Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Proceedings
Volume I
PLEA 2017 Co nference
Edit o rs:
Lui s a Brotas
Sus an Roaf
Fe rgus Ni c ol
Design to Thrive - PLEA 2017
Copyright in the contents, the cover, the design and the typographical
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ISBN 978-0-9928957-5-4
Copyright © NCEUB 2017
i
Introduction to the
Proceedings of PLEA 2017
The question we all too often forget to ask is Why? Why, for instance did we in Edinburgh set
out on the PLEA 2017 journey to give ourselves all the very hard work of creating a huge
conference in which people from all over the world were invited to discuss and develop ideas
of Passive and Low Energy Buildings (PLEA)? Well the answer is that we believe the issue of
good building design, embraced for thirty five years by the PLEA movement is simply one of
the most important there is in the evolution of a safer world in which people will be able to live
comfortable and affordable lives in a rapidly changing world.
The PLEA organisation started in 1982 as a small group of international friends dedicated to the
ideal of sharing knowledge on how to design and operate minimal and renewable energy
buildings. The development of solar buildings lay at the core of its ethos in those early days and
still does. PLEA now has a membership of several thousand professionals, academics and
students from over forty countries (www.plea-arch.org). Having expected three to five hundred
abstracts for the 2017 PLEA conference we were overwhelmed by more than fourteen hundred.
Where better to share these important ideas than in Edinburgh, the 18th Century capital of the
European ‘Age of Enlightenment’? It is here we set about creating our Team Scotland to
organise the conference, held on the 2nd – 5th July 2017 and including 665 papers published in
these Proceedings. The impressive list of people who helped us included: the Scottish schools
of architecture and engineering, the City of Edinburgh, the Scottish Government, Historic
Environment Scotland, the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, the Chartered
Institution of Building Services Engineers and a host of related professional companies and
organisations.
Reflecting the diverse interests of the team involved, the subject matter of the conference is
separated in the following proceedings into papers sorted according to the thirty-one Forums in
which they were presented at the conference. Readers should first review the contents lists to
see which subject areas are of particular interest to them and then browse through the varied
papers by selected Forums. Separation of the papers into these various fields enabled authors
to present their ideas at the conference to smaller groups with whom they could expertly
explore and discuss their own results while learning from other related studies that might lend
light to their own thinking.
ii
Introduction to the
Proceedings of PLEA 2017
In discussions at one of our Forum Leader meetings we decided that in reality many of the the
larger challenges we face could be distilled down into five different themes:
These themes run through in the pages of these proceedings, and were accompanied at the
conference itself by a fascinating exchange of ideas, interpretations and assumptions and their
attendant design solutions.
The conference was also accompanied by a simple Enlightenment message, presented in four
flanking banners in the Ballroom of the Assembly Rooms where generations have
deliberated since it was first opened at the height of the original Age of Enlightenmenttwo
hundred and thirty ago:
iii
Volume Contents
iv
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EDINBURGH 2017
Table of Contents
Volume 1
Adapting to Climate Change 1
Building Resilience for Future Climate: An Investigation of Fabric Optimisation
to Improve Thermal Comfort in Residential Buildings in Lagos, Nigeria 2
Abdulquadri Ademakinwa, Lucelia Rodrigues
Effectiveness of passive climate adaptation measures in residential buildings
in Germany 10
Farzan Banihashemi, Johannes Maderspacher, Julia Brasche, Werner Lang
Adapting cities to climate change: incorporating the knowledge and practicesof urban professionals in a
design-aid tool 18
Marion Bonhomme, Maja Karoline Rynning, Serge Farault, Luc Adolphe, Catherine Dubois and Geneviève Cloutier
Spatial Analysis on Intra-Urban Temperature Variation under Extreme Hot Weather by Incorporating
Urban Planning and Environmental Parameters: A pilot study from Hong Kong 26
Meng Cai, Chao Ren, Kevin Ka-Lun Lau and Yong Xu
The impact of shading levels on users’ thermal comfort in public leisure spaces 65
Fabiana Benevenuto Faustini, Marina Lisboa Maia, Thyssie Ortolani Rioli, João Roberto Gomes de Faria and
Maria Solange Gurgel de Castro Fontes
Quantifying the Behaviour of Modern and Traditional Construction Systems on the Basis
of Thermal Comfort 136
Seyed Masoud Sajjadian, Steve Sharples
Simulation of microclimatic effects for green infrastructure in the city of São Paulo, Brazil 152
Paula Shinzato, Helge Simon, Michael Bruse, Denise Helena Silva Duarte
Vertical Farms: Historic Development, Current State and Future Directions 168
Diana Waldron
Urban micro-climate change evaluation and mitigation solutions–a case from Xi’an, China 176
Yupeng Wang, Dian Zhou and Rui Dong
Progressive building energy criteria modification in response to future climate change 184
Yu-Teng Weng, Kuo-Tsang Huang, Ruey-Lung Hwang
Architecture and Landscape, Frank Lloyd Wright's circular house designs 200
Michael Desmond
RED on RED: A Framework for the Interaction of Color in the Build Environment 232
Esther Hagenlocher and Landry Smith
Formal Representations of Seasonal Adaptation - On a Search for Sustainable Architectural Forms 264
Agnes Nyilas, Yoshihito Kurazumi
Are occupants more satisfied with indoor environmental quality in greencertified buildings? 345
Sergio Altomonte, Stefano Schiavon, Michael Kent and Gail Brager
Mind the Gap; Methodology Discussion of the Extraction and Analysis of Pilot
Phase Data to Generate Multi-Configuration Household Behavioural Profiles 353
AbdelRahman A.I.M. Aly, Amira ElNokaly, Glen Mills
Discrepancies between theoretical and actual heating demand in Scottish modern dwellings 361
Julio Bros-Williamson, Jon Stinson, Celine Garnier and John Currie
Sustainable building design in practice – survey among Danish DGNB Consultants 369
Camilla Brunsgaard, Anne Kirkegaard Bejder
The near Zero Energy Building standard and the Passivhaus standard – a case Study 385
Shane Colclough, Tomas O’Leary, Neil Hewitt, Philip Griffiths
[Re] Measuring [LEED] Sustainability: From a Global Rating System to Tropical Specificity 401
Eileen Díaz-Lamboy
Cognitive mapping as a link between the urban designer and space user 417
Dr. Marwa Adel Elsayed, Dr. Walaa S.E. Ismaeel
Active House Label – tool to empower house owners and developers to design sustainable buildings 433
Kurt Emil Eriksen, Rory Bergin, Amdi Worm
Soft Landings Driven Design Management process: Achieving sustainability in a school building
in the UK 441
Victoria Gana and Giridharan Renganathan
Sustainability performance tracking of social housing: the tale of two projects in Brazil 457
Vanessa Gomes and Mariana Adão
Modern Buildings and Environmental Comfort – Reuse of Existing and Vacant Buildings 481
Nathália Mara Lorenzetti Lima and Roberta Consentino Kronka Mülfarth
An online decision-making guide for the sustainable refurbishment of Belgian Walloon schools 497
Catherine Massart, Coralie Cauwerts
How Can the Combination of BREEAM and Soft Landings Successfully Deliver a Low Energy,
Comfortable Building? 511
Sahar Mirzaie and Gillian Menzies
Bridging the gap: A framework for a robust sustainable design process 519
Sarah O'Dwyer and Vivienne Brophy
Application of LCA results in the early design phase of environmental-friendly Buildings 534
Toktam Bashirzadeh Tabizi, Glen Hill1, Mathew Aitchison
REALISING INTENTIONS: An evaluation of green building rating tools for Australian buildings 542
Leena Thomas and PC Thomas
`Learning from 'horror' stories: a plan of work to reduce the performance gap in deep retrofit 550
Marina Topouzi, Gavin Killip1 and Alice Owen
The Environmental Performance of the Engineering Science and Learning Centre UK: An investigation
of thermal and light benefits from an atrium covered by ETFE cushions 583
Abdulquadri Ademakinwa, Benson Lau and Lucelia Rodrigues
Measuring and presenting real time environmental indicators for optimised building performance 599
John Allison, Joseph Clarke, Jeremy Cockroft, Anastasios Markopoulos, Aizaz Samuel
Experimental evaluation of the impact of window improvement in Social Housing and in real weather
conditions REVen Laboratory in Madrid 615
Beatriz Arranz, Ignacio Oteiza
The performance under the ergonomic approach of building icons of Brazilian modernist architecture
in São Paulo, built between 1930 and 1964: buildings for commercial and service use 631
Barbara Iamauchi Barroso and Roberta Kronka Consentino Mülfarth
How user practice and habits impact the energy consumption in nearly zero energy youth housing in
Denmark 639
Anne Kirkegaard Bejder, Mary-Ann Knudstrup and Camilla Brunsgaard
Can Activity-Based Working spaces increase worker's physical activity, perceived productivity
and satisfaction? 655
Christhina Candido, Sihui Wang, Tamara Croft, Fan Zhang, Martin Mackey
The impact of imposed façade design on the occupants’ visual and thermal satisfaction in
educational buildings in Jordan: The case study of the German Jordanian University in evaluating the
performance of Architecture 693
Karma Gammoh, Rawan Qubrosi
Campus Audit Squads for Energy (CASE): understanding behavioural patterns and energy use
of plug loads 756
Alison G. Kwok, Sara Nita Tjahjana and María Isabel Rivera
Assessment of thermal comfort an passive design strategies in Millennium Schools in Ecuador 764
Gabriela Ledesma, Neveen Hamza
Performance-based Green Residential Building Evaluation and Design Tools and Method
in Cold Climatic Zones of Northern China 772
Nianxiong Liu, Muzhou Wang and Jingyu Zhang
A long term parameter dataset for calibration of low energy building retrofit models
for education and research 780
Adam O’ Donovan, Michael D. Murphy, Paul D. O’ Sullivan
Analysis of comfort in multi-family housing in Madrid, Spain (1940- 1980). Four case studies
monitored for energy rehabilitation 788
Ignacio Oteiza, Carmen Alonso, Fernando Martín-Consuegra, Borja Frutos and Sara Martín
Retrofit Strategies for the Existing Residential Tower Blocks in Northern Cyprus 796
Bertug Ozarisoy and Heba Elsharkawy
Observation and analysis of passive solar home control strategies for active Users 804
Ulrike Passe, Kaylinn Taggart, Shan He
Exploring the influence of contemporary facade design on occupant satisfaction: a preliminary study
in office buildings 812
Luisa Pastore, Marilyne Andersen
The Impact Of Constructivism Density Of The Urban Tissue In Improving The Urban Ambience-
Thermal, Visual - Of The Street. For Saharian Cities: Case Study Of The City Of Biskra 820
Dr-Rami Qaoud and Pr-Alkama Djamal
What do the traditional pol houses teach us for contemporary dwellings in India? 827
Rajan Rawal, Devarsh Kumar and Sanyogita Manu
Climate change scenarios analysed with the transient energy ratio 835
Aidan Reilly and Oliver Kinnane
The Thermal Preference, Comfort and Satisfaction: Norwegian and British Workplaces 851
Sally Shahzad, John Brennan, Dimitris Theodossopoulos, John Kaiser Calautit, Ben Hughes
Vulnerability and resilience in energy efficient homes: thermal response to Heatwaves 875
Linda Toledo, Paul C Cropper and Andrew J Wright
How do you live? Evaluation of environmental quality of housing in Uberlândia (Brazil) 883
Simone Barbosa Villa and Rita de Cássia Pereira Saramago
Building façade design for indoor air temperature and cooling load reduction 891
Nyuk Hien Wong, Shanshan Tong, Erna Tan, Jianxiu Wen, Alice Goh, Sui Fung Lee and Ruixin Li
Building Performance Evaluation for the Retrofit of Council Housing in the UK: A case study of a
tower block in London 907
Sahar Zahiri and Heba Elsharkawy
Development of a Framework for Carbon Footprint Assessment of Building construction systems 924
Sweta Haldar, Rajasekar Elangovan, Govindaraj V., Amit Barde
Calculation of greenhouse gases in the construction sector in the Aburrá Valley, Colombia 932
Nicolas Pardo, Guillermo Penagos, Alexander González and Alejandro Botero
The Impact of the Microclimatic Conditions on Pedestrians’ Thermal Comfort in Dubai 957
Nihal Al Sabbagh
Model View Definition (MVD) for Thermal Comfort Simulation in Conventional BEPS tools 965
Fawaz Alshehri, Paul Kenny, Sergio Pinheiro and James O'Donnell
Envelope Design and Thermal Comfort Performance in a High-Rise Office Building in Saudi Arabia 973
Fahad Alyami, Steve Sharples
Outdoor thermal comfort in a hot urban climate: analysing the impact of creating wind passageways
in Al-Moski, Egypt using ENVI-met 997
Yara Ayyad and Steve Sharples
A field study in southwest area of Spain: Thinking of thermal comfort and energy efficiency
in existing buildings 1005
Elena Barbadilla-Martín, José Guadix Martín, José Manuel Salmerón Lissén, Pablo Aparicio-Ruiz and Luisa Brotas
Exploring alternative solutions for the alleviation of energy poverty: the thermal refuge study case
in Pamplona (North of Spain) 1013
Jorge San Miguel Bellod, Ana Sánchez Ostiz
Assessing the impact of zoning on the thermal comfort analysis of a naturally ventilated house
during early design considering closed internal doors 1021
María Pilar Casatejada, Karin Maria Soares Chvatal and Ranji Ranjithan
Influences of Building and Urban Typologies on the Study of Thermal Comfort in ‘Shophouse’
Dwellings in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 1037
Hung Thanh Dang, Adrian Pitts
Sustainability and Energy Efficiency of the health facilities in a city in southern Brazil: an exploratory
study 1045
Chiara Mariele Gurgacz Destro, Layane Santos de Souza, Ana Mirthes Hackenberg and Elisa Henning
Can thermal perception in a building be predicted by the perceived spatial openness of a building
in a hot and humid climate? 1053
Xiaoyu Du, Regina Bokel and Andy van den Dobbelsteen
Airflow pattern and thermal comfort in winter by different combinations of air distribution
strategies and window types in an office unit 1061
Qiuhua Duan, Jialiang Wang and Hua Zhao
Are heavyweight buildings more comfortable? The potential of thermal mass in increasing
thermal comfort 1084
Stephanie Gauthier, Despoina Teli, Patrick James, Samuel Stamp
Coping with discomfort at home and its effect on the internal climate. The case of traditional
Scottish buildings before and after a retrofit 1108
Daniel Herrera, Amar Bennadji
Evaluation of the PET thermal comfort index calibration methods used in Brazil 1124
Simone Queiroz da Silveira Hirashima, Daniele Gomes Ferreira, Eleonora Sad de Assis, Lutz Katzschner
How to verify a Hybrid System Design for Adaptive Comfort with Dynamic Simulation Tools 1147
Wolfgang Kessling, Martin Engelhardt and Stefan Holst
Strategies to Improve the Thermal and Visual Comfort of the Informal Settlements in India 1155
Sharmeen Khan, Rosa Schiano-Phan and Nasser Golzari
Thermal design, climate change and human evolution: The evolutionary costs of comfort
in artificial environments on human health 1171
Guillermo Ivan Lastra, Gloria María Castorena, Víctor Armando Fuentes, Jonathan Alejandro Galindo and Anibal Figueroa
Thermal Comfort in Public Housing Estates in High-density Cities under Near extreme
Summer Conditions 1179
Kevin Ka-Lun Lau, Yu-Ting Kwok, Justin Ching-Kwan Ho, Pak-wai Chan and Edward Yan-Yung Ng
Children thermal comfort in primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam 1187
Thi Ho Vi Le, Mark Gillott and Lucelia Rodrigues
Urban External Space in Brazilian Modernist Architecture under the focus of Pedestrian
Environmental Comfort 1195
Larissa Azevedo Luiz and Gabriel Bonansea de Alencar Novaes
Conflict for Comfort: Examination of office workers’ ratings of Indoor Environmental Quality
and conflict over comfort 1203
Christopher Lunn and Dr Azadeh Montazami
Enriching Building Information Modeling (BIM) with Sensor Data and Thermal Images for
Thermal Comfort Analysis 1235
Worawan Natephra, Ali Motamedi, Nobuyoshi Yabuki and Tomohiro Fukuda
Predicting Neutral Temperature and Comfort Range of Traditional Buildings in the Dry Season
at Okigwe, Nigeria 1243
Marcellinus Uwadiegwu Okafor
Opine - Participative model for evaluation of comfort conditions in open urban spaces 1251
Alessandra R. Prata-Shimomura, Leonardo Marques Monteiro and Jun Okamoto Junior
Circadian House as a vision for healthy and human-centric building design 1267
Nicolas Roy, Peter Foldbjerg, Per Arnold Andersen, Jens Christoffersen
Sustainability of vernacular architecture as a basis for new popular housing projects in Arequipa, Peru 1320
Marco Antonio Vilca Mamani and Leopoldo Eurico Gonçalves Bastos
Variability of human behaviour in outdoor public spaces, associated with the thermal environment 1328
Julie A. Waldron, Dr. Glyn Lawson, Prof. Darren Robinson and Dr. Sue Cobb
The effect of window form on thermal comfort in summer and in winter in the cold climate of China 1344
Tao Wang, Qiong Huang, Anxiao Zhang
The impact of environmental color on summer thermal comfort in the cold climate zone of China 1352
Weitong Wang, Qiong Huang, Anxiao Zhang
Indoor Thermal Comfort Assessment of Naturally Ventilated Retail Food Establishment in Singapore 1360
Nyuk Hien Wong, Steve Kardinal Jusuf, Osrithalita Gabriela, and Erna Tan
Effects of the Building Typology on PET Value in Different Local Climate Zones: A Case Study
in Beijing, China 1367
Luyao Xiang, Chao Ren
EdenApp Thermal Comfort: A mobile app for measuring personal thermal Comfort 1375
Yiqiang Zhao, Ola Uduku and Dave Murray-Rust
Conceptual Framework for Optimal Urban Energy Planning Tool with an Intelligent System
through Integration of BIM and GIS Technology 1400
Liyang Fan, Shinji Yamamura, Yi Sun
Prediction of electricity demand with artificial neural networks – an example of the Ontario
province in Canada and the Italian market 1414
Tomasz Jasinski
Community Energy Schemes: The Role of Public Participation and Engagement 1430
Dr Lorna Kiamba, Dr Lucelia Rodrigues and Prof Julian Marsh
Building Scenarios in Urban Energy Transition: A trans-disciplinary method for integrated spatial
energy design 1438
Daniela Maiullari, Arjan van Timmeren
Assessing policy constraints and technical feasibility of energy developments in cities 1446
Raheal McGhee, Joseph Clarke, Katalin Svehla
Feasibility Study on Renewable Energy Use in the Island in the Seto Inland Sea 1454
Aoi Yamada, Takumi Yoshihara and Takahiro Tanaka
A Proposal of Comprehensive Urban Infrastructure Planning Model for Smart City Planning
with GIS and 3D modelling - Case Study in Urban Area of Tokyo 1462
Shinji Yamamura, Liyang Fan, Yoshiyasu Suzuki
Construction 1470
Temporary Architecture: Proposal of a Temporary Educational Module for Public Institutions
of Brazil Dedicated to the Education of Young People and Adults under the Optical Minimization
of Energy Expenditure 1471
Benício Daniel Hassegawa Teixeira Barreto and Aloísio Leoni Schmid
How to provide “Better” rammed-earth buildings to villagers after earthquake in Southwest China -
A case study of Ludian Reconstruction project 1479
Xinan Chi, Edward Ng and Li Wan
WORKING SPACE – an innovative modular timber construction system for the sustainable vertical
extension of office buildings 1495
Aleksis Dind, Sophie Lufkin and Emmanuel Rey
Sustainability, government laws and the real estate market in São Paulo - Brazil 1502
Valeria Graça, Edson Cardoso Junior, Sandra Casagrande.
MORE VERSUS BETTER: exploring the tension between quality and quantity in housing,
and the opportunities offered by alternative approaches 1509
Dr Ed Green
Study on thermal defects of building envelope of prefabricated concrete shear wall building
in cold area 1517
Juanli Guo, He Xu, Gang Liu, Jiehui Wang
Identifying cost trend and affected cost factors for green office buildings in Australia 1525
Oanh Thi-Kieu Ho, James PC Wong, Usha Iyer-Raniga, and Rebecca Yang
Comparison of Japanese and British off-site housing manufacturers and its relation with low/zero
energy/carbon houses 1533
Pablo Jimenez-Moreno & John Brennan
A teaching method for heat conduction and thermal inertia within a sustainable
architecture framework 1549
Adriana Lira-Oliver
Evaluation of slab-edge insulation on energy saving for heating and cooling slab-on-ground houses 1556
Zhang Liu, Dariusz Alterman, Adrian Page, Behdad Moghtaderi, Dong Chen
Challenges for the integration of sustainable material use into dwelling design and construction 1564
Elke Meex, Elke Knapen and Griet Verbeeck
Sustainable Urban Planning and Green Building Assessment Tools for Bangladesh,
a Country of Tropical Region 1596
Ar. Tasneem Tariq, Ar. Syed Abu Sufian Kushol
Papers in the table of contents have links to the associated paper in the book.
To go back to the table of contents press the image logo on the top on the paper.
None of these proceedings would have been possible without the help and support of the
very large scientific committee who helped us blind reviewing more than 1400 abstracts.
Our thanks go to all of them and especially to the following Forum Leaders:
Sam Amarillo, Keith Baker, Philip Banfill, Amar Bennadji, Kate Carter, Sam Chapman,
Joe Clarke, Rohinton Emmanuel, Suzanne Ewing, Jessica Fernandez, Brian Ford,
Laurent Galbrun, Rajat Gupta, Bev James, David Jenkins, David Kelly, Gráinne McGill,
Isaac Meir, Circe Monteiro, Tariq Munir, Andrew Peacock, Francesco Pomponi,
Colin Porteous, Harald Rostvik, Ashraf Salama, Kay Saville-Smith,
Tim Sharpe, Andrew Toland, Paul Touhy and Ola Uduku.
We would also like to thank Dan Carroll at Firebird Conference systems who put together the
software that enabled us to handle all these abstracts and papers and to
Wendy Ball and Will Finlayson at Locus-Focus for their help with the timetable and
programme and Mark and Pete of Kitson Consulting for their website development, design
and web support. We also want to give credits to Sally Fisher for the illustration used in this
cover and throughout PLEA2017.
We would like to remember and give thanks to Jeff Cook who was such an inspiring member
of the PLEA family and continued to be its great supporter in 2017 through the
work of his Trust.
Lastly, we need to thank the PLEA organisation and all the sponsors, listed at the end page of
this publication.
All made this conference possible.
xvi
Editors
Luisa Bro t a s
Luisa Brotas is an architect (RIBA) with a PhD in Daylighting. She was Course Leader of the
MSc Architecture, Energy and Sustainability and co-director of the Low energy architecture
Research unit at London Metropolitan University until 2016. Luisa also taught at other
Universities and worked in National Research Institutes in both UK and Portugal.
She is Vice-Chair of the Daylight Group of CIBSE and Secretary of the Network for Comfort
and Energy Use in Buildings. Luisa is currently Director of Submissions for the PLEA 2017
and organiser the International Windsor Conference 2018. Luisa has also been the initiator of
six People and Buildings, a conference for Masters Students in sustainable buildings.
Research and consultancy include projects related to daylight and thermal analysis, visual
and adaptive thermal comfort, energy efficiency in new and retrofit buildings, eco materials
and sustainability, natural ventilation and Passivhaus standard. Recent interests also address
climate change and overheating in Europe and resilient buildings and cities
Sue Ro a f
Sue Roaf (B.A.Hons, A.A. Dipl., PhD, ARB, FRIAS) is Emeritus Professor of Architectural
Engineering at Heriot Watt University and an award winning author, architect and solar
energy pioneer, She was an Oxford City Councillor for seven years and in 2016 was elected
to sit on the UK Architects Registration Board. Her research covers windcatchers and
nomadic architecture in Iran, Mesopotamian archaeology, photovoltaics, low carbon,
resilient and sustainable design, material considerations in design and thermal comfort.
She is known for her pioneering work on ecohouses. Building her own Oxford Ecohome
resulted in the internationally best-selling book Ecohouse: A Design Guide on the subject.
Her other books include Adapting Buildings and Cites for Climate Change and Benchmarks
for Sustainable Buildings. She is currently working on How to design a Comfortable
Building. She is the Chair of the PLEA 2017 conference on the 2nd to 5th July
2017(www.plea2017.net). Her recent awards include 2013 Top 6 - UK ‘First Women’ Awards
as a ‘Visionary’ in the Built Environment’; 2013 Top 10 ‘Women in Architecture’ Awards,
Architect’s Journal, and in 2010 ‘the AJ’s most influential UK architectural academic’ in the
field of Sustainable Design
xvii
Editors
Fergus Nico l
Fergus Nicol is best known for his work in human thermal comfort, principally the
‘adaptive’ approach and with Professors Michael Humphreys and Susan Roaf is author of
the leading book on the subject Adaptive thermal comfort: principles and practice, (2012
Routledge). The second volume of this intended trilogy is Adaptive thermal comfort:
foundation and analysis (2016) is recently published with Humphreys as lead author.
He led the EU project Smart Controls and Thermal Comfort (SCATS) which is the basis of
European comfort standard EN15251 which he helped draft. Fergus helped develop Masters
courses on sustainability at Oxford Brookes and London Metropolitan Universities and
supervises a number of PhD students. He has co-authored numerous journal articles and
other publications including the comfort chapter in CIBSE Guide A. He was a member of the
CIBSE task force on overheating in buildings and is the principal author of CIBSE TM52 The
limits of thermal comfort, avoiding overheating in European buildings (2013).
Fergus convenes the Network for Comfort and Energy use in Buildings and is presently
organising their 9th international conference ‘Making Comfort relevant’ in Windsor, UK in
April 2016. He is part-retired but divides his working time between London Metropolitan,
Oxford Brookes and Heriot Watt Universities and University College London.
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PLEA 2017 International Advisory Board
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PLEA 2017 Organising Committee
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PLEA 2017 Scientific Committee
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PLEA 2017 Scientific Committee
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PLEA 2017 Scientific Committee
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PLEA 2017 Scientific Committee
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PLEA 2017 Scientific Committee
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xxv
PLEA 2017 Scientific Committee
N am e Orga n isati on
Kheira Anissa Tabet Aoul United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
Tasneem Tariq Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh
Yieng Wei Tham Andrew Management Development Institute of Singapore, Singapore-
Toland University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Linda Toledo De Montfort University, UK
Eleni Tracada University of Derby, UK
Antonella Trombadore University of Florence, Italy
Janine Tüchsen University of Applied Sciences Ostwestfalen Lippe, Germany
Paul Tuohy University of Strathclyde, UK
Roshni Udyavar Rachana Sansad's Institute of Environmental Architecture, India
Andy van den Dobbelsteen Technical University of Delft, Netherlands
Peter van den Engel TU Delft, Deerns Consulting Engineers, Netherlands Oxford
Marcel Vellinga Brookes University, UK
Fan Wang Heriot Watt University, UK
Julian Wang University of Cincinnati, USA
Yupeng Wang Xi'an Jiaotong University, P.R. China
Barbara Widera Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Poland
Jan Wienold École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland University
Andrew Wilson of Strathclyde, UK
Tom Woolley Rachel Bevan Architects, UK
Isak Worre Foged Aalborg University, Denmark
Simos Yannas Architectural Association London, UK
Fatih Yazicioglu Istanbul Technical University, Turkey
Aram Yeretzian American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Chanikarn Yimprayoon Kasetsart University, Thailand
Chao Yuan National University of Singapore, Singapore
Sahar Zahiri University of East London, UK
Yingxin Zhu Tsinghua University, China
xxvi
Volume 1
xxvii
Adapting to Climate Change
Cha ir:
Rajat Gupta
1
Building Resilience for Future Climate: An Investigation of Fabric Optimisation
to Improve Thermal Comfort in Residential Buildings in Lagos, Nigeria
Abstract: Nigeria is not left out of the consequences of climate change. In recent time, Lagos experienced one
of the most intense heat wave in its history which was a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather with
temperature exceeding 32.2°c accompanied by high humidity levels that resulted in the increase in the level of
thermal discomfort of occupants within the residential environment. The Lagos future climate is projected to
cause more increase in temperature and frequent occurrence of a heat wave. The author investigated the
current and the future performance of the residential buildings in respects to the time within and above
comfort temperature. This study was developed using Lagos HOMS residential building typology, a low-cost
mass housing project by the Lagos state government to reduce the housing deficit. It was selected as it is a
repeated mass housing with an expected lifespan of 20 -100 years. This study hopes to improve the thermal
performance of the buildings and life of the occupants in changing climate. The current performance of the
building presented a high degree of overheating period while the future performance indicated a more severe
overheating period. The improvement study showed that the optimisations of the building fabric resulted in
slight improvement to the present and 2050 time in comfort period, but in 2080 it presented a significant
improvement in the comfort period.
Keywords: Climate Change, Thermal Performance, Thermal Comfort, Residential Buildings, Lagos, Nigeria
Introduction
Africa has been identified as one of the most vulnerable continents due to its high exposure
and low adaptive ability as reported by fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2014). One of the expected consequences of climate change
is the increase in occurrences of heat waves and hot weathers in many urban environments
(Huth et al., 2000, Beniston et al., 2007). The study by New et al. (2006) shows that the
number of cold days and cold nights have decreased and the number of warm days and
warm nights have increased between 1961 and 2000 in West Africa and Sahel. It was
projected that the Temperatures in Africa are to rise faster than the global average increase
during the 21st century (Christensen et al., 2007; Joshi et al., 2011).
Lagos is a coastal city located in the southwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Lagos
has been more vulnerable to consequences of climate change in Nigeria, in last few years,
the city has experienced several heat waves. The most recent and intense heatwave that hit
Lagos was in March 2016 with the temperature reading as high as 36°C with high humidity
as recorded by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) (Kazeem, 2016). At all times of
Figure 1. Floor plans and completed blocks of Lagos HOMS at Ilupeju Lagos
Figure 2. Selected analysed spaces and 3D view of Lagos HOMS thermal simulation model in IES-VE
Figure 3. Percentage of time within and above comfort zone for all base cases
Figure 4. Percentage of time within and out of comfort temperature in present and future climate scenarios
Figure 5. Wall optimisations percentage of time in and out of comfort for the present and future cases
Figure 6. Roof optimisations percentage of time in and out of comfort for the present and future cases
The improvement to double glazing showed a negligible improvement to present-day and
future percentage of time in comfort temperature. Despite the slight improvement, the
most sensitive building fabrics are the wall and the ceiling.
The combination of all the building fabric optimisation showed a minimal
improvement in the time within comfort temperature for the present and 2050 future
scenarios but presented a noticeable improvement in time within comfort zone for 2080
future scenario.
Figure 7. Combined optimisations percentage of time in and out of comfort for the present and future cases
Conclusion
This study outcome is derived from the dynamic simulation results of Lagos HOMS in
different climate scenarios. The current performance of the building presented a high
degree of overheating period under the current building envelope. The addition of internal
gains resulted into more severe overheating period, it is important to put off appliances and
lighting fixtures to improve the period in comfort temperature. It was noted that the
weekends are most overheating days during the warm period because the internal gains are
higher as a result of full occupancy schedule. The introduction of ventilation reduced the
time out of comfort significantly.
Acknowledgment
I would like to thank the Meteotest Company for providing me the weather data of Lagos
and Dr Lucelia Rodrigues for her insightful supervision and guidance during this study.
References
Atuma, U., 2016. Uncommon heat wave on the prowl. [Online] Available at:
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1
Centre for Urban Ecology and Climate Adaptation, Munich, Germany, correspondence email:
Farzan.banihashemi@tum.de;
2
Technical University of Munich, Institute of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and
Building, Munich, Germany
Abstract: Current climate scenarios indicate that, summer and winter periods in Germany will get warmer and
milder, respectively by 2090. This will affect the energy demand and the thermal comfort of the buildings’
inhabitants. Whereas milder winters will reduce the heating demand, warmer summers will increase the
overheating potential of the buildings. The resulting discomfort during summer could lead to an increased
potential for active cooling and therefore to additional CO2 emissions. This topic is investigated in a detached
single family house which represents a large part of the German building stock. In order to reduce the potential
cooling demand of the single family house, three passive climate adaptation measures: solar protection glazing,
shading, and natural ventilation were combined and assessed. These measures were quantified with a dynamical
thermal building simulation tool for the periods 2030-2060 and 2060-2090, by assessing the performance
indicators: overheating degree hours, heating and cooling demand, and CO2 emissions. The results demonstrate
that a combination of automated blinds and ventilations can significantly reduce the overheating degree hours
and the potential cooling demand. Furthermore, they illustrate the necessity to consider passive measures in a
state of art refurbishment of existing buildings.
Keywords: Passive climate adaptation measures, climate change, building energy simulation, energy
consumption, overheating
Introduction
The Fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report shows that even if
anthropogenic CO2 emissions are reduced, climate change still takes place (IPCC, 2013). In
Germany, climate change scenarios based on the IPCC report indicate that an increase of
temperature between 2 and 5°C is to be expected in the year 2090 compared to 2000 (Jacob
et al., 2012). This rising temperature will result in milder winters and hotter summers. While
milder winters potentially reduce the energy demand for heating, hotter summers might
increase the overheating potential of buildings and thus lead to a higher need for active
cooling. However, since the majority of the residential buildings in Germany is not equipped
with active cooling systems (machine cooling), the likelihood of retrofitting and thus increase
in energy demand is high.
The building sector accounts for about 30% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions
in Germany (Bürger et al., 2016). The building sector not only impacts climate change, it will
be also affected by it in the future. It is therefore important to analyze the future climatic
conditions and to assess buildings’ energy performance with respect to climate change
mitigation and adaptation. The refurbishment cycle of buildings averages between 30 and 60
Methodology
In this study, the evaluation of the passive adaptation measures is carried out with a
dynamical thermal building simulation tool. For this purpose, the software tool IDA ICE was
used (EQUA, 2013). Although numerous simulations are required for this work we can simplify
the process by linking the IDA ICE program to the statistical program R (Venables and Smith,
2016) to parallelize the simulations, which leads to lower computation times.
Investigated building type
Detached single-family houses are the most common residential buildings in Germany.
Therefore, a detached single-family house in Neuaubing-Westkreuz, Munich, was selected for
this study. Fig. 1 shows the floorplans and the building facades. This building has a floor area
of 147 m² and a heated building volume of about 389 m³.
For the case study, it is assumed that the building built in the 1950’s will be refurbished
according to the German law EnEV (EnEV, 2014). State of the art rules and regulations in
Germany (for example the EnEV) do not consider the long-term impact of climate change,
because they are just used as a proof of concept for different types of buildings. This study,
however, focuses on the need to assess passive measures to adapt refurbishments to the
changing climate. The construction details according to the German law are summarized in
Table 1. This refurbishment represents the base case, which is then optimized with the
passive measures.
Figure 1. Facades, floor plans of the detached single-family house in Neuaubing-Westkreuz, Munich.
Table 1. Base case construction details based on EnEV 2014
U-value U-value U-value U-value g-value
Tvis-value Shading
External Walls roof internal floor Window Window
window [-] system
[W/m²K] [W/m²K] [W/m²K] [W/m²K] [-]
0.24 0.24 0.3 1.3 0.6 0.8 -
Base case 0.6 1 0.6 0.8 Minimum by user (7:00 - 7:30 & 21:00 - 23:00
h)
Economical 0.2 1 0.2 0.35 Maximum by user (23:00 - 7:30 & 12:00 - 15:00
h)
(4)
Moderate 0.35 0.3 0.1 0.6 Maximum by user (23:00 - 7:30 & 12:00 - 15:00
h)
(4)
Intelligent 0.6 0.25 0.15 0.8 Automated (all day, only when θop≥ θamb and
(5)
θamb≤ 26°C)
(1) Fc-value is the multiplier for the drawn shading
(2) The gtot-value represents the reduced solar energy entering the building through the window, when the shade is drawn, and is calculated
by the following formula: gtot = g×FC Formula (1)
(3) Tvis: visible light transmittance degree values according to (Keller et al., 2011)
(4) The Tvis-values are only valid when the shading system is lifted
(5) θop = Operative temperature, θamb = Ambient temperature
Climate Data
For the investigation, weather data are generated from the regional climate model REMO
(Jacob et al., 2012), which has a temporal resolution of one hour. The climatic scenario A1B
was chosen because it represents a moderate development of the climate change scenario
(IPCC, 2013).
The climate data is subdivided into the three periods: 2000-2030, 2030-2060, and
2060-2090. Since we are now in the first period (2000-2030) and assume that the dwelling is
being refurbished in the present with a refurbishment cycle of 30-60 years (Nemeth, 2011),
we study the impact of climate change on the building over the remaining periods (period
2030-2060 and 2060-2090). The data include the following parameters: outside air
temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation wind direction and the wind speed.
(a) Period: 2030-2060 (b) Period: 2060-2090
Figure 2. Number of degree hours for the detached single house in the base case and combinations
(a) Heating demand (b) Cooling demand
Figure 3. Yearly heating and cooling demand for the detached single house in the base case and combinations
Figure 4. CO2 equivalent scenarios for the detached house
in the period: 2060-2090 (see Table 4)
Conclusions
This study analyzed the performance of three combinations of passive adaptation measures
using dynamical thermal building simulations to adapt refurbishments to the changing
climate. The following conclusions can be made out of this study:
(1) Today’s refurbishments can be optimized by passive measures with little increased
effort so that the buildings can be adapted to the changing climate. The use of passive
measures makes it possible to significantly increase the thermal comfort of the inhabitants.
(2) The results showed that the additional demand for active cooling can be eliminated
through the use of passive measures in the period 2030-2060. However, this demand cannot
be completely prevented in the period 2060-2090. Still, for the examined residential building,
the results showed a reduction of the cooling demand for this period by more than 50% in
comparison to a refurbishment according to the current German law.
(3) As potential cooling demand could not be avoided in the period 2060-2090, two
scenarios with machine cooling systems were investigated to evaluate the effectiveness of
the passive measures. The application of passive measures in combination with an inefficient
cooling system proved to be more effective than the application of an efficient cooling system
without using passive measures. Therefore, a positive impact on both climate mitigation and
climate adaptation could be achieved through the use of passive adaptation measures.
Today, as the refurbishment cycles of buildings average between 30 and 60 years
(Nemeth, 2011), it is already necessary to implement passive adaptation measures in
refurbishments. It was shown that the use of a sun protection system in combination with
natural ventilation is sufficient to prevent the overheating problem in the period 2030-2060.
In the period 2060-2090, the need for an automated window ventilation increases. This
indicates that in today’s refurbishments, the use of a shading system or a sun protection
glazing for overheating protection is a priority. Other measures like the automated ventilation
can be used for additional refurbishments in the future, to make the buildings more effective
against the overheating problem due to climate change.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer
Protection (StMUV) under the project number TLK01U- 63929. The authors gratefully thank
Teresa Zölch for her help to improve this paper.
References
Bürger, V., Hesse, T., Quack, D., Palzer, A., Köhler, B., Herkel, S. and Engelmann, P. (2016). Klimaneutraler
Gebäudebestand 2050. Dessau-Roßlau: Umweltbundesamt.
DIN 4108-2:2013-02 (2013). Thermal protection and energy economy in buildings - Part 2: Minimum
requirements to thermal insulation.
EnEV (2014). Energieeinsparverordnung 2014.
EQUA (2013). Handbuch IDA ICE - IDA Indoor Climate and Energy 4.5. Solna: EQUA Simulation AB.
Hamdy, M. and Hensen, J. (2015). Ranking of dwelling types in terms of overheating risk and sensitivity
to climate change, In: Proceedings Building Simulation ‘15, 7-9 December 2015. Hyderabad, India: IBPSA.
IPCC (2013). Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution
of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Stocker,
T.F., Qin, D., Plattner, G.-K., Tignor, M., Allen, S.K., Boschung, J., Nauels, A., Xia, Y., Bex, V. and Midgley, P.M.
(eds.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Jacob, D., Bülow, K., Kotova, L., Moseley, C., Petersen, J. and Rechid, D. (2012). CSC Report 6: Regionale
Klimaprojektionen für Europa und Deutschland: Ensemble-Simulationen für die Klimafolgenforschung. Available
at: http://www.climate-service-center.de/imperia/md/content/csc/csc_report6.pdf (Accessed: 1 December
2016).
Keller, B., Rutz, S., Antón, I., Bernasconi, R., Gebhard, H., Guha, F., Günther, P. and Magyari, E. (2011).
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Pinpoint - Fakten der Bauphysik zu nachhaltigem Bauen. 2 edn. Zürich: vdf Hochschulverlag.
Nemeth, I. (2011) Methodenentwicklung zur Bestimmung von Potenzialen der Energieeffizienzsteigerung
im Haushalts und GHD Sektor. Doktorarbeit. Technische Universität München.
Porritt, S.M., Cropper, P.C., Shao, L. and Goodier, C.I. (2013). Heat wave adaptations for UK dwellings and
development of a retrofit toolkit. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, 4(3),
pp. 269–286.
van Hooff, T., Blocken, B., Hensen, J. and Timmermans, H. (2014). On the predicted effectiveness of
climate adaptation measures for residential buildings, Building and Environment, 82, pp. 300–316.
Venables, W.N. and Smith, D.M. (2016). An Introduction to R: Notes on R: A Programming Environment
for Data Analysis and Graphics. Available at: https://cran.r-project.org/doc/manuals/r-release/R-intro.pdf
(Accessed: 8 December 2016).
Zölch, T., Maderspacher, J., Wamsler, C. and Pauleit, S. (2016). Using green infrastructure for urban
climate-proofing: An evaluation of heat mitigation measures at the micro-scale, Urban Forestry & Urban
Greening, 20, pp. 305–316.
Introduction
City life and its resulting greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) contribute greatly to climate
change, but urbanization also holds solutions. One strategy is to introduce mitigation and
adaptation measures through urban and building development (Gunawansa and Kua, 2014;
Kleerekoper et al., 2012; Shaw et al., 2007; Smith et al., 2013; de Wilde and Coley, 2012).
Urban designers and architects can be key actors to achieve this. However, studies indicate
that climate change is insufficiently integrated in design practices. (Dubois, 2014). In part,
because tools developed by research tends to fail to respond to designers’ actual needs, and
so remain little incorporated in design projects (Bierbaum et al., 2013; Dilling and Lemos,
2011; Harries and Penning-Rowsell, 2011; Horvat et al., 2011; McAndrews et al., 2013).
According to Lemos and colleagues (2012: 789), what scientists see as useful information
does not necessarily correspond with what professionals see as useful. Designers have a
Theoretical framework
There are important gap between research and practice (Kirkeby, 2012; Lawson, 2013;
Skogheim, 2008). As a result, studies have reported that research-based knowledge is little
integrated in urban design processes, despite its proven necessity with regards to climate
adaptation and mitigation (Tennøy, 2012). Research produces so-called context-
independent knowledge, while design is strongly context-dependent (Kirkeby, 2012; Lawson,
2013; Skogheim, 2008). This can render research-based knowledge seemingly unappliable in
design projects. Practitioners tend to apply a solution-based approach to tackle design
problems. The exploration of potential solutions produces a deeper understanding of the
project at hand (Darke, 1979; Kirkeby, 2012; Lawson, 2006a), contributing to detect
interdependencies between different aspects of a problem. This allows professionals to go
beyond the client’s brief, and to identify potential issues and challenges not addressed by
the latter, in order to establish what the problem ‘really is’. This is consistent with the
notion of “setting and framing the problem” (Rittel and Webber, 1973; Schön, 1983). The
designers’ knowledge of solutions builds over time, through various academic, professional,
and personal experiences. Own experience, and that of their colleagues, remain the prime
source for information, however (Kirkeby, 2012; Skogheim, 2008; Tennøy, 2012), for
instance precedents, references, and types of form (Cross, 2006; Schön, 1988). Whole or
partial solutions, they are a straightforward and pragmatic way to link problems to solutions,
and to accelerate thinking (Augustin and Coleman, 2012). The designers’ reliance on rules of
thumb to rapidly evaluate the performance of an idea is another manifestation of this
solution-based knowledge (Lawson, 2006b).
In a longer perspective, a better understanding by the scientific community of
designers’ particular way of knowing (solution-focused, experience-based and context-
dependent) could help bridge the gap between research and practice, and strengthen
climate adaptation actions.
Method
The first phase of the CapaCity-project focused on gaining an understanding of design
practices, and the use of various tools, as well as information kinds and sources in a process.
Therefore, a series of consultations with urban practitioners working in the Toulouse Region
(France) were undertaken: an online survey and two design workshops.
Consultation results
The questionnaires and workshops provided a number of insights regarding architectural
and urban design practices and processes, consistent with the literature review.
Figure 1. General structure of the CapaCity-tool
Component 1: Diagnostic
In “Diagnostic” a first interface will allow the user to complete a questionnaire to
conduct an environmentally-oriented site analysis in order to define an environmental
Table 1. The environmental themes the most important for climate adaptation in the Toulouse-region
At the end of the Diagnostic, the environmental profile of the project is displayed. The
environmental themes will be ranked according to their scores into three categories: High
Priority, Medium Priority, and Low Priority. The users will be able to modify this ranking, for
instance according to particular client requirements, in order to define a final
"environmental profile of the user" to be used in the “Programming”.
Programming
For “Programming” the tool offers a series of “High Priority” environmental issues based on
the profile. However, users can consult the totality of the database topics. Here the
environmental issues of the tool will be presented as "Solution sheets", enabling the user to
understand potential physical processes involved in the issues, and mechanisms that can be
used to adapt a neighbourhood to climate change (e.g. "green roof", " albedo", "ecological
corridor"). The user will be able to select "Solution sheets" in relation to the environmental
profile of the project. When doing so, the tool will alert the user to possible interactions and
interdependencies among the solutions that should be taken in to consideration.
Design
In “Design” exemplary projects where solutions selected in the previous steps are
implemented are displayed. These will be exemplary urban projects, analysed as much with
regards to their short-comings as to their strengths. In addition to the analysis (texts and
pictures), these “Project sheets” will contain tags with a score between 0 and 3 to identify
the implementation of different solutions. This allows assigning each project with a note
corresponding to the suitability of the example project with the user’s project and potential
solutions selected in section 2. Projects with the highest scores will appear first in the list.
Acknowledgements
This research is supported by ADEME, the French Environment & Energy Management
Agency.
The authors also wish to thank Frédéric Bonneaud, Bernard Ferriès, Sandra Marques,
Anne Péré and Corinne Sadokh, our colleagues and members of the project CapaCity. Finally,
authors are indebted to the participants for their collaboration to the project.
References
Augustin, S., Coleman, C., 2012. The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design.
John Wiley & Sons.
Bierbaum, R., Smith, J.B., Lee, A., Blair, M., Carter, L., Chapin, F.S., Fleming, P., Ruffo, S., Stults, M., McNeeley,
S., Wasley, E., Verduzco, L., 2013. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change 18, 361–
406.
Cross, N., 2006. Designerly ways of knowing. Springer, London.
Introduction
There is a growing number of heat waves since the end of the twentieth century and this
growing trend will continue throughout the 21th century(IPCC, 2014). Hong Kong has more
frequent extreme weather events such as very hot days and hot nights since its urbanization
started in the 1960s(HKO, 2015). Urban thermal environment of Hong Kong has been
deteriorated due to urban heat island effect. It’s reported that Increase in 1 °C in hot days
was associated with 6.82% increase in deaths in Hong Kong(Fung, 2004). As the number and
duration of extreme heat events are likely to increase with climate change, it is important to
obtain a more comprehensive understanding of extreme hot weather in urban environment.
The conditions of extreme hot weather are generally based on the meteorological data
acquired at ground-level meteorological stations(WMO& WHO, 2010). However, there is
insufficient information on the spatial distribution of intra-urban temperature difference
variations due to the limited coverage of the stations(WHO/Europe, 2004; WMO& WHO,
Figure 1. Distribution of the HKO stations.
Table 1. Urban Morphology Parameters.
parameter resolution year
SVF 1km 2009
DEM 1km 2009
NDVI 1km 2016
Kriging Analysis
In order to represent different levels of extreme hot weather, temperature classes defined
by HKO were used (HKO, 2015). The classes are defined as hot nights (days with a minimum
temperature of 28°C or above) and very hot days (days with a maximum temperature of 33°C
or above). However, the existing definition of extreme hot weather in Hong Kong is
inadequate in days with many hot hours but the minimum temperature less than 28° C. It
cannot be classified as a hot night according to the HKO definition but it may still have high
potential of heat hazard. In order to represent the heat hazard in a more objective and
comprehensive way, the cumulative hours above 28° C and 33°C thresholds are chosen as
measure for hot nights and very hot day.
First, the annual mean hot night hours and very hot day hours of each station over the
ten years were counted based on the observatory data. The selected hazard measures at each
site were plotted as point values in GIS. Second, a geostatistical interpolation algorithm,
called kriging, was applied to map the very hot days and hot nights. The kriging interpolation
Figure 2. Mapping results of annual average very hot day hours (2011-2015).
Spatial distribution of hot night hours
High hot night hours occur most frequently in urban areas such as Kowloon and Hong Kong
Island while low hot night hours are located in the rural areas in Hong Kong. Dense
development with tall buildings can affect the solar radiation, reduce wind speed and slow
down night time cooling rate in the urban area, leading to generally higher night time
temperature in urban areas when compared with rural stations(HKO, 2010). Also, the counts
of hot nights are much greater than that of very hot day which indicates that night time
extreme heat events are more frequent and severe than daytime extreme heat events.
Figure 3. Mapping results of annual average hot night hours (2011-2015).
Conclusion
This study mapped the intra-urban temperature variation under extreme hot weather by
incorporating DEM, SVF and NDVI based on the annual average very hot day hours and hot
night hours from 40 weather stations in Hong Kong. It’s found that urban stations have more
frequent extreme hot weather than rural areas, indicating significant UHI effect in Hong Kong.
In addition, there are more extreme heat events during night time in Hong Kong. Moreover,
the north of the New Territories has more daytime extreme hot weather while urban areas
in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island have more extreme heat events during night time. Finally,
the co-kriging mapping incorporating all the three parameters delineates the spatial
distribution of the intra-urban temperature under extreme hot weather in a more detailed
and reasonable way.
Findings of the present paper contribute to a better understanding of the spatial
variation of extreme hot weather in high-density urban environment. It also provides local-
scale information for the selection of representative meteorological stations for heat wave
warning system which the World Meteorological Organization and the World Health
Organization jointly call for actions by the governments.
In future, we will interpolate average, minimum and maximum air temperature to
further analyse the spatial pattern of extreme hot weather and map hourly average air
temperature to understand the temporal variations of extreme heat events. We also plan to
determine a more appropriate heatwave threshold, to select alternative index for the kriging
interpolation (Glenn et al., 2017) and as well as to link the mapping result with heat-related
mortality in Hong Kong for future enhancement of local heat health risk studies, thus ensuring
a healthy urban living for local citizens.
Acknowledgement
The study is supported by The Vice-Chancellor’s Discretionary Fund of The Chinese University
of Hong Kong. It is also funded by a General Research Fund Project Grant 2015/16 (Project
No.: RGC-GRF 14611015, named " A perspective (1960-2030) of Hong Kong’s urban
development and urban climate – a historical context for future actions”) of Hong Kong
Research Grants Council. It is supported by a collaboration with Hong Kong Observatory,
named “Investigating the Effect of Extreme Heat Events on Mortality and Potential
Improvement to Existing Hot Weather Warning System in Hong Kong” as well. The authors
specially wish to thank two researchers of Hong Kong Observatory, Mr. PW Chan for providing
air temperature records from 2011 to 2015 and Dr. TC Lee for his valuable advice on this study.
Introduction
Green roofs importance is increasing because of their contribution to reduce global warming
and to reverse climate change, since they absorb CO2 and produce O2. They also diminish the
effect of the heat urban island and partially retain rainwater, decreasing the flooding risk.
However, green roofs are not traditional in Cuba, despite some existing examples in
good conditions while buildings are near the end of their useful life. On the other hand, as part
of the urban agriculture experience, people themselves have created ways to plant in yards,
terraces and roofs by different modalities.
Because of that, it is possible to think that green roofs may constitute a viable
alternative to be applied in Cuba, but other classifications should be proposed to include local
Cuban experiences, and their climatic behavior in warm and humid climate have to be
verified. Green roof types appropriate to housing in Cuban conditions are evaluated in the
present paper.
Proposed Classification
According to international literature, Green roofs are composed by a system of elements
conforming horizontal layers installed directly over the building roofs, which could be
classified as intensive and extensive (Borzog Chenani, 2015) (Connelly and Hodgson, 2015)
(Li and Norford, 2016) (Minke, 2004) (Razzaghmanesh et al. 2016) (Vijayaraghavan, 2016)
(Yang et al. 2015).
Independently of that, the study of Cuban repertory demands a new classification. A
possible way of classification could be according to the main function. However, the most
important proposal is based on the relationship between the substrate and the roof:
separate or integrated (extensive or intensive). When vegetation is not directly related to
the roof surface, it is in containers or planted on the ground, forming a double roof above.
Thermal Behaviour
The influence of green roofs on indoor environment is an important benefit to be considered,
but there have not been found precedent researches allowing to precise their impact in a
warm and humid climate as Cuban one. Because of that and taking into account the possible
influence of green roofs in energy and exploitation costs during the building useful life, an
experimental research was carried out to measure air temperature in real case study.
Te Ti
Te Ti
Figure 2: Indoor and outdoor temperature under the double green roof.
The interior space below green roof kept always cooler respect to outdoors (Figure 1)
than the one below the exposed roof, with differences up to over 60C (Figure 2). Mayor
temperature differences are produced during afternoon and night, when families stay at
home and people are sleeping. It demonstrate the thermal advantages of this type of green
roof in the warm and humid Cuban climatic conditions.
Case Study: Extensive Green Roof
It was very difficult to find an extensive green roof to make the experiment, because they
are scarce, located far from the city, sometimes abandoned, and even some of them are
being deconstructing. It was possible to coordinate to carry out measurements in a
26
24
22
20
T1 Te
Figure 3: Indoor and outdoor temperature under the extensive green roof.
Thermal Comfort Evaluation
Both green roofs are more favorable than the exposed roofs. However, the extensive one
shows a higher thermal inertia provoking a difference of more than 20C to outdoors at night
respect to the one with double roof, but in the afternoon there is a contrary effect (Figure
4).
By plotting the combination of the extreme temperature and relative humidity
conditions indoors in the Givoni’s Bioclimatic Chart (Givoni, 1998), it is possible to observe
that indoor environmental conditions under the exposed roof are out of the comfort zone,
including the one in which is possible to improve them by ventilation. However, in the space
under the green double roof (measured during the same season), thermal conditions are
better, being even possible to achieve comfort by ventilation (Figure 5).
On the other hand, indoor environment under the extensive green roof in the Botanical
Garden, measured during rainy days in October, shows more favorable temperatures, being
possible to achieve comfort even without ventilation, despite the high relative humidity.
0
10.00
13.00
16.00
19.00
22.00
10.00
13.00
16.00
19.00
22.00
10.00
13.00
16.00
19.00
22.00
1.00
4.00
7.00
1.00
4.00
7.00
1.00
4.00
7.00
-5
Doble cubierta
Double roof Cubierta expuesta
Exposed roof Extensivo
Extensive roof
Figure 4: Difference between indoor and outdoor temperature in the three green roof type studied
Relative Humidity %
Conventional
dehumidification
Acnowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the VLIR-UOS Country Programme as part
of the Belgian-Cuban cooperation, via the TEAM 2017 project (CU2017TEA435A103).
References
Connelly, M; Hodgson, M (2015). Experimental investigation of the sound absorption characteristics of
vegetated roofs. Building and Environment, 92, pp. 334 – 346.
Cruz, M.C.; Sanchez, R., Y Cabrera, C. Permacultura criolla. Bogotá Linotipia Bolívar y CIA.
Bozorg Chenani, Sanaz; Lehvavirta, Susanna; Hakkinen, Tarja (2015). Life cycle assessment of layers of
Green roofs. Journal of Cleaner Productions, 90, pp. 153 – 162.
Givoni, B. (1998). Climate considerations in building and urban design. New York; International Thompson
Publishing.
González Couret, Dania (2010). Arquitectura bioclimática. Havana: Félix Varela.
Rodriguez, Eduardo Luis (2011). La arquitectura del movimiento moderno. Selección de obras del Registro
Nacional. Havana: Ediciones Unión
Li, X-X; Norford, Leslie (2016). Evaluation of a cool roof and vegetations in mitigating urban heat island in a
tropical city, Singapore. Urban Climate, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2015.12.002
Minke, Gernot 2004. Techos verdes. Planificación, ejecución, consejos prácticos. Montevideo: Fin de Siglo,
Montevideo.
Pérez González, Luis Guillermo; Gónzález, Dania. Techos verdes apropiados para viviendas en La Habana.
In: Cuarto congreso internacional sobre medio ambiente construido y desarrollo sustentable (MACDES 2016)
Habana, November 25 – 28. CIIA, CUJAE.
Razzaghmanesh, Mostafa; Beecham, Simon; Salemi, Telma. The role of Green roofs in mitigating Urban
Heat Island effects in the metropolitan área of Adeleide, South Australia. Urban Forestry and Urgan Greening,
15, pp. 89 – 102.
Sánchez Medina, Roberto (no date). Experiencias de permacultura en azoteas y terrazas cubanas:
Contribución al desarrollo local sostenible. Havana: Fundación Antonio Núñez Jiménez.
Meshack Efeoma1
1
Built Environment and Design, Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra, Australia,
mefeoma@gmail.com or Meshack.Efeoma@canberra.edu.au
Abstract: In order to determine the extent to which clothing, the ‘second skin’, can affects the thermal
perception of building space occupants, this paper analysed the results of field studies conducted in the hot
humid climate of Nigeria. Using a mixed‐mode methods; climate measurements during two different climate
seasons (dry and rainy seasons) were taken, also 450 subjective questionnaires were administered to
participants, and a number of observational studies were also recorded. The results showed that of all the
thermal variables measured and recorded during the field survey, clothing insulation had the strongest
correlations to the thermal sensation of participants. The correlation coefficient of clothing insulation was
0.516; whereas indoor air temperature was 0.236, outdoor air temperature had a correction coefficient of
0.131, relative humidity, 0.115 and metabolic rate was 0.020. Thus, in hotter climate, the 'second skin' has a
major role to play in enabling building occupants to better adjust to their thermal environment, with a reduced
reliance on mechanical forms of ventilation, which are expensive to run and maintain. The paper concludes by
recommending policy measures office managers/management can implement to ensure office workers have
appropriate clothing to ensure thermal comfort in a changing climate.
Keywords: Adaptation, clothing, hot humid climate, ‘second skin’, thermal perception
Introduction
Climate change is a global issue that affects all parts of the planet. It is a burning subject
among scientist, economist, politicians, professionals in different fields including the
construction and the built environment. The impact of the global warming is felt on a local
scale also. In a quest to save our planet from impact of this change, the United Nations has
been at the forefront of many initiatives that have been taken in this regard.
Some of the key international initiatives that have been spearheaded in response to
the climate change issue, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC), have highlighted mitigation and adaptation as the main objective
of the United Nations in combating climate change . Mitigation approach involves human
intervention to reduce the sources of greenhouse gases, the major cause of global warming
(IPCC, 2014a). Adaptation is the process of adjusting to the effects of actual or expected
climatic condition. In human systems, adaptation attempts to moderate, avoid or take
advantage of beneficial opportunities. In some natural systems, the intervention of humans
may speed up the adjustment process (IPCC, 2014b).
As a step in the right direction, the adaptive thermal comfort has been widely
recognised as an innovative approach to achieve energy efficient and sustainable building
designs, in response to climate change. The adaptive principle (Nicol and Humphreys, 1973)
indicates that one of the major actions usually taken by subjects in order to adapt or adjust
Practical Case Studies of Clothing Adaptation
There are few contemporary case studies or reports on practical case studies related to
clothing adaptation. The following two cases cited below are based on the campaign carried
out by the Japanese Ministry of Environment. They were termed: Cool Biz campaign in 2005
and Super Cool Biz campaign in 2011.
A. Japanese Cool Biz Campaign
During the summer of 2005, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment began a campaign
that is termed: Cool Biz campaign (Japanese Ministry of Environment, 2005). During the Cool
Biz campaign, office workers in government ministries were expected to adopt a certain
dress code. The Cool Biz dress code advises workers to wear short‐sleeved shirts without
ties or jackets. They were also expected to starch collars of their shirts to stand up and to
wear trousers made from materials that breathe and absorb moisture. The purpose of this
campaign, according to the Ministry of the Environment, is to reduce energy consumption
by limiting the use of air conditioning. Hence, in all central government ministries the
temperatures of air conditioners were set at 280C until the end of the summer.
At the end of the summer, the Ministry conducted a web‐based questionnaire survey
on the Cool Biz campaign (Japanese Ministry of Environment, 2005). Of the 1,200 men and
women randomly selected for the survey, 95.8% of the respondents agreed that they knew
about Cool Biz campaign. Based on the survey conducted, the Ministry estimated that the
campaign resulted in a reduction in CO2 emission that is equivalent the volume of CO2
emitted by about 1 million households for one month.
B. Japanese Super Cool Biz Campaign
Following the great east Japan earthquake of March 11, 2011, the shutdown of many
nuclear power plants for safety reasons led to energy shortage, which forced the Japanese
government to mandate a 15% peak power reduction to address shortage in summer
(Tanabe et al., 2012). The government recommended that the temperature of air
conditioners should be set at 280C. The Super Cool Biz campaign was then launched to
encourage workers to wear clothing appropriate for the office summer heat. Polo shirts and
trainers were allowed in government office. Under certain circumstances, workers were also
Methodology
The research for this study was conducted in Enugu, a city in the hot humid climate zone of
Nigeria. It is located at an altitude of approximately 223m above sea level and it lies
between latitudes 5°55'15''N and 7°6'36''N, and longitudes 6°55'39''E and 7°54'26''E. It has
an undulating topography with scattered hills and knolls, with approximate land area of
about 7,161km2 (Efeoma, 2016).
Being in tropical Nigeria, Enugu is hot all year round with a mean daily temperature of
0
26.7 C (Sanni et al., 2007). The climate of Enugu is humid and the peak of the humidity is
experienced between March and November (Reifsnyder et al., 1989). As with the West
African geographical land mass, Enugu experiences two major seasons, the rainy and dry
seasons. During the dry season months of December and January, the city is also affected by
the ‘Harmattan’, a dust‐laden trade wind from the Sahara desert, usually occurring over two
to three week period, which can also affect visibility.
The data for this study were obtained from office workers and office spaces in the
complexes of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and the Federal Road Safety
Corps (FRSC), Enugu. The surveys were conducted during the dry and rainy seasons in 2014.
In order to determine the wide range of environmental conditions that office workers in the
climate zone can adapt to, surveys were carried out in office spaces that were both naturally
ventilated and others which had mixed‐mode1 ventilation in place. Also, spaces included
open plan (OP) offices and enclosed space (ES) offices.
Throughout the period of the survey conducted during from January to March 2014
(dry season), and in the months of May to June 2014 (rainy season), dataloggers were
placed in all the office spaces surveyed to record indoor operative temperature and
humidity at 15 minute intervals. The dataloggers were located within 1 meter of each
participants’ workstation to record the actual thermal conditions being experienced by
participants during normal working hours. Dataloggers were also placed outside the
buildings to simultaneously record the corresponding air temperature and humidity of the
immediate outdoor environment at the same time intervals as the indoor dataloggers. A
Hand‐held instrument was used to measure the air speed in the different spaces surveyed
at different instances during the study period.
The questionnaires used for this study were administered in two parts. Part One of the
questionnaire was used for the recruitment of participants on a voluntary basis. Paper
1
Mixed‐mode ventilation in this research refers to office spaces that utilises a combination of natural
ventilation from operable windows and some form of air‐conditioning cooling system
Analysis of Results
A. Thermal Variables Measured and Recorded
The thermal variables measured and recorded during the period of the survey included;
indoor air temperature (TA_In), outdoor air temperature (TA_Out), indoor relative humidity
(RH), metabolic rate (MET) and clothing insulation (CLO). The results are summarised in
Table 1. As shown, there is less disparity in both indoor and outdoor air temperature
measured during the period of the survey. With a coefficient of variation of 32.8%, clothing
insulation has the most disparity of all the thermal variables measured and recorded.
Table 1: Summary of Thermal Variables Measured and Recorded
TA_Out TA_In RH
MET CLO
(0C) (0C) (%)
Maximum 39.8 32.4 83.7 2.0 1.14
Minimum 24.4 24.4 40.2 1.0 0.51
Mean 33.3 28.5 59.5 1.14 0.73
Std Deviation 3.19 1.75 11.69 0.149 0.24
Coefficient of
9.6 6.1 19.6 13.0 32.8
Variation (%)
In order to determine the subjective thermal sensation (TSENS) of the participants, the
questionnaire adopted the ASHRAE seven‐point thermal sensation scale (‐3=Cold, ‐2=Cool, ‐
1=Slightly cool, 0=Neutral, 1=Slightly warm, 2=Warm, 3=Hot). Participants were allowed to
select all the options that apply and the resulting mean from options selected was used to
determine the participants vote. The mean TSENS vote for all participants in the survey was
slightly below “Neutral”, between “Slightly cool” and “Neutral” with a value of ‐0.08. As
shown in Figure 1, the breakdown of the mean TSENS votes according to office clothing
policy indicates that with a median vote of 2.0 on the ASHRAE thermal sensation scale;
participants in offices with strict clothing policy voted that they were much warmer
compared to the group mean TSENS vote. While those of offices with flexible clothing policy
are much more comparable to the group mean TSENS vote.
B. Correlation of Thermal Sensation to Other Variable
Figure 2 shows the correlation matrix of the mean thermal sensation (TSENS) to the
following variables: indoor air temperature, clothing insulation, outdoor air temperature,
relative humidity and average metabolic rate. The bivariate scatter plots and the fitted lines
are shown on both the left and right parts; Pearson’s correlation values, their significance
values and the corresponding R2 values are shown on both the upper and lower part. The
results show that thermal sensation is strongly correlated to clothing insulation (r=0.516)
and operative temperature (r=0.236). It is also slightly correlated with outdoor air
temperature (r=0131) and relative humidity (r=0.115). It has a weak correlation to metabolic
rate (r=0.020).
The 2‐tailed correlation is significant at the 0.01 level for clothing insulation, operative
temperature and outdoor air temperature. While the correlation between the mean
thermal sensation and relative humidity is significant at the 0.05 level. With a correlation
significant of 0.678, there is no statistical significant correlation between mean thermal
sensation and metabolic rate. This implies that, changes in the activities of participants of
the survey did not affect their thermal sensation.
Indoor air Outdoor air
temperature temperature
(0C) (0C)
Clothing
insulation
(clo)
Relative Metabolic
humidity Rate
(%) (met)
Discussion
As shown in Figure 2, the R square value for the mean TSENS votes against clothing
insulation of participants was 0.266. While this shows that the regression equation, in Table
2, could only explains 26.6% of the relationship, it is however statistically significant. Again,
the low value of R square for the relationship explains how difficult it is to estimate human
perception or psychology using statistical methods alone.
However, when this relationship is compared with the relationship between indoor
TA_In and TSENS, it could be seen that clothing insulation is a better predictor of the TSENS
of participants than the indoor air temperature. This result is also supported by the analysis
result illustrated in the correlation matrix; which shows that of all the thermal variables
measured or recorded, CLO has the strongest correlation to TSENS. This strong correlation
between CLO and TSENS thus shows that clothing was the major determinant of how
participants perceived their thermal environment during the period of the survey.
This clearly shows that for building occupants to be comfortable within the ASHRAE
adaptive comfort limits, office workers in the hot humid region should be given the
opportunity to adjust their clothing within the range of 0.53 and 0.96 clo as established
from this study. Strict uniform policies that specify office clothing with CLO value higher
than 1, with no opportunity for workers to make adjustment, will make it difficult for the
adaptive comfort of ASHRAE Standard 55‐2013 to be apply in such office spaces where they
occupied.
Conclusion and Recommendation
This study has shown that there is a strong relationship between building occupants CLO
and their TSENS. The relationship has also yielded a clothing insulation range of 0.53 and
0.96 clo. Hence, for adaptive comfort standard to be applicable in the hot humid climate
zone of Nigeria, building occupants must be able to adjust their clothing within this CLO
range. Above all, employers need to know what CLO values are and should be able to
determine the CLO value of any office clothing ensemble they want to recommend to their
staff.
Conceptually, the findings from this study will provide policy makers and employers
with strict uniform or office clothing policy in Nigeria, and by extension the emerging world,
a basis to review their current office clothing policy to a more flexible clothing policy that
will encourage adaptive opportunities for workers to adjust their office clothing where
necessary. This in turn will reduce reliance on mechanical cooling systems which are
expensive to install and maintain.
In order to help the public and employers to understand what clothing is most
appropriate to achieve thermal comfort in the local context; there is need for future
research to look into the possibility of re‐calibrating and publicising the clothing insulation
scale as this research has shown that clothing was the most significant factor influencing
thermal adaptation in the cases studied.
Abstract: This paper investigates design responses to El Nino-mediated climatic disturbances, using the
December 2015 Chennai floods as a test case. The effects of such disturbances are exacerbated by human
intervention: urbanisation-led impermeabilisation of soil accentuates the urban heat island, makes water
percolation difficult, increasing surface run-off. Using literature, precedents and on-site interviews with
residents of a tenement block in severely-flooded Chennai, downstream of the River Adyar, key issues were
identified. Additionally, impact of existing morphology on comfort conditions were derived using analytical
tools of Envimet, Ladybug and CFD (outdoor) and TAS (indoor). The conclusions informed testing of
hypotheses which merged with informal recycling practices of the residents. The paper discusses strategies
employing recycled and local materials to build permeable surfaces (water-air-ground interfaces) to be
embedded into existing architectural objects (by retrofitting), or utilised to build new experimental floating
structures complementing the existing. The design studies show how strategies bring extreme temperatures of
42°C within a comfortable range in indoor and outdoor spaces; whilst contributing to flood mitigation. The
paper speculates upon a resilient live-work environment for 2050 employing productive self-build networks to
alleviate socio-economic polarisation characterising riverfronts, contributing to urban permeability and
responding adaptively to daily, seasonal and extreme events.
Introduction
The El Nino is associated with temperature differences in the east-central Equatorial Pacific
caused by trade winds moving towards South America instead Asia, resulting in weak
monsoons in Asia. In India, particularly in urban areas like Chennai (fig 1), El Nino-mediated
climatic disturbances manifests itself as dual conditions of droughts and floods. The
drought scenario is exacerbated by the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect (Amritham, 2016)
resulting in extreme temperatures and water and food shortages, while floods are made
worse due to construction on the flood plains and unplanned rapid urbanisation. The effects
of unplanned concretisation of the city are found in the existence of the UHI indicating an
intensity of 2.48°C and 3.35°C during summer and winter respectively (fig 3). Rapid
urbanisation (fig 2) has resulted in vegetative areas declining from 70% to 48% (1991-2012)
in the metropolitan area, with built areas increasing from 1.46% to 18.5% and projected to
be 36% in 2026 (Ramachandra et al, 2016). Further, India’s population is estimated to
increase four-fold by 2050, with new populations living in urban areas, 60% of which are not
yet built (McKinsey, 2015). The city is unable to satisfy the needs of its 12 million, creating a
paradox of an increasingly polarised thirsty metropolis, expanding onto flood plains of rivers
of the city.
Figure 4. Before and after the flood Figure 5. a) Site and b) hypotheses
Hypotheses
Hypothesis 1 - Mitigative strategy: What proposals can be introduced in the urban fabric to
address El Nino-mediated extreme climatic events? The hypothesis is that layers of
permeable surfaces, derived from the recycling economy and introduced in the fabric, will
rethink landscape in cities, mitigate the heat island effect and provide ownership to the
locals. This mitigative strategy explores permeability by using vegetation, water and
synthetic materials in different ways in the urban and architectural fabric.
Hypothesis 2 - Adaptive strategy: What proposals can be introduced in the building
fabric to address temperatures that are out of comfort for 95% of the year? The hypothesis
is that layers of transitions spaces, buffers and screens will aid in achieving outdoor and
indoor temperatures within the comfort band throughout the year. This hypothesis is a
design intervention where existing street typologies and unit typologies were tested,
evaluated, redesigned and later applied to new typologies on the site.
Climate
Located at 13.0827° N 80.2707°E, Chennai has a tropical wet and dry/savanna climate
(Köppen-Geiger classification: Aw) with a maximum air temperature between 41°C in the
month of May and 20°C in the month of December. The climate variations from the IPCC
A1B scenario for 2050 (fig 6) that were considered are an increase in temperatures (1-2°C)
and out of comfort temperatures for 90% of the time, an increasing trend in rainfall in the
monsoon season from October-December, increase in the global horizontal radiation
annually (2716 hours of sunshine per year) and capitalisation on sea breeze from the East.
Figure 6. Monthly Average Climate Parameters - IPCC (2050) showing a rise in temperatures by 2°C
Scope of work
The site consists of primarily 80 blocks within an area of 84,430 sqm. The orientation of the
blocks (fig 7) (32x8x12m high) creates more asphalted streets in the form of East-West
canyons (2.8-3.5m) than North-South canyons (8-10m). There are predominantly two types
in the settlement - a ground + 3 typology (80% of blocks) where the ground and first floors
were severely affected by the floods while the rest are of ground typology, which were
washed away. The work is divided into two sections - Outdoor microclimate studies analyse
street typologies and indoor studies compare thermal performance of units.
Figure 8. Typical canyon types - East-West (2.7m), North-South (10.6m) and Envimet analysis
Figure 9. Typical plan Figure 10. TAS Analysis (May 20-26) showing lack of night time ventilation
Site strategies
The proposal involves a fluid strategy which revolves around the recycling economy using
the river as its main mode of movement. It aims to turn the site from inward-looking to
oriented towards the river (fig 11). This includes bringing the river into the site in the form
of channels which will reduce temperatures in the interior and help in percolation. The
different areas of the site are for the arrival areas for raw materials, distribution areas and
workspaces. Two areas are detailed design interventions – existing street based and new
floating typologies.
Figure 12. Monthly average daily solar radiation (1 - existing, 2 - proposed), wind studies (3 - proposed) and
Envimet Comparative Analysis (A and B)
Floating typologies
Floating typologies (fig 13) use the principles from the street typologies to house residents
of the Ground typologies (largest risk to floods). The ground has workspaces, while living
units (3x3x5.5m) and communal kitchens areas are lifted off the ground by 3m. Solar access
was reduced by the larger insulated roof and inverted profiles beneath. The ventilation
Cases 1-5 were tested as stand-alone units without surrounding context during May 20-24
(Summer) to examine whether they perform within the comfort range of 26-32°C.
Case 1 tested a shoebox of wooden walls within a metal framework and coconut fibre
boards as insulation. The units were out of comfort in comparison with diurnal DBT of 32-
42°C. Case 2 included windows (2x1.2m on North-South) and stacks (1.5x.5m at 2.1 and 5m)
which were enabled between 19-32°C and 90% open. Here, temperatures are in tandem
with the DBT indicating the need for shading and ventilation regimes for different window
sizes. Case 3 included louvered shading, stacks in floor and extensive night time ventilation
instead of day time to achieve resultant temperatures of 32 to 36°C. Case 4 included
internal gains of 2 people in each (9m2) unit of the living, kitchen and bath zones with
different schedules. Here, the units come into range during the night.
Case 5 and 6 (fig 14) tested the principles from the outdoor analysis in Envimet. Case 5
included context (urban layout) and vegetative walls, the river and permeable ground and
case 6 was tested without. Case 5 was in comfort but Case 6 required extra shading for
exposed surfaces - vegetation for walls, bamboo mat shading for the roof and thicker light
weight insulation.
Conclusions
The design interventions focused on a riverside tenement block in a metropolis susceptible
to urban heat islands and floods, in part aggravated by El-Nino-mediated climatic
disturbances, but also caused due to anthropogenic interventions. Therefore, in addition to
redevelopment of the riverside tenement block, the urban strategies also aimed at
integrating the tenements by using the river and the recycling economy as a source of
production. The materials derived from debris and garbage around the area is reused and
re-integrated into different interfaces of the built areas to provide affordable respite to the
UHI effect and mitigate the effects of flooding during the monsoons.
The streetscape type – redevelopment from existing G+3 typology into a G+5 type employs
heavy weight material while the floating type (replacement for the ground type) is built
from lightweight materials resting on a floating mechanism. By employing outdoor and
indoor strategies, these permeable materials are tested reducing discomfort hours in the
indoors by almost 50% and in the in-between areas by 12-15% (fig 15) throughout the year.
This is achieved by transitionary areas, shaded streets, screens and staggered buffer zones
without compromising on density in order to house low income residents. The proposal
aims to involve residents in a participatory process of regulating their microclimate,
generating income and claiming ownership of unfavoured areas along rivers in fast
developing metropolises.
Acknowledgments
This work is the outcome of a Thesis Project for the Architecture and Environmental Design
MSc, Department of Architecture, University of Westminster, London.
References
Amirtham et al, (2009). Mapping of Micro-Urban Heat Islands and Land. The International Journal of
Climate Change: Impacts, 1(2), pp 72-83.
Amirtham, L. R., (2016). Urbanization and its impact on Urban Heat Island Intensity in Chennai
Metropolitan Area, India. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, Volume 9(5).
Jeganathan et al, (2012). Temperature trends of Chennai City, India. Theoretical and Applied
Climatology 111(3-4),
Landsberg, H., (1981). The Urban Climate. New York: Academic Press.
Nleworks.com. (2017). Makoko Floating School | NLÉ. [online] Available at:
http://www.nleworks.com/case/makoko-floating-school/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2016].
Oke, T. R., (1987). Boundary layer climates. London: Routledge.
Ramachandran et al, (2016). Visualization of Urban Growth Pattern in Chennai Using Geoinformatics
and Spatial Metrics. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 44(4), pp 617-633.
Saito I, I. O. K. T., 1990. Study of the effect of green areas on the thermal environment in an urban area.
Energy and Buildings, s.l.: s.n.
Santamouris, M., 2002. Energy and Climate in the Urban built Environment. London: James and James
Carlos J. Esparza López1, Carlos Escobar del Pozo2, Jorge A. Ojeda Sanchéz1, Adolfo Gomez
Amador1 and Miguel F. Elizondo Mata1
1
Architecture and environment unit, Faculty of Architecture and Design, University of
Colima, Coquimatlán, Mexico, cesparza@ucol.mx
2
Architecture and environment unit, Faculty of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering,
University of Colima, Coquimatlán, México.
Abstract: There are some climatic classifications that are already globally recognized. In a large scale, the most
used classification is the one developed by Köppen (1936). For Mexico, Garcia (1973) adapted those postulates
to the climatic characteristics of the country and produced a specific classification of the climates. Both
classifications were based on different variables such as mean annual and monthly rainfall, and mean annual
and monthly temperature, but the main variable was the vegetation. This kind of classification was made for
the use of natural resources but not for the human environment design. In this study, the climatic
classifications are based on thermal and higric comfort for humans. The proposal method was tried for eight
cities of four different climates of Mexico. An effect was found named “the blanket effect” that modifies the
status of every city to be in the cold. A correction step was rehearsed with good agreement with reality. Nine
basic status for weather conditions were settled: comfort, hot, cold, humid, dry, hot dry, hot humid, cold
humid and cold dry. Also, a correlation coefficient of r=-0.925 was found between thermal swing and mean RH
for 96 cities over all the country. As conclusion, the classification founded show good agreement with common
knowledge of the climate, nevertheless it is necessary to extend this study to validate the method.
Keywords: climatic classification, blanket effect, bioclimatic chart, human comfort, human environment.
Introduction
Weather/climate, from Greek Klïmat, is usually defined as the state or condition of a region
averaged over a series of years, with respect of the atmospheric variables such as wind, air
temperature, moisture, pressure, cloudiness, precipitation and sunshine. In architecture,
these variables are the source of the inner conditions of our designs. For this, it becomes
more than fundamental to knowing the climate of project settle down in order to design it
with climate and not against it.
Most of the actual climate classification are based in variables that not necessarily are
related to the human comfort such as vegetation, rainfall, cloudiness, distance from the sea,
latitude or altitude. Dry bulb temperature and RH are two of the most important variables
to define human comfort. This two variables are not the main inputs in most of the climate
charts. In this study, a method for index the climate from thermal human comfort standard
is presented. Also, a new concept is introduced, the blanket effect. It helps to modify the
values of the control task from lower temperatures to have better agreement with common
perception of the people.
Figure 1. World map of Köppen climate classification. Source: Chen & Chen (2013, p.72)
These general groups are divided in smaller subgroups defined by the humidity,
especially for rainfall:
For group A
m monsoon Humid with short dry season and abundant rainfall
For group A, C and D
f Equatorial Humid without dry season and rainfall all year
s Dry season in summer and rainfall in winter
w savanna Dry season in winter and rainfall in summer
For group B
S steppe semi-arid
W deserted arid
For group E
T tundra dry, average temperature of hottest month between 0°
and 10°C
F perpetual ice dry, average temperature of hottest month under 0°C
There are other descriptors that have been added due the incomplete work of the
botanic Köppen. It is important to point that this kind of classifications was designed for
agronomical purposes, then, its principal variables are not for human purposes. I.e., the first
variable to delimitated climate is the vegetation. Köppen says that vegetation has a strong
relationship with the climate conditions of a region. Subsequently, He determined a climate
group studying and joining vegetal species and its requirements.
It is important to mention that Evans made a review and an analysis of the relation
between the RH and the thermal swing. He emphasis the indirect relation of this two
variables in chapter 7 of his thesis: “with low humidity related to higher (thermal) swings...”
(Evans 2007, p.290).
Other climatic classifications were formulated from different variables along the last
century, for instance, in brazil, Roriz (2012) made a proposal climatic classification using
temperatures, thermal swing and RH for humidity and others variables as latitude, altitude,
distance from the sea. In Mexico, García (1973) made a modification of the climatic system
of Köppen to adjust the Köppen’s chart to the country. Obviously, her principal variable was
the vegetation. Morillón (2002; 2003) presented different bioclimatic charts for each month
but the method is not clear established. Fuentes (2009; Rodríguez Viqueira et al. 2011; 2014)
did a climatic classification from the bioclimatic requirements but the humidity subject was
tried from the rainfall instead the RH. Finally, Gómez (2009) tried a classification for a region
of Jalisco, Mexico. In his study, he found that most of the cities analysed using the adaptive
comfort and degree-days for the control task indicates that are in cold. He proposed a
correction value, but the justification was not clear enough. In this study, the correction
step named “blanket effect” is presented.
y = -0.3441x + 36.316
R² = 0.857
22.50
20.00
17.50
Thermal Swing [K]
15.00
12.50
10.00
7.50
5.00
40.00 45.00 50.00 55.00 60.00 65.00 70.00 75.00 80.00 85.00 90.00
RH [%]
Figure 2. Correlation between RH and Thermal swing for 96 cities of Mexico.
0.0
-1.0
-2.0
-3.0
-4.0
-5.0
-6.0
-7.0
-8.0
-9.0
-10.0
-11.0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
After applying the BEC, the lag to be in cold was reduce in all the cities (See Fig. 4) Cities in
green (known as hot humid) remains over the 0°C in the heat zone, this status agrees with
the common perception of the people. Cities in blue (known as cold) remains below the 0°C
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
Hourly degree day [°C/h]
1.0
0.0
-1.0
-2.0
-3.0
-4.0
-5.0
-6.0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
In figure 5, control task and thermal swing are correlated to integrate the humidity to
the classification. In the figure on the left, the values are presented without the correction
of the blanket effect. Blue zone indicates cold, comfort thermal and higric in white, red is
hot, brown is dryness and green is humidity. The corners are the combination of
temperature and humidity.
In the left, most of the cities remains in cold but Mexicali, Mérida and Tuxtla Gutiérrez
that appear in comfort. But if the blanket effect correction is applied, Cuernavaca gets inside
the thermal comfort zone, Mérida and Tuxtla Gutiérrez almost get in the hot zone and
Morelia and Nogales are in the limit between cold and comfort zones. The blue cities,
continue in the cold zone, so the BEC does not affect considerably their performance as it
does with the other cities that move them according to the real perception of their citizens.
.
Figure 5. Control task and thermal swing correlation for the 8 cities analysed. Left without BEC, right with it.
Conclusions
This study presented a method to sort the climate based in the human comfort
guidelines. Eight cities of four different climates of Mexico were analysed. The blanket effect
Acknowledgments
The first author wishes to acknowledge the financial support from the Program of
professional development for the teacher (ProDeP in Spanish) of the Ministry of Education
(SEP) to run the present study.
References
ASHRAE STANDARD, 2010. Thermal environmental conditions for Human Occupancy.,
Auliciems, A. & Szokolay, S. V, 1997. Thermal comfort. In Passive and Low Energy Architecture International
Design Tools and Techniques. p. 68.
Chen, D. & Chen, H.W., 2013. Using the Köppen classification to quantify climate variation and change: An
example for 1901-2010. Environmental Development, 6(1), pp.69–79.
Comisión Federal de Electricidad, 2017. Horas pico de consumo eléctrico. Available at:
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Evans, J.M., 1980. Housing, Climate and Comfort, London, UK: Architectural Press.
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Freixanet, A.F., 2009. Modelo de análisis climático y definición de estrategias de diseño bioclimático para
diferentes regiones de la república mexicana.
Fuentes Freixanet, V.A., 2014. Mapas bioclimáticos de la República Mexicana 1ra edición., México D.F.:
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.
García, E., 1973. Modificaciones al sistema de clasificación climática de Köppen Segunda ed., México D.F.:
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
Gómez-Amador, A., 2009. Atlas bioclimático de Jalisco. In J. Secretaría del medio ambiente para el desarrollo
sustentable, ed. Edificación sustentable en Jalisco. Guadalajara, Jalisco, pp. 42–61.
Koenigsberger, O.H. et al., 1977. Viviendas y edificios en zonas cálidas y tropicales 1er ed., Madrid: Paraninfo.
Köppen, W. & Geiger, R., 1936. Handbuch der Klimatologie, Berlin.
McGilligan, C., Natarajan, S. & Nikolopoulou, M., 2011. Adaptive comfort degree-days: A metric to compare
adaptive comfort standards and estimate changes in energy consumption for future UK climates. Energy
and Buildings, 43(10), pp.2767–2778. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.06.037.
Morillón G., D. et al., 2002. Atlas Bioclimático De La República Mexicana. Energías Renovables y Medio
Ambiente, 10, pp.57–62.
Morillón Gálvez, D., 2003. Mapas de bioclima de la República Mexicana. In E. L. S. A. de C.V., ed. Estudios de
arquitectura bioclimática. México D.F., pp. 117–130.
Mourshed, M., 2012. Relationship between annual mean temperature and degree-days. Energy and Buildings,
54, pp.418–425. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2012.07.024.
Rodríguez Viqueira, M. et al., 2011. Introducción a la Arquitectura Bioclimática 1ra edició., México D.F.:
Editorial Limusa S.A. de C.V.
Roriz, M., 2012. Uma proposta de revisao do zoneamento bioclimático Brasileiro, Sao Paulo.
Tejeda Martínez, A., 2007. On the evaluation of the wet bulb temperature as a function of dry bulb
temperature and relative humidity. Atmósfera, 3.
Fabiana Benevenuto Faustini1, Marina Lisboa Maia2, Thyssie Ortolani Rioli3, João Roberto
Gomes de Faria4 and Maria Solange Gurgel de Castro Fontes5
1
Architect, master student in Architecture and Urbanism, São Paulo State University (Unesp),
Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, n° 14-01, 17033-360, Bauru, SP, (14)3103- 6059,
fab_bf@hotmail.com;
2
Architect, master student in Architecture and Urbanism, São Paulo State University
(Unesp), Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, n° 14-01, 17033-360, Bauru, SP, (14)3103- 6059,
mlisboamaia@gmail.com;
3
Architect, master in Architecture and Urbanism, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Av.
Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, n° 14-01, 17033-360, Bauru, SP, (14)3103-6059, -
thyssie.arq@gmail.com;
4
Associate Professor of the Department of Architecture, Landscaping and Urban Planning,
São Paulo State University (Unesp), Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, n° 14-01, 17033-
360, Bauru, SP, (14)3103-6059, joaofari@faac.unesp.br;
5
Assistant Professor of the Department of Architecture, Landscaping and Urban Planning,
São Paulo State University (Unesp), Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, n° 14-01, 17033-
360, Bauru, SP, (14)3103-6059, sgfontes@faac.unesp.br
Abstract: The knowledge about microclimate and its influence on people’s thermal comfort becomes critical to
the planning process of all types of environment. In leisure facility design, guaranteeing the user’s thermal
comfort has become increasingly essential, since it affects the activities, usage characteristics and the time
people spent in these spaces. Recent researches on thermal comfort aim at creating guidelines for attractive
outdoor environments that contribute to improve urban quality of life and consider environmental factors (air
temperature, wind speed and relative humidity), which affect the users’ thermal perception and satisfaction. In
this context, this pilot project of a larger project investigated how the different levels of shading affect
users’ thermal comfort in outdoor leisure spaces. It was conducted in Bauru Municipal Zoo Park, São Paulo
State, Brazil, through the analysis of microclimatic research, questionnaires, and field observations in cold
weather conditions for three days. These surveys allowed to identify the actual sensation votes (ASV) calculated
through the PET index (Physiological Equivalent Temperature), in two subspaces with the same
attractiveness and different levels of shading. The analysis of the results highlighted: 1.Great number of
comfortable users´ in the area with greater shading during times of greater solar heating; 2. Users’ short
exposure in the area of high incidence of direct solar radiation; and 3. Range of thermal neutrality in the PET
index varied in relation to the two subspaces. The results show the close relationship between levels of
shading, thermal comfort and exposure time in the outdoor space.
Keywords: Outdoor thermal comfort, time exposure, levels of shading, PET index, urban parks.
From the choice of these subspaces, the following methodological steps were taken:
image capture for SVF determination, monitoring of environmental variables, survey of
activities, application of questionnaires to users, survey of climatic data and identification of
comfort range. A Nikon Coolpix 4500 photo camera with fisheye converter FC-E8 was used
for capturing images to calculate the Sky Vision Factor (SVF). For the monitoring of
environmental variables, the HOBO H8 Pro Series was used to collect data on air
temperature, globe temperature (HOBO external sensor with gray globe, built with an
official ping-pong ball, painted in gray ) and a direct reading thermohygrometer to collect
wet bulb temperature.
Simultaneously with the microclimatic survey, questionnaires were applied, based
on the RUROS Project - Rediscovering the Urban Realm and Outdoor Space
(NIKOLOPOULOU; LYKOUDIS, 2006) for the identification of the Actual Sensation Vote (ASV)
If the data collected on the subspaces were compared to those recorded by IPMet, the
differences in air temperature reached 9.2°C at 12:52 a.m. of the first day of collection in the
jaguar area. The air humidity in subspace 1 was higher, an average of 11% higher than the air
humidity in the local Meteorological Station, whereas in subspace 2 the values were similar to
those of the IPMet.
According to the questionnaire, the degree of interest of the users by these felines was
similar, but the users showed little tolerance to the incidence of direct solar radiation, and
therefore, the visitation period of the users to the jaguar site was shorter, due to lack of sun
protection in the space.
Through the photographic records, the average length of stay in this space was less than
3 minutes, while in the lion site, the recorded time was 3 to 12 minutes. Sabbagh et al. (2016),
in a survey conducted in Dubai, conclude that when users felt "uncomfortable", they remained
no more than five minutes in the area exposed to the sun, and as a mechanism to return to the
stage of "comfort" they remained a longer period in shaded areas.
An example of the records for analysis of the length of stay can be seen in Figure 4.
In subspace 1, which is shaded by vegetation and with a more pleasant microclimate, the
majority of users (57.8%) showed satisfaction with the environment in general, since they
felt comfortable. In the second area, the users' dissatisfaction was related to the lack of
shading, where 74.8% of respondents reported as the main feature to be changed, because it
directly affects the microclimate.
Figure 6 compares the thermal sensation and preference of users in the two areas of
analysis.
Figure 6.Comparison of thermal sensation and thermal preference of users in the study areas.
Figure 7.PET temperature range related to users' ASV ranges in subspace 1 (lion) and 2 (jaguar).
The neutrality values for the PET temperature in subspace 1 ranged from 25.6 to
29.5°C; in subspace 2 from 30.6 to 35.3°C. Referring to Figure 7, the thermal neutrality in
subspace 2 is within the range of heat discomfort (+1) comprising temperatures from 24.4
to 35.4°C. Another factor observed was that although subspace 2 presented a higher
percentage of uncomfortable users, the comfort limits tolerated by the respondents were
greater than in subspace 1. This factor can be justified by the adaptation and tolerance of
each one to comfort, which changes from person to person, and the psychological factor of
satisfaction with the space where, according to Coutinho (1998), not all people have the
same thermal sensation in the environment they occupy.
Final considerations
The results of the research contributed to the confirmation that different levels of shading
by trees, in outdoor spaces of leisure, decisively interfere in the conditions of thermal
comfort and in the time of permanence of the users. Thus, the better microclimatic quality
observed in subspace 1, with less SVF (Lion site), contributed to a greater percentage of
comfortable people (80%) and their longer permanence time (up to 12 min) at the site.
Whereas in subspace 2 (jaguar), with higher SVF, the greater thermal discomfort due to heat
(75% of respondents) contributed to a reduction in exposure time (less than 3 min), due to
the low tolerance of users to the direct solar incidence. It should be noted that the evaluated
weather conditions were during the local winter period when air temperatures are warmer
and air is drier. Therefore, the microclimatic conditions in both subspaces may be more
aggravating on summer days, when temperatures are higher and relative air humidity is
greater.
The research of this pilot study will continue in hot weather conditions. However, the
results obtained here, in addition to highlighting the need for interventions to improve local
microclimatic quality also contributed to prove the relation between thermal comfort and
length of time spent in outdoor spaces, an investigation that has been little explored in the
studies of the area.
Introduction
As a result of the colonization process experienced by the peninsular Mediterranean coast,
driven by tourism and real estate, which began in the middle of the XX century, rural territory
and economy are replaced by a fragmented space, mere support of extensive tourist-
residential urbanizations, accompanied by the recreational uses that these demand,
generating a new economy based on service sector and construction, linked to tourism. The
transition from an agricultural structure to a tourist model, led to the loss of the territory's
role as a producer of food and support of resources such as water, basic for the subsistence
of the population, allowing relocation and uncontrolled urban growth.
The result of the above would be the progressive filling of the first peninsular coastline
in which an urban continuum is formed, where more than half of the population of this coast
is concentrated in its first 2km. In this process the province of Málaga stands out in which the
transformation reached 56.91% of its surface area in 2011 (Estévez et al, 2016), with the
highest percentages of the coastal municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol region
(henceforth WCS) (figure 1), 89% of Mijas, 86% of Benalmádena, 81% of Marbella (Villar-Lama,
2011), generating what has been defined as a linear city on a territorial scale that currently
exceeds the provincial limits, entering the province of Cadiz.
Vulnerability to flooding and rising sea levels and their link to climate change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment (AR5, 2013-2014)
establishes, for the year 2100, forecasts of average sea level increases of between 26 cm and
98 cm, depending on the scenarios evaluated. At the same time, it announces for medium-
latitude territories such as Andalusia, extreme precipitation events which will probably
become more intense and more frequent. It will suppose on the Mediterranean coast
Andalusian, an increase in the floods by overflowing river channels (usually short-haul and
steep slopes), especially of the lower topographic level sections, closer to the river mouths.
The risk of flooding or coastal erosion due to sea level rise, as a result of the global
warming component, has a special impact on those urban areas adjacent to the maritime
public domain, where sediment inputs have been observed depleted by the presence of
artificial protection elements, which have altered the coastal dynamics. These phenomena,
in turn, hinder the evacuation of river waters, increasing the likelihood of overflowing their
channels. This situation is exacerbated in the WCS case by the urban transformation of the
coastline that has occupied and constrained the flood plains to extreme limits, might pose
high socioeconomic damages in terms of the assets potentially affected by flooding, reducing
the availability of spaces that allow the cushioning or adaptation to the rise of the sea level
and increasing the sedimentary imbalance.
Given the environmental and socioeconomic deficits, resulting from the high level of
territorial artificialization and flooding risk identified, in this analysis we will focus on the
Western Costa del Sol, strip of coast of Málaga between Torremolinos and Manilva
municipalities.
Recently, along the coastline of the WCS, 77,79km of coastline and 129km of river
channels have been delimited, subject to potential significant flood risks of marine and fluvial
origin (scenario T = 100 years), as well as 4,1km2 with risk of marine flooding in which 8.655
inhabitants reside (SNCZI, 2016), mainly concentrated in Fuengirola, Marbella (figure 2 and
3), Estepona and Mijas municipalities.
Figure 2. Urban continuum in Marbella. WCS. Areas with Significant Potential Flooding Risk
http://sig.mapama.es/snczi/visor.html
The western Costa del Sol: Tourist activity and urban metabolism
Currently, the urban-tourist continuum of the WCS (figure 4) is made up of 48% of its
extension by residential areas and golf courses (Villar-Lama, 2013). As a result of this
expansive model and the absence of efficient public transportation, mobility in this
environment depends basically on the private vehicle, as we know, a large consumer of
energy and one of the first GHGs generators in this environment, to which there is no
alternative than displacements by road, in the municipalities to the west of Fuengirola, where
the railroad come to an end.
Figure 4. Western Costa del Sol Region. Urbanized area of the coast. 2011.
http://laboratoriorediam.cica.es/VisorGenerico/
Conclusions
Currently, the peninsular Mediterranean coast is the most urbanized and populated area of
the country, with the Western Costa del Sol (Málaga) as a paradigmatic case, in which the
anthropized surface surpasses, in some of its municipalities, such as Marbella or Mijas, a 90%
in its first 500m and a 80% if it is advanced to 2 Km. In spite of the excessive levels of
urbanization reached, of the large number of existing vacant or secondary dwellings (which
total 148.015 units in front of the 194.398 main houses, data from 2011) (MADECA, 2015),
References
Cano-Orellana, A. (2007). Huella Ecológica Local: El Caso de los Municipios del Litoral Andaluz. Estudios
Turísticos, 172-173, pp. 121-129.
CEDEX (2012).”Estudio de los impactos del cambio climático en los recursos hídricos y las masas de agua”.
Ministerio de Fomento.
Gómez-Gómez, J.D., López Geta, J.A. & Navarro, J.A. (2001). Modelo de uso conjunto de recursos hídricos
en la Costa del Sol Occidental. Las caras del agua subterránea, Vol. 2, pp. 745-752.
Estévez, R., Prieto, F. & Alfonso, C. (2016). “Informe Cambio en la ocupación de la Costa 2016”.
Observatorio de la Sostenibilidad. OS. Retrieved from: http://www.observatoriosostenibilidad.com/
“Fourth Assessment (AR4)”. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007.
“Fifth Assessment (AR5)”. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2013-2014.
Jiménez-Madrid, A. (2014). “Dictamen Medio Ambiente y Sostenibilidad en la Provincia de Málaga”. II
Plan de Actuaciones Estratégicas Provincia de Málaga. Retrieved from:
http://www.fundacionmadeca.es/images/pdf/Dictamenes-Plan-Estrategico/sostenibilidad-
medioambiental.pdf
MADECA (2015).”Información Comarcal. Costa del Sol Occidental”. Observatorio Socioeconómico de la
Provincia de Málaga.
Miranda-Páez, E. (2005). Saneamiento Integral de la Costa del Sol: El permanente desafío. Aqua Nostra,
Agua de Todos. El Agua en La Costa Occidental Malagueña, pp.74-82.
Natera-Rivas, J.J. (2005). Agua y Poblamiento de la Costa del Sol Occidental. Aqua Nostra, Agua de Todos.
El Agua en La Costa Occidental Malagueña, pp. 15-61.
Prieto, F., Murray, I. & Farinós, J. (2013). “Costas Inteligentes. Visión para un Futuro Sostenible en 2030”.
Greenpeace, pp. 1-319.
REDIAM (2015). “Evolución de emisiones de CO2 y Huella de Carbono en Andalucía”. Retrieved from:
http://laboratoriorediam.cica.es/huellacarbono/index.html
Requejo-Liberal, J. (2007). Turistas: del Concepto Legal a la Compleja Realidad del Actual Panorama
Español. Estudios Turísticos, 172-173, pp. 147-156.
SNCZI (2016). Área Riesgo Potencial Significativo Inundación. Sistema Nacional de Cartografía de Zonas
Inundables. Retrieved from: http://sig.mapama.es/snczi/visor.html
Villar-Lama, A. (2011). Territorio, Turismo y Paisaje: El Proceso de Urbanización en el Litoral de Andalucía.
El Papel de los Campos de Golf. Geografía Física y Análisis Geográfico Regional. Universidad de Sevilla.
Villar-Lama, A. (2013). La mercantilización del paisaje litoral del mediterráneo andaluz: El caso
paradigmático de la Costa del Sol y los campos de golf. Revista de Estudios Regionales, 96, pp. 215-242.
Valls-Giménez, J.F., Sardá-Borroy, R. (2008). Percepción de los Expertos sobre las Implicaciones del
Cambio Climático en las Regiones Turísticas Euromediterráneas. Revista de Análisis Turístico, 5, 1er semestre
2008, pp. 46-65.
Abstract: Recent changes in the global climate pattern has witnessed increase in unusual rains and shifting
weather patterns increasing the risk of food security. The demand for food in high density living areas is
increasing the energy consumption for the transportation leading to higher carbon footprint. Moreover, in
tropical countries like India where extreme weather conditions exist with summers being too hot and heavy
rains flooding the cities during monsoons, the increase in concrete built forms and surface simplification are
leading to the Urban Heat Island effect resulting in rise in local temperatures further increasing the energy
consumption in built spaces. In this scenario, roofs with green vegetative covers act as good insulation while
using waste water, gives a triple fold solution of maintaining air quality, reducing energy consumption and
creating an alternative for food security by providing sustainable design solutions for multiple problems of
urbanisation. In urban areas where land is one of the scarce resource, there is extensive potential for application
of productive landscaping in cities, not only on land but also in the building components such as rooftops, fences,
walls, balconies, property setbacks, etc. that adds a green envelop to these building components. In this paper
we would be exploring the possibilities of integrating productive landscaping into urban design and built
environment to achieve sustainable design solutions.
Keywords: Productive landscaping, urban agriculture, sustainable landscaping, food security, composting
Introduction
The urban population in India is expected to grow to 404 million by 2050 (World Urbanisation
Prospects, 2014) (See Figure 1). Many of our cities are ill equipped to handle such large-scale
expansion.
Resources are always limited and in a developing and highly populous country like India,
resources are even scarcer. Population explosion results in the shortage of even the most
basic resources like food.
Environmental issues
Climate change along with the El Nino effect, are expected to increase the frequency and
intensity of current hazards, an increased probability of extreme events, spur the emergence
of new hazards and vulnerabilities with differential spatial and socio-economic impacts. This
is expected to further degrade the resilience and coping capacities of poor and vulnerable
communities, who make up from a quarter to half of the population of most Indian cities
(Satterthwaite, 2006). Hundreds of millions of urban dwellers in the Indian cities are at risk
from the direct and indirect impacts of climate change. Without effective adaptation to
climate change there will be very serious consequences for the most people residing in the
cities in India.
Various climate models developed so far indicate following issues that would impact
the cities (Bhat GK Raghupathi et.al. 2013)
• Temperature increase and higher variability leading to
o Reduced comfort levels over longer periods across seasons
o Increase in energy use for space cooling and heating
• Precipitation changes leading to
o Drought, and extreme precipitation events
o Changes in river hydrology causing floods, seasonal water scarcity
o Cyclonic storms, storm surge and coastal flooding
• Heat island effects along with regional temperature increase
• Increasing demand of resources due to urbanisation i.e. for water, food, energy etc.
leading to stress on urban ecosystem.
Since both urbanisation and climate change impacts are expected to simultaneously roll
out in the coming decades, cities now are at a higher risk to the increasing severity of climate
change.
Economic issues
Mckinsey Global Institute (MGI) published a report “India’s Urban Awakening: Building
Inclusive Cities, Sustaining Economic Growth” based on econometric model. During 2010-
2030, urban India is expected to create 70 per cent of all new jobs in India and these urban
jobs are expected to be at least twice as productive as equivalent jobs in the rural sector. If
this demand is not met, both urban and rural areas are likely to face serious employment
crisis.
Urban poor generally spend the major share of their earnings on food. Since the
demand of food is higher in the cities, the cost of food is also higher making it harder for the
Urban poor to meet their food needs. Poor urban dwellers, being largely net food buyers and
depending mostly on markets for their food supplies, are particularly vulnerable to adverse
food price shocks, and are consistently the group in society that suffers most from higher food
prices. (See figure 2)
Issues of Urbanisation
Figure 2: Diagram explaining the social, economic and environmental issues of urbanisation
Social issues
In urbanisation, we see a constant influx of people from the rural areas in search of
employment. Overcrowding of cities lead to a constant problem of scarcity of houses in urban
areas leading to more and more slums. Impacts of inadequate housing conditions and basic
amenities are an intricate issue involving variety of exposures that are physical, chemical,
biological and social leading to various health and social issues. Increase in food prices make
the urban poor the most vulnerable group to the necessity of food and nutrition. Food
contamination is one major problem that takes a toll on the health of the whole urban
population. Moreover, the environmental impacts of urbanisation like increase in
temperatures, air and water pollution, lack of breathable air, etc. have serious effect on the
health and wellbeing of the city dwellers.
Figure 5: Vertical farming units made of PVC pipes that could be used to grow food.
Figure 6: Modular units containing a base and grow bags that can be used on the rooftop
Growing food in the vacant land transforms Preparation of open land for urban farming
negative space into productive space by digging compost trenches, soil mulching
(Location: Visakhapatnam, India) and installation of drip irrigation
Figure 7: Showing the urban farming practices by few individuals in Visakhapatnam. India
Conclusion
Local food production plays a large role in creating self-sufficient communities that are not
dependent on food imports or on food that has travelled by road across the country.
Productive landscaping, therefore is a holistic solution to our dependency on oil, energy
consumption, carbon emissions in food transportation, reduction of urban heat island, health
and economy. However, for large scale deployment of productive landscaping, we need the
active involvement of the city dwellers and the local municipalities for creating conducive
environment for production of food. Training and support services need to be provided for
the enthusiastic urban farmers for wide deployment of productive landscaping. Further study
is intended to be done on the economics and energy saving potential of productive
landscaping in urban built environment.
References
UN 2014, World Population Prospects 2014, Population Division of the Department of Economic and
Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, Available: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/CD-ROM/Urban-
Agglomerations.htm , Accessed 12/4/2017
Satterthwaithe, D. (2006). Climate Change and Cities, London, IIED
MGI (2010), India’s Urban Awakening: Building Inclusive Cities, Sustaining Economic Growth. The
McKinsey Global Institute
Bhat GK Raghupathi, U Rajasekhar and Karnath A 2013, Urbanisation, Poverty, Climate Change: A
synthesis Report – India, Gurgoan, India: TARU Leading Edge and ACCCRN
School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastucture and Society, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh,
Scotland, correspondence email ah221@hw.ac.uk.
Abstract: Libya is a notable example amongst countries that use fossil fuels to generate electrical power in the
world. Electricity in Libya is heavily consumed through the use of residential air conditioning, which comprises
36% of the total electricity generated at peak times on a hot summer day. In order to gain a general
appreciation of electricity demand from cooling in Libyan domestic residences, a questionnaire was designed,
comparing energy consumption and air-conditioning usage. This paper is based on the compilation of
responses from the conducted survey. The questionnaire produced in this study, with 724 respondents,
comprised of ten questions including building type, the number of air conditioning units used, the size of
properties, and number of occupants. Moreover, the survey gave an indication of locations and the time at
which air conditioning was used during the summer days , the result shows that houses with one and two
storeys make up 61.3% of all housing types, meaning that the majority of Libyan people live in such buildings.
Additionally the results show the impact of extreme use of air condition to the total electricity generation and
the relation between the rate of increase of consumption and installed capacity of Libyan electricity.
Introduction
In Libya, the climate is hot during summer time, so the need for cooling systems in summer
are certain, especially in the southern region and coastal areas where the humidity is high.
(El Bakkush et al., 2015). In the summer months, over 80% of buildings are using air-
conditioners frequently within small volumes (Suleiman, 2011).
Local climate conditions have taken little notice due to cheap fossil fuel consumption
in the country. As well as the introduction of mechanical air-conditioned technologies, the
issue has gone out of hand concerning the environment. Energy consumption to allow
comfort in buildings to be maintained cool has been huge.(Ahmad et al., 1984)
In the past, traditional buildings provided a relatively acceptable thermal comfort in
winter and particularly in summer. These buildings are naturally ventilated and have a high
thermal capacity. They are also equipped with a courtyard. However, in the present day the
development of “modern” construction has been very fast with less care paid to the thermal
quality of the buildings. Many recent buildings are not equipped with thermal insulation,
and air tightness is very poor due to the lack of appropriate standards (Akair, 2007 p45).
According to the Libyan Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB), Libya does not have
its own specific criteria for housing construction, so the USA and British codes are used
instead. These codes are seen as unsuitable for the Libyan climate and people's behaviour
(AECOM, 2009). Furthermore, Suleiman (2011, p1928) stated that ‘‘there are no specific
1
http://www.energyafrica.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Energy_Africa_13/Presentation_GECOL_Ashaibi_PAnel%
204a_7th%20German-African%20Energy%20Forum.pdf
Methodology
The use of questionnaires as a method of collecting data has many advantages – the
researcher is able to gain much information from many participants in a short amount of
time. It is also cost effective and offers ease of access for both participants and researchers,
who can subsequently quantify the results easily. The speed can be further improved by
undertaking questionnaires electronically, which means a decreased time frame of waiting
for results to be returned.
The questionnaire method was deemed to be most appropriate in order to give a
general idea about Libyan domestic residences and the number of occupants and air
conditioning use in order to compare between them and the energy consumption. For the
questionnaire produced in this study, ten questions in the questionnaire ask about Libyan
home types and how many air condition include also how the size of properties and how
many people, kitchens, bathrooms, air conditioning units. Moreover, the survey gave
indication about locations and the time of start using the air conditioner during the summer
days, and time of stop using the air conditioner during the summer days, and month in the
year start using air conditioning and finally, month in the year stop using air conditioning.
In spite of these benefits, there can also be several disadvantages. Naturally, people
will have different understandings of questions and thus can interpret the meanings in a
way which was perhaps not meant by the researcher. This can lead to answers not being
given in the scope that was intended (Naoum, 2007).
Table 1: Estimated average energy (kw/h) and cost (LD) to run appliances for one house (adapted from
Mohamed et al., 2015).
Hours Total kW h
No. of Frequency of
Appliance Rating used per used per
appliances use per week
day year
35%
30%
25% 20.7%
20% 14.1%
15% 10.2%
6.2% 5.9%
10%
1.1% 1.1%
5%
0%
One floor Double Villa ( big One bed Two bed Three bed Four bed Five bed
house floor house house ) room flat room flat room flat room flat room flat
25%
19.2%
20% 16.9% 18.0%
Percentage of
14.4%
responses
15% 10.2%
10% 6.4% 5.1% 4.8%
2.8% 2.3%
5%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 or
Numbers above
20.00 18.51
18.00 16.57
Percentage of responses (% )
16.00 14.50
14.00
12.00
10.00 8.84
8.01
8.00
6.00 4.83
3.87
4.00 3.182.76 2.62 3.18
2.211.80
1.38
2.00 0.970.411.240.550.690.410.691.24 0.690.83
0.00
00:00
01:00
02:00
03:00
04:00
05:00
06:00
07:00
08:00
09:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
18:00
19:00
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00
37.0%
40.0%
Percentage of responses
35.0% 28.9%
30.0%
22.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0% 5.7%
3.2%
5.0% 0.7% 0.7% 0.8% 0.3% 0.4% 0.3% 0.1%
0.0%
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Figure 5. The start of using air conditioning in the month of the year
In Figure 6 below between January and August, respondent numbers were very low.
The peak of responses indicated the end of using air conditioning in the month of October,
with 45%. 25% responded in September and 17% in November.
50.0% 45.4%
45.0%
Percentage of responses
40.0%
35.0%
30.0% 24.9%
25.0%
20.0% 17.1%
15.0%
10.0% 5.2%
3.6%
5.0% 1.0% 0.6% 0.1% 0.6% 0.7% 0.3% 0.6%
0.0%
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Figure 6. The end of using air conditioning in the month of the year
2
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/egee102/node/2106
References
AECOM. (2009). Design criteria for housing projects. The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB) Project Management Department (PMD) Revision Number 00.
Akair, A. and Bánhidi, L. (2007). Thermal comfort investigation in Libya. Periodica
Alghoul S.K. (2017). A comparative study of energy consumption for residential HVAC systems using
EnergyPlus.American Journal of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering 2(2), pp.98-103.
Chernyshev, D (2014). Libya electricity net generation (Billion KWh). Available:
th
http://libya.opendataforafrica.org/ysbxaw/libya-electricity-net-generation-billion-kwh. Last accessed 8 June
2017.
Dagdag, M.A.A., Zaika, Y. and Pujiraharjo, A. (2015). Comparisons of house characteristics and facilities
in Libya and Indonesia. IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, 12(3),, pp.110-116.
Deeb, M.J. (2003). Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The Government and Politics of the
Middle East and North Africa, pp.432-455.
Kuznik, F., David, D., Johannes, K. and Roux, J.J. (2011). A review on phase change materials integrated
in building walls. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 15, pp.379-391.
Libya, General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL). (2014). Annual Report, Tripoli.
Mohamed, A.M., Al-Habaibeh, A., Abdo, H. and Elabar, S. (2015). Towards exporting renewable energy
from MENA region to Europe: An investigation into domestic energy use and householders’ energy behaviour
in Libya. Applied Energy, 146, pp.247-262.
Roaf, S. (2012). Innovative approaches to the natural ventilation of buildings: the imperative for
change. Architectural Science Review, 55(1), pp.1-3.
Suleiman, B.M. (2006). Moisture effect on thermal conductivity of some major elements of a typical
Libyan house envelope. Journal of Physics, 39, pp.547-551.
Suleiman, B.M. (2011). Estimation of U-value of traditional North African houses. Applied Thermal
Engineering, 31(11), pp.1923-1928.
El Bakkush, AFM, Harris, DJ and Bondinuba, FK (2015). The application of building modifications and
their effects on energy consumption in buildings. Journal of energy technologies and policy 5(8), pp.58-70.
Ahmad, I, Mokadmy, A and Abughres, SM (1984). Passive heating and cooling strategies for Libya.Solar
and wind technology 2(1), pp. 1-8.
1
Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei,
Taiwan
2
Department of Industry Technology Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Abstract: Building cooling energy attributes a relatively large proportion to the total nation-wide energy usage,
and the cooling energy is prone to be affected by the future temperature rise and increases the vulnerability of
buildings. To formulate adequate strategies counteracting climate change for energy conservation, it is crucial
to predict the future cooling energy variation trend. This study aims to quantify the uncertainty of future cooling
energy use and to establish the relationship of building envelope parameters to the cooling energy increment.
Monte Carlo method was applied to generate residential cases to encompass a variety of building characteristics
of condominium. Each case was simulated via EnergyPlus. A global uncertainty and sensitivity analysis method
was adopted. The results reveal that although the peak cooling load increases slightly, the annual cooling energy
grows dramatically by 25.27%, 54.18% and 109.62% under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 respectively in the late
21st century since the large increment of the annual A/C operation frequency. The result of sensitivity analysis
shows that the top three effective countermeasures to neutralize future cooling energy increment are lowering
solar heat gain coefficient of the window, improving insulation of exterior walls, and reducing window-to-wall
ratio in hot-humid and cooling dominated region.
Keywords: Climate change, hybrid ventilation, building energy consumption, adaptation measure
Introduction
Energy usage in domestic buildings accounts for more than one-third of the annual total
energy consumption in Taiwan, and a large proportion of the energy is mainly used in
providing air-conditioning to satisfy the cooling demands (Yang and Hwang, 1993). With the
increasing concern of global warming in the past few decades, it has also drawn great
attention to the impacts of climate change on the cooling energy, which is highly influenced
by the outdoor weather conditions. Wang et al. (2010) analysed the future residential building
energy requirements in different regional climates in Australia. They summarized that cities
in a cooling dominated region are more sensitive to the changing climate, and the high
sensitivity of buildings should be considered during the planning of future energy
requirements. As a result, to eliminate the potential threat posing from the changing climate
by formulating adequate strategies, it is important to fully understand the possible cooling
energy variation under future climatic conditions. In the United Kingdom, Tian and de Wilde
(2011) investigated the uncertainties in the projection of the cooling and heating energy of
an air-conditioned university building under climate change. In order to devise effective
strategies for building energy conservation, Heiselberg et al. (2009) implemented sensitivity
Methodology
Downscaling method for future weather data
Computer simulation tools are widely used in building thermal and energy performance
analysis, while program EnergyPlus was adopted for hourly dynamic simulation in this study.
To explore the future cooling energy variation, future weather data was originated from
CanESM2, a global circulation model developed by Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling
and Analysis, with three radiative forcing scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.8, RCP8.5). Then the future
hourly-based typical meteorological years till 2100 were produced through morphing method
proposed by Belcher et al. (2005) for cooling energy simulation purpose. Annual mean
temperature variation in Taipei, Taiwan under climate change is shown in Figure 1. It is
presented that annual mean temperature increases by 0.67°C, 1.7°C and 3.4°C under RCP2.6,
RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 scenarios respectively in the late 21st century.
Figure 2. Six typical floor plans in Taiwan. B stands for bedroom and L stands for living room.
(a) (b)
Figure 3. Variation of (a) heating and (b) cooling load between 2000 and 2100 under RCP8.5.
Figure 4. Variation of peak cooling load under (a) RCP2.6, (b) RCP4.5 and (c) RCP8.5.
Where tLiv and tBed are the annual A/C operation frequency in hours, hrLiv and hrBed are the
occupancy schedule from EnergyPlus which equal to 16 hr/day and 13 hr/day respectively,
and n is the number of the bedrooms in each case.
Figure 5. Variation of annual cooling day for living room under (a) RCP2.6, (b) RCP4.5 and (c) RCP8.5.
Figure 6. Variation of annual cooling day for bedrooms under (a) RCP2.6, (b) RCP4.5 and (c) RCP8.5.
Figure 7. Variation of annual cooling energy under (a) RCP2.6, (b) RCP4.5 and (c) RCP8.5.
As displayed in Table 2, the increase of the peak cooling load is inconsiderable and does
not exceed more than 20% among all the scenarios. Although there are both upward trends
in the amount of the annual cooling day for living room and bedrooms, increment of the latter
is more noticeable since most of the bedrooms are adjacent to external walls, and thus, the
changing in outdoor climate could directly affect the increment. It could be summarised that
at the end of the century, despite the slightly increment in peak cooling load, the annual
cooling energy ultimately increases by 25.27%, 54.18% and 109.62% under RCP2.6, RCP4.5,
and RCP8.5 scenarios respectively as the annual A/C operation frequency increases.
Table 2. Summary of the three indicators in different time slices under three scenarios.
Peak Cooling Load Annual Cooling Day (Day) Annual Cooling Energy
(W/m2) Living Room Bedrooms (kWh/m2)
Scenario RCP2.6 RCP4.5 RCP8.5 RCP2.6 RCP4.5 RCP8.5 RCP2.6 RCP4.5 RCP8.5 RCP2.6 RCP4.5 RCP8.5
Current
76.97 77.16 78.24 66.74 66.33 68.43 56.94 56.63 59.86 12.27 12.21 12.76
(2000-2015)
Near Future
79.48 77.92 81.38 75.93 75.67 78.22 70.54 69.42 73.85 14.68 14.47 15.34
(2016-2040)
Far Future
80.16 84.41 92.69 78.40 90.17 115.42 73.90 90.91 122.42 15.37 18.82 26.74
(2076-2100)
Increment 4.15% 9.39% 18.47% 17.4% 35.9% 68.6% 29.7% 60.5% 104% 25.2% 54.2% 109%
Figure 8. Regression of annual cooling energy use on temperature difference from 2000.
Figure 9. Result of influence coefficient for each design parameter under different scenarios.
To assess the influential passive design parameters which could be regulated and
determine their levels of impact on cooling energy consumption, the sensitivity analysis was
applied in the study. We selected and averaged the bottom 10% (IP0~10%) and the top 10%
(IP90~100%) of each design parameter, as well as their corresponding annual cooling energy
(OP0~10% and OP90~100%), and then calculated the influence coefficient (IC) using the following
equation based on the study from Lam and Hui (1996).
OP OP90~100%
OP 0~10%
IC 2 (4)
IP IP90~100%
IP 0~10%
2
If a parameter causes a change in cooling energy and the sensitivity of IP with respect to OP
could be estimated in terms of the influence coefficient. The IC of each design parameter is
shown in Figure 9. IC for each design parameter tends to decline under RCP8.5 since the
outdoor climatic conditions with higher air temperature have a greater impact on cooling
Conclusion
1. In Taiwan, since the demand on heating load of a residential building is negligible, cooling
load becomes the dominant energy requirements and should be consider as the major
problem to deal with when formulating adequate strategies.
2. Although the peak cooling load increases slightly, the annual cooling energy ultimately
increases dramatically by 25.27%, 54.18% and 109.62% under RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and
RCP8.5 respectively in the late 21st century owing to the large increment of annual A/C
operation frequency.
3. If all design parameters remain unchanged, the annual cooling energy would increase by
5.01 kWh/m2 per household as the outdoor air temperature increases by 1°C relative to
2000. Thus, passive design strategies must be adopted to save building energy usage.
4. Lowering solar heat gain coefficient of the window, improving insulation of exterior walls,
and reducing window-to-wall ratio are the first three appropriate preferences of strategy.
References
Belcher, S. E., Hacker, J. N. & Powell, D. S. (2005). Constructing design weather data for future climates.
Building Services Engineering Research And Technology, 26, 49-62.
Heiselberg, P., Brohus, H., Hesselholt, A., Rasmussen, H., Seinre, E. & Thomas, S. (2009). Application of
sensitivity analysis in design of sustainable buildings. Renewable Energy, 34, 2030-2036.
Lam, J. C. & Hui, S. C. M. (1996). Sensitivity analysis of energy performance of office buildings. Building
and Environment, 31, 27.
Macdonald, I. A. (2002). Quantifying the effects of uncertainty in building simulation. PhD thesis,
University of Strathclyde.
MacDonald, I. A. (2009). Comparison of sampling techniques on the performance of Monte Carlo based
sensitivity analysis. Building Simulation 2009 Conference Proceedings, 992-999.
Tian, W. & de Wilde, P. (2011). Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of building performance using
probabilistic climate projections: A UK case study. Automation in Construction, 20, 1096-1109.
van Griensven, A., Meixner, T., Grunwald, S., Bishop, T., Diluzio, A. & Srinivasan, R. (2006). A global
sensitivity analysis tool for the parameters of multi-variable catchment models. Journal of Hydrology, 324, 10-
23.
Wang, X. M., Chen, D. & Ren, Z. G. (2010). Assessment of climate change impact on residential building
heating and cooling energy requirement in Australia. Building and Environment, 45, 1663-1682.
Yang, K. H. & Hwang, R. L. (1993). The analysis of design strategies on building energy conservation in
Taiwan. Building and Environment, 28, 429-438.
Introduction
Notwithstanding that energy retrofitting of existing housing stock offer a great potential in
energy savings, several energy retrofitting programs have shown that they are lower than
anticipated (Gupta and Gregg, 2012; Sunikka-Blank and Galvin, 2012), partly because of
considerable assumptions and predictions used for energy modelling, due to a lack of data
about various aspects of the building (Zero Carbon Hub, 2014). Furthermore, regional, social
and cultural variation including differences in climatic conditions, income level, building
materials and techniques, building stocks are complex and the boundaries are difficult to
define and probably they have been underestimated (Kohler,1999). Therefore, the model
calibration with the real data on energy and environmental performance gathered through
pre-retrofit monitoring of the building (Gupta and Gregg, 2016), including the possibility of
integrating the occupants’ behaviours into building simulations based on measured
observations rather than assumptions (Guerra-Santin et al, 2016), is vital in minimising the
performance gap between the expectations and outcomes.
Within this context, this paper investigates the energy and thermal performance of
various archetypes in Albania through continuous monitoring of indoor and outdoor
environmental conditions, building surveys and occupant survey, and examines the
occupant’s behavioural effect in achieving thermal comfort.
Energy consumption
Energy consumption data is used to get insight of air-conditioning usage during summer and
winter. In almost all dwellings, electricity consumption increases during the winter months
(November-March) with its peak in January and in summer in July, associated with heating
and cooling respectively.
1500 200
1000
100
500
0 0
Nov-16
Aug-16
Oct-16
Jun-16
Jan-16
Feb-16
Sep-16
Dec-16
Jan-17
Jul-16
Apr-16
May-16
Mar-16
Baseline electricity consumption Heating degree days per month Cooling degree days per month
Figure 1. Electricity consumption from January 2016 to January 2017
Source of degree days: (www.degreedays.net, 2017)
43% of the dwellings are heated for half of the year and two of them are heated for as
long as eight months of the year and most of the dwellings are cooled for three (20%) and
four (45%) months of the year. Based on the baseline electricity consumption of 300kWh (ERE,
2009), needed in one household that does not perform heating or cooling with electricity, an
estimation of electricity consumption used for heating and cooling of each dwelling in the
sample.
10000
8000
6000
kWh
4000
2000
0
H1
H2
H3
H8
H10
H11
H12
H13
H14
H15
H16
H17
H18
H20
H21
H23
H24
H25
H26
H28
H29
H30
H31
H32
H34
H37
H38
H39
H40
H41
H42
H43
H44
H45
H46
H48
Dwelling Heating load Cooling load
Figure 2. Estimated heating and cooling loads (kWh) based on electricity bills
Notwithstanding that energy data available include only electricity consumption, it can
be noticed that most of energy consumed over the base load is for heating rather than cooling
the homes. Furthermore, 65% of households also consider heating of their homes more
important than cooling.
Outside
H10B
H12B
H13B
H14B
H15B
H16B
H17B
H18B
H20B
H21B
H23B
H24B
H25B
H26B
H28B
H29B
H30B
H31B
H32B
H33B
H34B
H36B
H37B
H38B
H39B
H40B
H41B
H42B
H43B
H45B
H46B
H47B
H48B
H49B
H39B1
H1B
H2B
H3B
H4B
H6B
H7B
H8B
Outside
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
H9
H10
H11
H12
H13
H14
H15
H16
H17
H18
H19
H20
H21
H22
H23
H24
H25
H26
H27
H28
H29
H30
H31
H32
H33
H34
H35
H36
H37
H38
H39
H40
H41
H42
H43
H44
H45
H46
H47
H48
H49
Living rooms Bedrooms
Figure 3. Minimum, maximum and mean temperatures for each dwelling during the summer
Subjective evaluation of the thermal environment was provided using a 7-point ASHREA
scale for the thermal sensation evaluation and a 5-point scale for thermal preference. 86% of
the households reported to feel warmer than neutral during the summer, from which more
than 40% of them were feeling hot. Only 6% of the households required no change and
approximately 60% wanted to feel much cooler.
60% 60%
40% 40%
20% 20%
0% 0%
Hot Warm Slightly Neutral Slightly Cool Cold Much A bit No A bit Much
warm cool cooler cooler change warmer warmer
Figure 4. Percentage distribution of thermal sensation votes (left) and thermal preference votes(right)
The standardized indoor mean temperatures for each thermal sensation vote were
calculated (Table 3), and it was found that occupants were feeling hot in an indoor mean
temperature of 29°C (with a standard deviation of 1.1) and a maximum and minimum mean
temperature of 30.5°C and 27.3°C respectively. The temperature range for the dwellings in
which the households reported to be feeling warm or slightly warm were very similar.
Interestingly, the occupants felt neutral for temperature close to the dwellings in which the
resident were feeling hot. There were only two dwellings in which the occupants were feeling
slightly cool, and indeed the mean, maximum and minimum temperatures were lower than
in the other cases.
Table 3. Mean indoor temperatures of dwellings for each value of thermal sensation vote reported
How do you feel during the summer?
Slightly warm Neutral Slightly cool Cool Cold
Mean temperatures in living rooms
Mean Max Min Mean Max Min Mean Max Min Mean Max Min Mean Max Min
29.0 30.5 27.3 28.4 29.7 27.2 28.4 29.9 26.7 28.7 29.1 27.9 26.5 27.2 25.8
Standard Deviation
1.1 0.8 1.2 0.5 1.0
15.0 15.0
10.0 10.0
5.0 5.0
0.0 0.0
-5.0 -5.0
-10.0 -10.0
Outside
H10
H11
H12
H13
H14
H15
H16
H17
H18
H19
H20
H21
H23
H24
H25
H26
H28
H29
H30
H31
H32
H33
H34
H35
H36
H37
H38
H39
H40
H41
H42
H43
H45
H46
H47
H48
Outside
H10B
H11B
H12B
H13B
H14B
H15B
H16B
H17B
H18B
H19B
H20B
H21B
H23B
H24B
H26B
H29B
H30B
H31B
H32B
H33B
H34B
H36B
H37B
H38B
H39B
H40B
H41B
H42B
H43B
H44B
H45B
H46B
H47B
H48B
H1
H2
H3
H4
H5
H6
H7
H8
H14B2
H39B1
H1B
H2B
H3B
H4B
H5B
H6B
H7B
Living rooms Bedrooms
Figure 5. Minimum, maximum and mean temperatures for each dwelling during the winter
A considerable but low correlation (r=0.33) is found between the mean temperature
and the main construction material. More importantly, the dwellings that had applied wall
insulation had higher indoor mean temperatures, which highlights the need of fabric
improvement for improvement thermal comfort in Albanian homes.
75% of the households reported to feel colder than neutral during the winter, from
which 39% were feeling cold. Nearly half of them (49%) preferred to feel much warmer and
37% preferred a bit warmer. Only 12% of the participants were feeling neutral during the
winter and 4% preferred no change of temperatures.
60% 60%
40% 40%
Percentage
20% 20%
0% 0%
Hot Warm Slightly Neutral Slightly Cool Cold Much cooler A bit cooler No change A bit warmer Much
warm cool warmer
Figure 6. Percentage distribution of thermal sensation votes (left) and thermal preference votes(right)
Most of the occupants that were feeling cool or cold during the winter wanted the
environment to be much warmer. Comparing the indoor mean temperatures for each thermal
sensation vote (Table 4), it is found that occupants were feeling cold in an indoor mean
temperature of 15.1°C (with a standard deviation of 3.1) and a maximum and minimum
temperature of 20.1°C and 8.2°C respectively. However, there is not a large variation of
indoor mean temperatures for which the occupants were feeling neutral, slightly cool or cool.
The determent factor for the thermal sensation votes distribution might be the value of the
minimum mean temperature, which is higher for the dwellings in which the occupants were
feeling slightly warm and neutral with values of 16.9°C and 10.8°C respectively.
Discussion
It is revealed from this research that there were particularly bad thermal conditions in winter
with very low temperatures and high fluctuation during the day up to 33 degrees. Convective
cooling and heating was mainly used and it was used for longer period in winter than in
summer, suggesting that heating was more crucial than cooling in Albanian houses.
Conclusion
The analysis carried out for this research provides evidence of the energy and thermal
performance of residential buildings in Albania, as well as occupants’ thermal perceptions and
preferences. It was found that heating the Albanian dwellings is more crucial than cooling and
a way to achieve energy savings is to aim to decrease the duration in months, especially for
heating. Furthermore, special attentions to be considered for unintended consequences such
as overheating, which could increase the energy consumption for cooling. Given these
findings, it is essential to use them to inform and calibrate the baseline energy models, prior
to investigating any retrofitting strategies, to minimise the performance gap created by
assumptions and predictions.
References
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ERE (2009). Konsumi i energjise elektrike ne familje. Tirana: ERE.
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Information, 38(2), pp. 175-186.
Guerra-Santin, O., Herrera, N.R., Cuerda, E. and Keyson, D. (2016). Mixed methods approach to determine
occupants’ behaviour – Analysis of two case studies. Energy and Buildings, 130, pp. 546-566
Gupta, R. and Gregg, M. (2012). Appraisal of UK funding frameworks for energy research in housing.
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and actual energy consumption. Building Research & Information, 40(3), pp. 260-275.
www.degreedays.net (2017). Degreedays.net – Custom Degree Days Day data. Available at:
http://www.degreedays.net/ (Accessed:25.02.2017)
Zero Carbon Hub (2014). Closing the gap between design and as-built performance. Evidence review
report. London: Zero Carbon Hub.
Introduction
Climate change is a phenomenon associated with industrialisation, urbanisation and the
accompanying increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels
(Thiele, 2013; Johnson et al, 2015). Despite these factors being associated primarily with the
developed world, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified the
continent of Africa as being at risk from the impacts of climate change, with the threat of
higher land temperatures, changes in precipitation and stresses on water availability (Niang
et al, 2014). Nigeria will experience most of these predicted impacts and so strategies must
be developed that make Nigeria more resilient to climate change. Ijeoma (2012) identified
resilient housing as a key component of this strategy. Climate responsive architecture
addresses climate change by trying to use passive measures to work with the prevailing
climate and to reduce the need for fossil fuel energy. Climate-responsive design produces
spaces, whether individual or communal, that adapt to contextual climates to create optimal
living settings. In this study, a typical house in south-west Nigeria was investigated to exam
its thermal performance under the existing climate. Dynamic simulations of the house
Figure 1. South-west Nigeria (source: http://www.seedbuzz.com/knowledge-center/article/seed-supply-
system-for-vegetable-production-at-smallholder-farms-in-southwe).
Methodology
Thermal comfort and parametric optimisation
This study primarily aimed to examine quantitatively thermal comfort and building envelope
climate-responsiveness and performance in a typical south-western Nigerian family house.
Thermal comfort predictions, derived from the computer modelling software DesignBuilder,
were analysed and compared against different building envelope designs (set by tropical
design standards). Hence, this study employed the parametric optimisation concept which
involves searching for the best possible solution to a problem under the constraints of certain
parameters (Lee, Han & Lee, 2016). This study focused on the relationship between air
temperature and the building envelope under different climate scenarios, created by a unique
specification of building envelope parameters without altering the general model. The
operative temperature was considered for thermal comfort, especially as studies have
revealed that humidity is generally a minor factor in determining thermal comfort (Mallick,
1996). In addition, the effects on the internal thermal environment due to climate change in
south-western Nigeria were also investigated. The ASHRAE 55 adaptive thermal comfort
standard served as the bench mark for this analysis. This standard stipulates that for optimum
thermal comfort conditions the operative air temperature should be between 23⁰C and 29⁰C.
Geographical context and climate of study
Figure 2. Ibadan’s average annual mean air temperature now and up to 2050 (source: Meteonorm).
Dining
Lounge area
Kitchen
Figure 3. Base case model – floor plan and 3D model.
40.00
35.00
30.00
temperature ( ° C)
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time (hr)
Results
A parametric analysis for the walls, floor and roof constructions was undertaken for the
hottest month of March. This study considered that thermal comfort had been established
when the operative temperature (average of indoor air and mean radiant temperature) was
within the comfort zone (23⁰C - 29⁰C). For walls, Figure 5 shows that for the current SW
Nigerian climate, hollow heavyweight concrete walls performed better than natural adobe or
stone walls. However, operative temperatures with heavyweight concrete walls were still
outside of the comfort zone (the shaded area in Figures 5 to 8).
