AMBER Lab

The AMBER Lab consists of three labs: AMBER Chamber, Cube Timber Lab, Extreme Roofing Lab

AMBER Chamber

The AMBER Chamber consists of a ~15.5 x 18 x 12 ft3 (4.5 x 5.5 x 3.6 m3) state-of-the-art environmental chamber with its own semi-custom air-handling unit that supplies filtered, conditioned air for laboratory validations (see the schematic in Fig. 1). The AMBER Chamber serves as a flexible lab setting that provides the specific environmental conditions necessary for ventilation experiments, indoor air quality assessments, thermal performance of wall assemblies, occupant environmental perceptions, and more. The environmental chamber can control supply and return airflow rates, supply and return relative humidity, supply and return dry-bulb temperature, and outdoor air supply. It has a dedicated air-handling unit located on the roof of Brown Hall at Colorado School of Mines. 

Some of the AMBER Chamber’s unique characteristics include: 

• 2kW of solar panels (PV) directly feeding into the lab (Figure 4, need to add)  

• 20kWh battery storage system for resilience and flexibility testing 

• Supply airflow rate range of 50–900 cfm, enabled by variable-frequency drives (VFDs) on the supply and return fans 

• Percent of outdoor air: 0–100% 

•  Hydronic wall system: 1.6 kW glycol wall on one 18-ft wall, with its own dedicated cooling and heating system 

•  Haiku bidirectional ceiling fan: This allows us to simulate spaces with a ceiling fan and/or study the airflow impacts of ceiling fans (Figure 3) 

Hydronic Radiant Wall 

The chamber is equipped with a hydronic radiant wall capable of maintaining a constant or variable surface temperature independent of the indoor air temperature, thereby mimicking external boundary conditions such as an exterior wall exposed to solar radiation. It can accommodate up to four full-size wall assemblies vertically (Figure 2). The hydronic radiant wall is used to set up the external boundary conditions in the chamber. Outside the chamber, a three-speed pump, mini boiler, control valve, and chiller (Fig. 4, right) enable heating and cooling applications. The radiant wall temperature is controlled by a three-way mixing valve and a pressure-independent control valve. Measurements for the radiant wall include supply and return water flow rates and temperatures. 

Data Acquisition 

• The chamber also has a dedicated data acquisition (DAQ) system for collecting all heat flux and temperature measurements (Fig. 5). There are two DAQ units that the sensors communicate with: (i) ABB control unit and (ii) InstrunetTM DAQ apparatus: 

• The ABB main control unit controls the HVAC system and monitors information related to the chamber control system and the air handling unit, such as chamber (supply and return) temperature, humidity, VOC, and flow rates. 

• The Instrunet DAQ captures data from all sensors needed for heat transfer experiments. 

• The AMBER Chamber has more than 60 thermistors, 8 hot-sphere omnidirectional anemometers, 4 heat flux meters, 2 infrared temperature sensors, 1 infrared camera that can be controlled remotely, and 40+ plug load meters.

Fig. 4: Bidirectional ceiling fan and experimental setup to measure air flow

Cube Timber Lab

The Cube Timber Lab features two identical 10’x10’x10’ mock-up ‘cube’ buildings—one constructed of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and the other with traditional wood-frame methods. Both have the same orientation, internal loads, and heating and cooling systems. The CLT cube has walls, floor, and ceiling made of solid 5-ply CLT plates, while its twin is built like a typical lightweight building with stud-framed walls, similar to a house. Each cube is equipped with its own mini-split heating and cooling system to control indoor climate. These cubes enable a direct, real-world comparison of the two building types under actual climate conditions. This lab is one of three such setups and is part of a nationwide study in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  

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Extreme Roofing Lab

Built in partnership with Saint-Gobain, the Extreme Roofing Lab was designed to test roofing materials under extreme solar radiation conditions. It consists of four roofing samples, a weather station, two vertical reflective walls, and a dedicated data acquisition system. By using vertical reflective walls that nearly double incoming radiation, we can test different roofing materials under higher-than-usual conditions and quantify all relevant heat transfer processes using an array of net radiometers, heat flux meters, and surface temperature sensors. 

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Fig. 6: Digital control system