ISSN (Print) : 2320 – 3765 ISSN (Online): 2278 – 8875 International Journal of Advanced Research in Electrical, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering (An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization) Vol. 4, Issue 6, June 2015 Copyright to IJAREEIE DOI: 10.15662/ijareeie.2015.0406011 4968 Thermal Performance of Buildings: Case Study and Experimental Validation of Educational Building Mathew Joseph 1 , Victor Jose 2 , Anjuman Habeeb 3 Head of the Department, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, MBC College of Engineering & Technology, Kerala, India 1 Assistant Professor, Dept. of EEE, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kerala, India 2 PG Student [Energy Systems], Dept. of EEE, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kerala , India 3 ABSTRACT: Thermal performance of buildings refers to the process of modeling the energy transfer between the building and the surrounding. With the sound knowledge of energy associated with the building, energy efficiency of the building can be improved. To have a thorough understanding of the same a case study was included. The main objective behind the paper is to analyze the cooling loads associated within a system and thereby the capacity and sizing of the air conditioning equipment can be made. The estimation is based on the steady state approach. Different parameters like heat transfer modes, solar radiation geometry, evaporation, ventilation effects.etc contribute for the heat load estimation. The main purpose behind this is to avoid unwanted wastage in energy as a result of the conventional thumb rule approach. For better understanding, the simulation of heat load estimation in a room was done using LABVIEW software. With the help of simulation tool, different parameters can be monitored. The major heat load was contributed from internal heat gain. It accounts for about 6400W, a total of 42%. KEYWORDS: Steady state approach, Heat transfer modes, Solar geometry, LABVIEW Simulation software. I.INTRODUCTION Thermal performance of a building refers to the process of modeling the energy transfer between a building and the surroundings. Understanding the thermal performance of buildings calculates the cooling load and hence it helps to estimate the capacity, size and selection of an air conditioning apparatus. For an unconditioned building, it calculates the temperature variation within a building. These are very essential and enable us to determine the effectiveness of the design of the building [1]. The design load is based on inside and outside design conditions. It is based on the estimation of steady state approach of various building elements such as wall, roof, door, etc. and the estimation of overall heat transfer rate. II.HEAT TRANSFER MODES For analyzing the thermal performance of the building, knowledge of various heat exchange processes are required. Various heat exchange processes are possible between a building and the external environment. Heat flows by conduction through various building elements such as walls, roof, door, windows.etc. Heat transfer also takes place from different surfaces by convection and radiation. Figure 1. Heat Exchange Processes between a Human Body and the Indoor Environment [1]