Two composite floor types were assessed: reinforced concrete slab and concrete slab
with timber joists. The reinforced concrete floor promoted temperatures closest to the
comfort zone (see Figure 6). Here, during the hottest periods of the day (12.00 noon to 17.00)
temperatures were still outside the thermal comfort range.
temperature (° C)
35.00
34.00
33.00
32.00
31.00
30.00
29.00
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time (hr)
Solid heavyweight concrete block (400 mm)
Hollow heavyweight concrete block (400 mm)
Adobe blockwork (400mm)
Figure 5. Hourly mean indoor operative temperature for different wall materials in March.
38.00
37.00
36.00
temperature (°C)
35.00
34.00
33.00
32.00
31.00
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29.00
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temeprature (°C)
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outdoor temperatures
Pitch roof - hardwood frame
Hardwood flatroof
Figure 7. Hourly mean indoor operative temperature for different roofs in March.
better than adobe walls. Similarly, concrete represented a better option compared to timber,
another indigenous building material. Therefore, there seems to be a limit to how much
indigenous construction can be integrated effectively with modern construction.
38.00
37.00
36.00
temperature (°C)
35.00
34.00
33.00
32.00
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time (hr)
present - 1991 - 2010 outdoor temperatures
base-case SW Nigerian modern house model
optimised SW Nigerian modern house model
36.00
35.00
34.00
temperature (° C)
33.00
32.00
31.00
30.00
29.00
28.00
27.00
26.00
25.00
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future - 2050 outdoor temperatures
base-case SW Nigerian modern house model
optimised SW Nigerian modern house model
Figure 8. Comparison between optimised and unoptimized versions of SW Nigerian modern house model for
present (top graph) and 2050 (bottom graph) climates.
References
ADUNOLA, A. O. (2014) Evaluation of urban residential thermal comfort in relation to indoor and outdoor
air temperatures in Ibadan, Nigeria. Buildings and Environment [Online] 75, pp.190-205 DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2014.02.007 [Accessed: 24/5/16]
AMCEN. (2011) Addressing Climate Change Challenges in Africa; A Practical Guide Towards Sustainable
Development. [Online] Available from: http://www.unep.org/roa/amcen/docs/publications/
guidebook_CLimateChange.pdf [Accessed: 7/11/16]
AOAV. (2014) The Violent Road: Nigeria’s South West. [Online] Available from:
http://aoav.org.uk/2013/the-violent-road-nigeria-south-west/ [Accessed: 21/7/14]
ATKINSON, G. A. (1950) African Housing. African Affairs 49(196) pp.228-237
CIA. (2015) The World Factbook – Nigeria. [Online] Available from:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html [Accessed 30/9/15]
IJEOMA, S (2012) Nigeria & climate change adaptation, International Society of Sustainability
Professionals Insight, May, p 1-6.
JIBOYE, A. D. & OGUNSHAKIN, L. (2010) The Place of the Family House in Contemporary Oyo Town,
Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development 3(2), pp.117-128.
JOHNSON, C., TOLY, N. & SCHROEDER H. (eds.) (2015) The Urban Climate Challenge: Rethinking the Role
Of Cities in the Global Climate Regime. New York: Taylor and Francis.
LAITIN, D.D. (1986) Hegemony and Culture: Politics and religious Change among the Yoruba. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press.
LEE, K. S., HAN, K. J. & LEE, J. W. (2016) Feasibility Study on Parametric Optimisation of Daylighting in
Building Shading Design. Sustainability 8.
MALLICK, F. H. (1996) Thermal Comfort and building design in the tropical climates. Energy and Buildings
23, pp.161-167.
METEONORM (2015) http://meteonorm.com/en/ [Accessed: 14/9/15]
MY DESTINATION. (2014) “Global Home: Nigeria: South West Region Guide.
http://www.mydestination.com/nigeria/regionalinfo/6182976/south-west-region [Accessed: 21/7/14]
NIANG, I., RUPPEL, O.C., ABDRABO, M.A., ESSEL, A., LENNARD, C., PADGHAM, J., and URQUHART, P.
(2014): “Africa. In: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects”. Fifth
Assessment Report of the IPCC [Barros, V.R., et al (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, pp. 1199-1265.
OLANIYAN, S. A., AYINLA, A.K. & ODETOYE, A.S. (2013) Building Envelope vis-à-vis indoor thermal
discomfort in Tropical Design: How Vulnerable are the Constituent Elements? International Journal of Science,
Environment and Technology 2(5), pp. 1370-1379
OSASONA, C.O. (2007) From Traditional Residential Architecture to the Vernacular.
http://www.obafemio.com/uploads/5/1/4/2/5142021/nigerianarchitechture.pdf [Accessed: 9/7/15].
TESSEMA, F., TAIPALE, K. & BETHGE, J. (2009) Sustainable Buildings and Construction in Africa. Germany:
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) Press.
THIELE, L. P. (2013) Sustainability. Cambridge: Polity Press.
UNFCCC. (2014) Kyoto Protocol. [Online] Available from:
http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php [Accessed: 9/7/16]
Introduction
In order to cope with climate change, cites have to develop innovative methods to deal with
heat waves, that are likely to become both more frequent and intense in the upcoming years
and that can cause excess mortality of the population (Robine, 2008). In this regard, the city
of Paris has shown interest since 2013 in the implementation of a field experiment taking
place on rue du Louvre, which aims to determine the effects of pavement-watering on
pedestrians’ thermal comfort (Hendel, 2015).
Our study is part of that process and proposes the quantification of the cooling effects
of in situ pavement-watering during heat waves. To that purpose, two weather stations have
been installed on rue du Louvre, one case and one control. Over the summers of 2013 to 2015,
both the pavement and the road were watered. The campaigns carried out in 2013 and 2014
have demonstrated that pavement-watering leads to a 0.79°C maximal reduction of air
temperature (0.31°C on average). Other parameters being also affected, the Universal
Thermal Climate Index (UTCI)-equivalent temperature is reduced up to 1.03°C and by 0.42°C
on average. In 2015, the watering frequency was reduced in the morning with regard to the
previous years, while in 2016, only the road was watered instead of the both the road and
the pavement. The purpose of those new watering strategies was to determine whether
Methodology
The methodology applied for our field experiment is thoroughly described in Hendel (2015).
It is briefly reminded hereafter.
Site location
Local micro-climatic data was measured over the summers 2013 to 2016 on rue du Louvre, a
north-south oriented street in the 1st and 2nd districts of Paris. Control and case weather
stations are positioned approximately 200 m apart (see Figure 1). Due to a dysfunction of the
Louvre control station in 2016, another control station was used, located in the Belleville
district. This control station is located ~4.5 km away from the Louvre site and is positioned in
an east-west oriented street. In previous studies (Hendel, 2015 & Hendel et al., 2016), this
Belleville station was though used as a case station. For consistency, it will be though referred
to as “Belleville control station” hereafter.
Figure 1. Station positions at the Louvre (left) and site locations across Paris’ non potable water network (right)
(Hendel, 2015).
Watering strategy
Pavement-watering was triggered if weather conditions met our criteria, based on a three-
day Météo-France’s forecast. The watering criteria, as well as the heat-wave criteria for Paris,
are presented in Table 1.
Figure 2. Weather station design and instruments used on rue du Louvre (REF)
Interpretation method
To estimate the effects of pavement-watering, watered days are compared to reference days,
for which weather conditions met our requirements (see Table 1) but watering was not
triggered. In Hendel (2015), it was demonstrated that direct comparison between case and
control station is not a valid method to determine the field effects of pavement-watering in
cities, due to systematic case-control differences on reference days, i.e even when watering
is not triggered.
For the analysis of the data, we therefore use a two-sample t-test for each minute to
compare the average watered and reference day interstation profiles for each parameter.
Therefore, we consider the difference between case and control stations on all reference days
and on all watered days, but not the absolute values of the parameters themselves.
Results
Effects of pavement-watering on the air temperature in our different case studies are
illustrated on Figure 3. All reference days from 2013 to 2016 were used (namely 28) for each
analysis. Fig. a represents the effects of the 2015 strategy using Louvre stations (9 watered
days in 2015), fig. b using Louvre case and Belleville control stations, and fig. c using Louvre
case and Belleville control stations for the 2016 watering strategy (9 watered days in 2016).
Figure 3. Average watering effects on the air temperature for the Louvre case and control stations over the
summers of 2015 (a), for the Louvre case and Belleville control stations in 2015 (b) and for 2016 only (c)
th
Figure 4. Solar irradiance at Louvre stations and at Belleville control station on the 6 of June 2015
On Figure 4, we notice that solar irradiances between the Louvre stations are highly
consistent with each other, unlike the Belleville control station. The Belleville station being
located in an east-west oriented street, in June, it is illuminated from 8:00 whereas
illumination starts at 14:00 on the Louvre. In the afternoon, Belleville and Louvre stations are
shaded at respectively 16:00 and 18:00. As a consequence, though figures 3a and 3b are
obtained using the same data (only different control stations), the noticeable impact of
watering appears at two different moments, namely roughly from 14:00 to 18:00 for fig. 3a
and from 10:00 to 14:00 for fig. 3b.
Conclusion
Different watering strategies were conducted in 2015 and 2016 compared to 2013 and 2014.
The campaigns carried out in 2013 and 2014 have demonstrated that watering the road and
the pavement lead to a reduction of UTCI-equivalent temperature up to 1.03°C and by 0.42°C
on average.
In 2015, watering frequency was reduced in the morning with regard to the previous
years. The analysis of this data showed overall equivalent results, with a reduction of the UTCI
equivalent temperature up to 1.23°C and by 0.57°C on average. Nevertheless, in the morning,
fewer statistically significant events were found, meaning that this new watering frequency
do have a small impact on the cooling effects exhibited thanks to pavement watering.
Those results were also analysed using a control station located elsewhere. Analysis
revealed effects with the same order of magnitude, but a deterioration of the significance
level, leading to the detection of much fewer statistically significant events. This observation
can be attributed to the poor match of solar irradiances between the meteorological stations
used.
Finally, the latter analysis was compared to the 2016 watering strategy, where only the
road was watered, in order to reduce the method’s water consumption. Almost no stat. sign.
effects were found for this case. Given the difficulties encountered in 2016, it is complicated
to conclude if the watering strategy itself is inefficient, or if those results are the consequence
of multiple factors. Indeed, using the Belleville control station instead of the Louvre’s has
proven that it lessens the average detected effects and their duration. Also, the watered days
in 2016 occurred in August whereas it mostly occurred in June and July before. The insolation
between those two periods may vary, which has its importance on our comparison. Finally,
given that the station is placed on the pavement, the strategy itself is expected to have a little
impact on the results.
References
ASHRAE (2001). ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook 2001. SI Edition ed. American
Society of Heating. Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
Bröde, P. (2009). UTCI Fast Calculation Script.
Hendel, M. (2015). Pavement-Watering in Cities for Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Climate Change
Adaptation: A Study of its Cooling Effects and Water Consumption in Paris. PhD. University Paris Diderot Paris 7
Hendel, M., Gutierrez, P., Colombert, M., Diab, Y., and Royon, L. (2016). Measuring the effects of urban
heat island mitigation techniques in the field: Application to the case of pavement-watering in Paris. Urban Clim.,
vol. 16, pp. 43–58
Robine, J.-M., S. L. K. Cheung, S. Le Roy, H. Van Oyen, C. Griffiths, J.-P. Michel, and
F. R. Herrmann (2008). Death toll exceeded 70,000 in Europe during the summer of 2003. Comptes rendus
biologies 331(2), 171–178.
Introduction
Climate change is imminent, on going, expected to occur more rapidly, and unpredictably
than earlier expected. It is defined as the change in state of climate, recognized by changes
in the different climatic parameters that persist for a long duration, due to either natural
processes or external forces. Human induced reasons such as burning of fossil fuel,
deforestation etc. causes global warming. It is the regional variation of climate due to rise in
temperature, acting globally (Sands 1992), (V. Ramaswamy 2006). The independent analyses
carried out by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has
recorded the warmest surface temperatures during 2016, since 1880. The temperatures in
2016 were 0.99 degree Celsius warmer than the global average of mid-20th century mean.
The entire year with eight of the twelve months were the warmest on the records. The
average surface temperature of earth has increased about 1.1 degree Celsius since late 19th
century. This is largely due to the various human driven emissions into the atmosphere
(GISTEMP Team 2016),(Hansen et al. 2010) (IPCC 2014).
Building adaptation
According to James Douglas, “building adaptation include any work to a building over and
above maintenance to change its capacity, function or performance”. Adaptability is the key
attribute of adaptation where a building’s ability to absorb any scale of change. Building
adaptation can be in different ways based on the purpose; reuse of space according to
human needs, otherwise called adaptive reuse, the transformation of buildings due to
anticipated changes or flexibility of built spaces to changing needs (Douglas 2006).
Methodology
Building adaptation can be in two ways, spontaneous or involuntary and unspontaneous or
voluntary. The term ‘Building adaptation’ in this study, is any unspontaneous or voluntary
intervention to adjust a building to suit the changing conditions with respect to climate. This
would test the ability of the built environment to withstand higher temperatures, drier or
wetter seasons, and altered wind-regimes in providing favourable living conditions, and test
short and long-term structural and durability resilience. Studying building adaptability, in
terms of design and material configuration could provide a valid basis to verify the inherent
preparedness of a habitation to impending climate-change and in devising active measures
to mitigate vulnerability. The current scope is limited to predominantly vernacular dwellings,
with an assessment on current/future demands on energy for maintaining thermal comfort.
Even though the vernacular dwellings are more attuned to prevalent climates, the
methodology is expected to be applicable to modern dwellings as well.
India is famous for its diversity, and is the identified high-risk of climate change (IPCC
2014). The diversity can be clearly seen in the various zones identified such as, hot and dry,
Discussion
We can see that, hot and dry zone requires a revision in classification, as the conditions are
intensified due to increase in mean monthly temperature. Both cold & sunny and cold &
cloudy zones require a revision in classification as the conditions are aggravated due to
decrease in mean monthly temperature. The study observes that due to increase in mean
monthly temperature, the regions belonged to moderate and composite zones has shifted
to warm and humid zone, whereas the regions belonged to cold & cloudy and cold & sunny
has shifted to moderate zone. There will be corresponding modifications to the building
physical manifestations and the comfort requirements due to heat loss and heat gain.
Conclusion
Climate change is occurring unpredictably worldwide. The different climatic zones in India
are also facing severe changes on the various climatic factors such as temperature, humidity,
wind, precipitation, and solar radiation. Therefore, it is necessary to add building adaptation
as a major requirement among the other functional features of a built environment. The
present study has looked at the role of building adaptation in the scenario of climate change.
It has formulated a methodology to study the adaptability of buildings focusing on climate
responsiveness. It has brought in, the prospective variation of existing climatic zones, with
the modifications in physical expressions of a building along with the building comfort
requirements, to both resist heat gain and promote heat loss.
Ventilation of
appliances,
Ventilation of
increase air
appliances, Ventilation of
exchange rate,
Warm and increase air appliances and
Composite humidity levels Moderate
humid exchange rate increase air
(summer) and
and decrease exchange rate
decrease
humidity levels
humidity levels
(monsoon)
References
Albright, T.P. et al., 2017. Mapping evaporative water loss in desert passerines reveals an expanding
threat of lethal dehydration. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(9), p.201613625. Available
at: http://www.pnas.org/lookup/doi/10.1073/pnas.1613625114.
S. Aysha, Monto Mani, 2017. Adaptation of Buildings to Climate Change. Encyclopaedia of Sustainable
Technologies, Elsevier. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.10202-7
Douglas, J., 2006. Building Adaptation, Edinburgh: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Drury B. Crawley, 2003. Impact of climate change on Buildings. In CIBSE/ASHRAE International
Conference 2003, At Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK).
GISTEMP Team, 2016. GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP). NASA Goddard Institute for Space
Studies. Available at: www.data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/.
Introduction
Buildings that can respond to future climate change are less likely to be obsolete, and so
future thinking in the early design stages of a building is an essential principle of sustainable
development. One of the key parameters to decide energy consumption in buildings and,
consequently, to determine possible future optimization is the thermal comfort of occupants.
The potential impacts of changes in the UK climate on the built environment have become
widely recognized, with possibly the most important feature of these changes being the
impact of higher air temperature on building thermal performance. Tabatabaei, et al. (2015)
considered the importance of alleviating climate change consequences by passive design
features to offset temperature rises. The study also recognized that thermally lightweight
homes could cause levels of discomfort by creating higher room temperatures. The research
work emphasized that masonry houses, with inherent thermal mass, can result in less energy
consumption over their lifetime compared to a similarly designed lightweight timber frame
house. A study by Orme et al. (2007) indicated that in lightweight well-insulated houses an
outdoor temperature of 29°C might cause overheating, with air temperatures of more than
39°C inside the building. The aim of this study is to quantify the thermal response of some
wall construction types to climate change risk. Five of the most commonly used wall
construction systems for dwellings were chosen, and all met the German Passivhaus (PH)
Methodology
Five common construction systems, including traditional and modern methods of
construction (MMC), were selected and configured to achieve a U-Value of 0.1 W/m2K. These
constructions were used to investigate the effect of thermal mass and insulation thickness on
comfort levels using the dynamic thermal simulation software DesignBuilder (DB) that
employs EnergyPlus as its calculation engine. The admittance factor, i.e. building fabric
response to a swing in temperature (CIBSE, 2006) was taken as a thermal mass performance
indicator. The selected construction systems meant low, medium and high thermal mass
performances were considered. Current and future weather data for London were used to
evaluate the behaviour of the construction systems. Future climate data for three timelines
(2020, 2050 and 2080) in London were generated by the ‘CCWeatherGen’ morphing
procedure (SERG, 2016). CCWeatherGen morphs Chartered Institution of Building Service
Engineers (CIBSE) TRY (Test Reference Year) files in to future EPW files based on projections
from the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP). EPW is the weather file format used by DB.
Climate change
Lisq (2006) emphasized that “the possible impacts of climate change on the building stock
being built over the next few decades must be addressed today”. Figure 1 illustrates the
psychrometric charts for London in 2011 and 2080, with the comfort zones shown. These
charts demonstrate likely temperature increases as well as likely thermal discomfort.
Figure 1. Psychrometric charts for London 2011(left) and London 2080 (right), showing comfort zones
London’s temperatures are expected to increase by around 5°C between 2011 and 2080,
with levels of thermal discomfort also rising. Consequently, temperature increases may
increase occupant vulnerability to overheating. Reducing this vulnerability will require
improvements in both building energy performance and occupant thermal comfort. This
paper examines the impact different construction choices can have in tackling the potential
risk of overheating in future dwellings.
Thermal comfort
Several studies have proposed a temperature range of 18-26°C as likely to be within the
human comfort zone (Gupta & Gregg, 2012). ASHRAE 55-2004 identified thermal comfort as
a subjective response and defined it as the ‘state of mind that expresses satisfaction with
existing environment’ (ASHRAE, 2004). Therefore, it seems that a precise value cannot be
assigned to thermal comfort. ‘State of mind’ largely depends on residents’ perceptions and
expectations. ASHRAE-55 is based on a the static heat balance approach, which includes four
environmental variables (dry bulb air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative
humidity and air velocity) and two human variables (activity and clothing level). For
simplification and quantification purposes, this paper used this standard as a reasonable way
to assess the thermal comfort/overheating results.
2400
2300
2200
2100
2000
BB ICF SF TF SIP
Steel Frame SF
Insulation effect
The study reduced the amount of insulation thickness in each construction (i.e. increased the
U-Value) to observe the impact of insulation thickness on the overall performance. Figures 3
to 6 demonstrate the results of this insulation reduction for each construction system.
2700
2650
Total Discomfort Hours
2600
2550
2500
2450
2400
2350
2300
2250
2200
2150
2100
2050
London 2011 London 2020 London 2050 London 2080
2600
2550
2500
2450
2400
2350
2300
2250
2200
2150
2100
London 2011 London 2020 London 2050 London 2080
2600
2550
2500
2450
2400
2350
2300
2250
2200
2150
2100
London 2011 London 2020 London 2050 London 2080
400
ICF 100mm
300
200 ICF 300mm
100
0
11121314151617181920212223242526272829303132
°C
Figure 8. Hours at each temperature band interval for an ICF wall with 100 and 300mm of insulation
Conclusion
This study has examined the effects of construction type, thermal mass and thermal
insulation on annual thermal discomfort hours for different climate periods in London. The
results for a simple house form suggest that the annual discomfort hours are relatively
insensitive to the type of building system used. The number of discomfort hours increase in a
warming future, but with little difference in total discomfort hours between the differently
constructed spaces. Timber frame shows a slightly better performance compared to the
References
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Introduction
Adapting a household for climate change means changing occupant behaviour or retrofitting
the house for the projected effects of regional climate changes that may occur over the
remaining life of the house (e.g. for higher house temperatures, greater wind speeds or
bigger floods).
Global temperatures are rising at a potentially catastrophic rate (Nuccitelli 2016). The
number of storms, floods and temperature-related natural disasters have increased from
300 to 900 over the past 35 years, with many hundreds of billions of dollars in property
damage since 1980 alone (MunichRe et al., 2015, pp. 43–44). Sir Nicholas Stern has now
stated that he had greatly underestimated the damages from climate change, following the
poor response of global leaders (ClimateWire and Narayanan, 2013).
Australia has agreed to keep global temperature increases well below 2 °C, implying a
zero-emissions economy by 2050, but has one of the world’s worst-performing building
stocks per capita, and where residential buildings are responsible for around 13% of all
Australia’s emissions. Since around 30% of the 2050 residential stock exists now and houses
Methodology
Climate Change
We undertook climate change modelling with the Climate Futures tool (CSIRO, 2016) to find
the most appropriate general climate model (GCM) based on 1) the representativeness of
the ‘Maximum Consensus’ case, 2) model skill and 3) availability of requisite variables
(Clarke et al., 2011; J. J. Shiel et al., 2017).
Although two scenarios were examined for 2050, only one is reported here, namely
the Extreme Climate Change scenario. (The Scarce Resource scenario results are reported in
(J. Shiel et al., 2017)). The Extreme Climate Change scenario is a future of “business as usual”
(Peters et al., 2013, p. 5) with a plentiful supply of fossil fuels, and corresponds with RCP8.5,
where RCP is a Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) (van Vuuren et al., 2011).
We generated plausible Reference Meteorological Year (RMY) Adelaide climate data
for 2050 (Shiel, 2017) using:
• Belcher’s “morphing” technique (Belcher et al., 2005) with the selected GCM, and
• the Adelaide 1990 RMY climate file dataset from NatHERS.
Retrofits
The characteristics of the existing houses modelled are provided in Table 1, and these were
chosen to match typical Australian house constructions e.g. with external walls of
weatherboard, cavity brick, and brick veneer (DEWHA, 2008; Shiel, 2017).
Table 1 – House Characteristics for the three existing houses H1 – H3
House 1 House 2 House 3
Era 1950s 1980s 2010s
Area 112m2 187m2 223m2
Ext. Walls Weatherboard Cavity brick Brick veneer
Int. Walls Plasterboard Single Brick Plasterboard
Floor Timber floor Timber floor Concrete slab
Garage None Single car Double car
Ceiling insulation None None R1 K·m²/W
Roof Tile Tile Metal
Ceiling Height 2.74m 2.4m 2.4m
Eaves 450mm 600mm 600mm
Timber single- Aluminium single- Aluminium single-
Windows glazed windows glazed windows glazed windows
Results
The results reported here are for the Adelaide region (“Southern & SW Flatlands (East)”)
Extreme Climate Change scenario in 2050, with an air-conditioner and DIY costings.
Climate Change
HADGEM2-ES was found to be the most appropriate GCM and the annual average of the
mean monthly increase for temperature was projected to be 1.8 K from 1995 to 2050
(CSIRO, 2016; J. Shiel et al., 2017).
House Retrofits
Figure 1 shows the single retrofit carbon savings by payback period for House 2, which
shares characteristics of House 1 (e.g. a timber floor) and House 3 (a garage with concrete
floor) and illustrates the general trend of single retrofits. It has a table that ranks the House
2 cost-effective retrofits by payback period, and similar retrofits are colour-coded as shown
in Table 2. Furthermore, the size of carbon savings provide a general indication of how
effective each retrofit is in keeping the temperatures of all the conditioned rooms in the
NatHERS temperature comfort band.
Table 2 shows the indicative costs and carbon savings of cost-effective single retrofits
for House 3, and includes only the retrofits for Houses 1 and 2 where they are in common.
The older House 1 has more cost-effective retrofits than Houses 2 and 3 (Shiel, 2017).
Figure 2 shows the carbon savings and SPPs for various combinations of retrofits for
each house to suit occupant categories. The retrofits that make up the large SPP
combination for each house are provided in Table 3, and the small and medium SPP retrofit
combinations are mostly subsets of these sets of retrofits (Shiel, 2017).
Figure 1 - The carbon savings by payback period of cost-effective do-it-yourself (DIY) retrofits for House 2, a
1980s cavity brick and timber floor house. The values are labelled with their SPPs, and the table is ranked by
SPP and colour-coded as in Table 2. The other house results are in (Shiel, 2017).
Behaviour Change
The SET* comfort approach provided an extended comfort temperature band for free-
running thermostat values in Adelaide of 14.2 °C to 34.8 °C based on modified air speed and
clothing levels where the occupants would effectively feel like it was 16 °C to 28 °C (J. J.
Shiel et al., 2017).
Discussion
Before adapting a house for climate change, a life-cycle household carbon and costing
analysis should be carried out, especially with housing shortages in Australia (Iyer-Raniga,
2010).
Single Retrofits
The most cost-effective retrofits to lower Australian house temperatures are partitions to
reduce the conditioned volume, ceiling and roof insulation, optimum weather-stripping e.g.
by Lstiburek in (Aynsley and Shiel, 2017), and those that suit the type of house, e.g.
Figure 2 - Carbon savings by SPP for combinations of retrofit by house type and era (with 1950s weatherboard
or light-weight walls – LW; 1980s cavity brick or heavy-weight walls – HW; and 2010 brick veneer or medium-
weight walls – MW) with degree of retrofit (small, medium and large) to suit occupant categories. The dollar
label refers to the DIY capital cost of the retrofit SPP combination.
Figure 3 – The change in living and bed room free running temperatures after the combined retrofits of the
largest payback period for the hottest day in 2050. These are for House 01 (1950s weatherboard) and House
03 (2010 brick-veneer), where the external maximum temperatures for day and night were 46 °C and 36 °C
respectively, with maximum corresponding relative humidity levels of 20% and 38% respectively.
Cool Retreats
These results suggest that deeper retrofits are required to lower temperatures, and that
there should be a greater focus on retrofitting rooms to become cool retreats. This includes
changing room types and ventilation strategies e.g. moving bedrooms away from the
western side, having separate living spaces for winter and summer, as well as specific
retrofits and technologies to keep one room cooler (Aynsley and Shiel, 2017; Roaf et al.,
2005; Saman et al., 2013).
Conclusion
The key findings are that:
• Many cost-effective retrofits can be found for older timber-floored Australian houses
to adapt to a warmer future, with a fewer number identified for more modern
houses with concrete floors.
• Retrofit combinations for small, medium and large payback periods were found to
suit different occupant categories, with up to a 7 K reduction in room temperatures
in 2050.
• Large payback period retrofit combinations as well as occupancy behaviour change
may still be insufficient for Adelaide in 2050 for the Extreme Climate Change
scenario, requiring deeper retrofits and special room modifications as cool retreats.
References
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between air-conditioned and non air-conditioned rooms. Energy Build. 43, 219–223.
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weather?
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Paula Shinzato1, Helge Simon2, Michael Bruse2, Denise Helena Silva Duarte1
Abstract: Starting from previous studies concerning the impact of vegetation in urban microclimate (effects on
air temperature, mean radiant temperature, surface temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction) for the
city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, this study aims to achieve: (1) a 3D parametrization of Brazilian trees using the module
Albero on ENVI-met model V4, considering local leaf density and canopy structure collected during fieldworks;
(2) the calibration of the model based on field measurements carried out locally on urban parks; (3) the
simulation of different green distribution scenarios. The method includes field measurements of air
temperature, humidity, globe and surface temperature, as well as registering other data that characterizes local
microclimatic conditions (wind speed and direction, global solar radiation, sky view factor), and the comparison
between measured and simulated data on ENVI-met V4. After that, a base case and other parametric scenarios
were proposed to incorporate different greening strategies inside dense urban blocks. According to the
simulation results, for different tree canopy characteristics, a maximum reduction of up to 1,6K in air
temperature and 13,6K for surface temperature were found, when comparing the base case to the street trees
scenarios, indicating a more homogeneous distribution of the vegetation effect on microclimate.
Introduction
The process of urbanization has changed the relationship between society and the natural
environment. The direct consequence of this process is the change in the characteristics of
urban surfaces (Stone, 2012). Thus, urbanization results in changes in physical properties of
surfaces, including water content, thermal capacity, conductivity, albedo and emissivity,
causing a reduction in evaporation rates (Voogt and Oke, 2003).
The lack of vegetation influences the increase of the air temperature due to the heating
of the surfaces (floors, facades and roofs) throughout the day and the reduction of
evaporative surfaces that perform heat exchange. In addition, other factors also contribute
to this effect: change in the geometry of the urban fabric (height and width ratio of the
canyon), use of materials that store part of the sensible heat due to its thermal properties
and emission of anthropogenic heat generated by burning fossil fuel (Oke, 1978).
According to Stone (2012), three main strategies need to be considered to mitigate
warming in large urban areas: (1) planting trees and planning new configurations using
vegetation (green roofs, green walls, sky gardens); (2) increasing the albedo, incorporating
Method
The method includes field measurements of air temperature, humidity, globe and surface
temperature, as well as registering other data that characterizes local microclimatic
conditions (wind speed and direction, global solar radiation, sky view factor) and the
comparison between measured and simulated data on ENVI-met V4. After that, a base case
and other parametric scenarios were proposed to incorporate different greening strategies
inside dense urban blocks.
On-site measurements were carried out to monitor representative local hot weather
conditions. Subsequently, by the results of the local microclimatic data and vegetation
characteristics, computer simulations calibrated ENVI-met V4, based on the comparison of
measured and simulated data, with a more detailed 3D modelling studies that considers the
existing vegetation at an urban park.
After simulation results, analyses were carried out to indicate a better use and
distribution of vegetation as a strategy to mitigate urban warming in a subtropical changing
climate.
Area of Study
The city of São Paulo is located in Southeast of Brazil (23°32’S, 46°37’W). According to IBGE
(2015), the population is almost 21 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, distributed
in an overall area of 8051km2, where 2200 km2 of the Municipality is an urbanized area in
which 65% of population lives today.
Sao Paulo has a humid subtropical climate with mild and dry weather conditions during
winter. Summer is moderately warm with average temperatures varying between 19 oC and
28oC, and annual rain varies between 1250 to 2000mm (IBGE, 2015).
Paulista Avenue
Trianon Park
Area of Study
Field Measurements
Climate monitoring was carried out for four consecutive days, during the period from April
2nd to 5th 2016. In the Bela Vista borough, along Paulista Avenue, two areas were chosen for
the measurements: one inside Trianon Park (P1) and another one in the courtyard of an office
building (P2). In the point 1, a meteorological station was placed over open soil covered with
small plants and under high dense trees. In the point 2, the meteorological station was placed
over a concrete pavement with gravel and located in a dense building block without
vegetation (Figure 2).
On of the purposes of the measurements was to compare microclimatic data (air
temperature, humidity, solar radiation, surface temperature, wind speed and direction)
registered in a dense urban park area surrounded by high-rise buildings without vegetation.
These data were essential for the calibration process in ENVI-met model.
P. 1
P. 2
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 2. (a) Location of two points for microclimatic measurements; (b) Meteorological station at Trianon Park
(Point 1); (c) Meteorological station at Paulista courtyard (Point 2).
1
LAD is a parameter defined as the total one-sided leaf area (m²) per unit layer volume (m³) in each
horizontal layer of the tree crown (Lalic and Mihailovic, 2004).
P1 – Trianon Park
P2 – Courtyard
Figure 4. Base case scenario with 2 receptors coinciding with the meteorological stations located at Trianon
Park (P1) and Paulista Courtyard (P2)
26
21
TRIANON MEASURED TRIANON SIMULATED
PAULISTA 1 MEASURED PAULISTA 1 SIMULATED
16
Figure 5. Results for simulated air temperature in ENVI-met and the data measured for meteorological stations
- model calibration process.
Based on simulation results, the average difference between air temperatures under
dense trees (T3) and the surroundings is up to 1,6 K. The specific humidity under the tree
canopy was 12,5 g/kg, while inside the blocks it was 10,90 g/kg. For surface temperature, the
vegetation showed an average difference of 10,2K between green spaces and the street.
According to the Figure 5, there was a high agreement between ENVI-met simulation results
and on-site measurements. Regarding the spatial distribution, results showed that the
maximum effect of vegetation in air temperature occurred under the canopies, but the
cooling effects could influenced up to 250m in leeward side of the park (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Simulation results for air temperature at Trianon Park– on April 3rd 2016 at 15h.
2
Available from the homepage of atmospheric soundings by University of Wyoming. Access on
http://weather.uwyo.edu/upperair/sounding.html
7m
20m
15m
10m
(a) (b)
Figure 7. (a) Scenario with trees inside the blocks; (b) Trees typology: T5, T4 and T3, respectively.
Figure 8. Results for air temperature with typology T5, T4 and T3, on April 3rd 2016 at 15h – z=1.25m.
Figure 9. Results for air temperature for trees inside the blocks (grass + T3 LAD 1,7 m2/m3) – Section axes x-z at
grid 123 (432.25 m).
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
– FAPESP (process n. 2014/50978-0; 2016/01204-7; 2016/02825-5), Coordenação de
Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES and Conselho Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq. The authors are grateful to LABAUT staff
for their assistance in the field measurements. Thanks to Laboratory of Climate and Biosphere
– LBC Group for soil data and to Micrometeorology Group - LabMicro, at University of Sao
Paulo, for providing climatic data.
References
Bruse, M., Fleer, H. (1998). Simulating surface-plant-air interactions inside urban environments with a
three-dimensional numerical model. Environmental Software and Modelling, 13, 373-384.
Bruse, M. (2004). ENVI-met implementation of the Jacobs A−gs Model to calculate the stomata
conductance. Retrieved on February 2017 from: http://www.model.envi- met.com/
Bruse, M. (2017). ENVI-met website (n.d.). Retrieved on February 2017 from: http://www.model.envi-
met.com/
Coutts, A. M., Tapper, N. J., Beringer, J., Loughnan, M., Demuzere, M. (2013). Watering our cities: The
capacity for Water Sensitive Urban Design to support urban cooling and improve human thermal comfort in the
Australian context. Progress in Physical Geography, 37(1), 2–28.
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Johannes Gutenberg Universitat-Mainz.
Jacobs, C.M.J. (1994).Direct Impact of Atmospheric CO2 Enrichment on Regional Transpiration. PhD.
Wageningen Agricultural University.
Lalic, B; Mihailovic, D. T. (2004) An empirical relation describing leaf-area density inside the forest for
environmental modelling, Journal of Applied Meteorology, 43(4), 641-645
Oke, T. (1978). Boundary layer climate. London: Methuen & CO
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case study in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In: Sustainable Building Conference 2013, Graz, Austria, 2013, Construction
Products and Technologies.
Simon, H. (2016). Modeling urban microclimate. PhD. Johannes Gutenberg Universitat-Mainz.
Stone, B. (2012). The City and the Coming Climate: Climate Change in the Places We Live. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Voogt, J.A.; Oke, T. R. (2003). Thermal remote sensing of urban climates. Remote Sensing of Environment,
86, 370–384.
Introduction
This paper will focus on the drainage capacity of neighbourhoods of Bogotá to give some
answers to the risk of flooding caused by climate change phenomenon. For this reason, this
paper engages with future climate change and specifically with predicted increased risk of
flooding, with specific focus to test flooding mitigation techniques in the increasing
urbanised land of Colombia, and Latin America in general.
From 2010 to 2011 La Niña phenomenon affected Colombia and caused economic
losses caused by flooding, related to the destruction of infrastructure and urban areas. A
paradigm shift in water management is recognized as a necessary step for adaptation to
climate change and crucial for furthering the sustainability agenda in Bogotá. On this regards,
research conducted (Hoyos et al; 2013) emphasized the importance of both the spatial
context as well as the variables related to hazard exposure and social vulnerability (figure
1). Melgarejo et al. (2014) stress this point in view that extreme weather events are
becoming disaster management systems in the city.
Figure 1. Land urbanisation and density evolution of Bogotá (Niño, 2012).
The Colombian disaster risk management ministry (UNGRD), in cooperation with other
international organisations, are implementing the project "Strengthening the risk
management capacity of Floods" in order to create directives to cope with excess rainfall
and the necessary standards to control this kind of events, by means of identifying four
flooding risk scenarios: (a) first, ponding water, (b) second, flooding, (c) third, electrical
storms (d) tree-falling. These scenarios are connected to three climate phenomena, i.e.
hailstorm, landslides and gales (INDIGER, 2016).
To mitigate these changes, and specifically with the predicted increase rainfall, an
adaptation technique is required. Techniques available to mitigate with the excess water
runoff are the sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS), which are non-piped drainage
systems that minimise the impact of surface water runoff (rainfall that cannot infiltrate the
soil). According to Toledo (2012), SUDS that are most sustainable and suitable to urban
environment are green roofs and pervious surfaces. Pervious surfaces effectively reduce
surface water runoff and pollution to a significant extent.
Methods
To analyse closely this phenomenon as it occurs, it has been selected an urban area in
Bogotá, the Carimagua neighbourhood. This quartier was founded in 1967 and was an
example of social housing in Bogotá composed of 1108 single-family homes.
Figure 2. Carimagua neighbourhood: analysed portion evidenced.
Currently, the houses are transformed according to the needs of the inhabitants;
however, the urban structure is maintained (figures 3 and 4). On the other hand, Carimagua
neighbourhood is in a middle-high flooding risk area, and this paper intends to respond to
the following question: is the urban barrio of Carimagua able to mitigate the predicted 30%
rainfall increase?
Figure 3. Carimagua neighbourhood in 1967 (left) and today (right).
Figure 4. Carimagua neighbourhood, examples of adaptive initiatives.
To respond to such question, a critical analysis of flooding mitigation strategies to
retain rainfall is performed in order to identify which devices are the most suitable ones in
terms of costs and benefits (i.e. cost, maintenance, land-take, peak flow reduction and
volume reduction) and in terms of extra benefits (i.e. pollution reduction,
landscape/wildlife/amenity benefit), as shown in figure 5.
Secondly, an analysis of the case study city block has been carried out. In this context, it
is being performed a comparison of the effects of water runoff mitigation of the city block by
reducing the degree of impermeability of the surfaces according the use of different
finishing surfaces’ permeability, as proposed on a recent publication by Ritchie & Thomas
(2013), see figure 6, with the value 1.00 being completely impermeable and 0.00 being
completely permeable and hence desirable. This city block calculation is aimed at assessing
SUDS-based strategies that can be followed to reduce the surface water runoff (i.e. to
increase their permeable degree and reduce their impermeable degree).
Figure 5. SUDS analysis of suitability to mitigate surface water runoff in urban areas.
Accordingly, it has been performed an inventory of surfaces materials within a
selected area of Barrio Carimagua (figure 2) to then proceed to calculate the overall degree of
permeability based on the degree of permeability of each material. This step required to
quantify the area of all the surfaces within the city block (such as roofs, pavements,
backyards, etc.) and multiply them by the degree of impermeability of the characterising
material, as listed in figure 6. This provided a numerical result that is the overall degree of
impermeability, which for the selected case study is 0.9.
Figure 6. Degree of impermeability of different materials (Ritchie & Thomas, 2013)
Results
Adaptation of the city block with sustainable urban drainages has been performed, and
three possible adaptation scenarios were explored to achieve the aspiring 30% permeability
increase to cope with predicted excess rainfall (see Table 1 below).
The first scenario (strategy A) modifies the degree of permeability of the publicly
owned areas (streets and parking) by replacement of the (impermeable) cement and asphalt
to a permeable parking and permeable asphalt. This strategy achieved the desired overall
degree of impermeability of 0.6 (see first shaded column in table 1).
The second scenario (strategy B) modifies the degree of permeability of the privately-
owned areas (within the plots) by retrofitting roofs to green roofs and by adding planted
areas in the front gardens. This strategy also achieved the desired overall degree of
impermeability of 0.6 (see second shaded column in table 1).
The third scenario (strategy C) combines both the previous strategies, and it has
shown that an outstanding 52% increased permeability, equal to an overall degree of
impermeability of 0.3 (see last shaded column in table 1).
Table 1. Calculation of improved permeability in Carimagua city block.
Discussion
From the physical realm point of view, the results proposed show that effective adaptation
strategies to cope to increase rainfall are feasible, in different ways and in different degrees.
However, inhabited built environments are known to present different levels of
organisations, so it is recognise that while numerically adaptation is feasible, shortcomings
should be expected when implementing these in a real project.
Conclusion
This study identifies the importance of satisfying the need for permeable urban areas today in
Bogotá, and consequently, the results propose to implement a model that can respond to such
a need, and to implement and optimise life conditions of an urban habitat.
Green roofs constitute an adequate and economical strategy that substantially
contributes to increasing the percentage of permeable area in Bogotá and Carimagua
neighbourhood is a good example of this adaptability. Also, it could be used as an urban
vegetable garden where some vegetables, water retention plants and aromatic plants could
be planted.
In Carimagua neighbourhood is evident the demand for habitable soil, because
residents tend to occupy all the open spaces available within the plots by physically building
on front garden and backyard, with a change use of the plot area, different than the one
initially designed. This is a general phenomenon in Bogotá and also other Latin American
cities.
It is recognised the limits of this research: while it is used a 30% increase in rainfall is
considered over a year, the time factor is not be considered. More research is needed to
evaluate the rainfall as it occurs in a short amount of time and test the validity of the
present research with the effect of a storm. This could lead to a combined strategy in the
outskirts of the urban areas to apply other integrative strategies such as large water
reservoirs. However, the ultimate aim of this research is to propose a starting point of
adaptive strategies in Latin American urbanised contexts in a moment when heavy
urbanisation is occurring and recommendations and guidelines being produced.
Further research is oriented at proposing a factorial model in the study regarding the
degree of relationship between variables and factors contributing to increasing resilience to
flooding. In this model, variables such as permeability, porosity, percentage of drainage,
percentage of runoff and humidity will be interrelated.
References
Cubillos-González, R.A., 2006. Vivienda social y flexibilidad en Bogotá. Bitácora, 10(1), pp.124–135.
Available at: http://www.revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/bitacora/article/view/18717/19614.
Introduction
Our ever-growing society urgently needs to find better strategies to achieve a sustainable
balance between urban development and the protection of the natural environment (Hasse
& Lathrop 2003; Johnson 2001). Cities will continue to grow and it is imperative to find
solutions to minimise the impact that buildings and cities have on the plan (Al-Chalabi 2015;
Johnson 2001) . The integration of greenery into the built environment has the potential to
minimise the damage caused by extensive urbanisation (Alexandri & Jones, 2008; Safikhani
et al, 2014). Nature has inspired humans to find solutions to a number of problems, this is
also known as Biomimicry (Lurie-Luke 2014). This concept helps to promote a holistic
relationship between plants and architecture. There are a number of examples within
architecture where this relationship has been established (Pawlyn 2011; El-Zeiny 2012). This
research intends to undertake a deeper exploration in this area, with a particular focus on
Vertical Farming, which will be referred to as VF in this paper (Despommier 2009;
Despommier 2010; Sarkar & Majumder 2015).
Using nature inspired solutions to tackle modern problems represents a significant
source of knowledge-transfer opportunities, as other research have demonstrated through
biomimicry (Breuste et al, 2013b; El-Zeiny, 2012; Pawlyn, 2011). However, despite all the
advances and research undertaken evaluating the integration of green elements in cities,
less sustainable practices are predominant and more research is required (Breuste et al,
In this first book on VF, the author was talking about intensive agriculture in a reduced
area of land, in terms of deeper levels into the ground. The modern concept of VF aims to
achieve a similar outcome, but instead of using explosives to reach deeper layers of soil,
modern vertical farms commonly use the vertical stacking of layers of crops (Despommier
2009; Banerjee & Adenaeuer 2014), by using a number of different techniques, such as
hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, etc. (Besthorn 2013; Fischetti 2008) without the use
of explosives of course! Furthermore, modern vertical farms are not required to be
underground, they can also be above ground, as well as indoors or outdoors. Briefly
explained, hydroponics “is a method of growing whereby the plants roots are directly
exposed to water based, nutrient rich, solutions without using, or needing, a soil or coco
medium”(Holland Hydroponics & Horticulture, 2016). Aeroponics is also a soil-less method
of growing plants, which “uses small microjets to spray the plants’ roots with a fine, high-
pressure mist that contains nutrient rich solutions.”(pH Hydro 2014). Finally, Aquaponics “is
the combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of
plants) that grows fish and plants together in one integrated system. The fish waste
provides an organic food source for the plants, and the plants naturally filter the water for
the fish.”(The Aquaponic Source 2017 2017).
The current concept of vertical farms gained new momentum particularly in 1999,
with the theoretical work undertaken by Dr Dickson Despommier. He is a Professor of
Environmental Health Sciences and Microbiology at Columbia University, New York. Dr
Despommier explains that “the concept of the vertical farm arose in my classroom in 1999
as a theoretical construct as to how to deal with a wide variety of environmental
issues." (Plan 2B Green 2011). There is evidence of some advances in the area of what is
currently known as VF before 1999 (Plan 2B Green 2011) , however major theoretical boost
in this area only occurred with Dr Despommier’s publications and designs, alongside his
professional colleagues (Fischetti 2008). He is considered to be the “Father of the vertical
farm concept/movement” (Banerjee & Adenaeuer 2014).
Discussion
Various academic papers stated that the best design for a vertical farm has not yet been
found (Sarkar & Majumder 2015; Banerjee & Adenaeuer 2014; Fischetti 2008; Al-Chalabi
2015). Some suggested that one of the best options might be based on the pyramid farm
recommended by Eric Ellingsen and Dr. Despommier (Sarkar & Majumder 2015; Ellingsen &
Despommier 2008), but this design is still relatively futuristic and it can be perceived as an
utopia. The economic and environmental feasibility of a true architectural integration of
vertical farms requires further in-depth scientific investigation. Furthermore, the literature
also highlights the need to design more efficient systems to handle the energy usage on
artificial lighting, heating and cooling (Banerjee & Adenaeuer 2014; Kozai et al. 2016). Some
academics also agreed on the need to develop research projects that will quantify and
qualify the validity of VF (Al-Chalabi 2015; Banerjee & Adenaeuer 2014). Al-Chalabi, from
Oxford University, and various other researchers, stated that there is a strong need for a
real pilot project to test the true integration of VF, this is supported by other published work
(Al-Chalabi 2015; Garg & Balodi 2014).
This preliminary literature review provides strong evidence on a number of problems
faced by the development of VF. It can be argued that, despite of the various existing
vertical farm developments around the world, this is an area that is still in its infancy. This is
particularly noticeable due to the weak finances behind most projects of this nature:
“According to a survey in February 2014 by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery
of Japan, among 165 PFALs [Plant Factories with Artificial (or electrical) Lighting], only 25%
made a profit, 50% broke even, and 25% lost money” (Kozai et al. 2016).
Based on the literature review, this research project argues that most of the
disadvantages behind VF are due to the lack of true integration between VF and urban
architecture. Better planning and a cohesive design response could potentially help towards
improving the finances and true viability of these concepts.
Conclusion
As it has been shown above, thorough studies and experiments in the area of urban
greening and vertical farms have taken place in a number of research projects around the
Acknowledgments
The Author acknowledges the financial support provided by the Welsh Government and
Higher Education Funding Council for Wales through the Sêr Cymru National Research
Network for Low Carbon, Energy and Environment.
References
Al-Chalabi, M., 2015. Vertical farming: Skyscraper sustainability? Sustainable Cities and Society, 18,
pp.74–77.
Alexandri, E. & Jones, P., 2008. Temperature decreases in an urban canyon due to green walls and
green roofs in diverse climates. Building and Environment, 43(4), pp.480–493.
Association for Vertical Farming, 2016. AVF Map. Available at: https://vertical-farming.net/.
Bailey, G.E., 1915. Vertical Farming, California: E. I. Du Pont de Nemours Powder Co. Wilmington,
Delaware.
Banerjee, C. & Adenaeuer, L., 2014. Up, Up and Away! The Economics of Vertical Farming. Journal of
Agricultural Studies, 2(1), p.40.
Besthorn, F.H., 2013. Vertical Farming: Social Work and Sustainable Urban Agriculture in an Age of
Global Food Crises. Australian Social Work, 66(2), pp.187–203.
Breuste, J., Qureshi, S. & Li, J., 2013a. Applied urban ecology for sustainable urban environment. Urban
Ecosystems, 16(4), pp.675–680.
Breuste, J., Qureshi, S. & Li, J., 2013b. Scaling down the ecosystem services at local level for urban parks
of three megacities. Hercynia N.F., 46(October), pp.1–20.
Centre for Sustainable Energy, 2015. Low Carbon Neighbourhood Planning A guidebook, Bristol.
Despommier, D., 2009. The Rise of Vertical Farms. Scientific American, pp.80–87.
Despommier, D., 2010. The Vertical Farm, USA: Picador.
Despommier, D., 2013. The Vertical Farm: A Keystone Concept for the the Ecocity - TED Talk x Warwick.
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwaZc7B8Hnc.
Introduction
The effects of urban climate change have drawn attention to monitoring and evaluating
outdoor thermal comfort in cities worldwide. Especially in China, rapid, large-scale urban
development alongside rapid economic growth has resulted in considerable urban climate
change since the 1990s, creating urban environmental problems such as haze. The use of
primary energy makes up the main constituent of Chinese haze, and the high-density urban
typology accelerates the aggregation of air pollution in the urban areas. An “urban air path”
is here proposed as a means of optimizing the urban wind pattern and increasing wind speed
inside cities from the view of urban planning (Werner, 1979; Ren et al., 2014). Recently, the
use of urban wind corridors has become widely discussed (Memon et al., 2013), especially in
many Chinese cities such as Beijing (Du et al., 2016), Shanghai (Shi et al., 2016), Guangzhou
(Liang et al., 2014), Changsha (Xi et al., 2010), Nanjing (Weng et al., 2015), Wuhan (Li et al.,
2014), Zhengzhou (Bai, 2015), and the Pearl River Delta (Ren et al., 2016). Most of the studies
on this matter that are being conducted in China focus on the impact of urban development
Methodology
Field Measurements
Figure 1. The location distribution of field measurements in Xi’an city
The field measurements were carried out between June 11 and August 27, 2016 in 24
locations in Xi’an City, and 3 days of measurements were taken at each location. The
normalization statistical method was used to normalize the weather conditions measured on
different days, and Kriging was used for spatial unification (Krige, 1951). The concentration of
PM10 was measured at these points in order to assess the distribution of air pollution in urban
area.
Figure 2. Xi’an satellite photo with the four areas selected for this study, and defined as low-rise area
(Sanxuejie), middle-rise area (Xitiedaminggong), mix-rise area (Jiaodayicun) and high-rise area
(Gongyuantianxia). The area represented in this figure is indicated in Figure 3 and Table 1.
Figure 3. Image selected areas and simulation domain data.
Four typical residential areas were selected for simulation and discussion. The first, Sanxuejie,
is a low-rise area, a traditional residential zone rebuilt after the 1950s. It retains the urban
form used in China science the Ming and Qing Dynasties (about 600 years ago), with narrow
streets between residential buildings, most of which have 2 floors. The second area,
Xitiedaminggong, is a middle-rise neighborhood developed in the early 1990s. All of the
residential buildings are 5 floors in height and perfectly represent the character of the
building type constructed in the period between 1979 to the beginning of 1990s. The third
neighborhood, Jiaodayicun, is a mix-rise area of low-rise and high-rise buildings, home to a
variety of building styles developed around the 1980s and 2000s. The last selected
Figure 4. The wind condition in a typical summer day (July 21, 2016) and a typical winter day (December
21, 2015). The main wind directions are shown in red colour.
Results
Air pollution distribution in Xi’an city
Figure 5. Distribution of PM10 concentration in the central of Xi’an.
The field measurement results of the PM10 concentration distribution in the summer of 2016
are shown in Figure 5. The air pollution was found not to be uniformly distributed all over the
city. Comparison of Figure 5 and the satellite photo in Figure 2 showed the distribution of air
pollution to be partially but directly related to urban density. This is because the urban
typology affects urban ventilation and accelerates aggregation, and the air pollution in high
density urban districts is subsequently high.
In order to clarify the mechanism of the air pollution concentration in high density areas,
the low-rise and middle-rise areas that located in highly polluted areas are selected for
simulation. This phenomenon will be discussed with the simulation results.
Wind Environment Simulation
On a summer day, 5 wind directions (N, ENN, EN, ENE, E) were simulated at a wind speed of
2 m/s. On a winter day, 3 wind directions (N, ENN, EN) were simulated at a wind speed of
1.25 m/s are simulated. Figure 6 and 7 present the simulation results in the selected 4 urban
areas.
In summer (Figure 6), with the effects from trees, the median wind speed in the low-
rise area was slower than in the other areas, and the wind speed in the mix-rise area was
fastest. With a wind direction of EN, the median wind speed in mix-rise area was 0.35 m/s,
which was 0.15 m/s higher than in the low-rise and middle-rise areas, respectively. The
median wind speed in high-rise area was slightly slower (0.03–0.06 m/s) than in the low-rise
and middle-rise areas, but there were small areas of higher wind speed in the high-rise area,
Figure 6. Wind speed in four selected areas in a typical summer day (July 21, 2016).
Figure 7. Wind speed in four selected areas in a typical winter day (December 21, 2015).
Figure 9. Wind speed distribution in four selected areas at 1.5m height from the ground in winter (wind
speed: 1.25m/s; wind direction: ENN).
Discussion
Urban ventilation plays an important role in the urban environment. In summer, urban
ventilation contributes to urban heat dissipation and urban heat island mitigation. In winter,
high wind speed accelerates the aggregation of air pollution. Results demonstrated that the
urban typology affects urban ventilation and urban air quality. However, it is usually difficult
to change the urban form over a short period in areas that have already been developed.
Conclusion
This work demonstrated that the wind environment in the low-rise area and the high-rise
area are characterized by high building density and the pronounced urban roughness. Wind
speed was 0.04 to 0.09 m/s lower in the high-rise area than in the middle-rise area and 0.04
to 0.14 m/s lower in the low-rise area than in the middle-rise area. Wind speed is 0.19 to 0.27
m/s lower in the high-rise area than in the mixed-rise area and 0.21 to 0.28 m/s lower in the
low-rise area than in the mixed-rise area. Overall, the balance between building height and
building ratio should be considered in future urban development projects. The information
from this work provides information useful to the cultivation of environmental urban policy.
Acknowledgements
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (under Grant
No. 51608439, and No. 2013FY112500).
References
Bai X. (2015). Luoyang City Air Corridor Planning Management Research – In the Perspective of Haze
Weather Governance. Master. Zhengzhou University
Du W., Fang X., Liu Y., He Y., He J. (2016). Construction of Ventilation Corridors in the Beijing Central
Urban Area Based on Meteorology and GIS Technology. Urban Planning Forum, 2016, (5): 79-85
Krige, Danie G. (1951). A statistical approach to some basic mine valuation problems on the
Witwatersrand. J. of the Chem., Metal. and Mining Soc. of South Africa. 52 (6): 119–139.
Liang H., Li X., Xiao R. (2014). Research on the Planning and Control method of Urban Ventilation Corridors
A Case Study of Regulatory Planning of Baiyun New Town, Guangzhou. Landscape Architecture, 2014, (5): 92-96
Li J, Rong Y. (2014). Urban Design Control For Wind Corridor: Wuhan Case[J]. Planners, 2014, 08.
Memon, N., Gryning, Sven E., Khan A., Batchvarova, E. (2013). Wind characteristic in the wind corridor in
Southern Pakistan, the effect of the monsoon. EMS Annual Meeting Abstracts. European Meteorological Society,
2013. (EMS Annual Meeting Abstracts, Vol. 10)
Ren C, Yuan C, Kwan H C, et al. (2014). A Study of Air Path and Its Application in Urban Planning[J]. Urban
Planning Forum, 2014, 161(9):H529-H538
Ren Q., Wei J., Dai W. (2016). Characteristics of Regional Wind Environment and Construction of
Ventilation Corridors:A Case Study of the Pearl River Delta. Tropical Geography, 2016, 36(5)
Shi J., Zhen M. (2016). Sustainable Development of Large Cities Facing Climate Change – Taking Shanghai
as an Example[J]. Resources and Environment in the Yangtze Basin, 2016, 25(1): P468
Software Cradle Co., Osaka 530-0001 Japan 2011 scSTREAM. Thermo-fluid Analysis System with
Structured Mesh Generator
Weng Q., Zhang H., Bao H., Liu J., Wu H. (2015). Study on Ventilation Channels of Nanjing City. Science
Technology and Engineering, 2015, 15(11): 89-94
Werner G. (1979). Regionale Luftaustauschprozesse und ihre Bedeutung fur die raumliche Planung[J].
Landschaft Und Stadt, 1979
Xi’an Weather Station. (2016). www.rp5.ru. (Accessed on Feb. 20, 2017)
Xi H., Jiao S., Lu L. (2010). Research on the Mode of Creating Urban Natural Ventilation Channel for the
Areas where It's Hot in Summer and Cool in Winter: Take Changsha as an Example. Huazhong Architecture, 2010,
28(6): 106-107
Introduction
With the increasing urbanization and relying on electrical power, the research about future
climate and energy efficiency are both important in the warming trend especially in hot and
humid Taiwan. There are three elements of urban development: infrastructure, building
operations, and transportation. A research in the U.S. indicated that the most targeted
measures to reduce urban energy usage should focus on building operation (Christopher et
al., 2006). In Taiwan, it consumes more than 30% electrical power in essential functions of
residential and commercial buildings. Furthermore, there is 40% electricity using in air
condition system (Yang and Hwang, 1993, 1995). While the building energy usage is
dominated by outdoor climate and building envelope configurations, this study focuses on
the energy performance of varying building factors under future climate scenarios.
To understand the climate change impact on building energy, a reach based on the
warming scenario predicted by IPCC revealed that a 4.4 ℃ rise in mean annual air
temperature relative to the 1961-1990 period would make the annual cooling energy demand
for office buildings increase by 223-1050% in Switzerland (Frank, 2005). In Slovenia, four
combinations of temperature and solar radiation change were concerned to predict the
future climate and the influences to office buildings (Vidrih and Medved, 2008). The results
1
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showed that the overheat time of office buildings would rise to about 1270 hours per year
and that the heating load and cooling load in the future would grow by 12% and 28%
respectively compared to those average in 1992 to 2003.
In the UK, Chow et al. (Chow and Levermore, 2010) used the UKCIP02 model to predict
the climate condition in the future time slices (2020s, 2050s, and 2080s) in UK. They checked
the office buildings based on UK Building Regulation and found that the increase of cooling
load would be the same as the decrease of the heating load. Additionally, the new office
buildings complying with 2002 Building Regulations could just maintain the energy
consumption constantly with climate change. Another research in UK (Pan and Garmston,
2012) also found that there are almost one-third of 404 new buildings built in 2006 to 2009
dissatisfied with building regulations. Other research meant to confine the building energy
usage by enhancing the building regulations (Kang and Rhee, 2014a, Hamza and Greenwood,
2009) indicated that there are always non-compliance buildings no matter how stringency of
building energy efficiency regulations has increased. Generally, the incomprehensible criteria
would result in the incompetent regulations. Thus, this study not only means to promote the
criteria of building regulations but also means to identify the factors’ contribution to building
energy consumption over future climate change. The aim of this study is to construct easily
understandable regulation criteria for local government or industries in Taiwan.
Methodology
To investigate the climate change impact on energy consumption of office buildings in Taiwan,
this study adopts EnergyPlus simulator with hourly weather data and virtual building cases to
simulate the building performance under the future meteorological conditions. Because of
the various factors of building envelope configurations, the Taguchi method is adopted to
construct virtual building cases and to implement the mathematical analysis. In addition, the
factors setting for virtual building cases refer to building energy regulations in Taiwan.
Building energy regulation in Taiwan
This study introduced the latest version of Taiwan energy conservation regulations for building
envelope design which released in 2015 (Taiwan National Architecture Association, 2015)
which demands that the U-value of exterior wall (Uw) should be lower than 2.0 W/m2 and that
the U-value of fenestration (Uf) and the average shading factor (SF) of window should both
vary with the window-to-wall ratios (WWR). These values should be calculated on each aspect
of building façades and should comply with the criteria tabulated in Table 1. The calculation
of the SF value in regulation is:
SF =
åf ´ SHGC ´ Awin
(1)
åA win
Where SHGC indicates the solar heat gain coefficient of fenestration; f means the factor
of shading overhang; Awin is the window area on each façade.
Table 1 Building regulation criteria in Taiwan
Window-Wall Ratio >0.5 0.5-0.4 0.4-0.3 0.3-0.2 0.2-0.1 <0.1
Uf 2.70 3.00 3.50 4.70 5.20 6.50
SF 0.10 0.15 0.25 0.35 0.45 0.55
Uw 2.0
VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 185
Virtual Building Cases and Taguchi method
According to the regulation mention above, this study considers ten building factors including:
(a) window-to-wall ratio (WWR),
(b) U-value of fenestration (Uf),
(c) solar heat gain coefficient of window (SHGC),
(d) shading overhang,
(e) U-value of external wall (Uw),
(f) material of external wall, (g) orientation of building,
(h shape factor of building plane,
(i) occupancy, and
(j) indoor heat dissipation of equipment.
In addition, shading overhang is defined as the depth of shading device over the height
of window.
There are ten factors and three levels of each factor in order to understand the building
energy consumption that may vary with different insulation level. Since it is too complicated
and time-consuming to discuss each combination with all factors, Taguchi method (Kang and
Rhee, 2014b) is adopted to solve such a multivariable simulation. Taguchi method is an
experimental design technique providing a simple way to reduce the numbers of experiments
by setting multilevel factors into a given orthogonal array. The orthogonal array Table L81 is
chosen to fit all factor levels. All levels are put into the array to construct 81 different office
building configurations. The factor level settings are listed in Table 2 while the test cases and
control cases are established simultaneously. The factor (a) to (f) of control cases are based
on ASHRAE 90.1 standard while factor (h) to (j) are set as same as those in corresponding test
buildings.
Table 2 Factor levels of virtual building cases
Test case Control case
Factor Parameters
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level
a WWR 0.1 0.4 0.7 0.4
b Uf (W/m2K) 5 3 1 3.2
c SHGC 0.8 0.5 0.2 0.2
Shading
d 0 1 2 0
overhang
e Uw (W/m2K) 3.5 2 0.5 0.857
Heavy
f Material Metal Light RC Light RC
RC
Orientation
g -60 0 60 Average in four direction
(degree)
h Shape 1 2 3
Occupancy Same as the
i 0.05 0.1 0.15
(person/m2) corresponding test cases
Equipment
j 10 25 40
(W/m2)
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Future Weather data
The weather data put into EnergyPlus simulator is required as hourly data, so downscaling
the prediction of global circulation model (GCM) is necessary. The hourly future weather data
is constructed by morphing method (Belcher et al., 2005, Huang and Chuang, 2014) with the
local weather data and GCM data considering two future climate scenarios which are RCP45
and RCP85 defined by IPCC AR5(Stocker et al., 2013). The local weather data is provided by
Central Weather Bureau (CWB) in Taiwan. The local site is Taipei and the base period is 1995-
2010. The future weather data is obtained from CanESM2.
The morphing method adopts shifting, stretching, and combination of both parts which
are shown as Eq. (2) to (4). By this method, we can use the changes predicted by CanESM2 to
construct future hourly data that is suitable for Taipei.
x = x0 + Dx m (2)
x = a m x0 (3)
x = x 0 + Dx m + a m ( x 0 - x 0, m ) (4)
Where x is the future value of a certain weather variable; x0 is the local weather variable;
Δxm and αm are the monthly linear change and the monthly proportional change
between local data and GCM data.
VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 187
contribution could be provided as Δr, calculated as Eq. (6), that indicates the effect of certain
factor level on the cooling energy use.
Dr = rk - r (6)
Where rk means the specific energy ratio of certain factor level. The Δr of principal
factors in different time slices of RCP45 and RCP85 are tabulated in the Table 3 and Table 4.
Table 3 Factor contribution results in RCP45
Factor effect
Factors properties
2020s 2050s 2080s
0.1 -0.0765 -0.0807 -0.0869
WWR 0.4 -0.0005 -0.0001 0.0004
0.7 0.0770 0.0808 0.0865
5 -0.0252 -0.0191 -0.0157
Uf
3 -0.0208 -0.0204 -0.0205
(W/m2K)
1 0.0461 0.0395 0.0362
0.8 0.1343 0.1352 0.1404
SHGC 0.5 -0.0076 -0.0076 -0.0078
0.2 -0.1267 -0.1276 -0.1326
0 0.0808 0.0799 0.0827
Shading
1 -0.0151 -0.0151 -0.0156
overhang
2 -0.0658 -0.0648 -0.0671
Table 4 Factor contribution results in RCP85
Factor effect
Factors properties
2020s 2050s 2080s
0.1 -0.0787 -0.0844 -0.0964
WWR 0.4 -0.0003 0.0002 0.0011
0.7 0.0790 0.0842 0.0953
5 -0.0232 -0.0135 0.0008
Uf
3 -0.0207 -0.0202 -0.0195
(W/m2K)
1 0.0439 0.0337 0.0186
0.8 0.1358 0.1367 0.1411
SHGC 0.5 -0.0076 -0.0076 -0.0078
0.2 -0.1283 -0.1291 -0.1332
0 0.0813 0.0798 0.0795
Shading
1 -0.0152 -0.0153 -0.0158
overhang
2 -0.0660 -0.0645 -0.0637
New criteria for Taiwan building conservation regulation
This study further summed up the Δr of the principal factors as the energy consumption ratio
(RE) in different time slices compared to the base period:
R E = r + DrWWR + DrU f + DrSHGC + DrShading + error (7)
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Typically, RE=1 indicates the cooling energy consumption of certain combination in the
future is equal to nowadays level; RE>1 indicates the higher cooling energy consumption, and
RE<1 indicates the lower one. That is, we should focus on the envelope combinations which
RE=1 if we mean to construct a criteria recommendation that can confine the cooling energy
usage.
The RE values of RCP45 and RCP85 are plotted in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 and are divided into
three time slices. The RE values increase with the higher WWR and SHGC level and decrease
with the higher shading level. In both two scenarios, the RE values will be higher than one in
WWR=0.7 and will drastically increase in SHGC=0.8. The steady increase of the RE values over
time will make it difficultly to maintain the cooling energy use after 2050s, especially in RCP85.
Additionally, the optimal Uf is not the lowest one because the over insulated building
envelope will store too much indoor dissipation heat.
Fig. 1 The R values of top four factors combinations in RCP45
Fig. 2 The R values of top four factors combinations in RCP85
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Conclusion
The office building energy usage in Taiwan is obviously influenced by future climate change.
The simulation results match the current building regulation in Taiwan whose major factors
are window to wall ratio, shading devices, and the U values of building envelope. The results
reveal that cooling energy demand is mainly dominated by the principal factors which are
WWR, SHGC, Uf, and shading overhang. According to the factor contributions, we are able to
predict the building energy performance during three future time slices in both RCP45 and
RCP85. The increasing cooling energy consumption range varies with different envelope
combinations. The worst case in RCP45 and RCP85 would increase 40-60% cooling energy
usage in 2080s. On the other hand, the RE value would rise when SHGC=0.8 or lack of shading.
Moreover, there is no case could maintain the RE value in current level when WWR is 0.7
either in RCP45 or in RCP85. That indicates the progress of the building regulation is necessary.
In the meanwhile, this study propose Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 as the criteria recommendation.
Through these schemes, it is easily to understand the change of cooling energy use in different
building configurations. To maintain the cooling energy usage of office building in Taiwan, we
could focus on the cases of which the RE values are under or equal to 1 and should make the
regulation criteria much stricter over years. The criteria scheme based on the RE results is
more flexible for Taiwan government and could also provide the measurement over future
climate change.
References
BELCHER, S. E., HACKER, J. N. & POWELL, D. S. 2005. Constructing design weather data for future climates.
Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 26, 49-61.
CHOW, D. H. C. & LEVERMORE, G. J. 2010. The effects of future climate change on heating and cooling
demands in office buildings in the UK. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 31, 307-323.
CHRISTOPHER, A. K., JONATHAN, N. & HEATHER, L. M. 2006. Comparing High and Low Residential Density:
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VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 190
Aesthetics and Design
Cha ir:
O l a Uduku
191
Towards Advanced Active Façades: Analysis of façade requirements and
development of an innovative construction system
Abstract: In Switzerland, as in many European countries, new energy directives focus on decreasing the carbon
footprint of buildings by promoting passive and active energy strategies. Among the latter, Building Integrated
Photovoltaics (BIPV), which function both as envelope materials and electricity producers, are rapidly becoming
more performant. However, their potential remains largely unrealised due to diverse barriers. Architects, in
particular, tend to avoid integrating BIPV in their designs because of their limited expressive qualities. In
reaction, this on-going research aims at developing design strategies for low-carbon façades while addressing
BIPV expressive issues, with the goal of bridging the gap between technology and designers. Within this overall
framework, the paper presents the Advanced Active Façade (AAF) concept, which results from analysing the
evolution of façade requirements and solutions over time. The AAF simultaneously aims at achieving low
embodied energy by benefiting from passive low-carbon design strategies, and generating energy by integrating
BIPV technology. The paper introduces the core phase of the research, which consists in the development of the
AAF Construction System and AAF Design Strategies. The output of the research will provide architects with a
construction system and assessed design strategies to optimize the design process of BIPV façades.
Keywords: Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), Active Façades, Renewable Energy, Construction System,
Design Strategies
Introduction
The European Union is committed to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050:
levels should be 80-95% lower when compared to 1990 (Energy Roadmap 2050, 2012). This
is why European energy directives are becoming more demanding with regards to
performance standards. Switzerland follows the same evolution. Since it decided to gradually
withdraw from nuclear power in 2011 (SFOE, 2014), the country undergoes a profound
restructuring of its energy system. Its new energy policy establishes that energy consumption
from photovoltaic (PV) will represent 20% of the total electricity consumption of the country.
Thanks to this energy focus, such technology is becoming more efficient and affordable.
The most innovative offer of PV technology consists in the constructive and
architectural integration of PV elements. Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) have both
an architectural function and energy generation capacity.
BIPV permits to reduce material use and initial investment costs when compared to a
traditional construction where PV systems are independent and added to the building (Centre
Suisse de compétence BIPV, 2015). However, despite this favourable context, BIPV
technology is not exploited to the best of its potential. Architects often justify the lack of PV
2. DESIGN
2A. Construction System 2B. Design Strategies
Design of the Advanced Active Development of the AAF Design Strategies
Façade (AAF) Construction System combining the previous data csith the CS
3. ASSESSMENT
Environmental impact/ Cost/ Architectural quality/ Social acceptance
4. PROTOTYPE
Construction of a prototype (scale 1:1) of an AAF element
5. STUDENT COMPETITION
Real site application and building analysis
Figure 1. Research Methodology
1- PV panel
2- Metallic punctual invisible fixation
This paper develops the preliminary results of Phases 1 and 2, i.e. the analysis and the
design work packages.
Preliminary Results
Phase 1: Analysis
Phase 1A: Analysis and classification of the existing façade design strategies
While designing a façade, we need to consider the different elements composing it: windows,
balconies, doors and solar shading systems (Herzog et al., 2004). The size and modulation of
these elements can respect, or not, the pre-existing rhythm established by the building
structure: horizontal slabs, beams, pillars and walls. This means that the “face” of the building
can allow a direct comprehension of the structure. The façade becomes a skin with an
independent expression from the building structure.
We propose a classification based on the dimensional composition of façade materials,
elements and building’s general structure in the contemporary Swiss context. The preliminary
results provided by this research present a façade composition in four groups (Clua Longas et
al., 2016), represented in Figure 2:
Figure 2. Collective residential buildings’ façade design strategies: classification in four groups
· Strategy 1 ‘Slab to slab’ includes façades where the horizontal slab dimension is
apparent and highlighted on the façade.
· Strategy 2 ‘Total storey’ includes façades where the storey structure is also expressed,
but the floor slabs are no longer highlighted.
· Strategy 3 ‘Balconies’ refers to facades where balconies are clearly apparent in a large
part of the façade.
LOW-CARBON STRUCTURES
SOLAR CONTROL SYSTEMS
SMALL HOLES IN THE WALL
COMPOSED THICK WALLS
FAÇADE DISSOCIATION
FAÇADE SYSTEMS
ADAPTIVE FAÇADES
GLASS WINDOWS
DOUBLE WALL
INSULATION
REQUIREMENTS
LOADBEARING
PROTECTION
PROVIDE VENTILATION
PROVIDE LIGHT
PROVIDE VIEWS
COMFORT
THERMAL INSULATION
ACOUSTIC INSULATION
SUSTAINABILITY
ENERGY GENERATION
Phase 2: Design
The previous analyses have driven the research to develop the Advanced Active Façade (AAF)
concept. Firstly, the AAF design responds to the design trends of today’s façade composition.
Secondly, it meets the latest façade requirements: it is based on a low-embodied carbon
construction, and adapted to the most exigent insulating targets (Minergie P). Thirdly, it is an
active element which generates energy thanks to the integration of BIPV systems in its façade
composition. The AAF is designed as a non-structural, self-supporting façade, which
guarantees more flexibility in its design compared to other loadbearing options. Based on this
concept, this research has developed the AAF Construction System (AAF CS) and the AAF
Design Strategies (AAF DS).
Phase 2A: Design of the Advanced Active Façade Construction System (AAF CS)
The AAF CS is a modular construction system that responds to future façade requirements.
Its main feature is the combination of passive and active design strategies to lower the
building’s carbon footprint. The proposed solution consists of a wood-panel based, self-
supporting and demountable façade system which meets the most demanding insulating
targets and is compatible with a wide range of existing BIPV formats and emerging
technologies (Figure 5).
The passive strategy consists of the low-embodied carbon design of the construction
system. As seen in the analysis of the façade requirements, energy is one of the most
active façade which supplies the right percentage of the building’s energy needs. The
photovoltaic façade’s final coating also implies that it has a ventilated construction system,
with a 10 cm minimum gap (Brinkworth and Sandberg, 2005, Maturi et al., 2014). Wiring and
electrical devices are integrated in the AAF CS façade design to ensure panels’ electricity
production.
1- PV panel 47,4
2- Metallic punctual invisible fixation / gap for PV rear ventilation 100 mm 2,7
40,4
2,7
7
1 10 24 5 1
3- Tripli panel 27mm 1
9
4- Wood fiber insulation 240 mm / Triple plywood panel 240 mm
5- Triple plywood panel 27 mm
6- Optional interior cellullose insulation 50 mm 10
11
6
7- OSB panel
12
8- Interior coating 5
13
9- Triple plywood panel 27 mm 4a
10- Exterior stores for sun control
11- Neopren joint (search for "sustainable" equivalent) 4b
12- Insulation
13- Wood window frame
3
7 1
AAF
8 CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM 2
Construction Detail. 3
1_10 4
5
6
7
8
1- PV panel 47,4
2- Metallic punctual invisible fixation / gap for PV rear ventilation 100 mm 2,7
40,4
2,7
7
1 10 24 5 1
3- Tripli panel 27mm 1 1
9
4- Wood fiber insulation 240 mm / Triple plywood panel 240 mm
5- Triple plywood panel 27 mm
6- Optional interior cellullose insulation 50 mm 10
11
7- OSB panel
12
8- Interior coating 13
Figure 5. AAF Construction System. Axonometric view of the system composition
9- Triple plywood panel 27 mm
10- Exterior stores for sun control
11- Neopren joint (search for "sustainable" equivalent)
12- Insulation
13- Wood window frame
VOLUME I
AAF CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 197
Construction Detail.
1_10
The AAF CS, as part of a residential building façade in the Swiss context, also needs to
meet other requirements such as comfort and energy regulations, electric directives (LVD
2006/95/EC), security regulations and certification. All these aspects are considered in the
AAF CS design.
Phase 2B: Development of the Advanced Active Façade Design Strategies (AAF DS)
The AAF DS are series of design strategies based on the existing ones (classified in phase 1A)
and combined with the three categories of BIPV products (identified in phase 1C). They
illustrate different applications of the AAF CS on a real site to validate its capacity to adapt
itself to various contexts, architectural requirements and PV technologies. The design process
allows the formulation of a series of guidelines for architects to successfully design an
Advanced Active Façade. According to recent works (Kylili and Fokaides, 2014), the building
orientation which delivers the maximum energy yield for central and southern Europe are the
southeast and the southwest façades. This fact will help decide the orientation of a building
and the number of AAF to consider to maximize the energy output.
Figure 6 gathers four images which represent the combination of the existing design
strategies identified in phase 1A (“Slab to Slab” (1), “Total storey” (2), “Balconies” (3) and
“Total Volume” (4)), combined with the three BIPV systems identified in phase 1C (“Opaque”,
“Translucent” and “Transparent”). These façade design strategies meet the requirements
analysed in phase 1B and can be constructed with the AAF Construction System.
1A 2B
3C 4A
Figure 6. AAF Design Strategies. Combination of different design strategies with different BIPV systems.
Conclusions
This research aims at filling the gap between technology and architecture in the current
practice, demonstrating how BIPV can be considered at the same level as any other
construction material. The preliminary conclusions of this on-going research highlight that it
is possible to integrate different types of BIPV systems into a prefabricated Advanced Active
Acknowledgements
This research is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and is part of the National
Research Program “Energy Turnaround”. As part of the joint research project PV2050 led by
CSEM, the development of this research is based on an interdisciplinary collaboration
between technology leaders (CSEM), architects (LAST) and PV building glazing firm (G2E).
References
Clua Longas, A., Lufkin, S., Rey, E., (2016). Towards a new prospective basis for the design strategies of
Active Façades. In: PLEA 2016 Los Angeles - 36th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy
Architecture. Cities, Buildings, People: Towards Regenerative Environments.
Brinkworth, B.J., Sandberg, M. (2005). Design procedure for cooling ducts to minimise efficiency loss due
to temperature rise in PV arrays. Sol. Energy.
Cheung, L., Farnetani, M. (2015). Whole-life carbon: Façades. Building.
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http://www.sustainablebuild.co.uk/insulationmaterials.html (accessed 8.12.16).
Herzog, T., Krippner, R., Lang, W. (2004). Facade Construction Manual. Birkhäuser.
Jelle, B.P., Breivik, C., Røkenes, H.D. (2012). Building integrated photovoltaic products: A state-of-the-art
review and future research opportunities.
Kuittinen, M., Ludvig, A., Weiss, G., Arfvidsson, J., De Angelis, E., Dodoo, A., Dolezal, F., Gustavsson, L.,
Hafner, A., Häkkinen, T., Linkosalmi, L., Mair am Tinkhof, O., Mötzl, H., Mundt-Petersen, S.O., Ott, S., Peñaloza,
D., Pittau, F., Sathre, R., Spitzbart, C., Takano, A., Toratti, T., Valtonen, T., Vares, S., Winter, S., Zanata, G. (2013).
Wood in carbon efficient construction. Tools, methods and applications. Hämeen Kirjapaino Oy.
Kylili, A., Fokaides, P.A. (2014). Investigation of building integrated photovoltaics potential in achieving
the zero-energy building target. Indoor Built Environment.
Lane, T., 2010. Embodied energy: the next big carbon challenge [online Document].
http://www.building.co.uk/embodied-energy-the-next-big-carbon-challenge/5000487.article (accessed
9.16.16).
Lupíšek, A., Vaculíková, M., Mancík, Š., Hodková, J., Ružicka, J. (2015). Design strategies for low embodied
carbon and low embodied energy buildings. Energy Procedia 83.
Maturi, L., Lollini, R. (2014). Experimental investigation of a low-cost passive strategy to improve the
performance of Building Integrated Photovoltaic systems. Sol. Energy.
reTHINK WOOD, (2015). Evaluating the Carbon Footprint of Wood Buildings. Reducing greenhouse gases
with high-performance structures.
Roberts, S., Guariento (2009). Building Integrated Photovoltaics / A Handbook. Birkhäuser.
SFOE, 2014. Energy Strategy 2050.
SUPSI, 2015. Centre Suisse de compétence BIPV [online Document]. www.bipv.ch
Introduction
Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1943 design of the “solar hemicycle” for Herbert Jacobs and family is
commonly thought of as a landmark moment, as a meeting of the conceptual freedom of the
20th century revolution in architectural form and an early interest in energy conservation. It
is much more than this. Conceived as Wright’s second career was beginning to flourish, and
as he was embarking on the design of the Guggenheim Museum, it represents a milestone in
the development of a new concept of architecture in relation to environment. This little
building is one of a series of designs created in the aftermath of Fallingwater that can be seen
as explorations of his concept of an architecture of continuity, an architecture of reintegration
of culture and landscape. The dimensions of this exploration involve impressions of motion,
multiplicity, architectonics, and symbolism, all woven together into what he once called an
“unbroken wave.”
The pivotal design in this sequence is the house designed for the owner of the Johnson
Wax Company known as “Wingspread,” just as the more famous Administration Building was
being constructed. Wright’s images of this house generalize an implied rotational motion seen
in his rendering of Fallingwater, as the body of that building pivots in space above the
waterfall. This occurs again in the aerial renderings for Wingspread, placing the implied
movement in the context of the Wisconsin prairies and the horizon. Here the contrast
of the rectilinear frame of reference used to control so much of Wright’s architecture and
a developing symbolism of circles is used to evoke both the processes of nature and our
motion through them. This emerging dimension is powerfully expressed in the aerial
photograph that replaced the Wingspread rendering in the January 1938 edition of the
Architectural Forum that Wright designed. It is perhaps the first aerial photograph he
published, saying, “This extended wing plan lies, very much at home, integral with the
Figure 1. Images of Fallingwater and Wingspread.
Figure 2. Images of Jester House
Figure 2. Images of Jester House project and site, with first Jacobs House plan graphics.
Figure 3. Images of Nesbitt House project plan and site logic.
Engagement with the forces of nature is foregrounded here. As Wright moved from
using traditional, hierarchically structured, orthogonal frames of reference as a
compositional datum, this design shows him extending the example of Fallingwater,
responding to and shaping perceptions of the surrounding environment as a vehicle to order
Figure 4. Images of Burlingham House project and plan.
Figure 5. Images of Jacobs “hemicycle” House and plan.
Kenneth Hargrove House project, Orinda CA 1950 / J. J. Vallarino House project, Panama
City, Panama, 1953-7
The tightness of unity in this hemicycle strategy was loosened as Wright encountered various
landscapes over the coming years. Designs such as the several each for Kenneth Hargrove
and J. J. Vallarino utilized multiple centers for sites in Orinda, CA and Panama. They share with
the Jester and Burlingham plans a relationship to sites with distant views backed by rising
ground utilized to create a sense of sanctuary. In these designs the steady datum of a
constantly curving rear wall is countered by a polyphony of arcs about many centers
describing activities of all kinds including living rooms, dining areas, terraces, playrooms, and
finally pools held out toward the vista. Moreover, this occurs at different levels as the living
rooms rise toward the view, the dinning areas slide off toward the kitchen and playrooms,
while an upper bedroom wing hovers privately in the middle of it all. Shifting, sliding,
moving definitions of enclosure gathered together into one continuous reach outward
toward the natural world. In these, and many other unbuilt circular themed designs, Wright
Figure 6. Images of Hargrove House project and plan.
Figure 7. Images Kaufman “Boulder House” project and plan.
References
See correspondence N030C05: Alofsin, Frank Lloyd Wright: An Index to Taliesin Correspondence, NY. 1988.
Introduction
“The ugly truth about sustainable design is that much of it is ugly” wrote Lance Hosey (2012)
in the opening pages of his book ‘The Shape of Green: aesthetics, ecology and design.’ Hosey
(2012) continues with this quote from the 2009 American Prospect “Is ‘well-designed green
architecture’ an oxymoron?” Sustainable architecture has the stigma of being all ethics and
no aesthetics, but what does this mean for the progression of the field? Contemporary
architecture has been overwhelmed with the effects of ‘greenwashing’ and this has resulted
in a built environment flooded with conventional buildings smothered in green-technology
add-ons. This not only influences the public’s perceptions of what is considered sustainable
but creates a sustainable aesthetic which does not represent a truly sustainable approach to
design.
Understanding how sustainable architecture has evolved from eco and green
architecture helps to illustrate how the current lack of a sustainable aesthetic language has
emerged. With growing environmental, climate and global concerns it is even more pressing
that our built environment does its part in lessening its negative effects on these issues,
however, sustainable architecture will remain fragmented from mainstream architecture if
the connection between ethics and aesthetics are not reflected within each other. To
elaborated on this, different literature is explored concerning sustainability, architecture and
aesthetics, articulating the current discontent with the field, followed by a historical overview
Figure 1. Illustration of one example of an eco architecture aesthetic.
A mentioned earlier, Drop City (figure 1) was an artist commune developed between
1965 and 1973 in Colorado. It emerged as part of the counterculture movements as a form of
design activism (Sadler, 2010). Drop City was influenced by Buckminster fuller’s principles and
created the first civilian use of the geodesic dome. The societal context of this period greatly
informed the utopian ideas which formed this community. The desire to merge art and life
and live independently resulted in the use of unconventional shapes, colours and forms. The
‘do-it-yourself’ mentality which came with this freedom resulted in a somewhat chaotic
appearance and use of recycled and scavenged materials, particular metal from cars. The
radical aesthetics of these buildings grew out of a social and political sustainability rather than
environmental. While this community eventually failed their alternative and radical approach
can be seen in later examples.
Figure 3. Illustration of two example of a sustainable architecture aesthetic.
These two examples of sustainable architecture in Figure 3 represent two approaches.
Firstly, the more integrated approach of the California Academy for Science in San Francisco
completed in 2008 by Renzo Piano and secondly, the Strata SE1 building in London from 2010
which highlights an aesthetic of technical-add-ons. Strate SE1 is a 43 storey apartment
Discussion
Current theoretical developments have shifted recently, moving from individual building as
experiments to understanding buildings within their wider systems such as in the California
Academy for Science (figure 3) which approaches sustainable architecture in a holistic manner
resulting in a visually interesting building which merges nature and technology. In contrast,
theoretical developments which lean heavily on the notion that technology can solve all,
results in building such as Strata SE1 (figure 3) which is a failed attempt of a good intention
and without working technology it is actually more resource intensive than is required. The
development of each of these example buildings highlights a social constructive perspective
in which words, images and artefacts have no inherent meaning and instead meaning can
only be understood in relation to the context in which it is ‘consumed’ and analysed. Each
building can not be visually understood without understanding the social, cultural and
political environment in which it was constructed. These three aspects have had a large
influence on the visual latent content of each example and it is obvious that there is direct
relationship between the aesthetics and context. A visual transition from the social activism
or defiance of the 1960s to a more recent commonplace understanding has occurred in this
short history. As the impact buildings have on nature is becoming more evident so is the
development of ways in which to solve this. Each decade visually indicates a transition of
mans approach to nature, from it being an endless resource to trying to sustain nature for
future generations. The form and material use has transitioned from the alternative to more
conventional. Domes and polyhedrons transitioned to organic shapes and were then
surpassed by more conservative forms adorned with sustainable technology. Some key
outcomes of the manifest content were the use of technology, materiality and size
development through history. There has been a transition from the reductive perspective of
the 1960s, creating efficient forms and reducing waste to the reduction of energy in the 1980s
in conjunction with the introduction of technology as a solution which is still prevalent today.
References
Abalo, I. (2007). Aesthetics and Sustainability. Sustainable? Canadian Centre for Architecture.
Alter, L. (2009). Why Is So Much Green Architecture So Ugly?. [online] TreeHugger. Available at:
TreeHugger. URL http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/why-is-so-much-green-
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Booth, R. (2010). London's Strata tower wins Carbuncle Cup as Britain's ugliest new building. [online] The
Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/aug/12/strata-tower-britains-
ugliest-building [Accessed 16 Apr. 2017].
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Introduction
Nowadays, technological development of building components for energy efficiency and
energy harvesting has made it possible to imagine a new generation of buildings able to
produce even more energy than they actually consume. According to the Zero Emission
Buildings research centre at NTNU, a building can be defined as a ZEB when the energy
generated by the integrated renewable energy system is able to compensate emissions: due
to the operation of the technical equipment (level 1), due to the operation of technical
equipment and appliances (level 2), embodied in building’s materials (level 3), released for
the construction and demolition of the building (level 4), (Kristjansdottir, T. et al., 2014).
The ZEB Living Lab has been designed in accordance to passive house standards and
then optimized in order to reach the ZEB targets (Finocchiaro et al, 2012). Beside their
generally simple aesthetics, passive houses represent the result of complex and
multidisciplinary design processes. In order to optimize their environmental performance
Figure 1. The ZEB Living Lab at the campus.
The Living Lab relies on the integration of three renewable energy systems for covering
its annual energy demand: a 12KWp photovoltaic system on the roof, a solar thermal system
in the south façade and a geothermal system connected to a heat pump on the north side of
the building. Its construction aimed to demonstrate that ZEB targets could be achieved in the
climatic context of Trondheim. In addition, the building serve today as a laboratory for
investigating users’ interaction with state of the art technologies for carbon neutrality. For
this reason, it has been equipped with a data acquisition system able to record any kind of
information related to environmental performance and energy flow (Goia et al, 2015).
Figure 2. The building concept
The construction of the Living Lab, optimized through different sets of simulations,
resulted in a low-transmittance envelope with a glass ratio of 20% circa (Finocchiaro et al,
2012). Walls, floor and roof are all made of a double layer of rock wool insulation with a total
thickness of 45 cm. All windows in the house respect the passive house standards with an
overall transmittance of 0,8 W/m2K. The double window towards south, designed as a passive
solar heating system, is characterized by a markedly low u-value, varying from 0,65 to 0,69
depending on the ventilation rate within the air cavity (Figure 3). Because of the light
construction of the building, solar gains might be responsible, however, for large temperature
fluctuations and the risk of overheating in the summer period (Finocchiaro et al, 2016). For
this reason, both south and north windows are coupled with an automated control system
able to activate, when required, a natural ventilation flow through the building. Skylights
towards north can independently be opened to let the exhaust air out through stack
ventilation. In the meanwhile, PCM panels integrated in the ceiling construction aim at
stabilizing temperature fluctuations within the comfort zone.
Figure 5. Sketches
Modularity within the LivingLAB was generally perceived as a positive quality, resulting
in inner spaces characterized by "aesthetical calm and comfort" (a young female). Most
people felt the wooden surfaces as pleasant, giving "the feeling of living in the top of a three";
while others attributed to them the perception of dry air. Inner space geometry, with the two
pitched roofs between the boxes, was designed in order to catch daylight from the north,
creating variety of colour and changeability throughout the day. However, skylights were
reduced to the minimum because of the elevated heat losses due to exposing glass surfaces
towards north and the interior turned into a homogeneous surface characterized by a “white-
wooded monotony". Some interviewees describe the inner spaces as sterile while many
expressed the desire to use the high wall-area as the opportunity to make the house more
homely with variable surfaces: large paintings, textiles or larger skylights providing an
extensive view to the sky.
Transparency
According to the concept, transversal partitions between the boxes should be adjustable in
relation to different users and contexts. The construction of external partition in the Living
Lab towards east and west was optimized in order to limit heat losses while still let a sufficient
amount of daylight indoor (Finocchiaro et al, 2012). Interviewees perceived indoor spaces as
with plenty of daylight and with a good visual connection to the outdoor. "When we come
home after being away the whole day, I think it is the flood of daylight that provides the home-
feeling. Because we have daylight - lots of daylight from all directions" (a female senior).
The LivingLAB has been placed in the University campus, to ensure visibility and
accessibility in connection to public events and research projects. Because of this, openness
was soon turned into a privacy issue. Some experienced the connection with the outdoor "a
Figure 6. Interior view
References
Kristjansdottir, T. et al. (2014). A Norwegian ZEB-definition embodied emission. ZEB Project report 17.
Oslo: SINTEF Academic Press.
Finocchiaro L., Dokka T.H., Gustavsen A. (2012). +hytte. A Versatile Construction System for Zero Emission
Buildings. ZEMCH Conference. Glasgow, 20-22 August 2012.
Finocchiaro L., Haase M., Wyckmans A. (2011). +hytte. Sustainable design among didactics, research and
social awareness. SB11 Conference. Helsinki, 18-21 Ocober 2011.
Goia, F., Finocchiaro L., Gustavsen A. (2015). The ZEB Living Laboratory at the Norwegian University of
Science and Technology: a zero emission house for engineering and social science experiments. 7. Passivhus
Norden conference. Copenhagen, 20-21 August 2015.
Haase, M., Finocchiaro, L. (2011), Building form, climate and energy supply system in a passive house
building, 4th Nordic Passive house conference 2011. Helsinki, 18-21 October 2011.
Finocchiaro, L., Georges, L., Hestnes, A. G. (2016). Passive solar space heating. Chapter in Advances in
Solar Heating and Cooling. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, Elsevier.
Woods, R., Støylen Korsnes, M., Berker, T. (2016). Making a home in Living Lab: the limitations and
potentials associated with living in a research laboratory. DEMAND: Dymanics of Mobility, Energy and Demand
Conference. Lancaster, 13-15 April 2016.
Støylen Korsnes, M., Berker, T. Woods, R. (2016). Compliance and Deviation: How occupants interact with
a high performance zero emission building. DEMAND: Dymanics of Mobility, Energy and Demand Conference.
Lancaster, 13-15 April 2016.
Finocchiaro, L. (2011). +hytte. A Versatile Construction System for Climate Adaptability. Architecture in
the fourth dimension. Open Building conference. Boston, 15-17 November 2011.
Wågø, S. & Berker, T. (2014). Architecture as a strategy for reduced energy consumption? An in-depth
analysis of residential practices` influence on the energy performance of passive houses. Smart and Sustainable
Built Environment 3, pp. 192-206.
Introduction
There are various causes for our concern regarding the open possibilities that construction
techniques and sustainability problems present to architecture from a material point of view.
They are diverse, but converge in one point: technology as a problem for architecture.
From a material point of view, buildings' energy self-sufficiency and sustainable
construction imply the application of thermodynamic principles as well as the equation
resources / energy cost. Different materials thermo-physical properties are brought into play
in order to choose and select the elements that are part of it.
Nevertheless, sustainability entails new ways of material and construction systems
organisation as well as new building behaviour in relation to the environment. As Ábalos
asserts, it represents a technical change regarding a material culture based on mechanical
principles towards thermo-dynamic principles (Ábalos,2015).
This shifting from the traditional tectonic system towards a thermo-dynamic system
based on energy, that Javier García, offers alternatives to propose a model to the emerging
ecological conscience (García Germán, 2010).
REFERENCES:
MAIN DRIVEWAYS
PLOT WHERE THE
BUILDING IS GOING
TO BE CONSTRUCTE
MAIN DRIVEWAYS
SECONDARY
DRIVEWAYS
PARK BENEGAS
BIKEWAY
Figure 1. Campus position within the urban local area. Main activities that are not part of the residential area
are marked
Precicpitaciones [mm]
Temperatura [°C]
25 14,0
50,0
Humedad [%]
20 40,0
12,0
10,0
15
10 30,0 8,0
5 20,0
6,0
0 4,0
-5 10,0 2,0
-10
ENE FEB MAR ABR MAY JUN JUL AGO SET OCT NOV DIC
0,0
ENE FEB MAR ABR MAY JUN JUL AGO SET OCT NOV DIC
0,0
Figure 2: (Left) Absolute Maximum Temperature (TMAA), Maximum Average
Temperature (TMAM), Average Temperature (TM), Medium Average Temperature
(TMIM), Minimum Absolute Temperature (TMIA)
(Right) Relative Humidity (HREL), Rainfall (PREC)
Benegas - Velocidad de viento por dirección
[km/hr]
15
10
5 Enero
0 Julio
Vel.Max: 125 km/hr
Figure 3. (Left) Wind direction frequency during January (Representative of the summer) and July
(Representative of the winter) (Right) Wind speed by direction.
Building's position in the plot
The 110 m long central building, goes from East to West, and the multi-purpose room is in
the corner. The campus has a 3000 m² garden that integrates the paths and surrounds the
space, turning the plot into the area's microclimatic lungs (Figure 4)
Figure 4. Buildings position, Access driveways and paths
Figure 5. Premoulded and Poststressed Elements Structure System
Longitudinally, the earthquake resistant structure is materialized with crosslinked
partition walls, which at the same time, are linked with the second level premoulded
partitions. These crosslinked partitions and the resulting windows on the front walls, are
necessary to achieve structural rigidity. (Picture 6)
Picture 6. Construction and assembly of the structure and panels
Resources Economy
The building is strategically sustainable, having being designed using common sense. It faces
the North so as to obtain the most solar exposition possible. The screened porch alongside
the building, creates a greenhouse effect in winter, conditioning the area. The load bearing
structure is at the same time the envelope and enclosure structure, as well as shading for the
facade. The materials used for the flooring and envelope structure accumulate energy in their
thermal mass. The system is completed with energy conservation depending on the thickness
and the concrete's thermal transmittance. In summer, the covered area is opened, allowing
the rooms to have shading and generating draughts.
The following figure shows the Ground floor and the two tall plants of the building
(Figure 7)
Bioclimatic Criteria
According to the programme's demands and the local climate's characteristics, the proposal
has five main sustainability approaches with the purpose of achieving energetic efficiency.
They are as listed below.
1.Direct Energy Saving: The North facade and the porch create a greenhouse effect and
accumulate energy in the floor's thermal mass. The screened porch’s glass panels’ surface
area is of 43% and allows an energy saving of about 39% compared to the same building
conceived without these considerations (Figure 8).
2.Solar Exposure and Natural Ventilation Control: In summer, the facades work as a
passive cooler, allowing nocturnal cross-ventilation.
Figure 8. Direct saving system facade – Cross ventilation and facade shading
3.Energy Accumulation: The North facade allows solar exposure, making it possible for
heat to accumulate in the materials during autumn and winter. In summer and spring it gets
shade during the day allowing nocturnal cross ventilation to cool down the building's thermal
mass (Picture 9)
Picture 9. North Facade – Direct saving system. Interior sketch and existing porch photo
Solar Saving Fraction – Passive Systems
Exposed Surface Area
Direct Saving – Screened Porch Greenhouse
Effect
392 m² 42.80%
The ground and first floors, have a HLFF of 0.47, while the third floor's HLFF is 1.4. This
difference is caused by the roof exposure. Using thermal insulation on the terrace has been
considered to reach levels which are even higher than the standards required by the national
regulator entity IRAM and with an international point of view (LEED) (Table 1).
6. Energy production by photovoltaic technology: Bearing in mind the actual energetic
demand (164Kw), and trying to minimise the network's energy consumption; the plan is to
install and distribute photovoltaic panels by polycrystalline or monocrystalline silicon
modules, all connected among themselves. The park's rated power will be 50 kW.
There will be 200 polycrystalline solar panels of 250w with 1,65m2 surface area each.
They will cover a surface area of 165m2 on the building's roof, having an optimum slope of
30° to 45°. The technical aspects to be considered are the following:
Maximum Power=250w; Short-circuit current=8.93 A and Maximum Voltage=29.81 V
Conclusion
The programme description, urban lanscape settings, the building's position in the plot and
the resources economy, allow to see the determining criteria for the project's sustainability.
The material-construction stage aspects, the chosen technology, the method used and
materialisation, stand out as being compatible with the environmentally friendly purposes.
This material and formal elements combination's behaviour, have an optimum result
regarding its energetic efficiency.
From this analysis we arrive to the conclusion that the juxtaposition between the
chosen material systems and the relevance of its construction techniques, create certain
tension regarding current sustainability correction criteria.
RED on RED
A Framework for the Interaction of Color in the Build Environment
Esther Hagenlocher1 and Landry Smith2
1
Department of Architecture, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA, ehg@uoregon.edu
2
Landry Smith Architect, 2336 SW Osage St, Portland, OR 97205, USA, els@landrysmith.com
Abstract: This project is based on a proposal for a temporary experimental installation for the International
Garden Festival at Les Jardins de Métis in Grand-Metis, Quebec, Canada. Building upon Josef Albers’s seminal
primer on color theory, Interaction of Color (Yale, 1963), the garden project was designed to establish a new
framework for experiencing and testing color perception and sensation in a larger field. Interaction of Color is
valuable architecturally, aesthetically, and in terms of performance. The effect of color can be increased without
changing people’s perceptions of the color in a space by understanding the interaction of color with the larger
built environment in nature or within larger fields. The proposed research project focuses on the connection
between design principles and color interaction in order to develop our understanding of how to optimize spatial
efficiency, performance, and visual comfort. This research also explores the potential.
Keywords: Colorreflectivity, Color Experimental Spaces; Color Perception and Performance
The artificial tectonic expression serves to abstract the modest methods of construction
and articulates a complex set of color effects through minimal means. The perceptional
dimensions of color were selected on the basis of contrast and an interest in interaction,
participation, and exchange. A range of reds was selected for high contrast with the greens
of the surrounding forest and garden plantings, underscoring the contrast between natural
forms and the graphic tectonic. The perimeter fence is a pure red. The other fences are
painted varying red hues, some of which are tinted (white added), others toned (black added).
Since colors of equal brightness but differing hues tend to assume the same spatial plane, the
three-dimensional organization of the garden is at times challenged, and an element of spatial
ambiguity is introduced. The specifications of the reds used were based on my previously
conducted experiments on color reflectivity. These experiments suggest that although our
aesthetic valuing of deep colors often conflicts with the high reflectivity that is more effective
for daylighting, the average reflectivity of an interior space can be increased without changing
people’s perceptions of the color in the space. The experiments were conducted using color
models of rooms to compare subjects’ perceptions of colors and reflectivity to actual
measured reflectivity.
Figure 4: Red On Red” Garden Plan
Guiding Research Questions and Experiments:
– Can we achieve the perception of intense colors while also providing little color?
The Experiments
The initial proposal for the “Red on Red” Garden was an experiment designed to observe how
color interacts in an outside landscape. Special attention was given to background, horizontal
and vertical vantage points, and changing light conditions. Further experiments are based on
the planometric geometry of the initial garden proposal—a 10 x 20 meter area surrounded
by an open perimeter fence and subdivided by a series of open fences into eight equal bands,
each measuring 2.5 x 10 meters. In the experiments, several variables were introduced: color,
reflectivity, ordering, height, density of the slats, time of day, time of year, and the relative
position of the various viewers.
A set of 8 colors may be assigned to the garden: 1 color for the perimeter condition and
7 colors for the seven interior fences, whereby each plane of the project has a specific color
assignment. The colors may be matte or glossy (varying degrees of reflectivity). The
assignment of colors and their sequential order could be reorganized. While the regulating
plan geometry was fixed, the position and site of the openings that allow people to pass
through the garden could be changed. All fences, however, would remain equally spaced at
2.5 m and be parallel with each other and perpendicular to the viewer and direction of
Conclusion
Although these are preliminary experiments and results, the implications were of sufficient
interest to continue the work to explain and demonstrate how color can alter our perception
of space. Multiple personal tests are being conducted, and we will increase the number of
human subjects. These results will be evaluated to establish rules and guidelines for the
interaction or color and for color perception in larger fields.
These guidelines will inform design applications for the use of color in architectural
spaces and other environments and will be pursued further in a larger experiment. These
initial experiments showed that color is much more than a paint or a coating; it is rather a
dynamic and highly subjective element. Contrary to its often ascribed secondary role in
architecture, color has powerful dimensional potential on par with form itself. These
experiments underscore the ongoing significance of Albers’s body of work and the continuing
relevance of his color experiments.
Architects and designers underestimate colors and their dimension in the built
environment and cannot understand the special quality and characteristics of color and color
combinations by looking at colors in isolation or without a larger context and field of color
interaction. The implications from the results of these experiments are that designers should
not rely on their intuition but need tools to apply color and its interaction in all kinds of spaces:
interior architecture, architecture, landscape architecture and urban planning. We see this as
it is presented as both an ongoing research competition entry and a broader more general
research project on the theme of color and form in architecture.
References
Albers, Josef (1963) Interaction of Color. New Haven: Yale.
Batchelor, David. (2000). Chromophobia. London: Reaktion.
Behnisch, Guenter. (1993). Ueber das Farbliche/On Color. Stuttgart: Hatj.
Brown, G.Z., De Kay, Mark. (1985). Sun, Wind & Light. New York: Wiley.
Fairchild, Mark D. (2005) Color Appearance Models. New York: Wiley.
Hopkinson, R.(1963). Architectural Physics; Lighting. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery.
Hopkinson, R. (1966). Peterbridge, P, Longmore, J. Daylighting. London: Heinemann.
Fairchild, Mark D. (2005). Color Appearance Models. New York: Wiley.
Swirnoff, Lois. (1988). Dimensional Color Boston; Basel: Birkhaeuser.
Abstract: The design of a modern building, not least a building that seeks to achieve the greatest efficiency in
its environmental design, is substantially a matter of quantification and computation. Design objectives for
environmental performance are stated numerically and are assessed using tools such as computer models. But
the analytical tools of building science do not directly inform the initial design idea for a building. This
frequently derives from reference to precedent. This paper presents an analysis of two recently completed
designs for schools of art, at Manchester by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and at Glasgow by Steven Holl and,
in which the architects adopt distinctive approaches to environmental precedent. As background the paper
th
illustrates the significant 19 century art school designs in each city, by G.T. Redmayne and Charles Rennie
Mackintosh respectively.
Introduction
In a previous paper (Hawkes, 1996a) it was argued that precedent, reference to previous
examples of a building type, plays a fundamental role in the development of designs in
architecture. Using the example of auditorium buildings it was shown that, even following
the development of the modern science of architectural acoustics, precedent continued to
be the principal influence on the initiation of a design idea. This paper further examines this
proposition in the relation to the design of sustainable environments in modern buildings by
considering the design of two recent buildings for schools of art at Manchester and Glasgow.
In each case reference is made to the influence of major 19th century buildings on their
respective modern counterparts.
The original building for the School of Art at Manchester, designed by G.T. Redmayne,
was completed in 1881. In 1893 a deputation appointed to write the brief for the new
School of Art at Glasgow visited the building. That building, designed by Charles Rennie
Mackintosh, was completed in 1910 and is acknowledged to be the masterpiece of its
architect. Environmental factors were central to the design of both buildings (Lawrence,
2014a).
Common to each was the priority given to the design of painting studios, where the
emphasis was on the quantity and quality of natural light. But, of equal importance, was the
attention paid to the design of the thermal environment in which advanced mechanical
systems were adopted and integrated into the physical fabric of the buildings. In the first
years of the 21st century these two institutions have built major new additions to their
Figure 1. Four Art Schools. Left to right: Manchester (1881, 2014); Glasgow (1910, 2014).
Figure 2. Manchester School of Art. Left to right: Ground Floor Plan, First Floor Plan, Cross Section looking east.
The plan is broadly symmetrical with a centrally located entrance. A corridor runs the
length of the building connecting two large studios in east and west wings, with staircases
rising up to the main studio floor and down to the workshops lit from lights to the pavement.
The main Gallery of Casts on first floor (the principal drawing studio) is lit by a large skylight
disguised behind the parapet in the north pitch of the roof. This feature is a development of
official guidance, which stated windows should be at ‘a height above the floor equal to ¾
the depth of the room, or if the pitch of the roof be steeper than 60°, a skylight should be
made in conjunction of the window, so as to gain the same effect in lighting’ (Department of
Science and Art, 1888).
The quality of the interior environment is controlled by a displacement ventilation
system, with inlet grates set in the floor, and outlets through the spine wall to a plenum
running the length of the building to a large chimney located to one side of the entrance at
the rear of the building.
Figure 3. Glasgow School of Art. Left: First Floor Plan; Right: Cross section looking east.
The layout of the environmental systems, an evolution of those installed in
Manchester, mirrors the organisation of the plan of the school, with a fan room located
directly underneath the main entrance drawing air over heating coils into the main plenum
which runs underneath the length of the basement corridor. Ducts rise up vertically from
this plenum feeding the studio spaces and corridors to either side of the spine wall, which
serves as the thermal ‘hearth’ of the building in section, dividing north-facing studios from
the library, museum, workshops and other circulation spaces to the south. Contemporary
testing of the school reveals the fine-tuning that was conducted to ensure that this
sophisticated system was adequately warming the spaces located furthest away from the
fan room. The heating engineers reported that the system exceeded expectations, with
internal temperatures in the studios around 60-61°F [16°C], given external temperatures
between 41-48°F [5-9°C]. (Lawrence, 2014b).
Figure 4. Manchester School of Art. Left: Ground Floor Plan; Right: Cross Section looking east.
Writing about the early work of FCBS, Hawkes (Hawkes, 2007b) identified three
consistent principles that informed their environmentalism: orientation, cross-section and
envelope. These factors, whilst still identifiable, are here less influential, both formally and
environmentally. Orientation is acknowledged in the southerly stepping of the atrium of the
‘factory’ and it is here that the concern with the cross-section is most clearly registered. It is
with the envelope that the design most apparently departs from earlier practice. Here we
have a curtain wall, identical on east, west and south façades, with alternating panels of
glass and aluminium. The north, entrance façade is a six-storey skin of mirrored glass,
differentiated by annodised aluminium fins at high level.
Figure 5. Manchester School of Art. Photographs showing transitional spaces. All 1/30 sec at f/3.5, ISO 200.
A single storey porch entered centrally through automated double doors articulates
the entrance to the building. This provides an air-lock before the entrance to the circulation
hall itself. This light-filled space is photogenic and has become the social centre of the
building, justifying its designation as the ‘living room’ (figure 5, top left). Beyond the ‘factory’
is more utilitarian and presents a gradual transition into dimmer spaces that are more and
more closed off from the outside world, with daylight replaced by the uniformity of energy
efficient lighting calibrated to provide precise lumen levels upon detection of occupancy.
This artificial light is provided by cylindrical metal lamp fittings set in the concrete slab and
Figure 6. Glasgow School of Art. Mackintosh and Holl Buildings. Left: Ground Floor Plans; Right: Cross Sections
looking west.
The structure of the building consists of in-situ concrete load-bearing cross-walls that
support the floor slabs. The external envelope is also of in-situ concrete, but clad in a taught
Figure 7. Glasgow School of Art. Photographs showing circulation space. All 1/30 sec at f/3.5, ISO 200.
The environmental strategy of the building is summarised in Fig. 8. This illustrates the
adoption of a series of principles that contribute to both the environmental quality of the
interior and to economy in its operation. These include the use of exposed thermal mass in
the ceilings, high performance glazing and building lighting controls. The ‘driven voids’ are
used to facilitate stack ventilation throughout the building. A new biomass boiler jointly
serves this and the Mackintosh building. Other features are storm water harvesting and
accessible areas of green landscape.
Figure 8. Glasgow Sustainable Design.
A survey of 72 students conducted by one of the authors in the new building indicated
that students found the building to be on average slightly warm (+0.76 on the ASHRAE
Thermal Sensation Scale), but when questioned about their thermal preference they desired
little or no change to the temperature (+0.25). This shows that mechanical servicing does
Figure 9. Lighting conditions in new studio spaces in Manchester and Glasgow. Both 1/30 sec at f/3.5, ISO 200.
Discussion
In the 19th century the ‘purpose-built’ art school was a new building type. But, as we have
shown, the designs at Manchester and Glasgow rested upon well-established conventions of
architectural composition, of symmetry and style that informed the new urban building
types of the time. Environmentally, whilst both buildings incorporated ‘advanced’ systems
of warming and ventilation, their form and detail followed from the historic need to design
with natural light. In other words, the design of these ‘new’ buildings was informed by
precedent. We have also shown how the Manchester building became, within ten years of
its completion, a direct reference – a precedent – for the Glasgow building. A century later
much has changed. Architecture has experienced the paradigm shift of the Modern
Movement and, within this and, perhaps, as a consequence, the basis of environmental
design has been transformed in its priorities, method and technology. In addition to
providing good physical environments in buildings we now have the obligation to minimise
the impact of buildings on the local and global climate. Environmental requirements are
now defined quantitatively and design proposals are assessed using sophisticated computer
models. Building materials and environmental technologies have changed out of recognition.
The two new art school buildings studied here are quite different in conception. At
Manchester the building by FCBS is, in form, material and technology, demonstrably of its
time. It may be placed in the lineage of the practice’s earlier work, with its environmental
emphasis and acknowledgement of the influence of the ‘Functional Tradition’ and its legacy
in the Modern Movement. Its relationship to its 19th century predecessor is, perhaps, quite
remote. Steven Holl’s Glasgow building is also of its time, as is declared by its initially
startling appearance, behind which we find advanced constructional methods and services
systems. But the influence of Mackintosh’s building across the street is powerfully present,
not least in environmental matters. This is shown in the cross sections, where both buildings
adopt the same principles of orientation in determining the disposition of spaces and in
providing daylight throughout the building. Our comparative studies show that both new
buildings achieve a high standard of energy efficiency. In their environmental intentions,
however, they are quite different. The Manchester building, with its clear differentiation of
zones, adopts a utilitarian perspective. The social territory, the ‘living room’, is flooded with
Conclusion
Where then does precedent now stand in environmental design practice in architecture?
The argument for reference to precedent is that pre-existing designs provide a degree of
security in the production of new buildings. They embody principles from which
development and innovation may proceed. We suggest that the Reid Building at Glasgow
School of Art reveals a deep influence from Mackintosh’s original building. This is not a
superficial procedure, but derives from analysis and reinterpretation of the lessons of the
earlier building. This is precedent at work. In apparent contrast the Benzie Building at
Manchester exhibits no direct reference to such antecedents. Nonetheless it is not free of
influence. The ‘Modernist’ frame construction is a convention in contemporary design.
More important is the accumulated experience and expertise of FCBS in its 40 years of
environmental design practice. This constitutes a body of knowledge that itself acquires the
status of precedent.
References
Clegg, P. (2007). The Environmental Agenda, in Feilden Clegg Bradley: the environmental handbook,
London, Right Angle Publishing, pp. 18-21.
Department of Science and Art (1888). Directory, with Regulations for Establishing and Conducting
Schools of Art. Document. V+A Archives, London.
Hawkes, D. (1996a). Precedent and Theory in the Design of Auditoria, in The Environmental Tradition,
London, E & FN Spon, pp. 56-65.
Hawkes, D. (2007). Designing with Climate: the principles of sustainable architecture, in Feilden Clegg
Bradley: the environmental handbook, op cit, pp. 14-17.
Lawrence, R. (2014a). The Evolution of the Victorian Art School. Journal of Architecture, 19, pp. 81–107.
Lawrence, R. (2014b). The Internal Environment of the Glasgow School of Art by Charles Rennie
Mackintosh. Journal of Construction History, 29, pp. 99–128.
Manchester School of Art (1874). Annual Report. Document. Manchester School of Art Collection,
Manchester Metropolitan University.
Pendergast, M. (2015). Post Occupancy Evaluation Report: Art and Design Building, Manchester
Metropolitan University. 8 January 2015. Manchester: Turner & Townsend.
Richards, J.M. (1958). The Functional Tradition in Early Industrial Buildings, London, The Architectural
Press.
Stewart, B. (2017). Environmental Strategy of the Reid building. Email to author, 24 March 2017.
Abstract: The participation of Pernambuco State in the development of the Brazilian Modern Architecture
begins from the first stages of the Modernism in the country. In the city of Recife, the debate related to the new
architecture falls on a basic theme; the tropical climate. The identity of the architecture should not have only
national features but most of all, a reginal one. The climate was the principal excuse to support the creation of
a new architecture that not only was able to respond to the necessities of a new era, a new time, but also bring
climate comfort, which is essential to the life on the tropics. After a heroic beginning, Modern Architecture came
to a period where few buildings where constructed, but from the 1950s this all changed. In the following decades
there was a clear option for the Modern language for the architecture of Pernambuco State in the hot and humid
north of Brazil. The dominating characteristics of Modern Architecture in that state was the experimentation in
the creation of formal elements for climate adaptation. Although with distinct formal manifestations, the
proximity of the projects methods and the ideology of the architects at work in Pernambuco at the time, indicate
similar references. But, to which point these created elements really worked? Were the architects interested in
the creation of a tropical modernism? To answer those questions I collected data on 140 buildings constructed
between 1950 to the end of 1970s in the city of Recife. I analyzed their formal, thermal and lighting aspects to
see if those building conform to the clear views expressed in the Modern tropical speech of the architects of the
time.
Introduction
The Modern Movement arrived in Brazil at a very significant moment in the country’s history,
when the discussion around a national identity in architecture was topical. It is quite ironic
that at the time the formal modern prototype was received not as a tradition breaking tool,
but in fact, as a tabula rasa where the fusion of the colonial past with visions of a progressive
future could happen (Costa, 1962). Therefore, modern architecture offered a new and
acceptably genuine Brazilian tradition divorced from negative imperial symbolism and with
a clear vision of having a modern country. The work of Brazilian pioneers such as Lucio Costa
and Oscar Niemeyer and the tacit adoption of modern architecture by the Brazilian
government finally guaranteed the triumph of modernism as the symbol of a national
architecture (Segawa, 1997).
However, the discussions concerning the new architecture in Brazil were more nuanced
than one might imagine, and indeed had many different aspects. It was clear that Brazilian
architecture at the time did not partake of a single unifying national attribute that was not
copied from Europe; being a country of continental dimension there were quite a few
identifiable regional features (Berquo, 1998). The modern discussion tended to emphasize
the creation of an architecture adapted to the country’s climate conditions and, therefore, a
real identity-related solution for Brazilian architecture (Bruand, 1981). The problem then
Cajueiro Seco became one of the icon examples in Brazil of a cheap alternative to
extremely poor conditions that was abandoned by the Government for political reasons. The
project, and the architect himself, were considered too left wing for the military dictatorship
of the time. The community was abandoned to its original extremely poverty level and some
of the land it occupied were sold to private initiative to build hotels.
Conclusion
The aesthetic diversity of the modern architecture produced in Pernambuco might lead to the
conclusion that there existed many different currents with different attitudes and distinct
design justification. However, when research into the generating process of this diversity of
forms reveals their unity. This unity is related to the idea of a School of Architecture that
shared common characteristics and references and that shepherded a specific type of process
of architectural design.
There is no doubt that the union of these characteristics and references in the works of
the architects in Pernambuco was the result of a direct influence from their academic
upbringing in the Faculty of Architecture of Recife.
The incentive given to aesthetic experiments and the creation of climatic adaptation
elements, contributed to a rich stock of solutions. The techniques, building methods and
elements created and used by the architects, contributed to the quality and originality of their
work. They also had a profound influence on the whole built environment production of the
northeast region of Brazil. To this day, anonymous architects and laymen builders make use
of these elements of climate adaptation, even though many may do so simply to give some
sort of plastic expression to their buildings.
The modern architecture built from the 1950s to the late 1970s produced some
remarkable examples of how a modern society can adequately coexist with the heat and
humidity of a tropical climate, by reconciling traditional references with modern ones.
Although the need to create a Brazilian tropical architecture had been the theme of great
debate since the beginning of the twentieth century, it was only with the adoption of modern
design that the architects were able to realize their goal. The various aesthetic approaches
used by the architects of Pernambuco still permit the recognition of the basic principles that
gave unity and quality to the architecture produced in the state’s capital. These principles
qualify this architecture as the fruit of a school of tropical architecture emanating from the
design of the School of Recife.
References
Abreu e Lima, Daniele & Silva, Geraldo G. (1997). Armando de Holanda: um arquiteto do nordeste. In: AU
n. 69. pp. 67-72.
Abreu e Lima, Daniele. (2000). Aquitetura Moderna nos Tropicos: Exemplos em Pernambuco. Master
Thesis, Faculty of Architecture, University of São Paulo.
Amorim, Luiz M. E. (1988). Responsabilidade social marca obra de Delfim Amorim. In Projeto n.115, pp
45-47
______________ (1989). Delfim Amorim. Construtor de uma linguagem sintase. In: AU n.24, pp. 63-67.
______________ (2001). Uma escola regional? In: AU n.94. pp. 60-69
______________ (2002). Modernismo recifence: uma escola de arquitetura, tres paradigmas e alguns
paradoxox. In www.vitruvius.com.br.
Baltar, Antonio B. (1951). Sobre a Cirurgia Urbana. In: Boletim da Cidade e do Porto do Recife, dez/1950
jan/1951.
Introduction
It is since the Bruntland Report (1987), when the concept of sustainable development was
formally defined that the practice of architecture has started evolving and searching for new
means, methods, and aesthetic approaches. Aesthetic is defined here as a set of principles
governing the idea of sustainability, which finds its expression in visible features of
architectural form. It was not many years later that Guy and Farmer (2001) had already
identified at least six approaches to sustainability in architecture, namely eco-technic, eco-
centric, eco-aesthetic, eco-cultural, eco-medical, and eco-social, gauging the complexity of
interpretation of the concept of sustainability in architecture. These approaches
encompassed different technological solutions, sources of environmental knowledge, and
images of space, which contributed to define the overall aesthetic approaches that each of
those represented. Yet, ten years later Lee (2011), by editing the book: ‘Aesthetic of
Sustainable Architecture’, collated the contribution of at least twenty five academics and
architects, in which various approaches to the aesthetic of sustainability were defined and
SUSTAINABILITY TYPE
ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL
ECONOMIC
Figure 1. The figure shows and example of the distribution of sustainability type design decisions for one of the
case study analysed
Figure 4. The images show an example of mapping of social sustainable type of project: The Gando
Primary School by Francis Keré, In Burkina Faso, Africa (Photo: http://www.kere-
architecture.com/projects/primary-school-gando/)
The case studies that were more environmentally oriented were largely characterized
by ownership type, government incentives, capital availability, technological robustness and
availability. The attention toward the environmental issue was in those cases actualized by
relying, where possible, on the use of both technologies and/or natural solutions, particularly
concerning with lighting and ventilation. This latter was though the aspect that was most
Figure 5. The images show an example of mapping of an environmental sustainable type of project: The
Academy of Science by Renzo Piano in San Francisco, California, USA (Photo:
http://www.archdaily.com/6810/california-academy-of-sciences-renzo-piano)
The case studies that were more oriented toward an economic sustainability type did
not necessarily found a geographic match in their location, but rather were strictly related to
the capital availability of economic condition of the end-user and/or the client. The economic
sustainability in these cases was found in the re-use of materials, use of rough finishes, use of
rational geometrical shapes and layouts, use of standard construction systems, ease of
construction, participation of the industrial community in supplying products and materials,
type of financing (i.e. crowd funding, donations, volunteering, et cetera), and procurement
type. The aesthetic of these projects was generally the expression of a set of functional needs,
which was the main visible feature of the projects.
Figure 6. The images show an example of mapping of an economic sustainable type of project: The Newbern
Library in Newbern, Alabama, USA by Rural Studio (Photo: http://newbernlibrary.ruralstudioblogs.org/)
Figure 7. The images show the building ‘The Edge’ in Amsterdam and an example of the app developed by
Philips for the interface between users and building management (Photo:
http://www.usa.lighting.philips.com/cases/cases/office/edge)
Conclusions
In a context of fast changes in the environmental conditions, in the economic structure, and
in the social dynamics, a fast response by architects and designers is crucial to address issues;
propose innovative design and technological solutions; and envision potential sustainable
scenarios in a structured manner (Grosso, et al, 2015). To do so, cultivating and mastering the
aesthetic component of the design decisions is an essential practice to ensure the effective
communication of value and meanings of sustainability. The importance of doing so relies in
the ability of the architectural and design field to take actively part into the societal discourse
on sustainable development and to propose solutions that can positively encompass the
complexity of sustainability development. It is critical therefore that conceiving aesthetic as
a tool for effective communication of sustainability principles becomes a structured practice,
which encompass a wide range of aspects from the architectural form to the artefacts delivery
process and life cycle, as a reflection of the changes that our societies are currently facing.
References
Guy, S., Farmer, G. (2001). Reinterpreting Sustainable Architecture: The Place of Technology. The Journal
of Architectural Education, 54(3), pp. 140-148)
Hensel, M., Nilsson, F., (2016). The Changing Shape of practice. London and New York: Routledge, Taylor
and Francis Group
Hosey, L., (2012). The shape of Green, Aesthetic, Ecology and Design. Washington| Covelo| London:
Island Press
Lee, S. (2011). Aesthetic of Sustainable Architecture. Rotterdam: 010 Publisher
Turin, D. (1980). What do we mean by Buildings?. Habitat International, 5, pp.271 -286
Grosso, M., Chiesa, G., Nigra, M. (2015). Architectural and Environmental Compositional Aspects for
Technological Innovation in the Built Environment. In: Heritage and Technology. Mind Knowledge Experience, La
Scuola di Pitagora XIII International Forum Le vie dei Mercanti, Capri 11-13 Giugno 2015
Introduction
In our environment-conscious era, energy efficiency emerged as one of the most important
requirements toward buildings. However, it often confronts other human needs, like indoor
comfort, health or aesthetic needs. In vernacular architecture, indoor comfort and health
were maintained through the appropriate orientation, form, proportion, spatial layout or
building materials. Beyond merely satisfying aesthetic needs, architectural form has served
indoor comfort and health. But with the development of technology, traditional methods
were replaced by efficient building equipment, making architectural form free from the
environmental circumstances. The freedom of expression encouraged architects’ freakish
intellectualism, and leaded to the degradation of the aesthetic quality of the built
environment. On the other hand, active methods were soon proved to be immensely energy-
consuming, necessitating new sustainable design strategies. As such strategies would in turn
require the reconsideration of passive methods, they are commonly expected to result in a
new aesthetics through re-relating architectural form to indoor comfort and health issues.
Sustainability is already the most important keyword in almost every aspect of Life. In
architecture, based on the recognition that the main principles of sustainability are rooted in
the environmental conditions of the building site, including its climate, there is a renewed
interest for climate responsive design. In regions with dry-cold winter and hot-humid summer,
however, seasonal difference requires different considerations for energy efficiency, health
and indoor comfort of the same building depending on season. Passive methods encourage
Figure 1. Pit House. Figure 2. Raised-floor House. Figure 3. Dynamic House by
Source:https://traveldreamsc Source:http://factsanddetails.com/j D*Haus. Source:
apes.wordpress.com/2013/09 apan/cat16/sub105/entry- https://www.dezeen.com/2012
/09/japan-chikuma-city-mori- 5293.html/ /11/06/shape-shifting-house-
shogunzuka-kofun/ by-the-dhaus-company/
Double Skin
“A double skin façade can be defined as a traditional single façade doubled inside or outside
by a second, essentially glazed façade. Each of these two façades is commonly called a skin.
A ventilated cavity - having a width which can range from several centimetres to several
metres - is located between these two skins” (Loncour, 2005). By mechanically controlling
the movement of air in the cavity, the building can adjust to different climatic conditions.
One Angel Square by 3Reid and Waagner Biro is a classic example of it. In, summer fresh air
enters the cavity between the two skins from below. As it is warmed up by the Sun through
Figure 4. Sliding House by dRMM. Figure 5. One Angel Square by 3Reid and Waagner
Source: Biro.
https://www.dezeen.com/2009/01/19/sliding- Source: http://www.archdaily.com/337430/1-angel-
house-by-drmm-2/ square-3d-reid
Figure 6. Casas Em Movimento Figure 7. Al Bahar Towers. Figure 8. Homeostatic Façade
Solar Homes. Source: Source: System. Source:
http://www.portilame.com/en/1- https://jp.pinterest.com/pin http://internationalfacade.com/
synergies/5-casas-em- /85920305369409129/ news/general/homeostatic-
movimento/ building-facade/
Smart Materials
In general, smart material can react to the changes of their environment on their own,
through a change in their volume, colour or viscosity, etc. Smart building materials are various,
but it is beyond the scope of paper to discuss all in detail. Here an unbuilt prototype, which
can react for seasonal change of the temperature and light conditions is taken. Homeostatic
Façade System by Decker Yeadon architects is a muscular structural façade, which can reduce
solar gain by changing the configuration of the structure of its material. The façade consists
of a mess of silver-colour squiggles that open and close in response to temperature change
to regulate interior temperature. The material used in the façade is an electroactive polymer
that transforms electric energy into mechanical work to change shape. When it is hot,
electricity deforms the squiggles that expand, and when it is cold, squiggles are contracted
(Fig.8). As a result, façade patter changes, but it does not influence the overall building form.
Conclusion
Based on the analyses, it was found that the idea of seasonal adaptation does basically not
limit the architectural form, at least not in a direct way. Only in an indirect manner, Type3
was found to incorporate certain constraints that were somewhat related to the original idea.
In case of a) Removable Building Skin, the forms of the parts were slightly restrained, but only
in relation to each other to make it possible for the different parts to be overlapped. In case
of c) Self-orienting Solar Roof, keeping the roof panel flat for better performance seems
reasonable, but these constraints have little influence on the overall shape. In case of d)
Mechanical Brise Soleil, although the overall shape of the building is partially influenced by
the aim of shading, it is not really the direct derivative of the concept of mechanical brise
soleil. At the same time, the representation of the concept of seasonal adaptation was
revealed in the change of the form and/or function according to seasons in all the projects. In
Type1, Type2, as well as a) Removable Building Skin and c) Self-orienting Solar Roof of Type3,
the overall form or a large part of it changes according to seasons. In d) Mechanical Brise
Soleil, the form of small building parts, and in e) Smart Materials the texture of the building
envelope changes. But in case of b) Double Skin, the representation of seasonal adaptation is
limited only to the functioning of the building envelope, and is basically not recognizable on
the architectural form. One can thus assume that – except the case of b) Double Skin – the
common characteristic of the projects can be seen in the concept of periodical change of form.
Moreover, seen in the history of architectural aesthetics, the aesthetics of seasonal
adaptation can be understood as the next link in the chain of (i) the aesthetics of details
(shape), (ii) the aesthetics of the whole (simple form), (iii) the aesthetics of complexity
(complex form) and the (iv) aesthetics of gradual change (growing form). Although its form-
image is also dynamic, it is different from the gradually changing (growing) image of form that
was invented to adjust to the growing population. It is a kind of fluctuating form, changing
periodically according to seasons. The aesthetics of seasonal adaptation can therefore be
referred as (v) the aesthetics of periodical change (fluctuating form).
References
Arheim, R. (1954). Art and Visual Perception: A Psychology of the Creative Eye, University of California
Press.
Cutting, J. E. (2007). “The Mere Exposure Effect and Aesthetic Preference”, In: P. Locher et al. (eds.) New
Directions in Aesthetics, Creativity and the Psychology of Art. New York: Baywood, pp. 33-46.
th
Goldstein, E. (2009). Sensation and Perception. 8 Edition. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning, pp. 5–7.
Loncour, X., et al. (2005). Ventilated Double Skin Façades: Classification & illustration of facade concepts.
AIVC Contributed Report 3, 49 pp.
Loonen, R. C. G. M., et.al. (2013). “Climate adaptive building shells: State-of-the-art and future
challenges”, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 25, pp.483-493.
Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of the City. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Meyer, F. S. (1957). A Handbook of Ornament. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.
Tange, K. (2011). Ningen to Kenchiku: Dezain Oboegaki. Tokyo: Shokokusha, pp.167-169.
Zajonc, R. B. (1968). “Attitudinal effects of mere exposure”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
9 (2, Pt.2), pp.1–27.
Introduction
There is an increasing societal pressure on the building industry to produce low-energy
homes without compromising on function, aesthetics, comfort, cost, and other performance
considerations. As a consequence, building designers must become increasingly aware of
how potential design decisions affect the fulfilment of energy performance targets.
Computer-based building energy modelling (BEM) is ideal for generating this information.
Within the recent years, there has been an emerging development towards coupling BEM
tools with architectural CAD tools, for example DIVA-for-Rhino (2017), Openstudio (2017)
for SketchUp, Green Building Studio (2017) for Revit, and ICEbear for various CAD tools
(Lauridsen and Petersen, 2014). The immediate benefit is that building designers now have
access to in-model BPS-based predictions, and consequently do not need to spend time on
making and updating parallel geometric models in third-party BEM tools. However, this
development needs to embrace realisations from the past, namely that simulation tools
used for an evaluative purpose is an inefficient use of BEM (Petersen and Svendsen, 2010).
Instead, BEMs should be used more prescriptively in the design process to generate design
advice; by doing so, designers may find that they save time perusing design paths doomed
to fail, and instead uncover unprecedented possible design options.
There are various proposals for procedures and methodologies on how to use BEM
tools for generating design advise, see e.g. overview in Petersen and Svendsen (2010) and
Figure 1. Todays’ prevailing architectural styles and rules in Danish single-family homes.
The style Standard House (Figure 1) emerged from the style of the State Loan houses
(1938-1958) which is considered a simplified version of the Master Mason Villa (Hede,
2008b). The external appearance is walls of red bricks with wood in top of the gables, and
simple pitched roof which often creates an overhang. Windows with no mullions were placed
according to function (as in the style functionalism); they often have big windows facing
the backyard (private areas), and smaller high-placed windows towards the street (public
area). The plan areas is relatively small for the time (less than 100 m2), and had therefore
room geometries inspired by the style functionalism; living room and secondary are
connected directly without any corridors to maximize functionality of the scarce space. The
room height was relatively low compared to earlier styles but a more spacious feeling was
sometimes achieved by letting the ceiling follow the slope of the roof. All State Loan houses
have a bathroom and a toilet. In the period 1960-1980, many families wanted to move
from the cities and into the suburbs. This led to a mass production of Standard Houses in this
period; approx. 40 % of detached single-family houses in the current Danish building stock
are from this period (Statistics Denmark, 2016). These houses were ‘catalogue products’ i.e.
Figure 3. Solutions with different architectural expression. Top: scenario 1. Bottom: Scenario 2.
The architectural rules added in Scenario 2 had a significant influence on the amount
of possible solutions generated by the GPM, and they also increased the average energy
consumption slightly. When browsing through the possible solutions on room level, many of
them are only slightly different in architectural expression but there are also solutions with
different architectural expressions to choose from as illustrated in Figure 3. In general, the
typical façade solution in Scenario 2 has a calm rhythm, is readable, and has a sense of an
Conclusion
The example of this paper demonstrates that an interactive GPM concept is able to
automatically generate numerous of solutions with minimised energy use while respecting
user-defined requirements to the quality of the thermal indoor climate and daylight
conditions – but also while following certain user-defined architectural rules. The designer
may now choose one of the generated solutions to refine further, or to go back to the GPM,
revise the requirements and rules, and generate a new set of possible solutions to choose
from. However, new studies are required to assess whether this GPM-based approach is
considered useful to practicing designers working on real life building projects.
References
Danish Building Regulations (BR15). (2015) Copenhagen: The Danish Ministry of Economic and Business
Affairs.
de Souza, C. B. (2011). Contrasting paradigms of design thinking: The building thermal simulation tool
user vs. the building designer. Automation in Construction, 22, pp. 112-122.
DIVA-for-Rhino. (2017). Solemma, US, http://diva4rhino.com/
EPBD. (2010). Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2010
on the energy consumption of buildings (recast).
Galapagos. (2017). Rutten, D., Austria, http://www.grasshopper3d.com Grasshopper. (2017). Scott
Davidson, US, http://www.grasshopper3d.com/ Green Building Studio. (2017). Autodesk, US,
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Hede, M. (2008b). Statslånshuset. Bedre bolig, 4(3), pp. 46-51. Hede, M. (2008c). Tyve års typehus. Bedre
bolig, 4(6), pp. 60-63. Jensen, P. K. (2007). Moderne funkisvilla. Nye huse, 3(2), pp. 10-17.
