THE USE OF OUTDOOR TEST CELLS FOR THERMAL AND SOLAR BUILDING RESEARCHWITHIN THE PASSYS PROJECT

The CEC research project PASSYS (PASsive Solar Components and SYStems Testing, 1986-1992) is using high-grade outdoor test cells for testing the thermal and solar performances of building components as well as for model validation purposes. The test facilities are highly standard ized : identical test cells, equipped with the same sensors, heating a nd cooling system and data acquisition hardware and software, are inst alled at 12 test sites throughout Europe, applying the same test metho d. A severe quality assurance policy is being developed in order to en sure reliable and comparable results. This paper describes the objecti ves, organization and main themes of the project. Two further papers r eport results.