Thermal experiments of full-scale dwelling cells in artificial climatic conditions

Abstract This paper presents two experimental dwelling cells in artificial climatic conditions which give a better analysis of the thermal behaviour of buildings. First, the experimental areas are described: an actual four-room apartment (flat), and a single room. The metrology, the use, and the possibilities of such studies are then presented and we show the complementarity of these two cells. Finally we present a certain number of results: validations of various calculation models of thermal behaviour of buildings, studies of natural convection in a room, and evaluation of the influence of the spacial localization of short wavelength illuminations on the thermo-convective regime. The conclusions show how full-scale laboratory experiments in artificial climatic conditions give us the excellent qualities of reproductiveness, the pureness of inputs and the rigour of measurements necessary for scientific research in the field of heat transfers in buildings.