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1Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Ltd, Morelands, 5-23 Old Street, London, EC1H 9LV.
Abstract: New working patterns, changing legislation, developing technology and economic uncertainty
has pushed designers and clients to think more collaboratively about how commercial buildings are designed.
This paper describes the evolution of a performance driven aesthetic through designed and built by Allford
Hall Monaghan Morris architects. The narrative uses mixed POE data and environmental modelling to
discuss integrated performance metrics including energy, productivity and economic return. A study of the
economy, robustness, flexibility and longevity of Victorian warehouses led to the development of a series of
modern incarnations. A suite of design techniques is used, including: integrated structure and services in a
speculative office with minimal applied finishes, re-purposed flexible structures, sophisticated engineering and
control mechanisms in new factory-style offices, all integrated to deliver optimum performance. This thinking
is explored in three design stage buildings that share a further development of this approach and aesthetic.
The buildings are in London, Bristol and Salford. Discussion focusses on how resource efficiency, low energy
consumption and user control has driven the development of this aesthetic. Conclusions include the need for
greater design collaboration combined with articulation of economic benefits to deliver high performance
integrated architecture.
Introduction
The market for commercial office space is increasingly competitive, with a recent
flattening of demand in London particularly, the competition for tenants is fierce
(www.rics.org). Commercial buildings account for some 26% of UK’s total CO2
emissions (p. 110. www.theccc.org.uk) and while CO2 emissions are the focus of the
building regulations, the metrics defining performance are shifting towards a more
complex measure of occupant focussed performance like wellbeing or productivity (World
Green Building Council, 2014).
With a more rounded view of the environmental impacts of buildings and within the
budgetary and supply chain pressures of the commercial office market, Allford Hall Monaghan
Morris architects (AHMM) have developed an expressive architectural approach focussing on
energy, daylight, user interaction, resource use, quick turnaround of tenancies, low
construction waste, maximised comfort and return on investment (Robertson and Idzikowski-
Perez, 2016).
This paper describes the development of an aesthetic for commercial office space
driven by these various performance criteria based on the historical precedent of urban
warehouses. Warehouses are re-purposed throughout the UK to house creative and office
based industries. The qualities that allow this functional adaptability and attract potential
tenants include low capital and operational costs, tall ceilings, large daylit volumes, the ability
to condition space passively through use of thermal mass and large span, flexible floor plates.
Figure 1. New façade. Figure 2. Exposed mass. Figure 3. Illustrated servicing strategy.
The materiality of the new facades responds to the urban context, materials are hard
and glazing ratios are driven by solar gains (figure 1). Internally, a new offices aesthetic
becomes apparent, driven by the building’s energy strategy. Exposed concrete takes
advantage of the thermal capacity of the material by absorbing daytime heat gains. Lighting
and other services are exposed and carefully detailed, adding to the new aesthetic (figure 2).
A displacement air conditioning system with centralised extract removes grilles from
the ceilings. ‘Structural ducts’ deliver air to underfloor plenums. Air travels down from roof
level so as the capacity of air required reduces, the structural need increases (figure 3). This
reduces riser space in the core and integrates architecture, structure and services.
Tooley Street represents an aesthetic driven by energy performance, challenging the
prevailing aesthetic of suspended lightweight aluminium ceilings. The space delivers a
commercially attractive internal environment (it is fully let) integrated building physics,
structure, services and architectural expression.
Morelands - Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
Morelands Rooftop is a part new-build, part re-use BREEAM Outstanding penthouse office on
top of former warehouses on Old Street, London. The structurally light new 5th floor
compliments the heavyweight refurbished 4th floor. Both are large volumes that maximise
natural light and ventilation and minimise the use of applied materials.
The façades were insulated and rendered, unifying the external appearance of the two
floors and improving the thermal performance (figure 4). The space is naturally ventilated via
occupant controlled windows at low level on the perimeter walls and at high level to central
Temperature monitoring shows that the spaces are generally much warmer than they
were designed to be. Figure 6 shows three different weeks of data comparing CO2
concentrations with internal air temperatures. Occupants appear to open windows when
temperatures reach around 25-26°C regardless of CO2 concentrations. Reducing
concentrations of internal pollutants requires earlier, lower temperature engagement with
windows and ventilation (Robertson et al, 2015). Management strategies have been
developed to mitigate this.
The environmental approach to Morelands drives the aesthetic but temperatures are
generally outside of CIBSE standards. A pleasant space means happier occupants but needs
managed to deliver comfortable conditions (Idzikowsi-Perez, 2015). A performance based
aesthetic must make occupant led management strategies explicit.
Tea Building - Economics
The Tea building is the reuse of an existing warehouse building in Shoreditch, London (figure
7). Initially approached as a demolish and rebuild project, due to an economic slump the
design approach shifted towards a cheaper, more flexible solution. The finished building
houses a variety of commercial spaces and has become a byword for economic regeneration
of existing buildings.
The aesthetic in this case was driven by economics, both capital expenditure and return
on investment providing a range of spaces that were not only cheap to build but cheap to let.
Acknowledging that the building was refurbished in a changing market – lease rates trebled
in the first ten years of occupation – the building was designed with ease of change and
evolution built in.
Ongoing improvements include window upgrades, through wall controllable
background ventilation, solar control blinds and insulation of the facades, lighting control
systems and night-time purging. An active hybrid system was also implemented through
installation of a high efficiency rooftop heat exchanger which provides a hot & cold water
thermal loop through the building that can be connected to provide heating, cooling (or both)
to any unit.
Figure 9. Retained concrete Figure 10. Retained mass. Figure 11. New public room and
low energy concrete.
Re-using the existing concrete frame meant that the most embodied-energy intensive,
and massive, part of the building was already in place (figure 10). To further reduce embodied
energy, new concrete structural components used cement replacement with GGBS (ground
granulated blast furnace slag) content of over 67%.
The WCF uses Concrete Core Cooling (CCC) as its primary method of conditioning the
office environment. The cooled slabs provide radiant cooling and thermal mass to absorb
internal gains. The design principles are an evolution of the warehouse derived characteristics:
high ceilings, a passive façade with openable windows that respond to orientation through
varying the amount of shading, activated thermal mass though the CCC, highly flexible floor
plates and a deep plan to maximise opportunities for adaptation.
The relatively low technology approach of the environmental strategy – which relies on
simple building physics – is combined with a high-tech series of data display systems that
allow building users to interact and control their space. A simple traffic light system that lets
occupants know when the building is in hybrid mode and windows should be opened. The
Figure 14. Exterior. Figure 15. Solar Gains assessment. Figure 16. Elevation.
The steel structure is exposed and held 600mm from the facade. This performs a several
functions. It provides solar shading in a market that demands a maximally glazed envelope
(although this building is at around 55% glazed due to included solid spandrel panels), which
in turn means higher G-Values are possible, reducing glass costs and improving visible light
transmittance. The frame, its construction and the shadows it casts becomes the main
architectural expression of the elevation allowing the ‘skin’ to be a much more economical
component than would be otherwise possible. Cold bridges are dealt with using resin plates
at the point of penetration. Our energy model was analysed to explore the aesthetics’
relationship to performance criteria. The external steel frame helps to reduce solar gains by
10% while not significantly impacting on daylight levels or views out (figure 15).
Servicing systems are expressed in the interior and openable windows improve
occupant comfort. Minimal applied finishes reduce resource use (figure 16). The street
frontage is activated by a mix of complementary uses and each floor level enjoys generous
private outside decks.
The aesthetic of simple, cost effective flexible floor plates is reflected in benefits in
energy consumption and flexibility. The developing masterplan demands quick and
economical construction, this approach delivers a building that can meet these requirements.
London - Efficiency
This new build speculative office forms part of an emerging masterplan in London. The
building comprises of 10 storeys of office use above ground floor of retail and reception. An
Figure 17. Elevation. Figure 18. Interior. Figure 19. Energy Savings.
Early studies investigated opening window provision and findings suggested that there
were significant benefits to incorporating opening windows as part of the controllable
aesthetic; energy reductions were potentially as high as 90% (figure 19). The steel frame
performs a similar range of functions as New Bailey Square. The shading effects of the frame
on this project are a near 10% reduction in gains.
This aesthetic is an expression of efficient, lean, low resource use which drives low
energy in operation, however the opportunities of such an approach require explicit
statement in management guidance.
Bristol - Integrated Aesthetic
Assembly in Bristol is a mixed-use scheme on Bristol’s floating harbour awarded planning
permission in early 2017. The proposals provide new flexible office space for up to 3,000
people. Sustainability has been an integral part of the design process, emphasis has been
placed on passive design measures.
Discussion
The deliberate, strong expression of construction materials and methods and integrated
environmental strategies represents a departure from mainstream commercial building
design, where identity is typically defined by a shallow wrap-around skin of limited visual
interest.
Expressing the structural elements reflects the nature of manufacture and fabrication
of a semi-industrial aesthetic, a language of construction that is appropriate to the 21st
century urban workplace. Internally, a language of limited applied finishes, occupant
controlled environments with open, simple floor plates creates a connection between user,
architecture and environment.
The strong character of such buildings is defined by multiple functions and performance
metrics of energy, economy, low resource use, flexibility and adaption. Internal spaces can
change and evolve whilst being comfortable, productive and efficient now and in the future.
In complex urban environments with many conflicting performance targets spanning
economy, environment and human impact, an integrated aesthetic than synthesises and
expresses these with simplicity, economy and delight has emerged.
References
Idzikowski-Perez, I (2015). Temperature and Productivity in Free Running Office Buildings: A Case Study
In Central London. Masters in Environmental Design and engineering, University College London.
Robertson, C and Idzikowski-Perez, I (2016). In Control – Thermal Comfort and Productivity, CIBSE Journal,
September 2016.
Robertson, C., Mumovic, D., Ahn Ding, Q., Fitzpatrick, I., Crawley, N., (2015). Productivity and Investment
in a Naturally Ventilated Lean Office Development. In: CIBSE Technical Symposium. London, 2015.
World Green Building Council (2014). Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices The next chapter for
green building, 2014.
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Introduction
The philosophy of sustainable development applied to architecture is based on the design of
a sustainable building that respects the environment through its constructive process,
building materials and conceptual approach. After the Second World War, a major
acceleration in the reconstruction process began to rebuild what the war had demolished.
Heavy industrialization was the absolute answer for modern architects of the time. However,
this industrializing had negative repercussions on the natural and built environment. In 1987,
in the report “Our Common Future”, European Commissioner Harlem Brundtland set up a
new concept: “Sustainable Development”, aimed at "reducing social inequalities, while
preserving the environment in a sustainable manner, Economic development". Therefore, it
is a development that "must meet the needs of present generations without compromising
those of future generations" (Tolba & Biswas, 1991).
Meanwhile, Fernand Pouillon introduced new ideas and a new vision for the future of
the construction of mass housing, which were criticized by most of his colleagues. He called
into question what the masters of the modern movement saw as the only way towards
modern architecture. He concretized his ideas thanks to Jacques Chevalier newly elected
mayor of Algiers at the time, who entrusted him with the construction of more than 7000
apartments divided into three complexes: Diar Es Saada, Diar El Mahçoul and Climat de France.
Panorama on the development of the architecture since the post-war period until the
emergence of the notion of sustainable development
The housing crisis of the 1950s favoured the borrowing of the industrialization way to deal
with the quantity problem. The industrialization of the building began after the first world
war of 1914-1918 with some pioneers, architects and builders, impressed by the results
achieved in the automotive and aeronautical industry such as Walter Gropius, Voisin
(constructor of airplane), Henri Sauvage and Jean Prouvé (builders), Le Corbusier and Marcel
Lods (Sociétés des architectes préfabricateurs), Beaudoin and Auguste Perret. (Chemillier,
2002)
However, the disastrous situation of France in 1945 after the second world war
accelerated the process of industrialization of the building. The solution for building a lot,
quickly, and inexpensively was the factory prefabrication such as in the automotive industry
with reinforced concrete as the preferred material. This need of building obliged the
architects of the modern movement to find other alternatives. This situation has favoured the
search for new paradigms that go along with this industrialization. Le Corbusier invented the
free plan with the constructive system in domino and opposed it to the paralyzed plan
resulting from the constructive system in bearing wall (Le Corbusier, 1994).
The success of industrialization in the automotive field is based on the control of the
production chain, the large quantity of production, and the continuity of the production
process in the same place. In the building, the last two elements were a problem. Despite the
large quantity of built housing, they were dispersed in several sites. To solve this problem,
the France government launches the ZUP (zones à urbaniser en priorité) which means in
English “areas to be urbanized as a priority”. It allows to group together a large number of
dwellings to be built in a single site to get even closer to the image of automotive
industrialization. (Chemillier, 2002). It should be noted that this industrialization was efficient
in terms of quantity. The annual production of housing in France rises from 46,000 units in
1951 to 360,000 in 1964 (2002).
In the late 1960s, the demand for housing in France fell sharply, forcing the state to halt
major operations. The exchange solution is the grouping of orders (in 1969 a threshold of 200
dwellings was imposed for the HLM 1 ) and the use of the models (a model project is
established by an architect and contractor who is approved by the state and used to ensure
a large housing order).
However, the urban forms generated by this type of construction has begun to be
rejected due to a monotonous architecture of models in the early 1970s. The large amount
of housing generated by industrialization processes required quality management as in the
automotive industry. Therefore, the architects have started talking about quality, which has
1
“Habitation à loyer modéré” which means in English “Low-income housing”
Climat de France
Climat de France is the third and last housing estate built by Pouillon in Algiers between 1954
and 1957 (figure 1) in the working-class district of Bab-el-Oued. The complex is located on
the heights of Algiers with views on the sea, on sites selected exclusively by Fernand Pouillon.
The complex is part of a political project for the equality of Muslim and European citizens.
They are part of an HLM program to make up for the housing deficit in the capital, on one
hand; and they are aimed at getting rid of the slums in Algiers and at giving a new urban image
to the capital, on the other hand.
Figure 2: Air inlets in the façade’s windows of Climat de France
Source : « la fondation des pierres sauvages de Fernand » edited by the
author
While in chimney ventilation, the air moves due to the differences in wind pressure
between the façades of the building and the difference in the density depending of its
temperature without any mechanical equipment. It is the stack effect (thermal draft) where
the air penetrates by the air inlets that Pouillon has laid over the façade’s windows (figure 2)
Figure 3: Natural ventilation (cross and chimney ventilation) and lighting in Climat
de France
Source: by the author
Natural lighting
Natural lighting is also ensured by the fact that most of the apartments are floor-through
apartment, which allows to have windows in all rooms, as well as an implantation of the
complex according to sun’s path (South-East, North-West)(figure 3).
The desire to control and minimize solar radiation entering the living space in arid zones
such as in North Africa, for example, often results in a decrease in natural lighting. The square
offers the possibility of reconciling these two contradictory constraints. In the building of the
200 columns (the largest building of Climat de France), Pouillon surrounds the square by a
shaded gallery (figure 3) which contributes to reducing the impact of solar rays on the exterior
walls of the building.
Thermal insulation
For thermal insulation, Pouillon takes advantage of the density of the dressed stone to protect
itself from large fluctuations in temperature. However, even if the dressed stone slows down
the entry of the cold through its inertia, after a certain time it does not become more
insulating than a thin wall and thus constitutes a source of wastage. That is why Pouillon
added an insulation consisting of a thin wall of terracotta brick in the interior face of the
facade with an air gap in the middle.
On the urban scale, the shaded squares and the traditional streets that offer the
composition according to the principle of the closed order allows an autonomous protection
of the sun during the summer. The arrangement of the buildings around the squares greatly
reduces the surfaces exposed to the sunshine in the image of the concept of introversion
adopted in the medina.
It should be noted that in the late 1970s, heavy prefabrication was replaced by a policy
aimed at developing the use of 'component' in construction. A component was defined as an
element of the building manufactured in a workshop independently of a particular project
and integrated into the structure without having to undergo shaping on the site (Chemillier,
2002). This is the same principle of industrialization of construction processes by simple
element that Pouillon followed in the 50s, which proves once again that his answers were
ahead of his time.
2
A marmite is a hollow square, part of the floor structure invented by Pouillon made of staff (a mixture of
plaster and fiber) or cement, through which a steel frame and concrete pass, like ribs, to support the floor.
References
Barazzetta, G. (2001). Exigence de la construction. in J. L. Bonillo (Ed.), Fernand Pouillon architecte
méditerranéen. Marseille : Imbernon.
Brundtland, G. H. (1991). Our Common future. in Tolba, M.K., & Biswas, A.K. (Ed.).. Earth and Us:
Population – Resources – Environment – Development. (pp. 29-31) United Kingdom: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Chemillier, P. (2002, June). L’époque de l’industrialisation du bâtiment après la guerre 1939-1945. Comité
d’histoire du ministère, France.
Caruso, A., & Thomas, H. (2014). The Stones of Fernand Pouillon, an alternative modernism in French
architecture. Zurich: gta Verlag.
Dehan, P. (2009). La qualité architecturale entre art et usage », dans « qualité architecturale acteur et
enjeux. In Biau, V., & Lautier, F. (Eds), Processus d’engendrement de la qualité et négociations entre acteurs de
l’architecture. (pp. 88-94). Paris : Ramau.
Gann, D. M., Salter, A. J., & Whyte, K. (2003). Design Quality Indicators as a tool for Thinking. Building
Research & Information, 31(5), 318–333. doi.org/10.1080/0961321032000107564.
Kibert, J. C., (2016). Sustainable construction: Green building design and delivery. United Kingdom: John
Wiley & Sons.
Le Corbusier, J. P. (1994), Précision sur un état présent de l’architecture et de l’urbanisme 1930. (p123).
Paris : G. Crès et Cie.
Lucan, J. (1997). Fernand Pouillon architecte. Paris : Arsenal.
Pouillon, F. (1968). Mémoire d’un architecte. Paris : Seuil.
Sayen, C. (2014). L’Architecture par Fernand Pouillon ». Toulouse : Transversales.
Abstract: In XX Century California, three generations of architects pushed the boundaries of language,
experimenting the use of then uncommon materials to build lightweight, modern houses. It all began with
Neutra in the 30’s, who achieved the ideal of the house made like a car, building his Lovell house out of steel
framing and sprayed concrete at a time when his European counterparts applied machine aesthetic to houses
who still were brick and mortar below the clean coat of white plaster. Architects such as Ellwood, Eames,
Soriano and Koenig produced a fascinating skin and bone aesthetic, making no nonsense use of commercial
steel sections in order to produce economical yet refined buildings. However, it was not just their fascinating
aspect, but the logical, almost scientific, approach that makes those buildings so appealing. Today’s
knowledge of materials, energy conservations and building dynamics can produce high performance
buildings that greatly improve on yesterday’s standard. A case study shows how sites and building
technologies work together. Sites was studied to minimize excavations and exploit prevailing breezes in order
to minimize use of HVAC. A dynamic analysis of the building was run to determine the composition of walls
and roof and glazed surfaces.
Keywords: residential architecture, bioclimatic design, dry-assemble technology, nZEB, Californian architecture
Neutra’s biographer Thomas Hines claims it to be “the first steel framed residence in
America”. This is a well-established notion, but it is not true. In fact, a research published in
1930 by the America Institute of Steel Construction1, records six steel framed homes in 1927,
42 in 1928 and 65 in 1929. In fact, although the first steel framed residence in America was
built near New York almost thirty years earlier, what makes the Lovell House stand out and
steal the limelight is well summarized by Kenneth Frampton, who defines it the apotheosis
of International Style, thanks to an architectural expression directly derived from a steel
frame, clad by a light synthetic skin (Frampton, 1980). Design of Steel Buildings by Harold D.
Hauf, first published in 1932 and probably the first manual on steel construction in the US, is
a good meter of the Lovell House achievement. In fact, studying this manual, it becomes
clear that technological and aesthetical innovation did not go hand in hand: besides the
framing, the steel buildings were not different from most current production.
Developing a language
To develop a language that fully exploits the potential of new materials and technologies
takes time. If the Lovell House, with its steep site, free flowing plan and big glazed surfaces
was making full advantage of steel, it was not yet the epitome of the light steel and glass
pavilions associated with California lifestyle. This is mostly due to one reason: steel profiles
were not visible in the finished building if not as window mullions (fig. 1b and 1c).
The minimal skin and bone aesthetic, defined by Reyner Banham “The Style that
Nearly…”, was to appear another thirty years later, at the peak of Arts and Architecture
Magazine Case Study Houses program (Banham, 1971). It was the development of a process
of expression of the steel frame which allowed Raphael Soriano to show most of it in the
forties, and Pierre Koenig to show it all in the fifties. In between these experiences are those
of Charles Eames and Craig Ellwood. Eames built for himself a house which was of great
consequence, especially in Europe, where it came to epitomize the potential of a residential
architecture made out of off-the-shelf components, dry assembled (fig. 2b). Ellwood built
some significant specimens which helped define the new architecture vocabulary, before
shifting towards Miesian mannerism.
1
Facts and Figures about Steel Construction
Whilst Soriano tested the use of steel in houses more than anyone else before him,
proving it was possible to use the material within ordinary budgets, it was Koenig who
delivered the most memorable shot in the CSH #22, hovering above West Hollywood and
incarnating modern lifestyle in countless movies and commercials (fig. 3a and 3b).
a b c
Figure 3 a/b/c. (a) Raphael Soriano, CSH #1950 (J. Shulman/© J. Paul Getty Trust). (b) Pierre Koenig, Case Study
House #22, 1959-60 (J. Shulman/© J. Paul Getty Trust). (c) P. Koenig, Case Study House #21, 1958 (©author).
Still, Koenig did not limit himself to fully developing a convincing aesthetic for steel
in residential buildings, but moved one step further in pioneering the use of passive means
to cool his houses at a time when steel and glass buildings were made possible not only by
the materials themselves, but by the massive use of HVAC systems. The fact that these
passive means became so inextricably tied to what makes the best Koenig’s buildings iconic
is proof of how the conscious use of energy and available resources can the final look of a
building in a successful way. In CSH #21, his most successful demonstration of a repeatable
building for mass production, he relied on the orientation of the building to block the sun,
completely blinding facades on the East and West, where solar radiation is more difficult to
control, and using a vertical external sunscreen on the South and North facades (fig. 3c). He
adopted wide overhangs in CSH#22, which worked especially well in giving the house a
“floating” quality over the dramatic hillside site.
Moving forward
Although fascinating on their own, buildings by Soriano and Koenig share a logical, almost
scientific, approach that makes them especially appealing. Each is a step forward in pushing
the progress of a specific building type. Whilst Soriano devoted over 20 years of his
professional life to releasing the potential of steel, in his later years he applied himself to
exploring the application of the even lighter aluminum, while Koenig moved forward on the
2
https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/zero-energy-buildings
3
Gran View House, Los Angeles (USA). (PAT. architects, 2013)
Dynamic analysis
A dynamic analysis of the building under study has been carried out in order to determine
both the composition of its walls and roof and the thermal specs of its glazed surfaces. A
dynamic analysis requires little extra effort at the design stage and bring advantages such as:
the optimization of the envelope system and its relationship with the mechanical systems,
reducing operational energy loads; it allows to earn extra points in voluntary environmental
assessment tools and the related economic benefits.
From its early stages the design of a nZEB building requires an integrated approach
involving different professionals and a careful evaluation of the thermal flows needed to
determine the overall building energy balance. The design is aimed at assessing and
controlling the future winter and summer thermal performances reducing the load on air-
conditioning plant systems and ensuring high hygrothermal comfort.
The design choices of Grand View Residence were all supported by thermal analysis derived
from simulation models and characterized by different detail levels on the basis of the
specific project needs and phases. For each component of the building envelope, both
winter and summer thermal behaviour parameters were compared with the project targets
so as to validate or reject the choice made for stratigraphies and constructive nodes. Table 2
allows us to compare the values of thermal transmittance (U), periodic thermal
transmittance (Y), phase shift (and attenuation (a) of specified building roofs (R) and
walls (W) with the target values assumed by the designers. The building components
adjoining the external environment and exposed to sunlight, are characterized by high
thermal lag values: more than 7 hours for walls and more than 12 hours for horizontal roofs
Figure 5. Dynamic simulation analysis of two types of insulated and low-emissivity glass: A) Ug= 1,4 W/(m2K)
and g= 0,59; B) Ug= 1,26 W/(m2K) e g= 0,4
a b
Figure 6 a/b. (a) Koenig, CSH#21, 1958 (b) PAT. architects, Grand View House, 2013 (©patdesign.it).
New software allow to verify design hypothesis, guiding choices toward maximum
performance and improving the understanding of the building over its entire life cycle. An
interesting outlook of the research could be the comparison of several recent buildings of
the same typology in order to recognize benchmarks and improve the state of the art.
References
Choisy, A. (1899). Histoire de l’Architecture, Gauthier-Villars, Paris.
Le Corbusier (1923). Vers une Architecture, Edition Crès, Paris.
Neutra R.J. (1931). Houses at $ 150, in Detroit News, 1/3/1931.
Hauf H.D. (1932). Design of Steel Buildings, J. Wiley & Sons, NY.
Frampton K. (1980). Modern Architecture: a Critical History, Oxford University Press, NY.
Banham R. (1971). Los Angeles: the Architecture of Four Ecologies. Allen Lane, London.
Panagiotidou M., Fuller R.J. (2013). Progress in ZEBs – A review of definitions, policies and construction
activity. Energy policy. 62, 196-206
Crawley D., Pless S., Torcellini P. (2009). Getting to net zero, ASHRAE Journal. 51 (9) 18–25.
Musall E., Weiss T., Lenoir A., Voss K., Garde F., Donn M. (2010), Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings: An
Overview and Analysis on Worldwide Building Projects, in: EuroSun Conference 2010, Graz, Austria
Hines T. (1982). Richard Neutra and the Search for Modern Architecture, Oxford University Press, NY.
Laskey M. (1988). Substance and function in architecture, Oral History Program, UC Los Angeles.
Andrea Wheeler
Abstract: In this paper, I will explore the work of two contemporary environmental philosophers: Gernot
Böhme, celebrated for his philosophy of architectural atmosphere although less known for his work on
ecological aesthetics, and Luce Irigaray, a French philosopher renowned for her work inspiring a generation of
feminist scholars but less well discussed for her work on environmental ethics. For Böhme, our designed
environments are experienced through atmosphere; we feel our own presence in a built environment and feel
the environment in which we are present. His approach to design depends on feeling experienced through
being in space rather than seeing space or imagining it. Irigaray, on the other hand, now in her eighties,
distinguishes experience as different between the sexes, not as already cultural, but rather to be cultivated.
Her philosophy is provocative and challenged by many; while on the margins of Parisian intellectual society,
she still works, teaches, and writes prolifically about environmental ethics. This paper examines how these two
marginalized ecological philosophers can benefit the field of environmental design.
Introduction
What relevance has mood or atmosphere to the discourse of sustainable design? What is
the perceived importance of feeling to an architecture that can engage and communicate
with users the problems of sustainable development? These questions are seldom raised in
the discourses associated with green and sustainable architecture, but feeling connects us
with our environment and while the science of climate change produces statistics distancing
the problem, and the workings of an environmentally sustainable building can remain
obscure to many, feeling is immediate, physical, every day; it is about how we experience
our environment in the moment.
According to Gernot Böhme, a contemporary German philosopher, our designed
environments are experienced through feeling; we feel our own presence in space and feel
the space in which we are present. He establishes an approach to understanding
architecture that he describes as an aesthetic dependent on feeling, experienced through
being in space rather than seeing or imagining it. Similarly, in his eco-aesthetics, we feel our
relation to nature: We feel nature’s crisis because we feel the nature we are ourselves.
Luce Irigaray, on the other hand, is an influential feminist philosopher whose work has
been pivotal to feminist thinking, shaping a generation of feminist theorists. Liberation is to
be experienced, she argues, with our bodies and intimate feelings, in our environments, in
place. Irigaray’s philosophy is radical and provocative and challenged by many. While on the
margins of Parisian intellectual society, with her works refused in her native language, and
…so as long as we do not consider the two ec-stasies from which we can exist
as humans: the ec-stasis with regard to our origin, and the ec-stasis for which
our desire calls us. These two different ec-stasies, in a way these two not
being must be taken on in order that we can discover what means our ‘to be’
as human and endeavour to incarnate our own destiny (Irigaray, 2017).
So, we need to question our reality and discover our own ecological and sexuate
belonging; this is a radical perspective, albeit one that also critically situates body and
feeling, mood and feeling, in questions of environmental and sustainable design. Outsider
ethics and marginalized aesthetics have some value, not only to serve as a critical lens but
also to enrich the discourse of sustainable architecture through the reevaluation of feeling.
Discussion
So, what should we do about feeling, this dimension of experience with competing
philosophical perspectives? The dominance of a technical point of view in sustainable
building design is shaping a growing alternative conversation, which includes provocative
and political philosophies, but design is also emerging as a method by which to address
these questions. Why examine this field through the work of these two philosophers –
Böhme and Irigaray? Why is this sort of radical, this sort of outsider, significant? Both seem
to address questions of coexistence (of man and nature, man and building, man and woman,
man and woman, and nature), together with the felt, bodily or experiential reality of our
environmental crises. However, for Böhme, what counts in terms of our environmental
crises is that we can rediscover our identity as natural beings “…and develop the
consciousness that our body is the nature that we ourselves are” (“Der Leib ist die Natur, die
wir selbst sind”) (Wang, 2014). He argues that we must recognize that we care about nature
because it affects us, it has been affecting us, and it will continue to affect us. He states that
“…finding ourselves involved in environmental degradation, it is our own nature that is
being affected” (Wang, 2014). What current environmental conditions have destroyed is
thus not the object that is the environment, or that of our own nature, but our relationship
with it. For Irigaray, the tradition of philosophy, a patriarchal tradition that has excluded
socially marginalized voices, including women, does not value questions of embodiment or
the rediscovery of embodiment or the reality our ecological co-dependency, the intimacy of
our sharing of the world. It is this tradition that has destroyed our relationship to our
environment. She writes: “This tradition has, in this way, rendered us extraneous to our
environment, extraneous to one another as living beings, and even extraneous to ourselves”
(Irigaray, 2015, 101).
References
Barnes, J., Dove, M., Lahsen, M., Mathews, A., McElwee, P., McIntosh, R., Moore, F., O'Reilly, J., Orlove,
B., Puri, R. and Weiss, H., (2013) Contribution of anthropology to the study of climate change. Nature Climate
Change, 3(6), pp. 541-544.
Böhme, G. (1995) Für eine ökologische Naturästhetik. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, Verlag.
Böhme, G. (1998) Atmosphäre. Essays zur neuen Ästhetik. Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp, Verlag.
Devine-Wright, P. (2005) "Beyond NIMBYism: Towards an integrated framework for understanding
public perceptions of wind energy." Wind Energy 8.2: pp. 125-139.
Gill, Z. M., Tierney, M. J., Pegg, I. M. and Allan, N. (2010). Low-energy dwellings: The contribution of
behaviours to actual performance. Building Research & Information, 38(5), pp. 491-508.
Hulme, M. (2011) "Meet the humanities." Nature Climate Change 1.4, p. 177.
Ingold, T. (2011) "Landscape or Weather World?" In T. Ingold (ed.), Being Alive: Essays on Movement,
Knowledge and Description. London: Routledge. pp. 126-135.
Irigaray, L. (2017) To Be Born, London: Palgrave.
Irigaray, L. (2015) “Starting from Ourselves as Living Beings.” Journal of the British Society for
Phenomenology 46(2), pp. 101-108.
Janda, K. B. (2011) Buildings don't use energy: People do, Architectural Science Review, 54:1, 15-22
Manzo, L. C. (2003) "Beyond house and haven: Toward a revisioning of emotional relationships with
places." Journal of Environmental Psychology 23: 1, pp. 47-61.
Pink, S., Tutt, D., Dainty, A. and Gibb, A. (2010) Ethnographic methodologies for construction research:
Knowing, practice and interventions. Building Research & Information, 38(6), pp.647-659.
Seamon, D. (2000) "A way of seeing people and place." In Theoretical perspectives in environment-
behavior research. Springer US, pp. 157-178.
United Nations (2015) Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. United
Nations.
Wang, Z. (2014) “In Interview with Gernot Bohme.” Contemporary Aesthetics Dec.
http://www.contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/article.php?articleID=713
Barbara Widera1
1
Faculty of Architecture, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
barbara.widera@pwr.edu.pl
Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to analyse and discuss the concept of biomimetics in contemporary
architecture. Special attention is given to the attitude towards nature and environment. Biomimetics provides
an information transfer from biology to technical disciplines, such as architecture, with aim to understand
natural systems and processes developed through evolution, and to implement them in concepts and
structures designed by human. The author proposed and applied methodology for multilevel analysis intended
to check various aspects of biomimetic approach to the building perceived as a system.
The notion of biomimetics is presented with regard to architecture. Multilevel theoretical model is constructed,
based on 3 basic elements related to systems: structure, metabolism and skin. Specific solutions for each of
these elements are distinguished and analyzed, under passive, active and hybrid operation mode. The
particular examples of selected architectural objects are presented to illustrate the practical application of the
research model.
The author looks at relations of the building and environment, comparing them to biological relationships:
parasitism, neutralism and commensalism. The discussion leads to remarkable conclusions and provokes some
very interesting questions about the role of architecture. Final conclusions address the issues of innovative
perception of the built environment as well as shifting baselines regarding ecosystem, climate and
sustainability.
Keywords: biomimetics, climate responsive, energy efficiency, sustainable building, climate change.
Introduction
The purpose of the paper is to analyse and discuss the concept of biomimetics as one of the
most actual phenomena in contemporary architectural design. The popularity of the topic
may be attributed to the development of close links between biological sciences and the
technological development. The second reason why we continue looking for inspirations in
nature is the changing attitude towards environment, climate and sustainability. The term
biomimetics was first used by Otto Schmitt in 1969 in the context of opportunities arising
from applying observations from the field of biology in medical engineering (Schmitt 1969).
Since then biomimetics has been fast developing tendency, which provides an information
transfer from biology to technical disciplines, such as architecture, with aim to understand
natural systems and processes, developed through evolution, and to implement them in
concepts and structures designed by human (Gruber 2011). This allows for deeper
understanding of natural processes developed through the way of evolution, while the
analysis of biological phenomena results with systematic transfer of various construction
principles and problem solutions into technical applications (Anthony 2014).
Biomimetic approach to architectural design is related to the ability to draw correct
conclusions from the natural systems behavior analysis, such as exchange mechanisms
Cooling, evaporation,
ventilation
Figure 2. Environmental strategies in Sino-Italian Ecological and Energy Efficient Building (SIEEB), 2005-2006,
Beijing, China, designed by Mario Cucinella Architects. © MCA Archive
Structure
Biomimetic structural systems are inspired by the natural ones. Patterns derived from
biological prototypes are often optimized with advanced methods, including mainly
parametric tools. The important note is the observation of the natural tendency to minimize
the need for resources necessary for life (Watts 2001, p 132). Actual technological abilities
allow for creation of flexible construction systems that adapt their structure and shape to
changing climate conditions (e.g. wind direction and force), similarly as living organisms do.
Proposed solutions can be based on passive, active or hybrid concepts. The examples of
passive biomimetic structures can be found in buildings designed for particular angle of sun
rays during the year, such as Sino-Italian Ecological and Energy Efficient Building (SIEEB),
2005-2006, Beijing, China, designed by Mario Cucinella Architects (Fig. 2). Active structural
solutions developed the ability to provide adequate reaction for external stimulus. These
are often pneumatic systems, based on synthetic and biosimilar membranes. Complex
membrane hybrid systems combine the durability of synthetic membranes with the
selectivity of cell membranes, underlying the construction of biomimetic sustainable
architecture. The biomimetic structures can also apply advanced strategies for heating and
lighting, connected with e.g. phototropism. They are usually combined with adaptive
Figure 3. Hybrid thermoregulation in Energy Efficiency Center (2013) Würzburg, by Lang Hugger Rampp
Architects and Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE Bayern, Würzburg). © Lang Hugger Rampp Architects.
Metabolism
Biomimetic systems in buildings involve the exchange of gas (breathing, photosynthesis),
liquid (evapotranspiration) and energy (absorption, production and transformation) as well
as waste management and closing the loop of materials. Recycling of waste products in
order to drive the systems in the building is often considered. Advanced Building
Management Systems (BMS) are compared to the nervous system, which provides also a
source of inspiration, especially for hybrid solutions (Watts 2011). Some of the very
interesting, already existing applications in buildings, are the ones that implement hybrid
thermoregulation strategies inspired by the heterothermic organisms. They include e.g. the
heat storage in phase change materials as well as heating and cooling with the use of
infrared radiation technology (Lang et al. 2014). Such methods were applied and tested in
Energy Efficiency Center (2013) in Würzburg, designed by Center for Applied Energy
Research (ZAE Bayern, Würzburg) together with Lang Hugger Rampp Architects (Fig. 3).
Building hybrid thermoregulation involved Passive Infrared Night Cooling (ZAE Bayern)
which uses water flowing freely from the top of the roof and being cooled to the dew point
in the nighttime (due to convection and evaporation). This method is completed with
adsorption cooling cycle (with a hygroscopic concentrated salt solution) that enables for
dehumidification and cooling of the incoming air. The third element of the system is a heat
storage layer with phase change materials (PCM), which can store large amounts of heat in
the narrow temperature range (because all absorbed heat is required to break the bonds of
the crystal lattice). This improves the thermal stability of the premises and helps to avoid
undesired short-term temperature rising. Water cooled at night is used for PCM
regeneration. Some other examples of metabolic processes are closely related to advanced
biomimetic building skins.
At the third level of research, the practical verification of the system was carried out.
Particular elements were tested for various operational modes. The internal control system
allows for dynamic adaptation to changing conditions, both internal (e.g. the number of
visitors) and external (the temperature outside). The response to external and internal
conditions is possible with the hybrid indoor air humidification and cooling method that
Conclusions
The author of the paper analysed and discussed the concept of biomimetics in
contemporary architecture. The research showed that the application of biomimetics in
Acknowledgments
The author of the paper wishes to thank all the Authors of the presented projects for their
kind support and cooperation.
References
Antony, F. Grießhammer, R., Speck T., Speck O., (2014). Sustainability assessment of a lightweight
biomimetic ceiling structure, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 9(1) 2014.
Dyson, A. H., Jensen, M. K. i Borton, D. N., (2004). Concentrating type solar collection and daylighting
system within glazed building envelopes. USA, Patent US 7190531 B2.
Gruber, P. et al. (2011). Biomimetics - Materials, Structures and Processes: Examples, Ideas and Case
Studies. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
Lang, W., Rampp, T. i Ebert, H.-P., (2014). The Energy Efficiency Center of the Center for Applied Energy
Research Würzburg, Germany. Ahmedabad, Center for Advanced Research in Building Science and Energy,
CEPT University.
Mocerino, C. (2016). Integration of the Energy and Building Technologies, Journal of Civil Engineering
and Architecture 10 (2016) 1403-1415.
Schmitt, O. (1969). Some Interesting and Useful Biomimetic Transforms. Boston, Proceeding, Third
International Biophysics Congress, Aug. 29 - Sept. 3, p. 297.
Terrain (2015). Breathe.austria - prototype for future urban practices, Graz: Terrain.
Vincent, J. F.; Bogatyreva, O. A.; Bogatyrev, N. R.; Bowyer, A.; Pahl, A. K., (2006). Biomimetics: its
practice and theory. Interface, 22 August.3(9).
Watts, B., (2011). Bettering Biology. Architectural Digest, 81(2), pp. 128-134.
Widera, B. (2016). Biomimetic and Bioclimatic Approach to Contemporary Architectural design on the
Example of CSET Building. In: Nano, Bio and Green – Technologies for Sustainable Future, 16th International
Multidisciplinary Scientific Conference SGEM 2016, Conference Proceedings, Vol. II, Albena, Bulgaria, 30 June-6
July 2016, pp 485-492.
Kentaro Yagi1
1
Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Japan,
yagik@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Abstract: This paper explores efforts to sustain rural communities in the Inland Sea of Japan, which are often
referred to as “marginal communities,” especially focusing on the renovation projects of abandoned houses.
Uninhabited Japanese wooden houses rapidly decay and negatively affect the community. To prevent this,
artists and architects joined to renovate two abandoned wooden houses utilizing local, traditional and recyclable
materials and building tectonics while eliminating energy-consuming technologies and materials. The results of
this case study present a local prototype for passive low energy house design. Two abandoned houses were
renovated. The first was mostly renovated using a DIY approach (except where legally enforced), while the
second utilized a contractor. Although the two renovation projects adopted quite different construction
schemes, they had common design policies in terms of material preferences and construction waste control.
These case study projects revealed that traditional materials and tectonics are still favorable and promising in
our era, as they realized the low life-cycle cost and low energy consumption model. Such solutions contribute
to preventing the extinction of insular marginal communities and to sustaining the future of our society.
Keywords: renovation, rural community, marginal community, the Inland Sea of Japan,
Introduction
The trend of depopulation and aging communities have been observed in many rural areas in
Japan and in other developed countries for decades. These issues have become more serious
since the beginning of the 21st century, however, and many rural communities are at stake.
The term “marginal community” has emerged, and the issue has rapidly attracted public
attention in Japan—especially after the Japan Policy Council issued the so-called Masuda
Report (Masuda, 2014). Although some people consider these communities to be less
efficient than urban communities, there are still reasons to sustain such areas. These
communities can even provide promising ideas for future society, and there are people who
hope to move from urban areas to such rural communities.
Following periods of depopulation, there have been discussions of counter urbanization
in some European countries—especially in the UK (Cloke, 1985 and Cross, 1990). Japan is no
exception; signs of counter urbanism have emerged in rural areas. The Inland Sea of Japan is
one of such destination (Yagi, 2010a). Accordingly, this paper explores efforts to sustain such
a community located on a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan, focusing on the renovation
projects of abandoned houses in the insular neighborhood.
The Inland Sea of Japan
The Inland Sea of Japan, lying between Mainland Japan and Shikoku Island, has 727 islands
within a circumference of larger than 0.1 km. It was once renowned for its beautiful landscape,
Figure 1. Location of the Inland Sea of Japan.
Based on the image published by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan.
Subject Community
The community that this research focuses on is in Kosagijima, which is part of Mihara City in
the Hiroshima prefecture. Kosagijima is a small island that is about 3.2 km in circumference
and located approximately 3 km south from downtown Mihara City. Although the
shipbuilding industry attracted more than 100 residents during the modernization period, the
island contains four households and a population of five as of 2017.
The once-flourishing, large-scale shipbuilding enterprise did not last long in Kosagijima,
and the population quickly declined. Although the small shipbuilding industry on the island
continued until the late 1960s, there has been no manufacturing industry on the island since
then. The current major industry there is agriculture; citrus fruits, beans, potatoes and other
vegetables are grown. Potatoes used to be the staple food on the island. The residents must
make regular journeys to downtown Mihara City in order to purchase daily necessities and
acquire medical services.
In 2010, there were 23 houses in Kosagijima. Some of the vacant houses are still visited
and maintained by the house owners or by relatives. Many others, however, have been left
unvisited for a long time, and two have been almost completely abandoned (Yagi, 2010b).
Figure 2. Typical uninhabited house almost collapsing.
A private company in the Hiroshima prefecture offered to sponsor the project, and two
abandoned houses have been renovated in the community. The first project was mostly
renovated using a DIY approach (except where legally required to employ professionals),
while the second project utilized a contractor. Although the two renovation projects adopted
different construction schemes, they shared fundamental construction policies: a preference
for traditional, local, recyclable materials whenever possible; minimal construction waste;
and the adoption of passive air conditioning utilizing the microclimate.
Design Build Project Studio
The first project, a house facing a small inlet port, was initiated in early 2010 (Figure 3).
Figure 3. A vacant house selected for the pioneering renovation project.
The house owner lives in the mainland Mihara City, rarely visits and barely maintains
the house. The roof was damaged and leaking, and the interior had started to decay. These
problems needed to be immediately handled. However, construction work could not start
until the end of 2010.
Although design work was completed by the spring, it took much longer than expected
to dispose or hand over the former residents’ private belongings. Furthermore, the project
team struggled to raise funding and thus elected to do a DIY renovation. Several artists, art
Figure 4. Transporting building materials and construction waste via private boat.
Renovation work finally began at the end of 2010. First, all modern industrialized sidings
and interior finishes added to the original structure were taken down. The original clay wall,
which was still in good condition, was discovered under the exterior wooden grain metal
sidings and plywood interior finishes. Most of the detached building materials and other
materials were stored for later reuse (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Damaged Tatami mats were reused for insulation.
Less damaged floorboards were carefully removed and saved for exterior work.
Concrete blocks were crushed and reused for the pavement base of the entrance
approach (Figure 6). Metal sidings were replaced with traditional wooden sidings, which are
very popular among Inland Sea communities (Figure 7). The original clay wall was mostly still
intact, so we decided to keep it uncovered for humidity and thermal control. A very steep
slope right behind the house provided sufficient cold air flow in the summer. The project team
successfully removed the air conditioner from this house (Figure 8). The project was
completed in spring 2011. The house has since been used as project team’s studio space.
Figure 7. Wood siding exterior. Fully open toward the water.
Figure 8. No air conditioner to use electricity, but there is a wood burning stove.
Contractor Model
The second project was initiated right after the design build project was completed. The
house owner had not visited the house for a long time because his parents, who had lived
there, passed away. The roof of the storage space was also damaged, but the main part of
the house was preserved in relatively good condition (Figure 9).
Figure 10. The gallery utilizing a former potato storage space.
An art piece occupying the premier space in the main room welcomes visitors to the
gallery house (Figure 11). Although the main gallery is air conditioned to preserve the
artworks, the rest of the house is not air conditioned. Moreover, all light sources were
replaced to use LED light bulbs (Figure 12). The exteriors were almost untouched, but the
metal siding material was replaced with wooden siding, as done with the first project (Figure
Figure 11. Hiroshi Senju’s painting rests in the main gallery. The clay wall was untouched.
Figure 12. Dining and meeting space open to the forecourt.
Figure 13. Exterior with Japanese plaster and traditional wooden sidings.
Eliminating Energy Consumption
These two examples show how energy consumption can be eliminated at different stages of
the renovation process. To avoid dumping personal belongings and minimizing construction
waste, the recycling of construction materials on site remarkably reduced the usage of surface
Conclusion
The results of this case study present a local prototype for passive low energy house design.
Our project members frequently stay in the studio and recognize that our design approach
was appropriate for this environment. The sponsor company has established a foundation to
help the community on the island, and their staff reside in the gallery house.
These case study projects revealed that traditional materials and tectonics are still
favorable and promising in our era. The renovated houses naturally fit in the local context, as
they have been there for a long time. They also successfully realized a low life-cycle cost and
low energy consumption model. Such solutions can contribute to preventing the extinction
of insular marginal communities and to sustaining the future of our society.
References
Cloke, P. (1985). Counterurbanisation: a Rural Perspective, Geography, Vol.70, No.1, pp.13–23.
Cross, D.F.W. (1988). Counterurbanisation in England and Wales: The Migration Evidence. London:
Department of Geography, King's College London.
Masuda, H. (2014). The Death of Regional Cities: A horrendous simulation Regional Cities Will Disappear
by 2040 A Polarized Society will Emerge. [online] Japan Policy Forum. Available at:
http://www.japanpolicyforum.jp/archives/politics/pt20140120152454.html [Accessed 10 Apr. 2017].
Yagi, K. (2010a). Art on Water: Art that revitalizes Insular Communities Facing Depopulation and
Economic Decline, Nakhara: Journal of Environmental Design & Planning, Vol. 6, pp.119–130.
Yagi, K. (2010b). A Multiple Residence Framework for Sustaining an Insular Community, Proceedings of
the 8th International Symposium on Architectural Interchanges in Asia, pp.663-pp.666.
Introduction
The beginning of the year 2003 saw a rapid growth in the number of Passivhaus projects
around the world. It has been estimated that 30,000 Passivhaus buildings have been realised,
with the majority being residential projects. The total number of Passivhaus projects in the
UK is estimated to be around 400 units (94 projects), 380 of which were residential (at the
time of March 2016). However, the move to adopt Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) as a
mandatory standard has been resisted in many areas with a belief that the benefits are
outweighed by the limitations imposed on architectural design when using PHPP. In this
research, 42 Passivhaus homes have been surveyed in which 10 projects have been studied
in detail to examine the architectural typologies that are generated from the use of PHPP in
the UK. This paper explores the impact of the Passivhaus design approach on orientation,
fenestration, size and spatial relationships of the buildings and determines the impact that it
has on architectural design. Qualitative research with the occupants of these homes provides
a further understanding of the lived experience of Passivhaus and how users adapt to the
technical systems that are required to achieve Passivhaus certification. The case study
analysis reveals connections between adaptations made in those living in a Passivhaus to
achieve comfort, and questions how different this really is to standard housing.
England England
Bioclimatic Scotland Scotland Scotland England W & East England SE/Central
region N W E E & NE Walse N Midlands Anglia SW/Wales S S
No. of
projects 1 2 4 6 5 5 3 6 10
Quantitative analysis
In the Passivhaus design guide, several design features are highlighted as being the most
important in terms of their effect on the performance of the Passivhaus. These are orientation
and shading; building form and form factor; U-value; and airtightness. Those factors became
the focus of the quantitative analysis. The design recommendations for a Passivhaus include
a focus on achieving the standard’s energy performance. In comparison, the studied cases
exhibit similar properties in the U-value of external envelope and airtightness. The main
differences occur in their form factors and orientation.
Orientation and shading
In the PHPP, the climatic data used to calculate thermal performance is based on 22 climatic
regions across the UK, as specified by the BRE. It also makes adjustments for altitude (-0.6
degree for every 100 m increase in altitude). Aside from guidance in the PHPP, a Passivhaus
design guide – the BRE Passive House Primer – has also been widely used for building
practitioners aiming to achieve the Passivhaus standard. It is recommended in the BRE Passive
House Primer that the orientation of a building should aim to maximise its solar gain, which
Qualitative analysis
Following the quantitative analysis of design factors, the correlational analysis below involves
a cross-examination between the physical properties of each Passivhaus project and the
corresponding interview data. The analysis has gathered the discomfort/problems
highlighted in occupants’ interviews in order to identify the design issues that contributed to
those problems. For the purpose of this paper, one major issue concerning overheating is
discussed.
In the interview, moderate or mild overheating was reported as a discomfort in almost
all of the case studies in this research, including both the northernmost and southernmost
projects. It can be observed that despite the geographical locations or bioclimatic regions of
the building, certain design features of Passivhaus buildings make them more vulnerable to
Plan
LA1 first floor DO1 first floor TO first floor
Elevation
Therefore, it can be observed that the control of overheating using shading devices
depends to a great extent on the environmental conditions and also on the occupants’
behaviour. The effectiveness of either external or internal shading needs to be considered in
the design phase in relation to the prevailing weather conditions, window detail and the
occupancy.
Cross and stack ventilation
Natural ventilation using windows on both sides of the house is regarded by all
occupants to be the most effective way to control overheating and the most preferred way
to ventilate. However, it is worth repeating that in order to sufficiently control overheating
by natural ventilation, cross ventilation needs to be designed in conjunction with proper
control activities practised by the occupants. In this research, several cases can be listed as
examples of such a design feature, including cases CR, FO and HA, as well as the DO project.
The overheating problems in these projects were resolved through effective ventilation, with
the support of fair cross ventilation and, wherever possible, stack ventilation design and an
active adaptation of behaviour in controlling the windows.
Taking CR project for example, in order to control overheating, an observable
behavioural adaptation, a newly developed routine of combining natural ventilation, shading
and mechanical ventilation was performed:
[…] In the summer we do open the windows in an intelligent way so
early in the morning we open north facing windows on the ground
floor, let the cool air come in and walk its way upstairs. So we pull
blinds down to keep away the mid-day summer sun out when
necessary, we also use the MVHR system to do night time purging. […]
From about mid night through to 6 am, […] by the morning the house
is quite cool. (interview with CR occupant)
Concluding remarks
The rigour and care that were put into the research design have ensured the results of this
research are valid. However, it is important to acknowledge that the existence of a number
of limitations during the research design process may have prevented it from achieving more
significant findings. Firstly, in terms of the qualitative nature of this research, no
environmental measurement was taken to indicate temperature, air velocity, humidity and
accurate energy consumption. This decision was made at the beginning of this research in
References
Lewis, S. (2014). PHPP Illustrated : A Designer's Companion to The Passive House Planning Package,
London : Riba Publishing.
Mcleod, R., Mead, K. & Standen, M. Passivhaus Primer: Designer's Guide.
Rojas G. et al. (2016). Applying the passive house concept to a social housing project in Austria –
evaluation of the indoor environment based on long-term measurements and user surveys. Advances in
Building Energy Research . 10 (1).
Tabatabaei S. et al. (2015). Overheating investigation in UK social housing flats built to the Passivhaus
standard. Building and Environment, 92, pp. 222-235
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Routledge & K. Paul,.
Cha ir:
Paul Touhy
336
Bridging the Theory of Regenerative Design and the Current Building Practice:
Evaluation of Regenerative Design Support Tools
Aysegul Akturk1
1
The Herberger Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85281, USA,
aakturk@asu.edu
Abstract: Although current practices of sustainable design exhibit many improvements on conventional design,
they only slow down the degradation of earth’s natural systems. The emerging field of regenerative design (RD)
and development extends the concept and application of sustainability by shifting the goal from a ‘net-zero’ to
‘net positive’ approach and strives to reverse the negative impacts. Defining RD is easier than setting measurable
performance goals due to the complexity of the topic. However, several RD support tools, serve a significant role
in bridging the theory and the current building practice, are emerging to guide the transition. This paper aims to
explore the methods and techniques in the current RD tools and to identify their limitation and research gaps.
A review of definition and key principles of RD and a conceptual framework called Holistic Regenerative Design
Framework are proposed to evaluate the comprehensiveness of RD support tools—REGEN, Eco-Balance,
Perkins+Will Framework, Living Building Challenge, and LENSES. The results show that none of the tools are
comprehensive enough to clearly guide designers. The paper concludes by characterizing the tools;
recommending an approachable way to use the tools together in order to incorporate whole system thinking;
and providing directions for future research.
Introduction
The emerging field of regenerative design (RD) and development redefines the goal of built
environments, the process of design, and the role of designers. Although the current practices
of green design exhibit many improvements on conventional design for conserving resources
and reducing the damage to the environment and humans, they only slow down the
degradation of earth’s natural systems. RD aims to reverse the negative impacts instead of
merely slowing them down.
The theory and concept of RD is complex and cannot be easily quantified. It is not easy
to set measurable performance goals like the green design approach because it requires
thinking of whole systems and interconnectedness of humanity and nature during design
process to create living systems that are mutually beneficial and co-evolving. Several RD
support tools are emerging to bridge the gap between the theory and current building
practice by offering indicators and frameworks. However, there is still a need for future
studies to create adequate metrics and methods to comprise whole systems thinking. In the
given complexity, this study aims to examine the tools to find a clarity and a practical pathway.
Holistic Regenerative Design Framework
This paper proposes an overall framework called Holistic Regenerative Design Framework
(HRDF) to visually represent RD and its key attributes (Figure 1). The HRDF highlights the
importance of a new kind of understanding of success with both quantitative and qualitative
indicators. It has four ‘Essence’ as a framing structure to gather all attributes together:
Philosophy, Design Process, Indicators, and Emergence of Regeneration. Each Essence
consists of four Categories, and there are sixteen Categories in total. Although the graphic has
a linear visual representation, the process is cyclic and continual. The HRDF can be used to
both design a project and to evaluate the existing design tools or case studies. In this study,
the HRDF was used to evaluate the RD support tools.
There is a general expectance in the field that one tool will address and solve all of the
issues of RD. However, it is very difficult to generate whole system thinking with one single
tool. Thus, this paper recommends using the tools together while it offers a specific area for
each due to their different purposes, perspectives, and strengths. They can work in
conjunction with others to create the most comprehensive view. This approach is an attempt
to apply whole system thinking into the tool evaluation process.
This paper suggests integrating the RD tools based on their strength characterized as
the following. REGEN: is an analysis tool by providing place specific web-based data at the
beginning of design. Eco-Balance: is an introductory education tool and can be used to
introduce the philosophy of RD to designers etc. Perkins+Will Framework: is an ongoing
education tool that might be used in architectural firms to inspire the teams. Education is a
missing part in practice. LBC: is an assessment and advocacy tool. It can be used along with a
process-based design tool to apply RD concepts into a real project. LENSES: is a process tool.
The numeric values in its Vitality Lens show a potential for the possibility of integrating
assessment function in the future.
Conclusion
As the concept of RD gains prominence, it is anticipated that there will be an increasing
demand for more comprehensive and approachable design support tools to guide
practitioners aspiring to engage with it. Observing the development and testing of RD tools
will certainly lead to shifts in thinking and understanding. Although it is predictable that using
the RD support tools requires many more skills and personal transformation, the new skills
required to engage RD are still unclear. The other issue is considering how mechanistic and
References
Akturk, A. (2016). Regenerative Design and Development for a Sustainable Future: Definitions and Tool
Evaluation. Master. University of Minnesota.
Clegg, P. (2012). A practitioner’s view of the ‘Regenerative Paradigm.’ Building Research & Information,
40(3): 365–368.
Cole, R.J. (2012a). Regenerative Design and Development: Current Theory and Practice (Editorial).
Building Research & Information. 40(1): 1–6.
Cole, R.J. (2012b). Transitioning from Green to Regenerative Design. Building Research & Information.
40(1): 39–53.
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Design Framework: Setting New Aspirations and Initiating New Discussions. Building Research & Information,
40(1), 95–111.
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Information, 40(1): 7–22.
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Paradigm for the Built Environment. Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 109: 53–61.
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Dialogue. Building Research & Information, 40(1), 65–80.
Lyle, J.T. (1994). Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.
Mang, P. and Reed, B. (2012a). Designing from Place: a Regenerative Framework and Methodology.
Building Research & Information, 40(1): 23–38.
Mang, P. and Reed, B. (2012b). Designing from Place: a Regenerative Framework and Methodology.
Building Research & Information, 40(1): 23–38.
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to regenerative development. Sustainable Building Conference (SB10). New Zealand.
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674–680.
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Abstract: Green building certification systems aim at improving the design and operation of buildings. However,
few detailed studies have investigated whether green certification effectively leads to higher occupant
satisfaction with the qualities of the indoor environment. Building on previous work, we analysed a subset of
the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) Occupant Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) survey database –
featuring 11,243 responses from 93 LEED-rated office buildings – to rigorously explore the relationships between
the credits achieved by certified buildings in the IEQ category and the satisfaction expressed by occupants with
their workspace and with related factors of indoor environmental quality. We found that the achievement of a
specific IEQ credit did not increase occupant satisfaction. Qualitative assessments suggested that there are many
reasons for this lack of relationships, many of which are outside the control of designers and beyond the scope
of green building certification systems based primarily on design intent. We conclude with a summary of
recommendations that design professionals, certification systems, and evaluation methods need to consider for
moving us towards more comfortable, higher performing, and healthier green-certified buildings.
Keywords: Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), Occupant Satisfaction, Green Certification, Post-occupancy
Evaluation, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
Introduction
Green building certification systems are assuming a prominent role to promote the
sustainability agenda in the design and operation of buildings. However, their contribution
towards improved satisfaction with indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is still much debated.
Particularly in the workplace, the qualities of the indoor environment (heat, light, sound, air
quality, etc.) can profoundly impact on occupants’ comfort, performance, health, and
wellbeing (Huang et al., 2012; Bluyssen, 2014). However, despite the assumption that a
certified building leads to improved IEQ (USGBC, 2017a), the empirical evidence has often
been inconsistent, mostly due to differences in data collection and analysis techniques.
Among studies reporting positive effects of IEQ in certified buildings, MacNaughton et
al. (2017) conducted cognitive tests in green-certified and in non-certified but high-
performing buildings (n= 69). While buildings had roughly equal indoor environmental
conditions, cognitive performance was higher in the certified buildings (possibly also due to
workplace culture and other non-measured factors). Performing meta-analysis on data from
two large field studies, Leder et al. (2016) found that users of green-rated offices tended to
rate all aspects of environmental satisfaction more highly than occupants of conventional
buildings, although working in a certified office was not necessarily associated with higher job
satisfaction. The study also suggested that users of green buildings might be more ‘forgiving’
Methods
This study was structured on a mixed-method research design, combining quantitative
analysis of user satisfaction in LEED-rated buildings with qualitative assessments derived from
an industry focus group with designers and researchers, our professional judgment, and a
comprehensive review of the literature.
The details of the methods and analysis approach are presented in Altomonte et al.
(2017b) and in Walker (2015), and we provide only a brief summary here. The dataset, which
is described in Table 1, originates from the Center for the Built Environment Occupant IEQ
survey database (CBE, 2017), and includes 11,243 responses from 93 LEED-rated office
buildings located in US (83) and Canada (10). These buildings were selected since they all
hosted office-type activities and administered the survey within two years of certification.
Results
We analysed a total of 72 comparisons between the IEQ categories of the CBE survey and the
relative IEQ LEED credits. For a selection of these comparisons, Figure 1 and Table 2 illustrate
the boxplots and the descriptive and inferential statistics of results, providing the sizes of
sample groups (N0 and N1), the means (M0 and M1), medians (Mdn0 and Mdn1) and their
differences (ΔM and ΔMdn), the two-tailed statistical significance (p-value) for the Wilcoxon
tests, and the effect sizes (ρ). Buildings were grouped based on LEED products and versions.
Table 2. Descriptive and inferential statistics for selected comparisons between satisfaction and IEQ credits
Credit CBE Category N0 N1 M0 M1 Mdn0 Mdn1 ΔM ΔMdn p-value ρ
EQc2 Air Quality 2,143 2,417 1.24 1.44 2.0 2.0 -0.20 0.0 <0.001 0.07
EQc6.2 Temperature 2,396 1,854 0.51 0.67 1.0 1.0 -0.16 0.0 <0.001 0.05
EQc8.1 Amount of Light 3,850 1,721 1.19 1.42 2.0 2.0 -0.23 0.0 <0.001 0.05
EQc8.2 Visual Comfort 1,004 907 1.46 1.23 2.0 2.0 0.23 0.0 <0.001 -0.07
p≤ 0.001= highly significant; 0.001< p ≤0.01= significant; 0.01< p ≤0.05= weakly significant; p> 0.05= not significant
ρ< 0.20= negligible; 0.20≤ ρ <0.50= small; 0.50≤ ρ<0.80= moderate; ρ≥ 0.80= large
Groups: B=NC 2.0, NC 2.1; C= NC 2.2, NC 2009; C1= CI 2.0; C2= CI 2009; C3= Canada CI 1.0; C4= CI 1.0; F= EB 2.0
Surprisingly, the graphs show a tendency for satisfaction with the workspace to
decrease as the number of IEQ points increases (Fig. 2a), particularly for buildings certified by
LEED NC, while for LEED CI there was a positive slope relationship (Fig. 2b). Also seen is a trend
for buildings rated by newer versions of LEED (2.2 and 2009) to perform slightly better in
terms of mean satisfaction as the IEQ points increase (Fig. 2c). Overall, the results suggest
that the number of IEQ points achieved is not a predictor of satisfaction with the workspace.
Before discussing these results, we want to offer a couple of caveats concerning the
limitations of these findings. First, even though we had a large sample, our dataset cannot be
considered representative of all certified office buildings and rating systems. Second, even
though a specific IEQ credit was not achieved, there may still have been other strategies
implemented to address that environmental factor, hence ‘diluting’ the difference between
the sets of buildings that have achieved or have not achieved a given IEQ point.
Discussion
Using our own qualitative investigations and studies found in the literature, this discussion
reflects on the many challenges occurring throughout the design, construction, and use of a
building that might affect its performance in terms of occupant satisfaction.
Design and certification vs. occupancy and operation
The design intentions of a project, which is generally the basis for green certification, might
be different than the operational characteristics of a building that is then assessed using a
survey in a post-occupancy evaluation (in this case, within two years from certification).
Buildings are complex and dynamic, and in the time between design and occupancy
many intervening factors can potentially alter the existence – or the performance – of the
strategies for which the green rating was awarded. This can begin already during construction,
particularly if contractors were not involved in the design phase and have to manage over-
complex and inflexible building systems. Also, the operation of buildings requires fine-tuning
and adjustments over time to address the performance gaps that often occur between
modelled and measured energy use (de Wilde, 2014). It would not be surprising, therefore,
that a similar gap might also manifest itself in occupant IEQ satisfaction, regardless of the
total amount of IEQ points achieved, or whether a specific IEQ point had been scored or not
at design stage. Conversely, the trends for more positive associations between satisfaction
with the workspace and total IEQ points attained for newer versions of LEED may be deemed
as a reassuring outcome in terms of the progress made by certification systems.
Conclusions
Based on the quantitative analysis of a dataset featuring 11,243 responses from 93 LEED-
certified buildings, the achievement of an IEQ credit did not substantively affect occupant IEQ
satisfaction, and the total IEQ points obtained had negligible influence on satisfaction with
the workspace, independent of the product under which certification was awarded.
Supported by qualitative assessments, these conclusions lead to the following
recommendations. For designers and facility managers: the design phase of a project differs
from the post-occupancy evaluation stage, requiring direct involvement in performance and
feedback monitoring to fine-tune operating strategies and transfer best practice to the
building industry. For green certification systems: the metrics to attain IEQ credits need to
better represent reliable indicators of occupant satisfaction. For evaluation methods and
tools: surveys rely on subjective measures assessing the perspective of the user, but are best
used if supported by physical measurements and in-person interviews to holistically appraise
building performance; also, satisfaction might be driven by factors other than IEQ parameters,
such as time spent at the workspace, attitudes, expectations, workplace culture, etc.
There is no ‘silver-bullet’ for a satisfactory and healthy work environment. Given the
dynamic nature of buildings, the complexity of the users, the diverse and evolving demands
of the workplace, and the need for these factors to be effectively monitored and analysed,
there are still many challenges that the green building industry needs to tackle to promote
indoor environmental qualities conducive to satisfaction and wellbeing. However, if sustained
by advancements in research and design practice, green rating systems can offer significant
opportunities towards better, more comfortable, higher performing, and healthier buildings.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Kristine Walker for her contribution as described in her
Master of Science in Architecture thesis at the University of California, Berkeley (USA).
References
Allen, J., MacNaughton, P., Laurent, J., Flanigan, S., Eitland, E., Spengler, J. (2015). Green buildings and
health. Current Environmental Health Reports, 2, pp. 250-258.
Altomonte, S. & Schiavon, S. (2013). Occupant satisfaction in LEED and non-LEED certified buildings.
Building and Environment, 68, pp. 66-76.
Abstract: This paper constitutes the conclusion of a three-month pilot study, concluding March 2017, performed
in a CfSH level 5 housing projects in Lincolnshire, UK. The study uses purpose designed activity and occupancy logs,
climate tracking and monitoring of interior environment through the use of data loggers. The research’s final
output uses occupancy tracking by introducing self-observation and its translation to energy consumption by its
integration into multiple occupancy calculation methodologies to investigate these results within the post-pilot
study phase. The pilot study constitutes the development of these methods according to each house’s occupants
and the research objectives. The study aims at generating multi-configuration household behavioural profiles
through extracting a comprehensive full set of data, including room functions, activities and factors that contribute
to energy consumption by balancing the use of logs and participant comfort. The research undertakes a bottom-
up survey, assessing consumption information of frequently used equipment in the house and calculating variable
total consumption in accordance with the occupancy and activity logs. In addition, the use of an initial semi-
structured interview that was undertaken to address the phenomenological causes that underline the observed
behaviour, as well as account for non-quantifiable factors of behaviour. The findings of this study have shown
patterns of behaviour that are atypical of usual design assumptions as well as a variety of household combinations
that interact uniquely with their buildings.
Keywords: Behavioural Profiles; Performance Gap; Occupancy log; Code for Sustainable Homes (CFsH)
Introduction
Agencies in the UK began with rolling out regulations to affect citizens’ energy consumption. By
adjusting how houses are constructed and how users interact with their building through cost
manipulation (Odeyale etal, 2013; Warren, 2014) and enforcing regulations for planning and
construction. After the development of Eco-Homes and its later iteration, Code for sustainable Homes
in 2007, in March 2015 BRE announced the phasing out of CfSH and the use of the previously known as
code level four as the base level for construction until 2016 (GOV, 2015; Department for Communities
and Local Government, 2015). However measured performance post-occupation needed improvement
and this caused the surfacing of PROBE studies 1995-2002 by CIBSE followed by Building Performance
Evaluation funding (Tse and Colmer, 2014).As of writing this paper in 2017, housing standards are at
a tipping point following the new optional building regulations which still use the previous version of
SAP and the optional ability to construct houses based on any of the international or national standards
such as the newly developed Home Quality Mark (HQM and BRE, 2015).During that transitional shift
in regulation, the final reports for the building performance evaluation program and the performance
gap studies by InnovateUK and Zero Carbon Hub (ZCH) as well as partner universities and industry
specialists were published ending a phase of “proving the existence of the performance gap” and in a
way, initiating the age of bridging the gap during the transitional and recommendations period (Tse and
Colmer, 2014; ZCH, 2015; Digital Catapult, 2016; Pannell, 2016) ). This change in regulation left the
House 12
House 10
House 3
House 1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Figure 2. Occupancy and employment values within the case study, from interviews and recruitment
Methodology
To counter the aforementioned problems, the pilot study of this research project started off by
identifying a number of tools, some used previously and others created for this task to generate a large
amount of data that can be used within this research to draw relationships and weed out irrelevant and
negligible aberrations in behaviour.
The research relies heavily on the research subjects’ self-observation of their behaviour and
activities through the use of: 1) Daily room occupancy logbooks, 2) Daily activity logbooks, 3) Footfall
plan of movement during a typical day, the details of each tool will be further discussed in the following
section. The researcher also conducted a number of interviews; based on a modified version of a
Building Use Study (CIBSE, 2012) in addition to a number of transcendental phenomenological
(Moustakas, 2010) questions that require the users to identify behaviours they routinely or
subconsciously partake in. In addition, a bottom up survey of all electric equipment inside the house
was performed and mapped on the building’s floor plan.
In summary, the research will follow a mixed method research investigation (HO et al., 2006,
Cohen et al., 2011). Globally the research will be conducted in the format of an investigative cross-case
analysis (Simons, 1996, VanWynsberghe et al., 2008), to ultimately deduce the most prominent factors
of user behaviour and how they affect buildings designed using the current UK methodology, SAP under
the Code for Sustainable Homes level 5 and compared against data gathered from the Building Use
Study and data gathered through this research. Individually, by using empirical data from building
performance analysis reports and measurements (Digital Catapult, 2016). Qualitative data gathering
through various forms of interview and usage logs (Geer, 1991, Witzel, 2000, Turner, 2010; ElNokaly &
Keeling, 2016), and their conversion into comparable and analyzable quantitative values that are to be
used within statistical modelling (Dixon-Woods et al., 2005).
However, in addition to gathering a large set of quantitative data, the researcher investigates
using a structured interview method with open-ended questions to investigate phenomenological and
perception based responses that could account for some of the observed behaviour through logbooks
and an experimental procedure. The interview’s structure also adopts a modified Building Use Study
(BUS) Survey, to extract more perception based question. The research will validate the results obtained
from the research-modified interview against the results obtained from the validated results returned
by the BUS Methodology group. The BUS methodology has been developed by survey firm Building Use
Studies and refined by CIBSE (CIBSE, 1997; CIBSE, 2012). It is used to extract quantitative responses
regarding building quality, design and comfort (Pretlove and Kade, 2016). The logbooks are a 30-minute
time step chart of activities and room occupancy designed to be filled easily by the participants, they
monitor their own activities by filling in the respective time slot, that would be used by the researchers
to create a time-plot of probabilistic behaviour and how it would contribute to consumption. The
researcher also asked the occupants to participate in an experimental self-observation procedure
(Rodríguez et al., 2002; Elnokaly & Martin,2014)), the footfall is marked on a floor plan of their respective
houses and given the intensity of lines, the researcher can compare the findings to current occupancy
analysis software to identify the gap in assumed versus actual behaviour.
Semi-Structured Interviews
The researcher’s first task was to gather demographic, quality of life and transcendental
phenomenological information regarding the users’ perception of their life and actions in their current
dwelling. As well as identify the possible motives behind self-selection of their current dwellings and
decisions of probabilistic and planned behavior. The use of a semi-structured interview provides the
Air Tightness
Figure 3 Summary and
of the MHRV technology and understanding section
house's Consistency
of the of Temperature
interview (Researcher’s own work)
Table 2 Quotes that support various assumptions and validate information gathered through the logs
How well do you understand the integration of MHRV in the passive strategies & active heating solutions of the house?
“Not well, however my husband maintains all the systems”
“We attended a course on operation of eco-houses in Grimsby so we could know the basics of the heating and heat
recovery system. We are still not entirely sure how it works but we’re learning”
“We have only lived here for the duration of one summer so we are not entirely sure how the building performs yet. It was
quite warm so we did not need to operate any of the systems”
Time of day when you start turning on the lights?
All houses mentioned that they found that their lighting behaviour depends on real daylight hours, that information was
validated by reviewing activity and occupancy logs.
How long have you lived in this house? Is this your first high performance/ecohouse?
“We used to live in a Victorian style house with 5 bedrooms that used to get quite cold and would run up quite a bill for
heating. We decided to invest in a house like this hoping to cut down on bills especially now that we live alone after our
children moved out”
“I used to own another property that was marketed as ecohouse, I moved here to be closer to the city and closer to work”
Figure 3 Data Translation procedures through excel sheet. (Researcher’s own work)
2
Introduction
Heat consumption in domestic buildings is based on thermal comfort and personal hygiene
regimes. Both depend on building envelope efficiency, occupant habits and behaviours and
heating services. The heating services efficiency is dependent on the Coefficient of
Performance (COP), fuel used and the degradation of the system over time, partially affected
by poor maintenance patterns. Space heating is dependent on the building’s envelope
efficiency and the occupant’s energy efficient habits. Number of occupants in the dwelling
and also the patterns of use in cooking, showering/ bathing can greatly influence fuel used
for water heating. Equally significant, are internal gains from latent heat sources, electrical
appliances and solar gains influenced by building orientation and fenestration design.
Household heat consumption from gas fuel accounts for the majority of the household energy
(approx. 80%) and over half of the household’s energy bill. (Kane et al., 2011).
Since the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) issued the 2010 guidelines
(EU Parliament, 2010) for measurement and verification of energy consumption in buildings,
a large focus has been on its calculation methodology, enforcement of minimum energy
requirements and the certification process (Burman et al., 2014). In the UK the Standard
Assessment Procedure (SAP) is the country’s National Calculation Methodology (NCM),
producing an Energy Efficient and Environmental Impact score from 1 to 100 (G to A) (Kelly et
al., 2012). The SAP scores are based on dwellings heat consumption. The steady state
Methodology
The study of this housing development focused on a variety of system providers, all innovative
in their fabrication, material use and assembly (off-site or on-site) (Bros-Williamson et al.,
2016). A large focus was on comparing delivered heat energy since the dwellings handover in
summer 2012 to winter 2016/17 against the predicted results using the SAP. The results are
presented by calendar year; year 1 represents the occupied year of 2012 and so on until year
2015 which finalises in 2016. Comparison results have been obtained by taking in-home
display (IHD) hourly energy consumption data, corroborated with yearly meter readings,
focusing on delivered space and water heating predominantly using natural gas as a fuel.
The yearly delivered energy was analysed statistically to provide more insight into the
energy consumption levels, patterns and behaviours of the households. The authors present
the statistical data under well-established conventions however new ways of analysing and
observing trends have been explored.
The analysis begins by justifying the use of typical grouping and identifier methods.
Convention in this area of research selects the use of archetypes of dwellings to obtain groups
within the sample. As a result of the small sample size and the varied archetype, it was
intended to observe the data differently. The mean (average) delivered heat demand results
over the 4 years of monitoring against the heating predicted SAP results are plotted over
monitored years, first by archetype followed by consumption grouping converted into Z
scores and analysing variables in a K-means cluster analysis (MacQueen, 1967), with one
iteration to establish groups. The results effectively divided the sample into three groups; ‘low
energy consumer’, ‘medium energy consumer’ and ‘high energy consumer’’ relative to the
yearly energy delivered within the group.
The paper proceeds to identify the best normalisation factor. Most energy related
studies will use delivered energy over a set period, normalised by the heated floor space of
the building (kWh/m2/yr). However, in this paper the data is compared by using other
conditions such as yearly energy demand per volume (kWh/m3), number of people (kWh/ppl)
and predicted over actual energy consumption (kWh/kWh) (Stinson, 2015). The Coefficient of
Variation (CV), as a percentage, was used as an indicator to describe which normalisation
condition was a best fit for the data. The lower the percentage CV, the closer each individual
data point is to the group mean. This would suggest that the mean is a good representation
of the whole data set of that sample.
Pre-analysis of data
Most appropriate identifier
Four years energy consumption data and many of the household’s characteristics have been
considered to identify the most appropriate grouping for the sample (n=12).
Typically an archetype classification is used, in this sample there are (n=12), flats (n=2),
Bungalow semi-detached (n=2), house semi-detached (n=7) and house mid-terrace (n=1). The
flats belong to the denominated four-in-a-block configuration with a separate main entrance.
The mean delivered heat energy and its corresponding mean SAP result by each
archetype is plotted per monitored year, shown in Figure 1. The mean SAP results are
noticeably lower than any year of the mean delivered heat energy by each archetype ranging
from the 3,000kWh/year and 4,500kWh/year. The mean results for each monitored year of
consumption are closely grouped. In order to interpret the yearly spread and amount of
variability relative to the mean, the CV was calculated. Flats CV = 3%; Bungalow semi-
detached CV = 8%; House semi-detached CV = 4%. A CV for the House mid-terrace could not
be calculated because of the small sample size. The level of variation within the archetypes is
considerably low, signifying it is a good descriptor for the samples energy consumption.
Figure 1. Heat energy by archetype Figure 2. Heat energy by variables clustering
Results
Longitudinal comparison of energy demand
The yearly delivered energy was analysed to provide a clearer understanding of how energy
was consumed identifying trends linked to occupant behaviour.
The data in Figure 3 shows that the semi-detached houses, flats and semi-detached
bungalows decreased their consumption between year 1 and 2 with a small increase in year
3. The mid-terrace house increases in year 2, then decreases in year 3. The mid-terrace houses
increase demand in year 4 meeting demand of year 3 and 4. The heat energy demand profile
for the flats is of similar magnitude to that of the house mid-terrace. Also, the profile of the
bungalow semi-detached is similar to that of the houses semi-detached.
Results from a mixed-design ANOVA tests suggest that the delivered heat energy levels
for each year are similar between the 4 archetypes. These showed that the level of heat
consumed over the first 4 years of occupation are not statistically different within the 4
archetypes category F(9,24) = 0.608 p>.05. Investigating this interaction further, contrasts
were performed comparing each year of heat energy consumed to year 1 across the 4
archetypes. These showed non-significant (p>.05) differences when comparing the
archetypes heat energy consumption for year 2 to year 1 F(3,8) = 0.472. Year 3 to year 1 F(3,8)
= 0.265. Year 4 to year 1 F(3,8) = 1.121.
Figure 3. Delivered heat energy by archetype Figure 4. Delivered heat energy between the 3 groups
Figure 4 shows the heat energy demand profiles for each energy level type based on
the K-means cluster analysis. The ANOVA results using the heat energy demand as grouped
Figure 5. Energy factor by archetype Figure 6. Energy factor by consumption groups
200%
100%
50%
0%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Household ID
Figure 7. Average of 4 years delivered heat energy compared to SAP
Conclusion
Using descriptive statistics, this paper investigates the use of conventional and un-
conventional methods for evidencing the impacts between predicted energy and actual
delivered energy of a sample of twelve homes in Dunfermline, Fife.
The conventional use of clustering by archetype has been analysed, as well as proposing
a different descriptor of energy demand by grouping low, medium and high energy consumer
homes. Both were statistically convenient, however energy groupings evidences the gap in
performance clearer over longer periods. In the same way, the normalisation methods used
for analysing and benchmarking energy demand. Most will use conventional kWh/m2/yr,
however this paper uses volume, people and SAP results. Lower confidence of variation (CV)
results show that normalising by volume is better than conventional methods.
Finally, results comparing delivered energy over time against the predicted revealed a
non-significant (p>.05) interaction. This was evident when comparing year 1 against other
years, revealing that early occupation years give little evidence of the actual energy
consumption with a preference for ≥3 years of occupation. Furthermore, analysis of the
individual household’s delivered heat energy showed that the dwelling built with
conventional methods and technology, obtained a HEF close to 0 thus performing similarly to
the predicted, as shown in Figure 7 as household 5. This observation could lead to concluding
that the steady-state compliance tools for predicting energy are better suited to conventional
dwellings and possibly not suited to alternative construction types with new technology. It
also raises concerns over alternative heating technology, not used suitably by occupants
leading to increased energy.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge Julie Watson and Bill Banks from Kingdom Housing
Association, as well as all the residents and system providers part of the HIS project.
References
Bros-Williamson, J., Garnier, C. & Currie, J.I. (2016) A longitudinal building fabric and energy performance
analysis of two homes built to different energy principles. Energy and Buildings, 130, pp.578–591.
Burman, E., Mumovic, D. & Kimpian, J. (2014) Towards measurement and verification of energy
performance under the framework of the European directive for energy performance of buildings. Energy, 77,
Introduction
Sustainability certification schemes experience growing popularity. In 2010, Green Building
Council Denmark (GBC-DK) was founded and Denmark got its own sustainability certification
scheme based on the German DGNB certification scheme (GBC-DK, 2016). Investigations of
the design processes in four case studies – four Danish DGNB certified healthcare centres,
show that the architectural design has been taken too far in the initial design phases without
analysing and documenting several DGNB criteria (Brunsgaard, 2016). This questions the
quality of sustainability in the overall concept, as it creates a “point of no return”, which
means it is not possible to prioritise the assessment points in the certifications scheme when
needed. Furthermore, it confirms the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, including
the DGNB consultant, from the early design stages. The study suggests further investigations
of the decision-making and design process (DMaDP) on a more common level to possibly
verify the findings on a more general level. The research presented in this paper builds upon
the previous work.
Nevertheless, why is it important to study design processes? In general, knowledge
about the DMaDP is important for us to constantly improve our design approaches and
become more efficient. A conventional design process is already highly complex as
exemplified by Bryan Lawson:
Method
This section will firstly describe the setup of the research design and data collection. Secondly,
explain the assessment of the DMaDP. The DGNB consultants and auditors will be named
DGNB consultants from here, covering both consultant and auditors as for this study it is not
important to distinguish between them.
Research design
The DMaDP is investigated through a questionnaire survey among Danish DGNB consultants.
A questionnaire survey is a suitable approach for this research, as it is possible to investigate
the topic among a large number of respondents and thereby cover a wide variety of projects
and levels of experience with the DGNB assessment scheme (Bryman, 2004; Johansen & Friis,
2011). The questionnaire is distributed to 324 Danish DGNB consultants, who are considered
a representative sample for this study. However, the size of the sample is too little to
generalise, therefore conclusions will be indications or tendencies of the experiences with
DMaDP using DGNB certification schemes. The questionnaire is prepared in the software
SurveyXact (Rambøll Management Consulting, 2017) and distributed by email containing an
invitation to participate in the survey and a brief introduction to the theme and aim of the
questionnaire. GBC-DK provided the email addresses, and the consultants have answered the
questionnaire online. The respondents are promised anonymity. A reminder was sent to
consultants who have not answered to collect more answers. Following topics are covered in
the questionnaire: Level of experience with DGNB in general, experience with the DMaDP in
relation to stakeholders involved in different phases, documentation process and time
consumption. Especially questions regarding the documentation process are important as
Involvement of Actors
The following results are based on answers from respondents in group 1. As described earlier,
involving relevant stakeholders from the beginning of the project allows competences to be
integrated earlier than in a conventional process. The respondents were asked to answer to
Phases Idea and analysis Concept and Synthesis phase Project design
phase sketching phase phase
Actor
Legend: 1 means “not to a significant degree” and 5 means “to a great extent”
Client
Architect
Engineer
DGNB
consultant
Constructing
architect
Contractor
Lifecycle assessment Lifecycle cost Energy use Thermal comfort
(LCA) assessment (LCC)
Atmospheric comfort Visual comfort Acoustical comfort Building integrated art
(daylight)
To support the above findings, the consultants were asked to answer which of the topics they
found the hardest and easiest to implement in the concept and sketching phase. The top
three most difficult topics in prioritised order are LCA, LCC and acoustical comfort, whereas
the easiest to implement are energy use, visual and thermal comfort. These answers also fit
with Table 5. Concerning time consumption, 12 out of 14 consultants answer that they use
“more” or “significantly more” time in a DGNB project compared to a similar project not
assessed by DGNB.
Consultants’ suggestions for improvement opportunities
Nine consultants wrote suggestions to improve the DMaDP. Six of them would like to simplify
the process especially in relation to LCA and to some extent LCC. Some suggested light
versions of LCA and LCC tools and others suggest implementation in BIM. Another comment
was that DGNB assessment is best suited for documenting the final project and difficult to
handle in the initial phases informing the design process.
Discussion
Even though the DGNB consultants are considered a representative sample for this study, an
inclusion of other actors of the design process, like the architect and the engineer, might have
changed the outcome of the result as they could have experienced the process differently.
Because the DGNB consultant evaluates his/her involvement as fairly minor in the initial
phases, it is questionable if he/she can answer to what level the different actors have been
involved and when different topics have been documented. Some processes might have been
running between the architect and engineer without the DGNB consultant’s awareness.
However, it is expected that the consultants have the overview of the different criteria in the
assessment scheme. They are asked to answer according to recent projects they have
certified, however that limits the amount of processes covered by the questionnaire. To
Conclusion
The survey shows that to a smaller degree, the design team uses the DGNB consultant along
the design process and particularly so in the early design stages. At the same time, it shows
that especially LCA, LCC, acoustical and atmospheric comfort are not very implemented
before the final stages of the design. This means that the concept is not fully holistic in its
nature, and potentials for optimisation both regards to points in DGNB assessment and the
architectural qualities can be missed. Furthermore, the consultants find those topics hard to
implement in the early design stages. The study shows a potential in developing
methodologies and tools to support the initial design phases securing an iterative DMaDP
based on a sufficient level of knowledge, covering topics relevant to the architectural design,
or at least the topics hardest to implement.
This study will be further developed as 13 respondents volunteered to be contacted
afterwards for a telephone interview. It will allow the findings to be further unfolded and
explained e.g. has there been any repair work to the design in later stages and why.
Additionally, it would give more answers to what kind of support the design teams would like
to have to improve or develop the DMaDP, in the initial stages.
References
Brunsgaard, C, (2016). Sustainability Certification (DGNB) and Design Process in the Case of four
Healthcare Centres. In CLIMA 2016 - proceedings of the 12th REHVA World Congress. Aalborg University 2016
Brunsgaard, C. et al. (2014). The Critical Design Process: Experience from some of the First Passive Houses
in Denmark. Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 31(2), pp.163–180.
Bryman, A. (2004). Social Research Methods. Social Research, 2nd, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
European commission (2014), European commission 2014 - Making buildings more sustainable to
improve health and comfort. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/
article_en.cfm?artid=32084 [Accessed February 2, 2016].
GBC-DK (2016), Green Building Council Denmark. Available at: http://www.dk-gbc.dk/ [Accessed January
25, 2016].
Johansen, K.R. & Friis, L. (2011). En ny undersøgelse viser - eller gør den? : en praktisk guide til
spørgeskemaundersøgelser, Århus : Ajour.
Knudstrup, M.-A. (2004). Integrated Design Process in Problem-based learning. In The Aalborg PBL Model:
Progress, Diversity and Challenges. Aalborg: Aalborg Universitetsforlag. pp. 221–234.
Lawson, B. (2006). How Designers Think: The Design Process Demystified, London: London Architectural
press
Löhnert, G. et al. (2003). Integrated Design Process: A guideline for sustainable and solar-optimised
building design, Task 23 Optimization of Solar Energy Use in Large Buildings Subtask B, International Energy
Agency
Rambøll Management Consulting, SurveyXact. Available at: http://www.survey xact.dk/ [Accessed March
25, 2017].
Chunya Cai
Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand,
chunyacai@gmail.com;
Abstract: The green school movement has been developed in Western countries, such as America, England, and
Australia, for decades. “whole-school sustainability” has been defined and developed as a core value and solid
foundation of the green school design framework worldwide. In tropical developing regions, scarce resources
and limited budget become barriers to promoting green schools and education of sustainability. Even so, there
are pioneer green schools from these regions which apply technologies with low costs and simple maintenance
to achieve whole-school sustainability in rural areas. These pioneer schools had awarded from international
green school programs for their significant efforts. In those reward programs, schools are measured by the
criteria set for developed countries. However, the contributions of these pioneer green schools go beyond the
framework of the measurement. This paper introduces two green school pioneers from these regions, based on
the requirements of the LEED V4 for Schools rating system, which has been used as the worldwide measurement
in the award program “The Greenest School on Earth.” Beyond the basic requirements, these two schools
provide solutions for environmental problems, such as water scarcity, disposing of human excreta, and waste
treatment. These additional solutions represent how a green school can solve essential problems in these
regions, and, most importantly, how they turn these solutions into teaching tools, to enhance environmental
awareness for students, teachers, and communities. This review of the key design strategies of green schools
demonstrates the most feasible solutions for tropical arid climates, to encourage authorities and educators to
convert their teaching environments into green campuses.
Introduction
According to State of the Tropics (2012), by 2050, more than half of the world population will
live in tropical regions, with 67% of children under 15 years old. Most tropical countries are
developing countries, and will remain the same in the 21st century. Furthermore, tropical
regions will play a vital role in sustainable development due to their rapidly growing
economies and population (State of the Tropics, 2012). From “A World at School,” there are
crucial barriers to education in developing regions, apart from critical issues of society, culture,
and finance (Watt, 2014), “Lack of school buildings,” “travel distance from home,” and “poor
sanitation facilities” are crucial issues in this situation (Global Citizen, 2014; Watt, 2014). In
these regions, school facilities become critical and a priority for education development.
The green school movement has been developing globally over the past 40 years, since
environment education (EE) was defined by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1977 (UNESCO, 1978). However, in tropical developing
regions, the green school movement is far less developed than in Western countries, despite
the significant achievements of pioneer green schools from these regions, both in sustainable
learning environments and education for sustainability, as well as their connection with local
Table 1: Five Major Themes Basic Requirements from LEED, Data from (LEED V4, 2016)
Themes Always Required Items
Sustainable Site • Construction activity pollution prevention; • Environmental site assessment
Water Efficiency • Water use reduction; • Indoor Water use reduction; • Building-level water metering
Energy and • Fundamental commissioning and verification; • Minimum energy performance
Atmosphere • Building-level Energy metering; • Fundamental refrigerant management
Materials and • Storage and collection of recyclables;
Resources • Construction and demolition waste management planning
Indoor • Minimum indoor air quality performance; • Environmental tobacco smoke control
Environment • Minimum acoustical performance
Methodology
In this research, design strategies of two pioneer schools from tropical developing regions will
be presented in five major themes from LEED V4 for Schools within the “always required”
content. The rating system from LEED presents basic requirements for green schools
worldwide, it also represents the most up-to-date design strategies in the Greenest School on
Earth program. This research will illustrate the achievements of two green schools, and
discover their effective and feasible solutions beyond LEED basic requirements.
Cade Study
Two green schools from Asia and South Africa have received the Greenest School on Earth
awards. Bali Green School was the winner in 2012, while Vele Secondary School received an
honourable mention in 2014 (CGS, 2012; Cowan, 2015).
Table 2 Brief Introduction of Bali Green School and Vele Secondary School
Bali Green School (2008 built) Vele Secondary School (2011 built)
Location
Figure 1: Bali Green School in Tropics’ Map Figure 2: Vele School in Tropics’ Map
These schools represent up-to-date strategies for green schools in tropical developing
rural areas. They were chosen also because both campuses include classroom buildings, a
library, sports fields, and a range of student ages, which will demonstrate more solutions.
Sustainable Site – Construction and Eco-system protection
• Construction activity pollution prevention; • Environmental site assessment
Sustainable site requirements are related to construction activity pollution and assessment
of site contamination. In both schools, the requirements are easily to achieve with the use of
local materials and traditional building skills. With the contribution of school plantation
gardens and green spaces, the campuses are able to avoid site contamination, both in the
construction process and operation. (Table 3; Table 6)
School Food Plantation and Gardens
In Bali Green School, school gardens are located separately and become connections
between different buildings. There is a cocoa plantation, organic gardens, a medicinal garden,
and peace garden; combined with green paths, the campus is filled with green learning spaces
(Shim, 2010, p. 5). In Vele School, the food plantation uses rainwater for irrigation and
provides organic food for the school kitchen. This effort produces a secure supply of healthy
food, and plays an educational role in the organic plantation. The other achievement at Vele
School is the green roof which covers walkways and part of the building’s roof; this green belt
provides shade for outdoor with local indigenous flora. (Table 3) (Creating Schools, 2017)
Sanitation and Waste Treatment
The eco-toilets at Bali Green School apply a predominantly aerobic process to treat human
and animal excreta. The compost station, where biomass, kitchen waste, and cow manure are
collected and composted, creates organic fertilizer for the gardens and plantations. This green
nitrogen mix is combined with brown carbon layers composed of wood chips, brown leaves,
food scraps, and manure (Shim, 2010). In Vele School, bathrooms are surrounded by the
plantation, covered with a green roof, and located in the centre of campus. The toilet uses a
Figure 7 Bali School Campus Figure 8 Bali School Plantation Figure 9 Bali Green Eco-Toilet
Bali Green School Sustainable Site (Photos by Author)
Figure 10 Vele School Campus Figure 11: Vele School Plantation Figure 12: Vele School Dry Toilet
Vele School Sustainable Site (Photos copyright permitted by Architect Steve Kinsler - Creating Schools)
Water Efficiency
• Water use reduction; • Indoor Water use reduction; • Building-level water metering
In the LEED system, water-use reduction and metering are prior requirements for green
school certification. In both schools, water-use reduction is a priority on campus. Basic
metering systems have been used to monitor the use of water. Due to the scarce rainfall
during the dry season in these regions, water resources are critical; however, rainwater
collection and waste-water recycling are not included in the LEED system. The use of
rainwater and used water could play a vital role in solving water scarcity problems.
Table 4: Water Resource and Consumption, Data from (Shim, 2010; Yong, 2010; Creating Schools, 2017)
Bali Green School Vele Secondary School
Water 60-meter River and Underground
River Rainwater
Resources well well water
Solar energy From classroom blocks, Solar energy
From school
Collection pump from Pump Pump ground surfaces, roof. pump from
hall roof
well solar energy pump underground
Store in 100,000-litre
No No 30,000-litre 10,000-litre
Storage No Storage tanks, pump to 20,000
Storage Storage tanks elevated tanks
litre header tanks
Non- Kitchen,
Drinking Fire Irrigating
Use areas potable Irrigating food gardens drinking, and
Water hose sports field
Water wash basins
In Bali Green School, drinking water comes from a 60-metre deep well, water for other
uses is pumped from the river. Grey water is simply collected from the kitchen or bathroom
and reused to water gardens. There is no evidence that a water management system has been
used to control the use of water and wastewater treatments. (Yong, 2010; Shim, 2010)
The low-cost and simple maintenance rainwater management system is the most
significant effort at Vele School. Except for drinking water, which is pumped from
underground, all water is supplied by rainwater. Vele School has an effective rainwater
harvesting and storage system. It reduces water use and recycles grey water to achieve water
efficiency via its irrigation system, waterless toilet, and water-saving taps, etc. (Creating
Schools, 2017)
Energy and Atmosphere
• Fundamental commissioning and verification; • Minimum energy performance
• Building-level Energy metering; • Fundamental refrigerant management
Due to the local climate conditions and low passive-design strategies in both campuses, no
cooling or heating system has been used in either school, so refrigerant-related issues have
been avoided. Energy performance has been set as a priority on both campuses. Solar panels
are the main power resource, and basic metering systems are used to monitor the energy
performance on both campuses. (Table 5)
Bali Green School installed a solar PV system on 2011. This system comprises 108 solar
panels which have been mounted on bamboo structures for a flexible installation. A 72kWh
capacity battery bank and inverter store all energy generated from solar. This system provides
21 kWp for school use (Akuo Foundation, 2013). The campus locates in riverside, and a micro-
hydro vortex was built in earlier years; in 2016, it provides approximately 6 kWh. Bali Green
School has become energy self-sufficient from these efforts (Green School, n.d.)
In Vele School, energy resources come from two sources: the public power grid and
solar power. The solar panel installation also includes a metering system for monitoring
energy consumption. However, only computers and the water pump use the power from solar
energy, other electrical operations still rely on the public power grid. (Creating Schools, 2017)
Table 5 Energy Resource and Consumption, Data from (Akuo Foundation, 2013; PJCarew Consulting, 2011)
Energy Monitor& Self-
Quantity Capacity Use in Facilities
Resource Metering sufficient
Bali Green Solar PV 108 Panels 21 kWp All electrical
Yes Yes
School Hydro Vortex 1 6 kW facilities in campus
Vele 100 Computers &
Solar PV 50 m2 6.4 kWp No
Secondary Water Pumping Yes
(< 50%)
School Eskom public grid Lighting / electrical
Figure 13: Furniture Figure 14:Alang Alang Roof Figure 15: Structure Figure 16: Indoor Sport
Bali Green School (photos by Author, 2015)
Figure 17: Corridor Figure 18: Dry Toilet Figure 19: Student Hall Figure 20: Classroom
Vele Secondary School (Photos copyright permitted by Architect Steve Kinsler - Creating Schools)
Indoor Environment
• Minimum indoor air quality performance; • Environmental tobacco smoke control
• Minimum acoustical performance
Air quality performance is measured via the ventilation rate; in these two green schools,
natural ventilation can be ensured by the semi-outdoor classroom and building orientation
with openings (Figure 21; Figure 22). Bali School has a unique solution to managing acoustic
performance, with the semi-outdoor classroom which has individual spaces surrounded by
plants and trees which provide natural layers of insulation. In Vele School, kiln-fired clay bricks
formed medium weight wall which provide effective layer of acoustic insulation.
Low passive design in both campuses has benefits beyond these requirements. In Bali
School, classrooms have different shapes, skylight forms built with bamboo and canvas bring
indirect light which reduces heat and glare (IBUKU, 2012). The classroom with no walls design
has become a semi-outdoor space which brings fresh air for natural ventilation. In Vele School,
natural light comes from north-facing windows, with a small roof overhang to reduce the heat.
The chalkboard is installed on the south wall, and sunlight comes from behind the seats which
reduces cross shadows on the desks. Windows and doors, open to the south corridor, also
bring skylight from the corridor’s metal roof (Creating Schools, 2012, p. 14)
Figure 21: Turtle Classroom Section Diagram Figure 22: Classroom Section Diagram
Conclusion
From this review, pioneer green schools in tropical developing regions demonstrate a low-
tech and low-cost model for achieving green school certification. Beyond the requirements,
the two schools provide solutions in dealing with local resources, which make a vital
contribution in local sustainability.
Design strategies summarised from these pioneer schools demonstrate the most
achievable approaches in these regions; the rating system should be upgraded according to
the practices to be a design guide for new schools in these regions.
Acknowledgement
Thanks for the encouragement and support from my family and friends in this research.
The near Zero Energy Building standard and the Passivhaus standard – a case
study
Shane Colclough1#, Tomas O’Leary2, Neil Hewitt1, Philip Griffiths1
1
Centre For Sustainable Technologies, Ulster University, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim,
BT370QB, UK. # Correspondence email address - s.colclough@ulster.ac.uk
2
MosArt, Wicklow County Campus, Clermont House, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow, A67 X566,
Ireland.
Abstract: The EU has mandated that all buildings are built to the near Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) standard
from 2020. The Passivhaus standard has been in existence for over 25 years and potentially offers a tried and
tested method of achieving nZEB. This paper explores if there is a performance gap between the PH standard
2
and the nZEB standard. Further, analysis is carried out based on monitoring results from a real building: a 103m
three bedroom dwelling located in Ireland. The comparison of the two standards is carried out with particular
focus on the assumed and recorded indoor temperature assumptions and heating periods for both standards.
The analysis looks at the actual indoor climate experienced, based on the following recorded metrics which are
being gathered at five-minute intervals: a) occupancy profile; b) indoor air temperature; c) indoor relative
humidity; d) indoor carbon dioxide concentrations; e) outdoor temperature; f) outdoor relative humidity; g)
wind speed; h) barometric pressure; i) energy consumption. Based on the above metrics a discussion takes place
on the energy and IEQ performance in the context of the performance mandated by the respective standards in
the quest to deliver Passive and Low Energy Architecture.
Keywords: Passivhaus, nZEB, Monitoring, IAQ
Introduction
Given the planned 2020 implementation of the near Zero Energy Building (nZEB) standard in
the Republic of Ireland, a comparison with the well-established Passive House (PH) standard
is timely. While a number of publications have been written to investigate the potential for
the Passive House standard in the Irish climate (e.g. Colclough, 2011; Clarke et al, 2012) and
a number have considered net zero energy buildings, (Hernandez and Kenny, 2010, Goggins
et al, 2016), none have compared the PH with the newly defined nZEB standard for the
Republic of Ireland.
To comply with the Passive House standard, dwellings must consume less than 120
kWh/m2/a of primary energy, as determined by the Passive House planning package (PHPP).
The nZEB standard in Ireland (to be finalised in 2019) requires that dwellings must consume
less than 45 kWh/m2/a (anon, 2012), see figure 1. It therefore appears that the nZEB standard
is more stringent than the Passive House standard. However, this is not a like-for-like
comparison. This paper answers the question of whether a performance gap exists by
comparing the derived figures for a case study of a building which has been built to the Passive
House standard. In addition, initial monitoring results are presented to determine if the
Figure 1. Comparison of nZEB and PHPP primary
Comparison of standards
To compare both standards correctly consideration needs to be given to the basis of the
comparison, in particular with respect to the energy consumption calculations. Recognising
that the calculations will vary depending on the dwelling specifics, this case study examines a
house which has been designed to comply with the Passive House standard, and has been
constructed by building firm Bennetts in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, Ireland.
The house is a certified Passive House of 103 m² and is occupied by one person. It utilises
an integrated HRV system which addresses the space heating and domestic hot water
requirements of the dwelling, with electricity as the fuel. In addition to heating the air via a
heat pump, the unit also controls two 400W electric heating elements located in the sitting
room and hall.
The DEAP (Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure) is the software used to calculate the
Building Energy Rating (BER) for dwellings in Ireland and ensure compliance with the nZEB
standard. The DEAP calculations were carried out on the case study dwelling, and are
presented in figure 2, in addition to the calculations carried out in the Passive House Planning
Package (PHPP), the software used to ensure compliance with the Passive House standard.
Two figures are presented for the PHPP - “Normal PHPP”, and with the PHPP modified to
perform calculations on the same basis as the DEAP software (“DEAP PHPP”). Details are
provided in the next section on the calculation methodology.
As can be seen, the building is compliant with the nZEB performance standards as
calculated by the DEAP software, with respect to primary energy consumption, carbon
dioxide emissions, Energy Performance Coefficient (EPC) and Carbon Performance Coefficient
(CPC) requirements and is therefore an nZEB standard compliant dwelling.
In addition, the PHPP calculations show that the dwelling is in compliance with the
Passive House standard with respect to primary energy consumption, as it consumes 91
kWh/m2/a, within the Passive House standard limit of 120 kWh/m2/a.
The case study shows that the house designed to comply with the Passive House
standard, meets the nZEB requirements. However, a clear discrepancy exists between the
primary energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission figures using the two
methodologies. In the analysis below a comparison is made based on the specifics of the
Figure 2. Comparison of nZEB calculations using DEAP, PHPP and PHPP adjusted for DEAP requirements.
If the average temperature is reduced from the PHPP normal temperature of 20°C to
the DEAP equivalent temperature for the reference dwelling of 18.5°C, the PHPP figure drops
to 24 kWh/m2/a and when the floor area is adjusted to the DEAP assumed figure, the PHPP
derived specific primary energy consumption figure drops to 19 kWh/m2/a.
Therefore without taking into consideration that the heating period in a Passive House
is 24 hour compared with the DEAP assumption of 8 hours per day, the PHPP adjusted
consumption figure is 19 kWh/m2/a where the DEAP software assumes 24.4 kWh/m2/a.
Recorded Performance
The house has been monitored since August 2016.
Temperature and carbon dioxide
Figure 3 gives the temperature charts for the three month period October, November,
December 2016 for the kitchen, living room and bedroom. In addition to providing an insight
into the thermal comfort of the dwelling, the analysis allows a comparison of monitored
internal temperatures, against those predicted by the Passive House Planning Package
software and the DEAP software.
It is noted that the monitoring units deployed in the dwellings are commercially
available units which are not of laboratory grade. While the units have been found to be
calibrated correctly with respect to temperature, some units have been found to be outside
the specified limits for relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration. Thus, readings
outside the threshold levels indicate that further investigation may be warranted.
Passive Houses are designed to have a uniform temperature of 20°C throughout. A
temperature threshold has therefore been set at 20°C to aid analysis of the performance
against the Passive House standard.
Figure 3. Temperature Chart for Enniscorthy nZEB House, October, November and December 2016.
The Republic of Ireland’s Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure (DEAP) assumes a two-
hour heating period in the morning (7 AM to 9 PM), as well as six-hour heating period in the
evening (5 PM to 11 PM), during which time the heating system is assumed to have a set
temperature. The DEAP software assumes a set temperature of 21°C for the living room and
18°C for the “rest of dwelling” i.e. outside the living area. Thus 18°C and 21°C have been
chosen as threshold temperatures in the temperature charts in Figure 3.
The temperature in the living room, kitchen and bedroom exceeds the Passive House
set temperature of 20°C for 84%, 67% and 12.3% of the time respectively, leading to an overall
figure of 54% of the time when the temperature is above the set temperature of 20°C. The
relatively low temperatures in the bedroom are due to a personal preference by the occupant.
The temperature in the living room, kitchen and bedroom exceeds the building
regulations set temperatures 37%, 100% and 94% of the time respectively. It is noted that
further analysis could be carried out to determine the periods of time for which the
temperatures exceed the set temperatures during the DEAP specified heating periods.
Figure 4 gives the carbon dioxide concentrations for the dwelling. Overall, the CO2
concentrations are seen to be below 1000 ppm for 97% of the time, reflecting the relatively
low occupancy profile.
Energy consumption
Figure 5 shows the heating and ventilation energy consumption of the dwelling for six months
of September 2016 to March 2017 along with the overall energy consumption. The annual
consumption is therefore not available, but will be reported on in a future publication.
Conclusion
This analysis has shown that a certified passive house designed using the Passive House
Planning Package is compliant with the nZEB requirements. Using the DEAP building energy
rating software, the dwelling is deemed to consume 24 kWh/m2/a, significantly below the 45
kWh/m2/a required for nZEB compliance.
The monitoring found that the house is performing within expected limits. The
temperature in the living room, kitchen and bedroom exceeds the Passive House set
temperature of 20°C for 84%, 67% and 12.3% of the time respectively, and exceeds the
building regulations set temperatures 37%, 100% and 94% of the time respectively. The
indoor air quality is also good with carbon dioxide concentrations in the living room, kitchen
and bedroom staying below 1000 ppm for 93% 98% and 100% of the time respectively.
Overall DHW and space heating energy consumption for the 14 week period (w/c
19/12/2016) was recorded at 888 kWh, equivalent to 8.6kWh/m2/a, of which 187 kWh was
for operation of the heat recovery ventilation unit. Monitoring is continuing to determine the
annual energy performance and IEQ of the dwelling.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Storage,
Transformation and Upgrading of Thermal Energy (i-STUTE) under EP/K011847/1 for this
research.
References
ANON, 2015. Energy Efficiency Trends and Policies in the Household and Tertiary Sectors. EU Intelligent
Energy Europe.
ANON, 2012. Towards Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in Ireland, Planning for 2020 and Beyond . Dublin:
Department of Environment, Community and Local Government.
CLARKE, J., COLCLOUGH, S., GRIFFITHS, P. and MCLESKEY, J.T., 2014. A passive house with seasonal solar
energy store: in situ data and numerical modelling. International Journal of Ambient Energy, (1), pp. 35-70.
COLCLOUGH, S.M., 2011. Thermal energy storage applied to the Passivhaus standard in the Irish climate,
University of Ulster.
COLCLOUGH, S. and MCGRATH, T., 2015. Net energy analysis of a solar combi system with Seasonal
Thermal Energy Store. Applied Energy, 147, pp. 611-616.
GOGGINS, J., MORAN, P., ARMSTRONG, A. and HAJDUKIEWICZ, M., 2016. Lifecycle environmental and
economic performance of nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) in Ireland. Energy and Buildings, 116, pp. 622-637.
Introduction
Energy consumption and the resulting Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from buildings
comprise up to 40% of the total quantities emitted by developed countries (IPCC, 2014). The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC (2014) suggest that if sustainability is
successfully incorporated into the building sector, it is possible to reduce GHG emissions by 6
Gt per year worldwide. Furthermore, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has identified the
building sector as one of the most cost-effective industries for reducing C02 emissions
associated with energy demand (Giama and Papadapoulos, 2012). Due to this potential, laws,
policies and regulations requiring integration of sustainability into the built form are
becoming increasingly common on a global scale (Berardi, 2012). In many cases, regional
policies are incorporating environmental assessment methods (EAMs) as a strategy to
encourage emissions reductions associated with the construction sector (Berardi, 2012;
Hellstrom, 2007; Steurer and Hametner, 2011).
EAMs are rating systems that have been developed as a tool for the valuation of the
environmental impacts of ‘green’ or high performance buildings. The LEED rating system was
developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998, as a market tool ‘to provide
building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing
Methods
Because there is no typical ‘bioclimatic geometry,’ or combination of technologies that would
suggest a design is ‘bioclimatic,’ it is necessary for the purpose of this study to define
indicators that would likely suggest successful integration of bioclimatic design. The most
reliable indicator of high performance construction described in the literature is the actual
energy use of the building (Li et al., 2015). As such, the post-occupancy Energy Use Index (EUI)
of each case will be utilized as one of the indicators of successful bioclimatic integration. The
most commonly installed energy-efficient technologies (daylighting, high-efficiency HVAC,
and improved envelopes) are not statistically associated with low EUI (Li et al., 2015). Instead,
it is the way that these technologies are integrated, and the relationships between
technologies, occupants, and building context that is indicative of EUI. The analysis of the
results will thus focus on the integrative approach of each design team, and their
understanding of how these systems, technologies and passive strategies operate together,
rather than focusing on the presence of energy efficient technologies.
In order to explore the research questions, this paper will examine the EUI, design
approach and LEED score for each case.
Conclusion: Are environmental assessment methods the appropriate tool for supporting
the transition to sustainable built environments?
The bioclimatic design approach necessitates the consideration of the building’s climatic,
social, economic, and cultural context. It requires a deep understanding of the ways that
passive solutions are integrated in design, trade-offs between the implementation of
particular strategies, and consideration of how design strategies will interact with the user
after construction is completed. Although LEED acknowledges the use of passive strategies, it
is unable to allocate points for how design components, systems, and strategies are
interacting or how they are being integrated. The Energy and Atmosphere category is not
performance based, and its requirements promote technology-based strategies for energy
reduction. Instead of promoting substantial reduction in energy demand, LEED promotes
relatively small improvements in energy efficiency. A design approach that perceives LEED
requirements as boxes that need to be ticked only to improve the market value of the end
result could potentially achieve a high level of certification by integrating efficient
technologies. Conversely, user-specific, low-tech, low-energy building design may not meet
sufficient LEED requirements to be certified, making it difficult for this type of approach to
gain recognition in the current market.
The project level-dynamics explored in this study both contribute and limit the
environmental performance of each case. The nature of the collaborative approach of a
project, the design approach and priorities, and the influence of the building operator and
user are some of the identified dynamics that are important for determining post-occupancy
building performance. These findings exemplify that architecture is not only the work of
architects, but the co-production of engineers, contractors, consultants, politicians, owners,
users, and the building itself. In the cases under study, the architects are acting as mediators
to manage compromises and various interests to come to a solution that aligns with the needs
of all actors in the assemblage, including their own.
LEED has a dominant position in the industry and has been successful in engaging with
many sectors of the building industry at multiple scales. It has become a policy tool, played a
role in increasing industry and public awareness of sustainable buildings, and an increasing
number of industry professionals and owners are registering their projects for certification.
Whether LEED remains to be an effective tool to support a transition to a sustainable building
sector is challenged in this study. Despite the dominance and influence of the LEED, the
framework has a limited ability to assess environmental performance. The newest version of
LEED, V4, incorporates some performance-based metrics for the assessment of indoor
environmental quality and occupant comfort; however, performance based EAMs would
continue to place value on an end product, rather than the design process. Understanding
how to integrate an assessment of the design process itself within LEED could be an important
References
Azhar, S., Carlton, W.A., Olen, D., and Ahmad, I. (2011). Building Information Modeling for Sustainable
Design and LEED Rating Analysis. Automation in Construction, 20, pp. 217-224
Berardi, U. (2012). Sustainability Assessment in the Construction Sector: Rating Systems and Rated
Buildings. Sustainable Development, 20(6), pp. 411-424
City of Vancouver. (2014). Green Buildings Policy for Rezonings. Vancouver: City of Vancouver
City of Vancouver. (2014). Greenest City 2020 Action Plan: Implementation Update. Vancouver: City of
Vancouver
Giama, E., and Papadopoulos, A.M. (2012). Sustainable Building Management: Overview of Certification
Schemes and Standards. Advances in Building Energy Research, 6(2), pp. 242–258.
Hellstrom T. (2007). Dimensions of Environmentally Sustainable Innovation: The Structure of Eco-
Innovation Concepts. Sustainable Development, 15(3), pp. 148–159
IEA. (2010a). Energy Technology Perspectives 2010: Strategies and Scenarios to 2050. Paris: International
Energy Agency
IPCC. (2014). Summary for Policymakers: Climate Change Synthesis Report. New York: Cambridge
University Press
Li, C., Tianzhen, H., and Yan, D. (2015). An Insight into Actual Energy Use and its Drivers in High-
Performance Buildings. Journal of Applied Energy, 131, pp. 394-410
Motawa, I., and Carter, K. (2013). Sustainable BIM-based Evaluation of Building. Social and Behavioural
Sciences, 74, pp. 419-428
Recollective. (2015). 14 Supportive Housing Sites LEED Summary Report. Vancouver: BC Housing
University of British Columbia. (2011). Building Information Modeling Best Practice Project Report.
Vancouver: University of British Columbia
Steurer R, and Hametner M. (2011). Objectives and Indicators in Sustainable Development Strategies:
Similarities and Variances Across Europe. Sustainable Development, 20(1), pp. 321-337
Tzikopoulos, A.F., Karatza, M.C., and Paravantis, J.A. (2005). Modeling Energy Efficiency of Bioclimatic
Buildings. Energy and Buildings, 37, pp. 529-544
University of British Columbia (2015). CIRS Technical Manual.
(http://cirs.ubc.ca/sites/cirs.ubc.ca/files/1_ExecutiveSummary.pdf, August 31, 2015)
Abstract: This paper explores the applicability of the LEED certification system through the case study of Puerto
Rico (P.R.), a United States (U.S.) Commonwealth island in the Caribbean, where LEED has become widely
recognized as a standard because of the geopolitical relationship with the mainland. Although LEED is used
internationally, it was initially developed by the U.S. Green Building Council as a tool to measure building
performance in a modern American urban environment with temperate climate, a steady economy and easy
access to technology. Furthermore, regionalization strategies such as Regional Priority Credits (RPCs) and
Alternate Compliance Paths (ACPs), do not address the sociocultural reality of many regions. Therefore, the
focus of this research is to analyse what indicators should be added, modified or substituted to develop a revised
LEED model for the specific sociocultural context of P.R.? A mixed methods research will be used to compare
LEED criteria with Sustainable Assessment Systems (SAS) such as the Building Research Establishment
Environmental Assessment Method, the Living Building Challenge and SB Tool. Also, SAS in tropical countries
such as Singapore (BCA Green Mark), Costa Rica (RESET) and India (TERI-GRIHA) will be examined. Case studies
will be analysed with a main focus in Schools.
Keywords: Sustainable building, School design, Socio-cultural indicators, Green building rating systems, LEED
1
Based on the U.S. and P.R. Educational system, which names school levels prior to college as kindergarten (K)
through the 12th grade (12).
2
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed in 2009 by U.S. President Barack Obama, was
developed to stimulate the economy of the U.S. and its Territories, including P.R. (“ARRA- Puerto Rico,” 2012).
3
Sustainability includes environmental, economic, social and cultural dimensions.
Pilot Credit
Chapter Steering LEED Steering Committee
Committee Committee
CURRENT LEED REGIONALIZATION MODEL (2012)
Working
Regional Groups
Regionalization
Councils (8) Working Group
Florida/ Caribbean
Regional Council & Regional Task
Task Force Forces (8)
(8 Chapters)
Adoption by USGBC
Table 1: Cultural and social components and indicators included in the selected SAS- Schools
Social and Cultural Sustainability Components in SAS
Cultural Sustainability Other LEED Social Sustainability Other LEED
Components systems Schools Components systems Schools
Aesthetic values Education and *
awareness
Cultural economy Equality
Cultural governance Equity *
Cultural communication Governance
Cultural components Health & well-being *
Cultural heritage Safety & security *
Culture and human rights Sense of place
Cultural inclusion & Social participation &
participation access
Cultural spaces Socioeconomic
Cultural education Stewardship
Universal accessibility
Key The SAS includes all indicators identified in the literature review; * Indicator included in LEED PC
Other Systems (Schools): BREEAM International In Use & NC 2016; Green Mark Existing Schools & New non-
residential buildings 2015; GRIHA Prakriti Existing Schools; TERI GRIHA; LBC V3.0; RESET; SBTool 2015-16.
LEED for Schools: LEED V4 BD+C & O+M Schools
References
Anon., 2012. ARRA- P.R. [online]. Available at: https://www2.pr.gov/ [Accessed 5.1.17].
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Introduction
If we want to stay beneath a 2-degrees temperature increase – widely considered a maximum
level to avoid runaway climate change with unpredictable outcome - the world needs to
reduce its carbon emissions by 80% in the year 2050 [IPCC 2014]. For a sustainable situation
on the longer term, climate neutrality or carbon neutrality is essential, creating a balance
between the greenhouse gases emitted on the one hand and chemically binding or
sequestering of these gases on the other.
Society’s great energy challenge
The predominant part of achieving this goal, as agreed upon in the Paris treaty of 2015, is to
be achieved by becoming independent from fossil fuels, the greatest contributor to
greenhouse gases as methane, CO2 and NOx. Therefore, the term ‘fossil free’ was introduced
in various European projects already since 2006 [e.g. Roggema et al. 2011], after Al Gore’s ‘An
Inconvenient Truth’ came out [Gore 2006]. Fossil free simply means that no fossil fuels (coal,
mineral oil and natural gas) are used anywhere in the system considered. With our fossil
society this is an ambitious goal to achieve, and it may take a lot of time to get there. In the
meantime, becoming ‘net zero-energy’ already is a big step. This ambition, often also
described as ‘energy-neutral’, means that in a year’s time one is not to use more energy than
one can generate oneself. It implies acceptance of fossil fuels as long as this quantity of energy
Conclusion
In total, in the year 2015, the individual considered used 22,8 GJ or 6,3 MWh for his house
and personal travel. This is 41% less than the reference year and 49% less than the average
Dutchman. The actions taken by the main author clearly led to a lower footprint. Of the
energy used, 60% is carbon-neutral, the diesel van being the main problem to be solved. Net-
zero energy living is possible but difficult when considering dense urban circumstances, but
everyone can be carbon neutral when energy is procured from renewable sources. For
mobility, unless one can fully use human-powered or public transport, becoming energy- and
carbon-neutral is more of a challenge, and this particularly holds true for flying. The
calculation of energy for flying goes to show that painstaking efforts to reduce the energy
used at home to carbon-neutral and nearly zero-energy are terrifically over-compensated
when flying for business (or for private goals).
If all energy used at work were to be accounted to employees, we would have to
include many more sources of energy use: the office, ancillary company utilities, the
conference for which this paper was written… Perhaps all of these factors should be included.
After all, in the near future we will all have a carbon budget that cannot be exceeded,
produced at home or at home does not matter then. Therefore, one of the next steps is to
convert all energy use related to the university to all of its employees and students. Including
these factors will increase the individual influence one can have on the national energy use
from 30 to at least 50%.
This individual research clarified the greatest challenges and most effective strategies
of living in a modern, dense city, with abundant access to unsustainable food and with easy
opportunities to travel unsustainably for little money. As it held a mirror before the author, it
will hopefully do as well before a greater audience.
References
Dobbelsteen A. van den; 'Towards closed cycles - New strategy steps inspired by the Cradle to Cradle
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About It; Rodale, New York, USA, 2006
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Vulberability; IPCC, Switzerland, 2014
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URL: http://www.clo.nl/indicatoren/nl0053-energiebalans-nederland-tabel; Compendium voor de
Leefomgeving, 2017
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Breakthroughs Brings Goals beyond Policy Objectives within Reach', in: Jenkins A.L. (ed.), Climate Change
Adaptation (127-150); Nova Science Publishers, 2011
Abstract: The Visual Identity of open spaces results from our cognitive image. This can be the result of both
physical and non-physical ties to the landscape change. It affects users’ perception and provokes their senses.
Recent researchers revealed there is a gap between the intended design developed by the urban designer and
the users' cognitive map of the space. The research aims to determine the most important factors that the urban
designer should keep into consideration to reduce this gap. The research used semi-structured interviews &
mapping tool to analyse the landscape change over the past 10 years for open space food courts in three new
residential communities in Egypt. The result presents a comparison between the three perspectives for
landscape change; 1) theoretical guidelines for designing urban space elements, 2) urban designer's design
approach and 3) users' cognitive map for open spaces. This method can be used to convey, share and exchange
information for landscape designers, urban planners and decision makers.
Introduction
Human cognition is a reflection of what is processed in memory as a result of the perception
of featured elements and experiences. This is developed into knowledge and understanding
of the surrounding context and includes processes of reasoning and judgment (Adams &
Aizawa, 2010; Lewandowsky et al., 2012). It depends on a set of physical and psychological
factors. The former constitute factors related to the design of space elements, while the later
constitute factors related to users’ age, sex, metabolic activity, culture and occupation (Berto,
2005). Yet, few studies have provided an empirical basis to consider the use of cognitive maps
in designing open spaces in Egypt (Marwa Adel El Sayed and Ayman Mahmoud Hassan, 2015).
This contradicts with the poor knowledge that urban designers and landscapers have about
users' cognitive map (Marwa Adel El Sayed and Ayman Mahmoud Hassan, 2015)
The study is divided into two parts with ten years apart. It aims at comparing the
principles of landscape design change through the main cognitive factors indicated in the first
part of the study for open space food courts. According to Oxford dictionary, Food court is
defined as the area in a shopping mall where fast-food outlets are located. The study uses
analytical methods and techniques to structure and display the case study data. It also uses
structured interviews to characterise users' cognition towards open space design.
Literature review
Previous studies have attempted to understand the relationships between landscape
characters and how this affects visual perception. Some studies used statistical analysis such
Methodology
This study targets outdoor food court spaces as recently introduced amenity areas in the
Egyptian context. The paper adopts an analytical comparative approach that uses both the
tools of data collection and data analysis. These tools allow an approach that is structured
based on cognition science. Both qualitative and quantitative data have been compromised
in the research. The tools of the qualitative data are built on literature review and collecting
deferent methods of thematic cognition. The tools of quantitative data are mainly built on
site observations, structured interviews, and structured questionnaires. Ten percent of the
space peek daily users have been interviewed. Hence a number of 210 users were interviewed
in Rehab food court, 250 users were interviewed in Safari food court, and finally 200 users
were interviewed in the district food court. The users have been divided according to the
gender (male, and female) and each are divided into three age groups. The first age group
ranges from 18 to 40, the second ranges from 40 to 60, and finally the third over 60. Through
the designed questionnaire and the structured interviews three main aspects were measured.
It starts by investigating the elements that enhance users’ perception through internal and
external factors. The former is based on the users’ grounding experience and the latter is
related to material of the surrounding space. Then it is followed by studying the elements
that enhance the users’ cognition processes. Those elements are divided into age, sex, culture,
Figure 1. The layout of the two food courts
The study highlighted seven principles for urban and landscape design, those are; size,
enclosure, entrances, boundaries, furnishing, Morphology of surrounding building and
pedestrian safety. This is in addition to three factors that aid to provoke cognitive image using
senses, those are; landmark, paths and unobstructed view.
Conferring to different urban concepts and theories, Lynch (1960) has recommended
that the optimal size of an urban space varies from 24m to 137m, and Gehl (2011) proposed
that it should not go beyond 100 m (Lynch 1960; Gehl 2011). Users’ sense of enclosure is
enhanced when the ratio between the vertical and horizontal planes is 1:2 or 1:3 respectively.
If the ratio goes down to one- fourth or less, the users start to lack the enclosure sense of the
space. The urban space entrance should be visible and welcoming to users and exposed to
public right of ways. As for space furnishing, the open-air sitting is divided into two categories,
the first category is sitting benches that are preferred to be placed one m linear of seating for
each nine square meters, and the second category considers walls with height forty-five
meters that may be with or without a handrail. According to the law of Gestalt of simplicity
continuity and similarity of form, Morphology of surrounding building can be perceived more
easily than other complex buildings (Jäkel et al., 2016). Pedestrian safety is improved through
elimination or reduction of vehicle and pedestrian conflicts throughout separation of space,
Urban
Researchers’ observations
Space
Space size
Not only is the space size that gives the users a sense of relief and content, but it related
Rehab to the surrounding urban morphology. This includes the height and arrangement of
surrounding buildings inside the space. Space size may be the same but users’ perception
Safari may change depending on urban morphology. This may consequently reflect on their
feeling of safety, containment and relief inside the space.
Space Enclosure
Users’ feeling of safety in urban spaces is enhanced by reduction or elimination of vehicle
Rehab circulation crossing with users’ circulation. This can be done physically through horizontal
and/or vertical separation, and it can be done through time separation as well. It is
Safari important to note that the larger the street width, the more separation is required.
Entrances
Rehab The food courts’ entrances provide a welcoming approach for many users. This is the case
in the Rehab food court, the entrance is facing the stairs path of the parking lot, and the
Safari entrance of Safari is located along the path of the parking lot.
Space boundaries
Rehab Space definition enhances users’ visual perception of the urban space. Bounding the spaces
by at least one main street increases the accessibility to open spaces.
Safari
Space Furnishing
Rehab Proper space Furniture reflects on users’ perception of the space and forms a strong
cognitive map. This creates a social relationship among users and enhances their sense of
Safari
the urban space
Morphology of surrounding building
Rehab Easier urban space morphology and functionality enhances users’ perception of the space.
Safari
Pedestrian safety
Rehab Vertical separation positively effects forming identical cognitive map than the horizontal
separation.
Safari
Landmark
Rehab Landmarks may have a positive or negative effect on forming users’ cognitive image of the
Safari space.
Paths
Rehab Path stresses users' cognitive map, particularly through walking activity.
Safari
Unobstructed view
Rehab Unobstructed view enhances forming an effective cognitive map.
Safari
Figure 2. Shows the layout of The District Sheraton
Male, age 18- 40, undergraduate student Female, age 40 - 60, engineer
Female, age 18- 40, undergraduate student Male, age over 60, police man
Figure 3. Users' cognitive maps
Interviewing users
The researcher has interviewed a number of users, as the questions aimed to show the users'
desires and opinions. These questions are divided into three main sections. The first section
aimed to detect the main function the users target the space for. The resulting percentages
were indicated; 60 % eating, 20% reading, 10% walking and 10% watching shows. It is noted
that users from age twenty to over fifty have grumbled about the far away distance of the
children play area.
The second section mainly aimed to show the main activities that users implement in
the space. These activities are; sitting, walking, and standing. Sitting at the space centre is
chosen to be a preferable choice for users than sitting at the edges. Most of the users
complained about the lack of the sitting places, and they showed their desire in preferring
movable benches facing the view than fixed ones. Hence, siting uncomfortably affects
negatively the users' cognitive map
The users agreed that the paving material of the path is really suitable for walking,
except for the narrowness of the path that is not suitable for free walking. This caused
manoeuvring or pushing or disturbance. Handicapped and mothers with baby stroller added
that they do not prefer the presence of steps in the path. Which may be a clear cause for not
illustrating the path in the users' cognitive maps as they are not able to perform free walking.
As for the standing activity, users have been distributed into two classes. Around 57%
of them chose to stand under shelter, and 43% chose to stand in open space, but all the users
chose to stand at space edge rather than standing at the centre.
Conclusion
Very few studies attempt to evaluate open space design. Hence, this study attempts to fill this
gap. It investigates the use of cognitive maps as a catalyst to develop open urban space design.
Table 3 presents researchers’ observation for the landscape change for the two parts of the
study. A colour code has been used to signpost its effect on the ten previously defined criteria
for the two parts of the study. The green colour indicates no change, while the red and green
colour indicates a change process.
Table 3. Researchers’ observations on landscape change
Urban Factors Part Part Researchers’ observations
one two
Space size Space size complied with theories recommendations
Space Enclosure Space enclosure was better reflected in the later design, integrating
both linear and circular space enclosure.
Entrances Better accessibility is pronounced in the later design through providing
two entrances
Space Recommendations for space boundaries are achieved in the two parts
boundaries of the study
Space No change furnishing was provided in the two parts of the study.
Furnishing Hence, recommendations of previous studies should be taken into
considerations for providing space furnishing.
Morphology of Both parts followed Gestalt law, users feelings of redundancy and
surrounding confusion are reflected in users’ cognitive maps.
building
Pedestrian The vertical separation promoted users’ feeling of safety.
safety
Landmark Both parts followed Lynch’s theory (1960).
Paths Both parts show that case studies did not consider users’ needs.
Unobstructed Both parts show compliance with the theoretical recommendations.
view
References
Adams, F. & Aizawa, K., 2010. The Bounds of Cognition,
Al-ghamdi, S.A. & Al-Harigi, F., 2015. Rethinking Image of the City in the Information Age. Procedia Computer
BLDG B
Figure 1: The building complex before (right) and after retrofit (left)
Figure 2: Research Methods and Instruments Used
Figure 3: Comparative Analysis of Visual Comfort Metrics for a Typical Floor Area of the building
(after retrofit, top and before retrofit, bottom)
Figure 4: Comparative Analysis of Thermal Comfort Psychrometric Charts during Spring Season of both Building
Phases (green post-move/retrofit, red pre-retrofit, orange pre-move and black outdoor)
Figure 6: Acoustic Comfort Mapping for Spatial Decay and Distraction Distance with STI
Conclusions
The main objective of this paper is to provide detailed as well as context specific information
to assess IEQ inside green buildings from a comprehensive approach. By establishing a
comparative approach between a traditional building pre-retrofit and its green retrofitted
LEED™ certified platinum phase, the study provides an evidence-based guide of green
Figure 7: Occupant’s Satisfaction Percentages from a POE Building Survey of Both Studied Building Phases
References
Canter, D. (1991). Understanding, Assessing, and Acting in Places: Is an integrative Framework Possible?
In T. Garling and G. Evans (eds.) Environment Cognition and Action. New York: Oxford University Press.
Elzeyadi, I. (in press). A Comparative Analysis of Predictive and Actual Performance of High Performance
LEED Buildings. In W. Prieser, U. Schramm & A. Hardy (eds.), Building Performance Evaluation: From Delivery
Process to Life Cycle Phases (Second Edition). NY: Springer.
Elzeyadi, I. (2007). Healthy Offices: Windows, Absenteeism, and Health in Work Environments - Evidence
Based Guidelines. World Congress on Design & Health (WCDH 2007), June 29 to July 1, 2007, Glasgow, UK.
Elzeyadi, I. (2003). Environmental Quality - Shaping Places for People: A Systemic Framework for
Conceptualizing People and their Workplaces. In: Shaping Places for People, pp. 71- 79. Proceedings of the
Environmental Design Research Association EDRA 34th Conference. May 22-26, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Kats, G. et al. (2003). The Costs and Financial Benefits of Green Buildings: A Report to California’s
Sustainability Task Force. October 2003. Available at www.cap-e.com.
Rapoport, A. (1989a). Environmental Quality and Environmental Quality Profiles. In N. Wilkinson (Ed.),
Quality in the Built Environment. New Castle (UK): Urban International Press.
World Green Buildings Council (WGBC) (2016). Building the Business Case: Health, Wellbeing and
Productivity in Green Offices Report. Toronto, Canada: Eva Phoenix.
1
Head of Policy Workgroup, Active House Alliance, kurt.emil.eriksen@activehouse.info
2
Arch MSc, Partner, Sustainable Futures, HTA Architects, England
3
Senior Consultant, Sustainability, Arkitema Architects, Aarhus, Denmark
Abstract: Active House is a vision of buildings that combines energy efficiency with specific attention to users
health and comfort. It include design guidelines, specifications and evaluation tools, and focus on parameters
that has relevance and direct influence on the qualities for the homeowner. In order to empower house-owners,
architects and professional house builders to design sustainable buildings; the Active House alliance has
developed a label, that can be given to projects that meet the Active House requirement and focus on combining
requirement to building design with people’s concerns regarding comfort, health, energy, safety and
environment. It is the holistic view on buildings and the combination of quantitative and qualitative parameters
that makes the Active House label unique and it is the focus on affordability and human aspects that makes it
valuable for homeowners. A building being labeled must be calculated and evaluated on 9 parameters within
comfort, energy efficiency and environment and the calculation must be validated by an independent body.
Keywords: Sustainable buildings, Active House, Indoor comfort, Energy efficiency, Label
Active House
Active House is a vision of buildings that combines energy efficiency with specific
attention to user health and comfort, indoor climate and the environment. Active House
focus on Comfort, Energy and Environment, and require a holistic view.
An Active House is evaluated on the combination and integration of the three main
principles of Comfort, Energy and Environment. The evaluation has to be done in accordance
with the Active House specifications and the performance are described through the Active
House Radar (Fig 1) showing the level of ambition of each of the three main Active House
principles and their nine sub-parameters.
The integration of each parameter describes the level of ambition of the building. For
a building to be considered as an Active House, the level of ambition can be quantified into
four levels, with 1 as the highest and 4 the lowest.
The building must be evaluated and benchmarked on the nine sub parameters,
(Daylight, Thermal Comfort, Air quality, Energy demand, Energy supply, Primary Energy,
Environmental load, Freshwater, Sustainability) where each of them is evaluated in
accordance with international standards, like EN15251, ISO14040 as well as national
standards and methodologies for i.e. energy demand. Some of the parameters are included
in building legislation and in this sense, the methodology used on national level can be
reference.
Figure 1. Active House Radar Figure 2. Active House Label
Active House Centennial Park – use passive solutions to create good indoor comfort
Great Gulf’s Centennial Park Residence is the first labelled Active House. The Active
House evaluation (Fig 3) shows how the comfort parameters has been a main focus area, with
high score on air quality, thermal comfort and daylight. The home is designed to improve
human comfort and well-being. The design is the result of highly process-driven approach to
building an energy-efficient home with the use of the Active House vision as guidance. It is
developed through the collaborative expertise of a team of Building Science professionals,
award-winning architects and Great Gulf, a Canadian home builder committed to evolving the
Active House concept in Canada.
