The National Sports Centre Magglingen (NSM) is an important training, sports and congress centre for Swiss sport. Since 2020 Gruner Building Services Bern The NSM is carrying out various renovation works on its building services systems. One of these measures concerns the Jubilee Hall, the training hall for artistic gymnasts.
The hall of the existing building from the 1990s was originally heated exclusively by supply air (35,000 m³/h). The aim of the refurbishment is to reduce energy costs and optimise the indoor climate.
A comparison of new heating concepts
Instead of the previous concept, the ventilation will in future be used primarily for fresh air exchange, with only a small proportion for heating the hall. Heating is now mainly provided by radiant ceiling panels and convectors along the façade. To determine the best system for the indoor climate for the athletes, the Gruner Building climate control with a numerical flow simulation. Three variants were compared with each other:
Variant 1: Air conditioning via ventilation and convectors
Variant 2: Air conditioning via ventilation, convectors and heating walls
Variant 3: Air conditioning via ventilation and radiant ceiling panels
The results showed significant differences in terms of temperature distribution, floor surface temperature and draughts. In particular, the variant without radiant ceiling panels resulted in a drop in cold air and uncomfortable draughts in the centre of the hall, caused by the cooling hall roof. The floor surface temperatures and the temperature gradient from ankle to head were also significantly less favourable than in the variant with radiant ceiling panels. This variant proved to be the best in terms of indoor climate conditions for the athletes.
The refurbishment and the simulations carried out resulted in the following benefits for the client:
- Review and optimisation of the HVAC concept with regard to the indoor climate
- Reduction of air volumes and duct sizes
- Savings in operating costs
The targeted use of simulations has led to a significant improvement in the indoor climate - an important contribution to optimising support for top athletes at the NSM.
