AT-96-8-1
Mixed=Mode HVAC--An
Alternative Philosophy
David Arnold, Ph.D., C.Eng.
Member ASHRAE
ABSTRACT
This paper examinesan alternative strategy for heating,
cooling, andventilating buildings that attempts to combinethe
best features of both natural and mechanical systems. It
#~volvesa holistic approachto design that treats the building
and engineering equally: Such climate-responsive integrated
buildhzg/engineering systems are intended to operate in the
natural modewhenever possible to minimize energy use and
only use mechanical systems under peak conditions at the
extremesof external temperatures.
The period of use of natural systems can be extended by
ushzg passive cooling techniques and[abric thermal storage.
Someof the building mass, walls, ceiling slabs, etc., are used
as thermal storage media and are allowed to cool overnight
and absorb heat the next da3: The technique requires some
automatedcontrol of natural ventilation but both teduces
energy use and, by virtue of the thermalmassinvolved, limits
the rise in internal temperature on occasions whennormal
design criteria are exceeded.
The paper describes the philosophy and operation of
mixed-modesystems used in conjunction with fabric thermal
storage and suggests someguidelines .for the developmentof
the design of a practical ~ystem.
INTRODUCTION
Formanyyears, the optionsfor heating,ventilating, andcool-
ing large buildings such as offices havebeenpolarized into two
separate and usually isolated strategies-either heating coupled
withnatural ventilation or air conditioning.However, researchin
real buildings(Bordasset al. 1995)has shownthat there is little
choosefrom betweenthem°A goodnaturally ventilated building
can be as comfortable as a good air-conditioned one and vice
versa. Clearly,achievingthis degreeof satisfaction is easier for
buildings in temperateclimates, but, evenin extremeclimates,
temperateconditions can prevail for a large portion of the year
whennatural systems maybe able to provide comfort.
Architecture(i.e., building formand fabric) has an impor-
tant influenceonthe internal conditions,but, moreoften than not
in NorthAmerica,it is not used to advantage;air conditioningis
installed automatically.
DavidArnoldis a partner with TroupBywaters&AndersConsultingEngineers,London,England.
ASHRAE
Transactions:Symposia
There is, however,an alternative approachthat only uses
mechanical systems whennatural means are inadequate and
avoids the cost, energypenalty, and consequentialenvironmental
effects of full year-roundair conditioning. This approachis
called mixedmode,i.e., providingboth natural ventilation and
mechanicalsystems (such as forced ventilation and refrigera-
tion) but usingdifferent features of the systemsat different times
of the day or season of the year. Thetechniquehas beenin use,
in one formor another, for around20 years in the ILK.A recent
study of such buildings (Willis et al. 1994)concludedthat they
are generally successful, popularwith the occupants,and able to
conveythe feeling of a prestige building. Thetechniqueis now
beingused increasinglyin the U.K.and has applicationsto other
climates.It requires a whole-building, i.e., holistic, approachto
design and takes advantageof the ability of humanbeings to
accept and feel comfortableover a range of temperaturesduring
the courseof a single day. In principle, the occupiedspacesstart
the day as comfortablycool as acceptableand finish as comfort-
ably warmas acceptable.
Theprincipal advantagesof this methodof providingventi-
lation and coolingto buildingsthat cannotbe satisfied year round
by naturalventilationalone are twofold.First, the introductionof
openablewindowsinto what mightotherwise be a sealed build-
ing providesuser control, the opportunityfor users of the build-
ing to exercise direct control over their local environment,both
in termsof the rate of ventilation and, whenoutside temperatures
are suitable, cooling. Second,by only using mechanicalsystems
such as forced ventilation and/or cooling whennecessary, much
less energy is use&The energy use can be further reduced by
using passive cooling techniques. This only requires that, at
somepoint in a cycle, the external temperaturebe lowerthan a
comfortableindoor temperature. This occurs in most populated
climatic zones.