Figure 3. Centennial Park Radar Picture 1: Active House Centennial park
The project include a clean modernist architectural aesthetic design with energy-saving
and environmentally conscious features such as interior and exterior LED lighting systems,
low-flow water fixtures and finishes that are easy to maintain. But what ultimately makes this
home so appealing is an approach to design that maximize opportunities for natural daylight
and natural ventilation.
Picture 2: Well daylighted ground floor due to windows with different orientation and C shaped courtyard
The quality of the design is shown by the strategic use of natural daylighting that defines
the true character of the Great Gulf Active House where little to no artificial lighting is
required during the day. Visitors immediately notice the light-filled double-height C-shaped
courtyard which forms an architectural “anchor” for the entire home. The ground-floor is laid
out in an open plan with no barriers to obstruct daylight. And double-height spaces vertically
connect upstairs spaces.
To reduce the energy required for air conditioning, Active House Centennial Park
contains features that boost air quality while reducing energy for ventilation. Large operable
windows and roof windows facilitate natural ventilation and ventilative cooling to keep the
house cold during warmer months while ensuring effective ventilation throughout the year.
Fully programmable windows feature an intuitively designed intelligent interface to maintain
their automatic functioning for natural ventilation purposes.
The project aim to become a guide for how to renovate houses with focus on excellent
indoor climate with a good energy performance, therefor several renovation scenarios were
considered and their performance was analysed according to the Active House specifications.
The final project is an example of affordable and replicable renovation techniques that
not only improves the energy efficiency of the dwelling but perhaps more importantly,
focuses on providing the best possible indoor environment (fig 4).
The design targets for indoor climate, energy and environmental impact are based on
the Active House Specification. As there is a clear financial frame for the house, the approach
in the design process was to evaluate different scenarios that combined different technical
solutions. Each scenario was evaluated according to the Active House radar diagram (fig 5).
Picture 5: Before and after renovation of the bathroom and the attic
The RenovActive project focuses on providing maximum daylight. A Daylight Visualizer
was used to simulate daylight levels in the building, revealing excellent levels of natural light
after renovation. The new roof windows in the new attic will be a good source of natural light
and give the inhabitants indoor comfort all year round.
In view of the glazed surfaces, which guarantee levels of natural light and passive solar
gains in winter, it is important to control excess heat using fully automated solar protection.
The opening and closing of the exterior blinds will depend on the hours of sunshine and the
outdoor temperature. The windows will also be fitted with interior blinds that will control the
light as desired.
To ensure a healthy indoor atmosphere and a maximum of fresh air in the house, a
natural ventilation system is fitted. When the outside temperature is over 14°C, an automatic
window-opening system will be used. Natural ventilation will be controlled via intelligent
window systems, which makes it possible to easily open or close windows. Sensors (humidity,
temperature, CO2 etc.) integrated into the ventilation unit control the opening of the
windows, guaranteeing excellent indoor air quality. In winter, air is let in by ventilation flaps
integrated into the windows. This ensures maximum air quality and comfort: the ventilation
levels adapt to user needs in real time. This system also saves energy, as it avoids excessive
ventilation.
Figure 6. Green Solution House Radar Picture 6 Garden view - Green solution House
The cycle of natural light is fundamental to humans wellbeing and ability to maintain a
healthy circadian rhythm, as well as daylight improves humans productivity and ability to
focus.
Therefor the conference rooms at Green Solution House are designed to accommodate
meetings in broad daylight, utilizing diffused light from the north. Inside the hotel rooms,
daylight conditions have also been optimised with retrofitted glass balconies. Sun Tunnels
and light cables redirect daylight to every nook and corner, where natural light is limited, like
in bathrooms. In all common areas and hallways, skylights are utilised to create a comfortable
indoor climate with generous daylight levels. Altogether, a strong focus on daylight driven
design has helped to create well-lit spaces, resulting in better user experience and less energy
consumption.
Picture 8: Supply of clean air is created by use of green wall, permeable ceilings and natural ventilation
The architect has focused on balancing the thermal environment for optimal indoor
comfort, by balancing natural ventilation, mechanical ventilation with a heating strategy
that response to the seasons. This strategy has resulted in the highest score possible in the
Active House analysis of comfort in the building (fig 6). The diffuse ventilation strategy
supplies fresh air through permeable acoustic panels in the conference center and
restaurant ceiling and has two major advantages in terms of indoor climate. First, the even
distribution cools the air without causing discomfort and drafts, and thus reduces supply air
requirements and duct sizing.
Looking forward
The three cases shown before have all been developed on the basis of a sustainable
guideline that include a higher focus on sustainability than just energy savings. It is shown
that by use of such tools the building design is balanced between indoor comfort issues and
energy efficiency. All the buildings have been designed with an Active House philosophy in
focus.
It is already proven that environmental schemes like BREAM, LEED, DGNB has moved
the focus from purely focus on energy use to a more holistic view on sustainability, which
include parameters like indoor climate, sustainability, sourcing and energy efficiency.
References
Active House Alliance. (2013). Active House specification. 2 edition.
Rode, C. Eriksen, K. (2013) Active House Specification - evaluation of comfort, energy and environment
in buildings. REHVA Journal (03.2013)
Richard Lyall, (2017) 4 Things that make Active House stand out. The Toronto Sun (3.2.2017) New
home and Condos p 9
Marcus Mitanis (2016) Great Gulf Celebrates World's First Certified Active House
Urban Toronto.ca (13.6.2016)
Jeremy_Williams (2017) Building of the week: RenovActive. makewealthhistory.org
(24.3.2017)
Alison Furuto (2012) Green Solution House / 3XN. ArchDaily (19.1.2012)
Summary: One of the challenges facing the industry is closing the energy performance gap in non-residential
buildings. Despite various recommendations and introduction of new technology, the problem remains
widespread. Debate on how designers and architects can contribute to finding solutions to this problem
continues. Soft Landings has been on the forefront of encouraging the delivery of buildings where estimated
energy targets align with actual targets. This paper investigates the working processes of a Soft Landings
design team; using Interviews, walk-throughs and contract documentation of the project. The paper explores
the design management side in a Soft Landings process. How end users and sub-contractors were involved
during the design stage of the project and how decisions taken affected the outcome of the project. The study
discovers that learning from past projects plays an important role for new projects in achieving their goals with
respect to energy efficiency and sustainability. Participation of the end users need to be coordinated to
maximise their advantage without sacrificing time and cost. Additionally, practical implications are presented
for architects about the involvement of end users in a Soft Landings project.
Keywords: Soft Landings, Design Management, Energy performance gap, Sustainability, Non-residential buildings
Introduction
The link between energy performance of buildings and its design has been established
(Bordass and Leaman, 2005). Proving that complex and complicated designs often make it
difficult for building managers to correctly operate Building Management Systems. This
affects the energy performance of buildings with the estimated energy usage higher than
actual usage. This difference is known as a ‘performance gap’ (Gupta and Gregg, 2016) and
negatively affects building owners and end users. This is most prevalent in non-residential
buildings (Axon et al, 2012) and leads to missing energy, sustainability, and overall carbon
emission targets (Fedoruk et al, 2015). The concept of sustainability in design and
construction covers a wide spectrum of interconnected elements (Burnett, 2007). From
Burnett’s definition, of the 3 scopes of sustainability (social, environmental, and economic),
this paper looks at sustainability from the environmental definition which means that
building targets go beyond CO2 reduction to consider the building lifecycle.
In 2004, the aspiration for schools to be ‘models of sustainable development’ was a
result of the 1997-2010 labour government policy (Moncaster and Simmons, 2015). This
brought sustainability to the forefront of school building projects. The government called on
construction companies to act to make school buildings more sustainable and required
individual designs to achieve a ‘Very Good’ rating in BREEAM assessment tool. In response
Methodology
Case Study
The method for investigation in this research was case study. This allowed the investigation
of the complex interaction between the design team, end users and other professionals
within the natural setting of the ‘case’ (Yin, 2003). Case study also allowed the research to
get a multidimensional insight into the Soft Landings design process and probe deeper into
specific situations. This paper investigated a single school project to discover the interaction
of the design team with end users and other professionals during the design stage.
According to Flyvbjerg (2006), generation of theory from a single case is possible depending
on the selection process of the case. Leaman, Stevenson and Bordass (2010) agree; stating
that a single case can shed light on new issues and processes and create hypothesis that can
be tested. The study was carried out after completion to give the occupants a chance to
experience the building and find out any issues discovered during the post occupancy
evaluations. The focus of the case study, however, was the design stage of the project. The
building is a school is in the south-west of London procured via a framework agreement
1
SLF: Soft Landings Framework; this literature was originally developed by BSRIA in 2008
2
SLCP: Soft Landings Core Principles; this literature was developed by BSRIA and the Soft
Landings User Group
Figure 1: Percentage of user satisfaction
Information exchange
Achieving sustainable design involves collaboration between multidisciplinary teams
(Bouchlaghem et al 2005, Gana et al, 2017). This is usually in the form of information flow
between team members from the early stages of the project. This is important for a
successful project. The Architecture has this to say
Interviewer: ‘How often were your meetings with other teams?’
Architect: ‘Usually, every month, well the designers will meet every 2 weeks, the
meeting with the client would be once a month’.
Architect: they were held in sub-groups. The clients would never meet the sub-
contractors really. The clients would meet initially, they would meet the consultants
always, the Project Manager and Architect, sometimes ….as well. Then when the
contractor became involved, the main contractor once a month but these sub-
contractors would meet the main contractor separately and sometimes the
consultants would be part of that sometimes not depending on the situation.’
From the answer above, we can deduce that there were several levels of
communication going on. Each line of communication will have to be given adequate
importance to avoid excluding important stakeholder or information overload. Dainty,
Moore and Murray (2006) discovered that poor communication can lead to lower job
performance. The information exchange does not only include communication between
teams but also the timing of delivery. Good quality information will be ‘the right information
reaching the right person or team at the right time.
Conclusion
This paper highlights the collaborative process that is necessary for a Soft Landings project.
The level of information sharing was high and frequent between all stakeholders. This does
not guarantee success for the project (as seen from the missed targets in table 1) but it
allows each member of the project contribute to solving the critical problems that usually
arise (Gana et al, 2017). The lesson learnt from other school construction projects gave the
team an advantage in the use of laminated timber frames instead of using steel. Although
the project achieved its airtightness and electricity target, there were issues with the
thermal comfort of the building and heat loss through the windows.
The project would have benefited from a dedicated Soft Landings champion as the
feedback from the end users were not properly coordinated. The project needed to have a
more effective system of cataloguing feedback for use in design. A system in which end user
contribution could be classified into essential and non-essential feedback, thereby
concentrating on only the essential feedback.
References
Altomonte, S., Rutherford, P., and Wilson, R. (2015). Human factors in the design of sustainable built
environments, Intelligent Buildings International, 7:4, 224-241, DOI: 10.1080/17508975.2014.970121.
Axon, C. J., Bright, S. J., Dixon, T. J., Janda, K. B., and Kolokotroni, M. (2012) Building communities:
reducing energy use in tenanted commercial property. Building Research and Information. Vol 40(4). Pp 461-
472, DOI: 10.1080/09613218.2012.680701
Bordass, B., Leaman, A. (2005). Making feedback and post occupancy evaluation routine 1: A portfolio
of feedback techniques. Building Research and Information. Vol 33 (4). Pp 347-352.
Bouchlaghem, D., Shang, H., Anumba, C., Cen, M., Miles, J. and Taylor, M. (2005). ICT-enabled
collaborative working environment for concurrent conceptual design. Architectural Engineering and Design
management. Vol 1(4). Pp 261-280. Doi: 10.1080/17452007.2005.9684597
Building Data Exchange (2014). Building Performance Evaluation. Prepared for Innovate UK. Available
at www.buildingdataexchange.org.uk. Accessed: January 2017
Burnett, J. (2007). Sustainability and sustainable buildings. International Journal of Hong Kong
Institution of Engineers Transactions. Vol 14 (3). Pp 1-9.
Dainty, A., Moore, D., & Murray, M. (2006). Communication in construction – Theory and practice (1st
ed.). London: Taylor and Francis.
DfES. (2006a). Schools for the future: Design of sustainable schools: Case studies. London: The
Stationery Office.
Fedoruk, L. E., Cole, R. J., Robinson, J. B., Cayuela, A (2015). Learning from failure: understanding the
anticipated-achieved building energy performance gap. Building Research and Information, Vol 43 (6). Pp 750-
763.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five misunderstandings about Case-Study Research. Qualitative Inquiry. Vol 12 (2),
219-245 doi:10.1177/1077800405284363.
Gana. V., Giridharan. R., and Watkins. R. (2017). Application of Soft Landings in the Design Management
process of a non- residential building. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, Vol. Pp 1-16
Goldsmith, W. Flanagan, T. (2017). Value methodology- case studies with climate resilience and
sustainability policy application. Architectural Engineering and Design Management. Vol 13 (1), Pp 3-21.
Gupta, R. and Gregg, M. (2016). Empirical evaluation of the energy and environmental performance of a
sustainably-designed but under-utilized institutional building in the UK. Energy and Buildings. Vol 128, Pp 68-
80
Jensen, P. A. (2011). Inclusive briefing and user involvement: Case study of a media centre in Denmark.
Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 7(1), 38–49. doi:10.3763/aedm.2010.0124.
Leaman, A. Stevenson, F. & Bordass, B (2010). Building evaluation: Practice and Principles. Building
Research and Information. Vol 38 (5), Pp 564-577
Moncaster, A and Simmons P. (2015). Policies and outcomes for UK sustainable schools. Building
Research and information. Vol 43 (4), pp 452-464.
Otter, A. D, and Emmitt, S. (2008). Design team communication and design task complexity – The
preference for dialogues. Architectural Engineering and Design Management. Vol 4 (2) Pp 121–129.
Usable Building Trust and BSRIA. (2014), The Soft Landings Framework: For better briefing, design,
handover and building performance in use. BSRIA BG 54/2014. Building Services Research and Information
Association, Bracknell.
Usable Building Trust and BSRIA. (2014), The Soft Landings Core Principles. BSRIA BG 38. Building
Services Research and Information Association, Bracknell.
Way, M and Bordass, B. (2005). Making feedback and post-occupancy evaluation routine 2: soft
landings- involving design and building teams in improving performance. Building Research and Information.
Vol 33, (4). Pp 353-360
rd
Yin, R. (2003). Case study research: Design and Methods, 3 edition, London, SAGE Publications.
Linda Gichuyia1
1
Behaviour and Building Performance research group, Department of Architecture
University of Cambridge, 1-5 Scroope Terrace Cambridge CB2 1PX. United Kingdom.
Abstract: A key question with regards to managing indoor overheating risk is: In the current carbon
constrained environment, what is the most effective design or space use strategy? Although there exists
numerous passive techniques to reduce indoor overheating instances, the decision-making process of
appraising these tactics, at the various decision-making stages of a building's lifetime, remains a challenging
task. This is true especially when making decisions for heterogeneous urban landscapes, while considering the
effects of time frame uncertainty. In this paper, an empirical study has been undertaken to characterise
practical decision-making challenges incurred when managing temporal indoor overheating risk. The study
discusses results from real-time indoor thermal monitoring carried out using digital data loggers in free-
running office spaces in 30 different buildings in Nairobi-Kenya, for the period between 2008 and 2015. The
trend of indoor overheating in these spaces has been reviewed, as well as a comparison made between
building attributes with the corresponding indoor overheating risk levels. The review implicates a need to
clarify and make transparent both factors and information that shape the form and content of decision
support when managing temporal indoor overheating. Three demand functions of decision-relevant
information, presented alongside overarching goals for managing indoor overheating risk, have been
conceptualised.
Introduction
Existing definitions and insights into overheating 1 outline three main factors that shape its
outcome: 1) The technical aspects of a building’s design and the occupancy patterns of its
occupants; 2) The building’s response to the prevailing climatic conditions and its Urban
context; and 3) The assumptions about occupant(s) thermal comfort threshold. From the
outlined descriptions of overheating, it is evident as well that emphasis has been laid on two
key factors that characterise occupants’ thermal comfort assumptions. One factor being the
upper benchmark or threshold temperature limit beyond which a person can express their
dissatisfaction with the thermal environment. The second factor is the length of time of
1
Anastasia et al (2015, p.3) have defined Overheating as “The phenomenon of a person experiencing excessive or
prolonged high temperatures within their home, resulting from internal and/or external heat gains, and which leads to
adverse effects on their comfort, health or productivity”. Overheating phenomenon has also been ”generally understood
to be the accumulation of warmth within a building to an extent where it causes discomfort to the occupants”. (NHBC,
2012, p.1). Further, CIBSE TM36 (2005) has summarised overheating as: “When the benchmark temperature is exceeded,
the building is said to have ‘overheated’ and if this occurs for more than the designated amount of time, the building is said
to suffer from ‘overheating.'
2
The term “free running” in this paper applies to a building which is neither mechanically heated nor cooled.
3
Risk Management has been defined as "coordinated activities to direct and control an organization with regard
to risk" ISO 73:2009
4
Decision support has been defined as "a set of processes intended to create the conditions for the production of decision-
relevant information for its appropriate use" .(IPCC, 2014, p. 202)
Discussion
Based on the above frame of reference, there is a glaring resolve that just the
understanding of scientifically understood principles of achieving thermal comfort in their
Figure 1: A summary of results from the real-time indoor thermal monitoring carried out using digital
data loggers in the non residential buildings in Nairobi (Figure 2).
References
Anastasia, M., Mavrogianni, A., Davies M.(2015). Defining Overheating - Evidence Review. London, UK.
Retrieved from: http://www.zerocarbonhub.org/sites/default/files/resources/reports
Cardona, O.D., van Aalst, M.K., Birkmann, J., Fordham, M., McGregor, G., Perez, R., Pulwarty, R.S.,
Schipper, E.L.F., Sinh, B.T., Décamps, H. and Keim, M. (2012). Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and
Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation: Determinants of Risk: Exposure and Vulnerability.
Carlucci, S. & Pagliano, L.(2012). A review of indices for the long-term evaluation of the general
thermal comfort conditions in buildings. Energy and Buildings, 53, pp.194–205.
CIBSE TM36.(2005). Climate Change and the Indoor Environment: Impacts and Adaptation—CIBSE
TM36. CIBSE, London.
Deogun, I.(2011). Eco-architecture: A Case of Nairobi, Kenya. Undergraduate dissertation. UON.
Gichuyia, L.(2010). The impact of buildings on climate change: A case of Nairobi’s Upper Hill area;
towards low energy Architecture. Undergraduate dissertation. The University of Nairobi.
Gichuyia, L.(2012). The implication of global warming on the indoor thermal performance of free-
running office buildings in Nairobi - Kenya. MPhil dissertation. The University of Cambridge.
Mworia, J.(2015). Teleposta towers case-study. Masters dissertation. The University of Nairobi.
Kuria, E.(2012). Biomimicry: An approach to Environmentally Conscious design. Undergraduate
dissertation. The University of Nairobi.
Loki, D.(2009). Passive & low energy building design in Nairobi: Building Design Strategies for Thermal
comfort, Day-lighting & Natural Ventilation in Nairobi’s Tropical Upland Climate. Undergraduate dissertation.
The University of Nairobi.
NHBC. (2012). Understanding overheating – where to start: An introduction for house builders and
designers. for the NHBC Foundation by Richards Partington Architects (N.F.44), Milton Keynes, UK.
Njeru, P.(2008). Investigating Thermal Comfort in Urban Transitional Spaces. MPhil dissertation. The
University of Cambridge.
Njoroge, B.(2012). Nairobi architecture in a climate of change; A Study of the evolution of the carbon
footprint of buildings in Nairobi CBD and Upper Hill area. Undergraduate dissertation. The University of Nairobi.
Njoroge, B. (2015). Towards a climate-responsive architecture: A Sensitivity Analysis of Passive Design
Strategies for a free-running building in Nairobi. MPhil dissertation. The University of Cambridge.
Nyole, F.(2011). Emerging trends in building envelope technologies: A Thermal Comfort Analysis for
Nairobi. Undergraduate dissertation. The University of Nairobi.
Nyole, F.(2015). The use of construction technology to enhance the living environment and ensure
minimal disturbance to the ecology. A case of Nairobi, Kenya.
Abstract: A number of mandatory and voluntary ‘sustainability’ rating systems emerged over the past twenty
years. However, they are usually restricted to environmental assessments carried out at individual buildings
scale, which seems to be inappropriate to capture and describe environmental, economic and social
challenges faced in social housing development contexts. Assessments should be adapted to neighborhood
scale and local conditions, and involve residents in the process. Against this backdrop, this paper aims at
verifying sensibility and adequacy of two rating systems - Selo Casa Azul (Brazil) and Housing Quality Indicators,
HQI (UK) - to assess two selected Brazilian social housing developments. Casa Azul was applied to both
projects, whilst HQI required detailed information only available for one of them. Our results suggest that Casa
Azul is insensible to distinguish performances, despite having been developed to assess Brazilian residential
projects, including social housing. HQI also has points not applicable to our cases, for either not have been
designed for social housing application or for not admitting adjustments to contexts other than the original
British conditions. Combination of features from different systems seems promising to meaningfully consider
sustainability performance aspects and allow for reflection and improvement of such design models.
Keywords: social housing, sustainability assessment, Selo Casa Azul, Housing Quality Indicators
Introduction
Sustainability assessment tools have been recurrently used to monitor building performance
and success of public and sectorial initiatives and policies. Such tools follow a common
overall content and structure, however no similar consensus regarding scope and,
particularly, assessment procedures seem to exist. Most assessment systems still focus on
environmental aspects and ignore social and economic issues which are relevant for
developing countries, and often do not integrate stakeholders in tool development and
feedback processes (Sharifi and Murayama, 2013), which can be specially critical for social
housing projects.
Social housing (SH) developments typically implemented with public funding to reduce
housing deficit, and targets low income, socially vulnerable and education-deprived
population. Demand for this housing model is especially high in developing countries or in
areas devastated by natural or environmental disasters. Developments frequently deliver
thousands of housing units at once, which virtually shapes new neighbourhoods or even
towns. Assessment scope therefore extrapolates the building scale and also demands
examination of neighbourhood scale (Berardi, 2011; Sharifi and Murayama, 2014) and local
conditions (Retzlaff, 2009). To involve and deliver meaningful actions to future dwellers,
Method
In this study, two tools - Selo Casa Azul (Brazil) and Housing Quality Indicators, HQI (UK) -
were selected to assess sustainability of Brazilian social housing developments: ‘Project
Várzea’, a development in early design stage in Rio de Janeiro state, and ‘Paraisópolis
Condominiums E and G’, a favela development certified at Casa Azul’s highest level. Casa
Azul assessments were carried out for both developments; whilst information available on
‘Paraisópolis’ was insufficient for performing HQI assessment.
Selected developments
Project ‘Várzea que Queremos’
‘Project Várzea’ is a partnership between private contractors and the municipal
administration of Niteroi, in Rio de Janeiro state, funded by the federal housing program
‘Minha Casa, Minha Vida, MCMV’ (‘My House, My Life’). The project will be built in a
redevelopment area located 25 Km from downtown, adjacent to the State Park ‘Serra da
Tiririca’, fully preserved on the project. The neighbourhood has one municipal and eight
intercity bus lines, five public schools, a day care centre and two hospitals in a three-
kilometre radius.
Design (Figure 1a) is currently in conceptual design stage and aims at reducing parking
area, while providing broad access to public spaces and leisure areas, universal design, and
green streets. Only 20% of the assigned land was parcelled to accommodate seven
condominiums with individual leisure areas. Residential lots occupation is below 22%, and
total residential building footprint is less than 5%. A total of 2,020 housing units (HUs)
complies with monthly income ranges for MCMV Program track 1 (0 to 3 minimum wages)
and track 2 (3 and 6 minimum wages). Track 1 HU areas are 42.90 m2 (two bedrooms, living
room, kitchen, service area, and bathroom). Track 2 HUs have 47.65 m2 and include a little
balcony. Complete infrastructure is provided, encompassing pedestrian lanes, street
network, transportation modes and demand management, bikeways, bus station, and use
diversity in the development’s centre (commerce, leisure, sports, schools, institutional,
cultural, health, and social equipment).
Main concepts emphasise recovering degraded areas, reducing dependency on motor
vehicles, and preserving habitat, wetland and water bodies. To achieve these aims, Project
Várzea applies the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) principles and guidelines from two
Brazilian sustainability-related certifications: ‘Procel-Edifica energy-efficiency label’ and
‘Selo Casa Azul’.
TOD focuses on integrating sustainable transport and land use. It can be used both as
guidance for creating laws to urban design, transportation design, land use and parking lots,
and as assessment at planning or design stage of conditions for creating walkable
Figure 1. Site view/plan and respective HU layouts of (a) ‘Várzea que Queremos’ and (b) ‘Paraisópolis’
Condominiums E and G.
(a)
(b)
Table 2. Selo Casa Azul assessment results for ‘Paraisópolis’ and ‘Project Várzea’
Categories Paraisópolis Project Várzea
Urban Quality 4/5 4/5
Design & Comfort 8/11 7 to 10/11*
Energy Efficiency 3/8 5 to 6/8*
In the HQI assessment, Project Várzea scores best for ‘location’, ‘site’ and ‘external
environment’ (Table 3). Like in Casa Azul, aspects beyond project site are considered only in
one indicator (location). For ‘routes and movement’, and ‘external environment’, scores
were boosted by TOD application, which however did not change the Casa Azul award level.
Simple design adaptations would increase the HQI score; however, at increased investment.
Worst scores are related to open spaces and unit aspects. In open spaces, the main
cause of low score is the lack of children’s playgrounds and the existence of open spaces
without specific use. The last issue causes vulnerability to safety and security, once theses
areas can be intrusively used. For unit aspects, size of Brazilian social housing units is not
consistent with the UK standards that ground HQI. Units in Project Várzea range from
42.90 m2 to 47.65 m2 for four bedspaces. In HQI, the minimum sizing for accommodating
four residents is between 67 and 75 m2, so the examined project falls more than 10% short
of its lowest limit, and has no extra room above the minimum required by the HQI standard.
All spaces but bedrooms meet sizing requirements for furniture provision, access,
circulation and activity zones, but none of them does so by exceeding the minimum
requisite. Additional features related to suitable rooms to activities beyond usual are also
weakly attempt. Regarding 'noise, light, services & adaptability', the project does not
achieve any characteristics for noise reduction (which includes but is not limited to UK
requirements), and have a weakly service provision, no additional features for services and
no characteristics for adaption.
Finally, ‘sustainability criteria’ in HQI refer mainly to UK standards and regulations and
do not allow for change or adaptation, following the standard of most sustainability
assessment systems (Retzlaff, 2009, 2008; Sharifi and Murayama, 2013). The indicator is
Final Remarks
Casa Azul balances environmental and social issues but did not distinguish performance of
very different assessed projects. Complete assessment is hampered at early project stages.
On its turn, HQI focuses on environmental issues and is based on British standards and
practices, which establish requirements that Brazilian social housing projects are not able or
not expected to meet, such as unit sizes. Furthermore, despite admitting certain weighting
adjustments, this adaptability is limited to the UK context.
None of the systems consider a broader range of economic aspects or increased urban
complexity at neighbourhood scale. Residents’ participation is also unexplored. Our
assessments confirmed that both tools have limitations and - if used in isolation – would not
adequately describe fundamental sustainability aspects. A mixed or adapted set of
indicators, encompassing housing unit, context and user character, from environmental,
economic and social perspectives, is therefore needed to provide more meaningful results
and design inputs, as well as serve as effective funding screening tools.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) for
funding this research project.
References
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of Assessment. Int. J. Sustain. Build. Technol. Urban Dev. 2, 276–282. doi:10.5390/SUSB.2011.2.4.276
Gonçalves, J.C.S., 2016. Sustainability: a clarion call for a new approach. Archit. Des. 86.
doi:10.1002/ad.2055
Harrison, A., 1999. Housing Quality Indicators, in: Better Homes in the Next Millennium. Hong Kong
Housing Authority, Hong Kong.
ITDP, 2014. TOD Standard v2.1. Despacio, New York.
John, V.M., Prado, R.T.A. (Eds.), 2010. Selo Casa Azul: Boas práticas para habitação mais sustentável.
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Am. Plann. Assoc. 74, 505–519. doi:10.1080/01944360802380290
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three assessment systems and their cases from the US, the UK, and Japan. Build. Environ. 72, 243–258.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2013.11.006
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assessment tools. Environ. Impact Assess. Rev. 38, 73–87. doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2012.06.006
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and housing rehab. Habitat Int. 36, 312–323. doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2011.10.009
The National Affordable Homes Agency, 2008. 721 Housing Quality Indicators (HQI) Form. Housing
Corporation.
Introduction
Mounting evidence since the 1990’s has firmly established that buildings, residential and
commercial, often demonstrate a discrepancy between predicted and in-use energy
consumption (Carbon Trust, 2011). The causes of the “performance gap” span throughout
the building process and can be broadly classified into those relating to occupancy, energy
performance of services and systems and the thermal performance of building fabric, which
is the focus of this paper. Heat loss through the fabric is primarily the result of air leakage
and of repeating and non-repeating thermal bridging. In a typical new build dwelling,
thermal bridging can account for 20-30% of the total heat loss (Zero Carbon Hub, 2016)
while the respective share of air leakage may be up to 50% (Energy Saving Trust, 2009).
Underperforming fabric elements can therefore have significant impact on energy use and
particularly on space heating which, accounting for over 60% of total energy, is by far the
biggest slice of UK household energy use (DECC, 2013).
In response to the worldwide shift towards the use of building energy regulations and
codes aimed at reducing energy consumption, there have been a number of studies on the
evaluation of building fabric performance. Much of the work however has been case-study-
focused and as a result findings have been largely fragmented. A study of 44 cavity masonry
homes found a third of the pressure-tested properties underperforming, highlighting the
impact of design complexity on the performance gap (Wingfield et al, 2008). Considerable
discrepancies in the range of 0.8-4.7m3/h/m2@50Pa were identified in 5 dwellings built to
PH (50) MVHR
Private
NPH (138) Social housing Owner occupier
Tenure
rent
Owner Private
PH (50) Social housing occupier rent
Build form
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Figure 1: Build form, tenure type, construction system and ventilation strategy for the 188 dwellings reviewed,
separately for Passivhaus (PH) and non-Passivhaus (NPH) dwellings.
Data was analysed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). A
statistical analysis plan was developed to maximise uniformity in data analysis and ensure
validity of results. Thermal imaging data was analysed at the development level while air
permeability, heat loss and U-value data at dwelling level with the respective sample sizes
varying between 188 for air permeability and 29 for heat loss due to data availability (Table
1).
Table 1: Sample size of dwellings (and developments for thermal imaging) reviewed.
External wall Roof
Whole house Thermal
Air permeability
U-value U-value heat loss imaging
Passivhaus 50 14 5 6 10
Non-Passivhaus 138 48 15 23 34
Total 188 62 20 29 44
Results
Designed and measured airtightness
Design and in-situ data were reviewed for 188 dwellings in 43 developments. The measured
data originated from air permeability tests conducted to the ATTMA standard (ATTMA,
2010), though the test had been extended to include both pressurisation and
depressurisation with the final air permeability result represented by the average of the two.
The average measured air permeability over the 188 dwellings (3.8m3/h/m2@50Pa) was
10
9
8
7
R² = 0.06
6
5
4
3
2
R² = 0.12
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Measured air permeability (m³/h/m²@50Pa)
Non Passivhaus (138) Passivhaus (50)
(a) (b)
Figure 2: (a) Relationship between design and measured air permeability, (b) rate of change of the difference
between measured and design air permeability with changes in the design target for 138 NPH dwellings.
Figure 3: Design and measured air permeability for 50 Passivhaus and 138 non-Passivhaus dwellings.
Further scrutiny of the airtightness data revealed a strong tendency of NPH envelopes
designed to 5m3/h/m2@50Pa or better to demonstrate an air permeability gap. The
regression model in figure 2b (significant at p<0.05) shows that the lower the design air
permeability, the difference between measured and design air permeability increases,
indicating the importance of workmanship in achieving high levels of airtightness. The model
implies that for every 1m3/h/m2@50Pa decrease in design air permeability the gap between
actual and intended airtightness increases by 0.8m3/h/m2@50Pa, with the cut-off point at
5m3/h/m2@50Pa.
(a) (b)
Figure 4: Relationship between space heating and (a) air permeability for 188 dwellings and (b) heat loss
coefficient for 9 non-Passivhaus dwellings.
Discussion
The analysis of fabric thermal performance data from 188 new build homes revealed
widespread deviations from the design intent in the majority of dwellings. The greatest
discrepancies were seen in airtightness whereas the gap in terms of whole house heat loss
and thermal transmittance of roof and external wall was smaller. With nearly all
developments presenting deficiencies at windows and doors, thermal weakness at openings
seems to be endemic across the sector (Table 2). The review of thermographic data however
indicated that thermal defects can occur anywhere within the building fabric, from
junctions/joints and roofs to slab/ground level and service penetrations, thus highlighting
the need to improve detailing, specification and workmanship. The prevalence of the fabric
performance gap amongst this sample of dwellings designed and constructed to low energy
standards by expert teams who were aware of the monitoring and testing commitment,
indicates a widespread occurrence of this gap across the UK new build housing population.
Conclusions
This research has undertaken a meta-study of the building fabric thermal performance gap
in 188 low energy dwellings in the UK, including Passivhaus (50) and non-Passivhaus
structures (138), drawn from the Government’s Building Performance Evaluation
Programme. Actual air permeability, whole house heat loss and thermal transmittance of
external wall and roof, determined from in-situ measurements, were compared against the
design intention and reviewed along with thermographic survey data. The findings show that
building to the design intent is not commonplace. The prevalence of the fabric performance
gap, more profound in terms of airtightness, and the occurrence of thermal defects across
the building fabric has raised the need for better construction quality and diagnostics. A
comprehensive fabric test including air permeability, heat flux measurements and thermal
imaging in all dwellings can be more reliable than just an air permeability test in a sample of
dwellings as currently required in Building Regulations and can inform as build energy
models to produce predictions closer to actual performance. Ultimately, identifying the
underlying causes of the fabric performance gap is important to a range of key stakeholders
including designers, M&E consultants, constructors and policy-makers. Such knowledge
should inform the future versions of Building Regulations, which can require more in-situ
testing of the building fabric during the construction and completion stages.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Innovate UK for sponsoring the I-life research project.
References
AIMC4 (2014). Information paper - Lessons from AIMC4 for cost-effective fabric-first low-energy housing
Part 5: As-Built performance and Post Occupancy Evaluation. AIMC4 consortium, June 2014.
ATTMA (2010). Technical Standard L1: Measuring Air Permeability of Building Envelopes (dwellings).
Bell, M. Wingfield, J. Miles-Shenton, F. Seavers, J. (2010). Low carbon housing: Lessons from Elm Tree
Mews. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Introduction
The traditional way of supplying energy to the built environment is no longer sustainable:
New buildings with high energy performance and decentralised renewable energy
generation, together with the desire to become fossil-free, need new, more flexible and
more integrated energy systems. The city of Amsterdam has a large programme for new
buildings (Gemeente Amsterdam). At the same time, the city’s ambition is to become
independent of natural gas for energy supply to the built environment by 2050. New
buildings, therefore, should not be connected to the gas grid anymore.
Innovative scenarios for a flexible and integrated energy system are developed within
the Buiksloterham Integrated Energy Systems (BIES) project for the suburb of Buiksloterham
located in Amsterdam-North, see figure 1. The results of this study should also be applicable
to other new construction sites with high energy ambitions and high densities. Both
technical and organisational boundary conditions are considered in this research.
The Buiksloterham area is located on the North side of the IJ-river relative to
Amsterdam Central Station and can be reached within five minutes from the Central Station
Figure 1. The area of Buiksloterham (source: Bestemmingsplan Buiksloterham 2009)
Literature
The starting point for the development of the technical energy concepts was the energy
potential mapping approach by Dobbelsteen et al. (2007) and Broersma et al. (2013). The
‘toolkit duurzame gebiedsontwikkeling 2012’ and the report by Jablonska et al. (2011) were
used for the development of both new energy concepts and new energy approaches.
However, the ambitions of the BIES project went beyond matching the energy
potential to the demand. The wish of the district of Buiksloterham is to become a leading
example of Circular City development in Amsterdam (Circular Buiksloterham report). This
enforced the development of an integrated energy system that was sustainable in all its
aspects. The district of Buiksloterham as a living lab required that the economic feasibility
had to be taken into account to assure an affordable integrated energy system in the near
future. And last but not least, to realise an integrated energy system in Buiksloterham is
impossible if the political, social, technological, legal, and governmental aspects of the
PESTLEG analysis are not considered.
The detailed quantitative analysis of the energy concepts and their evaluation on all
the aspects mentioned above required an enormous amount of background literature. The
energy demand of the buildings is based on the Dutch RVO (2015). An overview of all the
other applied literature can be found in the final report of the project (Jansen et. al, 2016,
in Dutch) as the page limit of this paper it too restricted to cite them all. Apart from the
literature, a lot of information was also gained from stakeholders active in the area.
Methods
For the development of the energy concept an integral approach was developed where
circularity in all its aspects was taken into account as well as the political, economic, social,
technological, legal and governmental aspects. The approach consisted of two routes that
were followed simultaneously. The first route is the theoretical development of the basic
energy concepts. The second route is the practical approach where stakeholder meetings
Figure 2. Schematic illustration of the Energy performance indicators in GJ/y (Jansen et al. 2015)
Two options were used as the starting point for the energy demand of new buildings.
The first option has an energy efficient building skin, i.e. the Energy Performance Coefficient
(EPC) of 0.4 of the building is reached with a standard energy system (HR gas boiler,
electricity from the grid) and no sustainable production. In the other option, the insulation
values of the building skin comply with the minimum values of the Dutch Building
Regulations so that the EPC of 0.4 can be reached with efficient/sustainable energy
solutions. The demand data for heating, cooling, domestic hot water and electricity
consumption of the new buildings were based on reference numbers from RVO, 2015.
Three basic energy concepts for energy supply for the new buildings were developed
based on proven and existing technologies: 1. Gas and electricity, 2. All-electric (heat pump
and ground source thermal storage) and 3. District heating with electricity. Experience in the
area and existing agreements between stakeholders were also taken into account in the
Results
Energy demand
The total energy demand for heating and cooling for new buildings is between 40,000 and
50,000 GJ/year for heating (room heating and domestic hot water) and between 11,000 and
14,000 GJ/year for cooling, see figure 3. The electricity demand between 42,000 and 48,000
GJ/year is the sum of building related electricity (mainly lighting and ventilators) and user
related electricity (computers, TV, etc.). The total energy demand for the existing buildings
is the actual energy use in 2014 (data from the utility company Alliander), see table 1.
Figure 3: Total energy demand of the new buildings of Buiksloterham till 2024 for space heating, cooling
and tap water. Option A and B represent different grades of insulation (A is very energy efficient and B
according to the minimal values of the Dutch Building Regulations).
Table 1. Total energy use existing buildings (2014 data from utility company Alliander).
Electricity usage existing buildings Gas usage exisiting buildings
6 6 3
usual units 27.0×10 kWh/year 2.47×10 m /year
3 3
GJ/year 97.×10 GJ/year 86.7×10 GJ/year
Figure 4. Energy potentials of new buildings from sun and wind on roofs and from waste and sewage.
The availability of local heat at relatively low temperatures (15 to 35 °C) is large. The
PVT panels and solar collectors can produce more heat when the heat can be delivered at
lower temperatures, for example combined with heat and cold storage in the ground in
stead of a boiler tank. Heat recovery from the sewage system, also called ‘rio-thermal’
energy, is another source of low temperature heat. Rio-thermal heat recovery has the
advantage that this heat is also available in winter when there is less sun from the solar
systems. A heat pump is, however, always necessary to upgrade the low temperature heat
for room heating or domestic hot water. Attention should be paid to the fact that the
necessary electricity for the heat pump is lower when the source temperature is closer to
the supply temperature, even if the necessary amount of heat is the same.
The energy potential for waste is calculated assuming maximum reuse of recyclable
elements. This means a high amount of organic waste and a low amount of refuse
remaining after separation of recyclable elements. The remaining refuse after separation of
recyclable elements can produce electricity and heat in an waste incineration plant and the
organic waste can produce electricity and heat in a heat and power plant (after
fermentation). Compared to the energy demand, only a very limited amount of biogas can
be produced from the available waste and black water in the area.
1 ENERGY
2 ECONOMY
Costs Enduser
TOTAL € 12.919,- TOTAL € 17.482,- TOTAL € 20.522,-
3 CIRCULARITY
Use of natural resources circularity not possible some bottlenecks many bottlenecks
4 IMPLEMENTATION (PSTLG)
Energy concept assessment
Table 2 shows the assessment of the energy concepts for the new dwellings. The
assessment shows that concept 1 is by far the most favourable in terms of costs, followed
by concept 2, and then 3. Concept 2 is the most favourable related to energy performance
and overall sustainability. Given the existing agreements in Buiksloterham only concept 3 is
applicable. The assessment also shows that none of the basic concepts is truly an integrated
Figure 5. Scheme of a fourth energy concept for the new buildings
developed to overcome the shortcomings of the basic variants 1, 2, and 3.
Conclusion
It is not possible to develop Buiksloterham, and similar areas with high density, into an
energy neutral area within the current legal framework (without wind energy it is not
possible). About 1/3 of the energy use in buildings (building-related energy plus user-related
energy) can be supplied by renewable energy. It is possible to identify which concepts result
in the highest fraction of renewable supply: The BIES project concludes that a low
temperature supply of heat is essential for a maximised use of local renewable input. The
fourth energy concept developed seems to meet the ambitions related to maximum
References
Bestemmingsplan Buiksloterham: www.amsterdam.nl/projecten/buiksloterham/stedenbouwkundige,
retrieved October 2017, in Dutch.
Broersma, S. Fremouw M and Dobbelsteen A.van den., Energy Potential Mapping: Visualising Energy
Characteristicsfor the Exergetic Optimisation of the Built Environment, Entropy 2013, 15, 490-506;
doi:10.3390/e15020490.
BUIKSLOTERHAM INTEGRATED ENERGY SYSTEM: Naar een duurzaam en geïntegreerd energiesysteem
voor een wijk in transitie, November 2016, in Dutch.
Dobbelsteen, A. A. J. F. vd., Jansen, S. C. and Timmeren, A. v. (2007). “Naar een energiegestuurd
omgevingsplan Groningen” (In Dutch). Delft, Delft University of Technology, in Dutch.
Gemeente Amsterdam, Koers 2025: https://www.amsterdam.nl/bestuur-organisatie/volg-beleid/koers-
2025-amsterdam/, rectrieved 17/3/2017, in Dutch.
Jablonska,B. et al., Innovatieve energieconcepten en pilots voor energieneutrale gebiedsontwikkeling in
2050, ECN-0--10-037, January 2011, in Dutch
Jansen, S.C., Bokel, R.M.J., Müller, S., Elswijk, M., Roossien, B., Odijk, S. van., Vries, S. de, BIES (2016).
http://www.ams-institute.org/solution/bies-buiksloterham-integrated-energy-system/, in Dutch.
Kleerekoper, L., Taleghani, M. , Dobbelsteen van der A.A.J.F., Hordijk, G.J. Urban Measures for hot
weather conditions in a temperate climate condition: a review study, Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews 2017, 75, 515-533.
Metabolic, Studioninedots & DELVA Landscape Architects, Circulair Buiksloterham. Een Living Lab voor
circulaire gebiedsontwikkeling, Creative Commons licentie (CC-BY-NC-ND 2014), in Dutch.
RVO, Uniforme maatlat gebouwede omgeving, rekenmodel versie 3.5. Online download from
www.agentschapnl.nl/new --> instrumenten. Retrieved October 2015, in Dutch.
Toolkit duurzame gebiedsontwikkeling, Met 20 bouwstenen naar een energieneutraal gebied; gids voor
initiatiefnemers en projectleiders, Æneas, uitgeverij van vakinformatie bv, Boxtel, 2012, in Dutch.
www.energieinbeeld.nl, retrieved October 2016, in Dutch
Abstract: The incompatibility between the vacancy of built edifications and the demand for housing in the
central region of São Paulo is the prime motivator of this work. The purpose of this article is to prove, through
environmental-simulation software, as well as spatial and ergonomic analysis, how urgent it is to rehabilitate
buildings produced between 1930 and 1964, for residential purposes. The methodology involved the selection
of two commercial buildings which are currently in state of disuse, and whose typologies strongly resemble the
majority of buildings constructed in the same period (and for the same purposes), so that the solutions
explored in this research can be replicated. Through rehabilitation, these constructions have been improved
and have had their qualities explored to the fullest, in order to contribute to their overall autonomy and
energetic efficiency. The ergonomic performance was studied through the analysis of tasks in order to assure it
is possible to realize both conventional and non-conventional tasks in the residential environment. The article
concluded that the constructive characteristics of the buildings, ergonomic performance improvements and
users’ behavioral changes have a strong influence on the overall performance of the units, increasing the
potential for housing in the center of the city.
Introduction
A compact urban space doesn’t necessarily mean twenty-story buildings around every
corner. In fact, exploring the possibilities of mixed-use buildings so that the infrastructure
can be exploited to its fullest is what defines a city’s body. Having a transportation system
operating optimally not only reduces the average time of daily trips, but also renews parts
of the city who have been neglected by public administration.
Although São Paulo’s central area has a seemingly intense use, it is filled with under-
used infrastructure, since its usage is four times bigger during the day than it is during the
night. This can be explained by the fact that the central portion of the city holds 24% of all
the jobs, while most of the workers come from peripheral regions (data collected from the
‘Renova Centro’ program). Besides, the current vacancy rate of this same area is close to
30%, which makes the possibility of rehabilitating these buildings stand out, once the
infrastructure is already there. Requalifying them means recovering their dwelling
characteristics, who have been lost due to the changes on the users’ necessities and on the
demands of the region itself. The environmental conditions of a construction can vary based
on the changes on its surroundings: taller buildings can block ventilation; the increase of
Building-choice standards
Some characteristcs make themselves present in most of the constructons built at the
tme, such as the large gaps between columns, big sized windows, ceiling heights around
three meters – all that made possible with the use of reinforced concrete. Furthermore,
thick walls propitate increased thermal inerta, or, in other words, they guarantee the
temperature variaton range is smaller inside the building than on the outside, avoiding
exacerbated peak temperatures. This is one of the main constructve features of the
buildings that date from the years of 1930 through 1960.
Since the scope of the edifcatons that are being dealt with includes only commercial
and trade and services constructons, the stories are fairly unobstructed, which makes
layout solutons quite simple. However, the purpose of this research is to keep the proposed
spaces as fexible as possible, so that it is viable to answer to whatever demand the diferent
domestc environments may present.
Afer observing which are the most recurring typologies in the city of São Paulo, with
emphasis on abandoned or sub utlized edifcatons, two were chosen to be explored in this
study. Through those typological paterns it is intended to come to adaptable solutons to
these buildings. From this, some of the most common characteristcs inside these two
typologies were listed, such as: mixed use; presence of commercial units on the ground
foor; remaining foors holding various services; vertcal circulaton through stairs and
elevators. Those characteristcs helped narrowing down which would be the studied
constructons. Following the described steps, two buildings were chosen, one of them
located at Paula Souza Street and the other one at Capitão Salomão Street. For the purpose
of this artcle, only the frst one was explored, since it has a wider amount of possible
solutons given the multple obstacles and difcultes faced when atemptng to rehabilitate
it.
Image 1: Secton with usage labels and typical foor plan of the building located on Paula Souza Street.
Graph 1: Results of the simulaton made through the TAS sofware regarding days 26, 27 and 28 (hot and
sunny) for the second and ffh foors of the original Paula Souza Street building. Elaborated by the author.
Observing the graphic above, it is clear to see the how the internal temperature is
always higher than the external temperature. This happens due to the buildings large,
unobstructed and north-facing openings, which generate great heat gain through direct
radiaton during most of the day. As a result of the edifcaton’s huge thermal mass, the TRM
curves regarding internal environments show smaller variaton, which represents more
stable temperatures.
In an atempt to diminish excessive heat gain around noon (when there is the most
solar radiaton), horizontal brises were installed on the facade, once direct incidence is the
biggest contributor for temperature increase. However, on winter days, this radiaton comes
in handy, since it keeps the inside warmer than the outside. The elements of protecton
consist of 30 centmeter stems with 64 centmeter gaps between each of them, according to
the studies of Uzum (2017).
Image 3: Typical foorplan for the rehabilitaton proposal, featuring two residental units of the Paula Souza
Street building, with highlights on layout and household equipment usage areas. Drawing made by the author.
Image 4: Typical foorplan for the rehabilitaton proposal, featuring one residental unit of the Paula Souza
Street building, with highlights on layout and household equipment usage areas. Drawing made by the author.
Image 6: Typical foorplan for the rehabilitaton proposal, featuring one residental unit of the Paula Souza
Street building, with highlights on layout and internal transit areas. Drawing made by the author.
Image 7: Labels for each room on a three-bedroom unit of the Paula Souza Street building. Drawing made by
the author.
Image 8: Labels for each room featuring two kitchenetes of the Paula Souza Street building. Drawing made by
the author.
Graph 3: Results of the simulaton made through the TAS sofware regarding days 26, 27 and 28 (hot and
sunny) for the second foor of the Paula Souza Street building. Elaborated by the author.
The afermath shows how the temperature curves referring to the internal rooms
tend to faten, even staying below the outside temperature curve during the hotest
periods of the day.
When comparing the results gathered by the simulaton model, it is clear to see the
diference between the original situaton and the proposed one, since the atrium propitates
huge increment concerning natural ventlaton throughout the whole edifcaton. The
temperatures have less abrupt changes, mainly on the critcal hours of direct solar radiaton,
seeing that among the hours of the day, there are many on which the outside temperature
exceeds the one on the inside (on the model with the applied modifcatons), not alike what
Conclusion
In possession of the outcomes of this study, it was possible to evidence how well the
buildings created at this tme can be readapted, given their constructve partcularites that
provide good thermal characteristcs as well as versatle layout solutons. Adding this to the
great stock of idle buildings in the central region of São Paulo, the rehabilitaton of this type
of edifcaton becomes not only possible, but also necessary. This idea can be supported by
the fact that there are many illegal occupatons in buildings with similar characteristcs, even
with very litle salubrity and precarious living conditons.
There is a great beneft from allying constructve aspects to ergonomic ideas that
allow users to exercise full control of openings and a project that aims for sofened efects
when it comes to direct solar incidence. Moreover, two diferent unit formats have been
presented, so that it is viable to house as many diferent families as possible. Since the
majority of the units were thought to be accessible for disabled people, they can also ft the
elderly who can develop special needs or even someone who has been through some kind
of trauma and might need a wheelchair temporarily.
Through a diferent point of view, although stll concerning the same buildings, it was
possible to re-evaluate the need of a personal laundry room for each unit, since it is
something that exists based on cultural reasons only. Once the units have limited areas, it
seemed like a reasonable soluton to relocate the laundry onto a common space, since it
doesn’t have an intmate essence as most rooms in a house. Being the building thought to
house diferent types of families, a common laundry room shouldn’t have concentrate
usage, which answers best to everyone’s needs. The same applies to the community garden,
although it has an even greater potental of bringing people closer, besides creatng free
food.
It is also important to notce that the proposals elaborated have a good chance of
being replicated, once the buildings in the region have very similar characteristcs to the
ones analyzed in this research. That being said, this paper comprehends possibilites which
may work as future reference for interventons and rehabilitatons such as this one, in hope
to encourage more idle buildings to be readapted not only in São Paulo but in every city
lacking appropriate dwellings close to the majority of their work places.
References
ABNT, NBR 9050 - Acessibilidade a edifcacoes, mobiliario, espacos e equipamentos urbanos. 2015.
Gonçalves, J. C. S., Bode, K. (2015). Edif́cio Ambiental. São Paulo: Ofcina de textos.
Kronka Mulfarth, R. C. (2015). A reocupacao de edif́cios multfamiliares no centro de Sao Paulo, uma
refexao sobre a questao ergonomica. In O Edif́cio Ambiental. São Paulo: Ofcina de Textos.
Kronka Mulfarth, R. C. (2013). Sustentabilidade e Mobilidade: o desenho urbano e as questoes
relacionadas com a qualidade ambiental. IV SIMPGEU - Simposio de Pos-Graduação em Engenharia Urbana e I
ENURB – Encontro Nacional de Tecnologia Urbana.
Panero, J., Zelnik, M. (2001). Dimensionamento Humano para Espacos Interiores. Barcelona: GG.
Uzum, M. dos S. D. (2011). A requalifcacao de edif́cios altos residenciais no centro da cidade de Sao
Paulo: em busca de qualidade ambiental. Dissertação de Mestrado. Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da
Universidade de São Paulo.
Uzum, M. dos S. D. Conforto termico e luminoso para habitacao economica: O potencial de edif́ cios
altos existentes nos bairros centrais de Sao Paulo. Tese de Doutorado. Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo
da Universidade de São Paulo. Publicaton "in press".
Introduction
The building sector accounts for 32% of global energy consumption, 19% of energy-related
CO₂ emissions, 51% of global electricity consumption, and 9% of the world petroleum
consumption (IIASA, 2012; IPCC, 2014). Moreover, building sector emits per electricity use 8.6
GTCO₂-eq., 0.4 GTCO₂- eq. CH₄, 0.1 GTCO₂- eq. N₂O, 1.5 GTCO₂- eq. Halocarbons (CFC and
HCFC) and 35-40% of CO₂ emissions from the use of fossil fuels (Urge-Vorsatz et al., 2007).
There are many rating systems throughout the world that aim to assess sustainability.
However, there are noticeable variations between these systems of the same grade or rating,
such that BREEAM Excellent and LEED Platinum, are not equivalent in terms of sustainability
performance. Therefore, it difficult for buildings’ stakeholders, especially property investors
who purchase buildings in different countries, to compare the sustainability performance of
their buildings on a consistent basis (Dixon et al., 2008). Also, there is no unified concept or
definition of sustainability assessment attributes that can be utilized to express the key
aspects of sustainability and to be adopted in different regions (Baharetha et al., 2012; Banani
Methodology
The methodology is divided into four parts: first, introducing the proposed energy factors for
the developed energy category as a part of a proposed generic rating tool. Second, conducting
a comparison between the proposed method and some existing rating tools to stand for the
attributes that were overlooked in these tools. Third, developing a simulation utilizing IES VE
software to stand for the impact of regional environment on the energy consumption, even
using the same building. Finally, the fourth part, performing a comparison between the
proposed assessment method and five existing ones concerning energy consumption and
degree of conservation in energy.
Proposed energy category
The primary targets of the energy assessment are reducing both the energy consumption and
the unwanted impacts of the life cycle of buildings. The proposed energy category includes
four factors as depicted in Figure 1. The first is energy performance measures percentage of
reduction in energy use through the minimum required energy performance, and optimizing
energy performance. Second, provision of energy management evaluates the existence of
energy operating plan for the building, energy audit, energy monitoring and metering for the
operated equipment to stand for their energy consumption, commissioning and testing for
analysing energy demand and end-uses and to provide an ongoing commissioning, building
automated system which monitors and controls all the building systems, emissions reduction
then reporting them to identify building performance parameters which reduce conventional
energy consumption and quantify these reductions, and finally, sustainable maintenance to
ensure that all the systems will perform in an efficient way according to the designed building
maintenance. Third, energy efficient systems estimates using of efficient systems to reduce
energy consumption such as: interior lighting and zone control, renewable energy systems,
energy efficient circulation system and efficient ventilation in car parks. Finally, energy
efficient equipment assesses the amount of utilizing energy-efficient appliances and cloth
drying facilities, energy-efficient AC equipment and high-efficiency equipment.
A comparison was conducted between eight rating systems selected from the World
Green Building Council member list (Worldgbc, 2016) concerning the proposed assessment
attributes. The already established green building tool is the key selection criteria of these
eight rating tools. The eight rating tools are LEED (USGBC, 2009), BREEAM (BRE, 2015), HK-
BEAM (HK GBC, 2012), BCA green mark (BCA, 2012), Greenship (GBC Indonesia, 2012), Green
Energy efficient
Minimum energy Interior lighting efficiency
Energy Operating Plan appliances and cloth
performance and zoning control
1st Sub Factor
1st Sub Factor
1st Sub Factor drying facilities
1st Sub Factor
Building Automation
System
4th Sub Factor
Sustainable Maintenance
5th Sub Factor
Figure 1. Proposed energy criterion and its related factors and sub factors
Table 1. Energy use criteria comparison among eight rating tools
BREEAM
Building
CASBEE
Indonesi
(Japan)
Globes
Green
Green
Green
BEAM
Index
Mark
LEED
ship
BCA
HK
System
Energy Criterion
Energy Performance Factor ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Minimum Energy Performance ● ● ● ●
Optimizing Energy Efficiency Performance ● ● ● ● ● ●
Evaluation of Thermal Performance Reduction of Building Envelope ● ●
Provision of Energy Management Factor ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Energy Operating Plan ● ● ● ● ●
Energy Monitoring and Metering ● ● ● ● ● ●
Commissioning and Testing Energy Systems ● ● ● ● ● ●
Building Automation System, or Energy Management System (EMS) ● ●
Sustainable Maintenance ● ●
Energy Efficient Systems Factor ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Interior Lighting Efficiency and Zoning Control. ● ● ● ● ● ●
Renewable Energy Systems ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Energy Efficient Circulation Systems (Lifts and escalators) ●
Energy Efficient Equipment Factor ● ● ● ● ● ●
Energy Efficient Appliances and Cloth Drying Facilities ●
Energy Efficient AC Equipment ● ● ● ● ●
High Efficiency Boilers ● ●
Figure 2. Case study different modeling stages
Simulation results
A simulation of the EV building has been performed for one city in each of the seven different
countries as illustrated in Figure 3 which are: Hong Kong, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; New York,
Malaysia; Cairo, Egypt; London, England; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: and Montreal, Canada. The
accuracy of the simulation model was compared to the actual data of energy consumption.
The actual total energy consumption of the building is 23,000 MWh, while, according to the
simulation results and as shown in Figure 3 is 23,656 MWh with an error of 2.85% which
increase the confidence in the results that has been extracted from the simulation.
Consequently, according to Figure 3 and Figure 4, the total energy consumption (in MWh) in
the cold weathered cities, i.e. Montreal and New York, is much higher than the other warm
weathered countries due to the high increase in the demand for space heating and hot water
provision. These energy demands are reflected in the carbon emissions which are the primary
sources of GHG which result in increasing the global warmth. Unfortunately, in all the cities,
a single building is responsible for high carbon emissions. However, the cities with the highest
energy consumption have the largest share of GHG emissions shown in Figure 5.
Further, based on the simulation results, a comparison has been conducted between
five rating system and the proposed one to determine the degree of improvement in energy
performance that the proposed model can perform when compared with each of the selected
rating systems as illustrated in Table 2. These rating systems are LEED, USA; LEED, Canada;
Greenship, Indonesia; Green Building Index, Malaysia; and HK-BEAM, Hong Kong. These five
Energy Consumption
23,657
25000
20,107
20000 15,831
MWh/hear
Figure 3. Total energy consumption for seven countries
4000
3500
3000
MWh/year
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
Carbon Emissions
7,000,000 6,467,297
6,000,000 5,397,286
5,000,000 4,524,8764,632,938
4,253,5244,061,332
3,900,686
4,000,000
KgCO2
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
EV EV New EV EV EV EV Hong EV Egypt
Montreal York England Indonesia Malaysia Kong
Figure 5. Annual Carbon dioxide emissions
Greenship
HK-BEAM
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
building
Canada
System
System
System
System
System
Green
LEED
Index
(EUI)
(EUI)
LEED
(EUI)
(EUI)
(EUI)
Energy
consumption 20,107 31,679 23,657 30,626 10,639 32,836 10,556 32,626 9,0745 24,101
(MWh)
Baseline
consumption 19,948 31,428 12,671 16,404 9,472 31,393 5,683 31,431 13,612 31,422
(MWh)
Compared to 0.8% 0.8 % 86.7 % 86.7 % 9.5 % 4.6 % 47 % 3.8 % 33.3% 23.3 %
baseline higher higher higher higher higher higher higher higher lower lower
Existence of
prerequisite
Exist Exist Exist Exist Exist Exist Not Exist Exist Exist Exist
2
250kWh/m .
yr 150 %
19% 19% 19% 19% 19% 19% 19%
Prerequisite Or higher
statement
above above above above above - above above
5% reduction than
baseline baseline baseline baseline baseline baseline baseline
in next 6 baseline
month
Not Not Not Not
rating status Not rated Not rated Rated Not rated Rated Rated
rated rated rated rated
Energy value
required
16,158 25,456 10,264 13,287 9,472 25,428 - 25,459 - -
Energy
reduction
required to 3,790 5,971 13,393 17,339 897 7401 4,873 7,167 - -
achieve base
line (MWh)
Achieved
score (1)
- - - - - - 14 - 31 18
Max.
available 35 - 35 - 36 - 38 - 38 63
score (2)
Percentage
between (1) - - - - - - 28.6 % - 81.6 % 29.5 %
and (2)
References
Al-Geelawe, E.K. & Mohsin, A.H. (2015), "Implementing Sustainability Strategies in the Design of
Buildings", Applied Research Journal, vol. 1, no. 10, pp. 478-489.
Baharetha, S. M., Al-Hammad, A. A., and Alshuwaikhat, H. M. (2012). "Towards a Unified Set of
Sustainable Building Materials Criteria." Proceeding of the International Conference on Sustainable Design,
Engineering, and Construction, ASCE, Fort Worth, Texas, November 7-9, 732-740.
Banani, R., Vahdati, M., and Elmualim, A. (2013). "Demonstrating the Importance of Criteria and Sub-
criteria in Building Assessment Methods." Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning VI, 173, 443-453.
BCA (2012), BCA Green Mark for Existing Non-Residential Buildings, version 3.0, Building and Construction
Authority, Singapore.
Berardi, U. (2012), "Sustainability Assessment in the Construction Sector: Rating Systems and Rated
Buildings", Sustainable Development, vol. 20, pp. 411-424.
BOMA Canada (2013), BOMA BESt Assessment Overview: BOMA Building Environmental Standards (Office
Module), BOMA Canada, Canada.
BRE 2015, BREEAM In-Use International: Technical Manual, SD221 - 1.0:2015, BRE Global Ltd,
Hertfordshire.
Dixon, T., Colantonio, A., Shiers, D., Reed, R., Wilkinson, S., and Gallimore, P. (2008). "A Green Profession?
A Global Survey of RICS Members and Their Engagement with the Sustainability Agenda." Journal of Property
Investment and Finance, 26(6), 460-481.
GBC Indonesia (2011), Greenship Existing Building for Existing Building: Benchmark Summary, Version 1.0,
Green Building Council Indonesia, Indonesia.
GBI (2011), GBI Assessment Criteria for Non-Residential Existing Buildings, First edition, version 1.1, Green
Building Index, Kuala Lumpur.
HK GBC (2012), BEAM Plus: Existing Buildings, Version 1.2, BEAM Society Limited., Hong Kong.
IIASA (2012), Global Energy Assessment: Toward a Sustainable Future, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
IPCC (2014), Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change.Contribution of Working Group III to the
Fifth Assessment Report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
United Kingdom and New York.
JaGBC (2008), CASBEE for New Construction: Comprehensive Assessment System for Building
Environmental Efficiency Technical Manual, 2008th, Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation
(IBEC), Japan.
Mahmoud, S. & Zayed, T. (2017), "An Integrated Sustainability Assessment Tool Framework", Proceedings
of the 2nd World Congress on Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering (CSEE’17), April 2 – 4, pp. 1-8.
Reed, R., Wilkinson, S., Bilos, A. & Schulte, K. (2011), "A Comparison of International Sustainable Building
Tools – An Update", The 17th Annual Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference, Gold Coast, Australia.
Schwartz, Y. & Raslan, R. (2013), "Variations in Results of Building Energy Simulation Tools, and their
Impact on BREEAM and LEED Ratings: A Case Study", Energy and Building, vol. 62, pp. 350-359.
Todd, J.A. & Geissler, S. (1999), "Regional and Cultural Issues in Environmental Performance Assessment
for Buildings", Building Research and Information, vol. 27, no. 4-5, pp. 247-256.
ürge-Vorsatz, D., Harvey, L.D.D., Mirasgedis, S. & Levine, M.D. (2007), "Mitigating CO2 emissions from
energy use in the world's buildings", Building Research & Information, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 379-398.
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and Maintenance of Commercial and Institutional Buildings, 2009 Edition, U.S. Green Building Council,
Washington, DC.
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[2016, April/05].
Introduction
Most of Belgian Walloon schools are old. High ambitions are often pursued for new school
buildings but the most efficient way to reduce environmental impacts of schools is surely to
accelerate and improve the renovation process of existing ones. The objectives of this
research were (1) to help managers and designers to integrate environmental and well-being
objectives in any school renovation process, with a long term high quality level standard, and
(2) to create a tool that considers specificities of schools, renovation and specific context of
Wallonia.
Meetings with school directors, school building managers in the public sector
(municipalities or Federation Wallonia Brussels) and architects specialized in school design
helped to clarify specificities of school buildings and multiple challenges of school renovation
(see Fig.2). We concluded that processes and situations differ from a school to another, from
an educational system to another but all meet financial and organisational difficulties.
Renovation work are usually carried out to answer a specific problem (roof leak, lack of space,
heating system breakdown, fire safety rules…) and/or to benefit a specific opportunity
(special funding, available competence…). Hard financial and organisational context, often
coupled with old buildings lead to many emergency situations and partial renovation actions
carried out with a lack of global long term vision and little concern about environment and
occupants wellbeing. Tools and guidelines claiming for ambitious targets (zero energy
buildings…) without considering the difficult context may miss the point because actors have
a realistic and poor vision of their short term possibilities. And often, they consider that
ambitious objectives are not possible to reach. Regarding motivations, reducing
environmental impacts is rarely a primary objective. Energy consumption is mainly considered
from a financial point of view. Reduction of water consumption, atmospheric pollution or
waste or increasing biodiversity on school sites are almost never taken in account in
renovation processes.
From visits and discussions with a “Facilitateur énergie dans les écoles”1, we may consider
that:
- regarding heating systems, typical radiators systems with gas or fuel kettle is the
most common system. Regulation is rarely performant and easy energy savings can
be done there. This has been demonstrated with results of a PLAGE program 2 led on
1
The « Facilitateur énergie dans les écoles » is an energy consultant of the Walloon region. He has a good global
perception of schools situation thanks to his numerous visits of schools.
2
PLAGE is a Local action plan for energy management. Such a program has been led with 110 schools in Brussels
between 2009 and 2014.
Figure 2. Identification of goals and constraints that lead to effective actions and renovation works in schools.
Last, from literature, links between the occupant comfort (thermal, visual, respiratory…)
and its health, performance and well-being 3 have been showed. Furthermore, children
appear to be more sensitive to bad conditions than adults. This is due to physical
particularities (small body mass, low sweating capacities…) and to school activities (learning,
new skills development…) (Wargocki and Wyon, 2006, Toftum et al, 2015).
Beyond the Walloon context, the following specificities of school buildings have been
identified:
- low time occupation rate. Schools are usually occupied for 15-20% of the time since
teaching schedules are mainly:
§ 8.00 to 16.00
§ 4.5 days/week
§ less than 38 weeks a year
- high space occupation rate (20-30 children/classroom). School surface ratio are 2.3-
3.6m²/person (ratios for office buildings are 12-15m²/person).
- many different spaces types and functions: classrooms, eating room, technical
workshops, library, offices, sport facilities, outside spaces…
- many different users: children from 2.5 to 20 years old, teachers, parents,
administrative and technical workers…
3
The word “well-being” is used in this paper to speak about comfort, health and learning/teaching performances.
Figure 3. Renovation process towards a sustainable school, through a series of partial renovation works.
Ideal use or resources (less resources used, higher sustainable level reached)
vs. real use of resources (more resources used, lower sustainability level reached).
Access by objectives
Objectives can be environmental objectives (to limit impacts of energy consumption, to limit
impacts of use of building materials, to reinforce biodiversity and to limit impacts on the
Conclusions
The tool has been designed as a website to ease its spread among the potential users and to
permit multiple links between topics and towards other websites. To ensure the diffusion of
this web tool, several communication actions have been carried out:
- a public oral presentation of the tool in a seminar on public buildings;
- a poster in a meeting on sustainable buildings;
- a web mailing to all energy managers and municipalities;
- paper articles;
- a short TV spot.
So far, comments on the tool have been positive. Results of the communication process
can be seen in the website statistics. Daily visits now turns from 20 to 40 sessions per working
day. A survey is available on the homepage of the website to collect opinion of the users on
the tool. Only a few answers have been collected until now but we can already say that a
more user-friendly website plan, an easier access to it and a listing of available Excel tools
could improve the navigation.
References
Toftum, J. et al. (2015). Association between classroom ventilation mode and learning outcome in
Danish schools. Building and Environment, 92, pp 494-503
Wargocki and Wyon (2006). The effects of classroom air temperature and outdoor air supply rate on
performance of school work by children. HVAC&R Research, Vol.13, No.2, March 2007.
Introduction
Occupant understanding is a fundamental element in helping to ensure an occupied building
meets its as designed energy consumption target, whilst maintaining good indoor air quality
(IAQ). In a social housing context, advice to tenants regarding condensation and moisture
control is not new, but there is an implied perception that ventilation advice is not so
essential. In the drive to improve energy efficiency and lower dwelling carbon emissions in
line with government targets, infiltration rates have been reduced. However without
providing a planned, effective ventilation strategy the unintended result could be for a more
hazardous indoor environment, with concurrent and significant negative long-term and
undesirable impacts on public health and the building fabric. Since 2010, the Mackintosh
Environmental Architecture Research Unit (MEARU) has undertaken research with residents
of over 200 households in properties built to modern airtight standards in Scotland and
London. This has revealed widespread evidence of poor ventilation, with bedrooms
presenting a particular IAQ problem, and little awareness of potential consequences of this.
Further research investigated mechanical ventilation systems and found that while these
systems can deliver positive IAQ outcomes there is a risk of poor air exchange if the systems
are not designed, installed and operated correctly; which was often the case. Findings from
a study of housing in Scotland indicated that 83 % of mechanical extract systems were
underperforming with 42 % operating below Building Regulations moisture control
Methodology
The film, commissioned by MEARU in November 2015, was produced over a short period of
time (three months from initial scriptwriting until final editing) with limited funding. The
brief to the filmmaker was to produce five minutes of footage which clearly communicated
the importance of maintaining good indoor IAQ levels and reducing indoor moisture loads
with simple advice of how this could be achieved in both naturally and mechanically
ventilated homes. The greatest challenge was to visualise the concept of ‘air and moisture
movement’ within the house. Whilst poor ventilation can manifest itself visibly in the form
of dampness and mould growth, stale and polluted air does not have such a tangible quality.
In order to address this for the film, artist Rachel Duckhouse was commissioned to illustrate
various moisture and potential pollutant flows for overlay animation on the film by the
editorial team.
Figure 1 Potential VOC release from fire retardants in soft furnishings
In order to gain further feedback, one year later (February 2017), a follow up postal
survey was sent to housing officers within Housing Associations across Scotland to ascertain
whether they were aware of the film; whether they would consider using it as part of their
handover process and to gain further feedback regarding the content of the film itself. In
addition to this, the survey asked social landlords probing questions regarding their current
handover procedures and whether these could be improved by the use of enhanced digital
media communication tools.
Discussion
The data clearly demonstrates that there is currently no standard handover procedure for
new tenants in social housing and whilst a tenant handbook is available, the content and
method of issue varies significantly. It is evident that whilst many housing providers have
housing officers who show a tenant around the house demonstrating the key features of the
home others simply give a set of keys to new tenants and they are left to a process of ‘trial
and error’ or forced to consult overly complicated technical manuals. Respondents
anecdotally indicated that new residents are too overloaded with information on the day
they move in and often the maintenance officer is required to deal with any problems which
arise at a later date. This highlights that a more accessible medium which could be re-visited
by members of the same dwelling may be beneficial, as such, the online film can be hosted
on landlords website or on social media and accessed when required. Given the statistics
regarding the increasingly widespread use of smartphones using this as a tool to provide
advice to residents seems to be advantageous.
In comparison to the effectiveness of the paper based logbook, a film advising
residents how to use their home is clearly an effective tool. Issues relating to residents
ability to read plans to locate systems and controls are removed and whilst the film based
advice guide may not be particular to their home, residents can instantly make visual
connections to similar features in their homes and where they are located. Home log book
providers have been developing digital platforms to provide digital storage for manuals and
technical brochures which is certainly a step towards addressing previous resident feedback
which suggested that keeping a manual in the drawer is the norm.
Conclusion
This paper highlights the potential demand for further public advice films for occupants with
regard to the changes that require active ventilation to balance energy efficiency and indoor
air quality. The ‘Ventilate Right’ film has succeeded in its aim to raise awareness of the
importance of ventilation for general living environments. It has been an excellent pilot
study to enhance and further develop occupant guidance using a variety of media which can
be potentially integrated with the ever increasing popularity of mobile technologies. It is
also important to note in the context of the building performance gap between designed
performance and actual recorded data that whilst occupant behaviour is an important
factor there is an understanding that the ventilation systems in the house should be
installed correctly, are well maintained, are simple to operate in the first instance and the
planned ventilation strategy must be effectively communicated. A resident can only expect
to regulate their indoor environment if these systems are in place and are performing as
designed. The consumer market for indoor air monitors and alerts synchronised with an
application on mobile technology is in its infancy but as the awareness of healthy indoor
environments increases the popularity of such devices will no doubt develop and has the
potential to be combined with occupant guidance for dwelling operation.
Housing Associations are currently addressing occupant guidance with varying degrees
of success. Ultimately good ventilation advice is critical to social landlords as they have a
duty of care to their residents to provide indoor environments which are not only thermally
efficient but also healthy.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to express thanks to Kingdom Housing Association, their residents
who kindly gave access to their homes for the film shoot; the funders The Glasgow School of
Art, Historic Scotland, Innovate UK and Zero Carbon Hub who without their kind
contributions the film would not have been possible. We would also like to thank Thermal
Image UK and Scottish Housing Best Value Network who supported us through the planning,
filmmaking and dissemination. Finally, the production team at The Gate Films and artist
Rachel Duckhouse.
References
Howieson, S., Sharpe, T., & Farren, P., (2013). Building tight – ventilating right? How are new air
tightness standards affecting indoor air quality in dwellings? Building Services Engineering Research and
Technology, 35(5), 475–487. doi:10.1177/0143624413510307
Liddell, H., Gilbert, J., Halliday, S., (2008). Design and Detailing for Toxic Chemical Reduction in Buildings.
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Menon, R., (2015). Multiple Occupancy Residential Accommodation-Ensuring Good Indoor
th
Environments. European Network for Housing Research 27 International Conference, July 2015, Lisbon.
Menon, R., Porteous, C., (2012). Design Guide: Healthy Low Energy Home Laundering. Available online:
http://www.gsa.ac.uk/media/486640/mearu_laundry_design_guide.pdf (accessed on 25 January 2016).
Menon, R., Porteous, C., and Sharpe, T., (2008). Environmental Impact of Domestic Laundering EPSRC
(EP/G00028X/1).
Menon, R., Sharpe, T., (2013). The Benefits of Occupant User Guides in Achieving Low Energy Homes,
European Network of Housing Researchers Conference (ENHR) July 2013, Taragona, Spain.
Ofcom, (2015). Communications Marketing report, Adults’ media use and attitudes.
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH),
(2015). Every Breath We Take: the lifelong impact of air pollution.
Sharpe, T., McQuillan, J., Howieson, S., Farren, P., & Tuohy, P., (2014a). Research project to investigate
occupier influence on indoor air quality in dwellings. Livingston: Local Government and Communities.
Retrieved from http:// www.gov.scot/Resource/0046/00460968.pdf
Scottish Government, (2015). Scottish Building Regulations: Technical Handbook, Domestic. Section 6
Energy. Available online: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00478112.pdf (accessed on 27 March 2017).
Scottish Government, (2015a). Scottish Building Regulations: Technical Handbook, Domestic. Section 7
Sustainability. Available online: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00478112.pdf (accessed on 27 March
2017).
How Can the Combination of BREEAM and Soft Landings Successfully Deliver
a Low Energy, Comfortable Building?
Sahar Mirzaie1 and Gillian Menzies2
1
PhD Candidate, sm76@hw.ac.uk
2
Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer
1, 2
Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design, School of Energy, Geoscience,
Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh
Abstract: The performance gap is an industry-wide challenge, disreputably known to all building practitioners.
Design teams spend a good portion of the project timeline designing a building that often fails to deliver the
project targets without them even being informed. This seems unjustifiable when there are many tools available
for advanced performance modelling, lifecycle sustainability strategizing, and stakeholder engagement, to plan,
review, and meet the design specification. This paper presents a practical lifecycle guide, based on building
phases, to design and deliver energy-efficient buildings with minimized performance gap with respect to energy
use and occupant satisfaction. This guide offers a holistic approach for realizing the highest potential of BREEAM
and Soft Landings (SL) to address the key contributing issues of performance gap and the inevitable future
circumstances. It draws on the commonly used sustainability certification schemes, including BREEAM, NABERS,
LEED, Living Building Challenge; as well as, Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE) procedures and Soft Landings (SL)
framework. Furthermore, this study draws on the specific lessons learned from two major projects at the Heriot-
Watt University Campus that utilized BREEAM and SL in their design and delivery.
Keywords: Performance Gap, Practical Lifecycle Guide, Soft Landings, BREEAM, POE
Introduction
Increased energy use and diminished occupant satisfaction is known as performance gap,
which is considered to have three underlying causes: (1) faults in building envelope and
systems, for instance thermal bridging or low airtightness; (2) building users’ influence, such
as erroneous operation of the systems; and (3) inaccurate predictions including wrong
assumptions and standards concerning internal and external conditions, i.e. use behaviour
and pattern and weather conditions. (Menezes et al., 2012; Olivia and Christopher, 2015).
In many projects, energy modelling is performed to inform design-decisions and
produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for compliance testing and building
certification. EPCs are compared against Display Energy Certificates (DECs), which are for
public display and are based on actual energy use after the twelve-month liability period (de
Wilde, 2014). Practitioners do not recognize EPCs as reliable measures of building
performance as they only consider heating and cooling loads, whereas DECs present
measured values and include unregulated energy sources such as plug loads (de Wilde, 2014;
Palmer et al., 2016).
Traditionally building use surveying was only performed for investigation of serious
malfunctions or for research aims in a pilot or exemplary building. With the industry
BREEAM
Handover
0.57%
UE
Handover (Building User Guide/Training schedules) 1
OS
Aftercare Support to the occupiers 2
Seasonal Commissioning over a minimum 12 month period 1
EM
05 Aftercare POE one year after initial occupation and to disseminate the UE
1
findings OS
1%
02 Energy Monitoring
Energ
EM
y
Discussions
Knowledge turnover is crucial for a system to evolve sustainably. In a stable system, such as
the construction industry, knowledge turnover is abridged and new alterations are rarely
continued. In such systems, it is recommended to start a variation from the less established
parts, where faster knowledge conveying occurs and is appreciated (Shepherd, 2004).
Therefore in order to transit the industry to where it can benefit from full digital design and
delivery and allow for continuous improvement, we shall focus on extended aftercare and
stakeholders’ engagement that are not established practices and systematically collect data,
record the lessons-learned and best-practice, and combine data collection and modelling
verification for better forecasting.
Even though BIM is recommended as the catalyst to future-proof buildings (Love et al.,
2015), the results of the recent Construction Manager BIM survey revealed stagnation in
implementation since the mandate for adoption in publicly funded projects a year ago. This
survey concludes that clients are not certain what to specify and how BIM should be applied
per contract or procurement type; thus, clients see BIM as additional expense with no
benefits (Chevin, 2017). Hence, until BIM develops to its full utility, the construction industry
requires compensating tools that assist with future-proofing buildings within its current
capacity and stable structure and smooth the transition to the digitalized industry.
The sources of performance gap as described in the introductory section can be
managed through the SL steps described above that encompass a process of stakeholder
involvement and POE and result in manifold of benefits at two levels:
• Project Specific: improved building performance and reduced operative costs and
performance gap, achieved by: (1) fine-tuning; (2) proper use of building systems
• Continuous Improvement through developing a wider knowledge base, achieved by:
(1) long-term competitive advantage; (2) informed policy developments; (3) intra-
agency feed forward of guidance criteria; (4) improved services by designers,
builders, facility managers; (5) more accurate simulation assumptions; (6)
establishing baselines based on stages of building life cycle (Menezes et al., 2012;
Olivia and Christopher, 2015; Preiser, 1995).
Conclusions
BREEAM and SL rely on the current industry expertise and structure and do not require
complex training or tools. They provide a common platform for dialogue and collective action
and continuous improvement. Yet, a series of important steps must be followed to implement
these frameworks successfully with minimum human and financial resources; to benefit from
their synergies; and to ensure continuance. Accordingly, this paper presents a holistic plan of
action for successfully adopting BREEAM and SL at different stages of a building lifetime.
References
Agha-Hossein M, Birchall S and Vatal S (2015) Building Performance Evaluation in Non-domestic Buildings
– A guide to effective learning.
BIM-Task-Group (2013) Government Soft Landings.
Bordass B and Leaman A (2005) Making feedback and post-occupancy evaluation routine 1: A portfolio
of feedback techniques. Building Research & Information 33(4): 347–352.
BRE Global LTD (2014) BREEAM New Construction - Non-Domestic Buildings - Technical Manual.
BSRIA (2014) BSRIA Soft Landings Framework Guidance Documents. Available from:
https://www.bsria.co.uk/services/design/soft-landings/free-guidance/ (accessed 4 April 2017).
Chevin D (2017) Clients still not buying into BIM, reveals survey. BIM+. Available from:
http://www.bimplus.co.uk/news/clie6nts-still-n7ot-buyin8g-bim-reveals-cm-survey/ (accessed 4 April 2017).
de Wilde P (2014) The gap between predicted and measured energy performance of buildings: A
framework for investigation. Automation in Construction 41: 40–49.
Georgiadou MC, Hacking T and Guthrie P (2012) A conceptual framework for future-proofing the energy
performance of buildings. Energy Policy 47: 145–155.
Gul MS and Menzies GF (2012) Designing domestic buildings for future summers: Attitudes and opinions
of building professionals. Energy Policy 45: 752–761.
HUNT S (2016) RIBA STAGES AND BIM: YOU CAN’T PLAY A NEW GAME WITH OLD RULES. BIMPlus.co.uk,
London.
Li YY, Chen P-H, Chew DAS, et al. (2011) Critical Project Management Factors of AEC Firms for Delivering
Green Building Projects in Singapore. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management 137(12): 1153–1163.
Love PED, Liu J, Matthews J, et al. (2015) Future proofing PPPs: Life-cycle performance measurement and
Building Information Modelling. Automation in Construction 56: 26–35.
Menezes AC, Cripps A, Bouchlaghem D, et al. (2012) Predicted vs. actual energy performance of non-
domestic buildings: Using post-occupancy evaluation data to reduce the performance gap. Applied Energy 97:
355–364.
Olivia G-S and Christopher TA (2015) In-use monitoring of buildings: An overview and classification of
evaluation methods. Energy and Buildings 86: 176–189.
Palmer J, Terry N and Armitage P (2016) Building Performance Evaluation Programme: Findings from non-
domestic projects.
Pottage C and Jeffrey H (2016) A Case Study of the Metrics of Capturing the ‘Green’ Improvements on a
New Office Building. In: Sustainable Ecological Engineering Design, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp.
127–147.
Preiser WFE (1995) Post-occupancy evaluation: how to make buildings work better. Facilities, MCB UP
Ltd 13(11): 19–28.
RIBA (2013) RIBA Plan of Work 2013.
Shepherd J (2004) What is the Digital Era? In: Social and Economic Transformation in the Digital Era, IGI
Global, pp. 1–18.
Shi Q, Yan Y, Zuo J, et al. (2016) Objective conflicts in green buildings projects: A critical analysis. Building
and Environment 96: 107–117.
The Usable Buildings Trust (2007). Available from: http://usablebuildings.co.uk/ (accessed 17 April 2017).
Tuohy PG and Murphy GB (2014) Closing the gap in building performance: learning from BIM benchmark
industries. Architectural Science Review, Taylor & Francis 58(1): 47–56.
WGBC (2013) The Business Case for Green Building. A Review of the Costs and Benefits for Developers,
Investors and Occupants.
Zero Carbon Hub (2014) Closing the gap between design & as-built performance - Evidence Review
Report. London.
Introduction
Building professionals require the knowledge, skills and tools to understand and implement
sustainable design in practice; not solely to respond to a top-down legislative agenda but
additionally to improve the user experience of buildings and respond to sustainability issues
from the bottom-up. Architects are key professionals within this process as the building
consultant with the earliest influence on the design, and the need for architects to possess
the sustainable design skills to support this role is crucial for future sustainable development.
Whilst there appears to be a reasonable understanding of concepts and theory surrounding
sustainable design currently within design practice, there is an ongoing deficiency in the
adoption and application of this theory through design. This deficiency manifests itself in
continued high levels of building energy use and oil dependency (Eurostat, 2016), in building
performance gaps (Bordass and Leaman, 2013), in the lack of sustainable buildings which go
beyond tepid ‘greening’ (Irish Green Building Council, 2012) and in the lack of robust
sustainability confidence in architects (NBS, 2012).
This paper suggests therefore that importance should not be placed solely on
architects gaining possession of sustainability knowledge, but rather improving their skills in
the application and adoption of it within the design process. The focus of this paper is
therefore the review of available sustainable design guidance in the form of processes,
Design Charrette
The next phase was a design charrette, which was constructed as a “small scale experiment”
involving a single test with a small number of groups (Cash et al, 2012 cited in Vallet et al.,
2012); with both quantitative and qualitative aspects in its design and analysis of results. It
provided an opportunity to observe design process in practice (Austin et al., 2001) and to test
the applicability and validity of existing design guidance in from of process, methods and tools.
It could be analogous of actual practice and process (Edwards, 2009) in order to enable
characterisation of participants in relation to larger population (Vallet et al., 2012).
30 participants took part in design charrettes held over two days. Two of these
participants were experienced sustainable designers recruited from an earlier interview
research phase and the remaining participants were selected through an advertised open call
for architects inexperienced in sustainable design. In the main participants worked on a
variety of projects, were from small practices and had less than fourteen years’ experience.
The participants were split into 5 groups and were given the same small group design task.
Each group was given additional guidance in the form of either process, method and tool
guidance, with one control and one inexperienced group given no guidance - Table 1.
Table 1. Charrette participant detail
Two surveys recorded the attitudes of participant’s pre and post design task, and were
compared to annotated observations made by the author during the task. It is recognised for
increased confidence in the generalizability of these findings a larger sample size would be
required, however the sample size was deemed to be in line with previous studies of a similar
nature (Cash et al., 2013) and appropriate for the investigative nature of this research.
The limitations to studying in this way all the design processes undergone be an
architect are acknowledged; it is still a “synthetic experiment that does not carry weight
equivalent to a natural experiment” (Clayton et al., 1998). However it is an approximation of
process which to reveals elements of real world practice which can inform and direct current
sustainable design guidance and future research in these areas.
Participants were asked questions on the particular design guidance used by their group
in terms of: 1) how useful it was to aid knowledge and understanding and meet sustainability
targets 2) how effective it was to help to direct the design process, 3) practically how useable
and understandable it was and 4) how likely participants are to use the guidance in the future.
The main conclusions are summarised below.
Conclusion
The aim of this paper was to explore current sustainable design guidance and propose the
form it should take to enable more successful implementation of sustainable design. The
intention of this study is to move the discussion forward with a focus on the application of
sustainable design by architects in the Irish context, with a focus on early stage design.
Literature findings revealed limitations to the existing guidance available which was
further established by the charrette findings. The charrette studied the importance of
understanding how to apply sustainable design knowledge to working design practice and
revealed existing guidance is not absolutely successful in achieving this - post-task
participants expressed they still required additional guidance on how to implement
sustainable design into their process. This indicates existing sustainable design guidance is
not completely effective in its current form to enable successful implementation of
sustainability within early stage design by inexperienced sustainable design architects. It was
found there is still the need for sustainable design guidance for architects of this demographic
which could apply to the greater population of inexperienced designers.
Notwithstanding this, charrette findings suggested the process guidance was most
useful guidance overall, particularly for aspects related to knowledge, understanding and
practical use and that overall, of the guidance available, design process guidance has the most
potential to be successfully developed to more effectively implement sustainable design.
References
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of interdisciplinary teams. Design studies, 22, 211-232.
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in the laboratory and practice. Design Studies.
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72-83.
Introduction
The discourse on sustainable urbanism is often centred on densification. Dense cities
generally score well in terms of greenhouse gas emissions per person. Short distances
between work, home and social arenas, well-developed public transport systems and
compact housing has generally been considered advantageous. Urban areas like Hong Kong,
New York, Vancouver, Tokyo and London can hence show average CO2 emissions per person
per year below 7 tons, while more rural areas, because of the need for more transport over
large distances, score less well. The USA at large is above 15 tons CO2 per capita per year
(Global Carbon Atlas, 2016).
Norway, scores well on Human Development Indexes every year and topped the
global statistics in 2014 (HDI, 2014). But the relatively non-dense cities, and the life style
results in average CO2 emissions above 10 tons per person per year. This does not tell the
full story of a country generally considered to be happy, social democratic, equal and rich.
As an oil exporter, most of Norway’s oil is burnt abroad. This is not registered on the
average Norwegian’s annual per person emissions. To show this full picture, in addition to
the 10 tons normally shown one must add another 149 tons CO2 per person per year. In this
paper I will concentrate on the 10 tons and discuss how BEVs and PHEVs can play a
considerable role at reducing CO2 emissions.
Figure 1. The Low Emission Report concluded that it would be much easier to reduce emissions through
technological improvements than through densification (Transportreduksjon).
The construction of new buildings also takes time. Although there are strong
upcoming regulations regarding energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy leading
to a new energy paradigm as shown in the new EU Directive (ED, 2010) stating that all new
buildings from 2020 have to adhere to the Net Zero Energy Building level (NZEB), it will take
decades to reduce the energy need in existing buildings. This is because buildings, as
opposed to vehicles, have a very long life and are constantly adjusted. They last from 40 to
150 years at least, while a vehicle fleet is normally completely shifted, scrapped, recycled in
less than 20 years. The current vehicle fleet in Norway is now 10,5 years old. This is
relatively old compared to other European countries and a result of extremely high taxes on
cars making them very expensive. The EU vehicle life average is much younger, only 7,4
years. Norwegian vehicles are on average scrapped or recycled after 19 years (VG, 2017
p12).
Replacing the existing fleet’s oldest and very polluting cars is hence a strategy that can
be implemented relatively fast, compared to replacing polluting buildings with new ones.
This paper will hence concentrate on studying the shift with the biggest impact up to 2050,
namely technological improvements of the vehicle fleet exemplified through the case of
Norway. The paper will look at three main issues:
• How did the Norwegian BEV success come about?
• What is the link between electric vehicles and buildings?
• What can case studies teach us?
The list of incentives and the year they were implemented are shown below:
• 1990: Temporary abolishment of import tax.
• 1996: Reduced annual electric vehicle registration tax.
• 1996: Permanent abolishment of import tax.
• 1997: Exemption from road toll.
• 2000: Reduced company car tax.
• 2001: Zero VAT, a reduction from the former 25% VAT.
• 2005: Access to bus lane nationwide.
• 2009: Free access to road ferries.
Figure 3. Madla Revheim, Norway. A new part of the city Stavanger for 10 000 people plus schools, commercial
and social activity is designed around a strategy of passive and low energy. Measures and new renewable
energy connecting buildings and vehicles.
Conclusions
The Norwegian electric vehicle incentives are a success story. They came about through
radical actions by an unusual mix of people that managed to achieve sympathy for the cause
among the average man and this led to the Government bending over and granting all
demands. Later this success story has been further strengthened by a national plan to
deploy fast charging station throughout the country so that one can drive practically
anywhere without loosing time. The national network of fast charging stations is now under
construction. In addition stringent regulations are put in place through the National
Transport Plan 2018-2029 (NTP) to promote and provide incentives for electric goods
vehicles, boats and ferries. The experience from the vehicle sector can and is applied to the
building sector as vehicles and buildings are finally beginning to “talk” together and to share
each other’s stored energy.
To bridge the gap between the mobility sector and the building sector requires and
understanding of the other sector. This expansion of the understanding of another sector
than one’s own will become important in the process of developing a more holistic
environmental thinking among planners and architects as well as mobility actors. Such an
expansion must happen early in life, during the education in the different fields, to avoid the
growth of cemented “truths” that limit the ability to see new exciting possibilities.
Key
Vehicles = personal vehicles, not vans and buses.
BEV = Battery Electric Vehicles.
PHEV = Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles.
Introduction
Minimizing impacts on the environment is an important goal for the building sector. Energy
is generally one of the most important resources consumed by buildings over their lifetime
(Thormark., 2001). If no action is taken to improve energy efficiency, energy demand in the
building sector is expected to rise by 50% by 2050 largely because of the rapid growth in the
number of households, increasing building floor areas, higher ownership rates for existing
electricity-consuming devices and increasing demand for new energy consuming products
(IEA, 2013).
Buildings not only impact the environment through energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions, they also negatively impact aspects such as water use, waste
generation and resource depletion (Stephan et al., 2013). Rapid urbanization in developed
and developing countries is expected to increase demand for new housing and more
comfortable living environments and therefore further exacerbate these impacts (Ortiz et al.,
2009).
Because buildings consume materials and energy across their whole life, they need to
be analysed in terms of their life cycle. Construction and occupation are the two main
Discussion
The LCA of buildings is a complicated and time/cost-consuming procedure. The following
section firstly discusses the LCA process generally in terms of the limitations for
transforming it into a tool that could be employed at the early phase of designing, and
secondly discusses the reviews of the case studies and the insights they contribute to
understanding the limitations for transforming LCA into a tool that could be employed at
the early phase of designing.
Limitations arising from analysis of the LCA process generally:
• The first step of LCA — goal and scope definition — has the potential to make previous
studies incomparable and therefore inhibit the development of the sort of generalised
advice that would be useful at the early design phase. Beginning the analysis using
different functional units, reference flows and system boundaries complicate the
possibility of having comparable data.
• Because the databases that are used as the bases for calculating LCA may not be
comprehensive and may be different for different countries, the findings from case
studies are not always readily compatible.
• The environmental inputs and outputs of each design combination are classified using a
range of quite different impact assessment that might include energy usage, cost, CO2
emmissions, pollutants, and material toxicity. This makes the development of
comparable impact unfeasable .
• Interpretation, which is the last step in the LCA methodology, presents results,
limitations and recommendations. But because the first three steps significantly affect
this last step and the first three steps as discussed may already have incomparable
outcomes, any attempt to generalise in the last step is made problematic.
• Reliable and consistent results depend on a comprehensive LCA which include all life
cycle phases. However, this requires the assessment of many different materials,
components and processes for which information is not always available. Exaccerbating
this is evidence from a previous small study by the author (Bashirzadeh Tabrizi et al.,
2016a) that indicates the level of complexity and certainty/uncertainty is different in
each LCA phase.
single Statistical
14/(Rossi et Sweden storey analysis of + - + + + +
Steel frame 50 N/A
al., 2012) (Luleå) house material 4.71 59
2
192 m databases
Single Statistical
15/(Rossi et Portugal storey analysis of + - + + + +
Steel frame 50 N/A
al., 2012) (Coimbra) house 192 material 4.39 31.45
2
m databases
Belgium Passive I-O-based
16/(Stephan et + +
+ + + +
(Brussels) House Steel-framed 50 hybrid
al., 2012) 2 25.83 17.89 N/A
330 m analysis
7-Star I-O-based
17/(Stephan et Australia + + + + + +
house Timber-framed 50 hybrid
al., 2012) (Melbourne) 2 23.40 28.91 N/A
297 m analysis
Single
Australia I-O-based +
18/(Stephan et family + +
(Melbourne) Timber-framed 50 hybrid + + +
al., 2012) House 26.39 N/A
2 analysis 30.39
240 m
I-O=Input-Output, EE=Embodied Energy, OPE=Operatioanl Energy, DE=Dimolition Energy, I=Initial, R=Recurrent,
H=Heating, C=Cooling, HW=Hot Water, E=Electricity
Conclusions
While significant research has been conducted on the environmental impact of buildings,
the knowledge about the type and quantity of information from quantitative LCA models is
still limited. This information is not available when the designers make strategic design
decisions in the early stages which will influence the whole lifetime environmental cost of
the building. This study elaborates the difficulty of generalising results from previous LCA
studies and therefore the difficulty of developing elementary heuristic principles to assist
designers at the early design stages. Reviewing the LCA tool, its features and the results
from selected analysed case studies in which the LCA were applied as the assessment tool, it
can be concluded that:
• Life cycle energy assessment process is complex, and the existing analyses found in
research are all case studies of one or a few buildings. The applicability of their results to
other buildings in other areas is not clear. Comparing these studies is also complicated
due to the difficulties and variability in their analysed data. For instance, the calculation
method plays a crucial role in these results and applying different analysis techniques
or/and different life cycle phases is primarily responsible for the imperfections of
previous studies of the LCEA of the buildings.
• Moreover, building envelopes are known by researchers as a responsible for more than
half of the embodied energy distribution and the total heat gain in residential buildings.
However, it is still not clear which variables have more impacts. Therefore the individual
effect of each variable on energy performance and dependencies between them must
be defined clearly for designers in the early design stages.
• There is still a lack of accurate data on the embodied energy and the environmental
parameters of the materials and manufacturing processes applied in different countries.
Thus, international and well known databases used by many current LCA studies may
lead to unreliable results for any national assessment.
• Most of the published studies yield the ranges of embodied energy of buildings or
components by applying data from primary material sources, transportation,
manufacturing processes and their own estimations and assumptions which differ from
case to case.
Overall, interpretations and comparisons of previous study’s results are not readily
usable in the early decision-making stage by building designers. This small study thus
indicates that there may be potential value in developing simple guidelines to help
designers to consider the most effective parameters on the life cycle environmentally
friendly building design in terms of the individual character of each project.
References
Aye, L., Ngo, T., Crawford, R. H., Gammampila, R. & Mendis, P. 2012. Life cycle greenhouse gas
emissions and energy analysis of prefabricated reusable building modules. Energy and Buildings, 47, 159-168.
Introduction
To meet the Paris 2C target, human greenhouse emissions need to halve each decade for the
next three decades (Rockström et al 2017). The US EPA (2008) estimates that buildings are
responsible for 38% of all human GHG emissions (20% residential, 18% commercial). The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) states that this sector presents the
most cost effective opportunities for GHG reductions, ie., that buildings represent the low
hanging fruit. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of three rating systems that have been
widely adopted for over a decade in Australia namely: (i) mandatory compliance under
Section J (Energy Efficiency provisions) in the National Construction Code of Australia (NCC),
(ii) a voluntary design rating tool - Green Star, and (iii) a voluntary operational rating tool-
National Australian Building Environmental Rating Scheme (NABERS).
Our emphasis is mainly with respect to questions of mitigation of greenhouse gas
emissions and the intersection of these aspects with the ambition of resilience and thriving
cities. Consequently this paper goes beyond direct questions of energy consumption in
buildings to consider indoor environmental quality and location and transport effects as well
as outcomes for occupants. On the other hand this paper does not extend analysis to
materials, water, waste and landscape ecology dimensions of thriving cities. The paper builds
on the authors’ experience in building performance simulation, design, review and
It can be argued that the requirement to ensure and maintain a minimum, monitored,
operational performance for energy/GHG via NABERS, has improved the performance of the
stock of office buildings impacted. Table 1 shows the impact of ongoing monitoring where,
on average, office buildings captured under the NABERS scheme have been shown to reduce
Figure 1: Take up of NABERS Energy Star ratings in Australia
Figure 1 also points to a significant increase in the number of annual ratings at 4.5 star
or better after the 2010 CBD Act. This can be traced to a number of factors. The NABERS
energy/GHG rating scale originally comprised 5 stars. At the inception of the scheme the top
5 star level, was expected to only ever be achieved by 5% of the target building population.
However, once governments mandated a 4.5 star level performance for base buildings
(landlord operation equivalent to 87 kg CO2/m2.annum in Sydney), industry quickly rose to
the challenge. By 2010 almost every new building was committing to (and achieving) NABERS
Energy 4.5 star, and more than 5% were performing at or above 5 stars (base building
equivalent to 71 kg CO2/m2.annum in Sydney). This led to a review of NABERS Energy
benchmarks (RMS and Team Catalyst, 2010) which proposed an extension to the scale to 6 or
even 7 stars (net zero). A sixth star was added in 2012. Equivalent to 72 kg CO2/m2.annum
whole building and 35 kg CO2/m2.annum base building in Sydney, a 6 star level is a 50%
reduction in GHG emissions compared to 5 star performance. Adding a seventh star to the
NABERS scale offers a readymade mechanism for zero carbon performance.
Interestingly, Federal and State governments have not reviewed their 4.5 NABERS
Energy star performance criterion for the buildings they own or lease. Consequently, the 4.5
star level continues to be the de facto minimum performance standard for all office buildings
greater than 2,000m2 NLA.
References
Rockström J., Gaffney O., Rogelj J., Meinshausen M., Nakicenovic N., Schellnhuber H.J., Science, A
roadmap to rapid decarbonisation, 24 Mar 2017, Vol. 355, Issue 6331, pp. 1269-1271
U.S. EPA. 2008, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006, p. ES8.
ABCB (Australian Building Codes Board) 2016, National Construction Code (NCC) Vol 1, Section-J Energy
Efficiency, and Vol 2, Section 2, Part 2.6; (downloadable at http://www.abcb.gov.au/Resources/NCC)
IPCC 2007. Climate Change 2007 Synthesis Report, p. 59.
GBCA (Green Building Council of Australia), Green Star Ratings, gbca.org.au/green-star/
OEH (NSW Office of Environment and Heritage), nabers.com.au
NSW Planning and Environment, 2004, BASIX, Building Sustainability Index,
www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/planning-tools/basix
Pitt & Sherry, 10 May 2016, Pathway to 2020 for Increased Stringency in New Building Energy Efficiency
Standards: Benefit Cost Analysis: Commercial Buildings: 2016 Update
Thomas, L.E. & Hall, M.R. 2004, 'Implementing ESD in Architectural Practice - An investigation of effective
design Strategies and Environmental Outcomes', Proc. PLEA Conference, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven,
Netherlands, pp. 415-420.
Thomas, L.E. 2017, 'Combating overheating: mixed-mode conditioning for workplace comfort', Building
Research and Information, vol. 45, no. 1-2, pp. 176-194.
Thomas, P.C., Venkatesan, A. & Thomas, L.E. 2014, 'Effective natural ventilation in modern apartment
buildings', Proc. 30th International PLEA Conference, CEPT UNIVERSITY PRESS, Ahmedabad, India, pp. 353-360.
Thomas, L.E. and Thomas PC 2000, 'A Study of an Energy Consumption Index Normalised for Area in
House Energy Rating Schemes', 38th Annual Conference of the Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society
Resource Management Solutions and Team Catalyst, 2008, Review of Benchmarks, Australian Building
Greenhouse Rating, for NSW Dept of Environment and Climate Change
Wilson, L. How big is a house? Average house size by country, shrinkthatfootprint.com/how-big-is-a-
house#wXGCmEpDXBfdlb4s.99
`Learning from 'horror' stories: a plan of work to reduce the performance gap
in deep retrofit
Marina Topouzi1, Gavin Killip1 and Alice Owen2
1
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,
marina.topouzi@ouce.ox.ac.uk, gavin.killip@eci.ox.ac.uk.
2
Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom,
a.m.owen@leeds.ac.uk.
Abstract: Over the past 20 years efforts have been made to bridge the performance gap by developing design
guidance and reports to raise awareness and increase construction quality of the delivery and handover
stages; as well as improving tools and prediction methods by validating them with real data comparing
anticipated performance with achieved energy use. The complexity of the gap ‘problem’ increases in deep,
low-carbon refurbishment processes. Both the scale and quality of construction work need to be increased if
challenging emission reduction targets are to be met. Established professional work plan frameworks (e.g.
RIBA and Soft Landings) have been designed mainly with new build in mind without explicitly capturing
important stages of a retrofit project that close the loop from in-use to design and back to in-use. The
Appraisal (or Strategic) stage misses important diagnostic actions for evaluating client/occupant past
experience and assessing existing building energy performance and Indoor Environmental Quality. Similarly
although Project roles are described, they do not include the skills/knowledge that individuals (or teams) need;
or the tools/ methods that can be used to manage and reduce unforeseen risks related to the existing building
condition. This paper presents a modified version of the RIBA Plan of Work, which shows existing and
additional workstages for deep refurbishments in a continuous cycle, linking roles to skills, knowledge and
tools. Drawing upon evidence from pioneering empirical studies in deep refurbishment in the UK, the notion of
‘failures’ and key lessons from previous ‘horror’ and ‘learning’ retrofitting stories are used here to highlight
problems and risks in each of the proposed work stages; and to address the major changes needed in
traditional processes to reduce the retrofit performance gap.
Keywords: performance gap, domestic retrofit, deep refurbishment, low-carbon technologies, skills and
knowledge
Introduction
It has long been recognised by both industry and policymakers that buildings are not only
the most significant consumers of energy but they also represent the largest untapped
potential for energy savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. There were 28.1
million homes in the UK in 2014 (ONS 2016) at least 87% (over 24 million) of these will still
be standing and be in use by 2050 (Power, 2008). The 1% of new build added yearly into the
existing stock is small percentage compared to the 99% of buildings that are already built
and are responsible for over a quarter of all UK carbon emissions (Power, 2008). However,
in the UK under current policies, CO2 emissions from buildings by 2030 are estimated to be
Feedback Loop 1 (FL1) and HS1: FL1 is the only feedback loop in the proposed circle which
allows design aspirations, evaluation frameworks and monitoring performance techniques
from the ‘imaginary’ world can be explored in the ‘real’ world; while insights and learning
capacities from the real world back can also feedback to inform the design. The technical
skills and knowledge of building performance evaluation become an in-situ exercise for the
design team, evaluator or builder, to explore not only technical issues but include the
overlooked occupancy and usage related factors. Feedback Loop 4 (FL4) and HS2: The
complexity of retrofit projects makes the use of design practices and heuristics based on
previous learning and experience with low carbon-standards and systems unavoidable. The
loops from pre-construction to developed design can help the design team, the construction
teams and clients to re-evaluate and inform often overoptimistic design aspirations. This
Feedback Loop 8 (FL8) and HS3: A feedback loop between the post-construction/in-use and
handover/reality checks can offer continuity in roles and responsibilities to single people or
teams at a crucial stage of delivery where users are often left with no aftercare support. The
learning process in this loop evaluates the implementation of the technical and non-
technical issues and the performance outcome of the building system as a whole beyond
individual perspectives, using instead an evaluation of a collective team work. Finding
causes of misalignment between construction and in-use can help to reduce the gap
between ‘doing’ and ‘managing’ and to define the roles that roles and responsibilities for
the next stages of repair and maintenance.
Conclusions
Undertaking deep retrofit of existing buildings requires a major shift in how design teams,
constructions teams and users share information and knowledge in order to achieve
consistently high quality, low carbon outcomes. From a ‘constructive pessimism’ starting
point, learning stories bring up the contingencies of things that are not going to work as
expected and planned. This paper proposes a cyclical work-plan for retrofits, developed
from the accepted industry standard framework and tested by RIBA over decades, which
codifies feedback loops in order to support this concept this and change from assessing
individual measures to evaluating whole building system performance. Critical to achieving
this transformation is the need to cross boundaries – the boundaries between professions,
the boundaries between the design, construction and use, boundaries between building
components.
In exploring how to blur the boundary between the imagined world of design and the
real world of construction and use, we identify how narratives play a vital role in how
individuals and teams develop understanding of their project experience. While technology-
focussed ‘hero stories’ of individuals battling against the odds appear to dominate much of
the discussion in energy policy and practice, we argue that paying attention to ‘horror
stories’, and the fears that such horror stories are founded upon, actually help to identify
the positive ‘learning stories’ that could, if routinely discussed and shared, increase the
capacity of the construction industry to deliver deep retrofit at the pace and scale required.
The proposed revision to the RIBA Plan of Work explores the transition between
stages from ‘imaginary world’ to ‘real world’, looking the causes of horror stories from lack
of technical knowledge, poor communication and unclear boundaries of roles and
responsibilities within each of these. It highlights a new task – that of appraising an existing
building in use, which requires technical and socio-technical understanding. This has far-
reaching implications for education and training in construction. Equally, the feedback loops
identified in Figure 1 make new connections between not just stages of design, but also
between the design and construction phases of a project. If these connections are to be
made in a systematic way, the education of design professionals and construction trades
will need to be more closely aligned, with insights from each group being respected and
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC)
and the flexible fund grant which supports the research in this paper as part of the
‘Governance of Low-carbon Innovations for Domestic Energy Retrofit’ project (GLIDER).
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Introduction
If we want to stay beneath a 2-degrees temperature increase – widely considered a maximum
level to avoid runaway climate change with unpredictable outcome - the world needs to
reduce its carbon emissions by 80% in the year 2050 [IPCC 2014]. For a sustainable situation
on the longer term, climate neutrality or carbon neutrality is essential, creating a balance
between the greenhouse gases emitted on the one hand and chemically binding or
sequestering of these gases on the other.
Society’s great energy challenge
The predominant part of achieving this goal, as agreed upon in the Paris treaty of 2015, is to
be achieved by becoming independent from fossil fuels, the greatest contributor to
greenhouse gases as methane, CO2 and NOx. Therefore, the term ‘fossil free’ was introduced
in various European projects already since 2006 [e.g. Roggema et al. 2011], after Al Gore’s ‘An
Inconvenient Truth’ came out [Gore 2006]. Fossil free simply means that no fossil fuels (coal,
mineral oil and natural gas) are used anywhere in the system considered. With our fossil
society this is an ambitious goal to achieve, and it may take a lot of time to get there. In the
meantime, becoming ‘net zero-energy’ already is a big step. This ambition, often also
described as ‘energy-neutral’, means that in a year’s time one is not to use more energy than
one can generate oneself. It implies acceptance of fossil fuels as long as this quantity of energy
Conclusion
In total, in the year 2015, the individual considered used 22,8 GJ or 6,3 MWh for his house
and personal travel. This is 41% less than the reference year and 49% less than the average
Dutchman. The actions taken by the main author clearly led to a lower footprint. Of the
energy used, 60% is carbon-neutral, the diesel van being the main problem to be solved. Net-
zero energy living is possible but difficult when considering dense urban circumstances, but
everyone can be carbon neutral when energy is procured from renewable sources. For
mobility, unless one can fully use human-powered or public transport, becoming energy- and
carbon-neutral is more of a challenge, and this particularly holds true for flying. The
calculation of energy for flying goes to show that painstaking efforts to reduce the energy
used at home to carbon-neutral and nearly zero-energy are terrifically over-compensated
when flying for business (or for private goals).
If all energy used at work were to be accounted to employees, we would have to
include many more sources of energy use: the office, ancillary company utilities, the
conference for which this paper was written… Perhaps all of these factors should be included.
After all, in the near future we will all have a carbon budget that cannot be exceeded,
produced at home or at home does not matter then. Therefore, one of the next steps is to
convert all energy use related to the university to all of its employees and students. Including
these factors will increase the individual influence one can have on the national energy use
from 30 to at least 50%.
This individual research clarified the greatest challenges and most effective strategies
of living in a modern, dense city, with abundant access to unsustainable food and with easy
opportunities to travel unsustainably for little money. As it held a mirror before the author, it
will hopefully do as well before a greater audience.
References
Dobbelsteen A. van den; 'Towards closed cycles - New strategy steps inspired by the Cradle to Cradle
approach', in: Proceedings PLEA 2008; UCD, Dublin, 2008
Gore A.; An Inconvenient Truth - The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do
About It; Rodale, New York, USA, 2006
Hermans J.; Energy Survical Guide; Leiden University Press, 2011
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change); Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and
Vulberability; IPCC, Switzerland, 2014
PBL (Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving); ‘Aanbod en verbruik van energiedragers in Nederland, 2015’,
URL: http://www.clo.nl/indicatoren/nl0053-energiebalans-nederland-tabel; Compendium voor de
Leefomgeving, 2017
Roggema R., Dobbelsteen A. van den, Stremke S. & Mallon W.; 'Spatial Energy Framework Aiming at
Breakthroughs Brings Goals beyond Policy Objectives within Reach', in: Jenkins A.L. (ed.), Climate Change
Adaptation (127-150); Nova Science Publishers, 2011
Introduction
The building industry is facing increasing demands to create energy efficiency buildings and
reduce the carbon emissions of the building sector. The non-domestic building sector
accounts for 20 per cent of carbon emissions in the UK. Therefore, attention is centred to
improve the performance of existing non-domestic buildings. A review of the energy
performance gap in the non-domestic sector suggests that 10-80% of the performance gap
found in operation could be attributable to occupants’ actions (van Dronkelaar et al., 2016).
Typically, approaches to reduce energy consumption during operation have emphasised
control strategies that restrict the actions of the users as a means to prevent their
inconvenient and inefficient energy behaviour. However, building performance is the result
of design features and their effectiveness to meet the expectations of occupants (Cole et al.,
2010). Occupants’ actions and any resulting performance gap could originate in how the
occupants’ expectations are met (or not) in the everyday use of buildings. There is a need to
understand the actions and behaviours of everyday use and operation of buildings as a way
to inform strategies for the efficient operation and management of existing buildings and
Methodology
The study applied post occupancy evaluation techniques and user surveys to identify
occupants’ satisfaction with and actions to modify indoor environmental conditions
(thermal, lighting, acoustics) in four case studies. The purpose of the study was to identify
how the social and organisational aspects encouraged (or discouraged) the occupants to
modify the indoor environmental conditions and informed the management and the
operation of the buildings. This paper focuses on the findings related to thermal aspects,
referring, as relevant, to other indoor environmental conditions to highlight the nexus
between thermal, lighting and acoustic conditions in providing the conditions for the
satisfactory use of buildings as perceived by the research participants. The case studies were
four BREEAM Excellent buildings: two schools and two offices buildings, certified to BREEAM
2006 version. Table 1 summarises the key performance aspects of the case studies.
Table 1. Summary of the case studies
Case Study 1 2 3 4
Building type Office Office School School
Location South Wales SW England
SE England South Wales
BREEAM Rating Exc.(73.89%) Exc.(74.42%)
Exc.(71.97%) Exc. (73.42%)
BREEAM version Offices 2006 Offices 2006
Schools 2006 Schools 2006
Area m2 3736 1130 10996 2116
BER KgCO2/m2 24.88 14.81 11.40 8.50
%better2006 regs 40.85 12.90 33.91 37.9 0
BREEAM Energy 14 credits 10 credits
14 credits 15 credits
EPC desg.[in-use] A [B(31)] A A [B(27)] A [C(72)]
>15% by LZC, 15% by
LZC, UFH, NVB, UFH, NVB, LZC, UFH, NVB,
NVB, Rad, Wind-CO2, Wind- CO2, Wind- CO2,
*Features for Wind-man, Wind-Man, Wind-Man, Wind-Man,
energy efficiency Wat-boi Wat-solar Wat-solar Wat-solar
*Abbreviations: (LZC) Energy supplied by low zero carbon technology; (UFH) Underfloor heating, (Rad)
radiators, (NVB) naturally ventilated building, (Wind-CO2) operation of windows by CO2 levels, (Wind-man)
manually operated windows, (Wat-solar) solar thermal for water heating, (Wat-boi) Boiler for water heating
Findings
The users in all of the case studies expressed their willingness to take action to modify their
immediate indoor environment to achieve comfort when the indoor conditions were not
Case Study 1 2 3 4
BMS off-site, by BMS onsite, BMS off-site, by
internal problems-data external
BMS No BMS organisation corruption organisation
FM Off-site, No FM/
No FM/office technician onsite FM on site, caretaker,
FM’s role manager troubleshooting troubleshooting troubleshooting
*Corp. pro- Yes, reason: No: reputation,
comfort productivity Neutral aesthetics, safety Neutral
**Corporate Reduction of Reduction of
pro-EneEffic. No electricity use No electricity use
*Corporate norms/policies that supported initiatives to achieve comfort; **Corporate norms/policies that
supported initiatives to reduce energy consumption
Limitations
The user studies aimed to explore the indoor environment variations experienced in the
buildings throughout the year and within the day of the visit (morning and afternoon) by
investigating the participants’ responses in relation to the specific indoor environment
conditions of the day of the visit. They are not representative of the season. The user
studies investigated the occupants’ actions and facilities management practices that take
place within the organisational policies; aspects that are relevant to the achievement of
energy and environmental performance targets in existing non-domestic buildings.
References
BRAGER, G. S. & DE DEAR, R. J. 1998. Thermal adaptation in the built environment: a literature review.
Energy and buildings, 27, 83-96.
COLE, R. J., BROWN, Z. & MCKAY, S. 2010. Building human agency: a timely manifesto. Building
Research & Information, 38, 339-350.
FEDORUK, L. E., COLE, R. J., ROBINSON, J. B. & CAYUELA, A. 2015. Learning from failure: understanding
the anticipated–achieved building energy performance gap. Building Research & Information, 43, 750-763.
INALHAN, G., BROWN, Z., COLE, R. J., ROBINSON, J. & DOWLATABADI, H. 2010. Evaluating user
experience in green buildings in relation to workplace culture and context. Facilities, 28, 225-238.
JANDA, K. B. 2011. Buildings don't use energy: people do. Architectural Science Review, 54, 15-22.
KRIPPENDORFF, K. 2006. The semantic turn: a new foundation for design. ARTIFACT-ROUTLEDGE-, 1, 51.
LORCH, R. 2008. Buildings, culture and environment: informing local and global practices, John Wiley &
Sons.
VAN DRONKELAAR, C., DOWSON, M., SPATARU, C. & MUMOVIC, D. 2016. A review of the regulatory
energy performance gap and its underlying causes in non-domestic buildings. Frontiers in Mechanical
Engineering, 1, 17.
Cha ir:
Ti m Sharpe
574
A study on the evaluation of thermal comfort of occupants, summertime and
wintertime temperatures in a single prefabricated structural timber dwelling
Abstract: This study evaluates occupants’ comfort, summertime and wintertime temperatures in a timber
dwelling unit located in Milton Keynes, UK. The study was conducted in July, 2012 for the summer survey and
from January-February 2013 for the winter survey. The study employed a combination of thermal comfort
survey and on-site measurement of parameters (temperature and relative humidity). The findings revealed the
occupants feel warm in summer but thermally satisfied in summer and winter. The monitoring results using
the static and adaptive comfort models showed summertime overheating occurs in the living room (7.0% each
time above the 28°C and the BSEN15251 Category II upper indicators) and the bedroom (18% and 15% each
time above the 26°C and the BSEN15251 Category II upper limit respectively). Higher neutral temperatures
(summer – 1.8°C; winter – 0.8°C), preferred temperatures (summer – 1.1°C; winter – 2.6°C), and mean
temperatures (summer – 0.5°C; winter – 1.3°C) are reported in the bedroom than the living area. The results
showed the ability of occupants to have higher adaptation to the thermal environment in bedrooms than living
rooms. Finally, the results revealed the ability of timber dwellings to provide more comfortable indoor
conditions to occupants in winter than summer.
Keywords: Thermal comfort, summertime and wintertime temperatures, thermal comfort survey and on-site
measurement, thermal comfort models, prefabricated structural timber dwelling.
Introduction
There are various studies that have investigated thermal comfort of occupants in residential
buildings [1-6]; a few studies on thermal comfort of occupants have addressed occupants’
comfort in dwellings [4-5]. Generally, the primary needs for people to survive in any climate
include food, clothing, and dwelling. Of these three basic needs, people aspire and have
preference for dwellings with favourable and comfortable conditions in summer and winter
due to harsh external weather conditions aggravated by climate change. Most people want
to acquire and live in dwellings with acceptable comfort condition but acquiring dwellings
tend to be the most critical and in many instances the highest expenditure item in people’s
lifetime. These further contribute to why most people have preference for dwellings that
provide the most comfortable conditions [7]. In recent decades, more sustainable dwellings
are constructed with materials that have low-carbon footprints. Investigations on thermal
comfort of occupants in energy-efficient dwellings and the ones built with green materials
such as bamboo, structural timber are important to understand occupants’ adaptation and
behavioural actions [4] as well as to reduce overall energy used in dwellings. As mentioned
Methodology
The research study employed a combination of thermal comfort survey using subjective
questionnaire and on-site measurements. The parameters (temperature and relative
humidity) were measured every hour. The study was conducted from Jul 24-31, 2012 for the
summer survey and from Jan. 28-Feb. 8, 2013 for the winter survey. The HOBO and TinyTag
data loggers were used for the on-site measurements. The parameters were measured at
1.1m above the floor level as specified by the ASHRAE [16]. The questionnaire was
completed three times a day. The outdoor weather data for the same periods (summer and
winter) were collected from Luton Airport weather station. The subject votes using 7-point
scale (from cold to hot) for thermal sensation and 5-point scale for thermal preference
(from much cooler to much warmer) were considered (Fig. 1) and analysed while the
measured indoor and outdoor weather data were plotted in charts.
Figure 1: Examples of 7-point ASHRAE thermal sensation (left) and 5-point thermal preference scales (right)
The questionnaire was developed in a simple format for participants to easily
understand and tested before it was distributed. Subject votes were analysed using the
appropriate statistical software (SPSS and Excel) to find mean values, plot histograms and
different charts including regression, as well as establish correlations between various
parameters examined. Thermal comfort models (the CIBSE and the adaptive models) were
employed to understand summertime temperatures since the dwelling is considered to be
naturally ventilated in summertime. The CIBSE model was considered for evaluation of
comfort temperature in wintertime and the adaptive model was not considered due to
heating required in the season. For the CIBSE model, this study examined number and
percentage of hours of temperature above the indicators (1%>28°C for living area; 1%>26°C
for bedroom) [12-13]. Regarding the adaptive thermal comfort evaluation, the Category II
‘acceptable conditions for newly built and refurbished dwelling’ was considered. The
evaluation of comfort temperature focused on number/percentage of hours (5% of hours
above the Category II upper thermal comfort envelope) to establish warm discomfort and
(5% of hours below the Category II lower level) to identify cold discomfort [14].
Case Study
The dwelling is an end-terraced unit and one of the completed 116 dwelling units located in
Milton Keynes, UK. The housing development has won various awards due to the material
Figure 2: The ground floor plan (left) and the first floor plan (right) of the dwelling unit (RSHP Architects)
Analysis
The analysis showed external temperature was between 8.0°C (minimum temperature) and
27.0°C (maximum temperature). The average external temperature was 16.6°C. The indoor
temperature was from 19.8°C - 30.0°C in the living area and between 20.5°C and 28.8°C in
the bedroom in summer. In winter, the external temperature was from -1.0°C to 13.0°C. The
mean external temperature was 5.1°C. Table 1 below provides a summary of the measured
temperatures in the living area and the bedroom in summer and winter. The analysis
showed the external temperature was below 18.0°C for more than 50% of the time in
summer. Likewise, temperature was within the comfort range (22.0°C – 25.0°C) in
wintertime (Fig. 3). In addition, humidity was within 40%-60% in the summer; while it was
within a wider range of 30%-80% in the winter. Table 2 provides summary of the subject
votes in the living area and the bedroom.
Table 1. Summary of the measured internal and external temperatures including running mean temperature
Summer Temp. [°C] Winter Temp. [°C]
Space Mean Temp. Max. Temp. Min. Temp. Mean Temp. Max. Temp. Min. Temp.
Living room 23.5 30.0 19.8 18.9 21.8 17.5
Bedroom 24.0 28.8 20.5 19.6 22.9 17.7
External temp. 16.6 8.0 27.0 5.1 13.0 -1.0
Running mean 17.8 18.9 15.9 NA NA NA
Table 2: Summary of the subject votes in the summer and winter
Summer Winter
Thermal Thermal Thermal Thermal Thermal Thermal
Space sensation preference satisfaction sensation preference satisfaction
Living room 5.2 2.6 6.1 3.8 3.0 5.8
Bedroom 5.4 2.9 6.3 4.0 3.4 6.2
Unit average 5.3 2.8 6.2 3.9 3.2 6.0
Temperature (°C)
Temperature (°C)
16
22
14
20
12
18
10
16 8
14 6
12 4
10 2
8 0
6 -2
24-Jul 25-Jul 26-Jul 27-Jul 28-Jul 29-Jul 30-Jul 31-Jul 1-Aug 28-Jan 29-Jan 30-Jan 31-Jan 1-Feb 2-Feb 3-Feb 4-Feb 5-Feb 6-Feb 7-Feb 8-Feb
Day/Time Day/Time
Living area Bedroom External Temperature Running mean Bedroom Living area External temperature
22
28 R² = 0.6002 R² = 0.1024
26 20
24
Bedroom
18 Bedroom
22 y = 0.3605x + 18.029 y = 0.0953x + 19.1
20 R² = 0.6504 R² = 0.1158
16
18
16 14
6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
External temperature (°C) External temperature (°C)
Living area Bedroom Linear (Living area) Linear (Bedroom) Bedroom Living area Linear (Bedroom) Linear (Living area)
Figure 4: Relationship between measured temperatures in the living area and the bedroom
32 32
Indoor temperature °C
31 31
30
Indoor temperature ºC
30
29 29
28 28
27
27 26
26 25
25 24
24 23
23 22
22 21
21 20
20 19
18
19
18 15 16 17 18 19 20
15 16 17 18 19 20 Running mean of external temperature °C
Running mean of external temperature ºC T°C- Bedroom Linear (Cat-1-up) Linear (Cat-2-up) Linear (Cat-3-up)
Cat-1-up Cat-2-up Cat-3-up Cat-1-low Cat-2-low Cat-3-low Linear (Cat-1-low) Linear (Cat-2-low) Linear (Cat-3-low)
Figure 5: Temperatures in the living area (left) and bedroom (right) compared to the BSEN15251 levels.
Table 3. Summary of the neutral and the preferred temperatures in the summer and winter
Summer Temp. [°C] Winter Temp. [°C]
Space Neutral Temp. Pref. Temp. Mean. Temp. Neutral Temp. Pref. Temp. Mean Temp.
Living room 22.1 22.2 23.5 17.6 20.8 18.9
Bedroom 23.9 23.3 24.0 18.4 23.4 19.6
Unit average 23.0 22.8 23.8 18.0 22.1 19.3
Comparing the results from this study with existing studies on summertime and
wintertime temperatures, it is observed temperatures especially neutral and mean
temperatures are slightly higher in this study than existing studies [1,17]. This study further
validated findings of previous research [4] that prefabricated timber buildings are prone to
high summertime temperatures while lower temperatures may also be observed in winter
due to low thermal mass of structural timber materials. The table below provides summary
of comparison of summertime and wintertime temperatures with existing research (Table 4).
Table 4. Summary of comparison of summertime and winter temperatures with existing research
Summer Temperatures [°C] Winter Temperatures [°C]
Study Neutral Preferred Mean Neutral Preferred Mean
This study 23.0 22.8 23.8 18.0 22.1 19.3
Rijal et al [1] 22.9 NA 23.4 NA NA 20.9
Hong et al [17] 20.4 NA 21.0 18.9-19.1 NA 17.1-19.0
Thermal senation
Thermal sensation
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
1
1
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Internal temperature (°C) Internal temperature (°C)
Figure 6: Relationship between thermal sensation and the internal temperature in the spaces in the summer
Preferred Temperature (°C) - Living area (Summer) Preferred Temperature (°C) - Bedroom (Summer)
5 5
y = -0.0663x + 4.4667 y = -0.0807x + 4.8836
R² = 0.0324 R² = 0.0266
Thermal preference
Thermal preference
4 4
3 3
2 2
1 1
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Internal temperature (°C) Internal temperature (°C)
Figure 7: Relationship between thermal preference and the internal temperature in the spaces in the summer
Conclusions
This study evaluated occupant’s comfort, summertime and wintertime temperatures in a
timber dwelling. The study found that occupants feel warm in summer and slightly cool in
winter. The subject votes revealed that the occupants prefer to be cooler in summer than
they were with mean thermal preference votes in winter around thermal neutrality.
However, occupants are thermally satisfied with the thermal environment. The results
revealed over 80% of the respondents are comfortable within the thermal environment.
Higher mean (summer – 0.5°C, winter – 0.7°C), neutral (summer – 1.8°C, winter –
0.8°C) and preferred (summer – 1.1°C, winter – 2.6°C) temperatures are observed in the
bedroom than the living area in the summer and winter. The mean temperatures are also
higher than the mean temperature (19.1°C) recorded in a study conducted in UK dwellings
in 2001 [18]. The bedroom is found to be warmer than the living area. This finding is in
agreement with the finding presented in existing studies [4,15]. Comparing the findings
from this study to existing research, temperatures especially neutral and mean
temperatures are slightly higher than temperatures reported in existing studies. The
findings showed timber buildings are prone to summertime temperatures and possibly
References
[1] Rijal, H.B., Stevenson, F. (2010). Thermal comfort in UK housing to avoid overheating: lessons from a
‘Zero Carbon’ case study. In Proceedings of Windsor Conference, Cumberland Lodge, UK, 9 – 11 April, 2010.
[2] Gupta, R, Gregg, M. (2013). Preventing the overheating of English surburban homes in a warming
climate. Building Research & Information, 41, pp. 281-300
[3] Lomas, K.J, Kane, T. (2013). Summertime temperatures and thermal comfort in UK homes. Building
Research & Information, 41, pp. 259-280
[4] Adekunle, T.O., Nikolopoulou, M. (2016). Thermal comfort, summertime temperatures and
overheating in prefabricated timber housing. Building and Environment, 103, pp.21-35
[5] Adekunle, T., Nikolopoulou, M. (2014). Post-occupancy and indoor monitoring surveys to investigate
the potential of summertime overheating in UK prefabricated timber houses. In Proceedings of Conference:
Counting the Cost of Comfort in a changing world, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK, 10 – 13 April, 2014
[6] Morgan, C., Foster, J.A., Poston, A., Sharpe, T.R., (2017). Overheating in Scotland: contributing
factors in occupied homes. Building Research & Information, 45(1-2), pp. 143-156
[7] Rijal, H.B. (2013). Field investigation of comfort temperature and adaptive model in Japanese houses.
th
In: PLEA 29 Conference, Munich, Germany, 10 – 12 September, 2013.
[8] Department for Business, Energy & Ind. Strategy (2016). Energy consumption in the UK. DBEIS, Nov.
[9] Environmental Protection Agency (EIA, 2015). How much energy is consumed in residential and
commercial buildings in the United States? Available: https://www.eia.gov/tools/, accessed on 21/03/2017.
[10] Adekunle, TO., Nikolopoulou, M. (2016). Evaluation of prefabricated structural timber housing. LAP
Publishing, Germany.
[11] Adekunle, T. O. (2014). Thermal performance of low-carbon prefabricated timber housing in the UK.
PhD Dissertation, University of Kent, UK
[12] CIBSE, (2006). Guide A, Environmental Design. 7th Edition, CIBSE, London
[13] CIBSE, (2010). How to manage overheating in buildings: a practical guide to improving summertime
comfort in buildings. CIBSE Knowledge Series. The Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers, London.
[14] BSEN15251, (2008). Indoor environmental input parameters for design and assessment of energy
performance of buildings addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting and acoustics. Brussels.
[15] Sharpe, T.R., Porteous, C.D.A., Foster, J., Shearer, D. (2014). An assessment of environmental
conditions in bedrooms of contemporary low energy houses in Scotland. Indoor Built Environ. 23, pp. 393–416.
[16] American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers (2013). Standard 55-
2013, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. ASHRAE. Atlanta, GA.
[17] Hong, S.H., Gilbertson, J., Oreszczyn, T., Green, G., Ridley, I., the Warm Front Study Group (2009). A
field study of thermal comfort in low-income dwellings in England before and after energy efficient
refurbishment. Building and Environment, 44(6), pp. 1228-1236
[18] Shorrock, L.D., Utley, J.I., (2003). Domestic energy fact file 2003. Building Research Establishment,
Watford, UK
Abstract: Nowadays, Ethylene-tetrafluoro-ethylene (ETFE) cushion roof is being used substantially for
covering atrium as an alternative to glass roof. This paper examined the environmental performance of the
Engineering and Science Learning Centre (ESLC) at a university campus, investigating the thermal and luminous
environment and the environmental benefits of the atrium covered by ETFE cushions on the adjacent learning
spaces in the building.
This study was undertaken by using different analytical tools, which include environmental design rule of
thumbs, field work and selective computer aided simulations using IES VE for parametric analysis of the
existing and improved luminous and thermal environment. The users’ perceptions of the light and thermal
conditions were critically evaluated by using questionnaire and the results were correlated with the theoretical
data obtained from the quantitative studies.
The research results show that the learning spaces have insufficient daylight illuminance towards the far end
of the lecture rooms and the high illuminance level in the ETFE covered atrium is not benefiting the adjacent
spaces. In addition, the learning spaces are out of comfort zone and have high CO2 concentration for most of
the time during summer due to the ineffective ventilation strategy with inadequate effective opening size of
the roof vents. This study proposed and tested the alternative daylighting solution by modifying the window
profile to the walls of the learning spaces facing the atrium, and developed new summer ventilation strategies
to improve the thermal performance of the learning spaces adjacent to the atrium.
Keywords: ETFE Cushions, Environmental Performances, Daylighting, Thermal Comfort, Air Quality
Introduction
Atrium is often used as a common architectural solution and environmental strategy to
improve the internal conditions of buildings to bring more daylight into the inner space,
transferring the light to the surrounding, acting as a buffer zone to prevent direct solar
penetration and drive surplus heat (CIBSE, 2006). The building envelope has significant
impacts on the indoor environmental conditions which can affect occupants’ health and
performance (Irene and Robert, 2007). Meanwhile, Glass has traditionally been used in atria
to admit natural light and modify the indoor environment, but in recent years, ETFE has
become an alternative to glass (Tanno, 1997).
On-site Monitoring
Daylighting Performance Assessment
The daylight spot measurements were carried out under sunny sky conditions by using an
illuminance meter. The objective was to evaluate the daylighting performance in the atrium
and to examine the daylight benefits from the atrium on the adjacent spaces.
Results
The daylight illuminance in the central part of the atrium (Figure 6) was high and it
decreased towards the atrium edges. The average internal illuminance at ground level was
12791 lux while the highest and the lowest value were 33180 lux and 4030 lux respectively
compared to average external illuminance was 35698 lux. This indicated that the ETFE
cushion transmitted about 93% of the outdoor illuminance into the atrium, which confirmed
the abundance of daylight in the space.
The daylight illuminance in the learning spaces B02 and B14 were higher closer to
external windows and reduced sharply from the window. In B02, the illuminance level
decreased towards the atrium window, which indicated that the atrium did not benefit the
luminous environment in the selected adjacent rooms (Figure 7).
Figure 6. Atrium measurement grid plan and daylight illuminance distribution along Section x-x
Atrium Outdoor
Figure 7. Room B02 measurement grid plan and illuminance distribution along Section x-x
Table 2. Atrium temperature and relative humidity during the night and occupancy period (day)
Night (1st March 2016, 22:00pm) Day (2nd March 2016, 12:00pm)
Level Space Wall Floor Ceiling Space Wall (°C) Floor (°C) Ceiling (°C)
temp.(°C) (°C) (°C) (°C) temp.(°C)
It was observed from the result in Figure 10 that the indoor temperature of B02 is within
comfort threshold during the occupied period. The CO2 concentration reached 900ppm
which is peak recommended level by the CIBSE to maintain comfort. The increase in
occupancy level might result to the CO2 concentration to rise more than the recommended
level.
