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People may not know current temperatures, but they know when they’re comfortable.

That theory is the basis for the climate chamber at the University of Oregon’s Energy Studies in Building Laboratory in Portland. Researchers can control temperature, air speed and humidity in the chamber so that building products can be tested and retrofitted elements’ benefits can be demonstrated.

On Thursday, the chamber will make its public debut during an open house. The idea is to show how the tool can help architects and engineers design buildings with greater efficiency.

One of the uses of the chamber is demonstrating that high levels of indoor comfort can be achieved without air conditioning. It’s especially handy to provide a physical understanding of numerical readings that describe human comfort levels, said architecture professor G.Z. “Charlie” Brown, the lab’s director.

“That’s kind of where the idea started,” he said. “If you can feel it, you can believe it.”

The climate chamber was completed two years ago with financial assistance from Oregon BEST and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.

Researchers built the chamber from a walk-in refrigerator formerly used by a farmer for pickle storage. The temperature of every surface is controlled through radiant aluminum panels. Approximately one-half mile of plastic piping carries hot or cold water throughout the chamber, and adjustments can be made to heat or cool each individual panel.

This ability to control radiant heat throughout the chamber is part of what makes it unique, Brown said.
“There aren’t many that have all radiant surfaces, which is its claim to fame,” he said.

The lab, since it was founded 30 years ago, has helped reduce energy consumption in building space totaling more than 2 million square feet. Besides the climate chamber, the facility has many other research tools – including an artificial sky for shading and glare studies. Lab staffers, based both in Portland and Eugene, have served as energy efficiency consultants on numerous projects throughout Oregon and worked with many of the state’s major architecture and engineering firms.

“The more architects we can touch, the better we can be,” lab program manager Terry Blomquist said. “We were knocking on doors trying to get people to save energy for years. Then people were knocking on our door.”

In the Portland area, the lab’s researchers have offered input on SRG Partnership‘s design of a new student commons and library at Portland Community College’s Southeast Center and SERA Architects‘ design of the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building remodel.

The earlier the lab is involved in a building’s conception, the better, lab research assistant Jason Stenson said.

“The energy savings is far greater if we’re involved in the design,” he said. “Often we’re looking at different design iterations and looking at the performance implications of those designs.”

Researchers have used the climate chamber to test the effectiveness of daylighting and thermal controls, heat pumps and water heaters, as well as compare single-pane versus double-pane windows.

A common finding has been that buildings don’t need air conditioning systems, even in summertime.

“It turns out you can expand the comfort zone by using ceiling fans,” Brown said. “As a consequence, we haven’t done a building (in) a while, consultant-wise, that doesn’t have ceiling fans on it.”

If you go

What: University of Oregon’s Energy Studies in Buildings Laboratory open house

When: Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m.

Where: White Stag Building, 70 N.W. Couch St., Portland

More information: 503-412-3656, or pdx.uoregon.edu/esbl