RE2020 Thermal Study
Chambéry, AURA

In Chambéry, thermal studies benefit from an unusual technical environment: the basin is home to a research centre recognised for its work on solar energy, which raises the level of demand from local clients on the integration of photovoltaics and solar thermal. The cluse configuration also creates thermal inversion and persistent winter fog that weigh on real solar gains, a discrepancy that the regulatory calculation smooths over and that dynamic simulation can capture. The altitude and the length of the heating season complete the picture.

Summer comfort is the sticking point of the RE2020 in Chambéry: on exposed façades, the degree-hours (DH) threshold is quickly exceeded, all the more so in the south of France. Dynamic thermal simulation arbitrates between thermal inertia, solar shading and natural ventilation before the building envelope is fixed.