Figure 12: Summer strategy for thermal and air quality improvements
Annual Percentage
60
40
20
0
Base case Case 1 Case 2
Figure 13. Percentage of annual UDI 100-300 Lux for Daylight Autonomy for all the cases
100
Percentage of time
80
60
40
20
0
Base Case Case 1 Case 2 Base Case Case 1 Case 2
Room B02 Room B12
Percentage within comfort temperature Percentage between air quality (450-650ppm)
Figure 14. Percentage of time within comfort temperature and air quality
Conclusion
In the current building, this study concluded that the atrium does not offer sufficient
daylight benefits to the adjacent spaces. With proper window to wall ratio, the adjacent
rooms could borrow light from the main atrium. There was temperature stratification in the
atrium and occupancy density affected the temperature and air quality in the selected
spaces.
The proposed atrium window options help improve the daylight level, the annual
percentage of time within comfort temperature and desirable air quality. This paper
concluded that through proper atrium window design, the thermal and luminous
environment of the adjacent spaces facing the atrium can be significantly improved, and as
a result, it is expected that overall energy consumption can be substantially reduced and the
comfort conditions can be much improved.
References
CIBSE, 2006. Environmental design: CIBSE guide A. 7th edition, London: CIBSE: p. 2- 8.
Illuminating Engineering Society, 2012. IES Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA) and Annual Sunlight
Exposure (ASE), Newyork: LM-83-12.
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buildings. Glasgow, UK, International Conference on Whole Life Urban Sustainability and its assessment.
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Robinson-Gayle, Kolokotroni, Cripps & Tanno, 2001. ETFE foil cushions in roofs and atria. Construction
and Building Materials 15(7): 323- 327.
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Kingdom, ICBEST Conference on Building Envelope Systems & Technology.
Abstract: Poor environmental comfort in learning spaces can have an impact on the learning capacities of
students. It is not unusual to find learning spaces in Nigerian higher institutions in which the indoor
environmental qualities do not meet the occupants’ requirements. Despite being in the tropics, where solar
radiation is in abundance, Nigerian building industry professionals pay little attention to passive energy
utilization. Knowing how buildings perform in the country may appeal to their consciousness in reconsidering
this situation. This paper is part of an ongoing study on comfort in higher education facilities involving lecture
theatres and laboratories in Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. Objective and subjective assessments were
undertaken during the wet-warm season of August 2016. It reports the assessment conducted on two
laboratories, with a view to finding how they perform environmentally in comparison to occupants’ preferences
and international comfort standards. Although some of the measured and calculated physical parameters, have
not met the thresholds specified by ASHRAE-55 and EN 15251, the respondents expressed their acceptance of
the laboratories’ situations subjectively. This is not surprising as these standards are often based on experiments
implemented in developed countries, where the severity of the climatic conditions and the culture are dissimilar
to sub Saharan Africa.
Keywords: IEQ, Predicted Mean Vote, Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied, Kano, Nigeria
Introduction
Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) investigations in several buildings, such as offices,
hospitals, schools and shopping malls, have been on the increase since the middle of the last
century. Such an increase in the studies could be attributed to the concern of the adverse
effect poor IEQ has on people’s comfort and wellbeing, which potentially affects their
productivity and performance (Dias Pereira et al., 2014; Heath & Mendell, 2002). As vividly
captured by Almeida (2014), that it is the combination of rising indoor occupancy levels,
health requirements, environmental concern, new construction practices, rising occupants’
expectations, development of new indoor finishes and the desire to cut down on energy costs
that led to the need of the IEQ studies. Similarly, the need to contribute to the effort of
decreasing global warming in reducing energy consumption from fossils sources has led to
the rise in such types of studies.
Many studies have been evaluating IEQ and analysing indoor conditions through
investigating the thermal, visual and aural environments as well as indoor air quality (IAQ)
(Catalina & Iordache, 2012; Frontczak et al., 2012; Nimlyat & Kandar, 2015). Frequently
reported poor IEQ concerns include discomfort due to high or low temperatures and relative
Methodology
Description of the research location
Bayero University (BUK) is a conventional university, situated in Kano, Nigeria. Kano is located
on latitude 12⁰N and longitude 8.17⁰E, 473 m above sea level and in the savannah vegetated
region of West Africa. Maximum temperature reaches 39⁰C in April and May and goes down
to 12⁰C in December and January and it is sunny 71% of the daylight hours (climatemps.com,
2017). Relative humidity hovers between 10% and 80% and the annual precipitation is about
700 mm. As with other parts of Nigeria, the city is faced with the problem of perennial
haze/dust blown in November to February from Sahara desert.
BUK has about 30,000 students admitted within 14 faculties, undergoing various
programmes from three campuses spread across the city of Kano. From the last eight years
the university’s landscape has been transforming by adding new structures and retrofitting
existing ones. The selected laboratories for the study were chosen from the Old campus and
Teaching hospital. These are, Multipurpose Laboratory (ML), used for approximately 30 hours
per week by Science faculty for their level 100 undergraduate students and Phantom
Laboratory (PL), used for about 18 hours per week, by the clinical students of Dentistry faculty.
The characteristics of the laboratories are shown in Table 1.
Physical Measurement
Both the physical measurements and the surveys were conducted based on procedures
consistent with ASHRAE standard 55-2013. A number of instruments were used to measure
the indoor environmental parameters. The spot measuring instruments were simple and
hand held. They include HOBO loggers for air and radiant temperatures, relative humidity,
carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration, and illumination; Trotec BZ30 for air temperature,
relative humidity and CO2 concentration; Testo 435-2 meter for air velocity; PCE-DT 9880 for
particulate matter (PM) and Extech HD600 meter measures sound pressure levels.
Temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, sound pressure levels and CO2
concentration, using the hand held instruments by the researcher, were spot measured in
five locations, each for five minutes and at 1.1m above the floor. Whereas illumination levels
were spot measured in nine locations at the same height. Daylight was obtained when electric
lights were off and window blinds opened. Photographs of the interiors of the laboratories
and points of measurements are marked on the floor plans shown in Figures 1 and 2. Though
air conditioners were not in operation, ceiling fans were on most of the time and windows
opened. Measurements were conducted in two situations, during occupied and unoccupied
conditions. External weather data were obtained using pendants on the buildings’ exteriors.
Subjective Measurement
In line with the capacities of the laboratories, a total of 160 paper based questionnaires were
prepared, for the occupants to answer. It contains six sections covering; thermal, acoustic and
visual comfort, indoor air quality and demographic information. In addition, sketches of the
respective learning environments were included for the occupants to indicate their
approximate sitting positions. A total of 105 questionnaires (86 and 19 for the ML and PL
Phant Min 24.1 25.1 68.1 66.7 81 181 593 654 48.9 59.0 0.12 0.34 130 15
om Max 24.4 25.6 68.8 70.7 221 386 660 884 51.0 60.8 0.17 0.43 150 25
Mean 24.3 25.3 68.4 68.8 188 286 627 727 50.0 59.7 0.15 0.40 139 17
Standards’ 24.5⁰C- 30-60% 500 lux for 1200 ppm 40-45dB(A)
Limits and 28⁰C (ASHRAE- laboratory for any for
ranges Summer 55) (EN- learning laboratory
23.3⁰C- 12464) environme (WHO
25.5⁰C nt 2006)
winter (ASHRAE
(ASHRAE- 62-2004)
55)
Finally, demographic data of the participants was requested for the determination of their
personal characteristics, which helped in developing appropriate summary statistics. In order
to eliminate the impact of metabolic rate on the respondents, the questionnaires were
administered in each space after 30 minutes into the laboratory sessions, adopted from
previous study (Montazami et al., 2016). Similarly lighting, acoustic and air qualities
parameters were evaluated on categorical and seven point Likert scales.
On the quality of visual environment, 65% and 95% of the respondents in ML and PL
respectively expressed their satisfaction with the global lighting levels as depicted in Figure 5.
Similarly, only 21% and 22% reported that natural light was excessive and 23% and 17% said
it was too little in ML and PL respectively. On the other hand, report on the level of glare
perception as shown in Figure 6, was generally favourable, only 8% and 0% of the respondents
perceived too much glare in the respective laboratories.
Acoustically, the respondents showed very good satisfaction with the laboratories’
background noise levels, only about 12% of those in ML showed their dissatisfaction, as
depicted in Figure 7. It was concluded from the responses that the main sources of the
acoustic discomfort in the ML were noise generated by their colleagues, this was reported by
43% of the respondents, while 25% of them said it was by external noise intrusion probably
from traffic, as the lab is sited close to students’ parking area.
Similarly the survey examined the respondents’ perception about the quality of air in
the laboratories. Figure 8 shows that there was general acceptability in the quality of air in
ML, 65% attested to that, while 35% of them did not. Sources of the mild discomfort within
the laboratory might be as a result of frequent use of chemicals, smoke rising from Bunsen
burners, human effluents due to high occupancy level and absence of fume cupboards.
However, there was an overwhelming acceptance of the air quality within PL, with as much
as 95% of the respondents agreeing and only 5% showed their dissatisfaction.
Comparison
Values of Fanger’s PMV and PPD on the survey date, running mean, and operative and
comfort temperatures for the laboratories were calculated. The values of the PMV stood at
Conclusion
The study, aimed at investigating IEQ in two laboratories in Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria,
was conducted during the wet-warm season of August 2016. The scope included the
comparison between experimental and surveyed data of the laboratories as well as against
thresholds of relevant international comfort standards. Various physical parameters were
measured which culminated into calculating some comfort indices. Concurrently, the
occupants of the laboratories were subjected to a survey to determine their actual comfort
perceptions. In line with the results obtained by some previous IEQ researches, this study,
though part of a larger and longitudinal field work, also found discrepancies between
measured and surveyed data, as well as with the comfort standards. Generally the results of
the measured parameters were found to be higher than most of the standards thresholds
with exception of CO2 concentration. This divergence may not be unconnected with the
situations of the dominant climatic conditions of the region at the time of the work. However,
the survey data results showed acceptance of the indoor conditions of the laboratories by the
respondents. Both the measured and the surveyed data of the PL were more consistent and
acceptable to the respondents than those of the ML. This disparity may be explained by the
compactness of PL and the siting of the two laboratories. PL is sited at the Teaching Hospital
campus, though within the heart of the city, it is placed deep inside the campus and therefore
buffered from the city traffic. ML, on the other hand, is sited at the Old campus and very close
to the students housing parking area. It is therefore worth noting that good siting,
References
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Thermal Environment in Education Building. Paper presented at the Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA)
2015, Bologna, 09/09/2015. Retrieved from http://plea-arch.org/plea-proceedings/
Auliciems, A. (1972). Classroom Performance as a Function of Thermall Comfort. International Journal of
Biometeorology, Vol 16, No. 3, 233-246.
Catalina, T., & Iordache, V. (2012). Ieq Assessment on Schools in the Design Stage. Building and
Environment, 49, 129-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.09.014
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Quality and Thermal Comfort in Portuguese Secondary Classrooms: Methodology and Results. Building and
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Building Design. Indoor Air, 22(2), 119-131.
Heath, G., & Mendell, M. J. (2002). Do Indoor Environments in Schools Influence Student Performance? A
Review of the Literature. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Indoor Air
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Introduction
The European building stock presents tremendous potential for reducing emissions and
energy use. Another encouraging factor is that a major proportion was built before energy
efficiency was fully introduced in building standards and consequentially presents a large
room for improvement. Energy and emission benefits that can be realised by retrofit and
rebuild – collectively called upgrading – for reduction of energy use also provide
encouragement for economic growth in this sector. Resolution of the issue involves
disciplines of building science, statistics, economics and social science and knowledge of
trends in governmental guidelines and initiatives. Pilot projects have shown promise but
technological and social barriers are such that successful upgrading efforts need to satisfy a
large number of multivariate and often conflicting requirements. Consequentially quality of
upgrading may be compromised thereby undermining the whole process.
It has been shown that upgraded buildings have lower embodied energy and can
perform almost as well as new homes (Boardman et al., 2005). However, previous studies and
findings from monitoring of upgraded houses have shown it is unusual that desired outcomes
are obtained (Hong et al., 2006). Reasons for these shortfalls range from policy issues to
technical problems and misunderstanding of social behaviour.
Figure 1 Typical uninsulated property (left) and externally insulated property (right)
Monitoring of these dwellings included a pre-upgrade and a post-upgrade period. It was
made sure that monitoring was conducted within the heating season as far as possible. The
upgrades involved real world complexities stemming from occupant behaviour, changing
weather conditions, construction scheduling, privacy impacts etc. therefore it was necessary
to adopt an approach that could normalise for such factors. The following steps were taken
to ensure confidence in the measurements:
• initial deployment was at least one week prior to upgrade works commencing
• sensors were placed away from windows and doors and out of reach of children
• occupants were advised not to move the sensors
• occupants were advised not to disconnect power to the loggers
• sensors were removed after second post-upgrade meter reading
In the case of insulation upgrades undertaken in the summertime, it was necessary to
arrange for the pre- and post-upgrade monitoring to take place during consecutive heating
seasons. Where this was not possible post-upgrade monitoring still provided a valuable
indication of the internal environmental conditions after insulation deployment and
highlighted concerns where temperature and relative humidity measurements exceeded
recommendations. Other factors affecting post-upgrade energy saving calculation include:
Results
Figure 4 shows temperature recordings that are obtained from monitoring of two dwellings
over a period of a few days. The most dominant variation that can be observed usually follows
the daily fluctuations of outside temperature (T ext). There is a wide variation in temperatures
possibly due to occupant behaviour despite these being similar properties. The property SH4,
with occasional daily peaks in the kitchen most likely due to cooking activity, exhibits a
distinctly higher temperature than the other does. Various occupant and heating system
behaviours may be deduced by inspection of the graphs – some examples are highlighted on
the figure.
Internal humidity levels are strongly related to internal temperature. A rise in
temperature will lead to a fall in RH, without any moisture addition or removal. Considerable
variation exists between properties, although most fall in the range 40-60% RH. Consistently
high values of RH should be investigated, particularly after the property has been insulated,
to ensure no internal condensation problems are occurring, particularly at cold bridges.
Figure 4 Typical temperature recording and observations for two properties SH1 and SH2 (for both indoor
sensors 1 and 2
The acceptable range of temperature is what the “average” occupant would report as
being comfortable; in this case, the range is 19°C to 23°C (CIBSE, 2006). The same document
also defines an acceptable RH range from 40% to 70% RH. Note is made of any notable
fluctuations out with these limits, and their duration. Generally, short duration fluctuations
do not cause problems. Longer duration fluctuations may need to be investigated.
Figure 5 Thermal bridge due to non-insulated section Figure 6 Occurrence of a severe mould growth
around a gas pipe and meter box and meter box problem on inside of windowsill
Conclusions
It was shown that a pervasive monitoring approach is useful in appraising the quality of
retrofit for domestic buildings. Results from pre- and post- retrofit monitoring of internal and
external conditions and energy use were used to ascertain whether upgrades had been
applied to an acceptable level or otherwise.
Patterns of temperature and humidity fluctuations and their correlation with external
conditions and information about building use was used to determine additional features of
the dwellings and their use. Such analyses can show problematic environmental control, fuel
poverty, poor or excessive ventilation, risk of condensation and thermal bridging.
Acknowledgement
Acknowledgement is made to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, UK for
providing funding for this research within their pervasive sensing for collaborative facilities
management project. The authors are also grateful to the Glasgow City Council for providing
information from their refurbishment scheme to be made available for research purposes in
order to deliver better quality assurance for the scheme.
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2826/Programme-to-reduce-CO2-emissi.htm
Abstract: Current architectural design practice is limited in its consideration and understanding of life-cycle
energy flows which comprise multiple phases, from material resource extraction, construction, building
occupation within the built environment, and after demolition. Furthermore, bioclimatic environmental flows
interact with the buildings, particularly at the building envelope, making it a rich interface for shaping energy
flows towards buildings that are energy self-sufficient with clean on-site energy resources. The buildings we
inhabit directly affect the greater built environment which is an inherent part of local ecosystems which
compose part of larger ecologies at global scales, ultimately affecting the overall biosphere. As a result, the
buildings we construct, directly and indirectly, affect our economies, the health, and well-being of our societies
and our natural environments. This paper explores the development of a computational framework that
provides architects and designers direct feedback on design performance at the schematic design stage. This
allows designers to visualize, understand and evaluate their design choices in terms of their environmental
implications and ecological efficacy. This framework for design analysis offers a more comprehensive ecological
analysis than existing sustainability assessment tools, by considering the entire temporal building process.
Working with Rhino/Grasshopper as a widely-used software platform allows for interactive feedback to
architectural designers as they develop design options in real time. This paper will use a case study, assessing a
solar decathlon house, demonstrating the qualitative and quantitative environmental impacts of the building
design.
Introduction
Current architectural design practice is limited in its consideration and understanding of life-
cycle energy flows, which comprise multiple phases, from material resource extraction,
construction, to building occupation within the built environment (Keena, et al., 2016).
Furthermore, bioclimatic environmental flows interact with the buildings, particularly at the
building envelope, making it a rich interface (Schumacher, 2012) for shaping energy flows
towards buildings that are energy self-sufficient with clean on-site energy resources. The
process of constructing and operating buildings often leads to environmental outcomes that
are not nourishing1 to either physical or social ecosystems (Graham, 2009). Due to the siloed
structure of the building industry and the endemic lack of environmental awareness among
building professionals and the industry as whole, the process of delivering built environment
systems has played a major role in the decline of Earth’s ecological health (Hancock, 2011).
Our built environments (Koren & Butler, 2006) are in fact built ecologies (Dyson, 2011) (Winn,
1
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the building sector consumes (47.6%) of all
energy produced in the US, and 74.9% of all the electricity produced is used just to operate buildings. Therefore,
the building sector is responsible for 44.6% of US CO2 emissions in 2010.
Figure 1 Our built environment is part of a larger global ecosystem affecting our global economies, our health
and well-being, and our natural environment, i.e. Built Ecologies.
By contributing to explicate built environment systems, this research intends to
help facilitate a transition from the mechanical paradigm (Kuhn, 1962) towards an ecological
paradigm (Bateson, 1972) (Fernández-Galiano, 2000). This framework will provide architects
facts and knowledge about the environmental influences on their design decisions and the
interdependencies between the building next generation systems and nature, and will offer
new approaches on how to achieve comfort with nature (Aly Etman, et al., 2016).
Background
The building process is slow, expensive, and risky. Data is increasingly fast, cheap, easily
accessible and seems to offer the hope of providing new levels of certainty on complex
problems. A widespread paradigm shift has occurred in design thinking whereby performance
requirements have far greater influence on the decision-making process, however, access to
reliable and extensive data during critical phases in the decision making has been difficult to
achieve. In architecture, generative computational frameworks can support systems design
exploration and expand the solution space for a multitude of formal iterations while satisfying
Previous Efforts
In order to investigate the impact of design decisions properly, we should examine the
temporal energy flows at the pre-building, building, and post-building phases. The existing
tools and software available were developed with one aspect of the problem in mind, so they
do not fully support the integrated design process. However, the resulted calculations are
still challenging and tedious, and best practices for analysis are not well defined or propagated.
Current tools, such as Energy Plus, Radiance, Sefaira and so on, can help predict and project
the impact of our proposed (design) building, but they only focus on one phase: either the
material lifecycle or the operational energy. This disconnection is forcing the investigator to
use multiple tools, which increases the effort needed and invites errors. Eco-centric views and
techniques are crucial for appreciating the contribution of ecosystems to all human activities
and meeting the challenges of sustainable development.
Figure 2 Proposed design and evaluation framework. Feedback loops between all three scales highlight the
importance of inter-scalar design strategies.
Parametric modeling tools have recently introduced a new modeling and design
approach to the architectural community. Parametric modeling, by nature, is based on data;
connections and changes between different levels of evidence (data) are instantaneous. This
method provides multiple benefits for integrating design and analysis. The ability to visualize
environmental analysis data within the design platform allows designers to make clear
connections between data analysis and design. Within the parametric platform of
Grasshopper3D, the visual programming language and environment for Rhinoceros3D,
building details, which are generated from the base geometry, remain as layers of the base
data. When optimization of the base geometry occurs, which is appropriate for
environmental analysis modeling, the parametrically-linked details automatically update. A
single model is used for both the design model and the analysis model, facilitating a smoother,
more integrative and efficient workflow. The proposed framework, shown in Figure 2, is
intended to leverage the popularity and ease of use of existing plugins that allow interfacing
validated software, i.e. Ladybug and Honeybee, by extending their capabilities so they can
analyze the projected impacts of the proposed design on the environment.
Case Study
To test this framework, a case study, based on the guidelines of the solar decathlon houses
(U.S. Department of Energy, 2002), was proposed as a foundation for designing a net-positive,
solar powered residence and adapted that model to fulfill the research objectives better. This
house was designed to be placed in Paris, France and followed the design limitations of a solar
decathlon house. A house that wins the solar decathlon could easily be (and has been in the
past) a black box of solar panels, but this research calls for a higher standard of performance
relative to human health and comfort, ecological health, and systems intelligence.
Figure 4: Diagram of the proposed design and the selected mechanical systems.
Step 3: Design performance:
The next steps are to investigate the resources (climatic), selected systems performance, and
their interdependency. By analyzing a matrix of system behaviors, the framework will help
the user to understand which systems are most effective for the selected climate. In this case,
we studied how various behaviors affect the relationships between climate inputs, building
demand, resources, and performance criteria. Moreover, then proceeded to select and
develop nested systems that meet our energetic performance criteria as well as human
serviceability, comfort, and control criteria. The performance of the selected systems is
simulated using Energyplus v.8.4 through grasshopper plugins (i.e. Ladybug, Honeybee) for
the proposed design. The simulation outputs in (
Figure 5) show the parameters of investigation alongside the criteria of analysis.
Introduction
For existing buildings, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (European Commission,
2010) considers that the greater efficiency of the investment with respect to the
improvements achieved is reached in major renovations of buildings, or the parts with the
highest incidence on building energy consumption. In this sense, windows can be
considered as elements of great incidence on consumption and therefore with great
potential for associated energy saving. In Spain, (IDAE, 2011) between 25% and 30% of our
heating needs are due to the heat losses that arise through windows.
In 2010, (Asociación de Ciencias Ambientales, 2012) 10% of homes in Spain did not
have sufficient means to maintain a suitable temperature during the cold months, and/or
spent a high percentage of their income to cover basic needs (heating, refrigeration, kitchen,
lighting, hot water). In addition to being in a situation of thermal discomfort, there are
serious health consequences that derive from living in a house with an inadequate
temperature. Therefore, there is a percentage of users for whom action on the envelope of
their dwelling is going to imply an improvement in their living conditions without necessarily
seeing it reflected in their consumption, since they do not consume because they are in a
situation of “Energy Poverty“.
Methodology
The Project proposes a documentary/theoretical methodology that will be developed in
parallel to an experimental one, in which measurement in real climatic conditions will be
performed. In this experimental part there are two tasks: In REVen Laboratory a low
performance window will be compared with a higher quality window, in real climatic
conditions, in a south orientation. Heating, cooling, light and other electrical consumption
will be measured and other aspects of indoor environmental quality will be monitored; in a
social dwelling, consumption measurements have been taken during two years, the
windows have been replaced; annual heating savings have been quantified, electrical
consumption, CO2, relative humidity and air temperature are being monitored.
Figure 1. Experimental methodology: REVen Lab and Social Dwelling.
REVen Lab
In glazing systems selection it is important to achieve a compromise solution, which will not
be optimum in summer or winter conditions, but optimum during the annual cycle. Giving a
Figure 2. REVen Lab’s Layout and Construction.
It has been built with wood, given the characteristics of the project; we want it to
have the least possible environmental impact in addition to advancing knowledge of
industrialized building construction with this material. It consists of an envelope of 60 cm of
regenerated cotton insulation confined by wood panels, and laminated wood structure.
Dimensions of each room are 2.68m wide by 5.60m long; there is a service room at
the north to enter to each space. The Lab can be disassembled and placed at another
location. South, East and West façade modules can be removed to carry out future research
on those areas.
Definitions of samples to be tested
The reference window is a traditional window, aluminium (with thermal bridge), simple
clear 4mm glazing and white awning, a common solution.
The optimised window incorporates an innovative wood frame, it has a greater
surface of glass than a traditional wood framed window, the blade being even with the
frame, the glazing incorporates argon, white louvres and integrates an innovative heat
exchanger designed specifically for windows PremiVent.
The samples to be compared are 1.5m in height by 1.25m wide.
Table 1. Samples
FRAME GLASS SOLAR DEVISE AIR RENOVATION
Reference Open-Close
Aluminium 4mm glazing White awning
window: window(traditional)
Optimised Wood Planitherm XN F2
White louvres PremiVent
window: LighTEK 68 4(16 argon)4.
Monitoring
In order to evaluate the efficiency and operation of the selected system, monitoring of the
experimental cells will be carried out.
Figure 5 Monitoring Layout
The evaluation of the efficiency of the systems comparing the HVAC consumption of
the two rooms with the different window elements started in March 2017. In addition,
other parameters related to user comfort, such as lighting levels, CO2 levels, relative
humidity, temperature and surface temperature of the windows are also being measured.
In each adiabatic space the following variables are being measured: 6 measurements
of surface temperature by means of thermocouples, 1 relative humidity measure in the
centre of the module, 1 air quality measure (CO2) in the centre of the module, 1 interior
Figure 6: Number of dwellings built since 1900.
In figure 6, green indicates the number of main dwellings, and pink the number of
secondary and empty dwellings according to the 2011 census of population and housing
(INE, 2011). The dwelling in which this project is taking measurements is located in a multi-
family block of five floors. Construction date is 1960 (the project data is from 1957) and the
constructed area of the house is 71m2. It has a bedroom and living room oriented to SW
and two bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom oriented to NE. The houses in this type of block
are passages, which allow cross ventilation. The facade has a surface of 20.6 m2 to NE (with
23% of window area) and 17.5 m2 to SW (with 25% of window area).
Figure 7. On the left, an image of Social Housing neighbourhood in Manoteras, Madrid. On the right, Social
Housing Plan.
Figure 8. Social Housing windows before and after the renovation.
Monitoring
Non-intrusive IEQ monitoring: air temperature, relative humidity, CO2, electrical
consumption, heating consumption (Flowmeter).
Figure 9. Monitoring devises.
The heating installation is an individual gas boiler model Themaclassic C 25 Saunier
Duval, whose performance according to manufacturer data is 91.5%. It is an atmospheric
mixture boiler for heating and instant ACS. The thermostat is in the living room at a height
of 1.6m. Setpoint temperatures according to user are: from 8:00am to 2:00pm 17 ºC, from 2:
00pm to 11: 00pm 20ºC, from 11:00pm to 8:00am 18 ° C. There is no air conditioning or
mechanical ventilation system.
Results
Heating consumption during the winter 2015-2016 and the winter 2016-2017 are compared
in figure 10, 25% of savings are observed. Exterior temperatures of both winters are shown
in figure 11, winter (2015-2016) can be considered milder than winter (2016-2017),
nevertheless in December and January the consumption has been similar for those months.
In February, average temperatures are similar but minimal temperatures are higher in 2017,
which is reflected in a consumption reduction.
744.6
KwH
500
0
Figure 10. Heating consumption of the winter 2015-2016 and the winter 2016-2017.
15 Taverage (2015-2016)
Taverage (2016-2017)
Temperature (ºC)
10
T average of the minimal
5 (2015-2016)
T average of the minimal
(2016-2017)
0 Tmin (2015-2016)
December January February
Tmin (2016-2017)
-5
Figure 11. Exterior temperatures (minimal, average and average of the minimal).
CO2 and HR records show generally higher values since windows have been improved.
In Figure 12 the average per day can be observed.
2500 80
70
2000
60
CO2(ppm)
1500 50
HR (%)
40
1000 30
20
500
10
0 0
10-1
24-12
7-1
13-1
16-1
19-1
22-1
25-1
28-1
31-1
3-2
6-2
21-2
24-2
27-2
2-3
5-3
8-3
11-3
14-3
17-3
20-3
23-3
26-3
29-3
2016 Average CO2 2017 Average CO2 2016 Average HR 2017 Average HR
Figure 12. CO2 and HR average per day.
Conclusions
Heating savings have been 25% since windows have been improved, which is higher than
expected. First hypothesis, considering CO2 and HR records as well as users reports indicate
air infiltrations through windows may have a greater influence than initially thought.
Further work is going to be developed in this direction. Before changing the windows a
Acknowledgement
This research was funded by REVen Project is funded by the state of Spain and the European
Community (federal funds), namely: Economy, Competitiveness and Industry Ministry. The
authors would like to thank our industrial sponsors who took part in the construction of
REVen Lab: TAUJEL has assembled the panels of the envelope with FINSA wood boards,
GEOPANNEL recycled cotton insulation and HECO screws; TAUJEL has carried out and
assembled the panels on PILOEDRE industrialized foundation, HASSLACHER structure,
DUPOND barrier, STORAENSO ventilated facade and DANOSA waterproofing. The optimised
window is a CARPINTEK wooden frame with SAINT-GOBAIN glass, ZEHNDER heat recover,
SOMFY motor and SCHENKER-STOREN solar protection. Other companies that also sponsor:
VAILLANT, SIMATEC and GERLINGER-KLEBEBAND. We would also like to thank the family
who agree to take part in Social House Dwelling work. And again CARPINTEK and SAINT-
GOBAIN glass who have supplied and installed the windows in the dwelling.
References
IDAE, (2011).Plan de acción y eficiencia energética 2011-2010, Madrid.
European Commission, (2010). “Directive 2010/31/EU of the European parliament and of the council of
19 may 2010 on the energy performance of buildings”, EC.
Asociación de Ciencias Ambientales,(2012) "Estudio sobre Pobreza Energética en España. Potencial
generación de empleo derivado de la rehabilitación energética de viviendas". Proyecto REPEX
European Commission, (2009). “Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive
2003/54/EC”
European Commission, (2009). “Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of
13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive
2003/55/EC (Text with EEA relevance)“
Bluyssen P.M. (2009) The Indoor Environment Handbook: How to make buildings healthy and
comfortable, Earthscan, London, UK.
Oteiza I.(2017) “REFAVIV. Rehabilitación energética de la fachada de viviendas sociales, con productos
innovadores con Documento de Idoneidad Técnica (DIT, DITE). Impactos económico, social y ambiental”,
Carmen Alonso Ruiz-Rivas (2015)“Façade energy retrofitting: methodological proposal for the
evaluation of innovative solutions, based on the diagnosis of social housing built between 1940 and 1980”,
Madrid.
INE, (2011). Census of population and housing. Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Madrid.
Introduction
Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) studies have repeatedly found that availability and
good use of internal environment controls by the user is key to better building performance
and improved user satisfaction (Raja et al., 2001; Bordass et al., 2007; Palmer et al., 2016a).
Numerous field studies of low energy homes and offices in a major UK government funded
BPE programme have demonstrated a general discrepancy between the modelled and
measured energy use observed in buildings and as high as a ten-fold variation in energy use
per m2 per annum; the poor reliability of modelling highlighted the role of user control over
internal environment: ‘buildings with poor control of space and water heating and/or
lighting often had high emissions’ (Palmer et al., 2016b). There is a clear link between
underperformance and controls which was further stressed in the summary report of this
programme: ‘Controls are a problem. There is a tendency to make controls for mechanical
and electrical services too complicated. This alienates occupants and can mean the building
defaults to high energy use.’ (Innovate UK, 2016b, p.4). Top-down efforts to disseminate
design intentions related to the use of environmental controls in a domestic context
(Munton et al., 2014) have meant their generic approach is not directly applicable. Home
handover tours and user guides are intended to deliver context specific information and
skills in relation to systems control and maintenance yet these fail in many cases (Stevenson
Conclusions
Several key findings result from this study of various evolutions of a UT tool in various
contexts. Firstly the architects’ involvement in the initial selection of control interfaces as
well as their location in a building is crucial. User guidance has to challenge the occupants
preconceptions about their internal environment controls, incorporating information about
the use of specific interfaces and the rationale for using them, showing how the interfaces
tie in with other elements of internal environment control. Cultural context always needs to
be considered and the UT adjusted accordingly when applying the tool in different case
studies. The assisted UT has the potential to become a vital learning point for building users.
All UT surveys reveal gaps in occupant training and provide guidance for improvement. The
Mexican application of the tool highlights the hierarchy of occupants concerns in relation to
their interaction with building controls that go beyond the usability and cover areas such as
security.
The UT version 1 was efficient in providing an expert driven overview of the usability
of controls as installed in a specific context. The method can be applied without involving
the users at any stage of occupancy or even before the handover. In a domestic context this
aspect is advantageous, given difficulty with access to inhabited dwellings for research
purposes. The major drawback of this method, however, is that it relies on expert
evaluation and its results cannot always be regarded as a proxy for occupants’ actual
perceptions. An expert projects their own experience and expectations towards the
evaluated controls. In some cases of evident design and usability flaws these may be quickly
picked up and ideally corrected before the user comes in. This builds a case for introducing
the UT 1 as a tool for the design and procurement team visiting a site during the
commissioning stage. However in less clear cut cases, expert evaluation may be different
from that of future occupants, and here the UT versions 2 and 3 maybe more helpful, with
pre-planning by the expert, followed by input directly from the occupants. Any tacit gap
between the expert expectations and user reality can then be identified and resolved.
Helping occupants to actually achieve satisfactory energy performance in their
buildings is beyond the scope of the UT survey. Future research into understanding the link
between the use of controls and subsequent energy performance could help to improve
energy efficiency per se and should be considered for future iterations of the survey.
References
Baborska-Narozny, M., Stevenson, F., Chatterton, P. (2017). Understanding Opportunities and Barriers
for Social Occupant Learning in Low Carbon Housing [in:] Littlewood J., Spataru C., Howlett R., Jain L. (eds)
Smart Energy Control Systems for Sustainable Buildings. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, Vol. 67.
Springer, Chams, 61-87.
Baborska-Narozny, M. and Stevenson, F. (2016). Mechanical ventilation in housing: understanding in-
use issues. Engineering Sustainability, 169(4): 125–137.
Baborska-Narozny, M., Stevenson, F. and Ziyad, F. (2016). User learning and practices in relation to
innovative technologies: a case study of domestic photovoltaic systems. Energy Research and Social Science,
13, 24-37 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2015.12.002
Introduction
The buildings, icons of Brazilian modernist architecture, chosen for this research were:
Conjunto Nacional (1963), designed by David Libeskind - Figure 1; The Italia building (1964),
designed by Franz Heep - Figure 2 - and the Copan building (1964), designed by Oscar
Niemeyer - Figure 3. These are examples of the application of design strategies with regard
to shape, building orientation, façade shading, openings for natural ventilation and natural
lighting. Also, the use of the structure and other constructive components such as thermal
mass for the control of internal temperatures, among other environmental characteristics
and purposes.
Brazilian architecture of this period, therefore, is also known as bioclimatic
architecture (CORBELLA and YANNAS, 2003), due to its climatic insertion characteristics. This
aims to control solar radiation, natural light, natural ventilation and temperature
fluctuations with the use of the inherent thermal mass, which is mainly the concrete
structure. Together, the three buildings selected as case studies of this research bring
Figure 1. Conjunto Nacional building
Ergonomics
The insertion of environmental comfort, the focus on ergonomics, the design and evaluation
of architectural projects and existing buildings, the questioning and the redefinition of an
"environmental comfort", which, despite its specificities, Influenced by values of
convenience, Adequacy, expressiveness, convenience and pleasure (VIRILIO, 1993). This
perception encompasses not only all its variables and interferences, but also several
behavioural factors, which were marked in four large structuring groups: social, cultural,
psychological, environmental and physical (SHMID, 2005).
One thing that can be criticized about this approach is it’s deepening and level of
details in terms of the physical factors instead of others. This occurs once the project is
usually restricted by aspects such as anthropometry and accessibility. The core of the
project, thought, is define Ergonomics role, not only as one of the areas of environmental
comfort, but also in its real part: design, structuring and evaluation of projects
Ergonomics come up in the after war period - 1972 - with the basic goal of improve
the factories working conditions at a time when large production and limitless physical
efforts were common. For a long time it were connected exclusively to dimensional,
anthropometric and, most recently, accessibility matters. Despite it, understanding work as
any man’s action in its environment brought the real state of ERGONOMICS.
Based on the assumption that Ergonomics in Architecture has man as object in space,
it can be defined as the study of the actions and the mutual influences between human
being and space through reciprocal interfaces. In this way, the contribution of ergonomics in
architecture is to propose relations and conditions of action and mobility, to define
proportions and to establish dimensions in specific conditions for natural and constructed
environments. It is based on environmental comfort, which presupposes the individual
perception of qualities, influenced by values of convenience, suitability, expressiveness,
comfort and pleasure.
Based on these assumptions, ergonomics, using its four structuring factors, supports
design actions that aim for comfort, and these are: the measurable and the non-measurable.
They are object of study of Ergonomics applied to Architecture and Urbanism.
In general, environmental comfort is not yet adequately addressed in most Brazilian
building projects. When assessing the urban context, the quality of spaces and the insertion
of these in the city, the situation are similar. In spite of this, the icons of Brazilian
Modernist Architecture
The Copan building (1964), in the downtown district, is currently composed of a two-volume
building complex, with a horizontal base for commercial use and a vertical tower with 32
floors for residential use. It was designed as a stretch of the city in order to constitute a
great urban equipment, since it concentrates a big diversity of equipments configuring a
"vertical city". The original design had humanistic characteristics with a well integrated
architectural set that consisted in a horizontal volume with commercial and services uses
and two blocks - a rectilinear, intended to be a hotel, and another curve, intended to be
residential. The design of the building aimed to articulate the building with the city so that
the sidewalk floor invaded the building as an extension of the city.
The variety of types of habitations along the curved block comprehends typologies
from smaller areas, the kitchenettes, to the larger ones, the apartments with 3 bedrooms. In
the original project there were 5 blocks A, B, C, D and E. The block A was planned to be for
kitchenettes with a long internal corridor, the block B, C and D were apartments with three
bedrooms, with differences between the areas. Blocks E and F, were the larger, with
apartments between 3 and 4 bedrooms.
The approved design had tremendous differences from the original design. Some
more significant changes were: the rectilinear block, initially thought to be a hotel, was
changed to be a Bradesco bank. Also, the apartments in block A were divided into two more
blocks one with two bedrooms and the other with kitchenettes.
In aspects of design and environmental comfort Copan was the first building to be
approved by the prefecture with internal sanitary and forced ventilation. This due to the
demand for small apartments created by the urban expansion and housing deficit. For solar
protection, the main façade of the building was designed with horizontal "brises soleil" (a
common type o shader element in the brazilian modernist architecture) with 1.45m wide
and spaced 1 meter apart. These brises had not only the function of shading but also, they
play a fundamental role in the formal characterization of the building. In addition, on the
back façade was used the hollow brick wall, cobogó, that shades and ventilates the
environments.
Another architectural complex of the period, in the city of São Paulo, was Conjunto
Nacional (1963), comprising the residential and commercial function in a single high tower,
over a horizontal base of commercial and public use, with a garden terrace between the
base and the tower (IACOCCA, 1998). The Conjunto Nacional architecture have the hollow
brick wall elements, cobogó, a narrow floor plan, a combination of opaque parts and glazed
parts on the main façades, solar protection for the blocking of solar radiation (brises soleil)
and the control of natural light . In addition, facing Avenida Paulista, the Conjunto Nacional
is oriented north and south, which favours the natural lighting of the building.
The project was thought to be an extension of the street, therefore, there are access
through the streets that border the building and the sidewalk floor get in the commercial
bloc. The Conjunto Nacional was designed for cellular offices and is occupied in this way
until today. It inaugurates the occupation of Avenida Paulista and it was the first one with
such dimensions. It is distinguished by its type of occupation and design in which the limits
of the block are the limits of the building itself. The original design has passed by major
changes. Initially, it was planned, a horizontal commercial bloc and a vertical bloc divided
Conclusion
The results obtained so far indicate that some buildings have experienced changes in
relation to the original plan that have compromised their adequate performance. The
analysis indicates that many of these modifications, in search of greater "functionality"
besides impairing the adequacy of the environmental variables, made also the dependence
of active strategies of thermal conditioning and lighting worsened the overall performance
of the buildings. Other buildings, which maintained the original design without major
alterations, are able to maintain today a higher environmental quality. Another point to be
analysed in relation to the performance of buildings is the interaction between the user's
behaviour in the ambience and the ergonomic suitability for offices and homes that are a
need to meet the best performance goals.
Figure 4. Examples of measurements made from Conjunto Nacional (external temperature, solar radiation,
internal temperature, internal illumination and external illumination)
Figure 6. Examples of simulation made for Copan building (red line - apartment with brise solei - and blue line -
apartment without brise solei - in the parameters of ASHRAE 2013)
References
Cambiaghi, S. (2004) Universal Design: Teaching Methods and Techniques in graduation of Architects
and Urbanists. Master Thesis - FAUUSP.
Iacocca, A. (1998) Conjunto Nacional Assembly: The Conquest of Paulista. São Paulo: Publisher
Peirópolis Foundation.
Montaner, J., Martínez, Z. (2006) To inhabit the Present. Housing in Spain: society, city, technology and
resources.
Andrade, C. (2007) The History of the Work Environment in Office Buildings: A Century of Transformations.
Andrade, C. (2005) Evaluation of performance in office buildings: the work environment as a means for
productive well-being. PhD Thesis.
Schmid, A. (2005) The idea of comfort: reflections on the built environment. Curitiba: Environmental Pact.
ABNT. NBR 9050: 2004: Accessibility to buildings, furniture, equipment Urban Rio de Janeiro, 2004. 97 p.
Johnson, S. (2001) Culture of the interface: how the computer transforms our way of creating and
communicating. Rio de Janeiro.
Panero, J., Zelnik, M. (2006) Human Dimensioning for Interior Spaces.
Roman, E. (2003) Business space management methodologies: New guidelines for the design of work
environments.
Sader, A. (2003) Office space: new looks about concepts and Forms. Monograph.
Barbosa, A. (2007) The Importance of Studying Functions and Activities in the Design and dimensioning
of housing. Thesis for graduation, FAU-USP.
How user practice and habits impact the energy consumption in nearly zero
energy youth housing in Denmark
Anne Kirkegaard Bejder1, Mary-Ann Knudstrup1 and Camilla Brunsgaard1
1
Aalborg University, Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg,
Denmark. Correspondence email: akbe@create.aau.dk
Abstract: Several projects constructed during the last years demonstrate that it is possible to design buildings
which can be defined as “zero-energy buildings”. However, research show that it can be difficult to meet the
expected low energy consumption. Studies suggest that one of the reasons for this is that occupants’
behaviour and lifestyle strongly influence the final energy consumption. This paper presents a preliminary
study of a larger research project that studies the relation between energy use and user practice and habits as
well as the users’ expectations to and experiences of living in a newly built nearly zero-energy youth housing
complex in Denmark. The objective of this study is to examine to what extend user practice and habits
influence the energy consumption and on that basis to identify representative user characteristics within this
specific user group. Methodologically this is done through a case study where data on measured energy
consumption for space heating is juxtaposed with the results of a questionnaire survey. The study indicates
that variations in heat consumption across the apartments are not primarily related to apartment type,
orientation or floor, but rather related to the inhabitants’ use of their apartment.
Keywords: sustainable architecture, inhabitants’ daily practice, youth housing
Introduction
Although it is still not common practice, several projects built during the last years
demonstrate that it is possible to design buildings which can be defined as “zero energy
buildings”. However, research shows that low-energy buildings do not always live up to the
expectations, among others due to discrepancies between the expected (calculated) energy
need and the actual (measured) energy use after commissioning (Larsen & Brunsgaard
2010). Studies suggest that one of the reasons for this is that occupant behaviour strongly
influences the energy consumption of buildings (Gram-Hanssen, 2010, 2013 & 2014,
Steemers & Yun, 2009). Therefore, as accounted for by Gram-Hanssen (2013), there has
been an emerging interest in documenting the importance of user behaviour on buildings’
energy consumption, also within more technical oriented research. In a study performed by
Steemers and Yun (2009) it is clarified that the second most important parameters that
determines energy use relates to occupant behavior, especially related to the choices made
about heating and cooling systems and the control of these. Stemmers & Yun conclude:
“The central role of occupant and behavioural aspects is evident and is essential for
understanding, evaluating or predicting building energy use” (Steemers & Yun, 2009, p. 635).
Furthermore, studies suggest that there is a trend towards that people adapt their comfort
to the type of housing they live in, i.e. in old houses one typically put on a sweater and
slippers in wintertime, whereas one who lives in new low energy houses wears a T-shirt all
Figure 1. Heat consumption of the 99 apartments, classified in intervals of 500. Not adjusted for degree days.
In 2014 45% and in 2015 48% of the apartments had yearly energy consumption for space
heating between 0-500 kWh. 45% and 43%, respectively, had yearly energy consumption
between 501-2000 kWh and well over 9% and 8% of the apartments had a consumption
between 2001-3500 kWh which is minimum 4 times higher than almost half of the
Conclusion
The objective of this study has been twofold; to examine to what extend user practice and
habits influence the energy consumption for space heating in a newly built zero-energy
youth housing complex in Denmark; and to identify representative user characteristics
within this specific user group. On the basis of an analysis where measured data on heat
consumptions is juxtaposed with drawings of the building and results from a questionnaire,
it is found that the variation in heat consumption across the apartments are not primarily
related to apartment type, orientation or floor, but rather related to the inhabitants use of
their apartment as well as user practices in regard to thermal comfort.
It is not possible to draw absolute conclusions on the profile of the user group, on the
basis of the data presented here. However, the study indicates some general characteristics
of this particular user group and some general tendencies in their practices related to
ensuring comfort as well as some indications of how this seem to impact the energy
consumption. A general characteristic of the group is their appreciation of the right location.
This is of far more importance than the energy standard of the building, when they choose
where to live. The majority spends relatively much time in their apartment, and consider
themselves to be generally concerned about saving energy.
The study identifies two sub groups in the otherwise homogeneous group, and these
show two different tendencies. The majority of the user group appears to have general
interest in energy-saving aspects and energy-conscious practices as regards ensuring
thermal comfort which do not result in high space heating consumptions. This sub group,
therefore, do not seem to follow the trend that the expected energy savings in low energy
houses are absorbed in increased comfort. To the other sub group, on the other hand,
energy-related aspects seem relatively unimportant. The study shows that this smaller
group seems to have practices in regard to ensuring thermal comfort which may result in
unexpected high heat consumption. Hence, this sub group might be an example of the trend
of increased comfort expectations in low energy buildings. Whether this approach and
practice is caused by lack of knowledge or lack of interest, is, however, unclear. Although
the majority of the group has very low heat consumption, the study concludes that there is
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the housing association Ringgården and respondents of the
survey.
References
Bryman, A. (2012) Social research methods. Oxford University Press.
Bygningsreglementet.dk (2017), Danish Building Regulation 2015 [online] Available at:
http://bygningsreglementet.dk/english/0/40 [Accessed 28.03.2017]
Gram-Hanssen, K. (2010) Residential heat comfort practices: understanding users. Building Research &
Information, 38(2), pp. 175–186.
Gram-Hanssen, K. (2013) Efficient technologies or user behaviour, which is the more important when
reducing households' energy consumption? Energy Efficiency, vol 6, nr. 3, pp. 447-457.
Gram-Hanssen, K. (2014) New needs for better understanding of household's energy consumption:
Behaviour, lifestyle or practices? Architectural Engineering and Design Management, vol 10, nr. 1-2, pp. 91-
107.
Gram-Hanssen, K. (2015) Hverdag i det topisolerede hus. Råstof, no. Sommer 2015, pp. 11-13.
Jensen, R.L., Nørgaard, J., Daniels, O. & Justesen, R.O., (2011) Resultater: bygningsintegreret
energiforsyning. Aalborg Universitet. Institut for Byggeri og Anlæg, Aalborg. DCE Technical Reports, nr. 7
Larsen, T.S. & Brunsgaard, C. (2010) Komforthusene: udvikling af passivhuskonceptet i en dansk
kontekst. In: T.S. Larsen & S. Pedersen (red), Towards 2020 - Sustainable Cities and Buildings: 3rd Nordic
Passive House Conference 2010. Aalborg, Aalborg Universitetsforlag.
Steemers, K. & Yun, G. Y. (2009) Household energy consumption: a study of the role of occupants.
Building Research & Information, 37:5-6, pp. 625-637
SurveyMonkey (2017) [online] Available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/ [Accessed 17.04.2017]
Teknologisk.dk (2017). Teknologisk Instituts graddage 2015 [online] Available at:
https://www.teknologisk.dk/ydelser/der-er-udsigt-til-lidt-hoejere-udgifter-til-opvarmning-for-
2015/36720?cms.query=graddage+2015 [Accessed 14.04.2017]
rd
Yin, R.K. (2003) Case study research : design and methods. 3 edition, USA, Sage Publications, INC.
Introduction
Improving energy efficiency in buildings requires performance benchmarking. Benchmarks
can be used to rate and evaluate energy performance, to identify improvement potential or
to track performance through time. A benchmark performance level can be based on top-
down methodologies including statistical evaluations of building stocks or bottom-up models
developed through building physics (Burman et al. 2013; Hong et al. 2013; Borgstein et al.
2016). Current work in performance benchmarking aims to reconcile the difference between
these types of models to produce building performance evaluations where physical
characteristics can be used to interpret statistical performance data.
For the purposes of energy performance evaluations, the factors affecting energy
consumption in buildings can generally be separated into:
- External factors – principally climate but also local factors such as shading;
- Building efficiency – including both the envelope and the building systems;
Methodology
Building data
Simple building information, such as energy bills, typology and floor area, are often used to
carry out simple benchmarking exercises or performance evaluations in homogenous building
typologies (Borgstein & Lamberts 2014). However, this simplified information does not
provide enough detail to be able to carry out effective performance analyses comparing
mixed-mode and fully conditioned buildings.
For this evaluation, detailed building information have been collected on 32 commercial
buildings in Brazil. These were primarily office buildings, distributed in 14 cities across the
country. Each building was subjected to a full energy audit, following ASHRAE Procedures,
levels one or two (ASHRAE 2011). The principal building systems and envelope were
catalogued and evaluated, a full end-use breakdown was estimated using CIBSE's TM22
methodology (CIBSE 2006) and energy saving measures were listed. Each of the buildings
exhibits unique characteristics related to its occupation, systems and operations. Data
collection is difficult and requires repeated site visits. Several different definitions of area are
used and often these are not clearly defined. Occupancy rates vary significantly throughout
the year and record-keeping is not always accurate. Often building managers supplied
incomplete or erroneous information, requiring detailed investigation and checking.
Levels of service provision
The buildings evaluated have different levels of operational and systems efficiency. Several
buildings do not meet full requirements for occupant satisfaction, either through
underperforming air conditioning systems or low lighting levels. There were also major
CDHs can be easily calculated for both the weather years used for simulation in Brazil,
and the real recent weather conditions in selected cities. In order to use them for
performance evaluations, they are calculated and tabulated on a monthly basis.
In general, the term climate normalisation or climate correction is used for comparing
energy consumption by buildings in different climatic regions (spatial adjustment), while
weather normalisation is used to compare building performance over time in the same region
(time adjustment). As described in Table 1 and illustrated in Figure 1, there is a significant
difference between the historical weather data provided for some major cities in Brazil, and
the actual recent climatic conditions. Although some months are colder than historical data
would indicate, the greatest differences appear to be in peak temperatures during hot
months. This is likely to be due to a combination of climate change and urban heat islands,
leading to more intense climatic events such as heat-waves in the summer. This would seem
to clearly indicate the importance of using weather normalisation for building performance
evaluation, especially when monthly data are considered. The three-year average CDH is close
to the INMET level for Brasília and Belo Horizonte (within 10%), but is 43% and 67% above the
INMET level for Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo respectively.
Table 1 – Monthly means of cooling degree hours in selected Brazilian cities
Mean monthly CDH Rio de Janeiro São Paulo Belo Horizonte Brasília
2014-2016 (3 years) 2427 980 1355 1097
INMET 1694 588 1228 1152
Figure 1. Comparisons of cooling degree hours calculated from historical weather data (INMET) and measured
temperature for recent years
In order to carry out evaluations of energy performance related to weather in different
building types, it was necessary to clean the data. Firstly, monthly energy consumption was
calculated and normalised by the useful floor area. The major end-uses which are not classed
as normal building services for offices (usually data centres) were subtracted from total
energy consumption, using the mean annual percentage of the energy consumed by these
systems. A correction factor was applied for the number of working days per month, to
account for some months containing more weekends and national public holidays. Finally,
buildings which could not be classified as principally office spaces were removed from the
dataset.
The building HVAC systems were described and their primary cooling technology
tabulated. In larger buildings, centralised HVAC systems are used to condition a whole
building and are generally chilled water systems, although some may be variable refrigerant
flow (VRF). Generally, in buildings with centralised systems over 80% of the area is
conditioned (stairwells and corridors are usually not conditioned) and these buildings almost
always have central control and operation. Distributed HVAC systems nearly always use direct
expansion (DX) units, primarily split air conditioners. They may be fully conditioned or may
only have air conditioning installed in a small proportion of the building, but the air
conditioning is operated locally and does not have a central control system. Separately, the
buildings were evaluated according to their window operation. By noting whether the
majority of windows were operable, the number of windows open during the visits and the
use of windows cited in interviews with building managers, buildings were classified as having
fixed or operable windows.
With few exceptions, smaller buildings had operable windows and distributed HVAC
systems and were considered Mixed-Mode (MM), while larger buildings had fixed windows
Results
The energy consumption for the 32 buildings in the dataset was broken down five end-use
groups: HVAC, lighting, plug loads, data centres and other. The division of the energy
consumption according to these categories is shown in Figure 2 for the MM buildings in the
dataset (14 buildings) and in Figure 3 for the AC buildings (18 buildings). This data is not
normalised for occupancy density or for climate, but it is clear that AC buildings generally
have a larger consumption for HVAC, while data centres can cause significant distortions of
the results.
The energy disaggregation provided for the buildings during the energy audits is based
on estimated or calculated data, generally using a few spot measurements to calibrate
estimates. As such, the end-use data was not deemed accurate enough to separate cooling
energy consumption for an isolated analysis. Instead, the removal of major distortions from
data centres and non-standard energy uses left a more uniform basis for comparison, based
on standard building services (cooling, ventilation, heating, plug loads, lighting, elevators and
UPS systems). Although no correction was made for occupant density, the vacancy rates were
considered in the calculation (consumption was normalised by occupied area), and
operational hours were found to be similar in all the buildings.
500
Energy consumption breakdown by end-use for MM buildings
consumption (kWh/m²/year)
Typical annual energy
400
300
200
100
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 29
HVAC Lighting Plug loads
Building ID Data centres Other
Figure 2. Energy consumption in five major end-use categories, calculated for mixed-mode buildings
500
Energy consumption breakdown by end-use for AC buildings
Typical annual energy consumption
400
(kWh/m²/year)
300
200
100
0
7 11 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 32
Building ID
HVAC Lighting Plug loads Data centres Other
Figure 3. Energy consumption in five major end-use categories, calculated for fully conditioned buildings
25
20
15
MM
10
AC
5
0
- 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
Monthly Cooling Degree Hours, base 22°C
Figure 4. Energy consumption versus CDH in mixed-mode and fully conditioned buildings (30 buildings, data
centre energy consumption excluded)
Energy consumption and cooling degree hours:
18 MM buildings with more than 50% of the area conditioned
Monthly energy consumption (kWh/m²)
16
14
12
10 y = 0.0013x + 6.1363
8 R² = 0.3519
-
- 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 5,000
Monthly Cooling Degree Hours (CDH), base 22°C
Figure 5 - Energy consumption versus temperature for mixed-mode (MM) buildings in which the majority of
the area is conditioned (8 buildings, data centre energy consumption excluded)
Discussion
Although some AC buildings show performance levels equivalent to MM buildings, most have
higher energy consumption. Excluding data centres, the mean annual energy consumption of
MM buildings was 124 kWh/m²/year and only three of the 18 AC buildings had energy
consumption below this level; the mean for MM buildings was 188 kWh/m²/year. As AC
buildings tend to have more complex systems, with efficient chillers or VRF units, they might
be expected to demonstrate better levels of efficiency at higher temperatures, where their
systems would be fully utilised. Following this logic, MM buildings would have higher energy
consumption at high temperatures due to their low efficiency, while external temperatures
would be too high to allow windows to be opened. However, this is not demonstrated in the
results, which instead show that the energy consumption of AC buildings increases with
temperature at a faster rate than that of MM buildings. Reasons are likely to involve poor
operational practice, lack of design optimisation, higher internal loads and some levels of
discomfort at high temperatures in MM buildings.
Acknowledgements
This work was led by the Brazilian Sustainable Construction Council (CBCS) and was carried
out under UNDP Project BRA/09/G31, coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment,
implemented by the UNDP and financed by GEF.
List of abbreviations
CDH – Cooling Degree Hours, considering dry-bulb temperatures with base 22°C unless otherwise specified
MM – Mixed-mode building, which can operate using air conditioning and/or operable windows
AC – Air conditioned building, does not typically operate opening windows in the majority of the usable area
NV – Naturally ventilated building, which has little or no air conditioning.
INMET – Brazilian Institute for Metrology, which publishes weather data from across the country.
DX – Direct expansion air conditioning system (typically includes split and window systems)
UPS – Uninterruptible Power Supply
References
ANSI/ASHRAE, 2013. Standard 55-2013 - Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy
ASHRAE, 2011. Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Energy Audits
Borgstein, E.H. & Lamberts, R., 2014. Developing energy consumption benchmarks for buildings: Bank
branches in Brazil. Energy and Buildings, 82, pp.82–91.
Borgstein, E.H., Lamberts, R. & Hensen, J.L.M., 2016. Evaluating energy performance in non-domestic
buildings: A review. Energy and Buildings, 128, pp.734-755.
Burman, E. et al., 2013. A comparative study of benchmarking approaches for non-domestic buildings:
Part 2 - Bottom-up approach. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 2(2), pp.119–130.
CIBSE (2017) Designing for Extreme Environments: Tropical, Chartered Institute of Building Services
Engineers.
CIBSE, 2006. TM22 : Energy assessment and reporting method,
Hong, S.-M. et al., 2013. A comparative study of benchmarking approaches for non-domestic buildings:
Part 1 – Top-down approach. International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 2(2), pp.119–130.
LABEEE, Weather data for EnergyPlus simulations, www.labeee.ufsc.br (accessed 04/04/2017)
Rackes, A., Melo, A.P. & Lamberts, R., 2016. Naturally comfortable and sustainable: Informed design
guidance and performance labeling for passive commercial buildings in hot climates. Applied Energy, 174,
pp.256–274.
Introduction
Sustained sitting has colloquially been termed ‘the new smoking’ and with millions of
people spending most of their time at work, there is plenty of evidence indicating the
workplace as central to public health. A large-scale study focusing on contemporary
workspace in the UK has found that office workers demonstrated high levels of sitting
during the working week (approximate 10.6 hours per day) (Smith et al 2015). Recent
Australian research has linked excessive sitting to an increased risk of chronic disease-
related morbidity and mortality (Thorp et al 2011). Awareness about the benefits of moving
more and sitting less during the day can be exemplified by the 10,000 steps/day campaigns
and trend in use growing popularity of sit-stand desks.
Activity Based Working (ABW) includes changes on organizations’ culture and space
configuration and it is based on two key points: (i) non-individual territoriality, and (ii) a
Methodology
A total of 89 office workers from the same organization were relocated from a combi office
into an Activity-Based Working setting. All workers were invited to participate on the pre
and post POE surveys and a subset of 20 volunteered to contribute to the physical activity
monitoring. The post survey was conducted six months after relocation to the new premise.
The old fit-out featured two open-plan offices with a combi typology. Occupants
worked from the same workstation and used shared facilities, including meeting rooms of
various sizes. The new ABW fit-out adopts active design principles and introduced spaces for
breaks and more zones allocated for supporting collaboration and concentration. Physical
environments are flexible and workers’ mobility is enabled by technology. The new office
also features a multi-purpose space designed to support a variety of activities, including
mindfulness sessions, events, collaboration and breaks. All workstations are sit/stand and
workers are required to work from different locations every day. Clean desk policy, lockers,
end of trip facilities and portable keyboards were also implemented. There was a strong
engagement process before and after relocation. All buildings surveyed have air-
conditioning system and fit-outs are relatively new or had some sort of refurbishment done
less than 5 years before the study was conducted. Personal control systems are non-existing.
Table 1 shows demographic data for surveyed buildings.
The study presented here used the Building Occupants Survey System Australia
(BOSSA) Time-Lapse questionnaire for the purposes of pre and post surveys. BOSSA is an IEQ
assessment system for office buildings. Details about the project and methodology can be
found on Candido et al (2016). The BOSSA Time-Lapse questionnaire includes background
Results
Results from Figure 1 indicate that building occupants reported higher satisfaction on
Indoor Environmental Quality conditions of the new workspace. Mean score results from
the BOSSA Time-Lapse survey on thermal comfort (summer and winter), acoustics
(interruptions, sound privacy and overall noise), Indoor Air Quality, lighting/access to
daylight and the degree of freedom to adapt their work area were significantly higher on
ABW configuration. These results were consistent to findings from comparative analysis
conducted on the entire BOSSA database (Candido et al, 2016, 2017) and differ from
previous findings from De Been and Beijer (2014).
Figure 2. Break down of BOSSA Time-Lapse survey results on Spatial Comfort module’s questions.
Figure 3. Step-count distribution before and after relocation.
BOSSA POE results after relocation also indicate that office workers’ satisfaction were
significantly higher than pre-evaluation surveys on overall comfort, overall building,
perceived productivity and health questions. Figure 4 depicts these results. These findings
agree with previous studies - employees in ABW environments reported better health than
employees in combi offices (Vischer, 2005; Bodin, Danielsson and Bodin, 2008).
Conclusions
This paper presented case study results from Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) and step
count monitoring from office workers relocated from a contemporary open-plan office
setting (pre evaluation) into an ABW layout (post-evaluation). After moving to an ABW
layout occupants were slightly more active than before and a significant reduction in
sedentary time was also observed. Post-occupancy results also indicated a significant
increase on perceived productivity and consistent improvements on occupants’ satisfaction
on all IEQ variables. Although limited, these preliminary results suggest that active
workspace design may have a positive impact on workers’ physical activity, perceived
productivity and satisfaction and should therefore be more investigated. These results may
serve as an indicator to designers, tenants and buildings owners about ABW settings while
at the same time contributing to a knowledge gap observed in academia in Australia.
Acknowledgments
Authors would like to express their gratitude to all organizations, and building occupants in
particular, for dedicating their time to participate in this study. Special thanks to Cachet
Group and WT Partnership for supporting field experiments.
This research was supported by BOSSA-industry grants (G192516, G192638,
G191320, G191146, G191140, G190789, G190774, G183216, G182162, G182161, G181426,
and G181428).
References
Active Design Guidelines. (2010) NYC. http://centerforactivedesign.org/guidelines/
Bodin Danielsson, C., & Bodin, L. (2008). Office type in relation to health, well-being, and job
satisfaction among employees. Environment and Behavior, 40(5), pp. 636-668.
Candido, C. M., Kim, J., de Dear, R., Thomas, L. (2016). BOSSA: A multidimensional Post-Occupancy
Evaluation tool. Building Research and Information (Print). v.44(2), p. 214-228.
Candido, C., Zhang, F., Kim, J., de Dear, R., Thomas, L., Joko, C., Strapasson, P. (2016). Impact of
workspace layout on occupant satisfaction, perceived health and productivity. In: Proceedings of 9th Windsor
Conference: Making Comfort Relevant. Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK, 7-10 April 2016.
Introduction
Recently, there was an increase on the number of organizations joining the New Ways of
Working (NWoW) trend in the Australian property market. Organizations are willing to pay
premium for office premises specifically designed to accommodate Activity-Based Working
(ABW). A polarizing topic in industry, ABW is a way of working that requires building
occupants to move and work from different areas of the office, depending on the nature of
the task – work is essentially understood as an activity and as such, it should not be
confined to a place. As a result, the physical environment supporting ABW features a variety
Methodology
All ten workspaces are located within green certified buildings in Australia. They are of
similar age, fully air-conditioned by a VAV system and hold an energy certification. The size
of the floor plan ranged from 1,291 to 65,664m2. Table 1 shows basic information about
buildings included during the IEQ monitoring period.
Floor plans analyses show that contemporary open-plan premises presented a layout
typology of an ABW or combi office (De Been and Beijer, 2014). All six combi offices present
a mix of open and enclosed spaces of various sizes plus meeting rooms and shared facilities.
Workers are assigned to a desk and they work from the same location. All four Activity-
Based Working offices present a variety of spaces designed to support workers during they
day, including zones purposely assigned for formal and informal meetings, collaboration,
concentration, phone calls, relaxation, etc. In Australia, ABW spaces may or may not remove
Figure 1. The BOSSA Nova IEQ cart.
All measurements were taken from the occupied zone, near a workstation (0.50m
radius from office worker) and during occupied hours (9am to 6pm). Horizontal lux readings
were taken from the workstation. Building occupants were allowed to develop their normal
where and refer to the mean value for two groups, N1 and N2 refer to the
sample size of two groups.
Cohen suggested that d=0.2 be considered a small effect size, 0.5 represents a
medium effect size and 0.8 a large effect size (Cohen, 1988, 1992). This means that if two
groups' means do not differ by 0.2 standard deviations or more, the difference is trivial,
even if it is statistically significant (Statistics for Psychology, accessed on 07-01-2017). The
authors explain that a medium or large size effect is of more practical meaning in the real
world than the small size one. All the statistical analysis was conducted in IBM SPSS, Version
22.
Results
Results from independent t-tests are depicted on Table 2 and Figures 1 to 4 below sumarise
results for operative temperature, air speed, relative humidity and illuminance. The mean
air temperature values recorded in ABW and combi offices were almost the same (22.7 °C
and 22.0 °C, respectively), however t-tests of all data indicate a small-size effect. All
workspaces investigated here are fully air-conditioned and buildings are less than 10 years
old so the type and air of base building HVAC is comparable. The range of air temperature
values measured during field studies were consistent with those expected in air-conditioned
buildings in Australia, where a narrow temperature set point is widely used.
As depicted on Table 1, analysis of the IEQ monitored data indicate that the mean
radiant temperature was significantly lower in ABW settings than in open-plan offices,
representing a medium-sized effect. Relative humidity was also significantly lower in ABW
offices, representing a medium-sized effect. Higher illuminance was observed in ABW
settings, representing a medium-sized effect.
Figure 2. Operative temperature. Figure 3. Air speed.
Figure 4. Relative humidity. Figure 5. Illuminance.
In addition, these spaces also present more access to daylight due to the use of
atriums as an architectural feature. In the ABW offices investigated here, a considerable
amount of workstations in the ‘interior’ zone of the building are located near an atrium and
these locations were sampled. In addition, there are workstations near the exterior façade
of the building and these locations in ABW offices may be popular with occupants, especially
if there is a view. Again, these sampling points were included during the IEQ monitoring
presented here (please see Figure 5).
The activity-based mode of working may encourage building occupants to work from
spaces that are more suited to their own individual preferences, including those relevant to
IEQ, namely, thermal, lighting and acoustic conditions. In practical terms, if the potential to
create microclimates is combined with mobility, workers may be able to select, from the
space-menu available to them in ABW workspaces, zones there are less/more noisy,
hot/colder, with more/less light, etc. This flexibility may help compensating for the lack of
personal control systems and adaptive opportunities commonly observed in air-conditioned,
open plan offices and in turn increase workers’ satisfaction.
Acknowledgment
Authors would like to express their gratitude to all organizations, and building occupants in
particular, for dedicating their time to participate in this study. Author would like to thank
Dr Renata De Vechi, Ms Paula Strapasson and Ms Helena Trevi assistance during field
experiments.
This research was supported by BOSSA-industry grants (G192516, G192638, G191320,
G191146, G191140, G190789, G190774, G183216, G182162, G182161, G181426, and
G181428).
References
Active Design Guidelines. (2010) NYC. http://centerforactivedesign.org/guidelines/
Appel-Meulenbroek, R., Oldman, T. and Susante, P. van. (2016). How employees value the support of
activity based and traditional work environment. In: Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress, v. 4, p.
296–304.
Brunia, S., De Been, I., Voordt, T. J. M. van der. (2016). Accommodating new ways of working: lessons
from best practices and worst cases. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, v.18 (1), 30–47.
Candido, C. M., Kim, J., de Dear, R., Thomas, L. (2016). BOSSA: A multidimensional Post-Occupancy
Evaluation tool. Building Research and Information (Print). v.44(2), p. 214-228.
Candido, C., Zhang, F., Kim, J., de Dear, R., Thomas, L., Joko, C., Strapasson, P. (2016). Impact of
workspace layout on occupant satisfaction, perceived health and productivity. In: Proceedings of 9th Windsor
Conference: Making Comfort Relevant. Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK, 7-10 April 2016.
Candido, C. and Zhang, F. (2017). Workers’ satisfaction in contemporary open-plan offices: a case-study
comparison in Australian premium workspaces. In: 24th Conference of the European Real Estate Society, June
28 - July 1, 2017, Delft.
De Been, I. and Beijer, M. (2014). The influence of office type on satisfaction and perceived productivity
support, Journal of Facilities Management, v. 12 (2) p. 142-157.
De Croon, E., Sluiter, J., Kuijer, P.P. and Frings-Dresen, M. (2005). The effect of office concepts on
worker health and performance: a systematic review of the literature, Ergonomics, v. 48 (2), p. 119-134.
De Paoli, D., Arge, K., Blakstad, S.H. (2013). Creating business value with open space ABW offices,
Journal of Corporate Real Estate, v. 15 (3-4) p. 181-193.
Introduction
The Assembly Rooms, originally opened in 1787, is a multi-purpose events space housed in a
historic building in the centre of Edinburgh. Along with many public buildings in the UK there
are ongoing pressures to reduce energy use. Enhance is a digital innovation project which is
taking the form of a Living Lab in the Assembly Rooms aimed at raising awareness of and
reducing energy demand. Building users are involved in understanding energy use relating to
everyday activities in the building, developing ways of seeing energy use in an accessible
digital form and designing approaches using the digital data to avoid wasteful energy
practices.
The wider context of the project is threefold: as a public building it is required to
contribute to reduce carbon emissions of 80% by 2050 (DECC 2014); as a historic building it
has constraints that impact on energy use; and as a cultural venue it has a varied client body
with distinct energy requirements. Each of these contexts influences energy use in the
Assembly Rooms, which is owned and operated by the city council. As part of a public sector
estate, it is governed by the policies and regulatory framework of the wider organisation,
while simultaneously operating as business in its own right. The historic status of the building
limits the fabric interventions that can be done to improve energy efficiency. For example,
the historically important chandeliers, each comprising hundreds of bulbs, currently have
Methodology
Living lab research engages people within their everyday settings to identify opportunities
and solutions through processes of exploration and co-design. The approach encompasses
five key principles:
1. Continuity: conducting the research over a continuous and lengthy period enables
close and trustworthy partnerships to be established.
2. Openness: incorporating different viewpoints and contributions from various
stakeholders leads to an inclusive and open-minded approach.
3. Realism: the research takes place in real-world settings, facilitating close
collaboration, in-depth understanding, and ecological validity.
4. Empowerment: stakeholders are given active roles in shaping the course of the
research and defining its outcomes.
5. Spontaneity: the approach affords the flexibility to respond and adjust to
unforeseen changes in circumstances.
These principles are essential in building trust with the participants. Based of work by Pierson
& Lievens (2005), Kareborn & Stahlbrost (2009) and Baedeker et al. (2014), three phases of
the Living Lab are used to provide a framework for an extended period of engaging with the
building users. Each phase is designed to contribute to the overall aim of the evolutionary
nature of the research. The first phase lays the foundations for the living lab, establishing its
context and conducting insight research to build relationships and investigate the existing
status-quo with respect to the topic of interest. The second phase involves the co-design and
deployment of an intervention (technology or service), based upon the challenges and
opportunities identified in phase one. During the third phase, feedback and data are collected
and analysed to assess the adoption and impacts of the intervention. The latter two phases
of this framework can be iterated to provide an ongoing process of evaluation and re-design.
The Enhance Living Lab is currently entering its second phase. The following paragraphs
provide details on some of the exiting methods that have been employed, as well as plans for
the co-design and deployment phase.
Phase 1: Contextualisation and Insight Research
The selection of the Assembly Rooms as a site for the Enhance Living Lab was the result of
early meetings with senior managers in the city council and a consideration of the project
from the context of a large organisation. Over a period of three months the concept of
(a) (b)
Figure 1. a) Staff the Assembly Rooms attend an initial workshop. b) A map of pathways of influence and
control between people and heating/insulation.
These workshops succeeded in revealing inter-related threads that create a holistic
view of the complexities of building users’ relationships to energy use. To supplement the
predominantly qualitative nature of the workshops, quantitative data relating to energy use
in the Assembly Rooms were captured. Existing data on electricity and gas metering for the
whole building was provided by the council. In addition custom data was recorded from the
existing control systems to accurately monitor lighting and building management system
(BMS) parameters for the purpose of the project. This data collection serves several functions:
a) it allows baseline energy usage to be captured prior to the deployment of an intervention;
b) it provides a potential source of raw data to feed into an energy feedback intervention; c)
when visualised, it can be used to stimulate discussion and realisations about energy use.
Regarding the latter point, visualisations of lighting and electricity use were created and
(a) (b)
Figure 2. Data visualisations of a) lighting use according to time and location; and b) hourly electricity use.
Emerging Findings
The Building within the Public Sector Estate
Figure 3 shows the position of the building organisation relative to the broad organisational
structure of the council. The Assembly Rooms, while operating as an independent venue, has
formal and informal influence on energy use and sustainability from the wider council agenda,
policies and systems. The opening phase of the Living Lab, working with the senior managers
in the council, provided the dual purpose of both identifying the building to work in and
understanding the wider organisation, from management to building users. Although the
council has a commitment to reduce carbon emissions in its building stock by 80% of the 1990
rate by 2050, this specific responsibility is not associated with any senior role within the
council, or within the individual building level organisation.
From an organisational level, targets to reduce energy use translated into ‘hard’
infrastructure changes. The Energy department worked closely with the building
management to install appropriate energy control systems (lighting and heating/ventilation)
where technologies and venue requirements permitted. Therefore, at senior management
level it was perceived that they had a large influence on energy use in the buildings. Across
many council buildings EMS installation facilitates control of energy systems, however these
systems were not found to be used for energy monitoring and feedback purposes to any great
extent or granularity. Thus, full advantage was not taken of these tools for data monitoring
and identification of possible opportunities to further reduce energy demand in buildings. The
lack of utilisation and cohesive storing of energy data also posed a difficulty for senior
management in the ability to clearly assess and evaluate gains and improvements in energy
use across the estate. Installation of the ‘hard’ EMS systems (lighting and heating/ventilation)
in the Assembly Rooms were not designed to have a reciprocal relationship with the ‘soft’
social structures and the complex relationships between people and energy. This has been
shown to have an impact on the gap between expected energy use and actual building
performance occur (Gaetani 2016).
Facilities manager
Energy suppliers
Performers
Events managers
Cleaners
Government
Promoters
Operational staff
Production staff
Catering
Managers
Reception staff
Bar staff
Council
Security
Office staff
Contractors
Figure 4. People perceived to have control or influence over energy use
Conclusions
Energy use is correlated closely to the activities taking place in the building. Large events can
be mapped against big increases in energy use. While this can be expected, the challenge for
the Assembly Room teams is to manage the need for energy use for the core business activity
of the venue, while working within a public organisation with a commitment to reducing
energy. Finding ways of providing a socio-technical system that is responsive to energy
demand in harmony comfort and enjoyment for the activities taking place is vital for a
successful integration of energy use into the everyday life of the building.
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Kurt Emil Eriksen1, Peter Foldbjerg2, Thorbjørn Færing Asmussen3, Jens Christoffersen4
1
Head of Policy Workgroup, Active House Alliance, kurt.emil.eriksen@activehouse.info
2
Senior manager, Daylight, Energy and Indoor Climate, the VELUX Group
3
Indoor Climate Engineer, the VELUX Group
4
Senior Researcher, the VELUX Group
Abstract: A study on eight demonstration project that include six single-family homes, a school and a
kindergarten, shows that the indoor climate can be optimized in energy efficient buildings that meet the Nearly
Zero Energy demand. The buildings evaluated is a part of the VELUX model home 2020 program and it follows
the Active House principles and are evaluated on the parameters Comfort, Energy and Environment. The eight
buildings are optimized to meet a nZEB level and are thereby highly energy efficient. They use where possible
passive solutions like solar energy, daylight, natural ventilation, shading and ventilative cooling.
Solutions that optimize the performance of the building without use of energy. The paper discusses the
challenges, the experience and the need for update of legislation and compliance tools in seven key points.
Keywords: Model Home 2020, Active House, Comfort, Daylight, Natural ventilation
Introduction
The existing legislation on energy efficiency of buildings like the European Directive on
Energy Performance of Buildings sets requirement to develop Nearly Zero Energy buildings.
Unfortunately such legislation do not take into consideration the indoor comfort levels
of buildings and do not set requirement to topics like minimum daylight conditions, indoor
air quality, topics that are important for users of the building. Having in mind that people
use energy in buildings in order to create a good indoor comfort level, such energy
requirement should always be followed by indoor climate requirement.
An example is that the daylight conditions in buildings is reduced due to smaller
windows with thicker glass, or thermal comfort in summer period is to hot due to lack of
ventilation. In order to balance the above to the human needs, energy for artificial light or
cooling is requires. The question is if there are solutions that can optimize the energy
efficiency of the building and create a good indoor comfort level with minimum use of energy.
The answer is yes.
Fig 1: The eight evaluated projects
The survey comprises six single-family homes, an elementary school and a kindergarten.
Five of the six detached family homes are part of the VELUX Model Home 2020, a full-scale
European development project, aimed to showcase sustainable buildings in a 2020 concept
equal to Nearly Zero Energy buildings and based on the Active House principles. The
remaining 3 buildings are designed with focus on the Active House principles, balancing
comfort, energy and environment. Thereby all eight projects are designed as Active House.
Recommendation
Buildings with optimized daylight conditions can reduce the use of electricity for lighting,
however as electricity for lighting is not included in energy calculations for dwellings, the
savings by optimized daylight design is not visible for designers.
The legislative requirement to dwellings on nZEB levels should include electricity for
lighting in the energy calculation and where relevant be based on a minimum indoor lux level
during the use period of the building. The level can be from 300-550 Lux depending on the
type of room.
Key point 3: Solar screening protects home from overheating
Challenge
There is a risk that the utilisation of passive solar energy through windows, create high
indoor temperatures during the summer period. This can be avoided by use of permanent
solar shading, however permanent shading can also reduce the optimal utilization of passive
solar energy and thereby the optimal situation is to use dynamic shading solutions.
Experience
The south and west orientated windows in the demonstration buildings were fitted with
awning blinds to optimize the use of solar energy, to control the incoming solar energy and
to maintain good thermal comfort.
The position of the awning blinds was registered throughout the day, monitoring the
correlation between acceptable temperatures and the position of the awning blind. The
results (fig 4) shows that overheating can be avoided even in buildings in hot summer
conditions and with daylight factors of 5%. The study also shows that only a few hours during
the year has a risk of overheating, and in the project shown in figure 2 only one day in May,
July and August had overheating with shading activated.
Recommendation
Future lowenergy buildings and nZEB are already today calculated for summer and
winter conditions, however the summer conditions are often calculated with solar protection
factors that are pre-defined and therefor they do not give a real picture of the situation of the
building.
In order to create accurate calculations, the legislation and compliance tools need to
be updated and take into consideration dynamic solutions. An hourly based calculation
methodology is needed to reach correct results and can be based on EN 15251
Recommendations
Good sleeping conditions has an influence on people’s health, wellbeing and
productivity. Research shows that the indoor temperature should be around 16-19 0C for
good sleeping quality.
Therefor legislative requirement future buildings and especially low energy buildings
like nZEB should include requirement to indoor temperature levels in sleeping rooms at a
level on ie. 19 0C.
Key point 6: Natural ventilation provides good air quality during large parts of the year
Challenge
In order to reduce air leakages and heat loss in energy efficient buildings, the building
envelope has to be airtight. This reduce the uncontrolled air exchange of a room but it also
sets requirement to a better controlled indoor climate with continuous ventilation to replace
humid and CO2 saturated air with clean, fresh outside air, where possible with use of as less
energy as possible.
Experience
The experience from the eight demonstration projects shows that the CO2 levels in the
demonstration buildings remained low during spring, summer and autumn due to use of
natural ventilation.
Figure 7 and 8: Thermal comfort level and indoor air quality during one year in Solhuset
Likewise CO2 levels in the activity rooms are kept below 900 ppm in almost 95% of the
References
J. Christoffersen, A. K. Hammelev Hansen, K. Andersen, P. Foldbjerg,T. Færing Asmussen (2016) VELUX A/S
Indoor climate in a renovated Danish school: Measurements of electric light, indoor temperature and air quality
Paper at CLIMA2016, Aalborg 2016.
Bruno Peuportier ARMINES, CES , Karsten Duer, Christoffer Plesner and Nicolas Dupin VELUX A/S,
(2013) Evaluation of ventilative cooling in single family home. Proceedings of AIVC 2013
Pawel WARGOCKI (International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy (ICIEE), DTU Civil
Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)), Peter VELUX A/S (2014) Socio- economic consequences of
Improved Indoor Air Quality in Danish primary Schools, Paper at Indoor Air, Hong Kong 2014
Reinhart, C. F., Mardaljevic, J., & Rogers, Z. (2006). Dynamic Daylight Performance Metrics for
Sustainable Building Design. Leukos, (3/1), 7-31
CIBSE, (2014). Daylighting - a Guide for Designers. Lighting Guide 10/14 CIBSE.
Active House (2013) Active House specification - edition 2. Active House Alliance,
www.activehouse.info
Introduction
Buildings are often certified as achieving high credentials, even though the people working
on the design of those buildings are aware of the real challenges and the extent to which the
design process has missed the opportunity to fully integrate sustainability principles. The lack
of established guidance and practical design tools that incorporate performance criteria into
the development of early stage analysis creates difficulties in efficiently exploring design
options (Prat et al, 2011). This creates a discontinuous design flow, wherein the tools
employed tend to be discrete rather than continuous.
While Building Information Modelling (BIM) gives architects, engineers, and contractors
the insight and tools to plan, design, construct and manage buildings efficiently, there are
limited and robust environmental tools that link into this platform. Consequently, when the
design needs to be evaluated, the model is exported and detached from the design
development process. By the time the model is ready to use for performance analysis the
design has already evolved into something else. To avoid this, the design team waits until the
design is frozen before sharing the model with the sustainability analysts – so that by the time
the design has been analysed there is no time to make further changes. This process of
modifying the design to achieve a set of performance criteria is inefficient (Azahar et al.) and
Context
One of the principal goals of sustainable design is to achieve optimum occupant comfort with
the least possible amount of energy usage, but designers often forget that they produce
buildings for people and to do this effectively they need to understand how the human body
and mind work. Client's requirements and the building program, such as adjacency
requirements, are used to drive the design of buildings, but climatic and energy driven
functions are becoming part of the equation. To ensure visual, acoustic, and thermal comfort,
designers can now use Building Performance Analysis (BPA), but how can we ensure that
designers perform meaningful BPA at an early stage of the project and understand the
environmental impact of their design decisions? Environmental tools have been out there for
years now and research has been looking to integrate them into the design workflow, to
ensure these tools can be more efficient in terms of time and effort, but the truth is that this
has not yet been achieved. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) published green
overlay guidelines in 2013 (Gething, 2011); but there have been no subsequent updates. The
guidance does not offer practical solutions to improve design, but its fundamental
contribution is in providing a holistic design methodology to streamline delivery, minimising
the duplication of modelling effort and maintaining the design integrity.
Often, the environmental tools available employ standalone software, for which
designers need to build a whole new model. Exporting and importing models sometimes
works, but there is typically some tweaking required to simplify the model in order for the
environmental software to read it properly. This second option can, sometimes, be even more
time consuming than the first one. In the last years, we have also seen environmental plugins
arising for 3D software that the architecture industry uses to design, such as Revit or Rhino,
but these plugins can also have flaws and challenges, such as the ones exposed next.
Sefaira for Revit does an excellent job at being an intuitive tool with not much PC power
required, but finds it challenging to read complex geometries and does not allow the designer
to visualise the different iterations nor to translate them into the 3D design environment. On
the bright side, working in the Revit platform can allow designers to integrate environmental
parameters within the BIM, enabling collaboration between architects, engineers, and
contractors, facilitating sustainable design. This is often referred to as Green BIM (Krygiel et
al, 2008), but at the moment does not integrate any environmental simulation. At the same
time, Ladybug and Honeybee for Grasshopper for Rhino are able to translate the different
Research
To ensure that designers perform meaningful BPA at an early stage of the project and
understand the environmental impact of their design decisions, architects need a high
dimensional design space that can be rapidly simulated, analysed, and visualised (Pratt, 2011).
This research focuses on creating a pathway for better designs, on guiding designers working
on a project to fully integrate sustainability into their workflow through a truly holistic
approach.
Workflow
During the research, a six step approach to sustainability was developed (Figure 1.). The goal
of this methodology is to achieve measurable and sustainable performance in projects and
practices, but also to persuade and guide designers rather than to dictate prescriptive
solutions.
Figure 1. Six Steps approach to Sustainability.
The Six Steps follow the ‘London Plan’ message; Be Lean: use less energy, Be Clean:
supply energy efficiently, Be Green: use on-site renewable energy. They are as follows:
1. Discovery & Definition: Focuses on the organisation of the team, identifying key roles
and responsibilities and creating a collaborative framework. The brief is validated and
the challenge is framed by establishing ambitious, yet realistic, sustainability targets
with the design team and stakeholders.
2. Climate & Place: Focuses on the natural attributes that the site offers. The climate
specifics are studied to better understand the needs of each space in relation to their
environment and microclimate.
3. Load Reduction: Encourages exploring the passive and innovative methodologies to
reduce the building loads. During this step, BIM and in-house parametric design tools
help to track and improve the sustainability targets.
4. Integrated solutions: Identifies architectural and building services environmental
strategies and systems, equipment and fittings that can function in an integrated,
synergistic fashion with the passive strategies to achieve occupant comfort. Energy and
water efficient measures should be integrated during this step.
5. Renewable Systems: Consider the integration of renewable and low carbon
technologies for affordable and clean energy and possible synergies with wider energy
strategies on a community level, which are directly linked with the active systems.
6. Occupancy: Designers’ sustainability engagement should not end when the building
is completed. Human behaviour should be monitored and energy use tracked, to
Figure 2. Six Steps approach overlaid with RIBA’s timeline.
A central aspect of this project is the development of a sustainable design reference
and brainstorm tools to go along with the Six Steps methodology to create a workflow. The
aim is to provide a better understanding of how the concept of sustainable design can be
more effectively integrated in the design practice.
Tools
Sustainable design specialists cannot always analyse everything, given project time
constraints and insufficient computing power, therefore they have to ask the right questions
at the right moment. These set of in-house developed tools are meant to answer specific
questions at different design stages throughout the Six Steps methodology, creating a
proactive workflow that uses BPA to inform the design proactively rather than to evaluate it
reactively. With this workflow, the design is provided with a framework to work towards.
The tools are developed in Grasshopper, using Ladybug and Honeybee components
along with some personalised coding. This parametric design environment allows designers
to generate a wide range of variations within a defined parameter keeping up with the
continuous change of the dynamic model. At the same time, this graphical algorithm editor is
linked to the 3D design environment of the architects’ digital world. This link allows designers
to rapidly create, simulate, and understand the trade-offs and benefits for each given option.
In the same way the interface allows for parametric design, it also allows for parametric
simulations through the developed tools providing rapid graphical troubleshooting, offering
different options rather than specific answers. As the architectural model continues changing,
the environmental model remains the same saving time and having full control of the decision
making process within the design space. This setup allows for a smoother collaboration
between designers and sustainable design analysts.
Sustainability Analysis Tool
This was the first tool that was developed and it is the only one that is based in Excel. It
analyses EPW weather data graphically and informs the main passive strategies that
correspond to climate analysis.
Massing Optimisation
Through a set of parametric simulations, this tool alters the given geometry though the
defined free parameters aiming for the minimum or maximum overall solar radiation on the
building itself, a neighbouring building, or an outdoor space.
Case Studies
The six steps methodology has been tested with projects of different scales and complexity.
The tools where inspired by specific projects, but even though each project is specific, we
found that often the same questions are asked during the design process. Therefore, we
believe that the same workflow, using the Six Steps approach with the support of the
sustainable parametric tools, can be applied to all of them.
Mesh Optimisation in Barcelona
The studio was working on a competition for a Barcelona, Spain, based sports and
entertainments building. The Mediterranean climate brought with it the hurdle of dynamism;
no strategy should be static as the climate changes throughout the year and so should the
building’s response to it.
The building’s envelope is the physical separator between the interior and the exterior
environmental conditions, therefore our focus was on the arena’s second skin. The design
goal of this skin, a perforated metal sheet, was to restrict the summer unwanted heat gain
while allowing the useful winter heat gain and daylight to penetrate the interior of the arena.
This situation inspired the Mesh Optimisation Tool, to help define the pattern that would
form this second skin. The tool first conveys a solar radiation analysis, as the designer
determines the pattern for the mesh, its free parameters and boundaries. In this case, the
pattern was a series of round perforations in the metal sheet that would vary in diameter.
The boundaries were set to be a minimum diameter or 250mm and a maximum of 1500mm,
with intervals of 250mm. Lastly, the pattern, along with its boundaries, are linked to the
radiation analysis results for the tool to distribute the perforation diameters according to the
solar radiation received on that portion of the metal sheet.
By using this tool the designer not only creates an interesting pattern, but the design
of the mesh can adapt to design changes easily, as it will change accordingly if the designer
modifies the building geometry. It can also be exported directly to the manufacturer. This tool
can be applied to any mesh surface and optimise the pattern for a different output, such as
solar angle to avoid glare or daylight availability.
Outdoor Comfort in Oman
The underlying premise of the development was to create a well-balanced integrated mixed
use residential and resort orientated community that includes a range of housing typologies,
supported by mid to high end resorts which will be activated by the waterfront and cultural
amenities. Due to the scale and of the project, outdoor comfort was the principle that guided
the Concept Design Stage.
Ways to maximise wind flow and minimise solar radiation were explored along with
evaporative cooling strategies, which inspired the Outdoor Comfort Tool. The designer
identifies the area of study and sets up different scenarios, i.e. sunny without wind, shaded
with wind, etc. In this case the scenarios were sunny with wind and shaded with wind (Figure
4). Eventually, the tool assesses the perceived temperature in each given point of the grid
based on the climate and the microclimate that the build environment produces due to the
given scenarios.
The tool can identify what is the environmental need for each time of the year, as well
as the specific location where these strategies are needed. This specific design achieved an
improvement of 57% in the amount of hours that the outdoor environment is within comfort
range through street orientation to encourage wind flow, self-shading streets and
evapotranspiration through landscape.
Figure 5. Light Rail Station Shading Optimisation.
For raytracing, the tool allows the designer to select the time of the year when the
radiation must be avoided. Those vectors will then intersect with the context, or not. The
vectors that do will be discarded, but the ones that do not, will continue until they intersect
with the designed geometry. These intersection points draw a line into the architect’s 3D
environment which identifies where the optimum boundary of the shading device should be.
Massing Optimisation in the United Arab Emirates
One of the Rating System targets of this Arena District and associated retail was to reduce at
least 20% of the annual external heat. Therefore, the lower the degree of solar radiation the
geometry received, the less solar heat gain the building will experience. As sustainability
specialists, we worked closely with the design team in the optimisation of the geometry, the
skin, and the louvres. The Geometry Optimisation Tool was developed to inform the optimum
tilt of the facades. In this specific project, the points touching the ground were set as the free
parameters, having the freedom to move in the direction orthogonal to the façade in steps of
1m (Figure 6). Then, different iterations went through a radiation analysis - the tool uses this
data to create a new iteration that should be closer to the goal, minimising solar radiation
and increasing computing time efficiency. When the different iterations had been studied the
results were ordered from the least to greatest incidental solar radiation, exposing the
different geometries in the 3D design environment.
Figure 6. Geometry Optimisation.
Conclusion
The outcome of this design research addresses fundamental questions in sustainable design
and provides practical toolkits for designers. Our case studies have found that this approach
allows us to efficiently explore design options by rapidly simulating, analysing and visualising
the results in a continuous workflow. Tracking design changes and the integration with BIM
remains a challenge. Although the initial case studies that have been presented in this paper
are all Rhino based, the method shows promise and has been proved useful for the
sustainable design process. These tools should be further developed and integrated in Green
BIM to achieve full collaboration and integration throughout the architectural discipline. As a
next step for development, some of the tools could also explore multi objective optimisation.
It will help where optimal decisions need to be taken in the presence of the trade-offs
between two or more conflicting objectives, such us maximising daylight while minimising
solar heat gains.
The result of this research will prompt some deep changes in design organisations on
how they approach evidence‐based design. It will contribute to the knowledge of a holistic
design process based on a detailed account of key factors underpinning the behavioural
intentions of architects to adopt BPA in the early design stages. For these reasons, we believe
that architects will engage with this proactive process, particularly those who believe that
sustainability is part of the architectural equation and look for a smooth collaborative effort
between all the different functions that contribute to it.
References
Aksamija, A.; Guttman, M.; Rangatajan, H.; Meador, T. (2001). Parametric Control of BIM Elements for
Sustainable Design in Revit: Linking Design and Analytical Software Applications through Customisation.
Perkins+Will Research Journal, 03(01), pp. 32-45.
Azhar, S.; Brown, J.; Farooqui, R. BIM-based Sustainability Analysis: An Evaluation of Building Performance
Analysis Software. Auburn University; Florida International University.
Gething, B. (2011). Green Overlay to the RIBA Outline Plan of Work. London: RIBA Publishing.
Hubers, H. (2011). Collaborative design of parametric sustainable architecture. In: Management and
Innovation for a Sustainable Build Environment, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 20 – 23 June 2011.
Krygiel, E.; Nies, B. (2008). Green BIM: Successful Sustainable Design with Building Information Modelling.
Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing, Inc.
Pratt, K.; Bosworth D. (2011). A Method for design and analysis of parametric building energy models. In:
Proceedings of Building Simulation 2011: 12th Conference of International Building Performance Simulation
Association, Sydney, Australia, 14 – 16 November 2011.
Sala, S.; Ciuffo, B.; Nijkamp, P. (2015). A systemic framework for sustainability assessment. Ecological
Economics, 119(2015), pp. 314-325.
The impact of imposed façade design on the occupants’ visual and thermal
satisfaction in educational buildings in Jordan: The case study of the German
Jordanian University in evaluating the performance of Architecture
Karma Gammoh1, Rawan Qubrosi2
1
RK Research Lab, Amman, Jordan k.gammoh@gmail.com.
2
RK Research Lab, Amman, Jordan, rawan.qubrosi@gmail.com.
Abstract: Nowadays educational buildings in Jordan are facing a major challenge with the users’ satisfaction, in
terms of thermal and visual comfort, having become completely sealed environments. There is a major
dissatisfaction from overheating in the cold period and very cold indoor environments in the hot period. In
addition, uncontrolled sun access is becoming a common issue in the recent trend of glazed facades in such
typology. This research paper will analyse and discuss the impact of such façade design based on user
satisfaction. The research paper will take the German Jordanian University-Madaba, Jordan as a case study for
the fieldwork to analyse and evaluate the occupants’ satisfaction through quantitative and qualitative analysis.
The findings of the research will serve as a reference for Educational Building Design Guidelines; the first of its
kind in Jordan.
Keywords: Educational Building, Façade Design, Comfort, Building Performance, Hot Arid Climate.
Introduction
Educational institutions in Jordan are becoming fully sealed buildings to provide thermal
comfort for their large number of users with diverse needs. The resulting heavy reliance on
mechanical systems of these new educational buildings is viewed as a reflection of their
prestigious status (Mechanical Engineering Department, 2016). This trend is observed
globally, where Nicol et al (2012) stated that architectural profession is giving engineers the
responsibility of providing comfortable adaptable spaces in their buildings, ultimately
resulting in more buildings which are fully dependent on mechanical systems. Yet, high
dissatisfaction with indoor thermal comfort is very common across sealed buildings; and
complaints include overheating in the cold period, and very cold indoor environments in the
warm period (Nicol et al, 2012).
This research paper analyses and highlights the impact of imposed mechanically
controlled classrooms and façade design on students in educational buildings, taking the
German Jordanian University in Madaba, Jordan, as a case study. This paper aims to draw
attention to the effect of such sealed environment on the users’ interaction with the
building, and emphasises the preferred adaptive opportunities undertaken by the students
in a measured hot week of July 2016, in which the fieldwork took place.
This paper is part of a comprehensive analysis and performance evaluation of the
main university building (Building C). The analysis in this research paper includes studying
Wind Velocity (m/s) HGh daily (KWh/m2)
Ta dmin , Ta dmax (°C)
Ta dmean (°C) RHavg (%)
Figure 1. Monthly Mean, Minimum, Maximum dry bulb temperatures for Madaba.
Madaba is subject to intense solar radiation throughout the year. The warm period is
between June and September, and the maximum average temperature exceeds 30°C. The
moderate period is between March and May, and the maximum average temperature
ranges between 18-20°C where buildings can be coupled with the outdoors. The cold period
is between December and February, during which the temperatures can drop to zero.
Madaba has a hot dry climate with large daily temperature swings between day and night.
This diurnal temperature swing of 12K provides great potential for nocturnal cooling (Givoni,
1994) that can be effective during the mild and warm period as a passive cooling strategy.
The research was completed in the warm period, during GJU’s summer academic term,
which starts in June and lasts until late August. The spring term, between September and
November, is considered moderate and is the period the building is fully occupied.
Moreover, the winter term lasts from December to February.
GJU Design Concept
The GJU was designed by Dar Omran Architects in Amman, Jordan. The concept was to
combine the German and Jordanian cultures in one urban context. The interaction between
both cultures is illustrated by bridging two wings with a transparent bridge structure to
emphasise the connection between the cultures (Dar Al-Omran, 2014). Figure 2 shows the
full campus of GJU where all the buildings reflect the concept form.
Figure 3. Panorama of Building C, GJU.
The campus buildings were designed to have dynamic facades (see Fig. 3), to reflect
the continuous evolution and growth between the two cultures (GJU Site Architect, 2016).
The fieldwork was conducted in the main building, Building C. Shown in Fig. 3 key plan,
Building C is the School of Natural Resources Engineering and Management.
Methodology
Building C has a completely sealed environment, relying on mechanical systems throughout
the whole year. The heating is turned on starting December until the end of April, and the
air conditioning starts from May to October (Building Management Office, 2016). Two
typical classrooms were selected in the southern wing of Building C for this analysis –
southern classroom C232, and northern classroom C231 – are illustrated in Figs 4 & 5
respectively. Each Classroom is 10.5 meters in length and 5.5 meters in width with a clear
height of 2.8 meters. Figure 4 and 5 show the impact of the irregular window distribution
reflecting the design concept mentioned earlier.
Figure 4. Southern Classroom C232 showing the damaged AC Control.
Figure 5. Northern Classroom C231 showing the covered AC Control.
The measurements were completed during a typical week in the hot period. Two data
loggers were installed over a period of 10 days from the 26th of July to the 8th of August
2016 in both classrooms. Additionally, spot measurements were taken during that week,
and interviews were conducted with a sample of the students. Both data loggers were
placed in the same position in both classrooms; hung from the ceiling. The readings were
used to compare the occupied classrooms and observe the impact orientation has on the
two sealed classrooms. The air conditioning system in the building was set at 21°C by the
Building Management Office (2016) during the working days from Sunday to Thursday. The
system is automatically turned on and off from 7:00 AM until 3:30 PM.
Analysis
Occupancy and Performance
Graph 6 illustrates the combined results from the data loggers for the southern C232 and
northern C231 classrooms. Both classrooms were occupied between 8:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
The average number of students in each classroom was 15 students. As portrayed in Fig. 6,
there was a constant 2-3k difference in the ambient temperature between the classrooms
during occupied days and during the free running weekend; which is the result of the
different orientations.
Figure 6. Data Logger readings for Northern C231, Southern C232 classrooms.
Based on the comparison of the ambient temperatures in both classrooms, the
building was found to be effective in terms of sheltering from the harsh outdoor
environment both on free running and occupied days. Figure 7 shows that during free
running days, the indoor temperature was very constant and did not follow the outdoors in
any way, where the ambient temperature was recorded around 26°C while the external high
and low temperatures for those days were recorded at 37°C and 16°C. Hence, the building
envelope was acting as an effective thermal mass. Also, the graph draws attention to the
adaptive behaviour of the students on Sunday the 31st of July, opening the operable
windows and doors, raising temperatures to reach the free running passive environment
levels. This is clear from the fluctuations in the lines during occupied hours. It is worth
noting that classroom C232 was not occupied on Thursday the 28th of July, showing a
relatively smooth graph.
Figure 8. Spot measurements taken in classroom C232.
Façade design
Figure 9 displays the illuminance level measured in both classrooms C232 and C231 where
the horizontal outdoor illuminance was measured to be 104 000lx outside of classroom
C232 and 6800lx outside of classroom C231.
The figure highlights the irregular distribution of the indoor horizontal illuminance at
some task areas across the classroom. This behaviour was found in all measured classrooms
due to the irregular window distribution in the design concept of the façade. This also
resulted in disadvantaged places in the classroom in terms of view of the outdoors. The
Figure 9. Illuminance spot measurements in both classrooms.
Orientation
When the horizontal illuminance were measured while artificial lights were off, both north
and south facing classrooms show very little natural light access which does not exceed the
100 lux value; one fifth of the desired value for task areas illuminance in educational
buildings. These results explain the 100% reliance on artificial light during the day, which
was affirmed by all the students when asked if lights were always on. This low, uncontrolled
accessibility of daylight is a result of very low VLT of windows; a specification chosen by the
mechanical engineers (Mechanical Engineering Department, 2016).
Figure 10. Illuminance spot measurements comparing C231 & C232.
Conclusion
The study highlights the importance of designing for the user at the outset, and allowing for
adaptive strategies in educational buildings. Contrary to growing belief in Jordan that
mechanically controlled buildings are prestigious and offer a superior occupant experience,
the study portrays a high need for adaptive opportunities for the user. While an automated
mechanical system imposed an uncomfortable environment, it prompted the students to
open classroom windows and doors in order to utilize natural ventilation as a passive
strategy to reach comfort.
Additionally, the study reflects the need for conscious concept design at an early stage,
taking into consideration the building’s orientation, façade design and expected energy
consumption levels. Although the dynamic façade design created a strong visual connection
with the outdoors, its impact on daylight distribution within classrooms was not prioritised,
resulting in constant reliance on artificial lights. In conclusion, adaptive opportunities are
always preferred and needed to create healthy and more productive internal environments,
especially in educational buildings.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank GJU for making this research possible as well as The King
Abdullah Foundation for Development for financing the travel expenses.
References
Dar Al Omran, (2014). Experience [Online] Available at: <http://www.daralomran.com/portfolio-
items/german-jordanian-university/?lang=en >.
CIBSE (2006). Environmental Design. Guide A, 7th Edition. Chartered Institution of Building Services
Engineers, London.
German Jordanian University, (2014) About the University (online) Available at:
http://www.gju.edu.jo/content/about-gju-687.
Givoni, B. (1994). Passive and Low Energy Cooling of Buildings. John Wiley, & Sons, New York.
Givoni, B. (1998). Climate Considerations in Building and Urban Design. John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Nicol, F. et al (2012). Adaptive Thermal Comfort Principles and Practice, Routledge.
Personal Conversations
Building Management office (2016). Building C management and implemented system [interview]
rd
(Private Conversation on the 24 July 2016).
th
GJU Site Architect (2016). GJU Concept and Design [interview] (Private Conversation on 15 July 2016).
Mechanical Engineering Department (2016). GJU vision and design criteria [interview] (Private
nd
conversation on the 22 July 2016).
Introduction
Primitive wineries were caves where interior temperatures stabilize at mean annual
temperature of the site. Even though in a winery energy flux exchange and thermal inertia
of the envelope are crucial due to the constant need for stabilized temperatures, when first
on-the-ground wineries were built, the creation of the empty interior space in the most
economical way many times neglected the full structure of thermal mass resistance. And
therefore, the problem of interior temperature variations in wine production began.
Grapes grow mainly between parallels 40° and 50° North Latitude and between
parallels 30° and 40° South Latitude. ‘Cuyo Region’ in Argentina, especially the province of
Mendoza, is located between parallels 30° and 35° South Latitude. This region climate is
temperate continental with important daily and seasonal temperature variations and high
heliophany. These climatic characteristics provide grapes of exceptional quality, but, at the
same time represent a main constraint in the constructive aspects of a winery. An abrupt
temperature change can put the whole wine production process in jeopardize. In Mendoza,
Argentina, first wineries were documented in the year 1600, buildings were simple and
almost without measures of protection and conservation of grape fruits. Small and middle
size spaces on the ground. It is supposed that grape juices exposed to temperatures over
25°C corrupted rapidly and therefore, Mendoza’s wines were of poor quality and easy
Case Study
Climate and site
Winery A is situated in the North Oasis in the Province of Mendoza, Argentina, near the
Andes Mountains (32°52’South Latitude, 68°51’West Longitude, altitude 750 metres over
sea level). Mendoza has a continental dry-temperate climate with hot summers and cold
winters. In summer, mean highest air temperature are between 35°C and 40°C, and lowest
mean temperatures vary between 18°C and 22°C. In winter mean minimum air
temperatures are bellow 0°C and mean maximum are between 10°C and 15°C. Global
Horizontal Radiation vary between 24000 and 25700 kJ/m2 in summer, between 14000 and
22700 kJ/m2 in autumn and spring and between 9000 and 11000 kJ/m2 in winter. Annually
average of Global Horizontal Radiation is approximate to 18000 kJ/m², been 700 W/m² as
the highest power at solar noon. Losses by long wave radiation are approximate to 180
W/m2. Mean daily temperature differences reach 10°C to 18°C.
Materiality
Winery A presents two types of envelope materiality: one traditional, mainly adobe walls
(raw earth blocks) buried 1 meter in the ground and tile roofs with wooden structure, a
mixture of Spanish cane (arundo donax) and mould as insulation; and one new, with
metallic structure and galvanized steel walls and roofs. Walls present a concrete slab base,
only roofs are insulated with polyurethane foam.
TRADITIONAL NEW
WALLS Q = 1,630 W ; Q = 10,000,000 W
ROOFS Q = 2,000 W Q = 700 W
Notice that exchange values are similar in walls and roofs in the traditional envelope
and very different in the new envelope. Insulation of the galvanized steel makes an
important difference, as this value is also lower than the ones obtained in the traditional
envelope. For energy exchange analysis it is crucial that every element of the envelope is
insulated no matter if its construction is traditional or new, constructed on site or pre-
fabricated. Nevertheless, there will be important differences in these two envelopes when
taking into account inertial benefits in a temperate continental climate with high variations
between day and night and between seasons.
Thermal Inertia
Thermal inertia calculus were performed with “Eduardo Torroja Institut Equations” (Eq. 1
and 2) using data provided in Tables 2 and 3.
I = R*S24 (2)
S24 = 8.48*10 -3 * √ (l *r *Cr) (3)
Where:
I = thermal inertia adimensional parameter
R = thermal resistivity (thickness “e” / l ) (m2.K/W)
S24 = twenty four hour factor
Cr = specific heat at a constant pressure (J/ kg.K)
r = material density (kg/m3)
l = thermal conductivity (W/m.K)
Thermal inertia of the different materials that compose the heavy old envelope and
the new envelope are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Thermal inertia of the different materials that compose both types of envelope. Source: author’s own.
WALLS ROOFS
TRADITIONAL Earth Adobe arundo donax /mould tile
ENVELOPE (1m thickness) (0.50 m thickness) (0.5 m thickness) (0.05 m thickness)
94.86 38.91 10.38 6.32
NEW Concrete Slabs Galvanized Steel Polyurethane Foam Galvanized Steel
ENVELOPE (0.10 m thickness) (0.005 thickness) (0.03 m thickness) (0.005 thickness)
9.23 0.12 10.38 0.12
In this case, heavy envelope provides internal spaces with a crucial property: thermal
stability. New envelope does not have the same possibilities. Up to this point there has been
performed a complete envelope analysis using theoretical methods to evaluate the
performance of Winery A. The next step is to perform in situ temperature measurements to
perform a thermal audit.
CCP 1 – Milling / Press
CCP 2 – Fermentation
CCP 3 – Breeding
CCP 4 – Bottling
CCP 5 – Storage
Figure 1. Flux diagram of the industrial process. Detection of thermal and energy critical control points (CCP).
Source: author’s own.
12:00:00
18:00:00
12:00:00
12:00:00
18:00:00
12:00:00
12:00:00
18:00:00
6:00:00
12:00:00
0:00:00
18:00:00
0:00:00
6:00:00
12:00:00
6:00:00
18:00:00
0:00:00
6:00:00
18:00:00
0:00:00
0:00:00
6:00:00
0:00:00
6:00:00
0:00:00
6:00:00
0:00:00
Discussion
Traditional old envelope keeps temperatures 8.5ºC to 10ºC bellow outside measurements;
while temperatures in spaces within new envelopes are only 3ºC to 5ºC below outside
temperatures.
These results are coherent with the inertia of the envelope materials. The traditional
old walls’ inertia coefficient was calculated between 38 and 95, while new walls have an
inertia coefficient of 0.22 to 10.
References
Esteves, A.; Ganem, C.; Fernandez, E. and Mitchell, J. (2003) Thermal Insulating Material for Low-
Income Housing. Proceedings of the 20th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. PLEA 2003.
Santiago, Chile. 9 – 12 November 2003.
Fanzone, M.; Peña-Neira, A.; Jofré, V.; Assof, M. and Zamora, F. (2010) Phenolic Characterization of
Malbec Wines from Mendoza Province (Argentina). Agricultural Food Chemistry. 58 (4), pp. 2388–2397.
Guerra, J. (2003) Habitar el desierto. PhD. Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña.
Incropera, F. P. and De Witt, D. P. (1981). Fundamentals of Heat Transfer. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
IRAM 14104 (2001) Implementación y gestión de un sistema de análisis de peligros y puntos críticos de
control (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points- HACCP). Buenos Aires: IRAM.
Kohler N. y Hassler U. (2000) The building stock as a research object. Building Research & Information
30 (4), pp. 226-236.
Longobardi and Hancok. (2000) Field trip strategies: s: towards understanding the passive thermal
performance of buildings using the example of a case in Naple: dogana office building. In: Proceedings of the
third international conference TIA 2000: sustainable buildings for the 21st century. Oxford, Uk, 9 -12 July 2000.
Lowe, R., Bell, M. and Johnston, D. (1996) Directory of Energy Efficient Housing. London: Chartered
Institute of Housing Edition.
Rivera Medina, A. M. (1987) Entre la Cordillera y la Pampa: la Vitivinicultura en Cuyo, Argentina. PhD.
Universidad de Sevilla.
Abstract: Occupant behaviour is the collection of information that describes occupants’ presence and
interactions within the building. Such data collection has been applied to building performance simulations in
order to accomplish more precise output. Diminishing the gap between predicted and real building performance
requires suitable input data. The objective of this study is to present the monitoring technique employed to
gather information on occupant behaviour in multifamily residential buildings in Florianópolis, Brazil. The
monitoring was conducted through questionnaire applications resulting in 99 valid answers regarding occupancy,
window and blinds operation and cooling system control. The data collected represents different profiles and
routines for similar architectural typologies. An assessment on the monitoring technique is presented comparing
it to other approaches. In conclusion, questionnaire application was considered a suitable approach to monitor
occupant behaviour in residential buildings by presenting a direct and low-intrusive method for data collection.
Introduction
Occupant behaviour models allow building performance simulation to produce predicted
results closer to the real performance. According to Jia et al. (2017), implementing occupant
behaviour models presents two main possibilities: to diminish the gap between predicted and
actual energy use and to optimize control and operation of the active systems. However,
achieving the successful implementation of occupant behaviour models into building
simulation depends at first on synthesizing the information in a suitable data base. Monitoring
occupant behaviour is the main approach to collect data regarding the interactions between
occupants and the built environment. For this study, these interactions are defined by
occupancy, window and blind operation and air-conditioning control.
Monitoring occupant behaviour may focus on one or more interactions and employ a
variety of techniques. Monitoring techniques can be classified in two groups, according to
their main approach. The first approach concentrate on the occupant itself, therefore, the
information is collected directly from the occupant by means of questionnaires, interviews,
diaries. The second approach collects the information through the deployment of equipment.
Movement sensors and infrared detectors, for example, have been used to monitor
occupancy (Page et al., 2008, Haldi and Robinson, 2009). Measurements of carbon dioxide
concentration were used by Calì et al. (2015) to infer about occupancy in residential and non-
residential buildings.
The use of equipment can be extended to monitor not only the occupant behaviour,
but also the environment conditions, such as temperature, humidity, CO2 concentration. The
Method
Monitoring occupant behaviour is the first stage in developing suitable inputs for building
simulations. While varying the techniques, the data collected can be used directly in the
simulations or indirectly through occupant behaviour stochastic models. In this study, we
Reasons for blind operation showed a closer relation with visual comfort than to
thermal comfort. As seen in Fig. 2, harness natural lighting and avoiding glare are mentioned
more often than protecting from high temperatures. The desire for privacy was also pointed
as a strong reason for blind operation. For this question, the householder was able to select
more than one alternative and there was no distinction between rooms.
Window operation in bedrooms highlight a specific behaviour that focus on air quality
by opening the window for only short periods with the purpose of air renewal (42%). This
behaviour allows to reduce indoor humidity, especially when considering the higher latent
load due to an average occupancy of approximately 10 hours per day. For living rooms, the
results present a variety of periods for which the window is kept open, from always open
(30%) to short periods (25%), as shown in Fig. 3. The range of resulting periods may be
associated with a more variable occupancy for living rooms, in comparison with bedrooms.
For residential buildings, occupant behaviour does not necessarily follow a time routine.
Therefore, human interactions are triggered by other factors other than time. It was observed
that occupancy is an influence factor, especially for actions regarding window operation. Data
collection for occupancy provided a characterization of occupant behaviour on an hourly basis.
The occupancy results were summarised in hours. Therefore, the living room is occupied for
an average of 5.1 hours a day from Monday to Friday and 7.1 hours a day on the weekends.
There is a higher variation in the living room, mainly for weekends, when the standard
(a)
(b)
The histogram shows that 61% of the householders use the living room for 2 to 5 hours
on the workdays. On the weekends, the use is more disperse; thus, there is a lower frequency
but well distributed along the hours.
When considering the occupation of bedrooms, the difference between workdays and
weekends is more subtle. On average, bedrooms are occupied for 9.8 hours a day on the
workdays and 10.7 on the weekends, with a standard deviation of 3.2 hours for the latter.
The histogram shows the presence of isolated points, characterizing unusual answers for
occupancy. During workdays, the occupation of bedrooms concentrates in the range of eight
to ten hours of occupancy per day (65%). There is an increase in the hours of occupancy over
the weekend, when 39% of householders use the bedroom for more than ten hours a day.
Conclusions
Monitoring occupant behaviour through questionnaire application has shown to be a suitable
technique. The use of direct questions allows a higher comprehension by householders that
are not familiar with the subject. Even though this technique presents a level of subjectivity
due to the dependence of householders’ memory, for example, it allows to summarise
important information about the main aspects of occupant behaviour: occupancy, window
and blind operation and air-conditioning control.
An emphasis was given to questions regarding occupancy, as this information was asked
on an hourly basis. The importance of occupancy relates to its influence over other aspects of
References
Andersen, R.; Fabi, V.; Toftum, J.; Corgnati, S. P.; Olesen, B. W. (2013). Window opening behaviour
modelled from measurements in Danish dwellings. Building and Environment, 69, pp. 101–113.
Calì, D.; Matthes, P.; Huchtemann, K.; Streblow, R.; Müller, D. (2015). CO2 based occupancy detection
algorithm: Experimental analysis and validation for office and residential buildings. Building and Environment,
86, pp. 39–49.
Chen, S.; Yang, W.; Yoshino, H.; Levine, M. D.; Newhouse, K.; Hinge, A. (2015). Definition of occupant
behavior in residential buildings and its application to behavior analysis in case studies. Energy and Buildings,
104, pp. 1–13.
Emery, A. F.; Kippenhan, C. J. (2006). A long term study of residential home heating consumption and the
effect of occupant behavior on homes in the Pacific Northwest constructed according to improved thermal
standards. Energy, 31(5), pp. 677–693.
Feng, X.; Yan, D.; Wang, C.; Sun, H. (2015). A preliminary research on the derivation of typical occupant
behavior based on large-scale questionnaire surveys. Energy and Buildings, 117, pp. 332-340.
Haldi, F.; Robinson, D. (2009). Interactions with window openings by office occupants. Building and
Environment, 44(12), pp. 2378–2395.
International Energy Agency Energy in Buildings and Communities Program Annex 66, Occupants
Behavior Research Bibliography, (n.d.) http:// www.annex66.org/?q=biblio
Jia, M.; Srinivasan, R. S.; Raheem, A. A. (2017). From occupancy to occupant behavior: An analytical survey
of data acquisition technologies, modeling methodologies and simulation coupling mechanisms for building
energy efficiency. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 68, pp. 525–540.
Page, J.; Robinson, D.; Morel, N.; Scartezzini, J.-L. (2008). A generalised stochastic model for the
simulation of occupant presence. Energy and Buildings, 40(2), pp. 83–98.
Pino, F. E.; De Herde, A. (2011). Definition of occupant behaviour patterns with respect to ventilation for
apartments from the real estate market in Santiago de Chile. Sustainable Cities and Society, 1(1), pp. 38–44.
Abstract: With the deepening of the concept of sustainable development, the industrialization of construction
and the assembly building become hot spot of building industry once again. As a branch of assembly building,
container building regard the container as the building parts which are designed modularized and product
industrialized in factory. Also, container building has special construction method and energy-saving feature,
traditional method of building performance analysis and evaluation has problems of delaying in performance
analysis, difficulty in obtaining information and software cooperative abutment. Both the integrated
informational platform and the parameterized family library construction function based on BIM have created
new opportunities for the development of container buildings. Through the performance analysis and evaluation
on a container building which is a practical project in Tianjin, China based on BIM, the paper put forward a rapid
and convenient method of performance evaluation on container building which combine BIM with the
architectural design performance analysis, and with a quantitative analysis of the light environment, wind
environment and thermal environment which affect the performance of the container building.
Introduction
Traditional architectural design is separated from building performance analysis in the
procedure of design which usually be a single line combination process (Xiaoyan,L et al,2015).
Facing the problems of high energy consumption and poor comfort, the optimization of
building performance from the design dimension based on BIM puts forward a new design
method to reduce energy consumption and improve indoor comfort of container building.
Container building is a new construction system which has been widely focused and
applied worldwide with its features of interesting variety, energy saving, environmental
protection, low carbon, security and rapid construction(Lei,M et al,2014). The building uses
the container as the elemental building module, and forming building with different using
functions through assemble and combine one or more container which has been reformed.
Meanwhile, owing to the construction system that the modular containers are produced in
the factory and transported to the construction site to assemble quickly, it also meets the
requirements of building sustainable, modular and industrialized development.
Based on a practical project in Tianjin, China as an example, the paper researchs on the
building performance analysis for the modular design and combination process of container
building based on BIM, optimizing and contrasting different design schemes, and showing the
characteristics and advantages of parametric design based on BIM.
Figure 1. The analysis process of optimizing the architectural design based on BIM.
Figure 2.The family library and selection manual of furniture in container building.
The 668 document of the international organization for Standardization (ISO) has
established the global standard of container, which provides the standard and the basic
module requirements for the development of container building (ISO, 2013). Based on the
concept of assembly, the industrialized production method puts forward new requirements
for the standardized design of the container. Using the BIM library function, the container
unit is standardized to form a standard unified container library. On the basis of
standardization, the container units with different forms and functions are rich, the
integrated production of the factory and the overall efficiency are improved. A single
container module usually consists of main frame structure, roof, wall and connecting nodes
(As shown in Figure 3), and each module is designed and product by different way according
to the different functions. The project has carried on the research of the modular library and
the variable space design for office for single, office for four people, living for single, living for
four people and several modules (As shown in Figure 4).
Figure 3. Exploded drawing of the container module.
Figure 4.Building information model of different container modules.
Figure 5.Building information model of the project and the information of its wall.
Figure 6. Solar radiation, best toward and psychrometric chart.
Figure 7.Analysis of shadow range.
Figure 8.The simulation result of natural lighting and illumination coefficient of the building.
Figure 9.Comparison before and after optimization of the building and the simulation result after optimization.
Figure 10.Velocity nephogram of indoor ventilation of the building.
Figure 11.The page connecting REVIT and DESIGNBUILDER.
Figure 12.The simulation result of load and energy consumption of the building.
Figure 14. REVIT imports into PATHFINDER.
Figure 15.The result and chart of evacuation simulation.
Conclusions
The paper clarified the model that apply the BIM technology in the design of container
building through introducing the relationship between the performance optimization of
container building design and BIM technology. Based on the analysis of the existing problem
in the traditional building performance optimization, a method of building performance
analysis based on BIM is proposed. Taking the practical project in Tianjin, China as an example,
the paper analyses the performance of container building based on BIM from different
perspectives of the site planning, building orientation analysis, architectural environment of
natural lighting, natural ventilation and thermal, and the safe evacuation, and verified its
feasibility effectively. Meanwhile, it is also provided a new green design idea for BIM
technology to apply to container building and even to assembly building.
References
Xiaoyan,L.,Kai,W.(2015).Practice of BIM Integrated Building Performance Analysis-Aspect of Green
Energy Saving.Journal of Information Technology in Civil Engineering and Architecture,(01),pp.14-19.
Lei,M.,Ye,L.,Guoqiang,L.(2014).Overview of the History and Applications of Container Buildings.Progress
in Steel Building Structures,(05),pp.9-17+43.
Olivares, P. (2010).Sustainability in Prefabricated Architecture: A Comparative Life Cycle Container
Architecture for Residential Structures. Victoria University of Wellington.
Gang,L.,Ye,Y.,Dan,H.,Rui,D.(2016).Research and Practice:The Performance Optimization Design For
Container Buildings.Eco-city and Green Building,(03),pp.59-64.
Yiqun,P.Practical Building Energy Simulation Handbook.China:China Architecture & Building Press.
Lingli,S.(2013) Comparative Research on Building Energy Consumption Analysis Based on BIM with
Traditional Building Energy Consumption Analysis of China.Master.Chongqing University.
Kopka, W. (2015). Open BIM – IFC. Mechanik, (7), pp.562/425-562/434.
International Standard Series 1 freight containers-Classification,dimensions and ratings. International
Organization for Standardization. (ISO/TC 104/SC 1). 2013
Bo,L.(2014)Research on the Analysis of Energy Consumption at the Beginning of the Architectural Design
Based on the BIM Technology.Master.Chongqing University.
Guerrero-Bote,V.,Zapico-Alonso,F.,Espinosa-Calvo,M.,GómezbCrisóstomo,R.and Moya-Anegón,F. (2006).
Binary Pathfinder: An improvement to the Pathfinder algorithm. Information Processing & Management, 42(6),
pp.1484-1490.
Neveen Hamza
Abstract: The need to increase the purpose built dementia care homes raises the profile of environmental
building design considerations and how they relate to reducing agitation in dementia patients. Critical to the
increasing population with dementia, is a need to change the social perceptions of mental health facilities as
linked to the design of asylums and prison architecture. The availability of facilities that educate, rehabilitate
and provides therapeutic and healing environments is a need for both patients and their carers. Literature
suggests that well designed environments for a small group of patients in a home like environment influences
dementia patients’ behavioural attitude and aid in retention of physical abilities to move within the spaces and
reduces agitation levels. (Lawton,2001,and Nagari, 2016). This is a preliminary review of research published
between 2010- 2017 linking the impact of building design decisions to environmental effects on dementia
patient behaviours in care homes. It is argued that in the pursuit for decreasing energy consumption by design
and building fabric specifications of these homes, more research and a deeper understanding of environmental
health related guidelines need to be considered before the building is built. A central role for building
performance evaluation and modelling needs to be included in the design approval process that necessitates
further research on ranges of daylight, lighting, thermal comfort and acoustic levels to be achieved. This research
reviews literature relating the quality of life of dementia patients to the quality of the designed space and the
environment it creates.
Introduction
The World Health Organization defines ‘dementia’ as a syndrome leading to a set of
symptoms that lead to deterioration in memory, difficulties with thinking and problem-
solving, verbal communication and the ability to perform daily tasks. These changes are often
incremental at the beginning till they reach a stage where patients need to be hospitalized or
taken into care homes. A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood
or behaviour leading to agitation and pain (Cohen-Mansfied etal (2015). the Alzeheimers
society (2015) estimates that there were about 850,000 people in the UK with dementia with
an estimated growth to 2 million by 2051. It mainly affects people over the age of 65, where
one in 14 people in this age group have dementia. The proportion of people doubles for every
five years gap and one in six people over the age of 80 will be diagnosed with the disease.
There are more than 42,000 people in the UK under 65 with dementia. It is estimated that
the cost of care for dementia patients costs the country £26.2 billion annually (enough to pay
for energy bills for every household in the country).
Dementia is diagnosed when the brain cells are damaged. Alzheimer’s disease is the
most commonly diagnosed form, but other forms such as Vascular dementia following a
Table 1: factors for holistic design considerations in Dementia Friendly care homes and facilities
HBN 0802 van Hoof etal (2013)
Principle 1 provide a safe environment Numerical how patients understand numbers and
symbols in various spaces
P2 optimum levels of stimulation Spatial referring: to how patients can navigate the
buildings and understand its various parts
P9 promote good visibility and visual access Sensitive: how patients can see and perceive reality
of their various environments compared to a health
adult
P10 Promote privacy and dignity Juridical supporting privacy and varying needs for
isolation at times
P11 promote meaningful physical activity Creedal supporting religious symbolism and activities
among other activities
P12 support hydration
Informatory: referring to their lingual ability to
communicate meanings of symbols, emotions and
words
Ethical : how the whole building design should
facilitate care and support a healing environment,
using technologies to detect patients behaviours
such as agitation or wandering
HBN 0802, Dementia friendly health and social care environments (2015) states twelve
principles that need to be taken into consideration when designing buildings, the ones that
are most related to environmental design and can indeed be tested through building
Methodology
A set of criteria was designed for inclusion of research
1-The literature survey looked into relevant research undertaken since 2010- 2017 using
various data basis namely sciencdirect, Pubmed and googlescholar. The keywords used were
Dementia combined with care homes, energy consumption, behaviour and environment.
2. Evaluated an intervention utilising the physical environment with an impact on
dementia patients’ behaviour
3. Incorporated a control group, cross sectional or survey design of case study buildings
specifically designed for dementia care or incorporated specialized wards in elderly care
homes.
4. Research relating to interior design and fittings was excluded such as studies relating
to positioning of furnishings, home likeness, paintings and plants.
As the positive relationship between these design elements and reduced agitation and
wandering in patients was extensively reviewed by Fleming et al(2009) A review of the
empirical literature on the design of physical environments for people with dementia found
a direct link between Environmental determinants of quality of life in nursing home residents
with severe dementia.
Conclusions
Performance modelling to reduce energy demand in supporting the design of mental health
facilities with special emphasis on dementia care. Age UK and various NHS publications
acknowledge the impact of the built environment as a healing accelerator. The bulk of
research acknowledges the impact of sensory, cognitive and physical impairment that
healthcare buildings can create if not designed fit for their purpose. Although BREEAM H for
sustainable buildings and the use of complex softwares for Building Information Modelling
(BIM) is mandatory for all large public centrally procured projects to optimize the construction
processes, the ‘Building and Urban Environmental Performance Simulations’ have not been
included in the early design assessments. The current attempts by the NHS to collect patients’
feedback related to cleanliness and safety of facilities (PLACE), can give some guidance to
building design but not enough for creating critically needed sensory and performative
buildings for healthcare.
The reviewed research found that, albeit, the advances in understanding the link
between a faster cognitive deterioration due to the built care home environments, the critical
question of how can we integrate a better understanding of generic design guidelines (Health
Building Notes HBN 08-02, 2015) for dementia and social care environments into applicable
and measurable design parameters for architects and urban planners for existing and new
buildings still remains unanswered.
References
HBN 0802, Dementia friendly health and social care environments (2015)
van Hoof J., Verkerk M. (2013) developing an integrated design model incorporating technology
philosophy for the design of healthcare environments: A case analysis of facilities for the psychogeriatric and
psychiatric care in The Netherlands, Technology in Society Vol. 35, pp. 1–13
Negari K, and Hamza N. (2016) Assessment of Daylight in Relation to The Agitation Levels of People with
Dementia, in Hamza, N and Underwood C.(Ed) Third IBPSA-England Conference Building Simulation and
Optimization, Newcastle University, Newcastle- Sept 12-14th.
Rodriguez M, and Hamza N.(2016) Assessment of Indoor Visual Environments Using Dementia Friendly
Design Criteria in Day Care Centres, in Hamza, N and Underwood C.(Ed) Third IBPSA-England Conference
Building Simulation and Optimization, Newcastle University, Newcastle- Sept 12-14th.
Fleming R., Crookes P. and Shima Sum (2008) A review of the empirical literature on the design of physical
environments for people with dementia, a report, available on
http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3923&context=hbspapers
Introduction
The building sector accounts for up to 40 % of the total energy consumption in the EU.
Considering that the vast majority of the existing building mass will still in operation in 2050,
it is evident that there is a significant energy saving potential in renovations rather than
focusing solely on building energy efficient new buildings (Government, 2014b). A significant
proportion of this potential lies in existing private households, which accounted for approx.
25% of the total energy consumption in the EU in 2011 (European Commission, 2016). In
Denmark, there are approx. 566.000 social housing units, which constitute 20 % of different
types of ownerships (Statistics Denmark, 2016). The vast majority of these were built before
the energy saving requirements in the national building regulations were tightened in the late
1970’s. As such, there is a significant potential for reducing the overall energy consumption
in the building sector by addressing this particular building typology (Government, 2014a, p.
56). The dwellings of the future already exist, so to speak, and we have been entrusted the
task of updating them in a way, which complies with todays’ energy standards while at the
same time respecting their cultural and social significance.
Methods
Narrative literature review
When aiming to evaluate spatial quality, we could study the users’ affective appraisal of the
spaces in question, i.e. how the users experience the spaces they inhabit and how they
describe that experience. Another way is to focus on identification of parameters (metrics)
through existing literature (Acre & Wyckmans, 2014) (Olesen, 2014). In this study, we use the
latter approach. Based on a literature study of four architectural theorist’s perspective on
spatial quality, we aim to articulate examples of “metrics” within the topic of “spatial quality”
and discuss if and how they can be operationalised for inclusion in building performance
simulation tools.
Exploring the notion of spatial quality has been a theme of many a scholar and
practitioner. This paper does not encompass an exhaustive account of the term “spatial
quality” but rather aims to articulate what lies behind this term, focusing on its qualitative
aspects. The selection process for including architectural theoreticians has been to include a
span of definitions, ranging from more loosely defined spatial themes (e.g. Juhani Pallasmaa
and Pierre von Meiss), over “rules of thumb” by e.g. Jan Gehl, to researchers with a
quantitative approach as part of a qualitative evaluation system. We have only included
literature with relevance for the dwelling scale and its immediate surroundings. Based on the
literature review, the paper discusses the relevance of including and quantifying metrics
related to spatial quality as an integral part of a holistic approach to low energy-building
design and evaluating these through computer simulation.
In the paper “Towards a Holistic Approach to Low-Energy Building Design:
Consequences of Metrics for Evaluation of Spatial Quality on Design” by Purup et al (2017),
the examples of identified metrics from the present paper are included in computer
simulations of design proposals for the renovation of a housing complex in Aarhus Denmark.
Analysis
Expanding the notion of spatial quality
In table 1, we present an overview of parameters put forward by four architectural
theoreticians in relation to “spatial quality”. To the right is an indication of the architects’
approach, ranging from a more intuitive qualitative approach to metrics intended for
quantitative evaluation.
Gehl “Many details of the building, the outdoor “The houses were placed 3-4 m from the
areas and the entrance, can influence the pavement, far enough to secure a certain
use of the outdoor spaces”…”The bench by level of privacy in the area in front of the
the entrance, sheltered from the rain and house – to keep the activities at an arm’s
wind and with a nice view to the access length.” (Gehl, 2003, p. 181)
road, is a modest, yet obvious way to
support the life between the houses.”
(Gehl, 2003, p. 179)
von Meiss “The degree of enclosure does not only “The space of the window is a potential
depend on the quantity and the size of the priviliged place in the room. Its
openings. When we wish to create a space transparency, the direct light and sun which
which tends to open to the exterior, we are enters it, invite and encourage particular
trying to make it less explicit”…”The larger activities: to sit near the window and follow
theese openings become the more they the comings and goings outside without
designate an absence of wall.” (von Meiss, beeing seen.”
1990, p. 107f) (von Meiss, 1990, p. 152)
Pallasmaa “In our time, light has turned into a mere quantitative matter and the window has lost its
significance as a mediator between two worlds, between enclosed and open, interiority and
exteriority, private and public, shadow and light. Having lost its ontological meaning, the
window has turned into a mere absence of the wall.”
(Pallasmaa, 1996, p. 47)
We see from table 2 that the included theoretical statements span from discussions
about the window from an ontological and phenomenological perspective (Pallasmaa, 1996)
Acknowledgements
The research presented in this paper is supported by the Innovation Fund Denmark and the
NIRAS ALECTIA Foundation and forms part of the Danish research project REVALUE.
Introduction
Thermal quality of learning environments can affect students’ and lecturers’ productivity,
health and wellbeing. The excellence of interior thermal condition in such spaces influences
occupants’ physical, mental and psychological health which may affect the teaching and
learning performance. (Tanabe et al. 2007, Zomorodian, et al. 2016, Barrett et al. 2015,
Hassanain and Iftikhar 2015).
UK is committed to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions by at least 80% by 2050,
relative to 1990 levels (climate change act, 2008) which have implication on the amount of
energy that should be consumed for providing thermal comfort within learning environment.
For this reason, a practical thermal guideline for adult learning environment is required
which not only can support students’ productivity and well-being, but also can save energy
within the space and considerably reduce the building running costs. Statistics show that UK
every year hosts a large number of students from other countries, both European and non-
European. Almost 20% of the students studying in the UK higher levels are from out of this
country, 6% EU and 14% non- EU (HESA, 2017). Students’ various geographical, climatic and
cultural backgrounds may lead to differences in their clothes, behaviour, cognitive and
Methodology
This survey was conducted in a naturally ventilated architecture studio at Coventry
University in September 2016. 44 architecture undergraduate students, 20 males and 24
females, aged between 18 and 23 years old attended the studio in a weekday 10:30 am to
11:30 am, with partly cloudy sky condition. Students were from different countries, both
European and non- European countries. Details for participants’ climatic background can be
seen in table 1.