Overnightcooling by ventilation is possibly the simplest
passivetechniqueand utilizes the thermalstorage capacityof the
building massto overcomethe asynchronousdemandfor cool-
ing. This includespartitions, the floor slab, furniture, andeven
the inner portion of the outside wall. The technique, sometimes
called fabric thermalstorage(FTS),can extend the period of the
year whenmechanical cooling can be avoided. The FTStech-
nique also reducesthe size of the mechanicalplant necessaryto
687
meet the peak cooling demandson the hottest days of the year. air conditioning. This lack of stimulus was overcomein one
In addition to these advantages,mixed-mode systems can leave Germanoffice building by using different colored lights that
the option opento changeto full air conditioningif necessary. indicated to occupantswhetherthey should open either windows
or the air-conditioning dampers(Fitzner 1993). Althoughthis
A DIFFERENT DESIGN PHILOSOPHY solution mayseem impractical in somecultures, it more than
Hawkes(1982) considers the design philosophies for fully halvedthe runningtimeof the air conditioning.Thereis nothing
air-conditioned buildings and those where natural systems newin the principle; someof the earliest air-conditionedbuild-
predominateas different approachesto the samedesign problem ings in the U.S. gave occupantsthe option to open either the
(i.e., determiningthe relative environmental functionsof build- windowsor the air-conditioning dampers (Worsham1929).
ing fo~m,fabric, andengineering).In the fonne~;the priority is Even installing an extract fan or a packagedair conditionerin a
to isolate the internal environmentfrom the external using naturally ventilated roommeets the definition; however,this
mechanicalsystems.In the latter; the building envelopeis given paper is concerned with optimizingthe systematicapplication of
priority and configured to (a) maximizethe use of ambient the principle to entire buildings.
energyand (b) achieve an effective balance betweenthe use The key features or subsystemsof a whole-buildingsystem
advancedautomaticcontrols and the opportunityfor the users of are controlled natural ventilation andeither/or mechanicalventi-
the building to exercise direct control of their environment.He lation and/or cooling. Controlled ventilation simplymeanseither
illustrates the difference betweenthese approachesby reference automatically controlled vents or a regime of manualwindow
to Olgyay’s (1963) principle of selective design, shown operation that can be changed or encouraged to change, depend-
(adapted)as Figure1. Applyingthis principle of effective use ing on the weather.
the natural enviromnent reduces the loads for mechanical The key principle is that inadequate ventilation must be
systemsfrom the gap betweencurves 1 and 5 to the gap between avoidedwhenit is cold outside and excessiveventilation avoided
curves3 and 5. Byrelaxingthe requirementfor constantinternal whenit is hot. Themechanicalsystemcan be either a combined
conditions, the gap is further reducedto that betweencurves 3 all-air or’ air-and-watersystemthat suppliesbothventilationand
and 4, the internal conditions resulting from a mixed-mode coolingor separate systemssuch as displacementventilation and
approach. chilled ceilings. Withdirect coolingsystems,suchas chilled ceil-
Theholistic approachto the design of a mixed-mode build- ings and chilled beams,it maybe necessaryto dry the air at times
ing starts withan analysisof the buildingthat first optimizesthe to prevent condensationon cool surfaces.
use of passive devicessuch as solar shadingand exposedthermal
massand then cmries out any calculations or thermal modeling MIXED-MODE OPERATION
to determinethe resulting internal conditions and what, if any, For the large portion of the year in which mixed-mode
mechanicalcooling is required. ~Ib justify the case for mixed systems are intended to operate in the natural mode,building
rhode, comfort requirementsmust be met and the overall life~ users are expectedto openand close windows as a reaction to the
cycle cost shouldbe less than that with air conditioning,includ- normal stimuli. These have been shownto be predominantly
ing the total cost of mechanicaland natural systems. either’ a changein temperatureor a desire for’ fresh air (Wan:en
A simpler solution might seemto be to provide a conven- and Parkins 1984). Heatingcan be hydronicradiators or part of
tional air-conditioned building with openablewindows.This has the air supplysystem, and control can be limited to simplypre-
beendonein the past andthe result is that withconstantinternal heating the building in the morningand ensuring a reasonable
temperatures there is no stimulus to open windows(Warburton provision of heat during the day. If inadequateventilation is
1995). The potential energy savings are lost and the building sensedat any time of the year by, for example,CO 2 sensors, auto-
owner ends up paying twice--for both openable windowsand matically controlled natural or mechanicalventilation can be
used to rectify the situation. Duringwarmerperiods, the venti-
lation is increased either as a result of the normalopeningof
Environmentalconditions
Microclim~dtolog windowsor by automatic control.
