Building Thermal Design

Question 1

Aluminium foil insulation has

A. lower R-value for the downward radiative heat than the upward radiative heat
B. higher R-value for the downward radiative heat than the upward radiative heat
C. the same R-value for radiative heat from all different directions
D. the same R-value for both downward and upward radiative heat

Answer 1

higher R-value for the downward radiative heat than the upward

Question 2

Double-glazed windows

A. have higher R-value than single-glazed windows, insulated walls and roofs
B. have lower R-value than single-glazed windows, insulated walls and roofs
C. have higher R-value than single-glazed, so more wall areas of an Auckland
house can be covered by double-glazed windows
D. have higher R-value than single-glazed windows but windows are commonly weak part of building envelope for thermal resistance

Answer 2

Have higher R-value than single-glazed windows but windows are commonly weak part of building envelope for thermal resistance

Question 3

Direct evaporative cooling control

A. can be applied for outdoor space in temperate climate with hot summer
B. can be applied for indoor space during summer in all climates
C. can only be applied for indoor space in tropical climates
D. can only be applied for indoor space in temperate climate

Answer 3

Can only be applied for indoor space in tropical climates

Question 4

Direct evaporative cooling control cannot be applied for

a. outdoor space during the summer in temperate climate
b. indoor space during the summer in all climate
c. indoor space during the summer in tropical climate
d. indoor space during the summer in hot-dry climate

Answer 4

Outdoor space during the summer in temperate climate

Question 5

Which of the following passive controls can be applied to improve indoor thermal comfort for both over-heated and under-heated conditions?

a. Mass effect
b. passive solar heating
c. mass effect with night ventilation
d. mass effect and passive solar heating

Answer 5

Mass effect

Question 6

Summer thermal comfort zones for building thermal design can be calculated using

A. local annual mean climate data
B. local summer monthly mean air temperature and relative humidity
C. local summer mean solar radiation and wind speed
D. local summer wind speed and absolute humidity

Answer 6

Local annual mean climate data

Question 7

For an Auckland brick veneer house, wall insulation materials are located at the internal surface of the wall and not located at the external surface of the wall, because

A. it increases the R-value of the house envelope
B. it decreases the R-value of the house envelope
C. building thermal design is for permanent heating
D. building thermal design is for temporary heating

Answer 7

Building thermal design is for temporary heating

Question 8

For winter building thermal design, building envelope with thermal mass can expand the local winter thermal comfort zone to

A. a lower temperature
B. a lower temperature and higher relative humidity
C. a higher temperature and lower relative humidity
D. both higher temperature and higher relative humidity

Answer 8

A higher temperature and lower relative humidity

Question 9

The house with a big ratio of building surface to volume is suitable for

A. tropical climates
B. cold climates and tropical climates
C. cold and temperate climates
D. cold and hot-dry climates

Answer 9

Tropical climates

Question 10

Three types of insulations for building thermal design are:

A. reflective, resistive and capacitive insulations
B. Pinkbatts, Earthwool and Cocoon
C. roof insulation, wall insulation and floor insulation D. polystyrene panel, fiberglass and Aluminium sheet

Answer 10

reflective, resistive and capacitive insulations

Question 11

A shallow-plan indoor space in a building is

A. good for day lighting
B. not good for natural cross ventilation
C. good for reducing heat loss in winter
D. not good for direct passive solar heating

Answer 11

Good for day lighting and Natural Ventilation

Question 12

12. The compact urban form is suitable for

A. tropical climate
B. cold climate and tropical climate
C. hot-humid climate and hot-dry climate
D. hot-dry and cold climates

Answer 12

hot-dry and cold climates

Question 13

The optimal ratio of surface to volume of a below-ground space is closely related to

A. the local climate
B. the internal air temperature and external air temperature
C. external air temperature and the surrounding soil temperature
D. the internal air temperature and the surrounding soil temperature

Answer 13

External air temperature and the surrounding soil temperature

Question 14

For urban environmental design “Generally a large number of small urban open green spaces distributed in the whole urban area is better than a small number of large urban open green spaces for urban thermal comfort.” is

A. not for the cold climate
B. only for the temperate climate C. not for the hot dry climate
D. for all climate conditions

Answer 14

For all climate conditions

Question 15

Narrow, curve and zigzag streets are

A. good for hot dry climate
B. good for tropical climate
C. good for temperate climate
D. not good for any climate conditions

Answer 15

Good for hot dry climate

Question 16

The courtyard of a house in hot-dry climate

A. can provide cross ventilation for the house
B. can reduce heat gain in the courtyard and increase wind speed C. can reduce dust, heat gain and moisture in the courtyard
D. can provide shading and outdoor living space

Answer 16

Can provide shading and outdoor living space

Question 17

The veranda of a tropical house

A. can reduce indoor heat gain, wind speed and moisture
B. can increase indoor wind speed and air temperature
C. can provide shading, outdoor living space and increase cross ventilation
D. can provide stack effect ventilation

Answer 17

Can provide shading, outdoor living space and increase cross ventilation

Question 18

Outdoor living space of a house is

A. important for all climates
B. good for the tropical and hot-dry climates
C. good for hot dry, temperate and cold climates D. not important for hot dry and tropical climates

Answer 18

important for all climates

Question 19

9. Adding thermal mass in an Auckland school building envelope

A. cannot reduce indoor relative humidity
B. can increase indoor mean air temperatue and reduce indoor relative
humidity
C. can increase air temperature and indoor relative humidity
D. can reduce indoor relative humidity and mean air temperature

Question 20

In hot-humid climate, walls of a house are

A. same importance as in any other climate conditions for indoor thermal comfort
B. more important than in any other climate conditions for indoor thermal comfort
C. more important than the roof for indoor thermal comfort
D. normally low heat capacity materials

Question 21

The most important design factor for direct passive solar heating design of a building is

A. Building opening areas
B. Building orientation
C. Building surface colour
D. Building structure

Answer 21

Building orientation

Question 22

A high density house with a small ratio of surface to volume, small openings and thick-mass walls is not designed for

A. Tropical climate
B. Hot-dry climate
C. Cold climate
D. Hot-dry climate, cold climate and temperate climate

Answer 22

Tropical climate

Question 23

Best roof thermal design for a hot-humid tropical house will

A. Prevent daytime heat gain and encourage night time internal heat loss
B. Supply good shading and small ratio of building surface to volume
C. Increase cross ventilation
D. Prevent daytime solar heat gain

Answer 23

Prevent daytime heat gain and encourage night time internal heat loss

Question 24

For indoor thermal comfort and health conditions, winter indoor relative humidity of a Auckland house should be

A. lower than 50%
B. higher than 50%
C. between 20% and 80%
D. between 40% and 60%

Answer 24

Between 40% and 60%

Question 25

In a typical house, stack-effect natural ventilation is not sufficient to restore the occupant’s thermal comfort during the summer because it cannot achieve

A. sufficient indoor air speed
B. sufficient indoor air change
C. sufficient indoor air temperature
D. sufficient relative humidity

Answer 25

Sufficient indoor air temperature