The studio was in naturally ventilated condition. Five top hung windows (open for almost 10
cm) with approximately 80 cm length and 60 cm width allowed students to adjust the
environment to restore their comfort.
Environmental monitoring consisted of recording indoor air temperature, relative
humidity and CO2 concentration by using two ‘Extech SD800 CO2’ loggers with time steps of
1 minute and accuracy of ± 40 ppm (<1000 ppm) and ± 5% rdg (> 1000 ppm) for CO2
concentration, ± 0.8 ˚c for temperature and ± 4% for air RH. Loggers placed on carts 90cm
above Fixed Floor Level (FFL), a CO2 meter positioned in the higher and another in the lower
level of trolley. Most equipment was at the rear of the room to avoid influence of windows.
Classroom was divided into 4 different zones; a simple map is represented in figure 1, to
assess impact of room layout on occupants’ thermal perception. To prevent influence of
clothing, students with almost similar clothing value are considered in this evaluation. To
consider the impact of climatic background and thermal condition of living environments
(before moving to Coventry) on students’ current thermal comfort in the classroom, their
Figure 1, Studio layout during the experiment
Temperature, ˚C
10
5
0
10:30:15
10:34:15
10:38:15
10:42:15
10:46:15
10:50:15
10:54:15
10:58:15
11:02:15
11:06:15
11:10:15
11:14:15
11:18:15
11:22:15
11:26:15
11:30:15
Time
Indoor temperature Outdoor temperature
Figure 2, Indoor and outdoor air temperature during the experiment
Figure 3, indoor air relative humidity during the experiment
Table 1, Subjects thermal background details
Country Number of Climate Summer Winter
respondents temperature range temperature range
UK 30 Temperate 7_18 ˚C -1_9 ˚C
Romania 6 Continental 18_22 ˚C -2_5 ˚C
Nigeria 1 Tropical hot 25_28 ˚C 24_26 ˚C
Italy 1 Mediterranean 21_26 ˚C 6_10 ˚C
Zimbabwe 1 Tropical 32_38 ˚C 12_24 ˚C
Moldova 1 moderately continental 22_26 ˚C -6_3 ˚C
UAE 1 Hot 35_43 20_27 ˚C
Bulgaria 2 temperate-continental 16_26 ˚C -2_4 ˚C
Indonesia 1 Tropical 22_31 ˚C 22_29 ˚C
Students’ TSVs based their climatic background
Figure 4 represents students’ TSV in the classroom based on their climatic background.
Considering students from warmer background compared to Coventry shows that 25.6 % of
them feel warm in the classroom, 5.1 % feel neutral and 15.4 % feel cold in the studio.
Students from colder climate than Coventry, 7.7 % feel cold, 5.1 % feel warm.
Students TSVs based on their home country
Thermal background and TSV in the studio for the UK students are illustrated in figure 5.
Most of students have similar thermal sensation in the classroom and their hometown. 14%
of students with colder background feel cold and 4% feel warm in the studio. 28.5% of
students with warmer background feel warm and 9.5% feel cold in the studio.
Figure 5, UK students TSV at studio based on their climatic background
Figure 6, International students TSV at studio based on their climatic background
Figure 7, Students; TSV in the classroom and thermal condition of their previous living environments
This consideration, regardless of subjects’ climatic background, indicates the
significant impact of interior thermal experiences on students TSV in the classroom. Even, in
this study, it is shown that interior thermal condition may affect subjects TSV in the new
environments much more than their climatic backgrounds.
Table 3, percentage of students with warm, neutral and cold TSV in each zone
Zone Students with warm Students with neutral Students with cold
TSV TSV TSV
1 (next to windows) 37 % 45 % 18 %
2 (middle) 33 % 67 % 0 %
3 (middle) 80 % 0 % 20 %
4 (far from 25 % 63 % 12 %
window)
References
Barrett, P., Davies, F., Zhang, Y. and Barrett, L. (2015) 'The impact of classroom design on pupils' learn-
ing: Final results of a holistic, multi-level analysis', Building and Environment, 89, 118-133.
Chun, C., Kwok, A., Mitamura, T., Miwa, N. and Tamura, A. (2008) 'Thermal diary: Connecting tempera-
ture history to indoor comfort', Building and Environment, 43(5), 877-885.
De Carli, M., Olesen, B. W., Zarrella, A. and Zecchin, R. (2007) 'People's clothing behaviour according to
external weather and indoor environment', Building and Environment, 42(12), 3965-3973.
Eisler, A. D., Eisler, H. and Yoshida, M. (2003) 'Perception of human ecology: cross-cultural and gender
comparisons', Journal of Environmental Psychology, 23(1), 89-101.
Harrison, R M ; Thornton, C A ; Lawrence, R G ; Mark, D ; Kinnersley, R P ; Ayres, J G. (2002) ‘ Personal
exposure monitoring of particular matter, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide, including susceptible
groups’, Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 59(10), p.671- 679
Environmental Medicine, 59(10), p.671- 679
Hassanain, M. A. and Iftikhar, A. (2015) 'Framework model for post-occupancy evaluation of school fa-
cilities', Structural Survey, 33(4-5), 322-336.
INJI KENAWY, H. E. (2013) 'The impact of cultural and climatic background on thermal sensation votes',
in PLEA Conference - 29th Conference, Sustainable Architecture for a Renewable Future, Munich, Germany
Jenkins, D.P, Peacock, A.D, Banfill, P.F.G. (2009), ‘Will future low-carbon schools in the UK have an
overheating problem?’, Building and Environment, 44, 490– 501Ji, W., Cao, B., Luo, M. and Zhu, Y. (2017) 'In-
fluence of short-term thermal experience on thermal comfort evaluations: A climate chamber experiment',
Building and Environment, 114, 246-256.
Kwon, J. and Choi, J. (2012) 'The relationship between environmental temperature and clothing insula-
tion across a year', International Journal of Biometeorology, 56(5), 887-893.
Luo, M., de Dear, R., Ji, W., Bin, C., Lin, B., Ouyang, Q. and Zhu, Y. (2016) 'The dynamics of thermal com-
fort expectations: The problem, challenge and impication', Building and Environment, 95, 322-329.
Montazami, A., Gaterell, M. and Nicol, F. (2015) 'A comprehensive review of environmental design in
UK schools: History, conflicts and solutions', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 46, 249-264.
Nikolopoulou, M. and Steemers, K. (2003) 'Thermal comfort and psychological adaptation as a guide for
designing urban spaces', Energy & Buildings, 35(1), 95-101.
Reber, A. S. (1985) The Penguin dictionary of psychology, Viking.
Tanabe, S.-I., Nishihara, N. and Haneda, M. (2007) 'Indoor Temperature, Productivity, and Fatigue in Of-
fice Tasks', HVAC&R Research, 13(4), 623-633.
Yu, J., et al., People who live in a cold climate: thermal adaptation differences based on availability of
heating. Indoor Air, 2013. 23(4): p. 303-310.
Zomorodian, Z. S., Tahsildoost, M. and Hafezi, M. (2016) 'Thermal comfort in educational buildings: A
review article', Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 59, 895-906.
UK regulations: the climate change acts (2008), Committee on climate change
Introduction
Renovation of existing buildings is currently achieving increased attention in different
European countries (Jensen and Maslesa, 2015). The reason is that buildings are responsible
for the largest untapped potential for cost effective energy saving and CO2 reduction potential
(BPIE, 2013). This potential was quantified by the European Commission [EC] (2014) to be
about 40% of total energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the European Union.
However, increasing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emission are often not the only
goals in building renovation projects. Projects may benefit from adopting a more broad
approach to sustainability which seeks to decrease operation and maintenance costs; reduce
environmental impacts; and can increase the building’s adaptability, durability, and resilience
towards future challenges. Consequently, the building may be less costly to operate, may
growth in value, last longer, and contribute to a preferable, healthier, more convenient
environment to the occupants (Kamari et al, 2017b).
There may be various reasons for why an existing building is to be renovated, and
consequently different degrees of how extensive the renovation is. Common reasons for
1
Participated by Brabrand Housing Association – with energy renovation in the Aarhus suburb of Gellerup – as
well as DEAS, an administration company on the private rental housing market (for more info:
http://www.revalue.dk)
2
The term “renovation scenario” used in this study means a selection and combination of some different
renovation technologies/actions (i.e. insulation of the external walls or replacement of the windows are each a
renovation action) that together build an alternative renovation scenario/package and subsequently is applied
in a renovation project.
Renovation scenario 1
Renovation scenario 2 Weighting of scenarios
and selection of the most
Renovation scenario ... appropriate scenario
Scenario 1 Scenario… Scenario m
Renovation scenario m
j = number of most
Option B Object 1 preferred scenarios
Hereafter and depends on working with either option A or B, different types of Multiple
Criteria Decision Making (MCDM - Triantaphyllou et al, 1998) methods can be utilized. MCDM
basically facilitates the process of resolving the trade-off between criteria (typically based on
Exploration
Level I
Level II
• Predicting performance
• Score indicators
• Justify responses
• Review appraisal based on stakeholder feedback
Scientific
•
-making
Level III
• Identify stakeholders
• Engage with the project team
Exploration
• Define the project boundaries and objectives
Level I
• Gather evidence regarding to the building
• Review the best and worst practice similar renovated cases
• Review criteria and indicators (division on Soft & Hard criteria)
Hard selected
(renovation actions) for the indicators
criteria
• Developing a scoring systems based upon purposeful criteria for
the assessment items (using experts idea)
• Assessment of the questions with relevant stakeholders (i.e.
Assessment
consultant company)
Level II
• Development of a DSS using MODM (i.e. Evolutionary algorithms
or Genetic algorithms) based upon assigned scores
• Create ranking of renovation scenarios based on assigned scores
• Starts with the top ranked scenarios resulted from previous step
Soft selected
Level III
3
http://responsible-retrofit.org/wheel/
References
Ascione, F., Bianco, N., Francesca De Masi, R., Mauro, G.M. and Vanoli, G.P. (2015). Design of the Building
Envelope: A Novel Multi-Objective Approach for the Optimization of Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort.
Sustainability, 7, pp. 10809-10836.
Buildings Performance Institute Europe [BPIE] (2013). A guide to developing strategies for building
energy renovation. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from
http://bpie.eu/documents/BPIE/Developing_Building_Renovation_Strategies.pdf
Burton, S. (2012). The Handbook of Sustainable Refurbishment: Housing. Abingdon: Earthscan.
Checkland, P. (2000). Soft Systems Methodology: A Thirty Year Retrospective. Systems Research and
Behavioral Science, 17, pp. 11-58.
Introduction
With the increasing awareness of energy consumption, many efforts have been directed not
only at finding renewable energy sources but also the making more energy efficient and
environmentally conscious product. Lighting, refrigeration and heating products take the
leading spot in term of energy saving innovation through the effort of many energy efficiency
programs such as Energy Star. The US Energy Information Administration reported that
increase efficiency in lighting and heating/cooling equipment account for a projected 0.7%
annual decrease of delivered energy in their annual energy outlook report. On the other hand,
the report also takes note of expected 21.4% increase of Energy Use Intensity (EUI) for
different electric load due to the lack of a federal standard. These fact accounts for the reverse
in the percentage, plug load slowly becoming the dominant factor in a building operational
energy consumption.
The importance of plug loads in energy consumption in commercial and office buildings
is more visible every day, as technology advances more devices becomes available for usage.
Previous studies have documented equipment and other miscellaneous plug loads
inventories, which can be attributed to consuming between 20 to 35% of electricity for office
buildings (Hafer et al., 2015, Moorefield et al., 2011; Sanchez, et al., 2006). But limited studies
Methodology
The present study was carried out through fieldwork measurements of energy used for
different appliances in the Architecture and Interior Architecture Department office. Onset
Hobo UX18-120 Plug Load dataloggers were utilized as the main equipment, in which devices
were physically grouped and connected with plug strips to the data-loggers in 8 working
spaces. The appliances were organized into four main categories base on their usage, which
included: (1) Task, (2) Thermal Comfort, (3) Lighting Comfort (4) Miscellaneous, as shown in
Table 1.
For each of the working space, data was collected during 24-hour basis for a monitoring
period of four-week over the summer season (mid-June to mid-July, 2016). This included
normal occupancy hours during the weekdays (Monday through Friday) from 8:00 to 4:00 pm,
with small to none occupancy over the weekends (due, to summer sessions occupancy over
the weekends was very minimal).
Also, Plug Load Intensity (PLI) index was measured, which in this study is defined as the
fraction of plug load use (kWh) [BTU] by the area of the office (m2) [ft2].
This study also determined Phantom Load index, which is defined as the consumption
of energy while devices are turn off but still plugged into an outlet, through the study of
energy use profiles by looking at individual equipment categories. An average range trend (x-
value) was estimated for an active load (during use) and one for un-active or phantom load
(during no use). From the range values selected it was determined the following: “> x-value
= active load”, “< x-value = phantom load.” Phantom loads from all device categories were
added to determine a total phantom load index for each space type.
Table 1. Appliances organized into four categories.
APPLIANCES
Task Computer, computer screen, printer, label maker, landline, speaker
Thermal comfort Heater, fan, Air conditioner
Lighting comfort Desk lamp, standing lamp
Miscellaneous Coffee maker, refrigerator, microwave, water cooler
Figure 1. Floor plan of Architecture and Interior Architecture Department Office with appliances inventory
identified by categories.
Results
Overall Office Analysis
From the entire plug loads measurements obtained during one month, the total energy use
within the four main categories, task related appliances contributed the most, at 41% of the
total use, in Architecture and Interior Architecture Department Office. Thermal and
miscellaneous devices included 28% and 23%, while lighting appliances only accounted for 8%
of the total energy, as seen in Figure 2. The high percentage of energy use for the thermal
appliances can be attributed to the use of cooling equipment during operational hours over
summer season (i.e. fan and air conditioners) which were present at front office as well as
office 1, 3, and 5. Therefore, energy use within the different spaces differs depending on the
type of equipment in the space, and pattern of usage of the room type. Consequently, it is
important to analyse plug loads by space type within the four categories, to have a better
understanding of the energy usage distribution during that month, as shown in Figure 3. Front
office accounts for the most energy use with a total of 77.64 kWh [264,918.66 BTU] for the
entire month, followed by Office 1 with a total of 48.15 kWh [164,294.61 BTU]. Office 4 and
5 on the other hand, presented the lowest amounts energy use for that period, with a total
of 8.80 kWh [30,026.84 BTU] and 5.51 kWh [18,800.89 BTU] respectively.
80
60
40
20
0
Front Office Office 1 Office 2 Office 3 Office 4 Office 5 storage Meeting
Space Type Room
Task Thermal Lighting Misc
0.007
0.006
0.005
0.004
0.003
0.002
0.001
0
Front Office 1 Office 2 Office 3 Office 4 Office 5 Storage Meeting
office
Space Type
Figure 4. Plug Load Intensity (PLI) by space, office 3 has the biggest PLI index and the storage room.
Regarding phantom loads, the meeting room has the highest relationship between
phantom load value of 20.05 kWh [68,413.43 BTU] versus an active load value of 3.22 kWh
[10 987.09 BTU], most probably caused by miscellaneous conference equipment that is
continually plugged into the outlet, while devices are not in use. For office spaces, front office
registered the highest phantom load value, 14.88 kWh [50,772.66 BTU], follow by office 2,
7.97 kWh [27,194.76 BTU], as seen in Figure 5.
To understand behaviour and energy use across the month, we now looked at the total
energy consumption across the four categories for the entire office by each week. As
evidenced in Figure 6, the highest energy use pattern occurs during the second week of the
month for plug loads measurements. During that week, measures reached up to 89.85 kWh
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Front Office 1 Office 2 Office 3 Office 4 Office 5 storage Meeting
Office Room
Space Type
Active Load Phantom Load
Figure 5. Phantom vs. active load. Meeting room had the biggest phantom load relationship to active load, due
to the miscellaneous conference equipment that is continually plugged while not in use.
Weekly energy use (kWh) by Space type
100 Week 2
Week 1
Energy Use kWh
80
Week 3 Week 4
60
40
20
0
6/20-6/27 6/28-7/3 7/4/-7/10 7/11-7/17
week of the month
Task Thermal Lighting Misc
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
th rd
Figure 7. Total energy use per week, case study (week 2) Monday June 27 through Sunday July 3 , 2016.
25 100
90
20 80
Energy Use kWh
Office 2 (Lighting)
Energy Use kWh
Office 2 (Task)
Office 3 (Thermal)
Office 3 (Task)
Energy Use kWh
Office 3 (Misc.)
Further analysis dug deeper into specific days (for a 24-hour period) of week 2, but due
to the length limitation of this paper, not all that information can be confined in this section
but found the results from Office 3 to be important to mentioned. Office 3, in a 24 hours’
Conclusion
Selection of equipment and human behaviour can have tremendous impacts on energy use,
particularly in the office environment. We found that just one appliance can impact total
energy use by something as simple as leaving it running longer than is needed. Also, newer
more energy efficient appliances, in this case, an Energy Star refrigerator used less energy
than many of the office appliances used together.
Analysing plug loads over an entire month period, allowed us to identify operating
patterns of plug loads by week and weekend, in specific office spaces, and by device category. .
We could delve deeper into understanding of user behaviour and equipment categories, as
relevant variables that affect energy consumption, which in traditional studies of energy use
this usually doesn't get identified. For example, the total energy use of office 3, could have
been significantly reduced with the choice of more efficient equipment and user habits,
compared to other working spaces in the case study. This study serves as the basis to develop
future research, such as, how patterns of use can change over a year due to seasonal changes,
as well as, indoor interior conditions. By looking at plug loads energy consumption profiles,
can help raise awareness of the importance and impact of this variable can have when
addressing energy efficiency in office, commercial as well as other building typologies.
Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge and appreciate the animation video produced by Sang Pham and
Nathaniel Leigh. Special thanks to the NetZED Laboratory for the equipment loan of Onset
Computer plug load dataloggers. This study was supported by the American Society of
Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Senior Undergraduate
Equipment Program. Nita Tjahjana and Ma. Isabel Rivera are grateful for the support from
both the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE) Cook Scholarship and the Anthony
Wong Travel Scholarship to the student authors. These scholarships advance the architecture
students; research and discovery in sustainable design and broadens professional experiences
by providing assistance for students who are invited to present their research findings at
conferences.
References
Hafer, M. et al., 2015. Inventorying Plug Load Equipment and Assessing Plug Load Reduction Solutions on
a University Campus.
Moorefield, L., B. Frazer and P. Bendt, Ph.D. 2011. Office Plug Load Field Monitoring Report. California
Energy Commission, PIER Energy-Related Environmental Research Program. CEC- 500-2011-010.
Sanchez, M. et al., 2006. Space Heaters, Computers, Cell Phone Chargers: How Plugged In Are
Commercial Buildings? ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, pp.304–315.
Introduction
The Ecuadorian government, over the last eight years, has embarked on the construction and
refurbishment of school buildings to promote healthier educational environments. Prototype
designs are adopted for the ease of using off-site prefabricated elements, optimizing
construction times, limiting material waste and lowering construction costs and human
workforce (Ministerio de Educación, 2014). Millennium Schools programme (UEM) is based
on the construction of prototype school buildings to provide free access to education
throughout the country.
The UEM programme started in 2008 on the conceptual idea to reallocate students of
small schools into an infrastructure that houses all the levels of education and has all the
necessary facilities. The UEM design was replicated all over the country without further
considerations to the local climate or people adaptations and expectations.
Ecuador has three natural regions with different climatic conditions. The Coast and
Amazon regions have an average temperature of 25°C and humidity of 90%. The Andean
region average temperature is 16°C and humidity of 75% (Cedeño & Donoso, 2010). UEM’s
design for the temperate climate does not include any active system to regulate indoor
conditions; in warm climates the design incorporates ceiling fans. Thermal comfort has been
defined as “the state of mind that expresses satisfaction with the surrounding environment”
(ASHRAE, 2013).This definition highlights the social and psychological dimensions involved as
Methodology
Two UEMs located in Babahoyo and Quito, Coast and Andean region respectively, were
selected for conducting the surveys and monitoring indoor conditions to validate a simulation
model. Building dynamic simulation modelling is used to test the thermal performance and
the efficiency of architectural passive strategies. The UEM in Quito houses 2280 students,
while the one in Babahoyo houses 2086. Figure 1 displays the site plan for both schools.
The design is based on a modular grid classroom that can be replicated and extended
to house the different facilities required. The modular classroom serves 35 students with an
area of 1.63 m2 per student (Ministerio de Educación, 2014). The 12-classroom block houses
classrooms distributed on two-stories around a central covered courtyard. The modular
windows allow natural cross ventilation with a window to wall ratio (WWR) of 34% in external
façade and 15% in the internal. The building has an S/V of 0.27 and an infiltration rate of 5.7
air exchanges per hour (CITEC UBB, 2011).
Figure 2 shows the classroom configuration with the position of the monitoring
equipment and the school floorplan showing the surveyed classrooms.
Field measurements
The sample size for Quito was of 83 people, conducted in three classrooms on the 21st of
June. A larger sample size was collected for Babahoyo involving 210 subjects. The surveys
were done on the 22nd of June and 6th of July in four and three classrooms respectively.
The subjective questionnaire consisted of 10 questions divided into three parts. The first
section collected demographic information and the second section referred to thermal
perception and preferences. For thermal sensation, two 7-point scales were used (ASHRAE
and Bedford), the 3-point McIntyre scale served to determine the thermal preference.
Acceptability was assessed through direct votes and the overall satisfaction with the
environment was measured on a 7-point scale. The third section related to students
concentration and sleepiness.
Data Analysis
The classrooms’ indoor conditions were evaluated against two methods: (1) the PMV/PPD
method in ASHRAE 55 and (2) the Adaptive method in EN-15251. The PMV/PPD determines
the mean value for the thermal sensation votes (MTSV) of a group of people, which can range
between -3 (cold) and +3 (hot) on the 7-point thermal scales. The adaptive method relies on
the mean outdoor temperature to establish thermal comfort charts. The indoor conditions
PMV/PPD in ASHRAE 55
This method predicts the thermal sensation of a group of people based on six input values:
air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, clothing level and
metabolic rate. Air temperature and relative humidity were measured in each classroom, the
clothing levels were determined using tables in ASHRAE 55, and the metabolic rate was taken
from the research conducted by Teli, et al (2014).
Table 1 displays the results for Quito and Babahoyo. The PMV in the city of Quito is -
0.58 (slightly cool) and the PPD is 13.6% which is slightly outside the comfort limits (10%
dissatisfaction). In Babahoyo the PMV and PPD are +2.04 (warm) and 72.7%
Table 1. PMV/PPD Analysis
UEM Quito UEM Babahoyo
Clas °C Hum MTSV PMV PPD Class °C Hum MTSV PMV PPD
s
A.1 17.3 68.0 -1.0 -0.8 18.0 C.5 28.4 77 -0.2 1.5 49.0
A.2 17.7 61.0 -0.7 -0.7 17.0 C.6 28.8 74 0.0 1.4 47.0
A.3 20.3 51.0 -0.4 -0.2 6.0 C.7 29.8 74 0.7 1.8 68.0
Mean: -0.7 -0.6 13.7 C.1 30.0 73 0.4 1.7 61.0
Met: 1.2 C.4 32.5 57 0.6 2.6 94.0
Clo: 0.9 C.2 33.0 53 0.9 2.5 91.0
Mean Out Temp: 15.9 C.3 34.5 51 1.0 2.9 99.0
Mean: 0.5 2.0 72.7
Met: 1.2 Clo: 0.6
Mean Out Temp: 26.3
Conclusions
The field measurements in classrooms yielded indoor temperatures between 17.3 and 20.3°C
in Quito, and between 28.4 and 34.5°C in Babahoyo. This measurements were used to
calculate the PMV and PPD indexes for each school. In Quito the PMV is -0.60 (slightly cold),
and the PPD is 13.7%; while in Babahoyo the PMV is +2.0 (warm) and the PPD is 72.7%. The
actual thermal sensation votes (TSV) were -0.63 and +0.44 for Quito and Babahoyo
respectively, showing an overestimation of the PMV/PPD index.
In both UEMs the TSV showed an 87.8% of acceptance to their indoor conditions. This
value reflects the acclimatization of students to their current conditions but do not reflect the
levels of satisfaction to the indoor conditions. Students in Babahoyo qualified the indoor
conditions as more satisfactory than the students in Quito due to the insanitary conditions of
the former school. By using the optimum architectural parameters, thermal comfort can
increase to 95% in Quito and 80% in Babahoyo.
References
ASHRAE, 2013. Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy. Atlanta: ASHRAE.
Auliciems, A., 1972. Classroom performance as a function of thermal comfort. Int. J. Biometeor, 16(3), pp.
233-246.
Chatzidiakou, L., Mumovic, D. & Dockrell, J., 2014. The Effects of Thermal Conditions and Indoor Air
Quality on Health, Comfort and Cognitive Performance of Students. 1st ed. London: The Barlett, UCL, Faculty of
the Built environment .
CITEC UBB, 2011. Manual de Hermeticidad al Aire de Edificaciones. Chile: Universidad del Bío-Bío.
Fraser, B. J., 1994. Research on classroom and school climate. In: Handbook of research on science
teaching and learning. New York: Macmillian, pp. 493-541.
Humphreys, M. A., 1977. A study of the thermal comfort of primary school children in summer. Building
and environment, Volume 12, pp. 231-239.
Puteh, M., Ibrahim, M., Adnan, M. & Noh, M., 2012. Thermal comfort in classrooms: constraints and
issues. Procedia - Social and behavioral sciences, Volume 46, pp. 1834-1838.
Teli, D., Jentsch, M. & James, P., 2014. The role of a building's thermal properties on pupil's thermal
comfort in junior school classrooms as determined in field studies. Building and Environment.
Trebilcock, M., 2014. Thermal comfort and energy efficiency in school buildings. Nottingham, The
university of Nottingham.
Waldrip, B. & Fisher, D., 2003. Identifying exemplary science teachers through their classroom
interactions with students. Learning, Volume 6, pp. 157-170.
Zahiri, S., Altan & Hasim, 2016. The effect of passive design strategies on thermal performance of female
secondary school buildings during warm season in a hot and dry climate. Frontiers in Built Environment, 2(3).
Zomorodian, Z. & Nasrollahi, F., 2013. Architectural design optimization of school buildings for reduction
of energy demand in hot and dry climates of Iran. Internation Journal of Architectural Engineering and Urban
Planning, 23(1), pp. 41-50.
Zomorodian, Z., Tahsildoost, M. & Hafezi, M., 2016. Thermal comfort in educational buildings: a review
article. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 59, pp. 895-906.
Abstract: This paper proposes and discusses an evaluation and design method in green residential buildings
residing in the cold climate zones of Northern China. The national green building standard evaluation methods
that are prevalent in China are technology based. The building performance and energy consumption in
operational stages have not been controlled by the architect or used as a feedback within the initial design stage.
This performance-based method introduces objective-effective design tools to assist the architect to consider
energy efficiency during the entire design process. In this way, virtual environment simulation and post
occupancy monitoring data of energy consumption (electricity and gas), indoor thermal environment of both
winter and summer can be analysed and evaluated quantitatively when deciding to introduce or integrate any
green building technology. This design method has been implemented and demonstration residential buildings
projects were selected for this study. This performance-based method may help the architect to control the
energy efficiency of residential buildings in operational stages.
Keywords: Performance-based, design tools and method, cold climate zones, green residential building,
Introduction
The energy efficiency design standard for residential buildings was introduced in China in
1986. In the past 30 years, this design standard was updated in a four-stage, step-by-step
process. Based on the building energy consumption levels during the 1980s, the energy levels
were reduced by 30% in the first stage (1991~1999), 50% in the second stage (2000~2004),
and 65% in the third stage (2000~2004). Beijing, a cold climate zone city of Northern China,
successfully reduced the building heat loss from 31.68W/m2 to 14.65W/m2. In the fourth
stage (2010-present) design standard, the energy level should be reduced by 75 %. Although
the improvements up until now were due to changes in the heating systems and buildings,
there is potential to decrease levels with continuous building improvements. The effect of
energy saving in the operational stage did not pair with the design standard and objective
expectancy (Xia, 2015). To address this disparity, there must be new design method and tools
to further energy efficiency.
This paper proposes a performance-based, objective-effective design method, which
addresses the effect rather than the list of technologies utilized, and also pays more attention
to the operational standard rather than the design standard. Design tools for virtual
environment simulation, operation database, and post occupancy evaluation will be
developed in the future. Design tools should evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies,
technologies or integrations before they are actually selected and introduced in the design
stage. This method may help to fill the gap between design and operation.
Methodology
The Procedure of performance based design method is depicted in Figure 1.
This method is fundamentally paying attention to the energy efficiency in operation
stage rather than list of strategies introduced in design stage. The design tools of the database,
the virtual environment simulation, the BIM (building information modelling), and the POD
(post occupancy evaluation) enable the effects to be predictable and controllable, providing
the architect with available support from the design to the construction. The tools will include
the advantages of the existing simulation tools, or develop tools that address new demands
in object analysis and design optimization. This will effectively predict judgement and decision
making for the evaluation of the whole performance and technology integration within
building diagnosis and occupant behaviour regulation for object setting and effect verification.
References
GB_T50378-2016. Evaluation Standard for Green Building[S]. Beijing: Ministry of Housing and
Urban-Rural Development of People’s Republic of China. 2016, in Chinese
GB/T51161-2016.Standard for Energy Consumption of Building[S]. Beijing: Ministry of
Housing and Urban-Rural Development of People’s Republic of China. 2016, in Chinese
JGJ26-2010.Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings to Severe Cold and
Cold Zones [S].Beijing: Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of People’s
Republic of China. 2010, in Chinese
J. Xia, Y. Jiang, the determination of heating indicator in domestic building in Standard for
Energy Consumption in China,Construction Science and Technology,2015,vol14 ,in Chinese)
N.Liu, D.Mo, M. Wang, J.Zhang. Social technical analysis of urban household residential
carbon emissions in China [J]. Journal of Tsinghua University (Sci & Technol ),2015,Vol.55.No.9,
in Chinese
N.Liu, D.Mo, J. Zhang, S. Zhao, M. Wang. Evaluation of Occupant Behavior in Summer Air
Condition Use and Household Energy Consumption, School of Architecture, Tsinghua
University, Beijing, China. PLEA 2016 Los Angeles - 36th International Conference on Passive
and Low Energy Architecture. Cities, Buildings, People: Towards Regenerative Environments
Abstract: Robust retrofitting is integral to reducing the energy consumption of the existing building stock.
Simulation plays a key role in determining the most effective retrofit solution for a particular building. While
many synthetic test cells provide an environment to validate whole building simulation tools, calibration
reflects the real operation of buildings and can produce more reliable models. A calibrated tool that can assess
whole building energy and thermal comfort could be a powerful aid in decision making and policy formation in
many countries. However, there often exists a lack of detailed information and data about the real operation
of existing buildings in order to perform detailed calibration. This paper presents a long term dataset of
parameters collected in a live low energy building retrofit test-bed in Cork, Ireland (NBERT/zero2020). The
retrofit strategy consists of ventilative cooling and mechanical heating. Long term performance indicators for
energy consumption and thermal comfort are presented. The dataset allowed for the creation of an open
source online data portal available for use by the building research community. The online dataset provides
information related to the building test-bed as well as long term measurement data and can support model
calibration efforts by researchers, designers and educators.
Introduction
High levels of retrofitting will be required in the coming years in order to achieve European
carbon emissions targets. Although certain countries have retrofitted a number of buildings
(Dennehy and Howley, 2013), deep renovations may be required to meet a targeted 90%
reduction in building energy consumption by 2050 (European Commission, 2011). In Ireland,
the public sector has targeted an improvement of 33% in energy efficiency by 2020
(Department of Environment Community and Local Government, 2012), with a 21%
improvement achieved in 2015 (SEAI, 2015). However, energy is not the only demand
placed on the modern built environment. As people are expected to spend 60 to 90% their
lives indoors (Kunkel et al., 2015) the demand for a healthy built environment has also
increased. To quantify the effects of retrofitting accurately energy and comfort modelling is
required. A whole building energy and comfort model can appropriately account for both
energy and comfort demands in modern buildings. Many whole building energy simulation
tools have been validated for use in the area of energy consumption simulation (Lomas et
al., 1997). However, when these tools are not calibrated discrepancies between actual and
simulated energy consumption of ±30% are seen (Ahmad and Culp, 2006). One of the main
issues associated with building energy and environmental simulations is related to their
complexity (Fabrizio and Monetti, 2015). Whether a manual or automated approach is
L3 – 2-3
L2 – 2-2 L1 – 2-1 L1 – 8-2 L1 – 8-3 L3 – 8-1
L2 – 4-4
2
0.00
1
Office 2 Office 1
4
8
L4 – 2-4
Open Plan Office
L1 – 4-3
Board Room
Corridor
L1 – 4-1
Hanwell System Datalogger W Seminar Room
S N
BMS Temperature Sensor
1168.18
E
Manual Override Switch
L2 – 4-2
Ventilation Control Bank
All Control Banks indicated in this drawing are for automated control areas
only.
Figure 1: NBERT building from left to right: location in relation to CIT campus, exterior of building, plan view of
building including ventilation banks and sensor locations
U-value
Element 2 Construction Location
(W/m K)
200mm Kooltherm insulation,150mm Concrete Slab, 25mm
Roof 0.09 Flat roof
cork insulation, 5mm Asphalt coating
100mm Internal Block, 86mm BASF Walltite spray foam,
External Wall 0.09 125mm Aggregate panel, 30mm Air gap, 125mm KS1100 Wall to exterior
insulation, 37mm Air gap, 12mm granite ceramic panel
4mm Saint Gobain Low-e Planitherm Total +, 16mm 90%
Triple glazed Argon filled gap, 4mm Saint Gobain Low-e Planitherm Total Board room,
0.98
window +, 16mm Argon filled gap, 4mm Saint Gobain Plainlux clear Seminar room
float
4mm Saint Gobain Low-e Planitherm Total +, 16mm 90%
Argon filled gap, 4mm Saint Gobain Low-e Planitherm Total Open plan office,
Quadruple
0.86 +, 16mm Argon filled gap, 4mm Saint Gobain Plainlux clear Office 1 and
glazed window
float, 24mm air gap with 16mm interstitial venetian blind, Office 2
4mm clear float
st
1 floor to
Floor 0.78 150mm Cast concrete slab
Ground floor
Table 2: Maximum occupant, lighting, equipment densities and presence of exposed mass in building zones
Floor-to- Occupant Lighting Exposed
Area Equipment
Location ceiling density density ceiling
2 2 2 2
(m ) (m) (m /p) (W/m ) (W/m ) (Y/N)
Open Plan Office 88 2.7 7 12.9 43.4 No
Office 2 9 2.7 9 13.3 0.0 No
Office 1 12 2.7 12 22.8 44.5 No
Board Room 25 2.7 3 12.5 3.8 No
Seminar Room 54 3.24 3 8.7 5.9 Yes
Corridor 34 3.24 N/A 6.7 3.6 Yes
ECG19 Benchmark N/A N/A N/A 10-14 12-18 N/A
Table 3: Instrument accuracy and logging intervals for internal data logging systems
Parameter Instrument/System Specification information
Temperature Hanwell 4002T ±0.1°C (-10°C to 40°C)
±2% (0%–90%)
Humidity Hanwell 4115RHT
±3% (90%–100%)
CO2 Hanwell Climabox 3 ±50ppm (0 – 4000ppm)
Temperature TE-RT, BMS ±0.2°C (-20°C to 60°C)
Energy Socomec DIRIS A20 Class 0.5S, EN- IEC 62053-22
Ventilation Position BACnet Windowmaster (0 – 100%)
Table 4: Instrument accuracy and logging intervals for external weather station
Parameter Instrument/System Specification information
Temperature HC2S3 Rotronic Hygroclip 2 probe ±0.1°C at 23°C
Humidity HC2S3 Rotronic Hygroclip 2 probe 0.8%RH at 23°C
Air Pressure Vaisala PTB101B ±0.5mb at 20°C
Solar Radiation Campbell Sci SP1110 Pyranometer ±5% for 350–1100nm /linearity 1% dev
-1 -1
Wind Speed Campbell Sci 05103 Vane Wind Monitor ±0.3 ms or 1% of reading (0-100 ms )
Wind Direction Campbell Sci 05103 Vane Wind Monitor ±5.0°
2
Daylight Levels Skye SKS 1110 Pyranometer 0-5000W/m / typ. <3% cal err
Rainfall EML Aerodynamic rain gauge ARG100 0.2mm/tip
Figure 2: Observed annual energy consumption for NBERT between 2014 and 2016 (left), and percentage of
monthly energy consumption during 2016 (right).
While the percentage of consumption varies monthly, general services and lighting
can account for over 70% of the energy consumption in most months. With greater than
75kWh/m2/a attributed to electrical energy consumption improvements could be made.
One option could be to adopt the ECG19 benchmarks for installed electrical equipment.
Currently the average installed equipment power density is 22W/m2 reducing this to the
benchmark levels indicated in Table 2 would reduce consumption further.
Figure 3: Percentage of exponentially weighted mean external temperatures for Cork Airport from 2013 to
2016 (right), performance with regard to the adaptive standard EN 15251 (left) assuming an occupied building
from 09:00am to 17:00pm throughout the year
Data portal
Although currently in its infancy the NBERT data portal is an online RShiny application
which allows for the interactive visualisation of data in a web-based platform, using the
open source language in RStudio. One of the main benefits of RShiny aside from being open
source is that no prior knowledge of typical web development languages is required to make
an interactive webpage. The data portal contains within it all the data related to and from
the NBERT building systems. Initially collected and stored in a local database, it is also
backed up online through Google Drive. This data is then manipulated and wrangled using
code in RStudio to get it into a format that is appropriate for use in the data portal. A full
version of the data portal is expected to be completed in the next six months. However, a
beta version of the web portal using a selection of weather data and internal data only can
be found at (MeSSO Research Group, 2017b). Table 5 provides information as to what data
is available at a particular interval in a given year, for each of the main data gathering
systems. The data portal is expected to have two main functions; an interactive information
portal and a relational database. The interactive information portal will contain information
related to the NBERT building design, thermo-physical properties, measurement
instrumentation and energy systems. This is expected to complement the long term data in
the relational database. The information presented will be in an easy to use format and can
be readily accessed by researchers developing models for similar applications, by educators
and researchers looking to source data for project based learning, and for policy makers
wanting to know more about validated passive retrofit solutions. The relational database
will contain data at the various sampling intervals as indicated in Table 5.
Conclusions
This paper has presented a dataset of energy consumption and thermal comfort
measurements from a low energy office building retrofit in Cork, Ireland. It presents
information on the buildings: location, thermo-physical properties, and zone-by-zone
properties. Details about the data gathering process was described, including the relevant
instrument specifications for internal and external instruments. A selection of the dataset
was used to demonstrate the long-term energy consumption performance and thermal
comfort performance of the building. This indicated good standardised thermal comfort
performance with incidences of overcooling, while improvements in equipment energy
consumption could be made. A beta-version of a web portal was created and the
percentage of available data from each source conveyed. The paper outlines the intentions
to create a fully functional relational database and data portal within the next six months.
References
Ahmad, M. and Culp, C. H. (2006) ‘Uncalibrated Building Energy Simulation Modeling Results’, HVAC&R
Research, 12(4), pp. 1141–1155. doi: 10.1080/10789669.2006.10391455.
Asaleye, D. and Murphy, M. D. (2016) ‘Monetary savings produced by multiple microgrid controller
configurations in a smart grid scenario’, IEEE EnergyCon 2016.
Clarke, J., Strachan, P. A. and Pernot, C. (1993) ‘An approach to the calibration of building energy simulation
models’, Transitions-American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, (Judkoff 1983),
pp. 917–930.
Coakley, D., Raftery, P. and Keane, M. (2014) ‘A review of methods to match building energy simulation
models to measured data’, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Elsevier, 37, pp. 123–141. doi:
10.1016/j.rser.2014.05.007.
Ignacio Oteiza1, Carmen Alonso1, Fernando Martín-Consuegra1, Borja Frutos 1 and Sara
Martín2
1
Department of Construction, Eduardo Torroja Institut for Construction Science, Spanish
National Research Council (CSIC). Madrid, Spain. ioteiza@ietcc.csic.es;
2
Technical School of Building, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Abstract: Considerable areas of Spain’s major cities are occupied by social housing built between the end of
the its Civil War (1939) and the late nineteen seventies. These dwellings, erected prior to the enactment of the
earliest provisions on thermal conditioning (NBE CT 79), are largely non-compliant with current energy
standards, with the concomitant energy dissipation, lack of indoor comfort and unnecessary expense. In
Madrid, 58 % of all dwellings were built before the advent of the earliest thermal legislation. Many EU
Directives and Regulations contain provisions on energy savings and efficiency, GHG emissions and
environmental protection. Spain is faced with the difficult task of rehabilitating housing built before 1979 to
comply with those requirements. The opaque building envelopes of a large sample of multifamily housing
developments have been characterised as part of the REFAVIV research project. Four of these dwellings were
monitored for over 30 months. The present paper analyses indoor comfort in these homes to better
understand their energy balance and propose the most fitting rehabilitation measures.
Introduction
The construction systems and opaque envelopes on a large sample of multi-family social
housing complexes in Madrid and Seville, Spain, have been characterised as part of the
‘REFAVIV’ research project (Alonso et al., 2016) (Domínguez et al., 2016). As these buildings
were erected before the 1979 enactment of the country’s earliest thermal requirements for
buildings (RD. 2429. NBE-CT 79), comfort and energy efficiency are sub-standard in most.
Some of their lower-income occupants experience energy poverty. In 2001, 68 % of the
primary housing in Madrid had been built between 1940 and 1980 and nearly 29 % had
been erected in the nineteen sixties (Oteiza et al., 2016). Although located at the time on
the outskirts of the city, those buildings now lie within the urban core (Martín-Consuegra et
al., 2016).
The indoor environment in a few units was monitored to analyse the comfort
afforded and propose future rehabilitation for improvement. Indoor temperature and
humidity were logged for over 30 months in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
This article analyses the indoor comfort prevailing in a small sample of four units in
different housing complexes in Madrid built in the nineteen fifties and sixties. The aim is to
gain a fuller understanding of their energy balance to propose the most fitting rehabilitation
Data collection
The four dwellings were monitored for temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) for over 2
years with the instruments described below. These data were then related to the dwelling
characteristics.
Thermohygrometers
A Lascar EL-USB-2-LCD thermohygrometer was installed in the living area of each dwelling at
an approximate height of 1.5 m to log temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) every 30
min for over 30 months (June 2014 to December 2016).
Digital thermohygrometer specifications: T range, -35°C-80°C; internal resolution,
0.5°C. RH range, 0 %-100 %; internal resolution, 0.5 %.
Figure 1- T and RH data logger
Thermographic imaging
A FLIR B335 thermographic camera was used to take thermographic images of
the four dwellings in February 2016 (images in Table 1).
Photos:
Google maps
open compound
closed compound open periphery city block
Storey 3 of 5 4 of 4 4 of 7 4 of 8
2
Net floor area(m ) 77 60 80 84,5
Clearance (H) (m) 2,70 2,70 2,70 2,60
Occupants (No.) 4 2 1 4
2
Envelope (m ) 44.81 71 + 60 (roof) 42 49
3
Volume (m ) 208 162 216 220
Form factor 4.64 1.24 5.14 4.49
Façade
Thermography
2 2 2
Area and N- N 20.20 m N 13.74 m N 16.85 m
2 2
orientation S- S 22.50 m S- S 14.65 m
2 2 2
E 23.48 m E 12.28 m E 14.61 m E-
2 2 2
W 21.33 m W 8.91 m W 4.87 m W-
2
U-value (W/ m K) 1.34 (PB) 1.25 (FB) 2.61(SB) 1.13 (PB)
Windows Aluminium + Aluminium with TB Aluminium + PVC + double
double glazing + low-E double double glazing glazing
glazing
2 2 2
Area and N- N -4.00 m N 3.00 m N -6.55 m
2 2
orientation S- S -0.70 m S- S -10.60 m
2 2 2
E -6 m E -2.30 m E -4.56 m E-
2 2
W -7 m W- W -1.21 m W-
2
U-value (W/ m K) 3.72 2.72 3.72 3.08
Outer solar PVC blinds None PVC blinds PVC blinds
protection Awning Awning
Heating Building-wide Private Building-wide Building-wide
(distributor and
thermostatic V.)
Cooling None None None Stand-alone facility
PB: perforated brick; FB: 8 cm facing brick; SB: solid brick; TB: thermal break;
Figure 2. Winter temperatures, 2015 Figure 3. Summer temperatures, 2014
Figure 4. Yearly distribution (2016) of indoor temperature in four dwellings
The pie graphs in Figure 4 show the percentage of hours in 2016 (December 2015-
December 2016) in which indoor temperatures lay within four ranges: purple indicates
T<17°C (cold environment); blue, T=17°C-20°C (cool but acceptable); green, T=20°C-25°C
(comfort zone); and orange T>27°C (warm environment). In dwelling 1, comfort zone
temperatures were recorded 65 % of the time and in dwellings 2 and 3, 67%. In dwelling 2
the temperature was in the comfort zone 48 % of the time and 23 % of the time it was
below 17°C. Temperatures of 27°C-25°C were recorded during 12 % of the time in dwelling
4, 7 % of the time in dwelling 3 and 6 % of the time in dwellings 1 and 2. The number of
hours with T>27°C (warm environment) was similar, at around one-fourth of the time, in all
four dwellings, ranging from 20 % in dwelling 4 to 29 % in dwelling 1.
Discussion
This part is divided into the 4 most relevant aspects of the analysis.
Hygrothermal comfort
The heating installed in the four units delivered indoor temperatures within an acceptable
range (17°C-25°C) in the winter time. In the four, the temperature was above 27°C for 20%-
29 % of the time (2016), all in the summer months. Summertime temperatures were over
the acceptable 25°C-27°C range most of the time.
Dwellings 1 and 2 exhibited more hours of comfortable RH (40%-60%) than dwellings
3 and 4. This may be due to usage or in the case of dwelling 2 to its location, near a river and
green belts. More hours with RH of below 40% were recorded for dwelling 3 than any of the
others, due to its location in an urban area with a high building density, no green spaces and
a very compact residential typology. Moreover, building-wide heating systems dry the
indoor environment in the winter.
The differences found in the temperature and humidity ranges in the four units
suggest the need to use an enthalpy indicator for more accurate energy balance
calculations.
Heating
Dwelling 2, for which the T graph exhibited the widest fluctuations, had a thermostat-
adjustable private heating facility. The resulting indoor ceiling temperature obviated any
wintertime superheating. In addition, the dwelling was in the comfort zone only when it was
occupied. In the other units, located in buildings with a shared heating facility, it was more
difficult to adjust the temperature to comfort levels. The temperature rose above 25 °C any
number of times during the winter. Of the units with building-wide heating, only dwelling 1
Conclusions
As the units studied were heated, thermal comfort was greater in the winter than in the
summer, although to the detriment of the environment.
In Madrid’s Mediterranean continental climate, indoor comfort can be improved by
using passive measures, thereby reducing energy demands. The quality of the buildings’
construction is well below the current standards. Energy consumption could be
reduced, ameliorating the level of comfort by improving its thermal performance.
The use of passive measures during summer is a common practice (awnings, blinds,
night time ventilation) and internalised by users. In the winter, however, occupants rely on
heating to ensure comfort. It is foreseeable that the lack of comfort during summer (Fig.4),
in addition to the expected climate change, will increase consumption due to the
installation of cooling equipment.
The low levels of humidity in these units makes evaporative cooling a good passive
option to lower the summertime temperature. The energy used in the winter dries the
environment. Such substantial alterations in HR levels support the argument for using an
enthalpy indicator for energy characterisation.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under
project BIA2012-39020-C02-01- ‘Energy refurbishment of deteriorated social housing
façades in large Spanish cities using innovative products endorsed by national (DIT)
technical approvals and European technical assessments (ETA) - REFAVIV’. The information
provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment’s National
Meteorological Agency (AEMET) is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, AEMET. Opendata. 2017
Alonso, C.; Oteiza, I.; García-Navarro, J. and Martín-Consuegra, F. (2016). ‘Energy Consumption to
Cool and Heat Experimental Modules for the Energy Refurbishment of Façades. Three Case Studies in Madrid’.
Energy and Buildings 126: 252–62. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.04.034.
Código Ténico de la Edificación (CTE). CTE BD HE, 2013 http://www.codigotecnico.org/ (Accessed
29/03/2017).
Abstract:!This!paper!presents!a!study!to!investigate!the!actual!building!energy!use!and!measures!to!improve!
the!energy!efficiency!of!residential!tower!blocks!in!the!Turkish!Republic!of!Northern!Cyprus!(TRNC).!One!of!the!
main!concerns!is!that,!the!TRNC!is!burdened!with!the!legacy!of!poorly!built!housing!stock!accumulating!over!
the! last! few! decades.! There! are! no! strict! measures! or! benchmarks! for! building! energy! performance,! nor! an!
official! roadmap! for! regulating! retrofit! strategies to! improve! energy! efficiency.! The! aim! of! this! study! is! to!
develop! and! test! potential! retrofit! strategies! aimed! at! optimising! the! energy! performance! of! the! existing!
residential! tower! blocks! in! the! TRNC.! This! research! adapts! a! quantitative! research! design! primarily! using!
computer!software!simulations!in!a!case!study!approach.!To!capture!the!existing!energy!consumption,!physical!
characteristics!of!selected!case!studies!are!incorporated!into!the!energy!simulation!analysis.!In!this!case!study!
approach,!three!prototype!residential!tower!blocks!are!analysed!related!to!occupants energy!use!patterns.!To!
accomplish! this,! the! study! first! examines! three! prototypes! of! typical! residential! tower! blocks! built! in! the!
1970 s,!1990 s!and!2010 s.!The!modelling!software!used!is!REVIT!2017!with! Green!Building!Studio !as!a!plugNin!
for!energy!performance!analysis!and!simulation.!This!paper!reports!on!the!preliminary!simulation!results!that!
demonstrate! that! the! 73%! of! the! total! heat! loss! from! the! buildings! is! due! to! air! infiltration,! unNinsulated!
external! walls,! and! windows! (resulting! in! high! annual! energy! demand! for! cooling),! particularly! in! the! southN
east!facing!flats.!
(
Keywords:!Energy!Efficiency,!Energy!Performance,!Retrofit,!Northern!Cyprus!
Introduction((
This! research! project! is! undertaken! in! Famagusta,! Turkish! Republic! of! Northern! Cyprus!
(TRNC).!Understanding!the!importance!of!energy!performance!of!the!existing!building!stock!
constitutes!a!thorough!cultural!and!societal!challenge.!It!plays!a!crucial!role!in!the!efforts!to!
reduce!the!negative!environmental!impacts!of!inefficient!construction!activity.!Energy!and!
carbon! reductions! from! the! existing! building! stock! take! high! priority! in! both,! the!
construction! and! residential! sectors! (Salat,! 2009).! The! main! objectives! for! energy! saving!
targets!are!cost!savings!and!reduction!of!carbonNdioxide!emissions.!However,!in!the!TRNC,!
two!critical!features!of!the!housing!sector!are!the!absence!of!regulatory!bodies!to!oversee!
the!process!of!construction!and!the!fact!that!the!majority!of!housing!stock!is!poorly!built!by!
privately! owned! construction! companies! (Yapicioglu! and! Wright,! 2014).! Hence,! without!
institutional!structures!within!the!country!to!oversee!building!initiatives,!it!becomes!almost!
impossible!to!bring!the!building!sector!into!European!Union!standards!(Ulucay,!2008).!!The!
study! aims! to! investigate! the! current! energy! consumption! patterns! (heating! and! cooling!
brick!wall!(without!insulation) U=!1.6N2.0W/(m2K)
autoclaved!aerated!concrete!large!block!wall U=0.8N1.2W/(m2K)
aluminium!framed!single/double!glazed!windows,(without! U=2.5N3.0w/(m2K)
insulation)!with!a!tow!had!!
Source:!State!Planning!Organisation!of!the!TRNC,!Building!Construction!and!Parcel!Statistics,!(2010).!
Figure!3!a,b&c:!The!Alasya!Park!N!large!scale!enNmass!housing!estate,!the!modelled!and!simulated!sample!
residential!tower!block.!
Source:!Image!a&b!N!credits:!Author,!(2015)!N!Image:!Revit!2017!‘Green!Building!Studio’,!(2017).!
!
Results(and(analysis:(Retrofitting(Advantages(F(Energy(Performance(of(Prototype(Building(
In!this!section,!the!residential!tower!block!prototype!RTB3!is!modelled!according !to!building!
geometry,! floor! plan! organisation,! construction! material! and! orientation! (southNeast)!
of!buildings.! In!that! sense !there !is! communication !and! collaboration! between! research,!
design,!and!the!implementation!of!energy!efficiency!retrofitting!and!challenges!come through
the!building! energy! performance! simulation.! For! the! retrofit! strategies,! the! concepts!
were!modified!to!ASHRAE!90.1N2010!retrofit!package.! The!materials!were!selected!to!meet!
the! UNvalue !and! other !requirements !defined !in !Table! 1. !By! the !performed! Building!
Performance!Systems! (BPS)! dynamic! simulations/investigation! and! optimisation! of!
different! building!envelope! structures,! it! has! been! demonstrated! that! it! is! possible! to!
significantly! reduce!heating! and! cooling! loads.! Table! 2! demonstrates! the! contextual!
features! of! prototype!building!before!retrofitting.
! Table!2:!The!contextual!features!and!simulation!benchmarks!of!prototype!building.!
!
!
Source:!Autodesk!N!REVIT2017!‘Green!Building!Studio’!energy!analysis!result,!(2017).!
!
! !! !
Figures!4!a&b:!The!monthly!heating!and!cooling!load!of!the!RTB3.!
Source:!Autodesk!N!REVIT2017!‘Green!Building!Studio’!energy!analysis!result,!(2017).!
!
The!diagram!in!Figure!4a!shows!that!the!specific!annual!energy!demand!for!heating!in!the!
RTB3! can! be! reduced! by! 52%! by! applying! the! layer! of! thermal! exterior! insulation! to! the!
building! envelope! (new! UNvalue! 0.14W/m2K)! and! changing! the! existing! double! pane!
windows! to! triple! pane! windows! (the! existing! UNvalue! 2.10W/m2K),! and! further!
improvements! led! to! a! reduction! of! 73%,! while! in! upgrading! the! windows! (new! UNvalue!
0.7/m2k)! in!the !RTB3,! specific !annual! energy! demand! for!heating! can!be!reduced! by !57%!
only! by! treating! the! building! envelope,! while! the! application! of! other! measures! such! as!
energy!efficient!lighting!use!can!provide!a!further!59%!savings!in!the!RTB3.!
Figure!4b!shows!that!a!30%!reduction!of!cooling!load!for!RTB3!is!achievable!by!improving!
the! building! envelope! (new! UNvalue! 0.15W/m2K),! by! placing! new! exterior! thermal!
insulation.! Cooling! design! calculations! are! carried! out! to! determine! the! capacity! of!
mechanical! cooling! equipment! required! to! meet! the! hottest! summer! design! weather!
conditions! and! this! was! determined! as! parameters! of! energy! measures! during! the!
simulation!processes.!By!further!increment!of!the!insulation!thickness,!a!significant!decrease!
in! cooling! load! can! be! noted! for! both! southNwest! and! southNeast! facing! spaces.! It! is!also!
remarkable!to!not!that!placing!a!wellNventilated!facade! achieved! significant! energy !savings!
for!cooling,!up!to!35%!in!upgrading!envelope!of!the!exterior!wall.!A!similar!scenario!also !can!
be! seen! in! upgrading insulation of! the roof, where! there! is! a! slight noticeable ! increase in!
cooling! design! capacity! for! upgrading! UNvalues! of! windows,! but! by! installing! a! ventilated!
facade!savings!up!to!34%!are!achievable!in!the!RTB3.!
!
Discussions:(Potential(energy(retrofit(scenarios(
The!building!envelope!is!an!important!component!in!the!building!structure !as !the! interface!
between! the! interior! of! the! building! and! the! outdoor! environment.! Kylili! and! Fokaides!
(2015)! assert! that! a! feasible! solution! for! achieving! energy! savings! in! existing! buildings!
through! interfering! with! the! building! construction! is! upgrading! exterior! wall! systems.!
Besides! building! physics,! energy! conscious! retrofit! scenarios! have! considered! the!
architectural! measures! that! affect! the! overall! improvement! of! the! actual! energy!
Energy,(Carbon(&(Cost(Summary Estimated(Energy(&(Cost(Summary
Annual!Energy!Cost!$2.274 Annual!Energy!Cost!$1.683
!!!!!!!!!!Lifecycle!Cost!$30.967 !!!!!!!!!!Lifecycle!Cost!$22.919
Annual(Energy Annual(Energy
Energy!Use!Intensity!(EUI)!674MJ/m2/year Energy!Use!Intensity!(EUI)!674MJ/m2/year
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Electric!15.414(kWh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Electric!11.349(kWh
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Fuel!5.209(MJ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Fuel!4.966(MJ
!!!!!Annual!Peak!Demand!5.3(kW !!!!!Annual!Peak!Demand!3.6(kW
Lifecycle(Energy Lifecycle(Energy
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Electric!462.413(kW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Electric!340.477(kW
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Fuel!156.054(MJ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Fuel!149.870(MJ
Source:!Autodesk!N!REVIT2017!‘Green!Building!Studio’!energy!analysis!result,!(2017).!
The proposed solution for energy consumption reduction of the building is installing
thermal insulation terracotta ceramic tile (new U-value 0.14W/M2K), replacement of
windows and door glazing (from single to double or triple, low-e glazing), and wood-framed
door/window openings that led to a considerable reduction in the heat losses through
building envelope. The thickness of additional insulation for the facade and floor (U=0.04W/
(m2K) was 100, 200, 300mm, for the roof the change of original 175mm insulation and
additional insulation of 50, 150, 250mm, which can reduce the amount of heat that the
building absorbs due to partial reflection of solar radiation. (Green Building Studio, 2017).
Three energy saving measures were considered from the upgrading of existing windows
(U 1.5W/(m2K)) to the installation of double glazed windows (U 1.2 and 0.7W(m2K)). Two
different new door options also were considered (U 1.5 and 1.0W/ (m2K)) (ibid). It is also
noted that the base case is RTB3 with its proposed structure and service systems that
provide indoor climate according to ASHRAE 90.1 N2010 standard (an acceptable, moderate
level of expectation). Along with improved energy efficiency, also indoor climate was
upgraded to correspond to ASHRAE benchmark (normal level of expectation) requirements.
Additionally, mechanical supply and exhaust ventilation with two types of ventilation heat
recovery efficiency was considered: 60% and 80% in the RTB3.
One essential element in the strategies proposed was the glazed enclosure of the balconies,
which caused an aesthetic change of appearance of the building envelope, by means of sliding
glass elements, which created a thermal buffer zone in the winter. Glazed enclosure of the
balconies is proposed in the RTB3, it is evident that the greater effect on reducing the
Time!frame 30 y Kylili!(2016)
Price(increase
Center for Building Energy Research, Department of Architecture, College of Design, Iowa
State University, Ames, Iowa, USA, upasse@iastate.edu
Abstract: Net-zero energy homes in extreme climates of the North American Midwest require an optimized
building enclosure, proper solar orientation and highly efficient renewable energy systems. Of additional
importance are seasonal climate-based operation strategies. The Interlock House, built in 2009 for the US DOE
Solar Decathlon, anticipates active user control. Climate extremes for this location range from hot and humid
summers with 90ᵒF/32 ᵒC dry bulb and 74ᵒF/23 ᵒC wet bulb to very cold winters with -3ᵒF/-19ᵒC dry bulb. The
design focused on current construction techniques and seasonal passive design strategies such as passive solar
sunspace, thermal mass and natural ventilation in shoulder seasons. Efficient photovoltaic systems and
evacuated solar thermal collectors meet energy demand effectively. An online interface and energy
performance prediction suggested control strategies and schedules for relevant passive features anticipating
daily weather conditions inform occupants about feasible control strategies for shading, windows, sunspace.
This paper reports successful control operations, suggested set points and occupancy related challenges
encountered during a full year of monitoring. Occupant –researcher interaction supported the fine-tuning of set
points and control strategies, which will support future control strategies. Data analysis provides preliminary
design and operation guidelines for future zero ready homes for this challenging climate.
Keywords: Net-zero energy, predictive control strategies, real time performance monitoring, passive solar
Introduction
The Interlock House has been designed to achieve net-zero energy performance for the
climate, one of the most extreme climates in North America with hot and humid summers
and very cold winters, with design temperatures (dry bulb / wet bulb) ranging from 90ᵒF/74ᵒF
(32.2 ᵒC / 23.3 ᵒC) in summer to -3ᵒF (-19 ᵒC) in winter. Transforming to accommodate the
extremes of the seasons and interlocking with the outdoor environment, this house balances
a reduction of energy consumption through design with solar thermal and electric energy
production. An advanced sensor and data acquisition system has been installed to monitor
energy production and consumption, to validate the design prediction and to investigate the
impact of human behaviour on the interaction of production and consumption. Occupying a
passive solar home provides an intimate connection with the climate conditions outdoors and
requires active manipulation of shading and windows to achieve the stated goal to power the
house solely with building integrated renewables over the course of one year (He, Passe,
2014).
Background
The 2009 US DOE Solar Decathlon challenged teams of university students to build a solar
powered home and to operate it with a net-zero energy performance during a week-long
period of measurement. In addition, simulations presented a net-zero energy balance for a
representative year in the climate of the building’s home location. Achieving net- zero
requires both decreasing the energy consumption by improving the energy efficiency and
increasing the energy supply from sustainable sources. In the investigated case, the energy
efficiency was improved by integrating passive and active design features (see Figure 1). The
design strategy was successful during the competition period in the relatively mild climate in
Washington D.C. during three weeks of October of 2009 (Passe et al, 2016). To examine the
potential energy performance of this house for the more extreme Midwestern climate with
cold winter and hot summer, the house was monitored with a state-of-art data acquisition
system (DAS) after relocation. With both sensor measurement and activity log, the project
provides a thorough analysis of the post-occupancy energy performance.
Occupant behaviour is a major driver for building energy consumption and thus
research needs to go beyond the design and performance simulation to studying occupant
behaviour and control strategies. For example Hong and Lin 2013 simulated energy impact of
how occupants set comfort criteria (including thermal, visual, and acoustic), interact with
building energy and services systems, and studied how occupant response to environmental
discomfort directly affect the operation of buildings and thus their energy use. They
developed behaviour categories for three workstyles: 1) austerity – occupants are proactive
in saving energy and manipulate set points after their arrival and ahead of their departure, 2)
standard – average occupants manipulate set points only for times, when they are not present
The building envelope combines a tight, well-insulated wall system and well-positioned
windows and door to facilitate passive solar and natural ventilation cooling. On the North,
East and West, the house’s exterior wall construction includes a double cavity with an R value
of 48 (8.45 metric), which is achieved with bio-based foam insulation in a two-by-six framing
system twenty-four inches on center (5.08 cm x 15.24 cm / 60.96 cm on center) with another
one-and-one-half-inch (3.81 cm) additional layer of recycled blue jean insulation. The roof
was installed with one layer of R-60 insulation (10.57 metric). Glass is minimized on the North,
East and West elevation to prevent unwanted heat gains and losses. The fenestration patterns
provide adequate day lighting throughout the year (Leysens et al, 2014) and are operable to
admit fresh air and optimize passive ventilation by way of a through-section breezeway in the
North-South orientation. (Passe et al, 2016; Jeanblanc et al, 2016). The southern side of this
Figure 4: Annual net-zero energy performance versus climate (solar radiation and outdoor temperature)
Figure 5: Typical winter day: a) Indoor Conditions and Solar Production; b) Space Heating and Solar Resources
Conclusion
The discussed control strategies would require further long term testing before adapting
them to a broader audience and other climate zones in order to determine the amount of
energy consumed/saved by balanced occupant control. In conclusion we suggest, that
buildings designed for a net-zero energy balance are carefully simulated based on a variety of
schedules, set-points and operation scenarios to anticipate and discover potential challenges
ahead. Thus as technology and design strategies as well as energy modelling tools have
matured, the next research area to achieve an energy balance powered by renewable energy
sources is occupant-building interaction, microclimate and refined operation and control
strategies to thrive with less, yet without sacrificing comfort. Currently these buildings in the
Midwest might still need austere occupants using predictive controls for optimal set-points.
References
He, S., Passe, U. (2014). “The potential energy efficiency of a hybrid designed house: A post-occupancy
case study on the heating and cooling system”, ASHRAE 2014 Annual Conference, Track 8: Installation,
Commissioning, Operation, Maintenance of Existing Buildings, Seattle, June 2014.
Hong, Tianzhen. (2014). Occupant Behavior: Impact on Energy Use of Private Offices. ASim 2012 - 1st Asia
conference of International Building Performance Simulation Association., Shanghai, China, 11/25/12-11/27/12.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. LBNL Paper LBNL-6128E.
Retrieved from: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6jp5w8kn.
Jeanblanc, E., He, S., Passe, U. (2016). Occupant-Centered Building Operation Strategies for Balancing
Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Warm and Humid Climates. In Nicol, F., Roaf, S., Brotas, L., Humphreys,
R., (Eds.), Making Comfort Relevant, Proceedings of 9th Windsor Conference, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor,
United Kingdom. April 7-10 2016. Network for Comfort and Energy Use in Buildings, http://nceub.org.uk.
Leysens, I., Passe, U. (2014), Towards an adaptive dynamic daylighting comfort understanding’. In: Nicol,
F., Roaf, S., Brotas, L., Humphreys, R., (Eds.), Counting the Cost of Comfort in a Changing World, Proceedings of
8th Windsor Conference: Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK, 10th-13th April 2014. Network for Comfort and
Energy Use in Buildings, http://nceub.org.uk.
Passe, Ulrike, Evaluating passive and active solar design and performance interaction: First measured
results (2012), in Proceedings of The Second International Conference on Building Energy and Environment
(COBEE), August 1-4, 2012, Boulder, Colorado, edited by Dr. Zhiqiang Zhai, Dr. Xiangli Li and Haidong Wang, 2012:
265.
Passe, U., Deza, M., Ganapathysubramanian, B., He, S., Vansice, K., Xu, S. (2016). Typological studies for
passive design strategies based on coupled measured and modelled data. Proceedings of the 2016 Simulation
for Architecture and Urban Design (SimAUD) conference, May 16-18, 2016, London.
Passe, U., Timothy Lentz (2016) Designing Passive Solar Heated Spaces, in: Low energy low carbon
architecture: recent advances and future directions, edited by Khaled Al Sallal, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis.
Abstract: This paper describes the preliminary findings of a post-occupancy evaluation campaign
conducted on contemporary and energy-efficient office buildings with different façades treatments. The aim
is to investigate occupants’ comfort and perceived productivity and to observe to what extent the space
appearance and the façade design play a role in the ultimate user’s satisfaction and overall comfort. Two Swiss
office buildings with different vertical enclosures are considered for this preliminary study: one has regular-
shaped windows and regular blinds while the other presents a double-skin façade with a coloured silk-printed
pattern partially covering the external pane and semi-transparent internal roller blinds. The results
reported in this paper relate to an on-line extensive survey distributed among the buildings occupants to
provide a global estimation of the comfort and perception they experience in their office. Findings suggest that
in case of high dissatisfaction with some environmental factors, these influence strongly people’s overall
comfort evaluation but not the self-rated productivity. However, when comfort ratings are less critical –
though not optimal-, overall comfort as well as perceived productivity are more strongly correlated to
the pleasantness of the space than to the environmental factors. Nevertheless, in the case of patterned
glazing, the façade design has a low influence on comfort perception. The study suggests that further
research should be conducted, especially to look at façade designs that play a greater role in determining
the appearance and/or a certain level of personal environmental control in a workspace.
Introduction
In the last 20 years, comfort research in field studies has called the attention to the
necessity to study human satisfaction in real contexts (Boardass, 2003) and to broaden the
comfort debate from physiological to also psychological and behavioral aspects (Cole, 2008).
According to Meir et al. (2009), post-occupancy evaluation (POE) can play a role in
determining “an acceptable balance between creativity and utility” in the building
procurement process, by assessing if and how the design elements interact with elements of
user satisfaction (including comfort). In the contemporary architectural context, this
question is particular relevant if we think about the rapid advancement of façade design
technologies in providing architects and engineers additional potential for the achievement
of both high energy and aesthetic performance.
To our knowledge, the way comfort studies have looked at user satisfaction and
behaviour under different façade systems has been indeed rather limited, and restricted to
the consideration of single “conventional” façade components (regular-shaped windows
Methodology
Case studies description
The POE campaign was carried out in two Swiss office buildings. The criteria for the
selection of the two case studies required them to be comparable in dimension, age of
construction, occupation and function and to be designed according to energy-efficient
principles. From an architectural point of view, although workspaces of the two buildings
are comparable in terms of size, layout and furniture, they distinctly differ for the façade
treatments: one (B1) has regular-shaped windows and typical horizontal metal venetian
blinds (grey colour) while the other (B2) presents a double-skin façade with a coloured silk-
printed pattern on the external pane and semi-transparent internal roller blinds (Figures 1
and 2). The buildings where both conceived to have fixed, non-openable windows. Following
employees’ pressing requests for thermal conditions improvement, operable windows were
installed in B1. Occupants were however advised against opening them.
Figure 1. Schematic representation of the façade types used in the case studies: B1 (on the left) and B2 (on the
right)
Both buildings obtained the Minergie-P certification, a label attesting the high
energy efficiency of new and refurbished buildings in Switzerland. This certification system
relates primarily to the annual energy used by the building for heating, hot water and
electrical ventilation, requiring air-tight building envelopes and the use of energy-efficient
ventilation system. Particular attention is also paid to thermal comfort, especially to avoid
the risk of overheating in summer. One of the two buildings obtained the additional “Eco”
label, which resulted in further comfort criteria to be addressed with respect to light, air
quality and protection against noise.
POE protocol
The post-occupancy monitoring was conducted along two weeks at the end of winter 2017.
The POE protocol consisted of:
- A two-week environmental monitoring campaign: temperature and relative humidity
data loggers as well as illuminance-meters were installed in some work spaces.
- Point-in-time environmental monitoring episodes: two point-in-time measurement
campaigns per building were also performed for instantaneous recording of
temperature, relative humidity, illuminance, luminance distribution and air quality.
- An on-line extensive survey: a questionnaire was sent to the buildings’ occupants to
investigate the level of satisfaction they had experienced in the last 6 months (autumn-
winter). The survey included 40 questions about the overall comfort and the indoor
environmental quality (IEQ) factors (temperature, light, air quality and noise), the view
to the outside, the perceived productivity and the personal environmental control (PEC)
level. In addition, several non-environmental questions connected to design aspects
and perception of the space were included in the survey. Responses were registered
through a 7-point Likert scale. Additional open questions allowed the participants to
add their own comments.
- Point-in-time surveys: along with the point-in-time measurements, occupants were also
requested to give feedback about their instantaneous comfort within a short survey.
Overall
Comfort
Temperature
Lighting
Air quality
Noise
Figure 3. Occupants’ ratings of IEQ factors and overall comfort in the two buildings
Layout
Decoration
Building
Façade
Participants were also asked about the general pleasantness of the space. To that
question, respondents in B1 gave 57% of positive votes and 25% of neutral answers. In B2
11% more positive answers were counted (68% of satisfied) with 14% of neutral opinions.
Other factors
Figure 5 shows the distribution of votes with regard to other non-environmental factors
such as the privacy level, the quantity and quality of the view to the outside and the
personal control of the environment. Around half of respondents of the two case studies
were satisfied with the privacy in their office. This percentage decreased when they were
asked about the view to the outside (32% for B1 and 41% for B2) and dropped to just 14%
and 5% when it came to the level of PEC. In particular, over 90% of the people in both
buildings reported no or limited control on noise, temperature and ventilation, which is
consistent with the related comfort rating.
B1 B2
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Privacy
View to the
outside
PEC
Figure 5. Occupants’ rating of privacy, view to the outside and personal environmental control in the two
buildings
Table 2. Variables influence on overall comfort and self-rated productivity ratings for the two buildings.
Spearman’s rs and p-value are shown (significance level =0.05)
Overall comfort Self-rated productivity
B1 B2 B1 B2
rs p-value rs p-value rs p-value rs p-value
Temperature 0.53** 0.004 0.38 0.082 0.22 0.246 0.32 0.151
Air quality 0.72*** 0.000 0.03 0.869 0.07 0.731 -0.02 0.916
Light 0.25 0.205 0.46* 0.034 0.23 0.246 0.21 0.356
Noise 0.33 0.083 0.67** 0.001 0.38* 0.048 0.26 0.236
Pleasantness space 0.43* 0.022 0.74*** 0.000 0.55** 0.003 0.34 0.119
Façade 0.020 0.918 0.41* 0.057 0.07 0.727 0.13 0.565
Layout 0.54** 0.003 0.52** 0.014 0.28 0.148 0.20 0.361
Decoration 0.57** 0.001 0.41* 0.058 0.30 0.122 0.33 0.133
View to the outside 0.13 0.497 0.356 0.105 0.00 0.980 0.34 0.124
PEC 0.54** 0.004 0.58** 0.006 0.28 0.115 0.28 0.207
Privacy 0.50** 0.007 0.087 0.699 0.01 0.939 0.32 0.151
Self-rated productivity 0.30* 0.041 0.53** 0.013
B1 B2
7
Pleasantness of the space
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
R² = 0,1941 R² = 0,4835
1 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Overall Comfort Overall Comfort
Figure 6. Linear regression model showing the relationship between overall comfort and pleasantness of the
space
Conclusions
The study described in this paper is part of a broader POE campaign aimed at
exploring building users’ satisfaction in contemporary Swiss offices, with a particular focus
on buildings where the façade can play a major role in determining the appearance and/or a
certain level of personal environmental control. One of the premises for the buildings
comparison is that they should respect some common high-energy design standards.
In this paper, the preliminary outcomes of an extensive comfort and perception
survey distributed to people working in offices with a conventional façade system are
analysed and compared with those of people working in a building with an unconventional
façade system.
The first evidence that resulted from this study is that, despite the high energy design
requirements, both the buildings seem to perform poorly in meeting users' expectation with
comfort. Except for lighting, all the investigated IEQ factors obtained a satisfying score from
less or equal 50% of respondents, with thermal comfort and air quality appearing as the
main criticalities. This is particularly evident in B1, despite the adjustments provided to the
windows to enable an increased personal control on temperature and ventilation.
Limitations in façade-dependant workspace adjustments, i.e. solar and natural
ventilation control, are perceived by the majority of respondents as a factor of
dissatisfaction, which is consistent with several comfort studies on green buildings (Wagner
et al. 2007, Healey 2013) as a consequence of air-tight and mechanically ventilated
sustainable design concept. This results also in a moderate correlation, in both cases, of PEC
with the overall comfort but not to the self-rated productivity.
In line with previous studies about comfort, it was found that when users are
particularly dissatisfied with some IEQ factors, these last play the main role in people’s
overall comfort.
However, the research showed that when comfort ratings are less critical, users
appear to be happier with the overall comfort mainly when the space where their work
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Abstract: The role of urban tissue is important for protecting the free space –street- of the physical
environmental loads, where the attenuation of convection, light and the sound of the natural environment
surrounding. This research is trying to identify the role of the constructivism density of the tissue, through the
comparison of two main axes of the physical ambience, they are -the thermal ambience, and the visual
ambience. Where has been adopted the methodology of the research is comparative method, which is based
on a comparative method of the ambience physical elements. Where we was also adopted the research
performance by raise the real values of the physical ambiences every two hours, each three consecutive days,
through the measurement stations that are positioned via the three types of the street engineering (H≥2W,
H=W, H≤0.5W). And through the results obtained we conclude that we can note the values difference between
the three types of street engineering. Where was the street of the high ratio between h/w (H≥ 2L), which knows
canyon street, is the less Physical loads. Thus turns out the impact of constructivism density protection the
free space –street-. Where the relationship between constructivism density and section of street for the
improving in the physical urban ambience.
Keywords: street, constructivism density , physical urban ambience , sensory perception ,urban tissue.
Introduction
The attenuation of environmental loads, is the obligatory principle for the survival of the
cities of the desert (Boukhabla et al, 2013), the question of the physical comfort of these
cities, is re-value and the fundamental authenticity of these cities (Jean et al,2001). Where
the role of urban tissue for protection of the free space –street- of the physical
environmental loads.
The problematic
The city of biskra is suffering from the problem of the increasing the environmental physical
burden (Cote,2005). Where the increase of air temperature, increase natural lighting, strong
winds, and noise, which cause many problems to the health of the human. This problematic
raises the question of how to enable the reduction and improving of the physical urban
ambience of tissue -street-.
Methodology
The comparative method is the scientific methodology for this research. Where the
theoretical axis, and the practical axis, this is the last where three axes. The first, identifies
the urban environment. The second. Determines the tool to search, the field work. The
third, is a process of analysis, interpretable, by the comparative method and the discussion
of the results .
a S 01 b S 03 S 02
Figure 2. (a) The station (01). (b) the stations (03,02). source. google earth 2015.
Figure 3. (a) Section of the station. (01) . (b) view of the station. (01). Source. Author.
Station No. 02 . The average ratio between the height / width (H = L). dihedral street
a b
Figure 4. (a) Section of the station. (02) . (b) view of the station. (02). Source. Author.
Station No. 03. The high ratio between the height / width (H≥ 2L). canyon street
a b
Figure 5. (a) Section of the station.(03) . (b) view of the station. (03). Source. Author.
a b
Figure 6. (a) Testo 480. (b) lux meter. (03). source. Author.
50
45
40
35
(°C)
30
25
20
00:00
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2:00 PM
4:00 PM
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a
Hour H≤ L 04 اﻟﻣﺣطﺔ رﻗم
o
S. N 01
- H = Lb
05 S.N
رﻗمo اﻟﻣﺣطﺔ
02 H ≥ L 06 رﻗمoاﻟﻣﺣطﺔ
S. N 03
graph 1. The level of air temperature. streets- North west / South east .Source. Author.
Through experience we record the station no01: has higher values where they reached max
a temperature of 44.4°, estimated total thermal energy 6326 W/m2/d. Then the station
no02: where the values max a temperature of 42.3°, and estimated total thermal energy
5314 W/m2/d. The station no03 : where the values max a temperature of 40.6°, and
estimated total thermal energy 3288W/m2/d. So we understand the temperature difference
between the open street, canyon street, reached a 4°, and difference of estimated total
thermal energy 3038 W / m2. This difference in values is consequent of difference in the
ratio between h / w, where the lowest values was in the canyon street. This result prove the
impact of constructivism density for protection the free space –street-, where the
relationship between constructivism density and section of street in improving air
temperature.
100000
80000
60000
40000
(lux)
20000
0
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4:00 PM
6:00 PM
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6:00 AM
Hour
H≤ L 04 S. N o
اﻟﻣﺣطﺔ رﻗم
.01 - H = L 05S. N
رﻗمoاﻟﻣﺣطﺔ
.02 رﻗمoاﻟﻣﺣطﺔ
H ≥ L 06S. N .03
graph 2. The level of natural lighting of streets. North West / South east. source. Author.
Through experience we record the difference of the values of natural lighting. Where the
station no01: higher values reached max of level of natural lighting 90k/lux, and estimated
total lighting energy in direct lighting 277.7 k/lux, this type of street is exposed to direct
sunning, 08 hours of the day. Then the station no02: the values max of level of natural
lighting is 90k/lux, and estimated total lighting energy in direct lighting 176 k/lux,, this type of
street is exposed to direct sunning 06 hours of the day. The station no03 : the values max of
level of natural lighting 83.5k/lux, and estimated total lighting energy in direct lighting 83.5
k/lux, , where the street is exposed to direct sunning only two hours of the day. So the
difference of estimated total lighting energy is 194.2k/lux between the open Street, canyon
street,. This difference is consequent of difference in constructivism density, where the
canyon street - was Less time periods of direct sunning, and was less lighting energy. This
result prove the impact of constructivism density, in improving of the level of natural
lighting in the street. Where the relationship between constructivism density and section of
street.
Conclusion
We can say that the impact of the constructivism density of the urban tissue in improving
the Physical urban ambience being in the relationship between constructivism density and
section of street, where proportionality H/W of the street, controller of the effectiveness of
reduce the physical loads for the environment applicable on the street and achieve the
shade and alternation throughout the day. Thus turns out the impact of constructivism
density of the urban tissue in improving the physical urban ambience, for desert cities.
References
Allain, R. (2006).Morphologie Urbaine –Geographi Amenagement Et Architecture: Paris. Armand Colin
Allen, K . Translation. Ahmed, K. (2011). The Standards Of The Design Warm Areas: Mketbh Anglo-
Egyptian
Boukhabla, M. Djamal, A. (2013). The Effect Of Urban Morphology On Urban Heat Island In The City Of
Biskra In Algeria: International Journal Of Ambient Energy, Vol 34:2.P 100–110
Cote, M. (2005). La Ville Et Le Désert: Paris. Karthala
Jean, D. Edmond, B. (2001). Les Milieux Désertiques. Paris. Armand Colin
Khaled, O.(2008). Contribute To The Project In The Island Of Thermal Analysis Indicators: Memo Master.
University Of Nantes
Background
India is currently experiencing high demand for new dwellings in urban centres. Increased
pressure on land has led to the construction of multi-family, multi-storey housing units. Due
to the ever increasing land prices, density of floor space and the lack of residential energy
codes, the design of new dwellings is governed by the economics of floor space while climate
responsiveness becomes a low priority. Poor building design necessitates the use of energy
intensive technologies to achieve thermal comfort, making these new buildings very energy
intensive. Increase in purchasing power and better affordability of home appliances also
contribute to the increase in residential energy consumption. India is home to 1.3 billion
people, about 18% of world’s population with 6% of world’s primary energy consumption.
The population has doubled since 2000 and is on high growth trajectory (IEA, 2015). India
accounts for about 220 million dwelling units with an average household size of 5.6 occupants
per house (Shukla, Shnapp and Rawal, 2015). According to the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17),
India has deficit of 18.8 million dwelling units in urban India (Kundu et al., 2016). In absence
of deployment of energy efficiency measures in residential sector, electricity consumption
may rise to approximately 1300TWh compared to approx. 250TWh now. With aggressive
energy efficiency deployment, consumption may be curtailed at about. 550TWh (Shukla,
Shnapp and Rawal, 2015). India being a tropical country, the cooling demand accounts for a
large part of energy consumption, i.e. Kolkata has 3360 cooling degree days (CDD), New Delhi
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has 3015 CDD, Mumbai 3469 CDD and Chennai 4108 CDD (Selvanathan and Migdalska, 2015).
In view of India’s future electricity demand for residential sector, it is important to utilize the
climate responsive strategies in order to reduce energy consumption. Understanding the
thermal performance of dwellings in response to the local climate is the key to evaluate their
appropriateness. This paper explores possibility of learning from vernacular dwellings to
quantify their thermal performances on the basis of field measurements.
Literature review
A study conducted in Cyprus concluded that vernacular buildings used building layout and
construction materials in varied climates as the means to achieve desired thermal
performance (Philokyprou et al., 2017). Rashid et al. (Rashid and Ahmed, 2013) conducted
field measurements in Dhaka to conclude that Bangladesh traditional houses provide better
comfort conditions throughout the year compared to contemporary houses. This study was
based on simultaneous air temperature measurements in summer (June) in two houses
located about 25m apart from each other. A study based on numeric calculations for heat
transfer and field measurements for thermal sensation and indoor environment was
conducted in North Sulawesi in Indonesia to compare ten traditional houses and ten modern
houses. It concluded that traditional houses tend to cool down relatively quickly during
afternoon, following the decrease in outdoor temperature, versus modern houses tend to
retain higher indoor air temperatures until late evening (Sangkertadi, Syafriny and Tungka,
2008). A study conducted in composite climate of Nepal concluded that thermal performance
of traditional houses was better than that of contemporary houses; new equations were
developed to predict indoor thermal environment using outdoor temperatures for traditional
and modern houses (Bajracharya, 2014).
A comparative study of three types of houses - traditional, designed solar passive and
modern houses in India concluded that during summer period indoor temperatures of
designed solar passive houses were similar to traditional houses and 2-3°C cooler than
modern houses (Subramanian, Ramachandran and Kumar, 2016, 2017). A study conducted in
hot-dry climate of Jaisalmer suggests that with high thermal mass, building indoor daily
temperature range remains stable across the year (Matthews, 2000). A study in coastal region
of India measured indoor summer temperatures in traditional houses in the range of 24-30°C
with 60-75% relative humidity (RH) and 28-26°C with 50-77% RH range. It cited effective
ventilation as the key contributor to thermal performance of traditional houses (Priya,
Sundarraja and Radhakrishnan, 2012). Available literature suggests that traditional houses
tend to provide better thermal comfort compared to contemporary houses. Use of better
ventilation strategies and balance between thermal mass and insulation were identified as
important lessons.
Context
This paper presents a comparison of thermal performance of pol houses (PH) with
contemporary houses (CH) in the city of Ahmedabad. It is a 615 year old city with a population
of 5.8 million people is spread across 450 km2. Approximately 0.35 million people live in
traditional houses in the old part of the city, which is spread across 16 km2 (Census of India
2011, 2011; Mahadevia, Desai and Vyas, 2014). Ahmedabad falls under the hot-dry climate
zone according to the National Building Code of India (Bureau of Indian Standards, 2005).
Using the ASHRAE Standard-55 adaptive thermal comfort model (ASHRAE, 2013) as reference,
a typical building in Ahmedabad can be operated in natural ventilation mode for 20% of the
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time annually (Figure 1). It will need dehumidification for 37%, mild cooling for 20%, cooling
for 11% and cooling with dehumidification for about 9% of time annually (Shukla, Bansal and
Rawal, 2012). The average outdoor temperature is more than 30°C during summer (April-June)
and the maximum recorded temperature in May 2016 was as high as 48°C. Summer mean
relative humidity (RH) remains around 53%. Monsoon lasts from July to October while the
months of December to February bring a mild winter. November and March are transition
months with average temperature of 26°C and RH of 50%.
Figure 1 City map of Ahmedabad showing location of PH (red) and CH (blue); estimated operation modes for a
typical building in Ahmedabad
Methodology
This study is based on field measurement conducted between May 2015 and June 2016. Five
PH and ten CH were measured for air temperature (°C), Relative Humidity – RH (%), and lux
levels. This paper is based on five PH and five CH. Out of ten CH, five were selected for this
study as their floor area was comparable to the PH typology. The average floor area of these
10 houses was about 112 m2. Three to five spaces in each house were monitored and hourly
data was logged using the ONSET HOBO U-12 data logger. Surface temperature spot
measurements was taken occasionally for internal wall surface temperatures using non-
contact handheld laser based Fluke 561. Outdoor weather station was installed at a central
location in the city to measure concurrent outdoor air temperature (°C), solar radiation
(W/m2), RH (%), wind direction, wind speed and precipitation. It is important to note here that
the outdoor conditions in city centre may differ slightly from the suburbs. Using a single
source of outdoor weather data (from the weather station) may be considered one of the
limitations of this study. Another limitation is that the monitoring data being analysed in this
study includes typical/moderate summer conditions but not extreme summer conditions.
Figure 3 depicts measured indoor air temperatures in all spaces of all houses. First row
depicts outdoor air temperatures during observation period, i.e. August 2015 to May 2016.
Air temperatures from all spaces of each house are placed next to each other, but blank row
is used to separate one house from another. Upper part of Heat map shows observations
from PH and lower from CH. Monitoring data showed the houses were being operated in
naturally ventilated mode for most part of the year. The floor-to-window ratio in these houses
ranged from 1:16 to 1:37. Ventilation in CH occurred through the window/s on the facade
and internal doors. Ventilation in PH occurred through window/s on the façade, internal
doors, ventilators located above the doors and windows facing the courtyards. Due to high
air changes per hour (ACH), surface temperatures and air temperatures were assumed equal.
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Figure 2 Plans of PH and CH with data logger positions (green dots) and photographs
Figure 3 Measured indoor air temperatures in all spaces of all PH and CH
Measured indoor air temperatures were assessed against the 90% acceptability range
as prescribed by the India Model for Adaptive Thermal Comfort (IMAC) for naturally
ventilated buildings (Manu et al., 2016) using the following equation.
Neutral temp. = 0.54 x (30-day outdoor running mean air temperature) + 12.83(±2.4°C)
Indoor air temperatures were also assessed against the ASHRAE-55 adaptive model
90% acceptability range using the following equation:
Neutral temp. = 0.31 x (30-day outdoor running mean air temperature) + 17.8 (±2.5°C)
Outdoor air temperature observations had two missing data sequences that were
completed using linear interpolation as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 Missing outdoor temperature sequences one and two, and the interpolated values
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Figures 5 and 6 show the heat maps indicating the status of comfort (based on IMAC-
NV and ASHRAE-55 models) for every hour of the monitoring period for all spaces in each of
the 10 houses. The grey bands show the days when the 30-day outdoor running mean air
temperature values fell outside the range of 12.5-31°C in the case of IMAC- NV and 10-33.5°C
in the case of ASHRAE-55 adaptive models. These days or hours were excluded from the
analysis. Indoor air temperatures lying within the 90% acceptability range were used to
calculate the number of comfortable hours whereas those falling outside of this range were
deemed uncomfortable. The x-axis depicts the date and time, starting from 11 August 2015,
00:00 hours to 13 May 2016, 23:00 hour, making a total of 6648 hours indicated as vertical
columns on the heat map. Each observed space is plotted on the y-axis. White cells indicate
missing data.
Figure 5 Heat map as per IMAC showing 90% acceptability range
Figure 6 Heat map as per ASHRAE 55- 2013 showing 90% acceptability range
The percentage of comfortable hours (out of a total of 6648 hours of observations) was
calculated for each space in PH and CH based on the IMAC-NV and ASHRAE-55 models. The
results are plotted in Figures 7 and 8. Green bar in on the left in these figures shows the
percentage of comfortable hours lying within 90% acceptability range of IMAC and ASHRAE-
55 for outdoor temperature. So, in terms of outdoor temperature, 35% of hours were deemed
comfortable according to the IMAC model and 40% according got the ASHRAE-55 model. The
different bars within a house category show the spaces that were monitored. With respect to
IMAC as reference, availability of data and averaging all spaces, CH19 is house with 57.1%
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comfortable hours followed by PH4 (55.2%), PH5 (48.4%), CH1 (47.1%), PH2 (47%), PH3
(46.3%), CH11 (42%), CH9 (41.7%), CH16 (41.3%) and PH1 (40.5%). However it is to be noted
that considerable variation within the same house case of PH1, PH4, PH5, and CH9. It was
found that the courtyard spaces in PH1 and PH2 were the most comfortable compared to
other spaces in these houses. CH19 is the only house where all spaces report greater than 50%
comfortable hours on the basis of the IMAC model (Figure 7).
Figure 7 Total comfortable hours in percentage for each space as per IMAC
Figure 8 Total comfortable hours in percentage for each space as per ASHRAE-55 Adaptive Model
Figure 9 Correlation between Outdoor and Indoor Air Temperature in pol and contemporary houses
As observed in the Figure 9, the relationship between indoor air temperature and
outdoor air temperature for pol houses and contemporary houses is quite similar and
moderately strong (R2≈ 0.5). Indoor temperatures for pol houses are indicated as black
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colored scatter points while those for contemporary houses are in grey. The red colored linear
regression line indicates the relationship between temperatures inside pol houses and
outdoor temperatures. The blue regression line is for contemporary houses. The intercept
value in the expression for contemporary houses is higher by 3°C than that of the pol houses.
On the other hand, the slope of the regression line is slightly steeper for pol houses.
Conclusion
Based on the analysis presented in this study, it is difficult to determine with of absolute
certainty whether one dwelling type is better than the other is. When viewed in terms of the
relationship between outdoor and indoor conditions, it seems that the pol houses have a
marginally faster response to outdoor conditions. That is counterintuitive to the traditional
knowledge and the qualitative literature about this form of vernacular architecture where
thermal mass has been exalted as one of the most important passive strategies to keep the
heat out. These houses are mutually shaded as well which ensures that only the roof is
exposed to direct radiation. Even that is limited by reducing the roof area by distributing the
total area vertically on several floors. The contemporary houses, on the other hand, are
lighter in mass and have larger floor plates. To arrive at definite conclusion authors feel that
peak summer conditions should also be studied. It is very important to understand the effect
of roof on indoor conditions and thermal comfort.
Acknowledgement
Authors acknowledge financial contribution from Ministry of New and Renewable Energy,
Government of India, the Global Innovation Initiative project supported by the British council,
University of Loughborough, UK and CEPT University, India.
References
ASHRAE (2013) ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2013 - Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human
Occupancy. Atlanta: American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
Bajracharya, S. B. (2014) ‘The Thermal Performance of Traditional Residential Buildings in Kathmandu
Valley’, Journal of the Institute of Engineering, 10(1), pp. 172–183. Available at:
http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JIE/article/viewFile/10898/8872.
Bureau of Indian Standards (2005) National Building Code of India 2005. Edited by M. Kisan, S. Sangathan,
J. Nehru, and S. G. Pitroda. New Delhi: Bureau of Indian Standards.
Census of India 2011 (2011) Primary Census Abstract - Data Highlights, Primary Census Abstract. Available
at: http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/pca_highlights/pe_data.html.
IEA, I. E. A. (2015) ‘India Energy Outlook’, World Energy Outlook Special Report, pp. 1–191.
Kundu, A., Mohanty, P. K., Kumar, S., Chandramouli, C., Pethe, A., Mohanan, P. C., Risbud, N., Gupta, S.
Das, Mahadevia, D., Verma, R. V. and Negi, D. S. (2016) Report of the Technical Group on Urban Housing Shortage
(TG-12) (2012-17). New Delhi, India. Available at: http://www.nbo.nic.in/Images/PDF/urban-housing-
shortage.pdf.
Mahadevia, D., Desai, R. and Vyas, S. (2014) City Profile: Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad, India.
Manu, S., Shukla, Y., Rawal, R., Thomas, L. E. and de Dear, R. (2016) ‘Field studies of thermal comfort
across multiple climate zones for the subcontinent: India Model for Adaptive Comfort (IMAC)’, Building and
Environment, 98, pp. 55–70. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.12.019.
Matthews, J. (2000) Thermal comfort in the havelis of Jaisalmer. University of East London. Available at:
http://roar.uel.ac.uk/1252/.
Philokyprou, M., Michael, A., Malaktou, E. and Savvides, A. (2017) ‘Environmentally responsive design in
Eastern Mediterranean. The case of vernacular architecture in the coastal, lowland and mountainous regions of
Cyprus’, Building and Environment, 111, pp. 91–109. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2016.10.010.
Priya, R. S., Sundarraja, M. C. and Radhakrishnan, S. (2012) ‘Comparing the thermal performance of
traditional and modern building in the coastal region of Nagappattinam, Tamil Nadu’, Indian Journal of
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Climate change scenarios analysed with the transient energy ratio
Abstract: While thermal resistance and conductance are well understood, and their effect on a building’s
energy use easily quantified – often with the use of the U-value parameter – the effects of thermal mass are
understood only poorly, if at all. In the literature there is much vague commentary on the benefits of thermal
mass, but little by way of solid analysis. Two parameters, the transient energy ratio and effective U-value,
quantify the effect of thermal mass on energy use. These parameters measure the divergence in performance
between a high- and low- thermal mass wall under equivalent conditions. Previous work has shown
disadvantages to the use of thermal mass in northern European climates; during the heating season, high
thermal mass structures cause an increase in energy use. This paper examines how the influence of thermal
mass on energy use might alter once climate change is considered. The work uses the transient energy ratio to
look at the performance of various wall typologies under climate change scenarios for a range of locations and
occupancy patterns.
Thermal Mass
Regarding insulation levels, many professional bodies and national guidelines produce
detailed, quantitative standards for the required insulation levels in buildings, and in many
countries these standards have legal backing (e.g. in the UK, the Building Regulations 2016).
However, guidelines for thermal mass are much less robust, such as the guidance from the
Royal Institute of British Architects: “[Insulate] the thermal storage from exterior climate
conditions, so that they do not add or remove too much heat”. This raises the questions: How
much is too much? How much insulation is required? The general assumption in many guides
is that thermal mass is always good (quoting again from RIBA: “There is no upper limit for the
amount of well-designed thermal mass”. Unfortunately, the scientific basis for the use of
thermal mass is relatively weak, and it remains a poorly understood topic. In part, this is due
to the more complicated nature of dynamic interactions compared to steady-state analysis:
while increasing insulation levels in a building are almost always beneficial, the effect of
increasing thermal mass can be positive or negative (Tsilingiris 2006, Reilly and Kinnane 2016
and 2017a). Understanding which is more difficult, as a dynamic analysis depends on how the
heat capacity interacts with the indoor and outdoor temperature profiles, the building
occupancy pattern and the heating/cooling and ventilation strategies employed.
Thermal mass is generally accepted as being of most benefit in climates where there is a
wide diurnal temperature range. It clearly has a moderating influence over temperatures
when buildings are in a ‘free-running’ case, i.e. without active heating/cooling systems; and
several studies support its potential to reduce energy demand in hot climates (for example
Karlsson et al 2013, Kosny and Kossecka 2002, Kossecka and Kosny 2002, Carlos 2016).
However, in cases where active heating is employed, thermal mass can cause an increase in
energy consumption (Tsilingiris 2006, Reilly and Kinnane 2016); and in a climate where
building energy consumption is dominated by heating – such as that of northern Europe –
thermal mass most often causes an increase in energy use rather than a decrease (Reilly and
Results
Theoretical very high and very low thermal mass walls
The results of the dynamic modelling are expressed in terms of the effective U-value (Ue)
and the transient energy ratio (TER). This facilitates comparison with the conventional U-
value calculated directly from the conductivity of each wall, and the TER thus illustrates the
benefit or drawback associated with the thermal mass in each case.
Starting first with the winter case, comparing the walls made entirely of blockwork
and insulation: in this case, the TER of the insulation wall is 1.17. This is close to unity, which
indicates that the thermal mass of this wall contributes little to its performance. This is as
expected: the thermal mass of this ‘wall’ is very low. However, that is not the case for the
blockwork wall: this wall has a very high TER of 3.2. These results translate into the effective
U-values shown in the table: while the insulation performs close to the way it would based
purely on studying the U-value, Ue for the blockwork wall is 1.78. When used under these
conditions, the thermal mass of the blockwork wall is a very significant drawback: the
blockwork wall performs, not like an insulation layer of 100 mm, but like an insulation layer
of only 31 mm. The blockwork wall draws so much heat out of the room at the start of each
heating period that the energy consumption is dramatically increased, and although a
proportion of that heat is returned to the room at the start of the next heating period, the
majority is lost to the environment outside occupied hours.
However, during summer (of 2015), the case is very different. In the summer free-
running case, the temperature of the insulation ‘wall’ tracks the outside temperature much
more closely than does the blockwork wall. In this case, the dynamic properties and heat
storage capacity of the blockwork wall effectively buffer the temperature changes from the
outside environment. The inside temperature of the blockwork wall remains much more
constant, not once rising above 296 K. For summer use in the UK, it appears that thermal
mass in generally beneficial, and for most uses a high thermal mass building produces an
environment that has a more constant temperature and is probably more pleasant. The high
mass structure is not cooler on average: the two structures have identical mean
temperatures (of 292 K, or 19 C, in Birmingham). This is a classic example of a scenario
where thermal mass is useful, such as its traditional use in mediterranean climate zones.
Multilayer walls
The second part of the study looks at more realistic wall typologies, modelled for the same
time periods. A previous study (Reilly and Kinnane, 2017a) found that, with heavily insulated
walls such as these, the greatest performance in winter is found by having the insulation
layer inside the structural, high-heat-capacity layer: the TER of the wall with the insulation
on the outside was 3.7, as opposed to 3.1 for the wall with insulation on the inside. A lower
TER is better, and this difference represents approximately 20% extra energy that was lost
through the walls with external insulation. This is because thermal mass, in typical winter
conditions in northern Europe, is a drawback: most of the heat that is stored in the walls
Figure 1. Indoor wall surface temperatures under free-running conditions, during June, July and August 2080.
Temperatures shown for Coleshill, Birmingham, UK.
Although wall B never rises above the 299 K threshold, there may still be a
requirement for air conditioning and active cooling – for example, in densely-occupied
offices, or other buildings with high internal gains. This scenario can be examined with the
TER, once more.
Figure 2 shows the wall surface temperatures for a typical ten day period. Both walls
have a temperature very close to the setpoint during occupied hours; outside occupied
hours the temperature of the wall with insulation on the inside rises much more; but, as the
building is unoccupied, the temperature during this period is not of great interest and the
heat could be removed using a night ventilation strategy. During occupied hours the indoor
conditions in the two walls are essentially identical. What is of greater interest, is the energy
required to maintain these conditions. The heat flux through the two walls is shown in
Figure 3. Although the peak heat flux is greater for wall A, the total energy inflow – the area
under the curve – is greater for wall B.
The energy flow through the wall is the energy that needs to be removed from the
indoor space by the air-conditioning unit. Taking into account the total energy outflow over
the whole summer, the TER for wall B is 0.78, but for wall A, only 0.51. These can be
converted into effective U-values, as shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Effective U-values and transient energy ratios. Wall A has insulation on the inside, wall B has
insulation on the outside.
Static U-value TER (winter Ue, winter TER (summer Ue, summer
-2 -1 -2 -1 -2 -1
Wall W m K heating) W m K cooling) W m K
A 0.16 3.1 0.50 0.51 0.08
B 0.16 3.7 0.59 0.78 0.12
Figure 3. Wall heat flux (indoor face) for the conditions in Figure 2.
Discussion
The results for Birmingham are presented here as that was the location with the greatest
proportion of time with an outdoor temperature in excess of 26 °C (299 K): 18 hours during
the summer of 2015. In most buildings in the UK, at present, it ought to be possible to
eliminate overheating without the use of air-conditioning. However, this will likely change
substantially by 2080. Once the effects of solar gain are included, heat flow through even
well-insulated walls will be sufficient to cause significant periods of overheating (by the
same criterion). Insulation standards may improve by then, but many buildings under
construction today will still be around by 2080, so it is instructive to use examples that are
currently considered best practice.
Figure 1 shows the effect that thermal mass can have in reducing overheating, and it is
indeed dramatic. By placing the masonry layer inside the insulation instead of outside,
overheating (by one criterion) is eliminated with this construction element. The maximum
temperature reached over the summer of 2080 is 0.05 K below the threshold, so in this
sense the heat capacity of this wall is perfectly matched to the climactic conditions for
Birmingham (and the rest of the UK is similar). However, this comes at a cost: the energy
used for winter heating increases, and by around 20% this increase is far from insignificant.
There is a balance to be struck between the optimum winter configuration and the optimum
summer configuration. Under the conditions assumed for this study, it is likely that the cost
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years from UKCP09. Building Serv. Eng. Res. Technol. 32(2) pp. 127–142
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and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva,
Switzerland, 151 pp.
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structures. Energy and Buildings, 60, 146-151.
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assemblies in hourly energy simulation programs. Energy and Buildings, 34(5), 445-454.
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structural and operational parameters. Energy and Buildings, 38(8), 1022-1031
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dynamic thermal loading. In: Advanced Building Skins, Bern, Switzerland.
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Applied Energy, in press, accepted for publication 08/04/17.
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the TPR Method. In Press.
Abstract: In order to provide low-energy buildings, it is necessary to identify their main existing energy-related
architectural features. This research aims to clusterize a sample of houses according to their thermal
performance and find the main architectural features of each cluster. The method involves obtaining data,
computer simulation and cluster analysis. Data for 102 low-income single-family houses were summarized to
form a database for the following steps. Each house was subjected to computer simulation, from which the long-
term room operative temperatures were obtained. Cluster analysis was applied to group houses with similar
performances. Finally, each cluster was described according to its features to find those that affected each
cluster performance. Three clusters were found: worst, best and intermediate performance. The cluster with
the worst performance was mainly composed of smaller houses made of wood walls and no slab on the roof,
with combined living room and kitchen. The cluster that had the best performance was composed of larger
houses made of ceramic bricks, concrete slab on the floor, and ceramic tiles and wooden lining in the roof. It
was possible to conclude that the architectural features of those houses can significantly influence their
performance, particularly those related to size and fabric.
Introduction
Buildings are responsible for 40% of the world energy expenditure, of which the residential
sector accounted for about 30% (IEA, 2012). In Brazil, buildings were responsible for 48% of
the total energy consumption, and the residential sector accounts for 24% (MME, 2015).
Energy consumption in buildings depends on many factors. In the residential sector
specifically, many studies have shown that energy consumption is strongly related to the use
of air-conditioners (McNeil and Letschert, 2010; Fracastoro and Serraino, 2011), revealing the
bad thermal performance of the building (Bodach and Hamhaber, 2010). Fostering more
efficient buildings also depends on government actions, starting from the development of
standards and guidelines to properly guide the professional decision at the time of design and
construction of new buildings, which have motivated governments to support studies on
energy efficiency in buildings. Strategies to decrease energy consumption should be thought
on a global level, and their success depends on the features related to the energy
consumption of an entire stock (Dascalaki et al., 2010). A building stock is composed of
buildings with different features and therefore they have different performances; thus
different strategies should be applied.
One way to separate the stock into groups with similar features is through the
application of cluster analysis. Cluster analysis is a tool for pattern identification, which aims
to find homogeneity between objects of the same group and heterogeneity between objects
Method
Data acquisition
Data used in this work were obtained from an existing database of a previous research. In this
research, low-income houses were audited in pre-selected areas where measurements and
interviews by applying semi-structured questionnaires were performed. As selection criteria,
these houses should have a family income equal to or less than three minimum monthly
wages or be located in urban areas for low-income housing. Data regarding architectural
features such as internal and external dimensions, spatial distribution of rooms and solar
orientation of the front façade were obtained for each house. Information on size of doors
and windows was also obtained. The fabric that composes the construction system was also
recorded, and obtained from the knowledge of the occupant or through visual inspection of
the interviewer. For the survey, measuring tape, compass and a semi-structured
questionnaire, on which a sketch of the house was made, were used.
Computer simulation
Following the data acquisition step, virtual models based on the features of each house were
developed, for the climate of Florianópolis (latitude 27o South, longitude 48o West). All
models were simulated using the software EnergyPlus, version 8.5, in order to obtain the
thermal performance of each long-term room. The files related to each model have been
configured so that all parameters remain the same in all models, with the exception of those
related to its geometry and fabric. Only natural ventilation was configured in the simulations,
since no air-conditioner was found in the sample. The internal operating temperature value
for each long-term room, for every hour of the year, was the output data used from the
simulations. Based on the operative temperature, two variables representing the thermal
performance of the house, the heating and cooling degree-hours, were calculated for each
month of the year, as shown in Eqs. 1 and 2. To summarize the analysis, a weighting average
of degree-hour according to the volume of each room was estimated, finding a comparable
value of cooling and heating for the house as a whole. This step was necessary since the
houses of the sample have different number of rooms, which makes it difficult to compare
the houses.
Cluster analysis
The application of the cluster analysis was conducted with Minitab 17, and the procedures,
measures and algorithms were adopted as suggested by Schaefer and Ghisi (2016).
The variables from the previous step (degree-hours for heating and cooling for each
month of the year in each house) were standardized, avoiding that the variables with greater
dispersion of data exerted a greater impact on the results. For this, the statistical
standardization (z-scores) was adopted in order to obtain for each variable a set of data
whose average is equal to zero and standard deviation equal to one. Statistical
standardization was performed using Eq. 3.
(𝑥𝑖 −𝑥̅ )
𝑍𝑥𝑖 = 𝑠
(3)
where 𝑍𝑥𝑖 is the standardized value of x, 𝑥̅ is the average of determined variable values, s is
the standard deviation of the determined variable values.
From the standardized database, the distance between each pair of sample objects with
the measure of similarity, the square Euclidean distance, was calculated using Eq. 4.
where 𝑑𝐴𝐵 is the square Euclidean distance from object A to object B, 𝑥𝑖𝐴 is the value of the
object A for each variable, 𝑥𝑖𝐵 is the value of the object B for each variable.
Subsequently, there was the partitioning process, in which the objects were divided into
groups based on the similarity or not of their characteristics (i.e., individuals with similar
profiles are grouped into one cluster while different profiles form distinct clusters). The
hierarchical partition technique was adopted, applying the Ward Method as partitioning
algorithm. In the hierarchical technique, within each new step two objects are united, process
that allows the construction of a graph called dendogram. It is possible to make a visual
analysis of a dendogram regarding the ideal formation of clusters. The Ward algorithm
separates the clusters based on the sum of the residual squares within each group.
Finally, each cluster found was described according to its architectural features. Thus,
based on the differences between each group, it was possible to infer which characteristics
would be associated with best or worst performance (i.e., what are the characteristics of the
houses that make up the group with the worst performance? And the best?).
Results
A sample composed of 102 low-income houses, described according to their geometric and
material characteristics, was obtained for this study. These data were used to construct the
virtual models, from which the degree-hour of cooling and heating for each month was
obtained for each house.
Fig. 2 shows a summary of the thermal performance found for each cluster. The degree-
hour values are shown in the vertical axis, while the months of the year are shown in the
horizontal axis. The average weighted cooling and heating degree-hour of houses of each
cluster are presented for each month. It is possible to verify that the three clusters differ in
their thermal performance. Cluster 1 showed the worst performance for both hot and cold
seasons. Cluster 2, on the other hand, presented the best performance among the three
clusters, with nearly no heating degree-hour in most months. Finally, Cluster 3 presented an
intermediate performance, both for cooling and heating. For all clusters, a preponderance of
cooling degree-hour was found, being more significant than heating degree-hour. The cooling
degree-hour was found for every month and all clusters.
1200
Degree-hour for heating (Cluster 1) Degree-hour for cooling (Cluster 1)
Degree-hour for heating (Cluster 2) Degree-hour for cooling (Cluster 2)
1000
Degree-hour for heating (Cluster 3) Degree-hour for cooling (Cluster 3)
Degree-hour value
800
600
400
200
0
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Fig. 2. Cooling and heating degree-hour of Clusters 1, 2 and 3 in each month of the year.
100%
9%
14% 18%
90% 24% 24%
27%
18%
80% Independent
45%
Frequency of occurence
18%
70% 64%
Combined
41%
60% 1
39% 13%
73%
50% 9% 2
33%
40% 3
73% 76% 18% 14% 4
30% 31%
5
20% 36% 33%
9% 27% 30% North
10% 13%
12% 0% East
9%
0% 0% 0% 3%
Cluster Cluster Cluster Cluster Cluster Cluster Cluster Cluster Cluster South
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 West
Living room and Kitchen Number of bedrooms Solar orientation
Variables related to the layout of the houses
Figs. 4‒6 show the materials that the houses in Clusters 1, 2 and 3 are made of. Fig. 4
shows the frequency distribution of cases for each type of wall material. Cluster 1, which
obtained the worst thermal performance (Fig. 2), is composed of houses made of wooden
walls, while Cluster 2, with the best performance, is composed of houses made of masonry
walls of ceramic blocks. Cluster 3, which obtained a medium performance, has a mixed
sample, consisting of houses with walls of wood and ceramic blocks, and also houses with
walls of concrete blocks. The material of the walls proved to be a very important factor in the
thermal performance of the houses.
100% 0%
Frequency of
occurence
61%
50% 100% 98% Ceramic brick
3%
Concrete brick
2% 36%
0% 0% Wood
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3
Type of wall found in each cluster
Fig. 5 shows the frequency distribution of cases for the material type used on the floor,
as well as the contact with the ground or not. As for the walls, a great difference in the
composition of the floor of Clusters 1 (wood) and 2 (concrete) was observed, while Cluster 3
shows a more heterogeneous distribution. The same is true for ground contact: this is more
representative (97% of cases) for Cluster 2, while in the other two clusters there are
predominant cases in which the houses do not have the floor slab in contact with the ground.
Fig. 6 shows the roof composition for each of the clusters. Cluster 1 consists mainly of
houses with a roof made of ceramic tiles and wood lining, without the existence of a concrete
slab between the tile and the lining. However, Clusters 2 and 3 show a balance between the
use of ceramic tiles and concrete tiles, and also a predominant use of wood lining. Because of
the similar compositions, it was not possible to identify the roofing materials as influential
factors in the performance of the sample, except for the existence of concrete slab, which did
not exist in houses in Cluster 1 (which had the worst performance).
100%
90%
Frequency of occurence
Conclusion
In this study, 102 low-income houses virtual models were subjected to computer simulation
in order to obtain their thermal performance, described in this study through the heating and
cooling degree-hour indicators. A cluster analysis was performed and three clusters with
different thermal performance profiles were found.
Cluster 1, the group with the worst performance, has reached 6548 degree-hours per
year (5249 for cooling and 1298 for heating). Cluster 2, the group with the best performance,
has reached 1589 degree-hours per year (1345 for cooling and 243 for heating). Cluster 3, the
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge with thanks the financial support of National Council for
Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) of Brazil.
References
Bodach, S. and Hamhaber, J. (2010). Energy efficiency in social housing: Opportunities and barriers from
a case study in Brazil. Energy Policy, 38(12): 7898–7910.
Dascalaki, E. G., Droutsa, K. G., Balaras, C. A. and Kontoyiannidis, S. (2011). Building typologies as a tool
for assessing the energy performance of residential buildings – A case study for the Hellenic building stock.
Energy and Buildings, 43(12): 3400–3409.
Fracastoro, G. V. and Serraino, M. (2011). A methodology for assessing the energy performance of large
scale building stocks and possible applications. Energy and Buildings, 43(4): 844–852.
Hair, J. F.; Anderson, R. E.; Tatham, R. L.; Black, W.C. (2009). Análise Multivariada dos Dados. Porto Alegre:
Bookman.
IEA. (2012). Key World Energy Statistics. Paris.
McNeil, M. A. and Letschert, V. E. (2010). Modeling diffusion of electrical appliances in the residential
sector. Energy and Buildings, 42(6): 783–790.
MME. (2015). Balanço Energético Nacional: Relatório Final. Brasília: Ministério de Minas e Energia.
Schaefer, A.; Ghisi, E. (2016). Method for obtaining reference buildings. Energy and Buildings, v. 128, p.
660-672.
Sally Shahzad1, John Brennan2, Dimitris Theodossopoulos2, John Kaiser Calautit 3, Ben
Hughes4
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Built Environment, University of Derby, UK,
sally.shahzad@gmail.com
2
Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, UK
3
Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, UK
4
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield, UK
Abstract: Many researchers in thermal comfort area mainly focus on user’s thermal sensation ignoring the
importance of thermal preference. This study investigates the impact of thermal preference of the user on
their perception of user’s comfort and satisfaction. Field studies of thermal comfort were applied in two
contexts of Norwegian personal offices and British open plan offices. Environmental measurements, survey
questionnaires and follow up interviews were applied. Qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis were
applied. The results indicated that overall, users’ desire to adjust the thermal environment, including
temperature, air quality and air movement, highly impacted their satisfaction and comfort level. Comfortable
and satisfied users had no or low preference to adjust the thermal environment (temperature, air quality and
air movement), while uncomfortable and dissatisfied occupants had a great preference to control the thermal
environment. 89% of the satisfied and 77% of the comfortable respondents wanted either no change or a
slight thermal adjustment. 100% of the dissatisfied and 100% of the comfortable participants wanted to
change the temperature or ventilation. 85% of the dissatisfied and 73% of the uncomfortable respondents
wanted more than a slight change. The study emphasises the importance of thermal preference in thermal
comfort research.
Keywords: Thermal preference, Comfort, Satisfaction, Field Studies of Thermal Comfort, Workplace
Introduction
The nature of comfort is complicated and it cannot be ‘implied by simple prescriptions’
(Hawkes, 2002). Thermal comfort research is focused on thermal sensation and the ‘neutral
thermal sensation’ in particular (Zhang et al,2011, Kwong et al, 2014). The latter is the
measure of thermal comfort (Voelcker, 2002) and the most widely used survey
questionnaire is on this basis: ASHRAE seven point thermal sensation scale (ASHRAE, 2004,
Shahzad, 2014). Hawkes describes the definition of thermal comfort according to thermal
neutrality, as an ‘intermediate point, when neither cold nor hot’ (Hawkes, 2002).
Brengelmann et al (1997) describe the ‘neutral zone’ as ‘the range in which thermal balance
can be achieved without resorting to sweating or shivering’, which is closely related to
Olgyay’s (1992) definition of thermal comfort. Although ASHRAE (2009) also introduces
thermal preference, comfort and satisfaction scales (shown in Table 1), the ASHRAE thermal
sensation scale remains as the most widely used measure of thermal comfort. Recently
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Comfort scale:
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Satisfaction scale:
Very Slightly Slightly
Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very satisfied
dissatisfied dissatisfied satisfied
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
This is similar to the combination of the ASHRAE seven-point scale of thermal
preference combined with the seven-point thermal sensation scale (see Table 1), which has
been recommended (Humphreys et al, 2007, Fountain et al, 1996), and adopted in several
studies (Johansson et al, 2014, Nematchoua et al, 2014). Sherman (1985) points out the
difference between thermal sensation and preference, as he explains that the PMV model
‘is a measure of the thermal sensation (not preference)’. ‘Thermal neutrality is not
Methodologies
This study investigates the application of thermal preference combined with thermal
sensation in assessing thermal comfort of occupants and it questions the accuracy of
thermal neutrality as the sole measure of thermal comfort. Field studies of thermal comfort
were applied in four workplaces in the UK and Norway in the summer of 2012. Occupants
views of thermal environment were recorded using a survey questionnaire, mainly the
ASHRAE seven point scale for thermal sensation, thermal preference, comfort and
satisfaction, as presented in Table 1. Environmental measurements of the air temperature,
relative humidity and mean radiant temperature were recorded at the time of the survey.
This was followed up by interviews to investigate users’ thermal preferences further.
Quantitative regression analysis was applied using the statistical analysis software (SPSS) on
the PMV and survey variables, including comfort, satisfaction, thermal sensation, and
preference. The probability of gaining results equal or beyond observation (P value) was
examined. Sedentary activities took place in the case study buildings. Overall, 313 responses
were included in this study with a good range of age and gender and between 68 to 95
responses from each building.
Analysis
In order to limit the impact of the thermal environment on occupants’ views, good practice
examples of workplaces were selected for this study. The thermal conditions of the
workplaces were analysed using the PMV model. Air temperature, relative humidity and
mean radiant temperature were measured and clothing and activity were observed. The
PMV model was calculated using the ASHRAE Thermal Comfort Tool (Huizenga, 2010) and
compared against the ASHRAE Standard 55-2013. Overall, 91% of the workstations in the
four case study buildings were expected to provide comfortable thermal conditions for the
occupants. Therefore, the thermal perception of the respondents is less likely to be related
to the poor quality of thermal conditions of the workplace, as they were within a good
range of mainly neutral or slightly cool thermal sensation. The relationship between thermal
sensation, thermal preference, comfort, and satisfaction were examined against the PMV
through regression analysis. The analysis indicated no significant relationships between the
PMV predictions and the variables: thermal sensation (P value = 0.084 > 0.05), thermal
preference (P value = 0.185 > 0.05), comfort (P value = 0.569 > 0.05), and satisfaction (P
value = 0.694 > 0.05). Although the PMV model predicted relatively good and similar
thermal environments in all four buildings, this was not related to respondents’ report of
their thermal sensation, thermal preference, comfort, and satisfaction statuses. This
Figure 1. Analysis of comfort and thermal sensation based on the ASHRAE seven-point scale survey responses
The statistics showed a strong relationship between thermal sensation and
satisfaction (P value = 0.000 < 0.05). Figure 2 Shows that ‘very satisfied’ participants felt
between ‘slightly cool’ to ‘slightly warm’, while ‘very dissatisfied’ users had a much wider
range of thermal sensation from ‘slightly cool’ to ‘hot’. Respondents, who felt the extremes
of thermal sensation, were more likely to be dissatisfied. However, some respondents with
‘warm’ or ‘cool’ thermal sensations report feeling ‘comfortable’, while some ‘dissatisfied’
participants report feeling ‘neutral’ regarding the thermal environment.
References
Hawkes, D. (2002). The Selective Environment; An approach to environmentally responsive architecture,
London, Spon Press.
Zhang H, Arens E, Pasut W. (2011). Air temperature thresholds for indoor comfort and perceived air
quality. Building Research & Information. Apr 1;39 (2):134-44.
Kwong QJ, Adam NM, Sahari BB. (2014). Thermal comfort assessment and potential for energy
efficiency enhancement in modern tropical buildings: A review. Energy and Buildings. Jan 31;68:547-57.
Standard, ASHRAE. (2004). Standard 55-2004. Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.
ASHRAE Inc., Atlanta, GA.
Shahzad SS. (2014). Individual thermal control in the workplace: cellular vs open plan offices:
Norwegian and British case studies.
Brengelmann, G.L. and Savage, M.V., (1997). Temperature regulation in the neutral zone. Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences, 813(1), pp.39-50.
Olgyay, V. 1992. Design with Climate: bioclimatic approach to architectural regionalism, New York.
Handbook AS. (2009). ASHRAE handbook–fundamentals. Atlanta, GA.
Abstract: Research asserts that several domestic retrofit programmes in the UK have not achieved the
expected levels of energy saving. Energy consumption is not only reliant on physical characteristics of buildings,
but also on socio-economic and cultural factors. One of the issues is that the predicted home energy use may
not reflect the actual energy consumed – a phenomena acknowledged as the ‘Building Performance Gap’.
This study examines the factors that impact on domestic energy performance in response to this phenomenon.
It adopts a concurrent mixed-method research design where the research method is primarily
questionnaires to understand occupants’ energy consumption behaviour and lifestyle and develop
a viable methodology to improve this. The solution could be the development of a smart
application connected to smart meters that addresses energy consumption habits and behaviour. As a
result, occupants will be advised in ‘real-time’ with appropriate energy-related behaviour once inefficient
energy consumption actions is detected. Besides, the application will also comprise of a simplified
Building Energy Simulation (BES) interface to provide building energy simulation results and evaluation.
It is believed that this tool could potentially increase occupants’ awareness of energy consumption
behaviour, reduce domestic energy consumption and ultimately reduce the Building Performance Gap (BPG).
Keywords: Smart Application, Building Energy Simulation (BES), energy efficiency application, domestic building
stock, occupants’ behaviour
Introduction
The average growth of energy demand in the UK was 7.3 percent between 1990 and 2003
(Environmental Change Institute, 2005). It has also been asserted that the growth of energy
demand in the UK housing sector alone is 17.5 percent in the same period. Due to the rapid
growth of residential housing developments; the housing energy demand increased by
32 percent by 2008 (Climate Change Act, 2008). Space heating has been noted as the
main energy consumption source which contributes with 60 percent of all housing energy
demand (Climate Change Act, 2008). However, the energy efficiency of the UK existing
domestic stock has not improved much since 1970s.
This study focuses on possible routes for energy reduction in existing domestic
buildings in the UK. Although the UK government has been proactively developing policies
and programmes aiming to improve the uptake and delivery of retrofit schemes for domestic
buildings since the 1970s, householders have not always been supportive to effective
delivery, partially, due to lack of knowledge, awareness, financial and technical support
(Long et al, 2014). The paper investigates the current conditions and issues of the low-carbon
retrofit market in regards to occupants’ energy consumption behaviour and home energy
Research Methodology
The research question is: How do occupants’ behaviour, lifestyle patterns and socio-economic
factors impact on the actual energy performance following energy-efficient retrofit delivery?
The research is based on the assumption that a number of ‘hard-to-quantify’ factors, such as
occupants’ energy-related behaviour and attitudes towards energy consumption, have not
been thoroughly taken into consideration in building energy simulation tools leading to the
building performance gap (BPG).
This research examines the factors that impact on domestic energy performance in
response to BPG. It adopts a concurrent mixed-method research design where the research
method is primarily survey questionnaires to understand and analyse occupants’ energy
consumption behaviour and lifestyle to help develop a viable tool to improve this. The target
group is occupants of two case studies in London Borough of Newham due for retrofit. Data
will be analysed to find the correlations between occupants’ behaviour and energy
performance by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Research findings will
help inform the design specifications of the innovative smart application. On the other hand,
the review of Energy Efficiency Applications in the market has been undertaken to assess their
successes and failures to help direct the new application developed by the study. Innovative
aspects and methods for behavioural interventions will be thoroughly considered to inform
the design specifications of the smart application.
In the current study, both BES tools and energy efficiency applications are applied to
achieve the aim of effectively reducing building energy consumption. The review of these
tools provides fundamental and comprehensive knowledge on developing the innovative
smart application. In general, energy efficiency applications provide more straightforward
information and less in-depth professional knowledge than BES tools. Several issues have
been found for its future development. For example, some innovative aspects have been
found but have not been widely spread, such as comparison scenarios and behavioural
suggestions. Besides, more effort can be made on providing real-time behavioural
suggestions to occupants based on the existing energy monitoring system. Although energy
consumption mock-up and audit has been proven successful (Barrett, 2016) in the USA, it has
not been adopted in the UK, yet. In addition, a potential conflict has been identified by
Hannon et al (2013) that energy efficiency applications developed by energy companies are
not reliable. The reason for this is that energy suppliers raise income by selling more energy
units to the occupants. Hence, they may not consider reducing energy consumptions if this
compromises their profits. More efforts in tackling energy consumption reduction can be
made by Energy Service Companies (ESCo) as they do not sell energy units.
Discussion
In order to effectively tackle retrofit programme effectiveness and BPG, several issues have
been discussed above, such as occupants’ behaviour and energy efficiency tools. Although
some limitations are found in different stages of the project, the research primarily focuses
on how occupants operate their homes. The study attempts to provide possible solutions
Figure 1. The proposed structure of the innovative smart phone application (Source: Authors)
As demonstrated in Figure 1, the application is split into ‘Instant Mode’ and ‘Potential
Mode’. As the tool is designed for occupants, its development will be based on simplified
building energy simulations, user-friendly interface and visualized results. The real-time
energy consumption will be monitored and advised with tailored behavioural advice
Conclusion
In this paper, a design specification of an innovative smart application to improve energy
efficiency of homes has been presented. The concept developed from the interactions
between occupants and smart metering systems with the aim to reduce the BPG by improving
occupants’ energy consumption behaviour. The research starts with a comprehensive
literature review to highlight some significant aspects. This will be followed by the
investigation of the correlations between occupants’ behaviour and energy performance by
collecting and analysing the questionnaires in two residential tower blocks in London.
The research provides an innovative perspective to facilitate the implementation and
efficiency of the retrofit interventions through a ‘bottom up’ approach by focusing on the
occupants. It allows occupants to run simplified energy simulation and provides them with
real-time energy monitoring and advice on reducing energy consumption. Besides, the
correlations between occupants’ behaviour and home energy performance helps to form the
new function of real-time behavioural suggestions by connecting with smart meters. As a
result, energy companies will have better understanding of the energy consumption patterns
and behaviour of the homes due for retrofit. Appropriate interventions can be made from
energy companies to investigate potential problems to be addressed. Consequently, the
implementation of the innovative smart phone application will also help strengthen the
relationship between energy management level and energy end users.
References
Barrett, D. (2016). Be Successful & Inspired. [online] Available at: < http://danabarrett.com/success-
owning-your-own-business/> [Accessed 14 March 2017].
Carroll, J., Lyons, S & Denny, E. (2014). Reducing household electricity demand through smart metering:
The role of improved information about energy saving, Energy Economics, 45 (2014), pp234-243.
Chaudhari, R. B., Dhande, D. P & Chaudhari, A. P. (2014). Home Energy Management System. In the
International Conference on Modelling and Simulation in Engineering and Technology ICMSET-2014. Beijing,
China. 15-16 Feb 2014. ICMSET: Beijing.
Climate Change Act 2008. London: HMSO.
Darby, S. (2010). Smart metering:what potential for householder engagement? Building Research &
Information, (2010), 38 (5), 442-457.
Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). (2009). The UK low carbon transition plan. London:
National strategy for climate and energy, DECC.
Fionn Stevenson 1
1
People Environment and Performance Research Group, School of Architecture, The
University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom, f.stevenson@sheffield.ac.uk
Abstract: Despite repeated efforts to foreground Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) in many countries,
few have any policy or legislation in place to mandate BPE. Large scale voluntary efforts have failed to provide
replicable templates. This paper critically reviews the various programmes and initiatives in the UK which have
attempted to embed first POE, then BPE over the last twenty years, from a practice perspective. It examines
the PROBE programme initiated in 1995 through to the Technology Strategy Board programme and the
promise of Building Information Modelling linked with BPE and Soft Landings. Key findings are the lack of
general engagement with the education sector as a key driver for BPE, as evidenced through the failure of a
national BPE conference for Schools of Architecture in 2015 to translate its manifesto into practice, as well as
the need for an engineering and architecture cultural meeting of minds through mutually developed processes.
The paper then examines means by which BPE has been successfully embedded into practice directly, through
deep organisational learning and knowledge transfer activities. Recommendations for these models to be
replicated through professional institutions and other learning organisations in the UK are put forward in the
Conclusion.
Introduction - why has BPE not taken root in practice in the UK?
In his paper ‘Post-occupancy evaluation – where are you?, Ian Cooper (2001) speaks
of ’almost 40 years of continued neglect of POE…’(p.161). One helpful theoretical change
that has taken place is the broadening of the field of Post-occupancy Evaluation (POE) into
Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) as a ‘…a systematic and rigorous approach
encompassing a number of activities including research, measurement, comparison,
evaluation, and feedback that takes place through every phase of a building’s
lifecycle…’(Mallory- Hill et al, 2012, p.3). Nearly two decades on from Cooper, however,
there is still relatively little progress in mainstreaming BPE activity among built environment
practitioners.
The twin origins of POE can be traced back to environmental psychology in the 1960’s,
with its emphasis on the occupant experience, and the use of building science to monitor
the physical performance of buildings in order to save energy in the 1970’s. However, with
the discrediting in the 1980’s of environmental psychology as something overly
deterministic, it was left to the newly emerging discipline of facilities management to pick
up the reputation and work of POE (Cooper, 2001). As a professional response, the Royal
British Institute of British Architects (RIBA) strategically recognised the need for gathering
and disseminating ‘… information and experience on user requirements. ‘ (ibid, p.159) and
‘…the study of buildings in use’ (ibid p.159) as early as 1962. This was then endorsed in 1965
Figure 1. The disaggregated sectors of BPE.
BPE in UK Education
The pedagogy of BPE still operates only in parts of the UK education sector, despite having
been taught by enthusiasts for well over a decade in certain educational establishments
such as the Architectural Association and Oxford Brookes University. In 2008, several
eminent UK academics, organised a series of national workshops for all Schools of
Architecture called ‘Designs on the Planet’ in recognition of the need to re-visit the
technology curriculum within architectural education and provide better and shared
investigative tools for students. The three workshops included a number of high profile
events and speakers as well as participants from over 30 Schools of Architecture. It was
generally concluded that ‘…there is a real need for evidence-based design approaches in
education in order to improve building performance and lower their carbon emissions’.
(Stevenson et al, 2009). From 2009 to 2012, another larger European Union programme
called EDUCATE (Environmental Design in University Curricula and Architectural Training in
Europe), with a budget of 1.65 million Euros, examined sustainable design in higher
education through a consortium of seven leading European Universities. It received the
support of the Chambers of Architects in all participating countries, and from international
building professionals and of associations of educators and practitioners
(http://www.educate-sustainability.eu). However, an examination of its outputs shows little
evidence of embedding BPE in the curriculum as a holistic activity. Instead BPE is
fragmented by being broken down into different aspects of monitoring and evaluation. POE
as an educational topic is buried with a section entitled ‘Tools: Onsite Surveys and
Measurements’. The simple ‘tool’ provided on POE is poorly referenced, adding little to the
discourse.
As a final effort to revitalise the BPE agenda in education, the author organised a
national BPE Conference in April 2015 under the auspices of the Standing Conference of
Heads of Schools of Architecture in the UK. 44 Schools Architecture in UK – virtually all -
registered representatives to attend the event. The culmination of the day was a manifesto
to be forwarded to the RIBA Education Committee which simply stated: ‘This conference
believes that integrating BPE within education is essential in order to: fulfill our
responsibility to society ,exploit the potential for collaboration between academia, users,
research, disciplines and professional practice in expanding the evidence base for affordable,
Figure 2. BPE deep learning models
This third interdisciplinary ‘consultancy’ BPE learning model can help to transcend the
evidently different approaches towards BPE that come from architecture as a more social,
qualitative and experimental culture and engineering as a culture that is typically more
Conclusion
This paper has presented a critical overview of the state of the art for BPE in the UK,
situated in a global and historical context. It has demonstrated that at present BPE remains
relatively untaught in UK higher education institutions and unembedded in practice, despite
numerous government and educational initiatives. Deep ‘triple loop’ learning is required to
challenge the status quo in existing practice at a more fundamental level, and three
different models have been presented to show how such learning can be embedded over
time through different knowledge transfer relationships to introduce new BPE CoPS within
practice. There is a clear need to go beyond mere continuous practice development (CPD)
training in BPE methods, in order to help practice understand the real value of BPE in
developmental and financial terms. Any training has to be deeply embedded using practice
‘champions’ and ‘brokers’ who stay around long enough to ensure that a genuine and
structural culture change takes place within the practice. Without this structural change, the
BPE process can be easily lost when any BPE ‘champion’ or ‘broker’ leaves.
Establishing the underlying value of BPE remains a key area of challenge. This requires
a stronger educational mandate from the various built environment professional bodies in
terms of revising their CPD training and validation criteria to make knowledge and skills in
BPE a much more explicit requirement, and to utilise the deep learning models proposed in
this paper. It is not enough for there to be tacit assumption that this is contained within
‘understanding the needs of the user’ as stated in the RIBA validation criteria. Students in
the built environment need to learn the concept of feedback from year one and this needs
to be iterated throughout their learning programme using ‘triple loop’ learning. Feedback
should be about how buildings really perform, and not only on how students think they
should perform, through modelling, field measurements and social evaluations.
At the same time, it is doubtful that POE and BPE will ever become mainstream, given
the past 60 years of its neglect in history, without governments mandating POE as part of
the building regulatory framework. This in turn requires an attribution as to who in the
building procurement and management process should pay for this activity – is it the client,
the design team, or the occupants? Regulation could help to sort this out quite quickly, but
it needs to be light touch and incisive, with the flexibility that comes with performance
based regulation rather than settling on approved methods which need continuous
updating. This could ensure that regulation allows BPE to continuously develop. It is hoped
that this critical review and recommendations above may help to at least partly address the
question by Cooper ‘POE – where are you?’
Abstract: Whilst people experience both external and internal temperatures, they are likely to spend most of
their time indoors. During heatwaves, the majority of excess-deaths occur amongst the most vulnerable
sections of the population. In addition, modern highly insulated homes can worsen this scenario since internal
temperatures tend to respond more quickly to heat gains, leading to increased heat stress. This paper
examines the vulnerability and resilience of low carbon homes to heatwaves. A monitoring study of four
energy efficient homes in the UK has been carried out during the short heatwave which occurred in 2015. A
close exploration of the variability of internal temperatures recorded with high resolution and in each room
allows the areas of greatest risk to be mapped. These results are linked to occupants’ responses. The analysis
shows how building characteristics and ventilation can affect thermal conditions, and how design should take
these into account.
Keywords: climate change, heatwaves, energy efficient homes, low carbon design, resilience.