y
Climatebalanceof structure At the point whennatural systemsare no longer adequateto
Mixed mode
Fully air conditloned restrict the rise in temperatureduringthe day to within whatever
limits have been set, mechanicalsystems are used to provide
sufficient cooling. This can be achievedby using someformof
23 oc free cooling from an ambient source, such as overnight air
T1m~
(Arnold1978)or refrigeration.
It is importantto allowthe temperatureto rise, withinlimits,
duringthe workingday, as this both stimulates window use (i.e.,
natural ventilation) and reduces the period whenmechanical
systems operate and, consequently, the amountof energy used.
Figure I Olgyay’s(1963) principle of selective design This is in contrast to the basic philosophyof air conditioning,
with the addition of mixed-modeHVAC. whichattemptsto maintaina nearly constant conditionof around

688 ASHRAETransactions: Symposia

23°C,resulting in continuoususe of fans and pumps,etc., irre-
spective of whetherany cooling is necessary. In the U.K., the
energycost of fans and pumpsrepresents around60%of the total
1, Tomperato
cllmal0a
for air conditioning and is one of the mainsavings created by 2, Warm
¢llrnate
using a mixed-modestrategy (EEO1991).

DESIGN DECISIONS
The main design decisions necessary to makethe optimum
provision of each of the subsystemsare
(a) the extent, type, location, use, andcontrol of natural openings;
(b) the rates of natural ventilation required in each mode;
(c) the flowrate, distribution, and control of mechanicalventi-
lation;
(d) the provision,if any, and rate of mechanical cooling(refrig-
eration); and
(e) the changeoverconditions triggering the use of mechanical
systems.
While opening windowsis fundamentalto the philosophy,
there are often times of the year whenbuildingusers will not be
stimulated to openwindows,for example,in winter in northern
latitudes. "Trickle"ventilators haveproveneffective in provid-
ing the background ventilation necessaryat these times of year
(Pereraet al. 1993).Theseslot ventilators, with or withoutdamp-
ers, can be usedin conjunctionwith automaticroof lights in open
atria or dampersin natural exhaustshafts to control the rate of
ventilation withoutrelying on occupants.Predictionof the natu-
ral ventilation rates generatedby windpressure and stack effect
can be calculated from first principles or by using commercial
software (BRE1991).
The conditions at whichmechanicalsystems, ventilatio~ or
cooling,are set into operationcanin practicebe easily identified,
for exampleby setting temperatureor CO 2 limits. However,in
terms of design, at each changeover conditionthere is the oppor-
tunity to increase or decreasethe provisionof one subsystemor
the other (see Figure2). For example,as the outsidetemperature
increases, moreventilation is required to maintain the same
internal condition. This can be achievedby either increasingthe
area of natural openingsor by using a mechanicalsystem. As a
mechanicalsystemis being providedin any case, the proportion
of opening windowscan be less than in an entirely naturally
ventilated building. The optimumprovision lies somewhere
15 2O
Figure 2 Typical operating ranges for tnixed-mod,
HVAC.
tioning systemis usedto providefree cooling, the outsidetemper-
ature needsto be around14 to 15 degrees lowerto makeit more
efficient than direct mechanical
coolingby refrigeration.
Thedesign decisions necessaryto optimizethe provisionof
each subsystemand justify the case for mixed-mode use are also
affected by the extent to whichuse is madeof the buildingthermal
mass.
