Dynamic Simulation for Commercial Buildings
CIBSE Technical Memorandum 52
CIBSE TM52 provides a standardised methodology for predicting overheating risk for commercial building designs using the Dynamic Simulation Method (DSM), also known as dynamic thermal analysis. TM52 consists of three criteria which, together, indicate when overheating is likely to be problematic.
The Assessment Framework
All three TM52 criteria are defined in terms of ΔT — the difference between the actual operative temperature in a room at any time and the limiting maximum acceptable temperature for that space.
Compliance Criteria
A building must be assessed against all three criteria. Failure of any two means the building is classed as overheating:
Criterion 1
A limit on the number of hours where operative temperature exceeds the threshold by ≥1 K during occupied hours, May to September.
Criterion 2
Deals with severity of overheating within any single day — a function of both temperature rise above threshold and its duration.
Criterion 3
An absolute maximum daily temperature, beyond which the level of overheating is unacceptable regardless of duration.
A room or building that fails any two of the three criteria is classed as overheating under CIBSE TM52.
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