Introduction
Climate change is widely recognised as one of the greatest emerging humanitarian
challenges of our time. Since the severe 2003 heatwave and associated excess deaths across
Europe, the status of heatwaves has shifted from an interesting weather anomaly to
precursors of potentially dangerous climate change; a 16% excess mortality was reported
during that period, placing heatwaves as a major risk and number one among the natural
hazards (i.e. tropical cyclones and related windstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, lightning,
droughts, and floods) of post-industrial societies (Poumadère et al. 2005). This situation is
more alarming since climate change projections suggest that this excess mortality could rise
to 5000 per year in 2080 (DCLG 2012).
There is no universal definition of heat waves. Heatwave is generally defined as a
period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and usually humid weather. In the UK, the Met
Office adheres to a relativist definition "a heatwave is an extended period of hot weather
relative to the expected conditions of the area at that time of year”. On a tentative
reconstruction around this theme, Perkins lists a number of definitions in which the
duration of exposure to high temperatures and intensity are found in different degrees to
Methods
Longitudinal data were collected using Onset HOBO Pendant Temperature Loggers placed in
every room of the each house monitored during summer 2015 (see table 1). The sensors
recorded air temperature values at 10 min intervals. These measurements were
complemented by an occupant questionnaire aimed at collecting feedback about the
effectiveness of new highly efficient designs, as well as to collect data about occupants’
behaviour, control, and comfort sensation, in order to relate these to the temperature
measurements in their homes.
Table 1. Overview of case studies homes.
There was a brief but sharp heat wave peaking at above 30°C on 1 July 2015 in
England, coinciding with high solar gain and high humidity. The period chosen for this
analysis closely corresponds to the generic definition of a heatwave “period of abnormally
and uncomfortably hot and usually humid weather” and satisfies two conditions: (a) when
daily average external temperatures were above 20°C and (b) when the NSWWS threshold
peak temperature was reached. Figure 1 shows a graphical representation of this period,
from 28 June to 3rd July 2015.
Figure 2. Box and whiskers plot, from 28 June 2015 until 3 July 2015.
House UK54 (highly insulated with thermal mass exposed, naturally ventilated)
performed the best of the four case study houses. Unlike the other homes, this house is the
only one managed using natural ventilation alone (extract mechanical ventilation is
available, but the occupant had turned this off for the summer). During the 1st July 2015, in
house UK54, all room temperatures were between 21-30°C (most rooms between 23-26°C).
When external temperatures where at the lowest, between 4:00-5:00 am, internal
temperatures were 5-10K higher. The office, with south facing sloping roof windows, is the
only room with daytime temperatures above external temperatures. All the other rooms
maintained lower temperatures during external peak times.
In house UK55 (highly insulated with thermal mass exposed, MVHR), where most
windows were kept close during the heatwave, and MVHR was ‘left to do the job’, the
biggest internal-external median difference was found, suggesting that MVHR only
ventilation results in inadequate purge ventilation resulting in the build–up of internal
temperatures. The coolest room was found to be the kitchen, which was managed by
opening window. In most spaces overheating appears to be the result of uncontrolled
morning solar gains and lack of windows opening, confirmed by the occupant’s
questionnaire. During the 1st July 2015, in house UK55, most room temperatures were
between 25-30°C. When external temperatures where at the lowest, between 4:00-5:00 am,
internal temperatures were 10-15K higher. The East facing sunspace with no solar gain
control presented the highest peak temperatures, with a difference with external
temperatures up to 18K. When external temperatures peaked in the afternoon, the west
st
Figure 4. Temperatures swing during the 1 July 2015 in house UK51 (left) and in house UK52 (right).
st
Figure 5. Temperatures swing during the 1 July 2015 in house UK54 (left) and in house UK55 (right).
Lag
It can be seen in figure 6, which include temperatures in the days before and after the
heatwave, that while external temperatures were reduced from 2nd July 2015 onwards, the
high internal temperatures were maintained in all the homes for several days. In house
UK51 (retrofitted/MVHR) and in house UK52 (lightweight/MVHR) the main bedroom
temperatures were above 25°C for more than three days after the heatwave. In house UK54
(thermal mass/natural ventilation) the main bedroom temperatures were below the peak
day external temperature but above the peak day external temperature on the following
day. A similar pattern was observed in house UK55 (thermal mass/MVHR), but 3-4K higher.
However, in house UK55 the main bedroom temperatures were above the peak day
external temperature at all times.
th th
Figure 6. Temp. swing from 28 June to 9 July 2015: houses UK51 and UK52 (left) and UK54 and UK55 (right).
Conclusions
This paper has provided a graphical and statistical description of the performance of four
energy efficient homes across UK during the 2015 heatwave. The findings show that internal
temperatures across these homes were uncomfortably high, except for UK54.
The persistence of high indoor temperatures after the peak day (i.e. four days in some
cases) suggests that highly insulated homes might be considered as posing an increased risk
to health, under certain layout, typology, and orientations. The study also shows that, in a
non-dense urban area, such as York, thermal mass in highly insulated homes can provide
effective night cooling, if the proper orientation and ventilation strategy is in place (among
the two heavyweight homes, the one with no MVHR and natural ventilation performed
much better).
At times, some of the rooms became unusable and occupants had to relocate to
another room. This option is not always available in homes with a higher occupancy density.
Therefore designers of energy efficient homes should incorporate this experience in their
designs, providing spaces with a thermal variability that will allow for thermal relief during
heatwaves. This way the design of energy efficient homes could also be resilient to
heatwaves. It has also been found that occupants adapt to their environments (all
occupants ventilated at least one room). However, as shown by house UK52 (lightweight
bungalow Passivhaus), user behaviour alone may not be sufficient to adapt to heatwave
conditions. In house UK52 external shading and secure night ventilation were not available;
and these should be the bare minimum that energy efficient design should provide. This
capability of designing environments able to adapt (or to let people adapt) to extreme
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the sponsorship of the Global Innovation Initiative
(GII) project (2014-2016) “Reducing global energy use in buildings while improving occupant
comfort and well-being: reversing the growing trend toward energy-intensive air-
conditioning”, funded by the British Council as part of an international partnership between
BERG-Loughborough University (UK), CBE-UC Berkeley (USA), CARBSE-CEPT University
(India), IESD-De Montfort University (UK). Also, authors would like to express their gratitude
to the very patient and helpful volunteers of the houses surveyed.
References
Armstrong, B.G. et al., 2011. Association of mortality with high temperatures in a temperate climate:
England and Wales. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 65(4), pp.340–345. Available at:
http://jech.bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/jech.2009.093161.
Beizaee, A., Lomas, K.J. & Firth, S.K., 2013. National survey of summertime temperatures and
overheating risk in English homes. Building and Environment, 65, pp.1–17.
DCLG, 2012. Investigation into Overheating in Homes: Literature Review, London: Crown
Copyright.
Dengel, A. & Swainson, M., 2012. Overheating in new homes. A review of the evidence, Milton
Keynes: NHBC Foundation.
HM, 2013. The Building Regulations 2010, approved document L1A: Conservation of fuel and
power in new dwellings, edition 2013.
Jason Palmer, Daniel Godoy-Shimizu, A.T. and I.M., 2016. Building Performance Evaluation
Programme : Findings from domestic projects Making reality match design. , (January).
Killip, G., 2005. Built fabric & building regulations. Background material F 40% House project.
Mavrogianni, A. et al., 2016. Inhabitant actions and summer overheating risk in London
dwellings. Building Research and Information, Under revi(August).
NHS, 2015. Heatwave Plan for England.
Orme, M. & Palmer, J., 2003. Control of overheating in future housing - design guidance for low
energy strategies. , p.48.
Perkins, S.E., 2015. A review on the scientific understanding of heatwaves-Their measurement,
driving mechanisms, and changes at the global scale. Atmospheric Research, 164–165, pp.242–267.
Poumadère, M. et al., 2005. The 2003 heat wave in France: Dangerous climate change here and now.
Risk Analysis, 25(6), pp.1483–1494.
Tabatabaei Sameni, S.M. et al., 2015. Overheating investigation in UK social housing flats built to
the Passivhaus standard. Building and Environment, 92, pp.222–235.
Toledo, L., Cropper, P.C. & Wright, A.J., 2016. Unintended consequences of sustainable
architecture : Evaluating overheating risks in new dwellings. In PLEA 2016 Los Angeles - 32th International
Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. Cities, Buildings, People: Towards Regenerative
Environments. Available at: http://www.plea2016.org/index.html.
Wright, A., Young, A. & Natarajan, S., 2005. Dwelling temperatures and comfort during the August
2003 heat wave. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 26(4), pp.285–300. Available at:
http://bse.sagepub.com/content/26/4/285.short.
Abstract: This paper presents part of the research that aims to develop a post-occupancy evaluation (POE)
interactive system over digital media to identify the quality of the houses under investigation. The feasibility of
this interactive system is been tested in case studies in the city of Uberlândia (Brazil) and may fundament its
future replication in other cities. This paper focuses on the theoretical foundation of the research as well as on
its environmental approach, considering the strategies used to verify the environmental quality of housing
within the proposed evaluation system. Besides energy efficiency and environmental performance of housing,
this research was interested to identify the behaviour of dwellers regarding the use of different natural
resources, analysing their habits and actions. Preliminary results indicate that the use of technologies and
digital resources can minimize some of the frequent problems that occur in traditional POE studies, as they
increase the efficiency of evaluation results, reduce the execution time and the costs of researches, and
increase the interest of the questionnaire respondents, especially concerning issues related to the
sustainability of the built environment.
Introduction
With a large array of possibilities in research, the theme of “housing” has been studied with
varying approaches and broken down into extracts. Even though the perspective of each
analysis varies, they conjoin on the understanding that “living” represents a fundamental
act in human existence. The psychic importance of the house in the constitution of the
individual is emphasized by Penzim (2007), indicating that the house brings the possibility of
synthesis of life for “man”, setting itself as a shelter for different human activities.
Apart from the condition of this protective space as a shelter, housing also represents
a space for private life, permitting the interdependent establishment of relationships and, at
the same time, respect for intimacy (Kunze; Conciani, 2004). However, while living spaces
are individual, they present a collective dimension: each member of the family occupies a
single enclosure and, in addition to this, the people of this family interact and socialize with
the neighbourhood, the district and the city (Araújo, 2005). Because of this, the analysis of
the house, shelter of “living”, should always be related to the investigation on the physical
territory and the environment in which it is situated.
1
https://morahabitacao.com
CHARACTERISTICS%OF%PREVIOUS%HOUSE%
! 2.!!PREVIOUS!HOUSE! LEVEL%OF%SATISFACTION%WITH%PREVIOUS%HOUSE%
LOCATION%OF%CURRENT%HOUSE%
3.!SURROUNDINGS!OF!
!! ! CURRENT!HOUSE!
LEVEL%OF%SATISFACTION%WITH%SURROUNDINGS%(PUBLIC%
FACILITIES%AND%SPACES)%
CHARACTERISTICS%OF%CONDOMINIUM%(COLLECTIVE%
! FACILITIES%AND%SPACES)%
!
4.!CURRENT!HOUSE!! EVALUATION%OF%THE%HOUSE%AS%A%WHOLE%
!
EVALUATING%OF%ROOMS%AND%SPACES%IN%A%SPECIFIC%WAY%
! DEFINICTION%OF%THEIR%USES%(WAY%OF%LIVE)%
EVALUATING%THE%RESIDENT'S%BEHAVIOR%CONCERNINGS%
5.!RELATIONSHIP!WITH! THE%ENVIRONMENT%AND%ITS%IMPACT%
! THE!ENVIRONMENT!
!
Figure 1. Tabs of the research and aspects evaluated.
Figure 2. Icons related to sustainable habits.
Conclusions
The interactive system for Post-Occupancy Evaluation of housing quality has the capacity to
provide feedback into future projects, focusing on different scales of analysis (house
product, behavioural relation of users and their residencies, and the insertion of habitation
in urban surroundings). The open plataforms of digital evaluation tools improves
technologically in the sense that it brings the user (and their perceptions) closer to the
constructed environment (and its attributed meanings) in a more interactive manner. It is
Acknowledgements
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the financial bodies of this project FAPEMIG
- the Minas Gerais State Research Foundation, Brazil; CNPq – National Council for
technological and scientific development - Brazil; and PROGRAD/UFU – Pro-Rectory of
Graduation, Federal University of Uberlândia.
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Nyuk Hien Wong1, Shanshan Tong1, Erna Tan1, Jianxiu Wen1, Alice Goh2, Sui Fung Lee2 and
Ruixin Li2
1
Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of
Singapore, Singapore.
2
Green Building Research, Built Environment Research and Innovation Institute, Building
and Construction Authority, Singapore.
Abstract: In the tropical country of Singapore, building envelope accounts for a substantial portion of cooling
load in buildings. In order to reduce the air-conditioning load and maintain indoor thermal comfort, this work
is dedicated to study the thermal performance of building façade of residential block in Singapore. Residential
units located at the same height but with different design features are selected, so as to study the impact of
corridor shading, window-to-wall ratio and internal shading on the indoor environment. Field experiment is
carried out to measure the indoor air temperature, relative humidity, globe temperature and wall surface
temperature for continuous days. The total and sensible cooling energy loads of these units are simulated
using EnergyPlus program. The impact of building façade design and orientation on cooling load are thus
estimated. Based on the analysis, recommendations are provided for the energy efficiency in residential
buildings in tropics.
Introduction
In the tropical country of Singapore, climate is hot and humid throughout the year. Air-
conditioner is the largest contributor of energy use in both commercial and residential
buildings. With 100% of its population urbanized, the city-state places major concern on the
indoor thermal comfort as well as the space cooling energy savings. The building envelope
separating the indoor space from the outdoor environment plays an important role, as it
acts as a modifier of the direct effects of climate variables such as the outdoor temperature,
humidity, wind, solar radiation and rain. Building envelope accounts for approximately 64%
of the total cooling load in Singapore (Chua & Chou, 2010).
During the past few decades, tremendous research efforts have been spent on the
passive design of building envelope for cooling energy savings in Singapore. Field
experiments have been carried out to investigate the potential benefits of different passive
envelope designs, such as rooftop garden (Wong, Tan, & Chen, 2007), solar-reflective roof
(Tong et al., 2014), secondary roof (Wong & Li, 2007) and shading device (Wong, Tan, Seng,
Mok, & Goh). In addition, simulation studies were conducted to analyse the impact of
building façade design parameters as well, such as thermal insulation, induced natural
ventilation flow, window-to-wall ratio and shading devices (Wang, Wong, & Li, 2007).
Some passive design features are commonly adopted by architects for energy
efficiency in tropical climate, such as north-south orientation of windows, extended
Field measurement
Experiment set-up
Field experiment is carried out on a public residential block on East Coast road in Singapore.
As shown in Figure 1 (a), the 5-story residential block was designed as a slab block and built
in 1970’s. There are 7 residential apartments on each floor, and each apartment consists of
1 living room, 1 kitchen and 1 bedroom. As shown in Figure 1 (b), the studied facade is west-
east orientated facing a car park. The residential block was evacuated during our
experiment period in December of 2016.
(a) (b)
Figure 1. (a) Studied residential block and (2) map of its surroundings.
Five west-facing units located on the fourth floor of studied block are selected for
experiment, as shown in Figure 2 (a)-(e). As illustrated in Figure 2 (f), a 1.3-m wide corridor
is designed as common area outside the units A, D and E, while selected façades in unit B
and C are exposed to outdoor environment without corridor shading. The WWR of these
west-facing facades of units A-E are 0.2, 0.5, 1, 1 and 1 respectively. Inside the units, no
internal shading device is used in units A-D, while a white blind is used in unit E to block the
incoming solar heat.
In each selected unit, air temperature, relative humidity and globe temperature at 1.1-
m or 0.6-m height, 30-cm distance from interior surface of west-facing facade are measured.
(f)
th
Figure 2 (a)-(e) Studied façades in Units A-E and (f) floor plan for 4 story.
Figure 3. Hourly temperature and solar radiation on the measurement day.
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Impact of external corridor shading
The impact of corridor shading on the indoor temperature is studied by comparing the
thermal environment in Unit C and D. Both facades use full height glass windows, and there
is a 1.3-wide corridor outside unit C. The hourly variations of air temperature and globe
temperature in Unit C and D are presented in Figure 4. In both units, air temperature peaks
at 6 p.m. when solar radiation penetrates the windows and transmits indoors. Moreover, air
temperature in Unit D is 7.6oC lower than that in Unit C at 5 p.m. due to corridor shading.
On average, the shading provided by 1.3-m corridor helps to reduce indoor air temperature
by 3.6oC from noon to 9 p.m., and the reduction is 2.0oC over 24 hours. The reduction in
globe temperature due to corridor shading is also evident, which reaches its maximum at
6.7oC at 5 p.m. The globe temperature reduction due to corridor shading is more than 1oC
from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., when direct sunlight hits the studied façade.
Figure 4. Comparison of temperatures between units C and D.
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Figure 5. Comparison of temperatures between units A and D.
Figure 6. Comparison of temperatures between units B and C.
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Figure 7. Comparison of temperatures between units D and E.
It is noticed that the indoor air temperature insides all the studied units are very high in the
afternoon. The peak temperatures at 1.1-m range from 45.0oC in unit C to 37.8oC in unit A,
when the outdoor air temperature is only 33.3oC. It might because that the windows of
studied units are all closed, and heat built up in a glass window environment. When half of
the windows on the studied facade are opened, the indoor temperature rise becomes less
significant. For example, on a sunny day (Dec 26 2016), the hourly variations of outdoor
conditions and indoor air temperatures are depicted in Figure 8. It is observed that the peak
air temperature in unit A is 33.3oC, which is 2.4oC higher than the outdoor air temperature
at 4 p.m.
Figure 8 Hourly variations of indoor air temperatures under windows half-open conditions
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without corridor shading shows the largest sensible cooling load of 3.86 kW per day. Unit B
has the second largest sensible cooling load of 2.38 kW, followed by unit D, E and A. Unit A
with corridor shading and smallest WWR has the lowest cooling load. It is also observed that
the sensible cooling loads in units A and E are quite close, although they have different
WWR. It might because that, although Unit E with larger WWR has more solar gain during
daytime, windows also facilitate heat dissipation at night.
Figure 9. Building model in DesignBuilder.
Figure 10. Total and sensible cooling loads of studied units.
The impact of building orientation on cooling load is also studied. The monthly
sensible cooling loads of unit B under different orientation senarios are simulated, as shown
in Figure 11. From May to Aug when direct solar radiation reaches the northern hemisphere,
the cooling loads of Unit B with west, east and north orientation are quite close, which are
much higher than that with south orientation. In contrast, the cooling load of unit B with
north orientation is the lowest from Nov to Feb. It is observed that the normalized sensible
cooling load of Unit B per year is the largest at 159.4 KWh/m2 for west orientation, followed
by the east, north and south orientations of 152.0 KWh/m2, 139.5 KWh/m2 and 138.5
KWh/m2 respectively.
Figure 11. Sensible cooling load of Unit B under different orientations.
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Conclusions
In this work, the impact of WWR, external shading corridor and shading device on indoor
temperature and cooling load are analysed through field experiment and simulation.
In field measurement, it is found that the corridor shading reduces the indoor air
temperature by 7.6oC at 5 p.m. and by 2.0oC over the 24 hours for units with full-height
glass windows. The reduction in globe temperature due to corridor shading is substantial
and reaches 6.7oC at 5 p.m. For those units with corridor, the indoor air temperature and
globe temperature at 1.1-m height are lowered by 1.9oC and 6.3oC respectively when the
WWR of unit is reduced from 1 to 0.2. Moreover, the internal shading blind can reduce the
peak air temperature by 2.1oC and reduce the peak globe temperature by 2.7oC in the
afternoon.
Through computer simulation, the impact of façade design parameters on the cooling
load of studied units are analysed. It is found that, compared with the worst-performing
unit without corridor and with full-height glass, the sensible cooling load can be reduced by
38% through reducing the WWR to 0.5 and by 59% through corridor shading. The annual
sensible cooling load of residential unit with west orientation is the largest, followed by
those with east, north and south orientations.
The results of this work can be utilized to improve the passive design of residential
buildings so as to improve the indoor thermal comfort. Future studies will be conducted to
study the comprehensive impact of different shading devices and advanced materials on the
thermal performance of building façade.
Acknowledgement
This project is funded by Building and Construction Authority (BCA) - Green Buildings
Innovation Cluster (GBIC), with funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF)
Singapore (WBS: R-296-000-169-490).
References
Building Construction Authority, Singapore. Code on Envelope Thermal Performance for Buildings.
(2008).
Chua, K. J., et al, (2010). Energy performance of residential buildings in Singapore. Energy, 35(2), 667-
678.
Tan, C. L., et al, (2013). Outdoor mean radiant temperature estimation in the tropical urban
environment. Building and Environment, 64, 118-129.
Tong, S., et al, (2014). Thermal performance of concrete-based roofs in tropical climate. Energy and
Buildings, 76, 392-401.
Wang, L., et al, (2007). Facade design optimization for naturally ventilated residential buildings in
Singapore. Energy and Buildings, 39(8), 954-961.
Wong, N. H., et al, (2007). A study of the effectiveness of passive climate control in naturally ventilated
residential buildings in Singapore. Building and Environment, 42(3), 1395-1405.
Wong, N. H., et al, Performance of Passive Design Features in Zero Energy Building of Singapore,
International Conference on Sustainable Design and Construction, 2011.
Wong, N. H., et al, (2007). Study of thermal performance of extensive rooftop greenery systems in the
tropical climate. Building and Environment, 42(1), 25-54.
VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 898
Retrofit for Optimizing Building Thermal Performance in Warm-Humid
Climate
1
Research Scholar, Postgraduate Department of Resource Management, SNDT University,
Juhu, Mumbai, roshniudyavar@gmail.com;
2
Head of Department, Postgraduate Department of Resource Management, SNDT
University, Juhu, Mumbai, frm@sndt.ac.in
Abstract: In existing educational buildings, spatial layout over time is altered to meet functional requirements.
However, these can adversely affect the thermal comfort of occupants. Spatial and structural retrofit can
improve thermal performance of buildings. This research puts forth the results of a real-life retrofit project to
improve building envelope and interiors for better thermal performance of an existing educational space in
warm and humid climate of Mumbai. The aim of the research is to analyze the effect of retrofit measures on
building thermal performance. Measurements of air temperature, relative humidity and surface temperature
of the sloping roof–the largest exposed envelope surface - were undertaken pre and post-retrofit using
appropriate instrumentation. Key factors analyzed include change in roof under-deck surface temperature,
surface area to volume ratio, change in U-factor and Envelope Performance Factor of building elements pre
and post-retrofit. Results show a significant drop in internal surface temperature of the roof post retrofit,
which has a positive effect on the MRT and subsequently the operative temperature and thermal comfort of
occupants. The retrofit measures used are economical and have potential for scaling-up across educational
buildings in India, where low-cost solutions for thermal comfort and energy efficiency, are much required.
Keywords: thermal performance, retrofit, roof, envelope performance factor, warm humid climate,
educational building
Introduction
As per the Central Regulatory Authority (CEA) 2013 Report, building sector in India
accounts for 37% of total electricity consumption. Energy consumption due to space
cooling and lighting has been found to account for one third of total energy consumption in
residential buildings and two-thirds of total energy consumption in commercial buildings in
India (Bhatt, Rajkumar, Jothibasu, Sudirkumar, Pandian, & Nair, 2005).
The building envelope acts as a mediator between the external environment and
the occupants. It forms a significant element in total energy consumption and has a
cascading effect on air conditioning and lighting. Hence, designing the building envelope
for improved thermal performance is important for occupant comfort and energy
consumption. Retrofit of existing buildings for energy efficiency can be costly and limited.
Retrofit Strategies for Improved Thermal Performance in Warm Humid Climate
Warm-humid climates pose a peculiar problem for thermal comfort of human beings.
While the air temperature may be in the early 30s of degree Celsius, the high relative
Methodology
The study is located in the city of Mumbai, India, which is classified under warm-humid
climate zone by the ECBC 2007. The research design is quantitative and includes
measurements and calculations related to thermal performance of the building and its
elements – pre and post-retrofit.
The retrofit project was undertaken in September 2012 and completed in March
2014. The project included retrofit design and layout, discussions with client (Director of the
College) and users to meet their functional and spatial requirements and approval of
budget, preparing tender documents, specifications and rate analysis for items not listed in
the District Schedule of Rates (DSR).
Pre and post-retrofit analysis of design was based on calculations of surface-area to
volume, U-value and EPF (Envelope Performance Factor), and measurements taken using
Digital Hygro-thermometer, Electronic Infrared non-contact Thermometer, K-type
(thermocouple) and RTD-PT-100 sensors and 8 channel data logger.
Structural Retrofit
S.No. Strategy Purpose
100 mm thick dry wall internal partitions supported by Galvanized For better heat and
Iron (GI) channels, and vertical studs at 600 mm centre to centre sound insulation, and
1 clad with a double layer of gypsum plasterboard screwed and taped, faster construction.
and filled in with glass wool insulation material - in place of 150 mm
brick walls and plywood partitions.
High albedo paint having solar reflective index > 0.5 on asbestos For reducing cooling
2
cement roof sheet . load of buildings
Radiant Barrier under-deck insulation made of polyethylene air To reduce emission of
bubble film (ABF) laminated with aluminum foil on both sides radiation from roof
underneath the AC sheet roofing suspended using a G.I Wire mesh surface. This is a
3 with an air gap of 100mm. The composite thickness of the material radiant heat reflective
is 4mm; its emissivity is in the range of 0.01-0.04 and its thermal low-e insulation
transmittance is 0.07W/m2K.transfer material meant to
effectively block the
Rotating head Roto Turbo ventilators – 12 nos. – of throat diameter radiant
To heat stack effect
induce
300mm introduced on the roof to facilitate stack ventilation in the and provide thermal
4 classrooms. Made of aluminum with steel shaft, they are fixed onto comfort to occupants
the AC sheet of the roof. At wind speed of 6 km/hr, it is projected to by means of induced
have an exhaust capacity of 572cfm. convective ventilation
Translucent uniform flat polycarbonate sheets fixed on Mild Steel They provide acoustic
(MS) cleats provided onto existing MS roof truss at 200mm insulation while
5 centre-to-centre gas welded to match the level of dry wall. A thin allowing daylight
layer or EPDM flat strips or rubber flats are pasted on to the cleats penetration into
or the MS flat along its inner side using, rubber adhesives and cured classrooms.
to dry.
19 nos. 1.5mm thick 1.0 x 2.0 m (effective opening) corrugated To provide adequate
translucent AC profiled polycarbonate sheets were fixed onto AC daylight in the
6 sheets to provide day-lighting. The sheets are placed in a similar classrooms
form and orientation to a regular AC sheet and lapped on the top
and bottom by 150mm.
Spatial Retrofit
S.No. Strategy Purpose
Increase size of classrooms and provide single row of classrooms in To enhance thermal
7 place of double rows on either side of the corridor comfort through cross
8 Removal of false ceiling ventilation
To allow for stack
9 ventilation
Increase WWR by making all windows openable To enhance cross
ventilation
Figure 1: Spatial layout before and after retrofit
Figure 2: Photo of Classrooms before and after retrofit
Figure 3: Pre and Post-retrofit section
0
Figure 4: Roof bottom temperatures post retrofit are below 32 C
References
ASHRAE. (1992). Standard 55 - Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. Atlanta: ASHRAE
Inc. Bhatt, S., Rajkumar, N., Jothibasu, S., Sudirkumar, R., Pandian, G., & Nair, K. (2005). Commerical and
Residential Building Energy Labeling. Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research , 30-34.
Bureau of Energy Efficiency and USAID ECO III Project. (2009). Energy Conservation Building Codes: User
Guide.
(S. Kumar, Ed.) New Delhi, India: Bureau of Energy Efficiency.
CSN ISO7726. (1993). Thermal Environments: Instruments and methods for measuring physical
quantities.
Prague: Czech Standards Institute.
Hargas, L., Drkal, F., & Zmrhal, V. (2006). Experimental and Simulation Temperature Evaluation which
Determine Thermal Comfort. Journal of Mechanical Engineering .
Houghton, F., & Yaglou, C. (1924). Cooling Effect on Human Beings Produced by Various Air Velocities.
American Society of Heating and Ventilation Engineers. Transactions.
Fathy, H. (1986). Natural Energy and Vernacular Architecture: Principles and Examples with Reference to
Hot Arid Climates. (W. Shearer, & A.-e.-r. A. Sultan, Eds.) Tokyo, Japan: United National University Press.
ISO 7726:1998 (E). (1998). Ergonomics of the thermal environment - instruments for measuring
physical quantities. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.
Kazkaz, M., & Pavelek, M. (2012). Operative Temperature and Globe Temperature. Stekani Kateder
Mechaniky Tekutin A Termome Chaniky , 26-28.
Koenigsberger, O., Ingersoll, T., Mayhew, A., & Szokolay, S. (1973). Manual of Tropical Housing and
Building.
Hyderabad, India: Orient Longman Limited.
Sehgal, N. (2010). Analysis of Structural Cooling System in Energy Plus. International Conference on
Current Trends in Technology, NUiCONE 2010. Ahmedabad: Institute of Technology, Nirma University.
Kumar, S., Kapoor, R., Deshmukh, A., Kamath, M., & Manu, S. (2010). Total Commercial Floor Space
Estimates.
New Delhi: Energy Conservation and Commercialization - ECO 3.
Mahoney , C., Evans, J. M., & Koenigsberger, O. (1971). Climate and House Design. New York, United
States of America: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Nayak, J., & Prajapati, J. (2006). Handbook on Energy Conscious Buildings. New Delhi, India: Indian
Institute of Technology, Bombay, and Solar Energy Centre, Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources, New
Delhi.
Abstract: The energy consumed in the domestic sector in the UK accounts for more than one fourth of the total
CO2 emissions in the country. Retrofit programmes aiming to improve energy efficiency of buildings have been
initiated in the UK for more than two decades to achieve 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Building retrofit is a cost-effective way to reduce energy demand of existing buildings and improve thermal
comfort. This research evaluates the building performance of a council tower block in London. Initial field
surveys highlighted the serious damp and mould issues in several flats. This leads to health concerns caused by
a combination of inefficient building envelope and partial unawareness of the occupants concerning efficient
use of their homes. The research focuses on the interactions between the building performance, the occupants’
energy consumption behaviour and thermal comfort in winter. In phase one of the project, building monitoring
and simulation analysis were undertaken to assess the building performance and indoor thermal conditions. The
second phase of the project focuses on the building performance optimisation and methods for energy efficient
retrofit. This includes simulation analysis and a questionnaire-based survey to define the occupants’ energy
consumption behaviour and thermal comfort.
Keywords: Building performance, retrofit, council housing, simulation modelling, field monitoring
Introduction
Improving the energy efficiency of the built environment is one of the major priorities of the
UK government in order to reduce energy demand and deliver on the carbon emission
reduction plan. The energy use in the housing sector in the UK accounts for more than twenty
five percent of the total CO2 emissions produced in the country (Low Carbon Innovation
Coordination Group, 2012). The significant amount of carbon emission levels in the country
show that there is a need to take initiatives to reduce the buildings’ energy consumption and
consequently mitigate the impact on climate change. Energy efficiency studies indicate that
the suitable retrofit techniques can improve the building energy and environmental
performance. Building retrofit also facilitates better indoor thermal comfort, health and
wellbeing of the occupants while reducing the energy demands of the building (Vilches et al.,
2017, Rickaby, 2011). However, the energy consumption of buildings is not always reduced
by energy retrofit particularly in fuel poverty conditions (Vilches et al., 2017).
There have been major retrofit programmes rolled out by the UK government’s
Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) – now Department of Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy - to improve the energy efficiency of the buildings in the UK to achieve 80%
reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2012). One
major programme introduced is RENEW programme which aims to enhance the building
Methodology
The aim of the study is to investigate the building performance of the 22-storey tower block
in LBN with the purpose of reducing the building energy consumption and to improve indoor
thermal performance by providing tailored recommendations for energy and cost-efficient
retrofit. The study adopts a mixed method research design that includes field monitoring and
a questionnaire-based survey. The project is being undertaken over two phases. The first
phase of the project, the focus of this paper, is the building performance evaluation to identify
and diagnose the possible causes of the physical issues of damp, mould and condensation.
This process entails building simulation modelling and case study monitoring of indoor air
temperature and Relative Humidity (RH) levels of a sample of flats in the case study identified
as problematic to assess the building performance, the occupants’ energy consumption
behaviour and indoor thermal comfort. Flat A and Flat B have been selected as the
exploratory sample case studied for the research, with a particular focus on the bedrooms.
Both flats are located in the south-east orientation of the building in the middle floors of the
block with similar damp, mould and condensation issues. Two zones were selected in each
property to be monitored, the small bedroom representing a non-problematic bedroom and
a master bedroom, which suffers from cold, mould and condensation. Building simulation
modelling using dynamic DesignBuilder (DB) software was also performed to help understand
and diagnose the issues with the building performance.
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The second phase of the project focuses on the building performance optimisation and
methods for energy efficient retrofit. This includes building simulation analysis and a
questionnaire-based survey distributed to all flats of the block to understand the occupants’
energy consumption behaviour and indoor thermal comfort and satisfaction. In this phase,
the most sustainable and cost-effective practical recommendations for heating, cooling, and
ventilation of the properties will be proposed. In addition, the most effective retrofit strategy
will be recommended to improve the thermal envelope and to reduce the building overall
energy consumption while providing a comfortable indoor environment. These
recommendations can then be applicable to similar building types in the UK.
Case Study: Tower block in London Borough of Newham
The case under study is a council housing tower block located in London Borough of Newham.
The 22-storey tower block was constructed in 1966 (Medhurst and Turnham, 2016) and
consists of 108 2-bedroom and 1-bedroom properties. The structure is in-situ reinforced
concrete frame construction with floor slabs spanning between shear walls and pre-cast
concrete panels covering the flank wall. Externally, the building envelope is fitted with
asbestos cement over-cladding panels. All flats have double-glazed windows with UPVC
panels and internal wooden doors. The internal partitions consist of the concrete blocks of
100 mm thickness and the external walls include external over- cladding of 9 mm thickness,
an 80 mm air gap, 200 mm pre-cast concrete panels and 20 mm internal wall insulation boards
and finishes. Floors consist of 150 mm concrete slabs as well as floor and ceiling finishes.
There is one extractor fan in the kitchen and another in the bathroom. The building heating
is provided by natural gas fuelled hot water boilers.
From a survey undertaken by Newham Council in 2016 to diagnose the water
penetration problems; it was found that 25 flats (23% of the tower block) experienced severe
damp, mould and condensation issues (London Borough of Newham, 2016). In addition, an
internal damp survey was carried out with the aid of a damp meter to identify the cause of
damp penetration in the two sample flats (Figure 1) in the south-east corner of the tower
under this study, flats A and B (Figure 2).
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Figure 1. Damp and mould problems in Flat A (a, b, c) and Flat B (d, e) in the tower block in LBN
Based on the Newham survey results (Medhurst and Turnham, 2016), the building
external over-cladding facades were jet washed in 2012 which may have damaged the sealing
between the panels facilitating a path for water to penetrate the concrete structure during
periods of driving rain. The second phase of this research will assess potential long-term
solutions and will introduce the most cost-effective recommendations.
Monitoring
To evaluate the thermal and environmental performance of Flats A and B, the indoor air
temperature and the Relative Humidity (RH) levels of the two main bedrooms of flats A and
B (Figure 2) were monitored in the winter; from 25/11/2016 to 23/3/2017 using data loggers.
Data loggers were fitted in each bedroom with the logging intervals of 15 minutes to collect
indoor climatic data (air temperature and RH levels). They were located away from the heat
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source and any direct solar radiation. Interviews with the occupants of the properties
demonstrated they each have different lifestyles, various schedules for ventilation, heating,
lighting and domestic hot water usage which have direct impact on the indoor air
temperature and RH levels, as well as the energy consumption of the properties. In Flat A, the
heating is turned on by a young family (2 adults and 3 children) from 8:00 pm until 7:00 am
in both bedrooms whilst it is turned off in all other zones in the flat during a typical winter
day. Both bedrooms are usually naturally ventilated for at least one hour every day. On the
other hand, in Flat B, one elderly occupant keeps the heating off in both bedrooms whilst
keeping the heating on from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm in all other zones of the flat and the
occupant never opens any windows during the winter season for ventilation purpose. It
should be noted that the master bedroom in both flats have apparent water ingress issues
while the second bedrooms in both flats have no such issues. The on-site measurement
results provides important data to identify and highlight issues regarding the thermal
performance of the properties.
(a) (b)
Figure 2. Floor plans of south-east flats (a) (London Borough of Newham, 2007) and the model on DB tool (b)
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software was validated and assessed against the field monitoring data from the flats that
were modelled in DB. The measured indoor air temperature and RH levels in both flats were
compared against the simulation results in DB. At this stage, the focus was on the coldest
week of the winter season in 2016-2017 (17/1/2017 – 23/01/2017).
28
26
Flat A- Small bedroom
24
22
Flat B- Small bedroom
20
18 Flat A- Master bedroom
16
14 Flat B- Master bedroom
12
10 Outdoor
8
6 Min Comfort
4
2 Max Comfort
0
3 March- 9 March
24 Feb-2 March
30 Dec- 5 Jan
6 Jan- 12 Jan
27 Jan- 2 Feb
10 March- 16 March
17 March- 23 March
16 Dec- 22 Dec
25 Nov-1 Dec
9 Dec-15 Dec
13 Jan- 19 Jan
20 Jan- 26 Jan
10 Feb- 16 Feb
17 Feb- 23 Feb
23 Dec-29-Dec
3 feb- 9 Feb
2 Dec-8 Dec
Week
Figure 3. Weekly mean indoor air temperature against outdoor air temperature in small and master bedrooms
in flats A & B
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Mean Relative Humidity Levels % 100
90
30 Outdoor
20
Min Comfort
10
Max Comfort
0 6 Jan- 12 Jan
10 March- 16 March
17 March- 23 March
13 Jan- 19 Jan
20 Jan- 26 Jan
3 March- 9 March
23 Dec-29-Dec
24 Feb-2 March
30 Dec- 5 Jan
3 feb- 9 Feb
2 Dec-8 Dec
27 Jan- 2 Feb
16 Dec- 22 Dec
25 Nov-1 Dec
9 Dec-15 Dec
10 Feb- 16 Feb
17 Feb- 23 Feb
Week
Figure 4. Weekly mean indoor RH levels against outdoor RH levels in small and master bedrooms in flats A & B
Table 2. Min, Max, Mean indoor air temperature and RH levels of the measured flats during the coldest week
of winter, 17th Jan 2017 until 23rd Jan 2017.
Temperature RH Levels
Flats Bedrooms
Min Mean Max Min Mean Max
Small 19.1 20.6 21.6 47 63 76
Flat A
Master 20.2 21.9 23.2 40 57 70
Small 16.7 17.1 20 48 54 65
Flat B
Master 14.5 16 19 42 46 51
Outdoor -6.8 -0.2 6.8 48 85 100
Figures 5 and 6 illustrate the measured indoor air temperature and relative humidity
levels against DB simulation results during the coldest week of the monitoring period. It can
be seen that there is an acceptable correlation between the measured indoor air temperature
and DB software generated air temperature. This proves that DB can be used as a valid
software to perform the simulation modelling for the second phase of the project. In addition,
this shows that the predicted building materials for the case study building (based on the 60s
building material for the pre-cast concrete block) are also acceptable. Moreover, the
measured indoor RH levels in all bedrooms were generally higher than the predicted results.
Apart from the software and data loggers’ accuracy, the water ingress issue in the flats might
be one reason, is caused by the damaged external over cladding. Studies show that dampness
can lead to mould growth on the building surfaces and the decrease in the effectiveness of
the thermal insulation (Trotman et al., 2004) which is the case of the base case flats. The
water also can be entrapped in the building materials and the indoor moisture can be
appeared on the building fabric behind the insulation during the cold period as the building
is internally insulated (De Selincourte, 2015). The occupants’ lifestyle also has a significant
impact on this issue, for example showering a few times a day in Flat A and once a day in Flat
B and using washing machine every day in both flats. Although the bedrooms in Flat A are
ventilated for one hour every day, the relative humidity levels are higher than Flat B as this
property is occupied by a young family of five but Flat B has only one occupant.
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Flat A-Small bedroom-Monitored
27
Flat B- Small bedroom- Monitored
Air Temperature °C
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01/20/17 11:00 PM
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Flat A- Small bedroom-DesignBuilder
01/17/17 12:00 AM
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01/22/17 05:00 AM
01/23/17 01:00 AM
01/23/17 06:00 AM
Min Comfort
Max Comfort
Time
Figure 5. Indoor monitored air temperature against DB software predicted results in flats A & B bedrooms
100
Flat A-Small bedroom- Monitored
90
Flat B- Small bedroom- Monitored
80
Relative Humidity %
01/18/17 11:00 AM
01/22/17 12:00 AM
01/22/17 10:00 AM
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01/19/17 12:00 PM
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01/22/17 03:00 PM
01/22/17 08:00 PM
01/23/17 04:00 PM
01/23/17 09:00 PM
DesignBuilder
Min Comfort
Max Comfort
Time
Figure 6. Indoor monitored RH levels against DB software predicted results in flats A & B bedrooms
The building simulation analysis shows that the average daily heating energy
consumption of the small bedroom (non-problematic) and the master bedroom (problematic)
of Flat A are 4 KWh and 10 KWh. This shows that the heating energy consumption in the
master bedroom is higher than the small bedroom, probably to reduce the level of damp and
condensation. In addition, 1.7 KWh of this energy in the master bedroom and 0.8 KWh in the
small bedroom lose through infiltration because of the poor building fabrics. Moreover, as
the total area of the master bedroom is 13 m" and the small bedroom is 10 m" , the
problematic room uses more energy for heating to keep the indoor air temperature in an
acceptable range. However, the energy consumption and the system loads in Flat B bedrooms
are zero as the radiators are turned off because of the occupants’ health issues although it is
turned on in the rest of the flat during the day-time in the winter season. In addition, the heat
loss from infiltration in this flat is 1.1 KWh in master bedroom and 0.6 KWh in small bedroom.
Conclusion
This paper studies the thermal performance of a tower block in London Borough of Newham
in two typical properties of the block as a sample. Field monitoring and simulation analysis
were performed to assess the building performance (phase one). The focus of this research
VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 913
was on the master and small bedrooms. Both flats have the water ingress issue in the same
corners of the flats which is significant in the master bedrooms. The results of this research
supports the argument that the dampness issues in the case study flats may be caused by the
poor construction materials of the external walls. This is further elucidated as both indoor air
temperature and RH levels of the rooms within both flats were usually in the acceptable range
during the field monitoring period. However, the occupants were generally unsatisfied with
the indoor environmental conditions. In addition, the occupants are unaware that their
energy consumption behaviour and lifestyle might indeed add to this problem during the
winter season. Raising awareness of occupants concerning energy consumption behaviour
and the important role of programmed natural ventilation can reduce many of the issues
experienced. However, the long-term solution is the energy efficient retrofit, which can
essentially reduce damp and mould in the properties, while reducing the energy consumption
of the block and providing a comfortable indoor environment. The second phase of this
project focuses on the building performance optimisation and provides feasible and cost-
effective recommendations for energy efficient retrofit for the domestic sector in LBN.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the British Council Newton Institutional Links fund (Grant no.
2015EGY01) which has funded this research project. The authors also acknowledge the
support of Newham Council for facilitating the survey and monitoring of the case study.
References
Bromley-dery, K. 2015. Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) Return London.
CIBSE 2016. Environmental Design, CIBSE Guide A. London, UK: Chartered Institution of Building Services
Engineers.
Colquhoun, I. 2008. RIBA Book of British Housing: 1900 to the Present Day, Oxford, Architectural Press.
De Selincourte, K. 2015. The risks of Retrofit. Green Building Magazine, 25, 28-37.
Department of Energy and Climate Change 2012. International aviation and shipping emissions and the
UK’s carbon budgets and 2050 target. London: The Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Google. 2017. The Site of a Tower Block in London Borough of Newham. Google.
Harrison, H. W. & De Vekey, R. C. 1998. BRE Building Elements: Walls, Windows & Doors, London, BRE
Press.
Hopper, J. 2012. Evaluating the Installation of Retrofitted External Wall Insulation - CIAT Student Award,
Technical Report. London, UK: CIAT.
London Borough of Newham 2007. Typical Floors Plans of the Tower Block in LBN. London: London
Borough of Newham.
London Borough of Newham 2016. Water Penetration Survey. London.
Low Carbon Innovation Coordination Group 2012. Technology Innovation Needs Assessment (TINA)-
Domestic Buildings- Summary Report.
Malpass, P. & Walmsley, J. 2005. 100 Years of Council Housing in Bristol, Bristol, UK, Faculty of the Built
Environment, University of West England.
Mayor of London 2015. RE:NEW- Helping to make London's homes more energy efficient. London: Mayor
of London.
Medhurst, J. & Turnham, C. 2016. Damp Survey for London Borough of Newham. London.
Rickaby, P. 2011. GUIDE 1: introduction to the low carbon domestic retrofit guides. Building Opportunities
for Business. 1 ed. London: Institute for Sustainability.
Trotman, P., Sanders, C. & Harrison, H. 2004. Understanding Dampness, Watford, BRE Bookshop.
Vilches, A., Padura, Á. B. & Huelva, M. M. 2017. Retrofitting of homes for people in fuel poverty: Approach
based on household thermal comfort. Energy Policy, 100, 283-291.
Walker, S. & Ballington, R. 2015a. Domestic Energy Efficiency in Newham Annual Report 2013-4. London.
Walker, S. & Ballington, R. 2015b. LBN Annual Fuel Poverty Report 2013-14. London.
VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 914
Carbon Accounting
Cha ir:
Franc e s c o Pom poni
915
Assessing and Mapping the Carbon Foot-Print of A Campus Environment Using
BIM and Geo-Spatial Techniques
Abstract: The paper presents a case study of carbon foot-print assessment for an institutional campus located
in the composite climate of India. The study deals with a 40-acre geography comprising of academic, residential,
administrative and health-care buildings. Real-time operational energy consumption of the buildings over a
period of 3 years, embodied energy, photo-voltaic power generation from roof-top collectors, water
consumption and carbon sequestration potential of landscapes were collected through field studies. The paper
presents characterization analyses of real-time energy consumption and carbon emissions and subsequently
estimates the life cycle energy of buildings. The paper demonstrates the methodology adopted for geo-spatial
mapping of the real-time and calculated data through this case study. The paper discusses the significance of
developing such maps from a facility management perspective. Results obtained indicate that this approach not
only helps the with a holistic assessment of energy and environmental performance of campus infrastructure
but also serves as a tool for cost-benefit and efficiency analysis of performance related retrofits.
Introduction
Balancing the carbon emissions and keeping in pace with progressive growth is a challenge
faced by developing economies like India. By 2030, the world’s population in cities will be
consuming 73% of world energy, which accounts for 70% of CO2 emissions (International
Energy Agency, 2009). Building construction and usage consumes one-third of the primary
electricity in India. Embodied energy and carbon is also a topic of rising importance. In fact, it
is normally possible to reduce the embodied energy and carbon of a building or construction
project by 10-20% without adding to the build cost. It is often 20-50% of the whole life
(embodied + operational) carbon emissions of a new building (CircularEcologyLtd, 2015).
Carbon footprint is the total amount of land area required to assimilate the amount of
CO2 produced by a mankind during its life time, this may include systems, process, operations
and maintenance (Wackernagel, 1996). The present concept of carbon footprint is taken as
life cycle impact category indicator for global warming potential (Finkbeiner, 2009).
Significant factors that affect the carbon emission include population, energy efficiency,
energy structure and the model and scale of the economic development (Bing, 2011).
Dumfries and Galloway College (Gibson, 2010) conducted a detailed carbon footprint
assessment starting with baseline calculations through detailed building audit that includes
both energy audits and water audits to come up with some recommendations for the
emission reduction.
Objectives
The paper adopts an LCE based approach along with the help of BIM and geo-spatial analysis
tools for assessment and mapping. The objectives of the study are (a) to assess the LCE and
carbon emissions of the buildings through field studies and (b) to carry out geo-spatial
assessment and mapping of emission sources and sinks to facilitate multi-attribute decision-
making.
The scope of the study is limited to carbon footprint assessment of a 40-acre geographic
extent within an institutional campus. The study considers environmental impact and
embodied energy data available from international databases.
Hill view
Apartments(HA)
Khosla
International
Figure 1 Base map showing the study area
Figure 2 Environmental impact results as per Revit Figure 3 Monthly Energy consumption plot of
category for IH building buildings
Figure 4 Influence of outside mean temperature on Figure 5 Design builder model and validation
energy consumption data of HA & GB Buildings graph
The operational energy values in Mega joules were converted to tons of CO2 values in
order to get the total carbon dioxide emissions onto the atmosphere. While all stages of a
building’s life cycle (including construction and demolition) produce carbon emissions, the
building’s operational phase use - heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and appliances -
accounted for about 80% of emissions.
Figure 6 Solar energy offsets for the entire life cycle of the building
Figure 7 3-D exploded view of Contour maps - Embodied Figure 8 Exploded view of contour maps showing
carbon and operational carbon emissions vs carbon the carbon emission due to lighting and HVAC
sequestrated
Acknowledgement
Extremely thankful to the facility management section of IIT Roorkee for providing me the
real time data and drawings relevant for the study.
References
Azhar, S., 2011. Building Information Modeling BIM: Trends benifits, risks, and challenges in the AEC
industry. Leadership and Management in Engineering, pp. 241-252.
Bing, Y., 2011. Research and Development of Carbon Footprint Analysis In Hunan Province. Energy
Procedia, Volume 5, pp. 1210-1217.
BIS, 1993. In: "Indian Standard CODE OF BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR WATER SUPPLY, DRAINAGE AND
SANITATION," BUREAU OF INDIAN STANDARDS. Delhi: s.n.
Brown, S., 1989. Biomass Estimation Methods for Tropical Forests with Applications to Forest Inventory
Data.
Brown, S., 1993. Estimating Biomass and Biomass Change of Tropical Forests: a Primer. FAO - Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
CircularEcologyLtd,2015.[Online]Availableat: http://www.circularecology.com/embodied-carbon.html
Finkbeiner, M., 2009. Carbon footprinting- Opportunities and threats. Internatinal journal of Life Cycle
Assessment, pp. 91-94.
Fosu et al, 2015. Integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) – a literature review and future needs.. Eindhoven, The Netherlands, s.n.
Gibson, L., 2010. Carbon Footprint Assessment for Dumfries & Galloway College (Dumfries Campus),
Dumfries: s.n.
International Energy Agency, 2009. World Energy Outlook, Paris: s.n.
MacDicken, K., 1997. A guide to monitoring carbon storage in forestry and agro forestry projects.,"
Winrock Internationl Institute for Agricultural Development.
Sean, C. T., 2012. Carbon Content of Tree Tissues: A Synthesis. In: Forests, Vols. ISSN 1999-4907, no. 3,
pp. 332-352. s.l.:s.n.
Wackernagel, M. &. R. W. (., 1996. our ecological footprint: reducing human impact on the earth, gabriola
Island: New society publishers.
Warren, A., 2001. Carbon Sequestration Potential of Trees in and around Pune City.
Introduction
Global climate change is one of the significant challenges confronted by us. About one third
of the CO2 emissions leading to climate change, about 3 Gt/yr (Levine, 2007), has been
attributed to building segment. This necessitates a critical review and assessment of the
building’s life cycle from design conception to construction, operation and post-service life.
Carbon footprint (CF) assessment is one of the best process to calculate the environmental
impact and climate change. By 2030, building sector in India is estimated to experience 500%
increment of built floor area (CWF, 2010). This provides an estimate of possible increase in
CO2 emissions from these yet to be built developments. While it portrays the challenges faced
by the Indian construction industry on one hand, it also portrays the potential ways of
minimizing the emissions through efficient interventions.
Methodology
Selection of construction
The study has started with reviewing literature and market systems
survey on residential building construction practices in India
adapting conventional and emerging technologies. Various
Identification of factors
activities associated with pre-construction/construction associated with CO2 emission
phases which may affect the CO2 emission are identified
through field studies and focus group discussion with
Pilot assessments for impactful
construction industry professionals. Pilot studies are done
factor selection
to access the impact of each factors in terms of the whole
system. Three dimensions contributing to carbon footprint
of building construction system - design, off-site Development of the framework
manufacture and fabrication, on-site construction and
assembly, are identified. Based on these primary
assessments, an evaluation framework is developed which Comparative assessment w.r.t.
can assess these construction systems. The application of CO2 emission
the framework is demonstrated using three live case studies
involving conventional as well as emerging construction Carbon footprint benchmark
systems.
Figure 1: Methodology
Various construction Technologies in India
BMTPC enlists eleven emerging construction technologies in residential building sector of
India (MHUPA, 2015). Through a review of literature and a detailed market research on
building materials, practices and demand, two of these technologies – reinforced concrete
(RC) shear wall system and precast large concrete panel system – are found to have a wide-
spread outreach for both low-income as well as mid and high-income group housing projects.
RC shear wall system is increasingly being adopted across the country for various scales of
buildings and precast system is an emerging lean system (Barde, et al., 2014) which is less
resource, labour and time intense. Both these systems have a huge potential for deployment
Figure 2: RC frame with brick as filler block (Source: http: //www.world-housing.net)
Figure 3: Monolithic concrete construction (Source: http://www.mhupa.com)
LOGISTICS
Overall
TOTAL CO2 EMISSION IN
Case 1, 40 km
0.4
15
TONNE IN SQ M.
0.3
10 0.2
0.1
5 0
0 Case 2, 55
Case Case Case Case 3, 35 km
km
1 2 3
Overall 9.604 7.157 6.876
Figure 6: Overall CO2 emission Figure 7: Logistics CO2 emission
Research outcome suggests, there is overall 30% reduction in CO2 emission for Precast panel
system. This situation arrives due to 20-30% material reduction and 30-40% man-hour
reduction. Figure 6 shows the CO2 emission level of these material. For logistics emission
calculation, CO2 increases with the distance travelled. 50% of CO2 emission reduction can be
achieved by decreasing the distance by 15-20 km. For Man-Hour emission calculation, almost
30-40% of co2 emission reduction can be achieved by using precast mode of construction.
References
Anon., 2009. World Energy Outlook. International energy agency.
Anon., 2012. MIVAN (Aluminium Formwork). [Online] Available at: http://constructionduniya.blogspot.in/
2012/02/mivan-aluminium-formwork.html [Accessed MAY 2016].
Anon., 2015. Compendium of Prospective Emerging Technologies for Mass Housing, New delhi: Ministry
of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India.
Anon., n.d. world carbon-emission analysis. [Online] Available at: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/carbon-
emissions/ [Accessed April 2016].
Anon., November 2008 . Briefing Paper | What is a Carbon Footprint?. Ecometrica Press.
Abstract: The United Nations conferences on Climate Change, COP21 and COP22 renewed the commitment to
reduce emissions of greenhouse gases - GHG to the global agenda. Colombia, committed to a 20% decrease in
its emissions by 2030 and the construction sector is strategic to achieving this purpose. The aim of this paper is
to show the process map and the analysis model built in order to quantify the GHG emissions from building
2
activity in the Aburrá Valley (Antioquia, Colombia), which amounts to 2,3 million m /year. For this purpose, an
analysis was made using the Umberto NXT CO2 software for phases 1, 2 and 4 of the life cycle of the building:
Phase 1, extraction of raw material, manufacture of building materials and transportation of materials to
construction site. Phase 2, construction. Phase 4, transport of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDWs) and
disposal/recycling of CDWs. Main construction companies in the region are supplying the data of material
consumption and fuel consumption of machines and conveyor vehicles. The expected result of this analysis is
the calculation of GHG produced per built square meter from the building activity in the Aburrá Valley, which in
turn, will allow identifying mitigation measures.
Keywords: Greenhouse Gases (GHG), CO2 equivalent, life cycle of construction, Umberto NXT CO2.
Introduction
At present, it is recognized that climate change caused by human activities is one of the
greatest environmental challenges that could be placed on the path to sustainable
development (Huovila et al., 2007; UNEP et al., 2007; UNEP et al., 2009). Although the
construction industry is crucial for global socioeconomic development, the environmental
impacts of its processes are increasing significantly.
The life cycle of the construction activity consists of five phases: 1) Extraction of raw
materials and manufacture and transportation of materials. 2) Construction. 3) Use or
operation. 4) Demolition and final disposal of waste at the end of useful life. 5) Architectural
and technical design, where decisions are made that will impact all other phases (see Figure
1).
Methodology
For the calculation of the carbon footprint, two basic methodologies, the PAS 2050 Product
Carbon Footprint Protocol and the GHG Protocol Product Carbon Footprint, are recognized
worldwide. For this study a standard method was used that links both protocols. GHG
emissions derived from the operation of buildings are part of a later study and are not part of
Figure 3. Carbon footprint of a building project in the Aburrá Valley.
Preliminary results (PVG Arquitectos, 2017).
Figure 4 shows the amounts of kg CO2-eq and the percentages corresponding to each
of the stages analyzed. The high percentage shown by the phase of extraction and
manufacture of raw material and manufacture of materials is mainly due to cement, with a
footprint of 1412112.87 kg CO2-eq, equivalent to 42.28% and steel, with a footprint of
833118.52 kg CO2-eq, equivalent to 24.94%.
Figure 4. GHG emissions expressed as kg CO2-eq and percentages from each analysed stage
(PVG Arquitectos, 2017).
Expected results
Expected results from this ongoing study are:
a) Calculating GHG per m2 from building activity in the Aburrá Valley. As mentioned in
the introduction of this paper, GHG emission values from building activity that are
currently referred, come from countries with developed economies. Therefore this
References
Abd Rashid, A. F., Yusoff, S. (2015). A review of life cycle assessment method for building industry,
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 45, pp. 244–248.
Arrieta, A. A., Janna, F. C., López, D., et al. (2016). Consultoría técnica para el fortalecimiento y mejora de
la base de datos de factores de emisión de los combustibles colombianos-FECOC, Medellín, Colombia.
Butera, S., Christensen, T. H., Astrup, T. F. (2015). Life cycle assessment of construction and demolition
waste management, Waste Management, vol. 44, pp. 196–205.
Cabeza, L. F., Rincon, L., Vilari??o, V., et al. (2014). Life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle energy
analysis (LCEA) of buildings and the building sector: A review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol.
29, pp. 394–416.
Chau, C. K., Leung, T. M., Ng, W. Y. (2015). A review on Life Cycle Assessment , Life Cycle Energy
Assessment and Life Cycle Carbon Emissions Assessment on buildings, vol. 143, pp. 395–413.
Ecoinvent (2013). Databases Version 3.01, Zurich, Switzerland.
Huovila, P., Alla-Juusela, M., Melchert, L., et al. (2007). Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges
and Opportunities, Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch, Paris, France.
IDEAM (2015). Proyecto Informe Bienal de Actualización, Bogotá, Colombia.
Jaramillo, A. S. (2012). Determinación de propiedades físicas y estimación del consumo energético en la
producción, de acero, concreto, vidrio, ladrillo y otros materiales, entre ellos los alternativos y otros de uso no
tradicional, utilizados en la construcción de edificaciones, Santiago de Cali, Colombia.
Lemay, L. (2011). Life Cycle Assessment of Concrete Buildings, In: National Ready Mixed Concrete
Association (NRMCA), pp. 1–12, Maryland, United States.
Martínez-González, A., Casas-Leuro, O. M., Acero-Reyes, J. R., et al. (2011). Comparison of potential
environmental impacts on the production and use of high and low sulfur regular diesel by life cycle assessment,
CTyF - Ciencia, Tecnología y Futuro, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 123–136.
PVG Arquitectos (2017). Elaboración Propia, Medellín, Colombia.
UNEP, SBCI (2007). Assessment of Policy Instruments for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emmisions from
Buildings, United Nation Enviroment Programme and Central European University, Paris, France.
UNEP, SBCI (2009). Buildings and Climate Change: Summary for Decision Makers, United Nation
Enviroment Programme and Central European University, Paris, France.
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Diciembre de 2015, Medellín, Colombia.
Introduction
The Paris Climate Agreement commits the international community to keeping “global
average temperature increase well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” while pursuing
efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that in order to achieve this goal, the world must phase
out fossil fuel CO2 emissions by 2050 (IPCC, 2013) (Hare et al., 2014). Global companies,
foundations, and leaders in all sectors are responding to this call and establishing
practical steps and commitments to reach this goal. According to Architecture 2030,
between 2015 and 2050 more than two trillion ft2 (192 billion m2) of building stock will
be constructed, retrofitted, or torn-down and reconstructed worldwide – equivalent to
building an entire New York City (all five boroughs) every 35 days for 35 years (IEA,
2016). It is crucial that we design and construct this building stock to Zero Net Carbon
standards by 2050 if we hope to meet the global goal set by the Paris Climate Agreement.
This goal can only be reached if building design addresses both operational and embodied
carbon emissions.
Examining the lifespan (assumed 60-years) of a building built to current code
standards, embodied energy represents about 45% of the building’s total energy
footprint, while operational energy represents the remaining 55% (Architecture 2030).
Embodied carbon from building materials: Tally®, a software plug-in for Revit, will be
used to quantify the embodied carbon impacts of the building materials. The analysis will
be run for both the PH and EA buildings and will be compared to their operational
carbon emissions. Though Tally® provides a robust number of environmental impact
measurements, this analysis will focus primarily on Global Warming Potential (GWP). Note
that the Tally-provided averages were used to estimate transportation and construction
emissions for two reasons: First, to make the results of this study more universally
applicable instead of site-specific, and second, it was not possible to track down the exact
material manufacturer for every material used in the apartment buildings. However, when
used in architectural design projects, specifying project- specific data instead of using
Tally® averages will result in more accurate calculations, allowing for better decision-
making.
Embodied carbon of alternative building materials: This study will also examine
alternative material choices, comparing four wall assemblies to see how lower embodied
carbon materials impact the total GHG emissions (embodied and operational) of the PH
building and analyzing the balance of embodied and operational carbon on the path
towards zero-carbon construction.
Results
The Stellar Apartments PH building has an average site EUI of 16.3 kBtu/ft2/year (49.6
kWh/m2/yr). The Stellar EA building’s EUI was 25.6 kBtu/ft2/year (77.7 kWh/m2/yr).
Throughout the two-year energy monitoring case study, it was found that the PH building
performed 38% better than the EA building (NetZED Laboratory, 2016). These values were
used in the Zero Tool to estimate the correlating GHG emissions from operational energy
consumption.
2 2
Table 1. Emissions impacts of Stellar PH and EA; GSF = 6,156 ft (571.9 m )
Annual Total Operational Estimated Operational Total E+O Total E+O
Operational GHG Total GWP Payback for emissions, emission,
GHG emissions assuming (metric tons Embodied assuming 37 assuming 60
emissions 60 year lifespan CO2e) (years) years, or 2013 to years (metric
(metric tons (metric tons CO2e) 2050 (metric tons tons Co2e)
CO2e) Co2e)
Gyp. Board
Cellulose Gyp. Board
2x6 framing Plywood
Siga Tape 12.25 inch SIP Panel
Plywood with EPS Fill and I-Joist
(air barrier) Framing members
4” polyiso Plywood
(air barrier)
Vertical Battons
Vertical Battons
Hardi Board siding
a) b)
Gyp. Board
Cellulose Gyp. Board
2x6 framing Plywood
Siga Tape Straw Panel with
Plywood Framing members
2x6 framing
Plywood
Cellulose (air barrier)
Vertical Battons Vertical Battons
c) d)
Figure 2. Four wall assemblies compared: a) Stellar PH; b) SIPS; c) double stud; and d) ModCell straw panel
system.
The results both proved and disproved our assumptions. As illustrated in Figure 3,
the embodied carbon of the Stellar PH wall assembly greatly exceeded the other wall
assemblies, which was not predicted. Additionally, the SIPS panel was relatively close to
the double stud wall assembly, also unexpected. It should be noted, though, that the Ozone
Depletion Potential of the SIPS panels greatly exceeded all other wall assemblies [Figure 3,
right], showing that the hydrochloroflorocarbons (HCFC's) in the blowing agent for EPS
insulation has the greatest impact on the climate, though results in ozone depletion
rather than global warming. The double stud wall is shown to have a relatively high
GWP, which contradicts our assumptions and previous research. The GWP result for
cellulose was much higher than expected. The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
used by Tally® showed an embodied carbon of 32.19
kgCO2e per m3 for cellulose, but was only valid until 2014. A second EPD, issued in 2014
and valid until 2019, found that when adding the production phase (which was carbon
negative) to the disposal phase (more carbon intensive), the total embodied carbon
ranged from 4.89 to
11.61 kgCO2e per m3 for cellulose for densities of 28 kg/m3 and 65 kg/m3, respectively (Bau
EPD,
2014). This newer information might explain why the GWP for the Stellar PH wall and
the double stud wall was higher than expected.
Tally® does not have straw in its material database, so data for the straw panel
came from ModCell (a U.K. based straw panel manufacturer). ModCell straw panels are
3 x 3.2 m (roughly 9'10" x 10'6") panels which each hold 1300 kg CO2 of sequestered
carbon. However, materials such as straw and wood that sequester carbon can actually
be considered carbon neutral since they release their stored carbon at the end of their life.
Manufacturing emissions are not included in this value.
Conclusions
Using Tally®, we were able to quantify the embodied carbon impacts of the first
affordable, multi-family passive house in the U.S., the Stellar Apartments. The results
show that even though the PH building had a longer payback period when comparing
embodied carbon to operational GHG emissions, the total emissions for the PH building
are significantly lower than the EA building both in the lifespan of the building and to a
deadline of 2050. This shows that one feasible pathway to design zero carbon buildings
is using passive house standards to greatly reduce operational carbon emissions, and
then focusing on using low embodied carbon materials to further drive down total carbon
emissions.
When specifying low embodied carbon materials, it is important to identify the
materials with the largest embodied carbon values and to consider lower-embodied carbon
alternatives. This also opens the conversation about alternative material choices. Gypsum
board, for example, is the predominant interior wall finish used in U.S. construction today,
yet it is one of the highest contributors to total embodied carbon. In designing low
embodied carbon building, alternative interior finishes should be investigated and used.
It is important to compare materials by both the embodied value and the lifespan of
the material. Two materials may have similar kgCO2e/kilogram values, but it makes a
significant difference if one has a lifetime of 15 years and the other has a lifetime of 60
years. In this case, the asphalt shingles contribute considerably to the overall embodied
carbon of the building partly due to their short life-span (15 years) requires multiple
replacements (and thus additional embodied carbon emissions) over the lifespan of the
building.
Comparing manufactured materials to natural, carbon-neutral materials is complex
and it is critical to define a time span when evaluating embodied carbon impacts. For
example,
cellulose (recycled paper) sequesters carbon and has an initial carbon negative value, but
when sequestered carbon is released at end-of-life, the material does have a significant
carbon impact. That said, materials that sequester carbon can never release more than
what they initially sequester (not accounting for manufacturing, transportation, and
disposal emissions), and are inherently carbon-neutral. This study did a whole life cycle
(cradle to grave) analysis, showing the full lifecycle of carbon emissions and not just
the upfront carbon emitted or sequestered. However, when the timeframe is shortened
from the life of the building (assumed 60 years) to the threshold set by the Paris
Agreement of Zero by 2050, using materials that sequester carbon up-front is key to
reaching the goal of Zero by 2050.
If we hope to meet the goal set by the Paris Agreement of Zero Net Carbon by 2050,
the embodied carbon and material choices becomes significant. There are many factors
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Erin McDade of Architecture 2030 for her feedback. We also thank
KieranTimberlake Architecture, Planning, Research for providing an educational license to
Tally®. We acknowledge the Stellar Apartment case study team that monitored and
analyzed the energy use. The Anthony Wong Travel Scholarship provided generous support
to the student author. The scholarship advances UO architecture students’ research and
discovery in sustainable design and broadens professional experiences by providing
assistance for students who are invited to present their research findings at conferences.
References
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https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/EnergyTechnologyPerspectives2016_Executive
Summary_EnglishVersion.pdf [Accessed 02 Jan. 2017].
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Contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report (AR5).
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ModCell Straw Panel: strawbale panel manufacturer based in Bristol, England.
http://www.modcell.com/ Moore, Erin and B. Waldman. (2014). Time, Material, Environment: A Life
Cycle Assessment Model for
Calculating Greenhouse Gas Payback Time for Building System Upgrades. Sustainable
Structures Symposium. Portland State University, OR. April 16-17
NetZED Laboratory, (2016). Stellar Apartments: The Story and Data Behind the Nation’s First
Affordable Multifamily Passive House. 86 pp. http://www.lulu.com
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material quantities from by Revit and embodied carbon data from a life GaBi database to estimate
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Cha ir:
Fe rgus Ni c ol
948
Introduction
The current high indoor temperatures experienced in residential buildings, especially those
in the big cities like Abuja in Nigeria are thermally uncomfortable for a substantial period
(Adunola and Ajibola, 2012). Unfortunately, the housing condition in the country is of extreme
worry as it is largely of poor quality and standard in both rural and urban centres. The increase
in the quantity of housing needed has led to a major and evident concern about the quick
deterioration of the current housing stock leading to a shortage of housing units (Olayiwola
et al., 2005). Hence, because of the rush to meet demand, builders tend to focus more on
quantity rather than quality therefore compromising standards and indoor comfort. Most
occupants now rely on mechanical cooling: mostly, fans and air conditioning, to achieve
thermal comfort.
Mechanical cooling is largely dependent on electricity in Nigeria of which the residential
buildings sector consumed 53.3% of electricity generated as seen in the Federal Government
of Nigeria’s 2009 vision 2020 report in (Oyedepo, 2014); (Adaji et al, 2015). However, due to
the lack of a reliable and continuous power supply from the national grid, mechanical cooling
systems in residential buildings are not dependable to provide cooling. Also, these cooling
mechanisms (like air conditioning) require lots of energy to run and maintain. Hence, relying
on the continuous running of air conditioning is not feasible and sustainable (Adaji et al,
Figure 1: Floor plan of the Case Study 1 (left) and Case study 2 (right) in Lugbe, Abuja.
Figure 2: Floor plan for Case study 3 and 4 in Dutse Alhaji, Abuja
Case study 3 (DAH1) (see figure 2), in Dutse Alhaji, is in a low-income, high density area.
The building is naturally ventilated and has a painted exterior. It is roofed with iron sheets
with no insulation. Finally, Case study 4 (DAH2) is in the same area and is a 1 bedroom air
conditioned flat attached to DAH1 (see figure 2).
Research methods and techniques used for this research
The methodology for the survey included environmental monitoring, post-occupancy and
comfort surveys. These surveys were aimed at obtaining a comprehensive understanding of
occupants’ thermal comfort sensation within the buildings and occupant’s energy demands
and use. The Post-occupancy studies are basic to evaluating the thermal condition in
buildings, while the comfort surveys help to understand and in addition analyse the nature
and occurrence of occupants' complaints of experiencing warmth or feeling hot through the
day that can't be acquired during thermal investigations (Nicol and Roaf, 2005); (Adekunle
and Nikolopoulou, 2014).
Post-occupancy survey: This survey focused on dwellings other than the case study buildings
but situated in the same areas. They add breadth and support the results from the individual
case studies. Each questionnaire in the current study has 31 questions, divided into three
main sections: Section A, includes background information about their location, gender, age,
socio-economic status, educational and occupancy status; Section B, asks about building
attributes and energy consumption including house type, number of rooms in the building
and duration of occupancy; Section C, considers indoor thermal conditions and looks at how
residents make themselves comfortable by opening and closing windows or doors, and
A 7-point scale (from 1 for very uncomfortable to 7 for very comfortable) was used for
the overall thermal comfort. There was an almost even distribution of the comfort votes in
The thermal sensation analysis shows a distribution clustered above the central
categories with more than two-thirds of the responses feeling ‘uncomfortably warm’ with a
moderately even distribution of votes varying between ‘neutral’ and ‘warm’ (See table 2).
Linear regression analysis was used to calculate neutral and preferred temperatures
(See Figure 3), which were in a range of 28ᵒC to 30ᵒC. This showed that occupants in this
region of Abuja have a potential to adapt to high temperatures. Occupants in Lugbe showed
more adaptation potential, with a higher neutral temperature of 29.6ᵒC and preferred
temperature of 28.3ᵒC, compared to a neutral temperature of 28.2ᵒC and a lower preferred
temperature of 25.4ᵒC in Dutse Alhaji.
5 5
4 4
3 3
y = 0.46x - 9.62 y = 0.31x - 4.74
2 R² = 0.43 2
R² = 0.41
1 1
29 30 31 32 33 34 35 30 32 34 36 38
Average indoor temperature ºC Average indoor temperature ºC
TNeutral Lugbe Linear (TNeutral Lugbe) TNeutral Dutse Linear (TNeutral Dutse)
Figure 3: Relationship between the thermal sensation and the average indoor temperature at Lugbe (left) and
Dutse Alhaji (right) during the dry season
Analysis of Environmental Survey:
The outdoor temperature recorded in Lugbe during the dry season varied from 23.5ᵒC on 21/3
to a maximum of 41.1ᵒC on 19/3, with a relative humidity varying from 19% on 19/3 to a
maximum of 91% on 21/3, and an average of 56%; while the outdoor temperature in Dutse
Alhaji varied from 23.0ᵒC on 15/4 to a maximum of 38.4ᵒC on 14/4, with a relative humidity
varying from 10% on 17/4 to a maximum of 93% on 11/4 and an average of 37% throughout
the monitoring period.
The measured outdoor temperature had a running mean temperature, Trm, as defined
by BSENI 15251 (BSI, 2008), varying from 32.1ᵒC on 23/3 to a maximum of 33.3ᵒC on 21/3 in
Lugbe and 30.8ᵒC on 11/4 and a maximum of 31.4ᵒC on 17/4 in Dutse Alhaji during the dry
season monitoring. The results suggest that Lugbe had the hottest month of the year (March),
with an average indoor temperature of 32ᵒC and a maximum outdoor temperature of 41.1ᵒC.
The average indoor temperature between 08.00 and 22.00 in the monitored living areas
in Lubge was 32ᵒC for the living rooms and 32ᵒC for the bedrooms. The living room space
recorded the hottest temperature in the building with a mean of 32.5ᵒC and a maximum
temperature of 36.2ᵒC. The average temperature between 23.00 and 07.00 was 31.3ᵒC for
the living rooms and 31ᵒC for the bedrooms. The living rooms were also the hottest space in
the building with a mean temperature of 31.1ᵒC and a maximum temperature of 34.6ᵒC.
There is a positive relationship between the indoor and outdoor temperatures and the living
room temperatures in the two case studies are much higher and warmer than the bedroom
spaces because of their higher occupancy throughout the day.
In Dutse Alhaji, the average temperature between 08.00 and 22.00 in the monitored
living areas was 34.4ᵒC for the living rooms and 31.1ᵒC for the bedrooms. The living room
space recorded the hottest temperature in the building with a mean of 34.5ᵒC and a maximum
temperature of 36.8ᵒC. The average temperature between 23.00 and 07.00 was 32.7ᵒC for
the living rooms and 31.3ᵒC for the bedrooms. The living rooms also were the hottest space
in the building with a mean temperature of 32.9ᵒC and a maximum temperature of 34.8ᵒC.
The results indicate the living room is the hottest monitored space in the building and
occupants in Dutse Alhaji experienced a higher temperature compared to the occupants in
Conclusions
The results from the post occupancy, environmental monitoring and comfort survey from
different residential low-income buildings in two locations in Abuja, Nigeria were presented
in this paper.
Across the different locations examined during the post occupancy evaluations, 80%
reported being warm and hot on the thermal sensation scale with most reporting being ‘not
satisfied’ with their thermal indoor environment. At least 50% were uncomfortable with the
thermal conditions. This further suggests that occupants perceived higher indoor
temperatures during the dry season.
The thermal comfort survey showed occupants’ adaptability to high temperatures with
a neutral and preferred temperature range of 28.2ᵒC – 29.6ᵒC and 25.4ᵒC – 28.3ᵒC
respectively with most of the occupants in the naturally ventilated building experiencing
higher temperatures compared to those in air conditioned buildings. The linear regression
analysis to calculate neutral and preferred temperatures confirm the higher adaptation
potential at Lugbe compared to the lower temperatures recorded in Dutse Alhaji. However,
the difference in temperature between the air conditioned and naturally ventilated building
was only about 2ᵒC. Upon further investigation, it was clear that most of the occupants of air
conditioned buildings did not use their air conditioners for cooling frequently owing to power
cuts being very common in this area during the survey. Most of the occupants didn’t find their
thermal conditions acceptable and more than 70% of the spaces monitored in all case studies
recorded temperatures above the comfort range.
Based upon the results from these four case studies and the wider survey of 90 other
dwellings, the results suggest that most residents in the study areas of Abuja are not satisfied
with their thermal environment and there is discomfort among occupants in residential
building. Occupants prefer to be much cooler during the dry season, therefore there is a high
dependence on air conditioning to improve their indoor thermal condition.
This prevalence of thermal discomfort highlights the need to explore the possibilities of
reducing internal temperatures, particularly by passive means (fabric, shading, etc.) given the
need to avoid or reduce the need for air conditioning. This paper has reported on four case
study dwellings, but six further dwellings have since been monitored in detail and will be
reported in the future.
References
Abubakar, I.R. (2014). Abuja, city profile, Cities, 41 (2014), pp 81–91
Adaji, M., Watkins, R., and Adler, G., (2015). An investigation into thermal comfort in residential buildings
in the hot-humid climate of sub-Saharan Africa: A field report in Abuja-Nigeria. In: the proceedings of the 31st
International conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA), Bologna, Italy, 9-11 September.
Bologna: PLEA.
Adekunle, T. and Nikolopoulou, M. (2016). Thermal comfort, summertime temperatures and overheating
in prefabricated timber housing. Building and environment. 103 (2016), pp. 21–35.
Adunola, A.O., (2012). Urban residential comfort in relation to indoor and outdoor air temperatures in
Ibadan, Nigeria. In: the 7th proceedings of Windsor conference, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK, 12-15 April.
London: NCEUB.
Adunola, A.O., and Ajibola, K., (2012). Thermal comfort considerations and space use within residential
buildings in Ibadan, Nigeria. In: the 7th proceedings of Windsor conference, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK, 12-
15 April. London: NCEUB.
Introduction
Pedestrians revitalise cities. Attractiveness and pleasantness significantly characterise the
towns and districts where people walk and are rated as favourable environments. It is known
that the microclimatic conditions of the outdoor environment, formed by the urban fabric,
significantly undermine inhabitants’ use of urban spaces (Zhang and Zhao, 2008). Over the
past few years, the government of Dubai has launched several initiatives to promote
walkability. These involve encouraging developers to create favourable environments with
appealing outdoor spaces for people to enjoy walking on a regular basis and use their cars
less. However, the challenging natural climatic conditions are exacerbated by the
unfriendliness of the built environment and its anthropogenic heat sources. In many urban
communities, walkability is seriously impaired by these factors and the lack of solar protection
is an obstacle to comfortable walking for almost half the year. Many studies have shown,
however, that people can tolerate unpleasant climatic conditions simply because they have
come outdoors and decided to walk (Al-Sabbagh, 2011, Al-Sabbagh et al., 2016, Nikolopoulou
et al., 2001). It is believed that understanding the impact of the various shade and wind
conditions on people’s perceptions should give urban designers the chance to manage the
physical attributes of the spaces they create sensibly such that people would tolerate longer
walks during warmer conditions.
The Climate
The climatic conditions of Dubai (25°N 55°E) is divided into three distinct periods (Al-Sabbagh
and Yannas, 2015)(Figure 1): a four-month period of mild weather, December to March
inclusive; two warm months, November and April; and a hot period, May to October inclusive
(Yannas, 2008). This is when pedestrians enjoy walking even without protection from the sun.
During the warm period, pedestrians start to experience discomfort due to higher air
temperatures and humidity levels. In the hot period, the high temperatures combined with
high humidity dramatically increase the sensation of discomfort, reducing the tolerable
walking distances dramatically (Al-Sabbagh et al., 2016). A cooler breeze, often referred to as
the ‘Shamal’, blows from the northwest, at an average speed of 3.8 m/s in the winter. When
it comes from the desert (as a southerly or south-easterly breeze) it grows warmer and at
speeds between 3.75 m/s and 7 m/s (Al-Sallal and Al-Rais, 2012).
Figure 1. Average temperatures, wind speed and solar radiation for Dubai, showing the three climatic periods.
VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 958
on people’s satisfaction with the thermal environment. People’s satisfaction with their
surroundings differs from one place to another, depending on several subjective parameters
(Nikolopoulou and Lykoudis, 2006). Nikolopoulou et al. (2001) summarize these as available
choice, environmental stimulation, thermal history, memory and expectation. Nicol et al.
(2012) argued that ‘expectation’ allows the thermal conditions anticipated to exert a major
influence upon subjective assessment and satisfaction. In Dubai, a city with extremely hot
summers, found that when the air temperature is 40oC people report that they coped with
being outdoors (Balakrishnan, 2012)). Another psychological parameter of thermal comfort is
‘choice’. This can be defined as a person’s ability to choose to adapt to the surrounding
environment and is sometimes known as ‘perceived control’ (Nikolopoulou and Lykoudis,
2006). Studies argue that this parameter allows people to tolerate higher variations of
temperature than they can indoors, so long as they have chosen to go out or in. Moreover,
‘thermal history’ should be considered; this identifies the climatic conditions that an
individual has adapted to for the past few years. For example, Taiwanese people prefer
warmer conditions to those chosen by European nationals, due to the climatic conditions that
each group has adapted to (Lin et al., 2010). Lin et al. (2009) finds that the thermal comfort
of respondents in Taiwan varies between 21.30o and 28.50oC PET (Physiological Equivalent
Temperature) significantly higher than that reported in Central Europe (18o-23o C). Taiwanese
people most preferred 24.5oC Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) during the hot
season and 23o C during the cold season. Therefore, the ‘adaptive model’ approach (Brager
and de Dear, 2001) is suitable to investigates pedestrians thermal comfort because it is
centred on the behavioural and subjective assessments of individuals in authentic settings
and reflects more than the physical relationship between people and their environment.
Nonetheless, consideration of the techniques and the number of subjects involved is critical
to avoiding widely diverse results (Djongyang et al., 2010).
Thermal comfort is influenced by the state of physical activity, which is not the same for
people sitting or resting and those walking: the latter experience higher metabolic rates,
which require lighter clothing or higher wind speed to compensate for the discomfort felt.
This is due to the mechanism of the human body as it seeks a state of equilibrium with the
surrounding environment. Therefore, the variables of the outdoor thermal comfort cannot
be used alone for accurate predictions about pedestrians in dynamic conditions, whether
about their physical changes or the changes in their environment (Mayer, 1993). The
physiological process is related either to the mean skin temperature in cold conditions or to
the wetness of the skin caused by sweat secretion in warm conditions (Djongyang et al., 2010).
This is greatly influenced by the balance between the surrounding humidity and the currents
of air. As the wind flow increases, the evaporative losses from the skin surface increase,
allowing the body to cool down. The presence of high humidity levels and lack of wind which
trouble pedestrians in Dubai reduces the evaporative heat loss. Pedestrians feel this even
more acutely, since walking increases their activity level and in turn the heat produced by the
body (raising the metabolic rate). The higher the metabolic rate, the higher the associated
thermal stress, because the heat that must be dissipated to achieve thermal comfort becomes
greater. Studies also show that the metabolic rates rise by 11% for all activities performed in
temperatures as they rise from 21.20 C to 37.8oC, but providing shade even without any
reduction in air temperatures reduces the metabolic rate by 2%-5.2% below that produced
by the same activity when exposed to the sun (Givoni, 1976).
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Fieldwork
Field observations were conducted between September 2015 and May 2016 inclusive
avoiding June, July and August due to the low presence of pedestrians during these months.
The interviews involved questioning random pedestrians in two urban communities,
Jumeirah Lakes Towers and The Greens, Figure 2, where pedestrians enjoy walking on a
regular basis to get to their desired destinations. In total, three hundred interviews were
conducted along four utilitarian routes – daily journeys to work, school, the mosque and the
metro – at different times of day (morning from 8:00-9:00, midday from 12:30-1:30 and
afternoon from 16:00-17:00) when the patterns of pedestrians are evident.
Figure 2. Images of the two urban communities, The Greens on the left and Jumeirah Lakes Towers on the
right, showing the different arrangement for providing shade in the pedestrian spaces.
Information about the subjects, such as their age, gender, clothing, duration of
residence in Dubai and origin were gathered. Micrometeorological sensors were selected in
accordance with the specifications outlined in ASHRAE's Handbook of Fundamentals (ASHRAE,
1997). The OHM Delta Thermal Microclimate HD32.2 logged the environmental parameters
simultaneously known to influence thermal comfort every minute: temperature (Ta), relative
humidity (RH) and wind speed (V). The shading conditions of the space and the antecedent
space were also noted for help in analysing the influence of the thermal transitions on
comfort. This involved people who walked out of the air-conditioned metro station.
Subjective votes of thermal comfort (TCV) and thermal sensation (TSV) were noted on the
ASHRAE scale (-3 cold, -2 cool, -1 slightly cool, 0 neutral, 1 slightly warm, 2 warm, 3 hot) for
the TSV and (1 very comfortable, 2 comfortable, 3 just comfortable, 4 just uncomfortable, 5
uncomfortable, 6 very uncomfortable) for the TCV. Questions such as ‘What bothers you most
at this moment? Sun, heat, dust, etc.?’’ and ‘How do you find the provision of shade along
your journey?’ were asked, in order to capture people’s perception of their thermal
environment. Questions were asked to analyse the distances that people walked and the
frequency of their walks throughout the year. People were also asked if they owned a car and
the length of time that they had lived in the city, to show how long they had had to adapt in.
VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 960
between 18o and 22o C they felt slightly cool, at 29o-30o C they felt slightly warm and between
31o and 37o C they felt warm, Figure 2. Thermal neutrality was achieved between 23o and 28o
C, which extends slightly above the range found in previous studies (Lin and Matzarakis, 2008).
The findings reveal a steady rise in the actual votes compared to those predicted by RAYMAN.
This is found to be reasonable in view of the high metabolic rates of the pedestrians
interviewed. Such aspect highlights the need for developing dynamic indices to predict
pedestrians thermal comfort.
Figure 2. Two diagrams showing the average Actual Thermal Comfort Votes (right) and the average Actual
Thermal Sensation votes compared to the mPET votes by RAYMAN (left).
Pedestrians’ thermal comfort votes (TCV) were also classified according to the air
temperatures noting that slight variations in wind speeds were recorded of average 1.2m/s.
Pedestrians voted that between 18o and 19o C they felt just comfortable from the sensation
of coolness; between 28o and 33o C they felt just comfortable, but just uncomfortable
between 34o and 35oC and uncomfortable between 36o and 37oC, Figure 2. The comfort range
can be identified in line with the votes of ‘just comfortable’, ‘comfortable’ and ‘very
comfortable’ that were recorded between 18o and 30oC. At this range of comfort, pedestrians’
TS ranged between slightly cool, neutral and slightly warm, which indicates that the
interviewees were comfortable when they felt slightly cool or slightly warm. The replies of
‘very comfortable’, ‘comfortable’ and ‘just comfortable’ can be considered to lie within an
accepted range of comfort named the tolerable thermal comfort range, which is between
18oand 30oC. A wider range of comfort, can involve the just uncomfortable votes being
between 18oand 35oC. It is important to note that the wind variations were very small, on
average 1.2m/s.
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metro station and the office buildings, the flow of pedestrians was strongest during all year
round. A few others also commented that the metro facility encouraged them to walk and
depend less on their cars. The flow on Fridays at prayer time continued all year long, only
slightly lessening during the hot period, even despite the lack of shade at various points on
the route. Such findings highlight the influence of the psychological factors such as
expectation, perceived control and thermal background on their votes. This could help
planners understand the walking frequency to and from different facilitates when designing
urban communities that promote walkability.
The findings revealed that in mild conditions people chose shorter routes in preference
to cooler ones, which was not the same at warmer situations. In JLT, along the journey linking
the metro station and office building, it was evident that most of the pedestrians used a short
cut through the covered parking garage. This was a naturally ventilated semi-outdoor space.
However, the space recorded higher air temperatures (30-70C) and relative humidity levels
during the warm and hot periods due to the heat anticipation from the cars accompanied by
the lack of ventilation. When they were asked, they said that this route was shorter and
shaded. This revealed that people’s perception to thermal environment is more influential
upon their choice of routes than the thermal conditions of the space. It also revealed that
pedestrian’s perception of shaded spaces as cooler ones is higher when the weather
conditions gets warmer.
The distances that people walked depended mainly upon the distance between the
facilities. As the climatic conditions worsened the frequency of pedestrians along the route
went down but not the distances covered. Thus, in mild conditions the highest frequency of
pedestrians was seen in the mornings, midday periods and afternoons along the routes
investigated. During the warm period, the frequency during the morning and late afternoon
slightly declined yet substantial numbers of pedestrians could still be seen. However, fewer
of them were seen walking in the middle of the day. In the hot period, the numbers of
pedestrians reduced dramatically but a few could still be seen. These pedestrians mostly
owned no car. So, it can be inferred that during the hot period people who have any
alternative such as a car choose not to walk. The notion of choice was very important. People
who had cars perceived the conditions during the warm period as ‘fine’ while people who
were forced to walk were the most troubled by the weather.
The pedestrians walking distances were measured by the time of their exposure to
outdoor conditions rather than the distances cut. It was found that as the weather got
warmer, the longer routes linking facilities were less occupied than they were during the mild
period. 29 % of pedestrians walked for between 6 and 8 minutes, while 28 % walked for 9-11
minutes. Only 6% of pedestrians walked for between 1 and 2 minutes, 9 % from 12-14 minutes
and 2 % walked for more than 15 minutes. Most pedestrians walked between 3 and 11
minutes, covering approximately 100-330m long at an average walking speed of 3.3 m/s. This
was correlated to the fieldwork findings conducted earlier (Al-Sabbagh et al., 2016).
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changed one step to being warmer in both shaded or non-shaded spaces. However, during
the warm and hot conditions, their thermal votes changed for the worse when the building
exit was followed by a non-shaded space compared to that when the building was followed
by shade. This highlighted the importance of transitional spaces next to building exits to
reduce the temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor. The effectiveness of
such design increases as the weather conditions bets warmer, thus the temperature
difference increases.
It was proved that the length of exposure that pedestrians endure in a space was more
influential than the thermal conditions of the space. When pedestrians passed through a non-
shaded space for a very short time (less than 2 minutes) their TCV did not change however,
their TSV in some situations did. This corresponds with the findings from (Al-Sabbagh et al.,
2016). Pedestrians are able to tolerate short non-shaded spaces as long as they are following
by a shaded space that would improve their thermal sensation.
The measurements revealed that in general, shaded spaces were not necessarily cooler
at different times of the day, given the high radiations from the various surfaces and the lack
of ventilation. Spaces that were covered by trees revealed higher air temperatures during
mornings at different times of the year. However, most people preferred the shaded spaces
and perceived them to be cooler. During the warm and hot periods, almost half of the
interviewees voted that the sun heat were the most bothering parameters while the others
saw that the humidity was the main reason for discomfort. This was assured by the lack of
wind, which reduced the chance for evaporative cooling of the skin. Especially that most
pedestrians in Dubai wear more clothing than their counterparts in many hot cities. Many of
the pedestrians, moreover, wore a suit, since they were on their way to or from work. Others
were going to the mosque, which necessitates wearing long underwear and half sleeves. This
highlights the need to provide cooler outdoor conditions for people under this climate. When
people were asked if they took any measures, only 17% mentioned that they sometimes used
an umbrella for shade’ 4% used sunglasses, 6% used hats and only 4% mentioned that they
would consider taking a cold drink/water. 3% said that they would use a hand-held fan if it
was available. The Most people (66%) replied that they took no measures at all asserting that
it was impractical to carry anything.
Conclusions
It can be concluded that, during the mild season (December- January) pedestrians enjoy
walking outdoors even at midday despite the lack of shade. When the climatic conditions drop
below the comfort range, i.e. early morning in January or February, pedestrians adjust their
clothing to feel ‘comfortable’, where pedestrians voted that they felt comfortable when
‘slightly cool’. This confirms with Zhang’s finding (2003) that people enjoy cool sensations.
The other period of the year discomfort is endured depending upon the provisions provided.
Pedestrian’s along utilitarian trips have high tolerance to heat and proved to walk during long
periods of the year avoiding non-shaded routes. Shaded spaces are perceived cooler and
improved the TCV significantly even when they did not improve the microclimatic conditions.
The influence of the psychological parameter was dominant in multiple situations and proved
to have great potentials to improving thermal comfort. In general, at mild microclimatic
conditions, changes within the thermal environment were not recognized by most
pedestrians. The findings also highlight the need for providing transitional spaces next to
building exits to reduce the temperature difference between the indoor and outdoor spaces
particularly during the warm and hot conditions. Shorter distances between facilities would
VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 963
promote walkability at different times of the year without the need for continuous shade.
Further studies and field investigations in this region are greatly needed to improve the way
open spaces are designed. Urban planers are obliged to refer to calibrated thermal indices to
predict pedestrian’s satisfactory levels and encourage walkability.
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Dubai’, Proceedings of Ecocity World Summit.
Al-Sabbagh, N. S., Yannas, S. and Cadima, P. (2016) ‘Improving Pedestrian Thermal Sensation in Dubai’,
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VOLUME I PLEA 2017 PROCEEDINGS - DESIGN TO THRIVE 964
Introduction
The Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Owner Operator (AECOO) industry is
rapidly moving towards sustainable building design and development. The Building Research
Establishment (2013) stated that 61% of the construction work would involve sustainable
buildings or green building globally, between 2015 and 2018.
Energy demand and thermal comfort conditions can be predicted through digital
simulation during the design stage. The failure of many buildings to meet the expectations
of their designers is described as the "performance gap" (NBT,2015). Poor information
management contributes significantly to uncontrolled variations in building design,
operation and consequently to an increase in the performance gap. However, the energy
performance of a building is only one aspect used to assess and determine the overall
performance level. There are many important factors related to indoor environments that
need to be accounted for when improving overall building performance, such as thermal
comfort.
Figure 3 Graphical representation of one exchange requirements (IfcZone) for a partial Thermal Comfort MVD.
The example in (Figure 3) discusses only a subset of one IfcZone entity and the final
MVD for thermal comfort analyses will contain all the exchange requirements and their
relationships. The main purpose of a MVD, which is currently under development in this
research project is to select and specify data and information are applied according to the
exchange requirement of a particular process, in this case thermal comfort analysis.
Abstract: Thermal comfort is a key aspect when assessing a sustainable building’s performance. In hot climates,
such as Saudi Arabia, achieving comfort can require large amounts of cooling energy if the building has not been
designed to take advantage of passive cooling techniques. In this study a thermal model of a real high-rise office
building in Saudi Arabia was created and used to predict internal air temperatures, comfort levels and energy
consumptions using DesignBuilder® software for summer days. Field measurements of comfort levels and
internal temperatures were taken in the actual building to compare with the modelled data to check for
acceptable agreement, and a small thermal comfort survey with office workers was also undertaken. The as-
built office model was then parametrically altered for a range of passive strategies (including glazing
area, insulation levels and thermal mass) to identify the most effective approaches to reducing cooling energy
demand. The resultant optimized building was then tested under future climate scenarios for Saudi Arabia to
check if the identified solutions were still effective. The study revealed that certain passive approaches could be
applied successfully while maintaining an acceptable corporate image for the building – this was true for both
current and future climates. The potential contribution of this study is the identification and testing of thermal
comfort strategies to be used in the early design stages which will facilitate architectural design processes,
practice and education.
Keywords: Built Environment, Thermal Comfort, High-Rise buildings, Architecture Technology, Sustainable
Buildings
Introduction
Global warming and sustainable development have become key issues for the built
environment. Architects and engineers now need to consider any financial or environmental
implications of their designs during the building’s life (Holmes and Hacker, 2007). A key
consideration in a sustainable strategy is the need to evaluate the role of fabric design
efficiency and its impact on human thermal comfort. In countries with predominantly hot dry
climates, such as Saudi Arabia, achieving thermal comfort can require substantial amounts of
cooling energy. This problem can be exacerbated by the design of the building’s external
envelope. The appearance of many modern office buildings in Saudi Arabia resembles those
seen in the USA or Europe, where the climates can be much less demanding in terms of
thermal comfort. A first step in reducing the cooling energy demand of Saudi offices is to
investigate the potential impacts that passive design measures applied to the building
envelope, such as thermal insulation and thermal mass, can have in maintaining comfort
whilst reducing cooling energy consumption.
Background
Saudi Arabia’s main sources of energy are oil and natural gas. The country burns more than
one million barrels of oil per day to generate electricity (Alshehry and Belloumi, 2015).
Electrical energy usage in Saudi Arabia has risen sharply in the last twenty-five years because
of population growth, strong economic development and the lack of energy efficiency
measures. Electricity consumption per capita in Saudi Arabia is approximately three time the
global average (Naif, 2012). It has been estimated that around 73% of the electricity produced
in Saudi Arabia is used in buildings, with 65% of that consumption being for air conditioning
(Saudi Electricity Company, 2015).
There is now a growing interest and requirement to make Saudi buildings more
sustainable. Decisions such as working on local building codes, enforcing insulation other
sustainable treatments in construction have been considered to manage total building energy
consumption. This includes any environmental friendly treatments during design concepts,
construction process and building operation in order to conserve the environment (Mujeebu
and Alshamrani, 2016). Mujeebu and Alshamrani (2016) highlighted that US$26 billion has
been invested in 76 green building projects across the country. This includes the King Abdullah
financial district, which is one of mega green projects around the world. Furthermore, 90,000
eco-friendly mosques have been identified in the government’s plans across the country to
adapt green buildings as new choice of construction. Thus, Alyami and Rezgui (2012)
suggested that the USA building standard LEED could provide the basis of a Saudi version in
order to combined both national and local considerations.
Office buildings account for 14% of total building energy consumption in Saudi Arabia,
and so are an important building type for energy efficiency design and retrofit (Al-Ghamdi et
al, 2015; Alyousef and Abu-Ebid, 2012). In their review paper of 25 years of cooling research
in office buildings, Prieto et al (2017) suggested that cooling research for offices in hot-arid
climates was much less common than for offices in more temperate climates, but that this
was changing. Recent projects have been undertaken in Middle East Gulf countries that have
focussed on the evaluation of passive cooling strategies; for example, the energy
performance of shading systems (Freeman, 2014), the evaluation of glazing properties (Bahaj
et al, 2008), the effectiveness of multi-façade systems (Radhi et al, 2013) and the efficiency
of passive envelope measures (Friess and Rakhshan, 2017).
This study has concentrated on passive envelope measures, such as thermal insulation
and glazing specification. An actual office block in Saudi Arabia was identified and monitored.
Then, aspects of the office’s envelope were parametrically altered and modelled to assess
what impact the changes had on internal temperatures and thermal comfort conditions in
the office.
Figure 1.The geometry of the tested office building
Results
Reliability of Designbuilder®5.0 model
Table 1 shows a comparison between the measured and modelled data for the open plan
office for one of the summer days. For the hottest part of the day, when the office is most
used, the agreement is good. This indicates that the settings chosen in the Designbuilder®5.0
model (such as occupancy profile and set point values) are appropriate. Validation of the
Designbuilder®5.0 model gives confidence for the parametric analysis.
Table 1. Sample of the compared temperature data between simulation and field measurement readings in
open plan office – typical summer day in Dhahran , Saudi Arabia.
Time Measured Modelled Percentage difference
air temperature [°C] air temperature [°C] (%)
13:00 24.5 23.6 3.6
14:00 23.8 23.5 1.3
15:00 23.3 23.4 -0.4
16:00 22.6 23.4 -3.5
Figure 3. Cross section through the used walls in this paper while (A): existing office construction combination,
base case and (B) is developed case with insulation.
Figure 4 shows the hourly internal air temperatures in the modelled office for the
existing office and the insulated office over a 12 hour period. It can be seen that throughtout
the working day the base case façade would always create a warmer temperature in the office
compared to the insulated office. There is a small but consistent difference in temperatures
for the two envelope designs, and because these differences exist over many hours then this
would be reflected as differences in the cooling energy required. Over an entire summer, the
additional cooling energy consumed by the base case office would become noticeable.
25
24.8
24.6
24.4
24.2
24
23.8
23.6
23.4
23.2
Base Case ''wall A'' Insulated Wall Case '' wall B''
Figure 4. Modelled hourly average air temperatures for the existing office construction and the insulated
office. .
Wall A Wall B
Base Case Insulated Case
(A) (B)
Figure 5. Thermal comfort graph for (A) existing office and (B) insulated office.
Figure 6. Isometric illustration of the used glazing in this paper when window (A) is single clear glazing, base
case and (B) is developed case with double glazing and fill of air between pans.
25
24.5
24
23.5
23
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Window A Window B
Base Case Dbl. Glazed Case
Figure 8. Thermal comfort graph for (A) existing office and (B) improved glazing office.
Introduction
Balconies are an integral element on the facade of residential buildings in many countries
with mild climates, such as the Mediterranean, providing an easy access to outdoors. Apart
from its architectural, functional and social roles, the common balcony can influence the
indoor environment of its parent building, as well as create a distinct microclimate of its
own. Song and Choi (2012) found indoor spaces with attached balconies to maintain
temperatures some 0.8K higher in winter achieving space heating and cooling savings of up
to 39% and 22% respectively. Florides et al.(2002) reported that the presence of an
overhang could yield up to 19 % in cooling energy savings in Cyprus, while studies by Chan
and Chow (2010) demonstrated cooling savings can be achieved regardless of orientation
with the highest savings for South-Westerly orientations. Studies on the effect of the depth
of the balcony in different parts of Greece (Loukou et al. 2014) showed that for the colder
regions a South-facing balcony with depth 1.0-1.6 metres can save as much as 30% in annual
loads, while depth above 1.9 metres can have a negative impact. Kimmo et al. (2010) and
Tsichritzis (2014) studied the particularenvironmental attributes of glazed balconies showing
that size, type (recessed or protruding), parapet and material properties of the balcony can
have a substantial effect on the thermal comfort conditions achieved in the balcony space
and the energy performance of the adjacent indoor spaces. Acknowledging that the
attraction of a private outdoor space continues to be very high in Mediterranean climates,
this paper presents the results of measurements on two similar balconies and adjacent
spaces in the urban context of Thessaloniki, Greece (40°38ʹN , 22°55ʹE). The fieldwork was
Fieldwork
Temperature dataloggers were installed over a period of two weeks in July 2016 in an
unobstructed, detached 5-storey building to evaluate the effect of shading devices on the
air temperature of the balcony and adjacent indoor spaces. Surface temperatures of the
balcony floors were also recorded. The building is of conventional reinforced concrete
construction with insulated brick and concrete block external walls, and aluminium frame
double glazed windows and balcony doors. The balcony area (1.5m deep and 2.0-5.0m wide)
had white marble floor, rendered white-coloured brick wall, light grey concrete parapet
and/or steel railing.
Two neighbouring SW facing balconies (figure 1) were monitored for three
consecutive days under similar weather conditions. Shading with a light-coloured awning
was applied to Balcony A on all three days, and to Balcony B on the third day only. The
adjacent rooms were unoccupied and the balcony doors kept closed with shutters applied
to the adjacent room A1 and curtains to B (figure 2).
Higher air temperatures by up to 2K were recorded on balcony B compared to the
more exposed neighbouring balcony A. Use of additional solar protection from awnings
lowered the air temperature on the balcony by some 5K and the surface temperature of the
balcony floor (white reflective marble) by 2K at peak time, as well as mitigated the indoor
temperature at times of sun exposure. There was a small difference of 0.5K between the
two balconies at night, which indicates that the lower Sky View Factor of balcony B due to
the presence of awnings did not affect the heat dissipation rate.
Balcony A Balcony B
Figure 1. View of the two neighbouring monitored balconies
Simulation Studies
Thermal simulations were performed with Energy Plus / Open Studio. Solar studies with
Grasshopper / Ladybug followed from the fieldwork aiming to provide a deeper insight on
the effect that the form and depth of the balcony, and awning operation might have on
solar radiation entering the space. The building was modelled as a typical 5-storey
residential structure of average height for the building stock in Thessaloniki (Theodoridou et
al., 2011). The simulation studies focused on a rectangular room of 3.0m by 7.0m and 3m
height located on the 4th floor, and its attached balcony of 1.5m in depth shaded by the
overhang of the balcony of the floor above. The room has one external wall only with the
other building elements modelled as adiabatic. The glazed door to the balcony is of 1.0m by
2.1m and double glazed (U-2.6 W/m² K, g-value 0.44) and the external wall insulated to
U-0.5 W/m². All other thermophysical properties were modelled to conform with the
requirements of the national building regulations controlling the energy performance of
buildings (KENAK) for the climatic zone of Thessaloniki (T.O.T.E.E. , 2010).
Three different balcony forms were studied, a fully protruding variant, a balcony with
opaque parapet, and a recessed balcony with side walls and opaque parapet. These are
shown in figure 3 and encompass the typology of residential balconies in Greece.
Figure 4. and 5. Diurnal temperature of three balcony types in a sunny summer day (left) and a cloudy
winter day (right)
The effect the enclosure of the balcony may have on environmental conditions and
occupant comfort is reflected on the levels of monthly total incident solar radiation on the
balcony floor for June, as illustrated in figure 6. Due to the lower solar angle on West and
East orientations, the opaque parapet partially shades the floor resulting in 50% reduction
in incident solar radiation. Overall, due to the combined effects of the side walls and
opaque parapet, the recessed typology delivers the best solar protection on all orientations;
monthly total incident solar radiation on the balcony floor is reduced by 73% in the
West/East orientation and by 48% in the South orientation. North-facing balconies are not
Figure 6. Monthly total incident solar radiation on balcony floor for June for the three balcony
typologies
Figure 7. Monthly total incident solar radiation on balcony floor for June for different shading
configurations in relation to the most critical orientations
Figure 9. Effect of varying solar protection on south-facing balcony and adjacent space on sunny summer day
Table 2. Design and solar protection recommendations for the balcony zone
Abstract: Improvements in design, conception and construction of facades play an important role in promoting
building energy efficiency. Climate adaptable building shells (CABS) can improve building thermal performance
by modifying the envelope properties in response the dynamic environmental boundary conditions. This paper
intends to evaluate the improvement potential of building thermal performance using seasonal adaptable
facades in residential buildings with high thermal load in a humid subtropical climate. A case study is
performed in south-eastern of Brazil, in order to identify the optimal seasonal adaptation strategies. The
analysis is based on optimization scenarios. The numbers of overcooling and overheating hours are the
indicators of performance. The adaptive comfort model, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human
Occupancy, bases the measurement of the comfortable hours. The optimization of the results is conducted
using the software MatLab and the computational simulations are conducted using EnergyPlus. Results of this
study show the improvement in environmental quality through monthly adaptation of six facade designs
parameters. Separate analyses are made for the summer and the winter. The potential on thermal
performance improvement in this case study reduced up to 26% of the discomfort time with the adaptive
facade. Reducing the number discomfort hours reduces energy consumption by the use of cooling or heating
systems.
Keywords: Climate adaptive buildings, seasonal facade adjustment, adaptive facade, building performance
simulation, thermal comfort.
Introduction
Architectural projects nowadays have become increasingly complex due to the growing
demand for ambitious performance requirements of social, environmental and economic
related issues. (Loonen et al. 2013).
Building envelope is the primary subsystem able to regulate external conditions and
environmental changes and it is very relevant concerning sustainability in buildings (Barozzi
et al. 2016). The facades are determinants for the internal environmental conditions (Lai &
Hokoi 2015). Thermal, visual and mass-flow are some of physical domains of the envelope
that can influence the indoor environment (Loonen et al. 2017).
Static building envelope systems limit the possibilities of energy performance and / or
the generation of optimal internal comfort levels (Boer et al. 2011) as they do not respond
Methodology
The methodology adopted was divided into the following phases: definition of the cases to
be studied; performing computational simulations by EnergyPlus through routines of
automations written in MatLab; and analysis of results.
Case study building model
Figure 1. Schematic overview of the investigated room zone model.
The zone under investigation is a room (l x w x h = 4m x 3m x 2.7m) for two people (for all
the day), having its main facade oriented to the south (Figure 1). The room is situated on an
intermediate floor and surrounded by other rooms. The zone was evaluated under climatic
conditions of a Brazilian city (Porto Alegre – RS).
Rooms with high levels of sealing should be represented by rates between 0.3 and
0.61 ACH, so a rate of 1 ACH represents a room with good sealing (Tommerup et al. 2007;
Pereira & Ghisi 2008). Simulations were performed considering the zone infiltration
Analysis of de results
Summarized results for simulations are presented through a comparison between the
performances of the simulated cases for all the hours of the months of January and August
(1488 hours). It is indicated the potential on building performances improvements using
seasonal adaptable facades in residential buildings with high thermal load in a humid
subtropical climates.
Optimum performance of static facade
Figure 2 shows the performance of the simulations carried out with the infiltration rates
provided in 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 ACH. The figure shows the performance of the room studied
when the facade is static. In the figure are represented the hours of thermal discomfort for
the months of August and January (vertical axis) according to the simulated cases
(horizontal axis). Each point represents each of the five hundred different facade
configurations simulated for each rate infiltration. The performance of each static facade
configuration was obtained by the sum of the overcooling and overheating hours for each
case. Though the figure, it is clear the influence exerted by the facade configuration and
infiltration rate on the thermal performance of the analysed room.
In the figure, the range of thermal discomfort hours for the cases simulated is almost
42% and 91%. The static facade witch presented the best performance was simulated with a
zone infiltration rate of 8 ACH. The case simulated with this infiltration rate which presented
the best performance presented almost 615 of thermal discomfort hours. High infiltration
rates make indoor and outdoor environments alike and can cause discomfort for cold on
winter, so most of the hours of discomfort is due to overcooling in August. In the summer
month, no overcooling hours were identified in any of the simulated cases.
90
70
Limits [%]
50
30
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Simulated cases
hours
Acceptability Limits [%]
to ASHRAE55 80%
40
30
I I II II II I
1 2 4 8 16 ACH
Adaptive facades
Figure 3. Adaptive facades performance.
Figure 4 (A) illustrates the comparison of the performance between static facades and
adaptive facades simulated with the same infiltration rates. The best case identified for each
Overheating
50 8%
Discomfort time according to
10
0
1 ACH 2 ACH 4 ACH 8 ACH 16 ACH 25%
68% 7%
Best simulated cases
Temperature [°C]
29°C
30
26°C
25
22°C
20 19°C
15
10 January August
1 1488
Room behavior (hourly)
Conclusion
This paper showed the maximum potential of reduction in the hours of thermal discomfort
by using an adaptive facade in the order of 26% for the studied case.
The results showed the direct influence exerted by the properties of the facade and
the infiltration rate on the comfort levels inside the room. Depending on configuration of
the facade and the infiltration rate, the number of overcooling or overheating hours can be
higher or lower.
References
Aelenei, D., Aelenei, L. & Vieira, C.P., 2016. Adaptive Façade: Concept, Applications, Research
Questions. Energy Procedia, 91, pp.269–275.
ASHRAE Standard 55-2013, 2013. Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy,
Barozzi, M. et al., 2016. The sustainability of adaptive envelopes: Developments of kinetic architecture.
Procedia Engineering, 155, pp.275–284.
Boer, B. De et al., 2011. Climate Adaptive Building Shells for the future – Optimization with an Inverse
Modelling Approach. In ECEEE Summer Study 2011. Belambra Presquille de Giens: European Council for an
Energy Efficient Economy, pp. 1413–1422.
Goia, F. et al., 2014. Energy performance assessment of advanced integrated façades by means of
synthetic metrics. In A. Li, Y. Zhu, & Y. Li, eds. 8th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air
Conditioning. pp. 21–28.
Goia, F. et al., 2010. Towards an active, responsive, and solar building envelope. Journal of Green
Building, 5(4), pp.121–136.
Jin, Q., Favoino, F. & Overend, M., 2015. The potential opaque adaptive façades for office buildings in a
temperate climate. In Proceedings of Building Simulation 2015 Conference. Hyderabad, India, pp. 98–105.
Kasinalis, C. et al., 2014. Framework for assessing the performance potential of seasonally adaptable
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Lai, C.-M. & Hokoi, S., 2015. Solar façades: A review. Building and Environment, 91, pp.152–165.
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Introduction
Design driven by sustainability considerations is now adopted in many development projects,
especially in architecture and urban planning, where one focus has been on increasing human
thermal comfort. Though new projects have the potential to provide environmental friendly
solutions, the existing building stock has the biggest impact on the environment. For example,
it is estimated that 87% of current buildings in the UK will still exist by 2050, with a low rate
of renewal of 1% annually (The Construction Products Association, 2009). With that being the
case, retrofitting old buildings and managing existing urban spaces would have much bigger
impacts on the environment and carbon emissions than new build.
The focus in this paper is derived from the need to improve the human comfort in the
outdoor urban environment at pedestrian level by providing better urban spaces through
modification of the local microclimate, especially in commercial areas of cities. The human
body interacts with the environmental conditions around it, whether for indoor or outdoor
conditions. The degree of comfort depends on the different factors that the built environment
creates for its occupants, such as air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity. For that
reason, choosing the appropriate approach is somewhat difficult due to the complex nature
of the urban spaces, where the climate zone plays a very important role, as well as urban
geometry, where the formation of the buildings can influence the climatic factors greatly.
Background
Context of study area
Egypt is in North Africa and covers a land area of 1,001,450 km2. Egypt’s capital is Cairo, with
a population of 7.772 million. Cairo was chosen as the location for this study because it is a
megacity with a hot arid climate. The aim was to identify an area in the city and to investigate,
through ENVI-met CFD computer modelling, the impact that removing/demolishing existing
buildings might have on thermal comfort by altering pedestrian-level wind flows to create
new wind passageways. The Al-Moski district of Cairo was chosen as it contains a range of
urban layouts with the potential for wind flow enhancement. The Al-Moski district of Cairo
was founded by Izz El-Deen Mosk, in the reign of An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub
founder of Ayyubid dynasty around 1160-1193. The district is famous for the old markets that
combine different commercial products. The buildings in this area are influenced by the
French architecture in the era of Ismail Basha, which along the years has been reoccupied and
reused for multiple purposes (Al-Tarabili, 2003).
The area of Al-Moski chosen for the ENVI-met analysis is a commercial site in a hot arid
zone with a very close, nearly random formation of buildings. Cairo lies in the warm desert
climate zone, with dry summers and moderate winters (Peel, et al., 2007). The area has harsh
winds twice a year, in spring and autumn, when sand and other impurities shroud the city for
several weeks. Temperatures vary with the seasons, with values as high as 42°C in summer
(June- August) with average mean temperature of 28°C, and temperatures as low as 6°C in
winter (December- February). The average wind speed value in Egypt is around 3.5 m/s from
the North to Northeast. However, the area experiences Al-Khamasin winds, which can reach
26 m/s in March and April, as well as in August and October.
Thermal comfort
Thermal comfort indices are based on energy balance models of the human body, and one of
the most widely used models is Fanger’s equation (Fanger, 1970), which was used to predict
the indoor thermal comfort for air-conditioned spaces. The model was then adjusted by
Jendritzky and Nübler (1981) to fit outdoor conditions. However, the model lacked realistic
values of the thermal conditions of the individual’s body, due the fundamental design of
climate based equations not including all the human physiological conditions (Höppe, 1999).
In 1984 Höppe introduced the Munich Energy-balance Model for Individuals “MEMI” that
would consider human sweat rate, clothing surface temperature and core temperature. The
MEMI is based on the heat balance equation following Büttner’s work in the 1960s (Höppe,
1999).
Method
Al-Moski is a commercial area with relatively high buildings ranging between 6m and 15m in
height. The buildings are randomly placed with no inner streets and only pedestrian
passageways, which greatly reduce the potential for natural ventilation in buildings. Figure 1
shows the existing urban layout as modelled in ENVI-met. Six receptors were positioned
around the site (Figure 2), and these were the points were PET values were examined. Space
constraints in this paper mean that not all the results from the six receptors can be presented.
Considering Al-Moski’s traditional nature, initial adjustments were proposed (Proposal 1) to
eliminate three buildings, as seen in Figure 3, to create wind passages that would help in
flushing out stale air and consequently raising the comfort level. Proposal 1 was put into
simulation to see the effect of the minor adjustments, and the Receptors data were extracted
for further comparison. Proposal 2 is a more invasive approach, eliminating more buildings to
ensure more wind interaction inside the plot. And since the elimination process created more
space, small scale vegetation areas were introduced in Proposal 2 to test out the effect the
vegetation had in changing pedestrian human comfort levels (see Figure 4).
Figure 3. Proposal 1. Figure 4. Proposal 2.
25
20 Comfortable 6-Summer
Slightly cool 1-Winter
15
Cool
2-Winter
10
Cold
3-Winter
5
Very Cold 4-Winter
0
5-Winter
00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00
Hours 6-Winter
Figure 5. PET values for the existing plot – summer and winter.
Receptor 1
Receptor 1 was in a relatively large square and the PET values in summer time exceeded the
comfort levels, especially at noon. In Proposal 1 some buildings east of the receptor were
removed to enhance the wind conditions, and no other major changes were made. In
Proposal 2 the initial adjustments were kept, and a part of a building was removed to open a
wind passage that was located north to the receptor. In addition to demolishing the building,
a set of small sized trees were introduced to this receptor location since the space was wide
enough for pedestrians’ movement and landscape additions.
The wind speed values in the existing conditions were very low. With the adjustments
to the existing site, a slight change in wind speed values can be noticed. However, the change
was not more than 0.05 m/s for both Proposals 1 and 2. The improvement in PET values in
Proposal 2, as shown in Figure 5, is due to the addition of vegetation, which introduced
shading and cooler surfaces. The vegetation helped in reducing the mean radiant
temperature Tmrt, thereby changing the PET levels. Although the Tmrt values were less than for
the existing plot and Proposal 1, the air temperature remained the same with a maximum
change in values of 0.35 ᴼC.
The demolishing of certain buildings in Proposal 1 and 2 allowed the winter sun to reach
receptor 1’s location, which did not occur for the existing conditions. Other than that, no
major changes in the PET values for Receptor 1 in winter were observed (see Figure 6).
50 Receptor
45 Very hot s
Existing plot/ Summer
40
Hot
35 Proposal 1 / Summer
30 Warm
25
Proposal 2 / Summer
Slightly warm
PET
20 Comfortable
Existing plot/ Winter
15 Slightly cool
10 Cool Proposal 1 / Winter
5 Cold
0 Very Cold
Proposal 2 / Winter
00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00
Hours
Figure 6. PET values for Receptor 1.
25 Slightly warm
Proposal 2 / Summer
20 Comfortable
15 Slightly cool
Existing plot/ Winter
10 Cool
5 Cold
Proposal 1 / Winter
0 Very Cold
00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00
Proposal 2 / Winter
Hours
Figure 7. PET values for receptor 2.
Receptor 4
Receptor 4 was in a small enclosed path. The PET values for receptor 4 in summer time were
the highest compared to the other receptors - they exceeded the comfort levels, especially at
noon, as shown in Figure 8. In Proposal 1 buildings to the west of the receptor were removed
to enhance the wind conditions, and no other major changes were made. In Proposal 2 the
initial adjustments were kept, and the building to the southwest of the receptor was removed
to open a wind passage that was located near to receptor 5. The wind values in the three
25 Proposal 2 / Summer
Comfortable
20
Slightly cool Existing plot/ Winter
15
Cool
10 Proposal 1 / Winter
5 Cold
Very Cold
0 Proposal 2 / Winter
00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00
Hours
Figure 8: PET values for receptor 4.
Existing Plot Proposal 1 Proposal 2
Figure 9. Shadows casts at 15:00.
As for the case of winter time, the PET levels in Proposal 1 and 2 were slightly lower
than for the existing plot at 10:00 to 00:00, as seen in Figure 8, and relatively the same for the
rest of the hours. This behaviour can be linked to the wind speed patterns, where Proposal 1
and 2 wind speed values are higher than for the existing plot at 10:00 to 00:00, and the rest
of the hours have smaller differences in values resulting in almost similar PET values. Wind
speed was still considerably low but in this case at winter, the receptor is overshadowed by
the surrounding building all day.
References
Al-Tarabili, A. (2003). Ahya'a Al-qahera Al-mahrosa [The Guarded neighbourhood of Cairo]. 1st ed. Cairo:
Al-Dar al-masriah al-lubnaniah, pp.70-99.
ENVI-met, 2016. ENVI-met 4. A holistic Microclimate Modelling System. [Online] Available at:
http://www.model.envi-met.com/hg2e/doku.php?id=root:start [Accessed 24 June 2016].
Fanger, P.O., 1970. Thermal Comfort: Analysis and Applications in Environmental Engineering, Danish
Technical Press, Copenhagen.
Höppe, P., 1999. The physiological equivalent temperature – a universal index for the biometeorological
assessment of the thermal environment. Biometeorol, Volume 43, p. 71–75.
Jendritzky, G. & Nübler, W., 1981. A model analysing the urban thermal environment in physiologically
significant terms. Archives for Meteorology, Geophysics and Bioclimatology, Series B, 29, 313-326
Matzarakis, A., Mayer, H. & Iziomon, M. G., 1999. Applications of a universal thermal index: physiological
equivalent temperature. s.l.:Int J Biometeorol.
Peel, M. C., Finlayson, B. L. & McMahon, T. A., 2007. Updated world map of the Koppen-Geiger climate
classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Volume 11, p. 1633–1644.
The Construction Products Association, 2009. Memorandum submitted by the Construction Products
Association. [Online] Available at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmselect/cmenvaud/202/202we06.htm. [Accessed 24
March 2017].
Introduction
The concept of comfort has experienced an important transformation in the last years since
while only three decades ago literature on indoor comfort was mainly focused on Indoor Air
Quality (IAQ) nowadays buildings’ users have greater expectations. Users expect
comfortable indoor environments.
The research community on thermal comfort has grown substantially in recent years
driven by policies designed to mitigate climate change and enhance energy efficiency. These
policies require action by all players to make progress. The set of actions involve the
urgency of decarbonizing the environment, the strategies to mitigate the greenhouse effect
and other actions to improve energy efficiency, which have been contemplated in
international protocols around the world. Initially, the Montreal protocol on substances that
depleted the ozone layer in the late 1980s forced the HVAC sector to develop alternative
refrigerants and subsequently the movement of green buildings imposed a fundamental
rethinking of HVAC systems (de Dear et al, 2013).
40
Outdoor temperature (°C)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Average_min_temperatures Average_max_temperatures
Figure 1. Seville outdoor temperatures.
Figure 2. Sensors installed in the office.
Results
It has been carried out a previous treatment of the data that make the subsequent analysis
easier using Matlab. The programming routines carried out have allowed to identify in an
automated way the periods in which the room was heated, based on the operation of the
HVAC system, and to categorize the surveys depending if the building was in the free-
running mode (with no heating) or not.
Distribution of variables
Table 1 shows the mean and the standard deviation for inside variables which have been
monitored during the studio (Ta: air temperature, Tg: globe temperature, RH: relative
humidity, Va: air velocity) as well as the daily mean outside temperature (Tod). These values
are separated taking into account that: if heating was in use, the data were classified as
being in the heating mode (HT). If it was not, the data were classified in the free-running
mode (FR).
Table 1. Inside and outside variables.
Building Mode Var Ta [ºC] Tg [ºC] RH [%] Va [m/s] Tod [ºC]
Office FR Mean 21.16 21.24 48.87 0.027 13.44
S.D 2.23 2.11 8.40 0.031 3.92
HT Mean 21.23 21.34 47.26 0.034 11.85
S.D. 2.08 2.01 7.52 0.029 2.65
The mean outdoor temperatures during the surveys were 13.44 °C and 11.85 °C for FR
and HT mode repectively. The mean globe temperature range between 21.24 °C and 21.34
°C for each mode. As shown in Figure 3 and Table 2 the globe temperature is highly
correlated with the indoor air temperature (R-squared column), so globe temperature could
be considered as a good index to analyse the data.
Figure 4. Relation between indoor comfort temperature and outdoor temperature.
Although the scatter of the votes, there is an important amount of them inside the
comfort range (+/- 2K) established by the CEN standard for FR buildings,
Tcomfort=0.33Trm+18.8.
Conclusions
The following results are highlighted after analysing the data from the field study. Most
occupants were satisfied with their office environment, based on the mean values of
thermal sensation and thermal preferences votes and the distribution of the TSV. There was
also a high number of neutral votes and higher amount of comfortable votes.
References
Aparicio, P., Salmerón, J. M., Ruiz, Á., Sánchez, F. J., & Brotas, L. (2016). The globe thermometer in
comfort and environmental studies in buildings. Revista de la Construcción, 15(3), 57-66.
ASHRAE, 2013. Standard 55-2013: Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy R. and A.
conditioning E. American Society of Heating, ed.
De Dear R. J., et al. (2013) Progress in thermal comfort research over the last twenty years. Indoor Air,
23(6), p. 442-461.
Directive 2012/27/UE of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy
efficiency.
Fergus, N., Humphreys, M. (2010) Derivation of the adaptive equations for thermal comfort in free-
running buildings in European standard EN15251. Building and Environment, 45 (1), p. 11-17.
Forgiarini Rupp, R., Giraldo Vásquez, N., Lamberts, R. (2015).A review of human thermal comfort in the
built environment. Energy and Buildings, 105, pp. 178-205.
Kottek, M. & Rubel, F., 2006. World Map of the Köppen-Geiger Climate Classification Updated.
University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. Available at: http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/present.htm.
Nicol, F., Humphreys, M.A. & Roaf, S., 2012. Adaptive thermal comfort: principles and practice,
Routledge New York. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203123010.
McCartney, K. J., Nicol, F. J. (2002) Developing an adaptive control algorithm for Europe. Energy and
Buildings, 34(6), pp. 623-635.
Rijal, H. B., Humphreys, M. A., & Nicol, J. F. (2017). Towards an adaptive model for thermal comfort in
Japanese offices. Building Research & Information, 0(0), pp. 1-13.
UNE-EN 15251:2008 Indoor environmental inputs parameters for design and assessment of energy
performance of buildings addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting and acoustics.
UNE-EN 7726 Ergonomics of the thermal environment -- Instruments for measuring physical quantities.
Introduction
According to the EU SILC, living conditions survey in Spain, there is an 11% of the population
that declared “being unable to keep their dwellings at an adequated level of warmth”
during winter months. Among other impacts in human wellbeing -mental health, social
attainment, stigmatization-, inappropriate indoor comfort levels has a very negative effect
on health and results in a significant increase of the seasonal mortality and morbidity
(Bouzarovski, 2011). Linkages between energy poverty and poverty suggest (Papada et al,
2016) (Santamouris et al, 2014) that low income families are more likely to suffer from more
inadequate indoor conditions at home and become a crucial target group. This is due not
only to their economical constraints to afford higher levels of energy services at home, but
also due to the strong relation between poverty and poorer energy efficiency (Kolokotsa et
al, 2015), inadequate heating systems, less economical resources, cultural and educational
barriers, less access to credit and thereby reduced access to more efficient systems or fabric
retrofits (Ugarte, S et all, 2016). Considering this set of pitfalls, low income families become
a main target group with particular needs in the design of effective intervention guidelines
for the provision of comfort in our society.
For this reason, not only political and financial support and economical incentives
must be given to promote actions against this impact in Spain, but also developing and
Methodology
A specific methodology following the above mention aims was developed to assess
the progress of this project. For the evaluation of the problem, three main tasks were
carried out: a personal interview, concerning household characteristics and home behavior;
an inspection of the dwelling and systems for the definition of its thermal and energy
performance; and the installation of temperature, humidity and CO2 sensors for the
evaluation of the real environmental indoor indices, heating and ventilation patterns.
Measurements took place from December 2014 to February 2015.
Secondly, after analyzing the previous data, energy simulation of possible intervention
solutions was carried out and the decision on final solutions was weighted according to the
findings, necessities of the family and the technical and economical constraints we were
assuming. Thereafter, the different strategies were applied in different phases during the
year 2015 in collaboration with volunteers and the family itself that was involved in all the
process of decision making and development. Finally, for the validation of the efficacy of the
intervention personal follow up visits and interview were carried out as well as a final
monitoring phase for the evaluation of the effect of the measures on thermal performance
of the dwelling.
Figure1. Up (left) intervention house (central) intervention bedroom (right) parents house, chimney.
Down (left) Infrared image of intervention house and unoccupied bedroom (central) and parents house (right)
Inadequate indoor environmental conditions. The temperature patterns from the
couple´s house are characterized by irregular pulses of one to two hours of heating, mainly
in the living room and bedroom at night. The thermal variation in the house reached up to
10 °C between different rooms during heating periods. The average temperature in the
living room was 16.5 °C and 14.4 °C in the master bedroom. 12 °C in the rest of the house.
As declared by the family a minimum level of comfort is achieved by direct radiation from
the heating stove and radiator(personal comfort) and thanks to a higher level of clothing.
Figure 2. Temperature monitoring
Also, ventilation patterns were detected to be excessive throughout the day, mainly
because of the need of ventilation due to high levels of humidity and CO2 levels measured
as a consequence of the combustion means of heating but also due to other bad habits –
drying of clothes, pets and smoke-. Damp and mould formation on the contrary was less
likely to appear due to this high rate of ventilation and condensation formation appeared
only in windows after night periods.
Oftenly and mainly during colder periods of time, the family tended to move to their
parents house to stay warmer, whose situation, also of a great vulnerability passed through
a fundamental difference, a fireplace of wood, precariously installed in the cooker hood. A
great relief but also a burden for the familiar dependency and security due to this sort of
inadequate means of heating that a lack of resources force some families to use.
From the monitoring of temperatures we can observe both vulnerable dwellings, the
couples house (in blue) and the parents house (in red). As a reference we present the
contrast with a working middle class dwelling monitored at the same time representing a
more stable temperature pattern (in green), all of them of the same construction and
typological type.
Intervention strategies
Two main sets of strategies were defined to improve the thermal conditions and comfort
perception of the dwelling, on the one hand, reducing as possible the energy losses of the
dwelling and reducing the impact of cold surfaces on operative temperature, and in the
Figure 3. Floor plan and intervention measures
The first set of strategies centered on the thermal sectorization and adaptation of
main living spaces of the dwelling, living room and master bedroom, creating a more
protected and cozy space, a sort of thermal refugee within the dwelling, easier to heat
where householders could stay comfortably with the same heating means they had
available, as any other heating system was possible to implement due to the cost.
To this end mineral wool inner insulation (5cm) and plasterboard were added in both
exterior and interior walls based on the following reasons. Firstly, due to the high
differences of temperatures between interior spaces (non heated rooms, non heated
neighbors), also for the reduction of the effect of cold walls on comfort and the impact of
thermal inertia in a house irregularly occupied that needed to be quickly warmed up.
Insulation in ceilings and floors of these bedrooms was also considered but finally not
implemented. Big carpets were bought instead to insulate from the terrazzo tiled floor. Also
thermal curtains were developed and installed due to the lack of rolling shutters in the
bedrooms and weather stripping in windows and interior doors were used to reduce the
effect of air infiltrations. Special effort was done also in modifying the thermal perception of
these spaces, changing the wall´s colors, lights, and the re-arrangement of furniture in the
space.
Figure 4. Intervention measures
Results
Overall the set of strategies applied in this pilot project were positive improving the indoor
environmental conditions as well as the comfort vote of the householders. Three main
effects are worth mentioning as a critical revision of the strategies adopted in this
intervention.
Improve of average indoor temperature. As can be seeing in the figure 5, in which we
performed a monitoring comparative, heating at the same time two bedrooms, the one
insulated and the other one next to it not insulated, with the same surface, and taking into
account the limitations this sort of comparative have, we could detect an average improve
between 1,5°C -2°C in average indoor and wall surface temperature with a similar heating
pattern. Another effect that can be seen is the reduction of heating time to achieve similar
indoor temperatures that considering the means of heating available, a butane stove,
reduces CO2 and humidity concentrations. In this sense, opening slightly windows
meanwhile the butane stove was on reduced considerably the negative effect of CO2 and
humidity concentrations but assuming a negative effect on comfort due to air currents and
Figure 5.Temperature comparative between retrofitted and not retrofitted bedroom
Increase in the comfort perception. Most remarkable aspect in this intervention was
the improvement of the comfort vote of the householders, declaring a notable and positive
change in the comfort perception and feeling. The combined positive impact of increased air
and surface temperature, the reduction of infiltrations and the improved control that a
thermometer provided to them, as well as the effect of preheating at certain hours thanks
to the time controlled electric plugs, improved their acceptance to a flat in which they were
unable to stay comfortably.
Figure 6. Infrared image of intervention measures
Estimation of possible savings. Considering the savings that this intervention may
produce, it fundamentally depends on the behavioral changes and it has not been
controlled afterwards. As estimated with the simulation calculations, with a similar heating
pattern, the effect on savings would be subtle, accounting an amount of 70 Euros annually.
Taking into account that previous heating patterns were considerably insufficient due to
economical constraints and lack of control on the familiar expenses due to the mentioned
low level of planification and education, energy expenses may remain similar or higher to
reach appropriate levels of comfort.
Acknowledgments
This intervention has been possible thanks to the disinterested collaboration of Cáritas
Diocesana of Pamplona and Tudela and the University of Navarra Tantaka Charity Group,
and the Asociación de Amigos. Also many thanks to all the volunteers that collaborated in
the project and to the family for their collaboration and patience during the process.
References
Bouzarovski–Buzar, S. (2011). Energy poverty in the EU: a review of the evidence. In DG Regio
Workshop on Cohesion Policy Investing in Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Brussels.
Kolokotsa, D., & Santamouris, M. (2015). Review of the indoor environmental quality and energy
consumption studies for low income households in Europe. Science of the Total Environment, 536.
Papada, L., & Kaliampakos, D. (2016). Measuring energy poverty in Greece. EnergyPolicy, 94, 157-165.
Roaf, S., Crichton, D., & Nicol, F. (2009). Adapting buildings and cities for climate change: a 21st century
survival guide. Routledge.
Ugarte, S., van der REE, B., VOOGT, M., EICHHAMMER, W., ORDOÑEZ, J. A., REUTER, M.,& Villafafila
Robles, R. (2016). Energy efficiency for low-income households.
Santamouris, M., Alevizos, S. M., Aslanoglou, L., Mantzios, D., Milonas, P., Sarelli, I., ... & Paravantis, J. A.
(2014). Freezing the poor—Indoor environmental quality in low and very low income households during the
winter period in Athens. Energy and Buildings, 70, 61-70.
María Pilar Casatejada1, Karin Maria Soares Chvatal1 and Ranji Ranjithan2
1
Institute of Architecture and Urbanism, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, Brazil,
400 Trabalhador São-carlense Av., 13566-590
2
Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, North Carolina State
University, Raleigh, USA, 2501 Stinson Dr., 27607
Abstract: Thermal performance computational simulation is getting more important every time. However, it
requires a lot of time, specialized technicians, high budgets and a very detailed project. Currently, there are
simplified tools but they do not offer accurate results like other more complex methods. Due to that, this
paper proposes a simplification of the simulation method, without compromising its results. This simplification
would help architects and engineers to verify the buildings thermal comfort in the early stages of design. The
simplification suggested for this paper is related to thermal zoning in the computational simulation program
2
EnergyPlus. The studied building is a naturally ventilated social house of approximately 51m . This house is
located in three cities of Brazil (Curitiba, Manaus and Sao Paulo), corresponding to different climates. It has
four rooms (bedroom 1, bedroom 2, living room – kitchen and bathroom). This house is modeled in EnergyPlus
in two ways: like a multi zone model (MZM) and like a single zone model (SZM), that is, the entire floorplan
considered just like one zone. This paper evaluates the accuracy between the results of both modeling options
and it studies the influence of thermal zone modeling considering various schedules for internal doors opening
and closing.