FABRIC THERMAL STORAGE
Thebasic principle of building massabsorbingand releasing
heat applies to any buildingwith a cyclical variation in tempera-
ture. The effect can be enhancedby exposinga larger amountof
thermalmassto the space(e.g., removing a lightweightfalse ceil-
ing and exposinga concrete slab). The usefulnessof the exposed
fabric dependson the surface area exposed,the thermalproperties
of the material(conductivity,density, specific heat), the frequency
of the cycle, and the swing in temperature. Althoughlimited
researchhas beencarried out specifically into fabric thermalstor-
age for overnightcooling(Barnard1994),mostof the results
the extensiveresearch into passive solar heating (Balcomb et al.
1984)apply equallywell to this complementary application of the
samebasic technique.In particular, the supplement to the original
publication (Balcomband Wray1987)describes and analyzes the
effects of thermalstoragein passivesolar buildings.
Low pressure loss ~y~tem
~ 12

k Igh V~Ioclty
lkW/~m3/s]

betweenthe minimum necessaryto give the users the confidence ~

that they will be effective and the entire glazedarea. Thesolution

can mosteasily be achievedby life-cycle costing, comparingthe
extra costs of opening windowswith the running costs of
mechanical systems.
Similarly, if both mechanicalventilation and cooling are
providedas the outside temperatureincreases, mechanicalcooling
becomesmoreenergy efficient than mechanicalventilation (see
10 15 20 25
Figure3). It is basedonsensiblecoolingonlyandshowsthat a low- ~e~ Tempem~m ~
pressure-lossmechanicalventilation systemis moreefficient, in
energyterms, than a refrigeration system,providedthat the exter-
nal temperatureis morethan twoor three degreeslowerthan the Figure 3 Energy required for cooling: mechanical
internal temperature.However, ira typical high-velocityair-condi- ventilation vs. refrigeration.

ASHRAE
Transactions:Symposia 689
 Oneof the key concepts of mixed-modeHVAC is that the
building users will experiencea swingin temperature,particu-
larly on warmdays. Themagnitudeof this swingis restricted by
the acceptability to the occupants. Experience quoted by
Balcomb and Wraysuggests that this should be limited to 5 K to
6 K, with a maximum of around4 K occurring during the occu-
pied period. Clearly, application of fabric thermalstorage that
creates a larger variation in temperaturewouldbe unacceptable.
The quantity of heat that can be stored in the fabric is
restricted both by the maximum thermal capacity of the material
and the amountthat can conduct through the material in each
cycle. Thefundamentalfrequencyfor buildingsis usually the 24-
hour cycle, although this can be overlaid by weeklyand even
seasonalcycles. Consequently,the daily cycle is mostimportant;
however,with heavyweight materials such as concreteslabs, the
more deeply stored coolth of the weeklycycle can limit the
excursionof temperatureunderextremeconditions. The surface
area---the limiting factor for transfer in and out of the materi-
al--can, to an extent, be determinedby the building designer.For
example,the use of vaultedor cofferedceiling slabs can increase
the surface area of the slab in contact with the space by 50%to
150%compared to a flat slab. Thedesignercan also influencethe
thermalpropertiesor effectivenessof certain materials.Theloca-
tion of insulation in an external wall is an exampleand has a
significant effect on the thermalperformance of the space.If it is
placed on the inside, the thexmalcapacity of the wall is lost,
whereasif it is placedin the centeror on the outsideof an external
wall, greater use can be madeof the thermalmass.
’Ilae combined effect of the heat storage capacities of the
building fabric boundingthe space and even the fixtures and
furniture can be estimatedusing the diurnal heat capacity (DHC)
concept (Balcomband Wray1987). The principle is shown
Figure 4. Balcomband Wrayalso showthat an optimumthick-
ness can be determined, in terms of thermal performance,for
diurnal heat capacity basedon a 24-hourcycle. Thesecurvesare
shownin Figure 5.
’W’~l surl’aceconditions
Time
,or’
Gay
Figure 4 Heat stored in wall shown bY hatched area.
