This article presents the results of experimental research on energy consumption of a prefabricated lightweight passive house located in the south of Poland. The key design parameters of the building were as follows: orientation maximizing heat gains from solar radiation, high thermal insulation of partitions, heat provided by ground source heat pump, and mechanical ventilation system with the heat exchanger. The measurements were performed in normal operating conditions in an inhabited building, throughout the years 2011–2019. For the year 2012, the article also presents the detailed structure of electricity used for particular devices. The objective of the research was to verify whether, in the long term, the building fulfils the energy consumption requirements for passive buildings. The measurements showed that energy consumption for heating was 50% lower than the value required from passive buildings. However, primary energy consumption for the entire building was exceeded already in the second year of research. This was caused by two factors: human behaviors and the type of primary energy source. The research concludes that the maintenance of passive house standard is vulnerable to human impact and difficult in the case of power source characterized by high index of expenditure on non-renewable primary energy. The article also presents recommendations on how to restore the passive house standard in the building.

The article presents results of long-term experimental study of hygrothermal performance of envelope assemblies in a passive house located in Boruszowice (Southern Poland). The building was constructed in 2010 using prefabricated, lightweight technology. The construction of the walls and roof had been carefully planned to test both traditional solutions with higher thermal insulation and modified ones to improve the hygrothermal performance. Altogether, eight different walls and two roof constructions were integrated into the building structure and tested from the beginning of 2011 to the end of 2015 under real climate and usage conditions. In all assemblies, temperature was measured in three and relative humidity in four points at the surface and inside. Inner climate was measured by thermohygrometers installed in the rooms and outer climate was recorded by a weather station located near the building. Theoretical calculations were made using WUFI^® Plus software. Based on experimental and calculation results, the main hygrothermal phenomena depending on construction specifics and used materials are presented.

Saving energy while maintaining a high-quality internal environment is an increasingly important scientific and technological challenge in the building sector. This paper presents the results from a long-term study on thermal comfort in a passive house situated in the south of Poland. The building was constructed in 2010 with the use of prefabricated, lightweight technology. The main energy source is a ground source heat pump which powers the floor heating and DHW. The building is also equipped with a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery and a ground source heat exchanger. A lightweight building structure which has active systems with limited capabilities (especially for cooling) is a combination which increases the difficulty of maintaining a proper inner environmental condition. Extensive experimental investigations on hygrothermal performance and energy use have been carried out in the building for several years. The measurement results, such as inner air temperature and humidity, as well as the inner surface temperature of partitions, could be directly used to determine basic thermal comfort indicators, including PMV and PPD. Any missing data that has not been directly measured, such as the surface temperature of the windows, floors, and some of the other elements of the building envelope, have been calculated using WUFI^®PLUS software and validated with the available measurements. These results are not final; the full measurement of thermal comfort as an applied methodology did not consider human adaptation and assumed constant clothing insulation. Nevertheless, in general, the results show good thermal comfort conditions inside the building under research conditions. This was also confirmed via a survey of the inhabitants: 2 adults and 3 children.

The main aim of preventive conservation, ensuring protection of historic collections, is stabilization of relative humidity, and for some materials also temperature, in the interiors of historic buildings or museums. The improper microclimatic parameters may cause irreversible damages. On the other hand, strict control of indoor climate is expensive. Definition of optimal microclimate control in terms of energy use, taking into account most important, sometimes even contradictory factors, requires interdisciplinary cooperation, among others in the field of conservation, collections' care, architecture, building physics and HVAC systems. Due to the type of historic objects and specific microclimate requirements, hygrothermal simulations of whole historical buildings are essential for the most part of a case study. The paper presents an analysis of energy consumption according to various microclimate control scenarios for The National Museum in Kraków: The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art - located in Renaissance Cloth Hall in Kraków (UNESCO World Heritage Site). The analysis is based on the results of simulations performed with WUFI®PLUS software and in situ measurements. The microclimate control variants were developed, among others, on the basis of ASHRAE and ICOM-IIC guidelines. The research was supported by The Polish National Centre for Research and Development within "HERIVERDE" project.

The paper is an attempt to answer the question whether the material-optimized roof construction using cross-laminated timber (CLT) is safe in terms of moisture content in the demanding northern costal climates. The proposed roof structure meets the strength requirements. The partition is diffusionally open, which facilitates moisture transport. However, there is a concern whether the applied layer system allows maintaining a safe level of moisture content below critical moisture content (CMC), which has been set at 20%. The article presents the annual hygrothermal calculation of the proposed roof slope for four locations of northern Europe and Greenland characterized by costal or subpolar climate. Four scenarios of indoor air relative humidity were considered: free floating, RHmin = 40%RH, RHmin = 50%, RHmin = 60%. In all cases, the minimum indoor temperature was 20 °C. The analysis was carried out using WUFI^®Plus software. The calculation results showed that the moisture content did not exceed 20% in the CLT layer at any of the described locations. However, for the two coldest climates the assumed level of safety has been exceeded in the roof oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing.