Thermal and Energy Audits in Existent Wineries. A Case Study

GANEM, CAROLINA; COCH, HELENA

Edimburgo

Conferencia; 33rd International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture - Designing to Thrive; 2017

Heriot Watts University

In wineries, energy flux exchange and thermal inertia are crucial for achieving constant temperatures. Primitive wineries were underground and interior temperatures stabilized at the site?s mean annual temperature. In Mendoza, Argentina, by the year 1600 buildings started to be built on-the-ground with traditional materials: adobe walls (raw earth blocks) and Spanish cane (arundo donax) with compacted mould roofs. Grape juices were exposed to temperatures over 25ºC. A first reduction in the thermal resistance of the envelope occurred (if compared with a subterranean winery, at stable 16.5°C). As the use of energy consuming equipment for thermal conditioning generalized, new wineries started to be built with thin concrete slabs walls and galvanized steel roofs. A second reduction in the thermal resistance of the envelope occurred. Without auxiliary energy, interior temperatures during daytime in summer can reach 35°C. The objectives of this paper are: 1) to analyze materiality, thermal inertia and energy flux exchange of traditional and new envelopes, 2) to define critical control points of the wine making process and to perform a thermal and energy audit of a case study that presents both types of envelopes, and 3) to compare the obtained results with a case of an underground cellar.