Diurnal heat capacity equals heat stored/
temperature swing, dhc = AQ/AT.
690
14
Figure 5 Diurnal heat capacities for various thick-
nesses.
The curvesare shownfor a single-sided slab well insulated
on the outside. For slabs with both sides exposedto the same
cyclic variation in heat flux, half the thickness is used. Other
studies (Barnard1994) have shownthat coffered concrete slabs
canbe effective using night cooling, with heat gains up to 20 to
30 W/me. In comparisonwith air-conditioning systems that cool
at a rate of 80 to 100 W/m e, this appears quite low. However,
manyof these have been shownto be oversized, and a typical
current figure for northernEurope,with goodsolar protection, is
50 to 60 W/m e. Consequently, fabric thermal storage can
displace up to 50%of the peakcooling duty.
Thefact that an optirnumthickness exists for each material
meansthat increasing the depth/thickness, beyondaround100
mmin the case of concrete, has a negligible effect on the thermal
performanceof the room. If morethermal capacity is required,
this must be achievedby increasing the surface area coupledto
the space. Caremustbe taken whenprovidinghigh levels of ther-
malcapacity that they do not preventthe attainmentof comfort-
able temperaturesin winter at the beginningof the day.
The typical effect of thermal masscoupledwith overnight
ventilationis shown in Figure6. It showsthe results fi’omthermal
simulation for a typical moduleof an office building and
comparesthe percentage of windowopeningas a proportion of
external wall necessa~ayto maintaina limiting internal tempera-
ture of 25°C.Thethermalmodelis effectively usedin reverse to
calculate the ventilation rates (day and night) necessaryto limit
the internal temperatureto this or any predeterminedvalue. The
rates are then transposedinto the proportionof window opening
necessaryto achieve those ventilation rates using the software
mentionedpreviously.
Experiencewith existing overnight CoolingsyStems(Willis
et al. 1994) has shownthat sorne havefailed due to a lack of
appropriate control. However,the dynamicoperation of fabric
thermal storage is similar to other storage techniquesand the
control issues are similar. Theseinclude:
o Whento begin charge?
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Transactions:Symposia

opening
I0
15 20 25
Mm4rnumDdly
Tcrnperatur~
oc
_Figure 6 Typical relationship between windowopening-
and daily maximumtemperature using natural
ventilation to limit internal temperatureto 25 °C.
¯ Howquickly to charge?
o How much to charge?
Control of the discharge is constrained by the thermal proper-
ties of the space and the responseof the building users. Asthe
temperaturerises during the day, the amountof heat absorbed
by the building masswill increase as the temperaturediffer-
ence betweenthe space and the boundingsurfaces increases.
Thereare other factors to accountfor whenusing mechanical
systems, as the energy source---cool overnight air--is time
dependent. Minimum temperatures occur around dawn, which
can be at the end of the normaloff-peaktariff window.Theopti-
mumperiod for overnightcooling maywell run into the beginning
of the workingday. Starting the chargeearlier maybe cheaperbut
less energyefficient. Thefact that the energystore is not isolated
and insulated meansthat it will lose somecapacity while being
charged.Equally, the variable availability meansthat there is a
trade-off that varies with time betweenthe amountof "free
energy"that can be stored and the powernecessaryfor charging.
Theseeffects mustbe consideredcarefully in each design.
Asthe coolingcapacityis, in effect, embedded in the build-
ing thermal mass, conventional design techniques of assessing
the peakload cannotbe used. It is necessaryto use moredetailed
weatherpatterns andlooktypically for the peakthree- to five-day
period. In addition, the period on either side shouldbe examined
to ensurethat (a) the buildingfabric is assumed
to be at a realistic
temperaturebefore the peak period and (b) the consequences
runningthe systemwith an exhaustedstore after peakare consid-
ered. This level of analysis can onlybe carried out using dynamic
simulation. Experiencehas shownthat this should be used with
a degree of caution by the user. The results should be compared
with both practical experienceand intuition.
