- freely programmable logic controller, providing among others time-controlled internal heat and moisture sources for simulating usage profiles
- central measurement data acquisition