CONCLUSIONS
The mixed-mode strategy of providing heating, cooling,
and ventilation combinedwith fabric thermalstorage has proven
successfulin a temperateclimatesuch as that in the U.K.and has
ASHRAE
Transactions:Symposia
applications in more extremeclimates. There are significant
potential advantagesover conventionalair conditioningin terms
of bothenergyand local user control. It requires a higherlevel of
integrated design betweenthe architect and the engineerand is
best integrated into buildings,newor refurbished,at the concept
stage. Perhapsequally important, it represents a departurefrom
traditional waysof running air-conditioning systems; conse-
quently, building operators must be educatedon the principles
and be able to implement control easily. It does, however,present
an opportunity by which to design comfortable buildings in a
moresustainable and environmentallyfriendly way.
REFERENCES
Arnold, D. 1978. Comfortair conditioning and the need for
refrigeration. ASHRAE Transactions 84(2).
Balcomb,J.D., et al. 1984. Passive solar heating analysis~-A
design manual. Los Alamos, N.M.: Los AlamosNational
Laboratory, and Atlanta: AmericanSociety of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-ConditioningEngineers, Inc.
Balcomb,J.D., and W.O.Wray. 1987. Thermalmass effects.
Supplementto Passive Solar Heating Analysis. Atlanta:
AmericanSociety of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Con-
ditioning Engineers,Inc.
Barnard, N. 1994. Fabric energy storag.e of night cooling.
CIBSENational Conference. London:Chartered Institu-
tion of BuildingServices Engineers.
Bordass, W.T., et al. 1995. Comfortcontrol and energy effi-
ciency in offices. BREInformationPaperIP 3/95. Watford,
Herts, U.K.: Building ResearchEstablishment.
BRE.1991. BREEZE user manual.5.1. Garston, U.K.: Building
Research Establishment.
EEO.1991. Energy consumption guide~Energy efficiency in
offices. London:Departmentof the Environment.
Fitzner, K. 1993. Air conditioningon request, an air conditioned
building with windowsthat can be opened. CLIMA_2000
Conference, London.
Hawkes,D. 1982. Building shape and energy use. In TheArchi-
tecture of Energy. London:Longmans.
Olgyay,V. 1963. Designwith climate. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
UniversityPress.
Perera, M.D.A.E.S.,S.G. Marshall, and E.W.Solomon.1993. Con-
trolled background ventilation for large commercialbuild-
ings. BuildingServ. Eng. Researchand Technology.London:
CharteredInstitution of BuildingServicesEngineers.
Warburton, R 1995. Private communicationconcerning the
RoyalLife Insurance building in Coventry,England.
Warren, RR., and L.M. Parkins. 1984. Window opening behav-
ior in office buildings. ASHRAE Transactions90(1).
Willis, S., M. Fordham,and W.Bordass. 1994. Anoverviewof
technologies to minimizeor avoid the need for air condi-
tioning--Final report. CR142/94. Watford, Herts, U.K.:
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Worsham,H. 1929. The Milambuilding. Heating~Piping~Air.
691
QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
Geoff Levermore,Senior Lecturer, Departmentof Build-
ing Engineering,University of ManchesterInstitute of Sci-
ence and Technology, Manchester, England: Howwas the
solar gain reduced but the daylight input maintained? What
weather data were used for the design/simulation and the cor-
respondingcomfortcriteria?
David Arnold: Mypresentation covered experience with five
buildings. The type of solar protection was different for each
692
one. It included automatic mid/outer-pane blinds, internal
manualblinds, and brises-soleil, each intended to maintain
daylight and avoid solar gain to a greater or lesser extent
depending on the building mass and proportion of window
area in the external wall. Weatherdata used for simulation was
generally based on hourly readings fi’om the closest weather
station. Comfortcriteria were based on limiting the rise of
internal temperature to a maximum of 25°C in one case and
for a maximum period of time above25°Cin the others.
ASHRAE
Transactions:Symposia