Introduction
Building performance simulation tools are commonly used in the final stages of the project,
when most decisions have already been made. Nonetheless, it is in the early design stages
when designers demand quick building performance feedback for evaluating different
design alternatives (Al Gharably et al., 2015; Hensen et al., 2004; Hygh et al., 2012; Struck
and Hensen, 2007).
Building performance simulation tools are complex. Their use requires substantial
time by technicians, a specialized team with a vast multidisciplinary knowledge,
considerable budgets and a detailed project in the early stage of design (Catalina et al., 2008;
Signor et al., 2001). To help address these challenges, this paper describes a simplification of
the simulation method by examining ways to reduce the number of thermal zones, without
compromising its results and reducing the simulation time. The aim of this work is to
simplify building modeling in EnergyPlus (EERE, 2013a), one of the most commonly used
programs for building thermal performance analysis.
For HVAC systems, EnergyPlus manual recommends creating one thermal zone for
each room with different set point temperatures. However, it does not include any
Methodology
General features
The building studied in this work, which is same as the one reported in Favretto et al. (2015),
was simulated in the EnergyPlus program (EERE, 2013a). This is a naturally ventilated one-
story isolated social house of approximately 51 m2 (Figure 1) composed of a living room -
kitchen (LVRK), two bedrooms (BDR_1 and BDR_2), a bathroom and a gable roof with a non-
ventilated attic. For purposes of modeling simplification, two models were considered: a
Multi Zone Model (MZM) and a Single Zone Model (SZM). The MZM considers each room as
a thermal zone, while in the SZM, the entire floor plan is considered as a single thermal zone.
In both cases, the attic is considered as an independent thermal zone. In SZM, a thermal
mass equivalent to the eliminated internal partitions was included.
Figure 1. Floor plan of the base model (orientation north 0°). Source: Adapted from Favretto et al. (2015)
where:
ΔT #$$% : Annual average difference between T>?@A and T>A@A,BCCD (°C).
T>?@A : SZM hourly air temperature or operative temperature (°C).
T>A@A,BCCD : MZM hourly air temperature or operative temperature for each long-stay room
(°C).
The results obtained from this equation for both the air and operative temperatures
were similar to each other; thus, only the results for the air temperature are shown in the
Figure 2. Overall, the differences ( ΔT #$$% ) between the SZM-based and MZM-based
temperature values are consistently highest for the always-closed-internal-door cases,
followed by the doors-closed-on-a-schedule cases, and then the doors-always-open cases.
In all cases, the negative differences are mostly greater than the positive ones, implying a
systematic underestimation by the SZMs. Smaller average differences are observed in all
three orientations for Manaus (warmer climate) than for Curitiba (colder climate) and São
Paulo (mild climate).
In Curitiba, the [minimum, maximum] values of the hourly average differences
between SZMs and MZMs in the three orientations are: [-0.38°C, 0.34°C] (open doors); [-
0.59°C, 0.47°C] (doors on a schedule); and [-0.68°C, 0.51°C] (closed doors). In Manaus,
differences are: [-0.24°C, 0.26°C] (open doors); [-0.35°C, 0.26°C] (doors on a schedule); and
[-0.45°C, 0.28°C] (closed doors). In São Paulo, the differences are: [-0.39°C, 0.32°C] (open
doors); [-0.57°C, 0.43°C] (doors on a schedule); and [-0.61°C, 0.48°C] (closed doors).
where:
ΔD#$$% : Annual average difference between D?@A
> e DA@A
> (°Ch).
?@A
D> : SZM hourly discomfort degree-hours by heat or by cold (°Ch).
DA@A
> : MZM hourly discomfort degree-hours by heat or by cold for each long-stay room (°Ch).
Figure 4 shows the annual average difference of discomfort degree-hours by heat and
by cold, respectively, between SZM-based and MZM-based temperature estimates; results
in this figure include all cities, orientations and the three internal-door schedules. It is
observed that the smaller values of discomfort by cold occur in Manaus (warmer climate),
while the minimum discomfort by heat occurs in Curitiba (colder climate) and São Paulo
(mild climate). The highest differences are associated with the closed-door cases, followed
by the doors-on-a-schedule cases, and then the always-open cases.
Figure 4. Annual average difference between SZM-based and MZM-based temperature estimates in hourly
discomfort by heat and cold.
In the simulations for the open-door cases, the maximum average difference of
discomfort degree-hours by heat is +0.077 in the BDR_1 for Manaus/N90°, and by cold is
+0.122 in the same room for Curitiba/N270°. In the cases with internal doors on a schedule,
References
Al Gharably, M., DeCarolis, J. F. and Ranjithan, S. R. (2015). An enhanced linear regression-based
building energy model (LRBEM+) for early design. Journal of Building Performance Simulation, (2012), 1–19.
ASHRAE. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55: Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. (2013).
Atlanta.
Casatejada, M. P. and Chvatal, K. M. S. (2017). Comparison between the usual and rocommended
opening schedules for both windows and internal doors in Brazilian houses. Internal Report, 1–10.
Catalina, T., Virgone, J. and Blanco, E. (2008). Development and validation of regression models to
predict monthly heating demand for residential buildings. Energy and Buildings, 40(10), 1825–1832.
EERE. (2013a). EnergyPlus v8.1. US: Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of
Building Technologies.
EERE. (2013b). Getting Started. US: Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of
Building Technologies.
Favretto, A. P. O., Rossi, M. M., Anchieta, C. and Chvtal, K. M. S. (2015). Assessing the impact of zoning
on the thermal comfort analysis of a naturally ventilated house during early design. In 14th International
Conference of the International Building Performance Simulation Association. (p. 8). Hyderabad.
Hensen, J., Djunaedy, E., Radošević, M. and Yahiaoui, A. (2004). Building performance simulation for
better design : some issues and solutions, (2015), 19–22.
Hygh, J. S., DeCarolis, J. F., Hill, D. B. and Ranji Ranjithan, S. (2012). Multivariate regression as an energy
assessment tool in early building design. Building and Environment, 57, 165–175.
INMETRO - INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE METROLOGIA, N. E. Q. I. Regulamento técnico da qualidade para o
nível de eficiência energética de edificações residenciais (2012). Brazil.
Signor, R., Westphal, F. S. and Lamberts, R. (2001). Regression analysis of electric energy consumpiton
and architectural variables of conditioned commercial buildings in 14 Brazilian cities. In Seventh International
IBPSA Conferencen - Building Simulation (pp. 1373–1380). IBPSA.
Silva, A. S. and Ghisi, E. (2014). Uncertainty analysis of the computer model in building performance
simulation. Energy and Buildings, 76, 258–269.
Struck, C. and Hensen, J. (2007). On supporting design decisions in conceptual design addressing
specification uncertainties using performance simulation. In IBPSA Building Simulation Conference, 10 (pp.
1434–1439).
Siti Aisyah Damiati1, Sheikh Ahmad Zaki1, Hom Bahadur Rijal2, Azli Abd Razak3
azlirazak@salam.uitm.edu.my
Abstract: Malaysia experiences hot and humid climate all year round, causing people to rely on Heating,
Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system for cooling purpose. This is no exception in educational
buildings, where indoor thermal condition could affect the occupants’ performance in learning and teaching
activities. This study aimed to estimate the neutral temperature of university building occupants based on field
measurements, then compared the results from survey and predicted mean vote (PMV) method. Thermal
comfort field survey was conducted in two university campuses in Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
(UTM) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), in Malaysia. In 2014, approximately 979 responses were
collected from the students during learning sessions in classroom, while additional 1114 responses were
obtained the following year from postgraduate researchers and staffs in their working spaces. Using regression
analysis on surveyed thermal sensation vote (TSV), the occupants’ neutral temperature was found at 27.3 C,
which was higher than predicted result at 24.9 C. The PMV overestimated the occupants’ sensation as
temperature increases.
Introduction
The tropical climate in Malaysia is a conundrum for maintaining thermal comfort. The year-
round hot and humid environment (Kottek et al., 2006) means that occupants are unable to
effectively cool down their environments naturally. Therefore, the most obvious solution is
to rely on mechanical cooling using Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC)
systems, which has become the largest consumer of energy in buildings (Saidur, 2009).
In educational settings such as lecture theatres, providing a comfortable thermal
environment is a necessity for conducive learning (Clements-Croome, 2001; Corgnati et al.,
2007; Astolfi and Pellerey, 2008). Important design considerations such as day lighting,
ventilation, and solar control has been subsumed by simpler artificial systems such as
artificial lighting and HVAC, in order to provide a controllable, comfortable environment.
However, the use of these systems, especially HVAC, in educational settings have other far
reaching implications vis-à-vis energy consumption, policy decisions and occupants’ well-
being. In relation to these matters, more complete information is needed to form a
guideline on HVAC design in educational establishments.
Methodology
The data for this study was gathered using field surveys, combining field measurement of
indoor thermal environment parameters and questionnaire surveys for building occupants.
Two universities participated in this study: Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam
campus and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur campus. Both are located at
the Klang Valley, in the south-west of the Malay Peninsula. The Klang Valley experiences a
tropical rainforest climate (i.e., year-round hot and humid weather), with the highest mean
outdoor air temperature in March and lowest in January, based on the Kӧppen world
climate classification (Kottek et al., 2006).
Investigated buildings
Surveys in the classrooms were conducted in 2014, then the staff offices and postgraduate
working spaces in 2015 (Damiati et al., 2016). Classrooms investigated in this study used
HVAC systems for cooling, and are occupied during classes by lecturers and students. In
total, six classrooms in the Malaysia Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) in
UTM, and 14 from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in UiTM were surveyed. The
university workspaces investigated were located in four postgraduate laboratories in MJIIT
as well as in three administrative office buildings in UiTM. These rooms are detailed in Table
1.
Table 1. Building information and number of sample
Space University,
Location Measurement period Building block Room code n
function Campus
Classroom UTM, 3°08’N, 10142’E 29/09/2014– MJIIT
CR1, CR2, CR3,
Kuala Lumpur 19/11/2014 677
CR4, CR5, CR6
(22 days)
UiTM, 3°04'N, 101°30'E 11/10/2014– Faculty of CR1, CR7, 196
Shah Alam 21/11/2014 Mechanical CR8, CR9
(11 days) Engineering
Workspace UTM, 3°08’N, 10142’E 13/4/2015–5/5/2015 MJIIT M1 652
Kuala Lumpur (20 days)
UiTM, 2.1 3°04'N, 101°30'E 5/3/2015–21/5/2015 UiTM 1 M2-a 486
Shah Alam (29 days) 2.2 UiTM 2 M2-b
UiTM 3 M2-c
Total 2011
Note: n: Number of sample
Measurement period
For each classroom, data collection was carried out in both morning and afternoon, when
students were participating in a learning activity. All materials, including the equipment and
questionnaires, were prepared in the classroom twenty minutes before the start of the
lecture.
Meanwhile in the university workspaces, each respondent voted up to ten times
throughout the study, while the climatic variables were throughout the time the study was
conducted in the work spaces; between three to ten working days at each location. During
To investigate indoor conditions, the equipment above was used measure air
temperature, humidity, and air velocity. Thermo recorders in classrooms (Figure 1a and b)
were paired and positioned 1.1 m above floor level by attaching them to a stand, to
simulate the approximate height of a sitting person. These were placed in the corners of the
room and measured Ta and Tg. For each set of measurements, instruments were left for 90
minutes with data collected at ten second intervals. In workspaces investigated, the thermo
recorders (Figure 1c) were each mounted to a clamp on laboratory retort stand and placed
in several points in the rooms, at approximately 1-meter radius from the respondents
(Damiati et al., 2016). The height of each instrument’s sensors was adjusted to a height of
1.1 meters above floor level. In both classrooms and offices, the hot-wire anemometer was
situated in the center of the room.
Questionnaire survey
Data on personal parameters, such as the insulation value of the occupants’ clothing and
their thermal perceptions, were gathered by using the questionnaires. The questionnaires
were used to collect data on building occupants’ thermal sensation (TSV), thermal
(a) (b)
Figure 2. Thermal comfort survey in a) classroom and b) workspace (Red circles indicate the instruments)
Analytical method
To obtain the neutral temperatures based on survey and prediction, the traditional linear
regression method was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 software. For
prediction results, the PMV and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD) were estimated
using PMV Calculator Microsoft Excel plugin by Tanabe and Sato (2002).
100 100
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Predicted mean vote, PMV Mean thermal sensation vote, TSV
projection UTM UiTM projection UTM UiTM
Figure 3. Mean thermal sensation vote and percentage of dissatisfied in university classrooms, each point
represents mean vote from respondents in a single measurement session
Prediction Survey
Predicted percentage of dissatisfied , PPD (%)
100 100
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Predicted mean vote, PMV Mean thermal sensation vote, TSV
projection UTM UiTM projection UTM UiTM
Figure 4. Mean thermal sensation vote and percentage of dissatisfied in university workspace, each point
represents mean vote from respondents in a single measurement session
Neutral temperature
The neutral temperature for occupants in all investigated locations were calculated using
linear regression analysis of TSV, PMV, Ta and Tg. Data between universities were combined
but was delineated between classrooms and workspaces. Figure 3 plots these regressions
against PMV and TSV. It can be seen that in both classrooms and workspaces, PMV
overestimates the neutral temperatures at higher temperatures. The gap between actual
and predicted results increase as the temperature increases. The results of the linear
regression analysis are presented in Table 5.
Despite the uniformly low R2, all TSV regressions are statistically significant at the
0.001 level. PMV regressions have higher R2, but predict lower neutral temperatures
compared to TSV regressions. PMV regressions predict neutral temperatures of 24.5°C and
24.8°C Ta in university workspaces and classrooms respectively. In comparison, TSV
Figure 5. Regression graphs of TSV and PMV against indoor air temperature in classrooms and workspaces
Table 5. Neutral temperature regression analysis
Space Thermal
n Case Regression Model R2 Tn S.E. p Tc
function indices
Class- 873 Ta Survey TSV = 0.350 Ta – 9.176 0.06 26.2 0.046 <0.001 25.6
room Prediction PMV = 0.450 Ta – 11.169 0.50 24.8 0.022 <0.001 (s.d.: 2.4)
Tg Survey TSV = 0.331 Tg – 8.735 0.06 26.4 0.044 <0.001 25.6
Prediction PMV = 0.438 Tg – 10.887 0.47 24.9 0.022 <0.001 (s.d.: 2.4)
Work- 1114 Ta Survey TSV = 0.188 Ta – 5.104 0.09 27.1 0.018 <0.001 25.2
space Prediction PMV = 0.306 Ta – 7.497 0.65 24.5 0.007 <0.001 (s.d.: 2.3)
Tg Survey TSV = 0.202 Tg – 5.506 0.11 27.3 0.018 <0.001 25.5
Prediction PMV = 0.309 Tg – 7.670 0.66 24.8 0.007 <0.001 (s.d.: 2.2)
Note: Ta: Indoor air temperature (°C), Tg: Indoor globe temperature (°C), n: Number of sample, TSV: Thermal sensation
vote, PMV: Predicted mean vote, Tn: Regression neutral temperature (°C), S.E.: Standard Error, p: Significance level of
regression coefficient, Tc: Griffiths’ comfort temperature (°C).
Conclusions
Based on the results of this study of two universities in Malaysia from 2013 to 2014, the
following conclusions can be drawn:
1. Using the TSV values obtained using questionnaires, the neutral temperatures
of university workspaces were calculated to be 27.1°C Ta and 27.3°C Tg while
the neutral temperatures of classrooms were 26.2°C Ta and 26.4°C Tg.
Acknowledgement
This research was supported financially by a Grant-in-Aid from the AUN/SEED Net
Collaborative Research Program (4B155) of the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) and a matching grant (00M44) from the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
References
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overall environmental quality in secondary school classrooms. The Journal of the
Acoustical Society of America. 123 (1), 163–173.
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well-being in the office workplace. In: Proceedings of CLIMA 2000 world congress. 2001
Naples. p.
Corgnati, S.P., Filippi, M. and Viazzo, S. (2007) Perception of the thermal environment in
high school and university classrooms: Subjective preferences and thermal comfort.
Building and Environment. 42 (2), 951–959.
Damiati, S.A. (2017) Thermal comfort field study in office buildings with different ventilation
modes in hot and humid conditions. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
Damiati, S.A., Zaki, S.A., Rijal, H.B. and Wonorahardjo, S. (2016) Field study on adaptive
thermal comfort in office buildings in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan during
hot and humid season. Building and Environment. 109208–223.
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Karyono, T.H., Heryanto, S. and Faridah, I. (2015) Air conditioning and the neutral
temperature of the Indonesian university students. Architectural Science Review. 58 (2),
174–183.
Kottek, M., Grieser, J., Beck, C., Rudolf, B. and Rubel, F. (2006) World Map of the Köppen-
Geiger climate classification updated. Meteorologische Zeitschrift. 15 (3), 259–263.
Rijal, H.B., Humphreys, M.A. and Nicol, F. (2015) Adaptive Thermal Comfort in Japanese
Houses during the Summer Season: Behavioral Adaptation and the Effect of Humidity.
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comfort in Japanese offices. Building Research & Information.
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office buildings. Energy Policy. 37 (10), 4104–4113.
Tanabe, S. and Sato, T. (2002) PMV Calculator. [Online]. 2002. Waseda University Research
Laboratory.
Introduction
The impacts of climate change and massive urbanisation is accelerating pressure on
housing resources and planning, living environments, and energy use in Vietnam,
especially in high dense cities such as Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). In 2010, a total of
5.6million sqm of residential floor area was provided and by 2020, the prediction is for
6.5million sqm (CPHSC, 2010). However, the prediction is likely to be an underestimate. In
2010, a project undertaken by the University of Cottbus concluded that the total
coverage area of dwellings was 445.6 km² accounting for 21.1% of the total HCMC area
(Downes & Storch, 2014). Furthermore, along with influences of climate change, the
occupants’ living environment is very vulnerable to discomfort because most houses in
the city have so far used only natural ventilation to dissipate heat and humidity. Thus,
recently there has been an increase in installation and use of air conditioning. The high
density of the city and the increased use of air-conditioning and other domestic electric
appliances is adding to the heat island effect. Based on observation and prompted by the
studies of the University of Cottbus, the building and urban typologies around HCMC
were analysed and classified. Such knowledge helps understand the adaptation of the city
to climate change, and also thermal comfort and energy use in buildings, particularly
dwellings. This paper focuses on analysing thermal environment and energy consumption of
Background
Climatic conditions in HCMC
Ho Chi Minh City is located in the south of Vietnam. The local climate is strongly
influenced by monsoon winds that create hot humid condition throughout the year. The
annual average temperature is around 28°C and is the warmest in March, April and May.
The daily air temperature range is from 22°C to 35°C with two distinct seasons – dry
(December to April) and wet (May to November). The annually average seasonal relative
humidity varies from 63% to over 80%. South and south-east monsoon winds are dominant
in dry months with a maximum air velocity of 4.5m/s; in contrast, the prevailing winds
from the west and south- west are very strong in the rainy months reaching 5m/s
(Institute of Science, 2009). The availability of natural winds has an impact on occupant
comfort and promotes the use of natural ventilation to reduce the need for
air-conditioning.
The housing stock in HCMC
There has been rapid urbanisation in HCMC with the urban population in 2015 estimated
to be over 8m and a prediction to reach 10m in 2020; a doubling compared to 1999 levels
(CPHSC, 2010) (DEMOGRAPHIA, 2015). The population explosion has resulted in a crisis
of housing resources, residential planning policies, and control of the real estate market.
The settlement coverage of HCMC has more than doubled during the last 20 years (Storch
& Downes, 2011). Along with managing these issues, it is also necessary to address climate
change, comfort and energy use.
Table 1 Numbers of floor area (sqm) by housing types in HCMC in 2009 (source: adapted from CPHSC, 2010)
Single/Detached house Apartment Not stated Total
Entire city 165,454,187 5,199,874 1,981,009 172,635,070
Urban 138,474,954 5,064,224 1,875,999 145,415,177
Rural 26,979,233 135,650 105,010 27,219,893
The housing stock in HCMC has three main groups: ‘shophouses’, villas, and
apartments, in which, the ‘shophouse’ building type is predominant. The Vietnam Census of
2009 indicated that approximately 96% of the population lived in single/detached houses in
HCMC. Such single properties were the preference of occupants in both urban and rural
areas (Table 1). Additionally, the density of separate dwellings is much more predominant in
urban regions than in the periphery. The research of Dam (2011) and Le (1999) has
discovered why ‘shophouses’ are the most popular dwelling typology. ‘Shophouses’ began to
appear in HCMC during French rule in the colonial period. Many streets of row houses were
constructed for low-income families to create a trading environment for Western and Asian
products. These row houses provided both living space and economic benefits for the
householders and this attracted people to move to the city increasing population density in
what evolved to be ‘shophouses’.
Energy use for cooling in Vietnam and HCMC
A country-wide survey of 1,394 houses by Cimigo's group (Parkes, 2013) and Census of
Vietnam in 2009 has shown the energy demand of households to be associated with housing
Methodology
For research objects, twenty ‘shophouses’ including different housing and urban
typologies, and city zones in HCMC were visited for this study. Most of the case studies
were found to be hybrid and non-air-conditioned houses. Cooling by use of air
conditioners has been applied for the warmest months whilst fans are usually used over
the year. The features of building architecture (a number of rooms/floors, characteristics
of windows/doors/openings), ventilation/cooling systems and demographics of every
household were collated.
For the time of observations, depending on the analysis of local climate, the empirical
studies were conducted in May (hot month) and September (cool month) in 2015 and
2016.
For climatic measurements, four environmental indices including air temperature, air
velocity, relative humidity, and lighting were recorded for indoor and outdoor ‘shophouses’. A
multi-functionally environmental meter was used to measure relative humidity and lighting
level. Besides, the thermal and airspeed values were collected by a hot wire anemometer
probe. The indoor climatic measurements were held at the same single height of 0.8m above
the floor and in regarding the instructions of ASHREA Standard 55; however, in which, wind
velocities of indoor air were difficult to measure. The on-site investigation helps understand
the impacts of the outdoor environment on comfort in naturally ventilated residences. After
the surveys, the analysis took place to try to establish the relationship between the indoor
thermal conditions of ‘shophouses’ linked to their architecture, housing typology and their
location in the city.
Figure 2 Diversiform facades of a street by combining individual ‘shophouses’ in Cho Lon
Table 2 shows the different groups of shophouses. Group 1 (types 01 and 02) contains
terrace archetypes located perpendicular to main streets in a back-to-back pattern, and with
communal spaces within each residential block. Secondly, Group 2 (type 03) is regular with a
narrow street/alley and is composed of low to high-rise shophouses oriented to the main
street/alley. The building density of this group is much higher than group 1. Group 3 (types
05 and 06) is a high-density style with narrow streets. The characteristic of these types is
their inhomogeneity and lack of planning; they are located along the outer edges of main
streets.
a) b)
Figure 4 Preference of households for cooling systems following urban (a) and building (b) typologies
Both internal and external environmental conditions, especially in hot months have
impacts on the adjustments of occupants in using mechanical ventilation and air
conditioning to compensate for heat discomfort. However, the income and lifestyle of
each household affect the preference of householders to utilise standing fans, wall
mounted fans, ceiling fans or air conditioners. Figure 4 shows the occupants’ choices as
percentage use of systems for different urban and building types. In both categories, the
use of air conditioning has become more popular as well as utilisation of standing fans. A
comparison electrical energy use for all ventilated devices used in the three urban
typologies shows the demand of ‘shophouses’ in irregular high-density regions to be the
most. Assessing the frequency of use of air- conditioners produces a slightly different
result whilst the use of fans is the main preference to deal with less extreme conditions.
Figure 4b indicates that the users in row houses are using the most electrical cooling of
the three ‘shophouse’ types. This might be attributed to the needs of modern life and
construction regulations in new residential communities around the city. In contrast, all
fan types are preferred for use in the new and traditional houses.
Acknowledgement
The author would like to send an acknowledgement to financial support by Vietnamese
Government and Newton Fund by British Council for providing the research scholarships.
References
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Atlanta GA: ASHRAE Inc.
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Publishing House.
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Master. The Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture.
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Chi Minh City: Cottbus, Brandenburgishe Technische Universitat.
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Building and Environments, Volume 35, pp. 77-90.
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Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture.
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36, pp. 628-637.
Parkes, M., 2013. Vietnam residential energy use, s.l.: Cimigo.
Storch, H. & Downes, N., 2011. The dynamics of urban change in times of climate change – The case of
Ho Chi Minh city. Essen, CORP, pp. 977-984.
Szokolay, S., 1997. Thermal comfort in the warm humid tropics. Brisbane, The University of Queensland, pp. 7-12.
Elisa Henning4
1
Master student in Master's Program in Civil Engineering, Santa Catarina State University,
Joinville, Brazil, chiaramariele@hotmail.com.
2
Civil Engineer, Joinville, Brazil, layanesouza.b@gmail.com.
3
PhD, Adjunct professor, Master's Program in Civil Engineering, Santa Catarina State
University, Joinville, Brazil, amckeg@terra.com.br.
4
PhD, Professor, Mathematics Department, Santa Catarina State University, Joinville,
Brazil, elisa.henning@udesc.br.
Abstract: The main objective in this project has been to perform exploratory analysis on data related to the
energy and water consumption of the health facilities in São Bento do Sul city, a city located in southern Brazil.
A building must be sustainable and operate as economically as possible. Changes in conducting constructive
processes must arise from the public sector, redirecting technological choices and investments in the sector, in
order to decrease energy consumption, thus, stimulating a more sustainable behaviour of the society arising
from public policies. This city features a damp climate with huge temperature variations in summer and winter.
The variation in energy consumption and its connection to the local temperature and water consumption were
evaluated, and consider sustainability, the correlation between water and energy consumption was evaluated.
The partial results from collected data revealed no connection to the energy and water consumption variable.
A considerable increase in the electric energy consumption occurs in the colder months, justified by the
increased usage of heaters.
Keywords: Energetic Efficiency, Electric Energy, Health Facilities, Sustainability, and Water Consumption.
Introduction
Sustainability has been increasingly challenging to the public sector. One of the greatest
challenges related to sustainability is directly linked to the issue of energetic efficiency. As
well as employing efficient technologies and more effective usage of natural resources are
public policies required for redirecting technological choices and investments in the sector,
as well as the consumers’ behaviour (Menkes, 2004).
In the opinion of Lamberts et al (2014), energetic efficiency, in architecture, can be
understood as an inherent attribute to the building represented by its potential to provide
thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort and to users, lower energy consumption. Therefore,
one building is more energetically efficient than another, when it provides the same
environmental conditions, yet with lower energy consumption.
Sustainability in civil construction means to “dedicate the a great deal of attention to
physical, environmental, energetic, and the technological resources of our planet and issues
Method
Gil (1994) classifies research studies based on their objectives and, based on these, this
specific study is classified as a descriptive research study, since its objective has been to
describe the characteristics of a defined population or phenomenon or, thus, the
establishment of relationships among variables.
Also, according to the author, the experimental design, as well as diagramming must
be involved regarding the predictive analysis and interpretation for the data collection. Data
collection is the most significant element for the experimental design. As the nature of the
sources are materials, which have not yet undergone analytical treatment or they can still be
reworked according to the subjects in the research study. Documentary research was used in
this study. The sampling process is not probabilistic for convenience sake, as the sampling
units were selected from accessible data for performing this research study.
Data was obtained from the Internal Control Sector at the São Bento do Sul City Hall.
19 of the existing 20 Healthcare Units in the City supplied data on electric energy and 16
Units from water bills, from 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, considering the data from 2016
includes only up to the month of September. Among the 16 Healthcare Units, only four are
connected to the sewage system network.
The analysis was performed based on the sum of monthly consumption, from electric
energy as well as water, from the 16 Healthcare Units, from 2013 to 2016. We choose not to
include the other units in the analyses, for the purpose of maintaining the same sampling
group, thereby avoiding any possible distortions in the data analyses.
The software R program (R Core Team, 2016) with the R-Studio interface was used
for performing the exploratory analysis and to estimate the correlation among the
studied items.
Results
Energy and water consumption analysis is part of the research being performed on Energetic
Efficiency and Sustainability at São Bento do Sul healthcare units. It was possible to establish
that the climate is directly linked to energy consumption in buildings, as a result from this
analysis, justifying the usage of solutions for improved efficiency in buildings, thereby aiding
thermal comfort in period of extreme temperature variation.
Figure 1 – Energy Consumption Graph on monthly comparison for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 – Healthcare
Units in São Bento do Sul – SC, (PMSBS, 2016).
Boxplots are displayed in Figure 2 on the energy consumption from these specific
years, as increased energy consumption was verified throughout all months in 2016, due to
the supply and installation of such equipment as computers, split air conditioners (hot and
cold air), heaters, fans, according to information from the municipal Health Secretariat.
Figure 2 – Energy Consumption Boxplot Graph from 2013 (1), 2014 (2), 2015 (3), and 2016 (4) – Healthcare
Units in São Bento do Sul – SC, (PMSBS, 2016).
Figure 3 – Water Consumption Graph on monthly comparison for 2013, 2014, 2015 e 2016 – Healthcare Units
in São Bento do Sul – SC, (PMSBS, 2016).
Yet in 2016 in the 6th month, a sudden peak in water consumption was noticed;
possibly due to leakage, which was solved after the confirmation.
The water consumption, in the first month, was reduced throughout all analyzed years
based on the following expressed data, displayed an increase beginning in the 2nd and 3rd
Figure 4 – Water Consumption Boxplot Graph from 2013 (1), 2014 (2), 2015 (3), and 2016 (4) – Healthcare
Units in São Bento do Sul – SC, (PMSBS, 2016).
Following that, a correlation analysis was performed for studying the interrelationship
among variables, as the correlation coefficient was expressed as 0.2292326 (p-value 0.1298)
between the energy and water usage, whereas the classification was not relevant and did
not display any interdependence among the items.
During certain cold periods of the year, there is increased energy usage as previously
made explicit. This increase is related to using equipment for providing increased thermal
comfort in winter. In order to decrease that, strategies must be employed in the building,
seeking to enhance thermal comfort in buildings in wintertime, as to avoid excessive heater
usage.
There are lower values for water, as well as energy consumption, in January, compared
to other months of the year. However, water consumption remains similar during the other
months, and, when there are high consumption peaks, it is necessary to assume there is
some temporary problem, since afterwards; the normalization of the consumption pattern
takes place.
Thus, aspects related to bio-climatic architecture, building supplies, equipment, and
constructive technologies allowing better energy usage, must be adopted in the design
planning phase, so there is no need to relinquish user comfort and make extreme use of
resources.
According to Ballarini et al (2014), most residential buildings in the Piemonte region –
Italy were built before 1976, and this factor made these basic renovations provide a
significant increase in energetic performance. Furthermore, about 40% of energy can be
saved by implementing a remodelling standard, according to the authors. As the Healthcare
Units in São Bento do Sul still operate in old-fashion structures and characteristics, thus high
rates of savings can also be achieved when a standard is properly studied for this region.
The results obtained from this initial data analysis will be afterwards used and aligned
to cluster analysis for the obtainment of a model proposal to be used for sustainability
analysis and energetic efficiency for these types of buildings in the city of São Bento do Sul -
Conclusions
The purpose of this article has been to evaluate electric energy and water consumption in
the Healthcare Units in the city of São Bento do Sul using the data supplied by PMSBS, as
well as verifying if there is any interrelationship among these variables.
It was possible to establish a relationship in energy consumption, in colder periods, as
the consumption increased, clearly showing that energetic expense is linked to the local
climate. There was an increase in energy consumption in 2016, justified by the purchase and
installation of heating equipment. There is a certain degree of regularity in water
consumption usage. The month of January is different from other months of the year, due to
the complete or partial closing of units. Months with distorted consumption were possibly
characterized as leaks. No connection was established between energy and water
consumption.
An evaluation methodology for the energetic efficiency and sustainability will be
applied to the São Bento do Sul healthcare units as continuity from this research study,
employing the Eletrobrás RTQ-C labelling system (Quality Technical Regulation for Energetic
Efficiency in Commercial, Service, and Public Buildings). There are bonuses granted in the
RTQ-C system in the evaluation of a building operating energy and water saving equipment.
The concepts of sustainability and energetic efficiency will also be verified in the São Bento
do Sul municipal healthcare units, by using cluster analysis as a tool. After these analyses are
performed, solutions will be proposed for improving sustainability and energetic efficiency in
the São Bento do Sul Healthcare Units.
The results obtained from this study can aid municipal administrators in decision-
making regarding initiatives and project planning seeking sustainability and energetic
efficiency, thereby generating savings in public resources.
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Introduction
Architecture as a shelter protects people from the natural environment through various
architectural elements: floors, walls, columns, windows, doors and roofs. These elements
can be identified as architectural boundaries, which distinguish the outdoor from the indoor
environment and the various indoor spaces from each other. The outdoor and indoor
architectural boundaries determine a spatial environment. In a particular spatial
environment, next to the basic functional requirements for occupants’ activities, the
perceptions of the occupants such as aesthetics, delight and comfort, are also very
important for the quality of a built environment. Studying the relationship between the
spatial environment and the way the spatial environment is perceived can yield important
insights into the way architectural design can create more comfortable living environments.
Comfort (especially thermal comfort) is heavily related to building energy
consumption; therefore comfort is one of the most important considerations in modern
architectural design within the scope of sustainable development. A wealth of thermal
environment studies have investigated the relationship between building shape, geometry
and envelop, and thermal environment (Yi and Malkawi, 2009, Hirano et al., 2006, AlAnzi et
al., 2009, Ratti et al., 2003, Naraghi and Harant, 2013), yet less research has been carried
out on the influence of the spatial configuration, i.e. the relative arrangement of parts or
elements in a three-dimensional space, inside a building on the thermal environment and
occupants’ thermal perception.
Study method
In 2015, a written questionnaire was administered to 513 Chongqing University bachelor
students of architecture during one of their courses within one week. It was estimated that
the questionnaire would take about 10 minutes to complete. The filled out questionnaire
had to be handed in when the class was finished.
The written questionnaire was obligatory, anonymous and in Chinese and English. The
questionnaire was developed by one of the authors. The questionnaire included 10
questions of four parts. The first part consisted of questions requesting demographic
information, such as gender (male, female) and age (between 17 and 25 years old or not).
The second part included questions relating to the general perception of the local climate in
summer. This included thermal sensation (slightly cool, neutral, slightly warm, warm and
hot), air velocity preference (not noticeable air velocity, low air velocity, high air velocity
and very high air velocity) and preferred changes to the student’s living room (air movement,
operable window size, openness of the living room, presence of balcony or terrace,
presence of courtyard or patio). The questions in the third part were related to the visual
perception (good, neutral, not so good), wind speed perception (too low, low, neutral, high,
too high) and thermal perception (cold, cool, neutral, warm, hot) in the different types of
spatial environments: indoor space (a space with small openings), semi-outdoor space (a
space with large openings), and outdoor space. The fourth part included questions about
occupants’ spatial preferences for different spatial environments (indoor space, semi-
outdoor space, outdoor space, no preference)at different times (morning, afternoon,
evening, and night). The last questions were about the preferred view from the room (good
view or no preference and broad or narrow view). It should be note, the students were
obliged to fill in the questionnaire. This led to some students not answering the questions
fully or not answering the questions seriously. All data was entered in Excel and SPS. All
incomplete questionnaires were deleted. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, range
(minimum and maximum), or arithmetic mean with standard deviation (SD) were used to
summarize the characteristic of the students and their homes.
(a) (b)
Figure 1. General thermal and wind speed perception of the local climate (Chongqing, China, 2015) by 513
local college students of architecture.
The correlation of spatial openness and subjects’ perception
Figure 2 shows the visual perception, wind speed perception and thermal perception
according to the spatial openness. It is found that the visual perception increases from small
opening to indoor space to semi-indoor space to big opening to outdoor space, thus from an
enclosed space to an open space, which means the subjects think they can obtain a broader
and better view in the more open spaces than in the enclosed spaces. The one-sided ANOVA
analysis showed that there was a significant effect of the spatial openness on the view, F(4,
2543) = 266, p <0.01, w = .54. Planned contrasts revealed that more spatial openness
significantly increased the view, see figure 2(a).
The subjects feel they can catch more wind in the more open spaces than in the
enclosed spaces, see figure 2(b). Performing a one-way independent ANOVA statistical
analysis, the variants are significantly different (p < 0.01) according to Levene’s test of
homogeneity of variances. Therefore the Brown-Forsythe robust test of equality of means is
used. This test indicates a significant effect of the spatial openness on the wind speed
perception, F(4, 2485) = 213, p < .01, w = .50. Planned contrasts revealed that wind speed
perception is significantly lower in the indoor environment compared to the small opening
environment, t(735) = 13.6, p < 0.01 (1-tailed), r = .44; wind speed perception is significantly
higher in the semi-outdoor environments compared to the indoor environment, t(713) =
17.8, p < 0.01, r = .55; wind speed perception is significantly higher in the large opening
environment compared to the semi-outdoor environment, t(994) = 4.9, p < 0.01, r = .15;
wind speed perception is significantly lower in the outdoor environment compared to the
big opening environment(950) = 1.75, p < 0.05, r = .06.
A significant effect between spatial openness and thermal comfort is also expected for
thermal perception from figure 2(c), with the exception of the outdoor environment which
is perceived to be the hottest of all spatial environments. Performing a one-way
independent ANOVA statistical analysis, the variants are significantly different (p < 0.05)
according to Levene’s test of homogeneity of variances. Therefore the Brown-Forsythe
Too high
Warm
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
View is good
A significant effect between visual perception, wind speed perception and thermal
perception has been found from a one-way independent ANOVA statistical analysis for the
three perception pairs, as shown in table 1. The variants are significantly different for all
three pairs (p < 0.01) therefore the Brown-Forsythe robust test of equality of means is used
to determine if there is a significant effect between thermal, wind speed and visual
perception.
Figure 4 Subjects’ spatial preference respect to the time of day in a hot and humid climate (Chongqing, China,
2015) by 513 local college students of architecture
w =0.50
w =0.39 Wind Speed
perception
w =0.54
Spatial openness Visual perception w =0.31
w =0.20 Thermal perception
w =0.14
Figure 5 The effect sizes between spatial openness, spatial perception and thermal environmental perceptions
in a hot and humid climate (Chongqing, China, 2015) by 513 local college students of architecture
A lower effect size between spatial openness and thermal perception is found than
was expected. This is probably caused by the fact that more than 40 % of the students
consider all spatial environments warm or hot causing the variants to be were significantly
different (p < 0.01) according to Levene’s test of homogeneity of variances. The different
comfort perceptions did not have the same order of preferences. The outside environment
was the best visual perception, but the worst thermal perception and an average wind
perception. Future research should be more specific on the description of the spatial
environments if the expected high correlation between spatial openness and the comfort
perceptions is to be found.
Occupants’ spatial preference or movement in the domestic building is influenced by
their perception with respect to the time of day. This can, besides the high amount of warm
and hot votes, also explain the low effect size between spatial openness and thermal
perception. The questionnaire did not ask this explicitly, but the opinion of the authors is
that a large part of the spatial preference over the day is temperature dependent. This
means that the time of day also influences the relationship between the spatial openness
and the thermal perception.
The questionnaire proves that spatial boundary conditions can strongly influence
occupants’ comfort perception, and subsequently influence occupants’ spatial choice and
movement in a particular thermal environment, given the opportunity, as Humphreys (1997)
pointed out: when people are free to choose their location, it helps if there is plenty of
thermal variety, giving them the opportunity to choose the places they like.
Conclusion
In this paper, local architectural students’ spatial perception and comfort perception were
investigated through a questionnaire. The main findings for a hot and humid climate are: a.
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Abstract: Achieving favourable indoor comfort is a major concern in architectural design process. Different
locations of air supply registers produce different airflow patterns, which cause spatial variations in indoor air
temperature and thermal comfort. This paper studied a model private office with a variety of vent locations and
window properties. The resulting spatial variations in indoor air temperature and thermal comfort and the
related heat transfer through windows were compared. Autodesk® CFD was utilized to model the office space
and air conditioning system, as well simulate the airflow in the indoor space. It is found that placing air supply
vents under exterior windows effectively achieved uniform air temperature distribution and thermal comfort
conditions when low-insulation windows were in use, even though such placement caused more heat losses
through those windows. However, in a high-insulation window scenario, the air supply vent locations had only
a minor effect on spatial variations in vertical temperature and thermal comfort, and a significant impact on
heat loss through the windows. The findings offer insight into thermal comfort and energy issues as they are
affected by vent location and building window type. This work also suggests possible ways of optimizing air vent
placement and building window design.
Keywords: Thermal comfort, office, spatial variation, vent location, window properties
Introduction
Maintaining thermal comfort is one of the most important aims of architectural design
(Azizpour et al. 2013). Studies have demonstrated the strong correlation between indoor
thermal comfort and user wellbeing, productivity, and health (Wagner et al. 2007; Azizpour
et al. 2013). One way of achieving a desirable balance between thermal comfort and energy
savings is by controlling the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system (Ferreira
et al. 2012).
In order to understand the HVAC system impacts on thermal comfort, a number of
thermal comfort models have been proposed (Cheng et al. 2012). The most widely used is the
Fanger model, which solves the heat balance equations between the human body and its
surroundings environmental parameters (Fanger 1972). This model is included in the most
frequently cited thermal comfort standards: ASHRAE 55-2013 (Standard 2013) and ISO 7730
(Standard 1994). Six variables are normally used to predict a subjective thermal comfort level,
including: dry bulb air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air velocity, air humidity level,
clothing worn on the body, and the activity level of the inhabitant (ASHRAE 2013). However,
Methodology
Analytical procedure and method
This study used Autodesk® CFD to analyse the 3D turbulence flow and heat transfer inside a
typical private office. The standard 𝑘 − 𝜀 turbulence model was used to predict the turbulent
airflow. Mass conservation and Navier-Strokes equations were solved, along with energy
equations. A turbulence intensity of 5% and atmospheric pressure (0 Pa) were used as the
vent inlet and the outlet boundary conditions, respectively. The above-mentioned simulation
methods were used to obtain the PMV index of thermal comfort, temperature distribution
inside the office, and heat transfer energy.
Governing equations
The governing time-averaged fluid flow and heat transfer calculations are related to the
continuity equation, Navier-Stokes equations, and thermal energy equation, which are shown
in Eqs. (1) ~ (3).
$%
+ 𝑢 + 𝑣 + 𝑤 = 0
$% $% $%
$& $) $+ $-
(1)
where 𝜌 is the density; and 𝑢, 𝑣, and w are the 𝑥, y, and z components of velocity, respectively.
𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑝 𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑣 𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑤
⎧ 𝜌 + 𝜌𝑢 + 𝜌𝑣 + 𝜌𝑤 = 𝜌𝑔𝑥 − + 32𝜇 6 + 3𝜇 7 + 86 + 3𝜇 7 + 86 + 𝑆𝜔 + 𝑆𝐷𝑅
⎪ 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥
⎪
𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑝 𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑣 𝜕 𝜕𝑣 𝜕 𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑤
𝜌 + 𝜌𝑢 + 𝜌𝑣 + 𝜌𝑤 = 𝜌𝑔𝑦 − + 3𝜇 7 + 86 + 32𝜇 6 + 3𝜇 7 + 86 + 𝑆𝜔 + 𝑆𝐷𝑅
⎨ 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦
⎪
⎪𝜌 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑤 𝜕𝑝 𝜕 𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝑤 𝜕 𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝑤 𝜕 𝜕𝑤
+ 𝜌𝑢 + 𝜌𝑣 + 𝜌𝑤 = 𝜌𝑔𝑧 − + 3𝜇 7 + 86 + 3𝜇 7 + 86 + 32𝜇 6 + 𝑆𝜔 + 𝑆𝐷𝑅
⎩ 𝜕𝑡 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑧 (2)
The two source terms in the momentum equations, 𝑆78 and 𝑆9 , were the rotating
coordinates and distributed resistances, respectively. The distributed resistance term, 𝑆78 , can
generally be written as:
@
< %>
𝑆78 = − 𝐾; + − 𝐶𝜇𝑉;
?
(3)
7 A
=
where 𝑖 refers to the global coordinate direction (𝑢, 𝑣, and 𝑤 in the momentum equation); and
the 𝐾 -factor can only operate on a single momentum equation at a time because each
direction has its own unique 𝐾 factor. The other two resistance types operate equally on each
momentum equation.
The final source term was rotating flow. This term can generally be written as:
𝑆9 = −2𝜌𝜔; 𝑉; − 𝜌𝜔; ×𝜔; ×𝑟; (4)
where 𝑖 refers to the global coordinate direction, 𝜔 is the rotational speed, and 𝑟 is the
distance from the axis of rotation.
$K $K $K $K $ $K $ $K $ $K
𝜌𝐶J + 𝜌𝐶J 𝑢 + 𝜌𝐶J 𝑣 + 𝜌𝐶J 𝑤 = 𝑘 + 𝑘 + 𝑘 + 𝑞> (5)
$& $) $+ $- $) $) $+ $+ $- $-
where 𝐶J refers to the constant pressure-specific heat, 𝑘 is the thermal conductivity, 𝑇 is the
temperature, and 𝑞> is the volumetric heat source.
Heat transfer through an exterior window can be calculated from:
𝑄 = 𝑞(𝑇;PQRRS − 𝑇RT&QRRS ) (6)
Figure 1. Interior of the case study office.
Two different vent locations were analysed. In Model 1, as shown in Figs. 2(a) and (c), the
air supply vent was located on the floor underneath the exterior window, and the air return
grille was positioned on the ceiling, near the door. In Model 2, as shown in Figs. 2 (b) and (d),
the air supply vent was located near the centre of the ceiling, and the air return grille was placed
in the same position as in Model 1. The air supply conditions were set at a volume flow rate of
(a) Model 1L (b) Model 1H
(c) Model 2L (d) Model 2H
Figure 3. Vertical temperature distributions in the four models.
PMV analysis
The PMV index uses a seven-point thermal sensation scale that is calibrated to the thermal
perception of human bodies (+3 hot, +2 warm, +1 slightly warm, 0 neutral, -1 slightly cool, -2
cool, -3 cold)(ASHARE 2013). In this simulation study, we used default values for clothing
insulation and metabolic rate. From the Autodesk CFD simulation, we extracted user PMV
index distributions for the four models at 23℃; these are shown in Fig. 4. Compared with the
under-window vent placement in Model 1L, the central placement in Model 2L caused a
significant variation in the PMV index, even though the average value was still approximately
Model 1L Model 1H Model 2L Model 2H
Figure 4. PMV index values for the four models.
Conclusions
The present work was conducted to examine spatial variations in indoor air temperature and
thermal comfort, and the corresponding heat transfer under different vent locations in a
private office during the winter season in Cincinnati, OH, USA. Extensive CFD simulations and
related studies were performed on four combinations of conditions: Models 1L, 1H, 2L, and
2H; each featured different vent locations and levels of exterior window insulation. From the
simulation results, we concluded that placing air supply vents under exterior windows was
clearly effective for achieving a more uniform air temperature distribution (as shown in Figure
3) and thermal comfort conditions (as shown in Figure 4) when low-insulation windows were
in use. Although such placement caused more heat loss (about 11% more than the values
resulting from central placement), this strategy has widely been used in office and residential
buildings since the middle of the previous century. Nevertheless, under high-insulation
window scenarios (such as those in Models 1H and 2H), the air supply vent locations would
not significantly affect spatial variations in vertical temperature and thermal comfort.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the financial supports provided from the National Science Foundation
(CMMI - 1635089: The Photothermal Effects of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles on Energy Efficient
Windows) and the Environmental Protection Agency (P3 Phase II - SU836940: Sensible Home:
Micro-environmental Control through Wearable Personal Sensors).
References
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American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air conditioning Engineers, ASHRAE Sta, p.58.
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study of University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). Energy and Buildings, 64, pp.317–322.
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.05.033.
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Fanger, P.O., 1972. Thermal Comfort New York.
Ferreira, P.M. et al., 2012. Neural networks based predictive control for thermal comfort and energy
savings in public buildings. Energy and Buildings, 55, pp.238–251.
Grondzik, W.T. & Kwok, A.G., 2014. Mechanical and electrical equipment for buildings 12th ed., Wiley.
Janis, R.R. & Tao, W.K.Y., 2013. Mechanical and electrical systems in buildings 5th ed., Pearson Education, Inc.
Nicol, J.F. & Humphreys, M.A., 2002. Adaptive thermal comfort and sustainable thermal standards for
buildings. Energy and buildings, 34(6), pp.563–572.
Standard, A., 2013. Standard 55-2013. Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy.
Standard, I.S.O., 1994. 7730. Moderate thermal environments–Determination of the PMV and PPD indices
and specification of the conditions for thermal comfort.
Wagner, A. et al., 2007. Thermal comfort and workplace occupant satisfaction-Results of field studies in
German low energy office buildings. Energy and Buildings, 39(7), pp.758–769.
Wang, J. et al., 2016, July. Selection of energy efficient windows for hot climates using genetic algorithms
optimization. In Proceedings of PLEA 2016, International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture
2016: Cities, Buildings, People: Towards Regenerative Environments, Los Angeles.
1 PhD Research student, Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment,
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, i.s.a.k.fardous@rgu.ac.uk;
2 Lecturer, Researcher, Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment,
Abstract: The proposed study seeks to establish whether the community is in favour of environmental
traditional architecture despite the increase of modern architecture and its subsequent benefits such as indoor
thermal comfort. Globally, traditional architecture has a lot of values. In the Middle East (ME), it shows the way
people lived in an area and translate their requirements in a distinctive character.
The old architecture carries in it very rich design features which if learned and adopted could immensely help in
bringing change to current architectural designs. Thomas (2002) maintains that it is important for the Arab world
to revisit all their traditional typologies. Sustainability is expected to remain high with the revealing of old
identify architecture to current one. The current study is based on the fact that there is an increase in
international-based engineers, who are not able to construct building in line with the cultural aspects of the
local users in the ME. However, the question remains on whether and how technology and innovation can be
utilized to preserve the architectonic traditions intertwined with modern architecture for a sustainable future
in the ME.
This research attempts to contribute to the environmental design for an improved human well-being in the ME.
Introduction
There has been a wide range of studies on the intersection between traditional architecture
and modern approaches to building and construction. The debate has always been how to
balance between the benefits of traditional and modern and often western architectural
approaches. Ideally, the choice of architectural approach should be driven by factors such as
social environment, religious practices, cultural factors and economic aspects. In this regard,
architecture is expected to be authentic and sustainable to the local environment. At the
same time, adopted architectural approaches should be adequately progressive in terms of
adoption of latest construction technologies.
Statement of problem
Since 1970’s there has been high growth in the Middle East population. This growth has led
to increased demand of housing and the local builders and architects have not responded due
to various limitations. Such limitations include shortage in number of local engineers,
construction needed in shortest time possible among others. The shortage of the engineers
was filled by international expertise who could not respond to cultural aspects of local users.
This has caused the decline of traditional architecture in the Middle East. The researcher
wants to look at how innovation and technology can help in adapting architectonic tradition
for a sustainable future in the Middle East.
Literature Review
Collaboration of Modern architecture and traditional value/designs
In the Arab World, a re-evaluation traditional system would assist policy makers to reclaim
their identity and pride as well as restore them with their people and prepare them to be or
better service. Traditional architect has boundless potential in the Middle East as a source of
informing modern architecture. According to Al-Mansouri and Al-Naim (2005), traditional
architecture provides endless practices that modern architecture can draw inspiration from.
Therefore, collaboration between modern architecture and architectonic traditional designs
should be encouraged.
Instruments
The second area is a tearoom built in a transitional scheme merging the modern
structure with one of the traditional architectonic features; a cooling tower as shown below.
The third logger is placed outdoors to compare indoor and outdoor temperatures.
Discussion
The line graph representing the temperature outdoors shows an average temperature
of 28 °C during April with the least temperature of 19 °C and a peak temperature of 46 °C. In
comparison to the to the temperature in the living room, the average is 27.9 °C with almost
same degree with the outdoors during the same month. However, the coolest area during
April was the tea room with an average of 27 °C which is almost 2 degrees less than the living
room and the outdoors, that represents the effect of the windcatcher architectonic feature.
Min. 19 25 29.5
Table 1. The max., min. and mean values of the environmental parameter
Figure 4. Graph of monthly and hourly record of the environmental parameter “temperature”
measured in the outdoor, in summer (from April to July, 2016) in the central region of Riyadh
Table 1. The max., min. and mean values of the environmental parameter
Figure 5. Graph of monthly and hourly record of the environmental parameter “temperature”
measured in the indoor living room, (from April to July, 2016) in the central region of Riyadh
Mean 26 34 33.5
Table 1. The max., min. and mean values of the environmental parameter
Figure 6. Graph of monthly and hourly record of the environmental parameter “temperature” measured in the
indoor Tea Room, (from April to July, 2016) in the central region of Riyadh
The outdoor area was selected with in the house for the study relevance. The space was
designed in a way to create a cross ventilation through the house cooling its spaces, this made
the graph readings even cooler than the existing outdoor temperature.
The trend of the Time Series Graph is mostly similar for all three months, reflecting an
efficacious reduce of the indoor temperature; of the windcatcher, a traditional environmental
feature adapted into modern scheme, along different seasons; spring and summer including
moderate and hot weather. Hence the temperature with the use of traditional environmental
features are always pleasant to the occupant level of comfort.
Limitations
This study was done in the central region of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; due to the limited no. of
loggers/devices available which makes its finding limited to the climate of the selected area
which is Hot-Dry climate. Therefore, more studies are required to generalize the results of the
study on the ME. Arab Region. Occasionally temp. in the living room is cooler than the tea
room this could be contributed to the air-conditioning factor that could affect the result
slightly. It is not enough in hot summer since daytime temperatures frequently exceed 40 °C;
but fall at night, and the presence of strong wind carry desert sand with them, to rely only on
the fresh air ventilation.
Conclusion
The paper is presenting a study that is part of a PhD. Research and further analysis will be
transcribed in detail in the full thesis, where the results will be explored in relation to human
psychological and physical comfort.
To understand different approaches of the research shall extend the thermal study in
relation to human psychology, and in different climatic architectural zones to include another
areas of the Arab Region.
To conclude on hot-dry climate; temperature is reduced with the use of traditional
environmental features, from the outdoor and from modern spaces using electrical air-
conditioning system in relation to human level of comfort. As they are often supporting
occupants’ comfort during most of the day time. This sustainable development among
traditional and modern themes will allow for long-term benefit for all mankind.
Introduction
Countries in the hot and humid regions of Asia contain one third of the world’s total
population. Future energy consumption is predicted to increase because of economic growth,
thus energy-saving strategies are an important topic in this region. High-rise buildings with
glass façades have increased rapidly in recent years in Southeast Asia, and their Heating,
Ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system planning and façade design of office buildings
in this region is based on American or European standards. However, these standards were
developed in America and Europe, which have relatively colder climates. The thermal
sensations of people in South-East Asia are different from people in the West, owing to
difference of climate and lifestyle in each region (Nakano, J., et al, 2001). Thus, office spaces
are likely to cause occupants to feel unacceptably hot or cold due to individual differences of
sensation.
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Standard 55(2013) is based on a thermal equilibrium model verified in an environmentally
controlled room. Capacity and operating condition of installed HVAC systems is designed to
conform to the thermal comfort criteria in the standard. However, it is difficult to keep a
India 75.0%
Thailand 60.0%
Philippine 58.0%
Taiwan 0.6%
Japan 4.4%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175%
Primary energy self-sufficiency [%]
Figure 1. Primary energy self-sufficiency in South-East Asia (2010; except nuclear power)
(Bureau of Energy, 2010. The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, 2013)
Method
Target office
Measuring the thermal environment and the occupants’ feelings of being unacceptably hot
or cold was necessary to determine how the thermal environment affects the occupants’
thermal sensations. Data was collected during the summer of 2016 using voting machines and
a questionnaire survey. Table 1 and Table 2 shows period of investigation, survey subjects
and an overview of the target offices.
Table 1. Period of investigation and survey subjects
Office F Office L
Thermal environment 2016/9/5-14 2016/9/6-15
Unacceptable sensation
Period of 2016/9/5-10 2016/9/6-9
investigation period
investigation
Questionnaire investigation 2016/9/8-14 2016/9/7-14
Questionnaire survey
The questionnaire survey was conducted simultaneously with other surveys. Occupants
answered this questionnaire at 10:00 and again at 15:00. Table 3 lists the questionnaire
survey items (Tokuda, E., et al, 2016). This questionnaire was translated from Japanese to
Chinese by team researchers. Neutral temperature was calculated using Griffith’s method.
Table 3. Questionnaire overview
Personal Data
Age / Gender / Weight / Height / Health condition / Clothing / Seat position
Thermal Sensation
Thermal sense vote (Hot , Warm , Slightly warm , Neutral , Slightly cool , Cool , Cold )
Dry or wet sense (Humid , Neutral , Dry)
Comfort (Very comfortable , Comfortable , Neutral , Uncomfortable , Very uncomfortable)
Acceptance (Acceptable , Unacceptable)
Adjustment (More warm , No change , More cool)
Indoor environment
On the same days as the investigation of unacceptable sensation and the questionnaire
survey were performed, the thermal environment was also investigated. Temperature,
relative humidity, and globe temperature were each measured for one minute at points 1100
mm from floor in both the interior and perimeter zones. Outdoor temperature and relative
humidity were also measured for one minute each. Figures 4 and 5 show measurement points
in offices F and L.
Result
Thermal environment and unacceptable sensation votes
Figure 5 shows a psychrometric chart of both the operative temperature and absolute
humidity measured in two offices during working hours (8:00-17:00), and the comfort zone
based on ASHRAE Standard 55(2013). As thermo-hygrometers measure only room
temperature, we regard it as operative temperature. Measured values of operative
temperature and absolute humidity were both inside and outside of the ASHRAE standard
0.014 0.014
0.012 0.012
0.01 0.01
Comfort zone Comfort zone
(for 0.5 clo) (for 0.5 clo)
based on
0.008 based on 0.008 ASHRAE Standard
ASHRAE Standard
55(2013) 55(2013)
0.006 0.006
20 22.5 25 27.5 30 32.5 35 20 22.5 25 27.5 30 32.5 35
Operative temperature [°C] Operative temperature[°C]
Hot Cold Measured values of thermal environment
Figure 5. Thermal environment around desks, unacceptable sensation report and comfort zone based on
ASHRAE Standard 55(2013)
0.50
The number of unacceptabele
0.40
0.22
sensation votes
0.30
0.20
0.07 0.25
0.10 0.16
0.10
0.00
Average value in Japan Office F Office L
temperature [°C]
26
Average room
[times / 1 device]
0.30
The number of
25.5
0.20
votes
25
0.10 24.5
0.00 24
8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00
Hour
Hot Cold Trend of averarge room temperature
Figure 7. Trend in the average number of unacceptable sensation votes per device
Breakdown of votes
Figure 8 shows the breakdown of unacceptable sensation votes in both offices. About half of
all votes occurred while ambient temperature was in the comfort zone. About 60% of all votes
in the zone indicated that the voter felt too cold. Therefore, occupants tend to feel cold in
thermal environments complying with the ASHRAE standard. There was a possibility that
environmental elements aside from temperature and humidity affected thermal sensation.
Inside of the comfort zone 47.7%
33.8% 19.0% 28.7% 18.5%
Hot Hot Cold Cold
Outside of the comfort zone 52.3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Figure 8. Breakdown of unacceptable sensation votes
Occurrence frequency of votes and room temperature
Figure 9 shows the occurrence frequency of both unacceptable sensation votes and room
temperatures. In both offices, hot sensation votes were weighted toward the high
temperature side and cold sensation votes were weighted toward the low side. Thus, the
relation between room temperature and complaints can be verified. It was presumed that
occupants’ thermal history, breeze from the air conditioners, and radiant heat affected the
occurrence of complaints because hot and cold complaints were nearly equal at around 25 °C.
Occurrence frequency
Occurrence frequency
25% 25%
20% 20%
15% 15%
10% 10%
5% 5%
0% 0%
22.5 23.5 24.5 25.5 26.5 27.5 28.5 29.5 22.5 23.5 24.5 25.5 26.5 27.5 28.5 29.5
Room temperature [°C] Room temperature [°C]
Hot Cold Room temperature
Figure 9. Occurrence frequency of unacceptable sensation votes and room temperature
Occurrence frequency of votes and globe temperature
Figure 10 shows the occurrence frequency of unacceptable sensation votes and globe
temperature. In both offices, hot sensation votes were slightly weighted toward the high
temperature side and cold sensation votes were weighted toward the low side. This indicated
that radiant heat from the building envelope influenced the feeling of being too hot.
Moreover, breeze from the air-conditioning system is also an important factor influencing the
feeling of being too cold.
50% Office F 50%
Office L
45% 45%
Occurrence frequency
40%
40%
Occurrence frequency
35% 35%
30% 30%
25% 25%
20% 20%
15% 15%
10% 10%
5% 5%
0% 0%
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Globe temperature [°C] Globe temperature [°C]
Hot Cold Room temperature
Figure 10. Occurrence frequency of unacceptable sensation votes and globe temperature
Neutral temperature
We analysed the thermal neutral condition based on the questionnaire survey about
occupants’ thermal sensations. Figure 11 shows the distribution of neutral temperature and
room temperature. In both offices, the interquartile range of room temperature was
distributed on the low side of the neutral temperature range. Therefore, most occupants felt
that the thermal environment in offices was generally acceptable. However, the tendency to
feel cold was slightly higher.
Room temperature
32 32
30 30
28 28
[°C]
[°C]
26 26
24 24
22 22
20 20
18 18
Neutral temperature Room temperature Neutral temperature Room temperature
Figure 11. Distribution of neutral temperature and room temperature
Conclusion
The thermal environment was measured and an unacceptable sensation survey using voting
machines was conducted in two Taipei offices. About 60% of voters reported feeling cold,
although the voter was in the ASHRAE standard prescribed comfort zone. This result suggests
increasing the target temperature of rooms. In addition, the analysis of possible relationships
between feeling too hot or too cold and globe temperature indicated that breeze from air-
conditioning systems was an important factor influencing the feeling of being too cold.
Radiant heat from the building envelope affected the feeling of being too hot. To sum up, this
research suggests that it is possible to revise existing comfort criteria in offices in Taiwan or
other hot and humid regions in Asia.
References
The ASHRAE Standard Committee. (2013). Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy
Nakano, J., et al, (2001). Field Survey on Thermal Environment, Air Quality, and Occupant Comfort in a High
Density Heat load Office Occupied By Multi-National Workers. J. Archit. Plann. Environ. Eng., AIJ, 545, pp.45-50
Miura, T., et al, (2001). The Correlations between Measured Physical Levels and The Occupants’ Sensation
Responses at Their Offices. J. Archit. Plann. Environ. Eng., AIJ, 539, pp.89-96
Bureau of Energy. (2010). Energy Statistical Annual Reports
The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. (2013). IEEJ (2013.10)
Saito, S., et al, (2014). Study on Acceptability in Thermal Environment (Part4) Influence of Attribute of
Office Worker on Acceptability in Thermal Environment. The Society of Heating, Air-conditioning Sanitary
Engineers of Japan, 88(6), pp.145–148
Ichikawa, Y., et al, (2014). Study on Acceptability of Indoor Thermal Environment (Part1) Development of
Ostoracon and Field Study on Unacceptable Situation of Indoor Thermal Environment. Summaries of technical
papers of annual meeting Architectural Institute of Japan, D-2, pp.417–418
Tokuda, E., et al, (2016). Observational Study on TSV and Thermal Comfort in Office Building of Vietnam.
In: 3rd ICIAP “Inclusive Space, Enriching Culture”, International Conference of Indonesian Architecture and
planning inclusive space, enriching culture. Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta
Introduction
Besides global mean surface temperature rising by at least 1.5oC by the end of the 21st
century (IPCC, section 2.2.1, 2014), Europe is set to be faced with an increase in extremes
climate events, in particular heat waves. Buildings will have to adapt to these new thermal
conditions by applying mitigation strategies such as thermal mass, ventilation and solar
shading (Hacker et al, 2005). Studies based on dynamic building simulations have shown
that thermal mass has the potential to dampen indoor air temperature and therefore to
reduce peaks in internal operative temperature leading to more comfortable indoor
conditions (Aste et al, 2009; Tuohy, 2009; Arcuri et al, 2016). The aim of this paper is to
investigate the potential of thermal mass in increasing thermal comfort using empirical
evidence from an EU-funded research project, smart controls and thermal comfort (SCATs)
(Nicol, 2001; Wilson et al, 2001; McCartney and Nicol, 2002).
Study design
This paper aims to review the relationship between building thermal capacity and occupants
reported thermal sensation, preference and comfort.
This paper analyses a dataset collected for an EU-funded research project on smart
controls and thermal comfort (SCATs) (Nicol et al, 2002). Thermal comfort surveys were
conducted in 26 non-domestic buildings across five countries and eight cities in Europe
(France, Greece, Portugal, Sweden and the UK). The climate classifications of the eight cities
are summarised in Table 1. The sample of buildings had five different ventilation types,
including (NV) naturally ventilated (heating in winter, free-running, no cooling or mechanical
ventilation in summer), (AC) centrally air conditioned (heating and cooling), (MV)
Thermal(percep7on((
5(Countries(
1(|(0((
Building((
Thermal(preference(
thermal(capacity( 4(Seasons(
1(|(0((
HW(|(LW((
Overall((
comfort(sensa7on( 5(Ven7la7on(types((
1(|(0((
Figure 1. Map of the variables and relationships reviewed in this study.
Results
The analysis explores participants’ reported thermal perception (Tperc), thermal preference
(Tperf) and overall comfort sensation (comfort). Interestingly at the time of the surveys,
indoor air temperature in HW buildings (median=24.1oC) and in LW buildings
(median=23.8oC) did not differ significantly, W=23655, p=0.60. Furthermore the daily mean
external temperature of HW buildings (mean=14.10oC, sd=5.70oC) and of LW buildings
(mean=13.3oC, sd=4.9oC) did not differ significantly either, t(240.7)=1.5, p=0.14.
Thermal perception
Figure 2 shows that more participants reported to be thermally neutral in HW buildings
(41%) than in LW buildings (32%); while more participants reported feeling cold, cool,
slightly cool, slightly warm, warm and hot in LW buildings (68%) than in HW buildings (59%).
10 20 30 40 50
Heavyweight (n=201)
Percentage (%)
Lightweight (n=250)
0
slightly slightly
cold cool cool neutral warm warm hot
Figure 2. Distributions of thermal perception results for heavy and lightweight buildings.
Results of the first analysis show that there was a significant association between a
building’s thermal capacity and whether or not participants felt neutral, χ2(1)=3.78, p=0.05.
This seems to represent the fact that based on the odds ratio, the odds of a participant
feeling thermally neutral were 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 1, 2.24) times higher if they
were in a HW building than if they were in a LW building.
Heavyweight (n=34)
Percentage (%)
Lightweight (n=18)
0
slightly slightly
cold cool cool neutral warm warm hot
Figure 3. Distributions of thermal perception results for heavy and lightweight MV buildings in France.
For the four seasons, there was no significant association between buildings thermal
capacity and thermal perception. The sample for (AC) and (MM) ventilation types did not
have any HW building; therefore the analysis could not be completed. For (MV) and (PP),
there was no significant association between buildings thermal capacity and thermal
perception; however for (NV) there was a significant association, χ2(1)= 3.86, p<0.05. Based
on the odds ratio, the odds of a participant feeling neutral were 2.12 times higher if they
were in a HW building than if they were in a LW building. To conclude there was a difference
between ventilation types and countries but no difference between seasons.
Thermal preference
Figure 4 shows that slightly more participants preferred no thermal change in HW buildings
(46%) than in LW buildings (43%), and more participants preferred cooler and warmer
conditions in LW buildings.
Heavyweight (n=201)
Percentage (%)
Lightweight (n=250)
0
Conclusions
Results show significant relationships between building thermal capacity and thermal
perception, and between building thermal capacity and overall comfort sensation. However
there was no relationship between building thermal capacity and thermal preference. If a
participant was feeling warm or cool, he/she will want a change in thermal environment
irrespective of the building thermal capacity. To answer the research question, heavyweight
buildings were reported to be more comfortable than lightweight buildings. The odds of a
participant feeling thermally neutral or comfortable were both 1.5 times higher in HW
buildings than LW buildings.
To address the first hypothesis, thermal perception and overall comfort were
reviewed across all four seasons. Results show that thermal capacity does not seem to have
an effect on thermal perception and overall comfort sensation for all four seasons. This
insight goes against the first hypothesis that thermal capacity may alleviate discomfort in
summer. This unexpected result may be due to the ventilation strategies considered in this
study. Thermal mass can have a negative effect of keeping a building warm at night, and
therefore thermal mass needs to be combined with night ventilation to dissipate the heat
stored during the day (Hacker, 2005). With regard to the second hypothesis, different
ventilation types were reviewed. Thermal capacity does not seem to have an effect for MV
and PP buildings. However in NV buildings, participants reported to be more thermally
neutral and comfortable in HW buildings than in LW buildings. This insight confirms the
second hypothesis; a naturally ventilated building, where internal temperature are likely to
be less tightly controlled, should have high thermal mass to alleviate potential thermal
discomfort. Finally different countries were reviewed. Thermal capacity does not seem to
have an effect in oceanic and humid climates. However in Mediterranean climates,
participants were more likely to report being thermally neutral in HW buildings. This insight
could be particularly useful in the choice of building design as temperatures are set to rise
across Europe in near future.
In this study, the thermal capacity of the case-study buildings is identified at an
aggregated building level. This is a limitation of the study, as the relationship to be reviewed
should be occupants’ comfort versus the available heat capacity of the internal surfaces,
walls, floors, ceilings and furniture to the occupants are exposed to. This may or may not
correspond to the aggregated thermal capacity of the building. Furthermore, the
interactions between internal thermal capacity, solar gains and ventilation may be reviewed;
in particular where thermal mass is located to best capture solar radiation and to enable
convective heat released from materials. Future empirical and modelling studies may review
in which building elements is thermal mass most effective in providing a comfortable
environment.
Acknowledgments
The paper is based on the SCATs dataset supported by EU JOULE III program. The
researchers would like to thank Fergus Nicol to have granted access to the dataset.
Abstract: An accurate assessment of thermal comfort allows in-time adjustments in design that leads to achieve
a more pleasant indoor or outdoor environment. Among the factors that influence human thermal comfort,
Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT) is the focus of the present paper. This work proposes a methodology to
facilitate the process of recording, measuring and post-processing of MRT. Current techniques used to estimate
MRT in urban environments have several challenges among which accuracy and settling time are the major
issues. Moreover, the only output is a single value for MRT without the possibility of sensitivity analysis on
effective parameters. The method proposed in this paper, called Radiant Ambience Imaging, is established based
on two main techniques: thermography and Numerous Vector (NV) numerical method. The MRT is assessed by
capturing infrared and HDR images from a polished hemisphere followed by the numerical analysis. The results
not only include the value for the MRT at the point of interest but also the share of each radiant object. The
process relies merely on electromagnetic radiation fluxes and there is no need for wind effect corrections. It also
provides data post-processing to help architects optimize their designs in order to control MRT in practical
applications.
Keywords: Mean Radiant Temperature, Thermography, Numerous Vector, Infrared Sphere, Globe Method
Introduction
Understanding human thermal comfort is an important factor for sustainable architectural
design. The goal is to provide, improve and maintain a narrow range of thermal satisfaction
for people in built environments. Thermal comfort depends on several parameters related to
heat transfer between the human body and the environment, such as clothing, air
temperature, air speed, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity. In many cases,
designers simply consider rough approximations for the parameters associated with thermal
comfort which significantly affects the final outcomes. However, the precision of the
calculated value of thermal comfort inevitably hinges on the accuracy of the techniques used
to estimate its relating parameters. This has led to the recent advances in the development
of more accurate techniques to measure and analyse different parameters such as mean
radiant temperature.
Mean radiate temperature (MRT) is a uniform temperature measured at a point
subjected to all radiant objects in the surrounding environment (Fanger, et al., 1980; Fanger,
et al., 1985; Jones & Chapman, 1994). It is an important index in thermal comfort first
Methodology
The method proposed in this paper to measure MRT is named Radiant Ambience Imaging
(RAI). It is an experimental imaging of thermal radiations at a desired point followed by a
numerical data processing. New technology has made thermography easier and more precise.
On the other hand, the development of powerful computational methods accelerates the
numerical analyses. The experimental setup consists of a metallic hemisphere of low
emissivity that is fixed exactly 1.1 m above the ground corresponding to the average height
of the centre of gravity for adults (Mayer & Höppe , 1987). A camera is placed 0.5 m above
the hemisphere. The setup is shown in Figure 1(a). The results are validated by a comparison
where 𝜎 is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant equal to 5.67·10-8 Wm-2 K-4, 𝜀𝑝 is the emissivity of
the human body with standard value of 0.97, and 𝑆𝑠𝑡𝑟 is the mean radiant flux density of the
human body, which depends on the short-wave and longwave radiant fluxes as shown below
(VDI, 1994) :
𝑛 𝑛
𝑆𝑠𝑡𝑟 = 𝛼𝑘 ∑ 𝐾𝑖 𝐹𝑖 + 𝜀𝑝 ∑ 𝐿𝑖 𝐹𝑖 (2)
𝑖=1 𝑖=1
where 𝛼𝑘 is the absorption coefficient for short-wave radiation with standard value of 0.7, 𝐾𝑖
and 𝐿𝑖 are respectively the short-wave and long-wave radiation fluxes of radiant surface 𝑖 in
W/m2, 𝐹𝑖 is the view factor of surface 𝑖 with respect to the reference point, and 𝑛 is the
number of surrounding surfaces.
(a) (b)
Figure 1. The experimental setup: (a) the hemisphere and DSLR camera, (b) Kestrel 5400 Heat Stress
Tracker.
The Numerous Vector method (Hatefnia, et al., 2016) is the numerical technique used
to process the images. The procedure is as follows: a unit sphere is placed at the point of
interest, which is also the centre of the hemisphere. N number of points are homogeneously
distributed on the sphere. The fraction of points inside each surface on the sphere yields the
view factor of that surface with respect to the point of interest. Moreover, the value of
radiation fluxes can be easily recorded at each point on the sphere by using the IR and HDR
images. In fact, for this particular application of the NV method, there is no need to separately
find the view factors and radiation fluxes for each surface to find 𝑆𝑠𝑡𝑟 in Eq. (2). If enough
number of points is distributed on the sphere, it would be computationally more efficient to
assume a constant flux on a small surface that each point centred and therefore, assign a flux
value to each point. Subsequently, 𝐾𝑖 𝐹𝑖 and 𝐿𝑖 𝐹𝑖 are calculated for each point 𝑖 and then 𝑆𝑠𝑡𝑟
can be obtained.
One beneficial feature that the application of the NV method adds to the Radiant
Ambience Imaging technique is the possibility to analyse the effect of individual surfaces on
Figure 2. HDR imaging and the corresponding shortwave and longwave radiation fluxes.
One should note that the image taken by the camera placed straight on top of the
hemisphere would not capture a picture of the whole hemisphere. In spite of this, the field of
view in the image can cover more than what is above the horizon line. This is shown in Figure
3 for a hemisphere of radius r whose centre is distanced h from the camera. The red circle is
Figure 3. The field of view of the camera placed straight on top the hemisphere.
Another advantage of the Radiant Ambience Imaging method is that MRT can be
measured at each point of interest with only two IR and HDR images. There is no need to
record air temperature or air velocity to perform a heat transfer analysis for any corrections.
Moreover, no settling time is needed to reach steady-state conditions. The results of the
application of the proposed method for several cases are discussed in detail in the following
section.
Figure 4. The results of the RAI method for an indoor space with limited sunlight.
Figure 5. The results of the RAI method for an indoor space with diffuse sky radiation.
Figure 6. The results of the RAI method for an outdoor space with direct solar radiation.
Conclusions
The new Radiant Ambience Imaging method is proposed in this paper to assess the mean
radiant temperature of indoor and outdoor environments. The method consists of a setup to
take IR and HDR images from a polished hemisphere followed by a numerical analysis using
the Numerous Vector method. The RAI method is proved to be accurate and more capable
compared to other available techniques. By the application of this method, not only the MRT
and shortwave and longwave fluxes are measured at the point of interest, the post-processing
analysis provides a lot of valuable information such as the share of each surface in the total
heat flux, sunlight effect, MRT control, and asymmetric discomfort. Moreover, the RAI
method does not need a settling time to reach steady-state conditions or any temperature
sensors. The method is reliable even in the presence of direct sunlight or surfaces with
complex temperature gradients. It merely needs two IR and HDR images of the surrounding
environment and there is no need to apply corrections for wind effects. Furthermore, the
view factors are incorporated in the calculations without dealing with complicated equations
for different geometries. The Radiant Ambience Imaging method provides an effective tool
for designers to measure, control, and monitor the mean radiant temperature of any point in
indoor or outdoor built environments.
Perceived importance of indoor environmental factors in different contexts
Runa T. Hellwig
Building Physics and Indoor Climate, E2D Energy Efficiency Design, Augsburg University of
Applied Sciences, Augsburg, Germany, runa.hellwig@hs‐augsburg.de
Abstract: How the indoor environment is evaluated by an individual is influenced by many factors, i.e. a
person’s state (physiological, psychological), the social and the built environment. These form a person's
evaluation system of the indoor environment. Among further factors, the evaluation system comprises the
importance of indoor environment factors. The aim of this paper is to explore context driven differences in the
importance rating of indoor environment factors. Data from a survey collected among different groups of
students (n = 300, temperate and tropical climate, 2006 ‐ 2016) are compared with survey results from the
German ProKlimA‐Study (n = 4596). In both studies, the same questionnaire was used. The impact of sex, age,
background and climatic zone is analysed. The results suggest differences in the importance caused by these
factors. Because of the limited number of respondents and the consideration of only two climate zones,
further research is required to identify different priorities towards indoor environment factors in different
contexts. The results could support future context‐specific design guidelines for indoor environments.
Keywords: expectation, psychological state, evaluation, individual experience, acclimatisation, climatic imprint
Introduction
How the indoor environment is evaluated by an individual is influenced by many factors, i.e.
a person’s state (physiological, psychological), the social and the built environment. These
form a person's evaluation system of the indoor environment. Among further factors, the
evaluation system comprises the importance of indoor environment factors a person
attaches to these factors (Hellwig, 2015). The importance of indoor environment factors to
persons can be interpreted as the expectation of persons towards these factors (Bischof et
al. 2007). In the ProKlimA study Bischof et al. (2003, p. 106‐107) found that office workers
with Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms rated the importance of indoor environment
factors higher than office workers showing no SBS symptoms. In mechanically ventilated
offices of the ProKlimA study, phase I, more respondents voted ‘extremely important’ for air
humidity, ventilation, room temperature and air movement compared to naturally
ventilated offices (Hellwig, 2005). Based on the data of phase II, Bischof et al. (2007)
analysed the extra‐physical impacts on room temperature importance and found female sex,
young age, air‐conditioning and bad job evaluation increasing the chance to rate the room
temperature ‘extremely important’. Lai and Yik (2007) investigated the perceived
importance thermal comfort, air cleanliness, odour and noise have for users of a building in
Hong Kong. They found differences with regard to gender, between workers or visitors and
the duration of their stay.
Post occupancy evaluations survey ratings or votes expressing the degree of
satisfaction with the indoor environment. Hereby, a person’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction
Materials and Methods
The questionnaire used in this study is very short. It asks for the actual date, age, sex, study
field and the importance of indoor environment factors. The latter part was taken from a
questionnaire already applied in the German ProKlimA study (Bischof et al. 2003). The
subjective importance of seven different factors of the indoor environment, listed here in
the order of their appearance on the questionnaire: lighting, air humidity, ventilation, room
temperature, sound level, air movement, odours is rated with the questionnaire. The five‐
point ordinal scale of importance ranges from ‘not important’, ‘slightly important’,
‘moderately important’, ‘very important’ to ‘extremely important’.
Since 2006 I have been teaching courses on indoor climate, partly coupled with
foundations of building physics or energy balance calculations within different study
programmes on the Master’s level in Bavaria, Germany and in Malaysia and Singapore. One
important teaching goal is to raise understanding of the diversity of people and their diverse
perception and preferences, to develop an understanding that each individual evaluation
system is a result of the external environment conditions (i.e. climate), the internal built
environment (e.g. room type and configuration) and the social environment (e.g. norms,
habits). Each lecture series on indoor climate starts with the distribution of the
questionnaire on the importance of indoor environment factors. In one of the later lectures
a group of students does a simple analysis of the data. All courses have been taught for
students studying in the building sector. A majority of students had a study focus on energy
efficiency in buildings or sustainable design.
The data used in this paper comprise data from the ProKlimA study (Bischof et al. 2003)
and my own data collected during my lectures between 2006 and 2016. Table 1 shows a
summary of the main information on the data sets used in this paper. The ProKlimA study,
phase I, comprises responses of 4596 office workers (56% female, 44% male) in 14 different
German office buildings which were collected in different areas of Germany, climatic zone
Dfb & Cfb according to Köppen‐Geiger classification.
My own data comprise data from one undergraduate student group of the first
semester of study field ‘E’ (age: min‐median‐max: 19‐22‐23, sex: male/female: 47/53%),
three graduate student groups of study field ’B’ (age: 21‐24‐28, m/f: 76/24%), and seven
graduate student groups of study field ‘E’ (age: 21‐25‐48. m/f: 53/47%). All these students
have been studying in Bavaria, Germany (between Dfb & Cfb). The data of these groups
were collected in different years, always in the winter term, i.e. between October and
December. The graduate students had different backgrounds from their undergraduate
studies: architecture, civil engineering, building services, or other fields of engineering or
study field ‘E’. Furthermore, my own data also comprise two small graduate student groups
of study field ‘G’ in Malaysia (age 24‐26‐39, m/f: 60/40%). All students were from Malaysia
Results
Table 2 provides an overview on the results. The results of the Friedman and Wilcoxon‐
Wilcox tests are given in the last column. For all groups, rank differences are significant
(Friedman test, p = 0.05 level).
Table 2. Cumulated relative frequencies of ‘extremely important’ and ‘very important’, rank sum and rank of
rank sum for each analysed sample or subsample. The number of complete responses is given in brackets in
the first column. Results of the Friedman test and Wilcoxon‐Wilcox test are given in the last column.
Group name Lighting Air Ventila‐ Room Sound Air Odours Friedm.
humidity tion temperature level movement n Wil.‐Wil.1)
ProKlimA, 67 59 77 70 57 45 51
*
women 8924 9714 7592 8474 9851 11396 10662
20
(N = 2379) 3 4 1 2 5 7 6
ProKlimA, 63 49 69 57.1 57.4 36 43
*
men 7083 8319 6408 7439 7251 9421 8737
18
(N = 1952) 2 5 1 4 3 7 6
ProKlimA, 65 56 78 71 51 43 45
*
young 4254 4729 3429 3887 4877 5482 5292
19
(N = 1141) 3 4 1 2 5 7 6
ProKlimA, 66 54 72 62 59 41 48
*
not young 11736 13299 10566 12010 12227 15327 14100
18
(N = 3188) 2 5 1 3 4 7 6
undergradu 77 13 64 74 68 17 77
*
ate, field ‘E’ 154 268 165 152 152 275 151
10
(N = 47) 4 6 5 2.5 2.5 7 1
graduate, 63 39 78 66 53 38 61
*
field ‘E’ 517 675 445 496 566 665 530
10
(N = 139) 3 7 1 2 5 6 4
graduate, 58 34 62 76 48 36 54
*
field ‘B’ 189 241 178 150 210 244 190
2
(N = 50) 3 6 2 1 5 7 4
graduate, 68 72 92 92 32 92 68
*
field ‘G’ 112 117 67 69 143 96 98
3
(N = 25) 5 6 1 2 7 3 4
graduate, 82 59 100 76 38 85 74
*
field ‘S’ 133 150 71 132 179 126 135
5
(N = 33) 4 6 1 3 7 2 5
1)*
Friedman: * differences in ranks within group are significant (p=0.05 level), Wil.‐Wil.: Wilcoxon‐Wilcox: over‐
all 21 pairwise differences exist per group, n is the number of significant pairwise differences (p=0.05 level).
Women vs. men (ProKlimA)
Women responded more often (+4 to +13 percent point) with ‘extremely’ and ‘very
important’ compared to men, except for sound level which shows the same frequencies for
b) Men
all pairwise rank
differences are
significant except
ranks 2‐3, 2‐4 and 3‐4
c) Graduate students,
study field ‘E’ and ‘B’
pairwise rank
differences are not
significant between
ranks 1‐2, 1‐3, 1‐4, 2‐
3, 2‐4, 3‐4, 3‐5, 4‐5
and 6‐7,
d) Graduate students,
study field ‘G’
pairwise rank
differences are
significant between
ranks 1‐6 ,1‐7 and 2‐7
e) Graduate students,
study field ‘S’
pairwise rank
differences are
significant between
ranks 1‐3, 1‐4, 1‐5, 1‐
6, 1‐7
Figure 1. Bubble charts sorted by rank sum of environment factor a) women (N = 2379), b) men (N = 1952); a
to b) all data: ProKlimA (Bischof et al. 2003); c) temperate climate, graduate students, study field ‘E’ and ‘B’ (N
= 189), d) tropical rainforest climate, graduate students, study field ‘G’ (N = 25); e) mainly tropical to subtropi‐
cal climate, studying in tropical rainforest climate, graduate students, study field ‘S’ (N = 34); c to e) own data.
Although these students have been living under all year round high relative humidity this
factor seems less important to them. The importance pattern of both groups is rather
similar except the higher importance to room temperature given by the graduates
originating from and living in tropical rainforest climate (Figure 2e)). The pattern of the
Discussion & conclusion
The aim of this paper was to explore differences in the importance of indoor environment
factors depending on sex, age, education progress and climatic zone. Hereby, sex, age, level
of education and climate could stand for a certain experience. Age, sex and climate could
also stand for a general sensitivity or for learnt sensitivity because of previous negative
experience. Age could also be seen as an identifier for changes in social norms and
expectations. Education factor (progress in own studies) could show how a study specific
focus could have an impact on the evaluation system. Climatic experience and/or societal
specific habits or norms could also result in different importance evaluation. Lai & Yik (2007)
found for both male and female users that odour has the greatest importance to them. This
is different from the sample of the German ProKlimA (1995‐1998) study but for the students
from Germany (2006‐2016) odour seems to be more important. Noise was found being
more important to male users than female users in Lai & Yik’s study. This is consistent with
the finding from the ProKlimA study although the majority of male office workers were in
the ‘not young’ group. So age could be the reason for the higher importance of sound level.
The undergraduate students reported no specific preference; for 5 out of 7 factors they
assigned high importance. Since these students were in their 1st semester while responding
to the questionnaire, they could be regarded as the most naïve sample with respect to
knowledge on indoor environment.
The results presented here serve as a pilot study with a low number of subjects in the
students groups. Despite the small sample size and the lack of fully significant pairwise test
results tendencies are already visible. The methodology applied here to detect, assess the
magnitude of the differences between the ranks and visualise the importance patterns
which were applied in this paper seems to be applicable also for extended data samples.
The results could support future context‐specific design guidelines for indoor environments.
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my students for supporting the data collection and providing useful
insights in their importance rating. Many thanks also to my colleague, Dr. I. Heusler who
carried out the data collection in autumn 2014 in Germany while I was abroad.
References
Bischof W., Bullinger‐Naber M., Kruppa B., Schwab R., Müller B.H. (2003): Expositionen und
gesundheitliche Beeinträchtigungen in Bürogebäuden – Ergebnisse des ProKlimA‐Projektes. (Expositions and
impairments of health in office buildings – Results of the ProKlima‐project) Fraunhofer IRB Verlag, Stuttgart.
ISBN: 3816764088
Bischof, W.; Hellwig, R.T.; Brasche, S. (2007): Thermischer Komfort ‐ die extraphysikalischen Aspekte
(Extraphysical parameters of thermal comfort). Bauphysik 29, No. 3, pp. 208‐212. DOI:
10.1002/bap.200710029
Hellwig, R.T. (2005). Thermische Behaglichkeit ‐ Unterschiede zwischen frei und mechanisch belüfteten
Gebäuden aus Nutzersicht (Thermal comfort ‐ Natural ventilation versus air‐conditioning in office buildings
from the occupant’s point of view). In German language. PhD, Munich University of Technology, Germany.
Hellwig R.T. (2015). Perceived control in indoor environments: a conceptual approach. Building
Research & Information, 43(3), pp. 302‐315. DOI: 10.1080/09613218.2015.1004150
Hedderich, J.; Sachs, L. (2012): Angewandte Statistik. Methodensammlung mit R, 14. Ed. Springer
Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York ISBN: 978‐3‐642‐24400‐1
c) Undergraduate vs graduate students d) Young ProKlimA vs graduate students
e) Tropical rainforest vs tropical/subtropical f) Different climate
Figure 2. Radar charts of indoor environment factors ranks: a) women vs men b) young vs not young c)
undergraduate vs graduate students; d) young (ProKlimA) vs graduate students field ‘E’ and ‘B’, e) graduate
students field ‘G’ tropical rainforest climate vs ‘S’ mainly tropical/subtropical climates, f) graduate students
from temperate vs tropical/subtropical climates
Coping with discomfort at home and its effect on the internal climate. The
case of traditional Scottish buildings before and after a retrofit
Daniel Herrera1, Amar Bennadji2
1
EURAC Research, Bolzano, Italy, daniel.herrera@eurac.edu;
2
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK
Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between users and internal climate in traditional buildings.
Built upon principles of social practice theory, the results presented here compare and contrast occupants’ daily
practices of comfort with the physical characteristics of the indoor environment. Specifically, this study explores
the effect of coping with discomfort on the internal moisture loads (difference in water vapour content in g/m3
between indoor and outdoor air). A cross-sectional study was designed to gather qualitative and quantitative
data from households of traditionally constructed buildings before and after a thermal retrofit of the envelope.
The results revealed that the ‘meaning’ of comfort has a crucial impact on how daily practices of comfort (such
as heating or ventilation) are shaped. More importantly, the comparison between narratives and measurements
showed that households where comfort was more difficult to achieve were those with higher moisture
concentrations. The results of the study also showed that the adjusting mechanisms chosen by the users - that
is, the way in which users coped with discomfort – and how long they lasted were heavily influenced by their
perception of how easily comfort could be restored.
Keywords: traditional buildings, retrofit, discomfort, internal climate, practice theory
Introduction
Internal wall insulation has a significant potential to reduce energy demand in traditional
buildings. It would improve envelopes’ thermal performance significantly while overcoming
most of the limitations and concerns encountered when retrofitting traditional properties
(cost, disruption and aesthetics) (Herrera 2016). However, long term performance of solid
walls after a retrofit is still unclear due to the risk of interstitial condensation caused by the
application of the insulation on the warm side of the envelope. Interstitial condensation is the
result of vapour diffusion through the wall and moisture generated by occupants’ activities
can therefore be a crucial parameter, even comparable to wind-driven loads (Tariku et al.
2015). As illustrated by Padfield (1998), from a hygrothermal point of view, people are merely
sources of water. Unfortunately, previous research has demonstrated that simplified models
used to define internal climate might not be able to represent the complex interaction
between users and buildings (Herrera 2016). Ultimately, hygrothermal assessment of walls’
performance can only be as accurate as the definition of their boundaries and therefore
further exploration of users’ daily activities affect the internal climate is needed.
Social practice theory and energy use
The importance of users’ role on the reduction of energy consumption in buildings has been
illustrated saying that “buildings don’t use energy, people do” (Janda 2011). However, practice
Methods
According to Yin’s definition, a case study is “an empirical enquiry that investigates a
contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context when the boundaries between
phenomenon and context are not clearly evident, and where multiple sources of evidence are
used” (Yin 1984, p.13). In this case, a multi-case study approach was chosen and the cases
were analysed as a whole in search of common patterns. The sample was formed by 26
households of traditional buildings located in the North-East of Scotland. The dwellings, built
using solid masonry granite walls and pitched roofs covered with slates, were at different
levels of conservation but for the analysis buildings were categorised as “retrofitted” or “non-
retrofitted” according exclusively to the insulation of the external wall. A comprehensive
study of users’ behaviour was carried out with the aid of interviews, questionnaires and home
tours with the occupants. Interviews were focused on users’ perception of comfort and their
energy related patterns. Information regarding heating, ventilation and moisture production
habits was collected in order to achieve a better understanding of users’ interaction with the
buildings. Temperature and relative humidity were monitored at 15 minutes intervals in two
rooms per property (living room and bedroom). External conditions were recorded by a
dedicated weather station.
Data analysis
The purpose of a multi-case study approach was to explore dynamic processes considering
them as a whole. Transcript coding of interviews and field notes was discarded as it resulted
into a large compilation of disconnected concepts. Instead, this study looked at the qualitative
data to reconstruct users’ narratives (Paddock 2015). Exploration of narratives, as stories, has
the potential to contribute to the understanding of how users structure and make sense of
their comfort practices. Of the households investigated, only the narratives of four of them
are presented here. This approach – similar to those adopted by Paddock (2015), Gram-
Hanssen (2010) or Tweed et al. (2013) – allows for a more detailed analysis of the practices
and their context. The narratives were chosen on the basis that these households represented
Results
In order to facilitate the comparison between quantitative data and users’ practices of
comfort, a summary of households’ environmental conditions and their corresponding
narratives is presented in Tables 1 and 2 respectively.
Table 1. Summary of environmental conditions. Values in parenthesis represent ± one standard deviation.
T: temperature, RH: relative humidity, ML: moisture load, S: summer, W: winter, Lv: living room, Bd: bedroom.
Case 6 Case 8 Case 12 Case 13
Summer Winter Summer Winter Summer Winter Summer Winter
Lv Bd Lv Bd Lv Bd Lv Bd Lv Bd Lv Bd Lv Bd Lv Bd
18.9 18.3 16.2 13.3 21.8 20.7 17.5 17.6 17.2 16.6 13.7 11.2 21.3 20.2 19.4 16.9
[°C]
T
(1.9) (1.6) (1.3) (1.4) (1.5) (0.9) (2.1) (0.5) (1.9) (1.8) (3.5) (3.5) (1.8) (1.3) (2.5) (1.4)
66.6 65.6 64.7 63.8 65.2 72.2 63.3 66.5 74.1 76.2 58.9 70.7 59.5 66.0 51.6 64.2
[g/m3] [%]
RH
(5.8) (6.4) (8.3) (5.2) (3.5) (2.9) (1.9) (3.2) (5.4) (4.3) (5.3) (10.4) (4.8) (4.0) (4.8) (4.1)
0.8 0.2 3.2 1.8 2.5 3.0 3.9 4.3 0.8 0.8 1.7 1.6 1.1 1.6 3.1 3.7
ML
(0.8) (0.7) (1.5) (0.9) (1.3) (1.3) (1.6) (1.2) (1.1) (1.1) (1.4) (1.2) (1.3) (1.3) (1.5) (1.5)
In Case 6, average bedroom temperature in winter was almost 3 °C lower than the living
room (Table 1) as a consequence of the different use of space heating (Table 2). Relative
humidity was similar in both rooms during the entire year and the different patterns of
ventilation described by the user only became clear when comparing moisture loads. Average
moisture load in the living room was 0.8 g/m3 in summer and 3.2 g/m3 in winter, while the
loads in the bedroom were 0.2 g/m3 (summer) and 1.8 g/m3 (winter) due to higher ventilation
rates. Despite the low satisfaction levels of the user in Case 8, average temperatures were
considerably higher than those recorded in Case 6. It is worth noting that both dwellings
formed part of the same tenement and had very similar construction characteristics. The high
values of moisture load recorded in case 8 (Table 1) are in agreement with user’s description
of poorly ventilated rooms (Table 2).
Low average temperatures and high standard deviation values recorded in winter in
Case 12 matched the description of the sporadic use of the space heating. High ventilation
rates reported by the users resulted in low moisture loads (0.8 g/m3 in both rooms in summer
and 1.7 g/m3 in the living room and 1.6 g/m3 in the bedroom during the winter). Average
temperatures in Cases 8 and 13 were similar but occupants’ satisfaction in Case 13 was much
flat in the city centre) 1 bedroom rented flat bedroom cottage a children and a dog.
for the last 20 years. in the city centre. She year and a half ago. Viktor works abroad
She is in her 50s and usually works full time They have lived in the most of the time but
works as a waitress in a as an office manager countryside for the when he is home he
hotel. She would like to but now is in maternity last twelve years. does not work at all.
have some aspects of leave and spends most They are both Monika is at home for
the flat improved but of the time at home outdoor people and most of the day, looking
she is reasonable looking after the baby. enjoy going out for a after the baby and
content in her home. hike or a bike ride. working on her studies.
Victoria likes to take a Being warm is the most Quietness is a priority Temperature is the
shower, cook dinner important aspect of regarding comfort most important factor
and sit in the living comfort for Amy. She and the main driver to for Monika, while Viktor
Meaning of comfort
room in the evening. It has lived in the same choose their new is never cold and it is
is easy for her to be flat for the last five home in a fairly minor for him. He
warm as 16 to 18 °C is years and feeling warm isolated setting. They values other factors
usually enough for her. has always been a do not like being too such as having a quiet
Victoria likes to have problem. The flat has hot or feeling that the environment. Their
fresh air while she electric radiators and air gets too stuffy and different liking in terms
sleeps and the window storage heaters but rather wear warm of comfort is also visible
in her bedroom is Amy never fully learnt clothes at home. in the clothes they wear
usually left open. how they work. at home.
Living room windows Amy decided to buy a They usually do not A wood burning stove
are usually closed. She portable bottled gas use the heating for feeds both the heating
finds the noise from the heater after a cold more than three and hot water, so they
Coping with discomfort
traffic too loud and winter and has been hours a day. If they have to keep it on
prefers to keep it shut. using it since then. All feel cold, Mark would during the day. The
She only opens the doors in the flat are sooner light the stove house is in a very
window when she is kept closed and fitted than using the oil exposed location and
cooking something very with draught excluders. boiler. They never airing the rooms when
steamy in the open The bedroom window leave the fire on it is raining is not
plan kitchen. The is also permanently overnight as he does possible. Instead, they
extractor fan is also shut and it has been not mind lighting it bought a dehumidifier.
very noisy and is not partly covered with an again the next day if It is also very helpful for
used often either. insulating board. they need it. drying laundry.
Discussion
Although quantitative studies in the area of residential buildings are very scarce (Tweed et al.
2013), reaction to discomfort in working places have already been explored in previous
studies. Azizi et al. (2015) found a relationship between the material structure of office
buildings and how the users’ meaning of comfort is adapted to cope with discomfort. Azizi
stated that occupants of ‘green’ buildings were more likely to accept discomfort and that they
were “engaged in less environmental adjustments, and adopted more personal and
psychological coping mechanisms than those occupants in the conventional building”. In this
study, a relationship between material and meaning was only found among the occupants of
traditional buildings who shared the perception that ‘old is cold’. As a consequence, they
accommodated their expectations of comfort to this pre-established image and adapted their
practices accordingly.
Nevertheless, no correlation between the level of insulation of the building and
adaptive comfort practices was found. The results of this study challenge the idea that users
of better performing dwellings “have lower thermostat settings but air their dwellings more
often” creating healthier environments (Raaij & Verhallen 1983). According to the narratives’
analysis, meaning of comfort has proven to be more determining than the physical properties
of the building. This investigation, therefore, aligns more closely with the conclusions from an
earlier study on energy saving houses (Hamrin, 1979, in Raaij & Verhallen 1983) that linked
the final success of the energy efficient measures (material) to the energy consciousness of
the users (i.e. the meaning). Hamrin found that passive equipment, that involves active
engagement of users, is better suited to residents with high levels of energy consciousness.
Conclusion
There is a large of body of literature using quantitative approaches to explore the use of
domestic space heating (Guerra-Santin & Itard 2010), ventilation (Fabi et al. 2012) or laundry
appliances (Porteous et al. 2014). However, the results of such studies have proven to be
insufficient to explain the mechanisms of user behaviour and often reached opposite
conclusions (Wei et al. 2014). This study opted in favour of a more qualitative approach to
explore users’ effect on the internal environment of traditional buildings. Thus, this research
carried an in-depth exploration of the narratives of comfort at home in order to identify the
reasons behind users’ behaviours.
The results presented here aligned with those obtained by Tweed et al. (2013) who
stated that being thermally comfortable has different meanings to different users. The results
of this investigation, however, did not only point to the differences in thermal preferences
but also to the different meanings of practicing comfort at home. As stated by Madsen (2014),
comfort is not limited to temperature as it also includes aspects like “light, functionality and
homeliness”.
The results of this study corroborated the relevance of discomfort in shaping the
internal environment of buildings. Practices developed to tackle discomfort were shaped to
create the conditions that users considered acceptable, regardless of those predicted by
conventional comfort theories (Tweed et al. 2013), and ignored their effect on the indoor
environment. Consequently, adapted practices of comfort at home often resulted in poor
environments with high concentrations of humidity and low air change rates. Efforts to
explore the role of users on the internal climate of traditional dwellings should be directed to
understand how the practices of comfort that affect the environment are reproduced and
how can be changed.
Introduction
The share of energy demand in buildings (over 40% of total global consumption, Perez-
Lombard et al., 2008) is increasing globally on account of economic development. The
contribution of space conditioning to this increasing demand (currently 62% of the total
building energy need, IPCC, 2013) is being made worse by the changing climate, especially in
warm climates (Sillmann et al., 2013, Emmanuel, 2017) . Designing buildings that require
less or zero energy to achieve ‘thermal comfort’ of occupants is therefore more vital today
than ever before. Transcending beyond active, energy-intensive interventions, many
innovative, passive or low energy design strategies have evolved to address this need.
Building location and orientation based on sun path and wind movement, energy efficient
built forms and layouts, well designed shading devices, thermal insulation, contextually
appropriate building envelopes, incorporating appropriate behavioural patterns of
Background
Colours have been explained in thermal terms (Mahnkey, 1996) and are said to alter human
thermal perception. The philosophical theory of colour, pioneered by artists and established
as a tradition of colour mixing with long-term practice, explicitly differentiates between
warm and cool colours. Even though not satisfactorily explained via scientific inquiry, colour
theory identifies red, yellow and orange as warm and blue, green, and purple as cool. Warm
colours are said to have a stimulating impact on humans where-as cool colours are
described to have a pacifying effect (Fanger et al, 1977, Mahnkey, 1996, Stone 2001 and
Ballast, 2002).
Colours have been widely utilised in the interiors for beautification, to manipulate
perceived dimensions of space and to trigger thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviour of
occupants parallel with the corresponding ambience to be generated. A considerable
amount of research in the fields of experimental psychology, applied psychology and
psychological ergonomics has been done on the possible influence of colours or coloured
surfaces on thermal sensation and thermal comfort (Albers et al, 2013). However, the
thermal impact of colour has not been utilized in interiors to draw its fullest benefits.
Supportive evidence on the thermal effects of colours in the 20th century is found to be
substandard (Hettiarachchi, 2014). No effects of colour on temperature perception are
found in many such studies (Berry 1961 and Green & Bell 1980) or observed effects were
very small and considered at that time to be of no practical significance (Fanger et al, 1977).
It has long been assumed that the impact of visual and thermal stimulation is interactive,
Figure 1. Controlled lab environment with colour workstations
Case 1 claims its originality in substantiating a scientific explanation on manifestation and
contributing factors of CTP with reference to a warm colour (red) and a cool colour (blue) as
applicable to Asian context [Hettiarachchi,2014]. Hypothesised potentials of CTP to manifest
as (a) a psychological response, (b) a biological response altering core body temperature or
(c) an actual thermal sensation caused due to heat radiation emitted via coloured surfaces
were tested. A crossover experiment was executed in colour workstations (WS) with a
sample of healthy, normal sighted male undergraduates (n=111, selected via stratified
simple random sampling, age 19 – 30, 95% confidence level, 7.5% margin of error) under
controlled laboratory conditions (26oC room temperature and 50% relative humidity, 350
lux lighting level) and interior finishes (matt) and colour (black).
Figure 2: Scatter Plot-Thermal Perception in Red WS (RTP) vs. Thermal Perception in Blue WS (BTP)
CTP was rated on a 5 - point Likert scale by the participants while the induced feelings,
emotions and preference to each colour treatment were recorded via a questionnaire
survey. Temporal artery temperature of subjects and the surface temperature of work
stations were recorded through infrared thermal monitoring. The data related to 18
Figure 3: Colour perception test at a School for the blind in Sri Lanka (11 -12 yrs old subjects)
Above findings confirm the common perception of red colour as warm and blue as
cool irrespective of the fact that the subjects are normal sighted, colour bind or even blind.
This further strengthens the possibility to use CTP as a tool to psychologically manipulate
perceived indoor thermal environment at lower energy costs.
Figure 5. Colour fabric introduced to the factory interior
Figure 6. Comparison between selection of fan speed vs colour of the factory interior
The research investigated on the impacts of colour on workers (machine operators) in
terms of their thermal perception by changing the colour of the interior walls of the factory
space. The study established a correlation between the interior colour and the preferred fan
speed in achieving thermal comfort. Majority of workers (86.36 %) were found to achieve
their thermal comfort with the maximum fan speed (speed level 05) when exposed to
colour red demanding a high energy consumption, while, only 13.63 % preferred a
moderate speed (speed level 03) with an average indoor temperature of 31.5 o C and
outdoor temperature of 32.2 oC. 63.63 % were satisfied with level 05 while 9%, 13.63% and
References
Albers, F.,Winzen, J and Marggraf-Micheel. (2013). In search of evidence for the hue-heat hypothesis
and its possible energy and cost-effective application in the aircraft cabin, Retrieved from
http://www.dglr.de/publikationen/2013/301236.pdf
Ballast, D. K. (2002). Interior design reference manual. Professional Pub. Inc.:Belmont, CA.
Berry, P.C. (1961). Effect of colored illumination upon perceived temperature. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 45, 248-250.
Candas V, Dufour A. (2005). Thermal comfort: multisensory interactions? Journal of Physiological
Anthropology and Applied Human Science. 24(1):33-6.PMID:15684540.
Simone Queiroz da Silveira Hirashima1, Daniele Gomes Ferreira2, Eleonora Sad de Assis3,
Lutz Katzschner4
1
Department of Civil Engineering, Federal Center of Technological Education of Minas
Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil, simoneqsh@civil.cefetmg.br
2
Department of Technology of Architecture and Urbanism, School of Architecture, Federal
University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil, dani.gferreira@yahoo.com.br
3
Department of Technology of Architecture and Urbanism, School of Architecture, Federal
University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil, eleonorasad@yahoo.com.br
4
Institut Urbane Entwicklungen / Environmental Meteorology, University Kassel, Kassel,
Germany, katzschn@uni-kassel.de
Abstract: A calibrated thermal comfort index, which can represent human thermal sensation in a numerical
way, is a valuable tool for evaluating thermal conditions in urban areas. Brazil, a continental size country,
presents eight different climate zones according to its bioclimatic zoning standard. Due to its area extension
and climate diversity, thermal comfort indexes must be calibrated to each city to better represent the different
thermal sensations of each local population. In Brazil, the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index,
widely applied in outdoor evaluations, has already been calibrated for some cities, as: São Paulo (2008), Belo
Horizonte (2010; 2016), Salvador (2010) and Curitiba (2012), by using different methodologies, during both
data collection and statistical treatment stages. Considering the need to standardize the calibration methods,
the aim of this work is to present the results of these calibrations, to compare them and to analyze the
methodologies used in each calibration process, pointing out specific details of them. It is expected to come up
with recommendations to forthcoming calibrations, making it possible to compare results and to facilitate
future applications of the PET index as an evaluation tool for assessing thermal conditions in urban planning
projects.
Keywords: Outdoor thermal comfort, PET index, thermal sensation, calibration methods
Introduction
The design of open spaces in cities can contribute to stimulate the use of these areas, which
additionally could provide a better quality of life for the population. In order to suitably plan
these spaces, an important aspect to account is the outdoor thermal condition. It includes
the consideration of the climate of cities, but also an evaluation of the different
microclimate related to the different urban structures, which can influence the thermal
comfort in open spaces. Besides, it is important to regard the human being as a reference.
However, the lack of information on the subjective perception and evaluation of
comfort conditions in outdoor spaces makes it difficult to support planners in their decision-
making (Nikolopoulou & Lykoudis, 2006). In this context, one way to contribute is by using
outdoor thermal comfort indices, which integrate thermophysiological and subjective
Measurement
interviewers
Time of the
Number of
Number of
interviews
interviews
Sites of
Age of
places
days
Year
City
day
Belo 944 20 to 59 8 2 squares morning 2 points (sun 2009/
Horizonte1 and and shadow) 2010
afternoon
Belo 1,182 20 to 59 10 2 squares morning 2 points (sun 2009/
Horizonte2 and and shadow) 2010
afternoon
Belo 1,690 20 to 59 4 2 squares morning 2 points (sun 2013
Horizonte3 and and shadow)
afternoon
Curitiba 1,685 13 to 91 15 15 points morning 2 points (not 2009/
along and specified) 2010
streets afternoon
Salvador 1,002 20 to 59 8 2 squares afternoon 2 points (sun 2009/
and shadow) 2010
São Paulo 1,800 not 4 3 points morning 3 points (1 in 2005/
specifie in the the sun, 1 2006
d Universit bellow trees, 1
y Campus bellow a
tensile cover)
1
Hirashima, 2010.
2
Hirashima et al., 2016.
3
Hirashima, Assis, Nikolopoulou, 2016.
The number of valid interviews is different between each study, but they do not have
a correspondence with the population size. For Belo Horizonte, the PET index has been
calibrated three times. The results of 2010 considered a sample of 944 interviewees, but
winter temperatures were higher than expected for this season, making it impossible to
measure low temperatures. Hirashima et al. (2016) extended the sample used in 2010 by
Hirashima (2010), totalizing 1,182 interviewees, by carrying out one more field survey in the
subsequent winter. Hirashima, Assis, Nikolopoulou (2016) performed a new and more
recent study, with a sample of 1,690 interviewees. In this latter calibration, a larger sample
and a wider range of microclimatic data, especially in cold thermal conditions were
considered. The total number of valid interviews, defined by sampling processes, conducted
in the other cities was: 1,800 in São Paulo; 1,002 in Salvador and 1,685 in Curitiba
All the surveys were carried out only during daytime and it is possibly not
representative of the range of temperatures that can occur in each city. The point in which
measurement equipment was placed is another aspect to be observed. In the case of the
study carried out in Curitiba, the place of measurement was not specified, but it is
Belo Horizonte *
Belo Horizonte2
Belo Horizonte3
Curitiba
Salvador*
São Paulo
1
Hirashima, 2010. Intervals of PET index calibration
2
Hirashima et al., 2016.
3 Hot Comfort Cold
Hirashima, Assis, Nikolopoulou, 2016.
Figure 1. Synthesis of PET index calibrations in three intervals. In the calibrations marked with (*), the inferior
limit of the comfort category was not determined.
References
ABNT NBR 15220-3 (2005). Desempenho térmico de edificações - Parte 3: Zoneamento bioclimático
brasileiro e diretrizes construtivas para habitações unifamiliares de interesse social. Rio de Janeiro: Associação
Brasileira de Normas Técnicas.
Abreu, M. N. S., Siqueira, A. L., Caiaffa, W. T. (2009). Regressão logística ordinal em estudos
epidemiológicos. Rev. Saúde Pública, 43(1), pp. 183-94.
Andrade, T., Nery, J., Moura, T., Miranda, S., Pitombo, C., Katzschner, L. (2015). PET Comfort Index
Calibration Using Decision Trees. In: WMO, Météo-France, IAUC, AMS, 9th International Conference on Urban
Climate jointly with 12th Symposium on the Urban Environment. Toulouse, 20 - 24 July 2015. Toulouse:
Météo-France.
Hirashima, S. Q. S. (2010). Calibração do índice de conforto térmico temperatura fisiológica equivalente
(PET) para o município de Belo Horizonte, MG. Msc. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
Hirashima, S. Q. S. (2014). Percepção sonora e térmica e avaliação de conforto em espaços urbanos
abertos do município de Belo Horizonte - MG, Brasil. Phd. Universidade de São Paulo.
Hirashima, S. Q. S., Assis, E. S., Nikolopoulou, M. (2016). Daytime thermal comfort in urban spaces: A
field study in Brazil. Building and Environment, 107, pp. 245-253.
Hirashima, S. Q. S., Katzschner, A., Ferreira, D. G., Assis, E. S., Katzschner, L. (2016). Thermal comfort
comparison and evaluation in different climates. Urban Climate (In Press).
Holst, J. (2007). Physiological Equivalent Temperature (calculation based on MEMI) [software]. Freiburg:
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg.
Höppe, P. (1999). The physiological equivalent temperature PET – a universal index for the
biometeorological assessment of the thermal environment. International Journal of Biometeorology, 43, pp.
71-75.
IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (2010). População: Censo 2010. Available in
<http://www.cidades.ibge.gov.br>. Access in March 20, 2017.
Introduction
Built environment and comfort is closely associated and combination of both creates
acceptable thermal environment conditions for the occupants. The quality of the indoor
environment reflects on the health, comfort and productivity of occupants (J, 2004). It
includes aspects of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, acoustic quality, and lighting quality.
This study gathers to generate qualitative and quantitative data about the comfort
parameter and indoor environment quality for vendors and visitors at Mangaldas Market.
The aim of the study is to recommend strategies to improve thermal comfort, visual comfort
and air quality (CO2 ) at Mangaldas Market.
The objective of the study was to analyse thermal, visual comfort parameters; CO2,
levels in Mangaldas Market through on site measurements and comfort survey also, arriving
at reasons for thermal discomfort, visual discomfort; and high CO2 levels and to suggest
guidelines to improve visual comfort, improve thermal comfort and to decrease CO2 level
Mangaldas market.
Methodology
The methodology obtained for this study was divided into three stages, such as 1) On site
data collection, 2) Comfort survey of visitors and vendors, 3) On site observations. The study
was conducted in the month of March, 2016 for five days.
Purpose of the onsite measurement was to analysed parameters of thermal comfort
such as Dry Bulb Temperature, Relative Humidity and Air movement. Dry bulb temperature
and Relative humidity was measured hourly inside the market at three different nodes.
Ambient dry bulb temperature and R. humidity was also measured outside the market to
analyse the difference between outside environment and inside environment. Air
movement was measured hourly at all the entrances of Mangaldas market. CO2 level inside
the market was measured at three different nodes and also outside the market. The lux
level was measured at 24 different nodes.
The comfort survey of vendors and visitors was carried out to understand their
thermal comfort as vendors spend around 33% of a day inside the market. Also the comfort
survey helped to understand the annual occupancy of visitors inside the market. The sample
for comfort survey was selected by random sample method. Comfort Survey was carried out
along with on site measurements. The comfort survey was performed for every hour
considering three vendors and three visitors to analyse the activities and thermal comfort.
Data Analysis
Hourly readings of Dry Bulb Temperature, Relative Humidity, CO2 levels further analysed
with occupancy patterns and ASHRAE Standards, National Building Codes, Indian Model of
thermal Comfort to understand the thermal comfort of visitors and vendors.
Occupancy
Observation concluded that the (Figure 2) maximum footfall of visitors was observed
between 16 to 19 hrs, 1104 visitors/hour which was 53% higher. It was observed that the
density of footfall varied as per weekdays and weekdays. The footfall observed on Saturday
was approximately 10,452 which were 16% more than weekdays and 47% more than
Sunday. Form observation it was conclude that the density of visitors varied as per the
different location with maximum density of 42 visitors/Hour/Sqm and to minimum 27
visitors / hour/ Sqm. 1200
1000
Visitors / Hour
800
600
400
200
0
11 .00 - 12 .00 - 13 .00 - 14 .00 - 15 .00 - 16 .00 - 17 .00 - 18 .00 - 19 .00 -
12.00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00 18.00 19.00 20.00
Time
Figure 2. Hourly occupancy patterns
35
Degree Celsius
33
Spot 1
31 Spot 2
Spot 3
29 Ambient Temperature
27
11.0 - 12.0 12.0- 13.0 13.0 - 14.0 14.0 - 15.0 15.0 - 16.0 16.0 - 17.0 17.0-18.0 18.0 - 19.0 19.0 - 20.0
Time
The range of effective indoor temperature for Mangaldas Market was derived
considering ambient temperature (Table 1). As per ASHRAE Standard 55, the effective
indoor temperature was in the range of 270C. According National Building Codes it’s in the
range of 290C to 300C. The Indian model for adaptive comfort provides the range of Indoor
temperature in the range of 200C to 280C for Hot and Humid climate of Mumbai. When the
Time
temperature temperature Avg Diffrance
for five days for five days ( (deg C)
(IMAC)
( deg C ) deg C )
T com = 0.31 x Ta + OT = (0.54 x OT)
(20.5 to 28.5 )
17.8 + 12.83
12 .00 - 13.00
13 .00 - 14.00
30.84
31.3
32.86
33.86
2
2.5
27.36
27.5
29.48
29.73
24
24
14 .00 - 15.00 32.24 34.6 2.3 27.79 30.23 24
15 .00 - 16.00
16 .00 - 17.00
33.54
34.12
35.22
35.52
1.68
1.4
28.19
28.37
30.94
31.25
24
24
17 .00 - 18.00 33.26 35.4 2.1 28.11 30.79 24
35
33
31
Degree Celsius
Saturday
29
Sunday
27
Mean ambient
25
NBC Standards
23
ASHRAE 55
IMAC
21
19
11.0 - 12.0 12.0- 13.0 13.0 - 14.0 14.0 - 15.0 15.0 - 16.0 16.0 - 17.0 17.0-18.0 18.0 - 19.0 19.0 - 20.0
Time
Figure 4. Indoor Dry Bulb Temperature - Ambient Dry bulb Temperature - Effective Indoor Temperature.
Air movement
The Air movement measured at Mangaldas Market was in the range of 0.2 m/s to 0.8 m /s .
It was observed that after 15 hrs the air movement measured was very low below 0.2 m / s.
For effective indoor temperature between 270C to 300C the desirable air movement shall be
between 0.6 m / s to 1.8 m / s. When indoor air movement was compared with the desired
air movement (Figure 5) it was conclude that the existing air movement observed was very
low which resulted into heat trap causing high indoor dry bulb temperature
Figure 5. Air Movement m / s
60
55
Humidity in %
50
Spot 1
45
spot 3
Ambient
Comfort range
40
35
30
11.0 - 12.0 12.0- 13.0 13.0 - 14.0 14.0 - 15.0 15.0 - 16.0 16.0 - 17.0 17.0-18.0 18.0 - 19.0 19.0 - 20.0
Time
Figure 6.Psychometric chart Figure. 7 Relative Humidity
Comfort Survey
The comfort survey resulted that for most of the hours visitors were unsatisfied with
thermal environment where as vendors were slightly comfortable for measured indoor dry
bulb temperature and Relative Humidity. Comfort survey concludes that between 2 pm to 4
pm maximum visitors and vendors were unsatisfied with thermal environment.
60
50
48
45 Very Unacceptable
40 Moderately Unacceptable
% of Visitors
42 Slightly Unacceptable
30
39
Nutral
Slightly Acceptable
20
36
Moderately Acceptable
Very Acceptable
10 33
Humidity (%)
Temprature (Deg C )
0
11 .00 - 12.00 12 .00 - 13.00 13 .00 - 14.00 14 .00 - 15.00 15 .00 - 16.00 16 .00 - 17.00 17 .00 - 18.00 18 .00 - 19.00 19 .00 - 20.00
30
Time
CO2 level
It was observed that (Table 2) the CO2 levels measured at Mangaldas Market was in the
range of 350 ppm to 1800 ppm. The ambient CO2 level observed was in the range of 300
ppm to 500 ppm.
When ambient and indoor CO2 level was compared it was analysed that the difference
observed in ambient and indoor CO2 level varied as per time. Between 11 to 12 hrs when
market was just started the difference observed was minimum 33 ppm which was 10 %
higher than the ambient CO2 level. Between 19 to 20 hrs. the difference observed was
maximum 1227 ppm 44% higher than the ambient CO2 level.
As per National Building Codes the indoor CO2 level should not exceed more than 700
ppm compared to ambient CO2 level and as per ASHRAE Standard 62.2 the indoor CO2 level
should not exceed more than 1000 ppm for well being of occupants.
600
1000
800
400 600
400
200
200
0 0
11.0 - 12.0- 13.0 - 14.0 - 15.0 - 16.0 - 17.0- 18.0 - 19.0 -
12.0 13.0 14.0 15.0 16.0 17.0 18.0 19.0 20.0
Occupancy 816 912 650 500 620 1104 1128 1080 696
Mean CO2 level (ppm) 366 563 687 895 996 1020 1344 1576 1593
Key Findings
The indoor temperature observed at Mangaldas Market was in the higher range, which
needs to reduce by 150C to achieve thermal comfort at Mangaldas Market. Building
envelope and roof is exposed to Sun hence transfers heat inside market which heats up the
market. Low openings causes less natural ventilation causing heat trap resulting higher
indoor temperature. Further, when footfall of Visitors reaches to the maximum low natural
ventilation causes higher CO2 levels which give the sense of suffocation. Absence of daylight
concurred by using artificial lights which add ups into heat gain.
Design recommendations
Proposing openings to the building envelope
Existing window to wall ratio is insufficient to have desired ventilation hence the existing
openings with 1m diameter above entrances of the Market shall be replaced with openings
along the length of wall for every facade. It was observed that the existing shops along the
periphery of the external wall restricts position of openings also existing wall above the
shops acts as a dead facade hence the new openings are proposed above 2.5M from the
finished floor level in order to achieve daylight and induced ventilation. With the proposed
redesign of the envelope existing window to wall ratio is changes from 5 to 24.
References
Allad , F (1998). Natural Ventilation in building, A Design Handbook,1 – 7.
ASHRAEStandard 55, (2005). The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning
Engineers. United States of America: ASHRAE.
Brager G. S. (2002). Thermal comfort in Naturally Ventilated Buildings revision to ASHRAE Standard 55,
Energy and Building, 12 – 15.
Chang M. (2000). Indoor and Outdoor air quality investigation at school in Hong Kong, Pergamon
Journal, 2 – 5.
D.S.Vissers (2002). The human body as its own sensor for thermal comfort, Department of built
Environment Endhoven university of Technology Netherlands, 33 – 39.
Givoni B. (1976). Man, Climate and Architecture, Applied Science Publishers, 18
R.V. Smiha (2012). Thermal Comfort in India, GRIHA, India, 24-55
Indraganti M. (2010). Adaptive use of natural ventilation for thermal comfort in Indian apartments,
Building and environment, 17-19.
J.S. (2004). On the history of Indoor air quality and health, Journal of indoor built environment.
Mishra A. (2013). Field studies on human thermal comfort, An overview building and environment, 21
National building codes (2005). Part 8 Building services Section 3 Air conditioning, Heating and
Mechanical Ventilation, Bureau of Indian Standards: India.
Oglay V. (1973). Design with climate, Princeton University Press, 14 – 26.
Sundell J. (2004). On the history of indoor air quality and Health, Journal of Indoor built environment, 22
Wong N.H. (2002). Thermal comfort evaluation of naturally ventilated public housing in Singapore,
Building and environment.
Introduction
Two governmental and policy goals - increasing energy efficiency in homes and increasing the
ability of homes to accommodate people during their whole life - have been separately
considered in practice and research until recently. The housing stock in Belgium consists of a
high proportion of single family homes that are energy inefficient and unsuitable for people
with disabilities (Van den Broeck, 2015). This context presents an opportunity to combine
energy efficiency and universal design into renovation concepts that create more value for
individual homeowners and society at large.
Merging the concepts of energy efficiency (EE) and Universal Design (UD) is however
fraught with difficulties due to their very different nature (Kapedani, Herssens, & Verbeeck,
2016). In order to bridge these two fields and provide a better relation between the wider
goals of policy makers and the more narrow and immediate goals of individual home owners,
the concept of comfort has been employed. The meaning of comfort in the context of home
renovations was explored through 3 qualitative studies with different groups (UD
professionals, home owners, architecture students). It resulted in a framework describing
indoor environmental comfort (IE Comfort) which includes aspects of both EE and UD
(Kapedani, Herssens, & Verbeeck, Accepted).
Methodology
The survey was administered in person either digitally or in paper form to 145 attendees at
the Batibouw 2016 construction fair in Brussels. The Batibouw event was selected because it
is generally frequented by our target group for the survey: people who are interested in
undertaking new construction or renovation work on their homes.
The main goal of the survey was to understand the importance of IE Comfort indicators
from the perspective of homeowners. Of particular interest was the importance of indicators
relative to each other and their interconnections. Respondents were presented with one
question asking to select which factors from the list were important in their new construction
or renovation. To ensure the respondents had a similar understanding, each term was
explained with a brief phrase. The word “comfort” was not mentioned in this specific
question. Multiple choices were possible and the list was randomized in the digital version of
the survey.
In addition, the reasons for renovation were explored. The initial reasons that catalyzed
people to think about a renovation might evolve and include other aspects into the final scope
of renovation. Therefore these are separated into triggers, the catalyst causes of renovation,
and goals, the evolved objectives of the renovation. The triggers and goals were questioned
separately. Our hypothesis was that comfort, in its intuitive interpretation, is a more
important goal than energy efficiency, lifelong-living, or technical factors. The questions were
asked only to respondents who indicated that they had plans to renovate. Multiple choices
were possible.
In the analysis, descriptive statistics were used for ranking of IE comfort indicators,
renovation triggers and goals. To understand which choices were significantly more chosen
than another a two-proportion z-test was employed. Spearman rank correlation allowed the
comparison of ranking order differences between respondent groups.
Crosstabs were used to test independence of two indicators. Due to the large number
of IE comfort indicators a chi-square test for each combination could lead to a significant
Results
Sample description
The majority (59%) of respondents was under the age of 40 and 55% has a college or
university degree. They fall into 3 roughly even groups when describing their construction
plans as having no concrete plans yet (34%), planning to build a new home (31%), and
planning to renovate their home (35%). 82% of those with concrete plans for new building or
renovation was planning to be owner-occupiers, which is consistent with the very high rates
(70% in 2013) of home ownership in Belgium (Van den Broeck, 2015).
Those respondents who had plans to build a new home are obliged by law to hire an
architect. Renovators however are not always obliged and, when asked, only 44% of them
involved the services of an architect in their renovation project.
The house elements that respondents planned to modify comprised mostly of work on
the building envelope (insulation, windows and doors) and light interior renovations
(bathrooms and kitchens, interior finishes, but no structural changes or walls moved).
Indoor Environmental Comfort indicators
About half of the 145 respondents choose between 7 and 12 aspects that are of importance
to them. Only 2 people are "single-issue" builders/renovators, and 3 people find 19 different
indicators important. No-one selected more than 19 indicators (out of a list of 22, of which
one was "other").
The chart in Figure 1 shows the percentage of respondents who selected each indicator
as important to them. Natural light is the indicator that is important to the largest number of
people (83%) while Artificial light is important to just over 12% of respondents.
A two-proportion z-test shows that the rest of the indicators fall into 3 groups of
importance where the indicators within the group are statistically equal to each other
55%
52% 51% 51% 50% 50%
48% 48% 46%
12%
Figure 1. The proportion of respondents who selected each indoor environmental comfort indicator as
important. It does not show the amount of importance placed on each indicator.
Elegance is dependent of both EE related indicators (Temperature and Noise, p<0.01)
and live-long living indicators (Flexibility, Intuitive controls p<0.05, Usability of spaces p<0.01).
While Adaptability and Flexibility are dependent (p<0.01), there is no statistically significant
dependency between Usability of spaces, Maintenance, and Accessibility. EE-related
indicators – Temperature, Noise, Air quality - are dependent to each other (p<0.01).
Those who selected Social activity in the home as important also tended to select
Adaptability, Flexibility, Image & Identity, Privacy, View to outdoors (p<0.05) and Natural light
(p<0.01).
There is also a statistically significant dependency between Age and the importance of
Usability of spaces in the home (p<0.01). People younger than 40 were more likely to select
Usability than those who were older. However, Age was independent of Accessibility.
Triggers and goals
An increase in Comfort was selected by the largest number of people as a renovation trigger
(70%) as well as renovation goal (68%) (see Fig. 2). Increasing Energy Efficiency is the second
most important trigger and goal (54%). Other triggers range between 20% and 30% while
other goals range between 18-42%. The difference between Comfort and Energy Efficiency is
Trigger Goals
54% 54%
42%
34% 32%
30% 30%
26% 28% 26% 24%
22% 20% 18%
Figure 2. Triggers and goals of home renovations.
There is no statistically significant dependency between the use of an architect and
changes from triggers to goals for Comfort, Energy Efficiency, Anticipate life changes, and
Environmental Sustainability.
Discussion
Several interesting findings can be gleaned from the results described above. About half of
the 145 people choose between 7 and 12 factors that are of importance to them which
demonstrates that IE Comfort is a multidimensional concept and that a home renovation (or
new-built) needs to address several issues at once. All indicators were important to at least
30% of respondents while only 2% selected Other. Therefore the number of IE Comfort
indicators presented to people can be considered concise and complete. The exception is
Artificial light (12%), which suggests that this indicator can be left out in future studies.
Natural light stands out as the factor important to most people by far. Answering this
demand for natural light has implications on many other indicators, such as Temperature,
Views, Privacy, and Accessibility, where conflicts and synergies could be found. The next most
important group of indicators are all LLL related while the EE indicators fall in the middle
group. In other words spatial and design aspects are important more often than aspects that
relate to energy use. This supports the idea that the appeal of energy efficient building or
renovation by individual homeowners could be improved when packaged with (universal)
design measures. The broader appeal of some LLL indicators, without being labelled as such,
suggests that these measures could serve as a "foot in the door" for other energy and LLL
measures, since it is easier to expand the scope of a project than to start one from scratch.
Conclusion
This paper explored the importance of indicators for comfort in the indoor environment in
the context of homes built or renovated by homeowners. Here comfort is conceptualized as
an integration of Energy Efficiency related aspects and aspects related to Universal Design.
The data support the idea that for homeowners comfort in the indoor environment is
multifaceted and that our proposed list of indicators which includes both EE and UD related
aspects can be considered concise and complete. It reveals that spatial and design indicators
are important more often than energy efficiency related ones.
However, simply handing over the responsibility for more universally design and energy
efficient homes to architects is not a solution due in part to their limited engagement in
renovations. The development and decision making on the scope and important aspects of
the project for the homeowner, consciously or not, happen very early in the process.
Comfort as renovation trigger and goal was shown to be more important than EE and
LLL separately. This is an encouragement towards further employing IE Comfort as a user-
focused concept for renovations which, while containing the same elements as EE and LLL, is
References
Froyen, H., Dujardin, M., & Herssens, J. (2015). Designing for Sustainability: a Framework for Sustainable
Architecture built on the Perspective of Universal Design.
Kapedani, E., Herssens, J., & Verbeeck, G. (2016). Energy Efficiency and Universal Design in Home Renovations –
A Comparative Review. Paper presented at the Universal Design 2016: Learning from the Past,
Designing for the Future, York, UK. http://ebooks.iospress.nl/volumearticle/44510
Kapedani, E., Herssens, J., & Verbeeck, G. (Accepted). Comfort in the indoor environment: a theoretical
framework linking energy efficiency and universal design. Paper presented at the AHFE 2017 - 2nd
International Conference on Design for Inclusion, Los Angeles, US.
Mace, R. L. (1998). Universal design in housing. Assistive Technology, 10(1), 21-28.
Van den Broeck, K. (2015). Grote Woononderzoek 2013 - Deel 4. Woningkwaliteit en renovatie: resultaten op
basis van de vragen aan bewoners. Retrieved from Leuven:
Velux. (2015). Healthy Homes Barometer 2015. Retrieved from www.velux.com/healthyhomes
How to verify a Hybrid System Design for Adaptive Comfort with Dynamic
Simulation Tools
Wolfgang Kessling, Martin Engelhardt and Stefan Holst
Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH, Munich, Germany, kessling@transsolar.com
Abstract: This paper is about a Hybrid System Design that goes beyond conventional air-conditioning concepts
in hot climates. In this approach, mechanical systems for air conditioning can be downsized substantially and
energy demand can be reduced in the range of 30% to 50% without compromising thermal comfort and indoor
air quality. This is not, however, a new concept. It is about a reconceptualization of the problem and
understanding how to do more with less. The strikingly simple approach for Hybrid System Design can support
a paradigm shift in building comfort design and help substantially reduce material and energy demand. The
concept of Hybrid System Design combines excellent supply of tempered fresh air with fans that elevate air
speed to satisfy thermal comfort requirements. The fresh air rates are designed for good indoor air quality and
to keep carbon dioxide levels low. With rising indoor temperatures and higher humidity, the occupants can
elevate the air speed at their location as per their personal preferences. This paper will describe the
methodology of verification of hybrid system design with dynamic simulation tools with the example of an IT
office design in Hyderabad, India.
Keywords: thermal comfort, adaptive comfort, hybrid system design, elevated air speed, energy efficiency
Introduction
There is plenty of evidence that unlocking MEP design from very tight comfort envelopes is
key to improving thermal comfort and reducing systems and energy demand. Many technical
papers and reports highlight the energy saving potential of increased set point temperatures.
Going beyond that and designing for higher indoor temperatures and humidity levels in
combination with elevated air speed requires that designers be prepared for a discussion of
all aspects of comfort and capable of verifying the proposed concept. We will address both
aspects in the following sections.
The authors are aware that the terms Adaptive Comfort and Hybrid System Design need
further clarification and might stretch their conventional meaning. In practice, within projects,
this is partly intended to initiate a discussion with clients and design team to lay the
groundwork for an informed discussion about re-thinking comfort. We use these terms in the
absence of better ones.
Hybrid System Design: high comfort – low tech – low energy
The concept of Hybrid System Design combines excellent supply of tempered fresh air with
fans that elevate air speed to satisfy thermal comfort requirements. The fresh air rates are
designed for good indoor air quality (IAQ) and to keep carbon dioxide (generated by
occupants) and other air pollutant levels low. With rising indoor temperatures, the occupants
can elevate the air speed at their location as per their personal preferences. Typically, the air
The design process for Hybrid System design with Adaptive Comfort
Common practice in many countries is to design air conditioned buildings that operate at
22 °C to 24 °C all year, satisfying the stringent specifications outlined in the established
Thermal Comfort Standards of ASHRAE 55, ISO 7730, EN 15251 or other locally derived
standards. In conventional HVAC design cooling loads are evaluated to guarantee that these
maximum indoor air temperatures and humidity levels are never exceeded. This is simple and
widespread, there are many computer design tools available which directly evaluate the
internal and external cooling loads and proposed system design. Many of them perform a
cooling load evaluation for a single maximum design point. The complex question of thermal
comfort is reduced to a temperature and humidity set point. When designing for adaptive
comfort, six environmental and personal parameters, air temperature (Tair), mean radiant
temperature (MRT), relative humidity (RH), average elevated air speed (v), clothing factor (clo)
and metabolic rate (met), are considered. This requires that the building design be evaluated
with dynamic simulation tools and adaptive models be applied to verify comfort. The design
focus is shifted from air temperatures (or operative temperatures) to a more comprehensive
comfort parameter: Predicted Mean Vote for elevated air speed (PMVeas). The greater set of
parameters introduces greater complexity, but offers more opportunities to create
comfortable conditions.
Modelling the Predicted Mean Vote for elevated air speed (PMVeas) according
ASHRAE 55-2013
Models for the Predicted Mean Vote have been introduced in many simulation software
packages as PMV models. It is important to understand that this classical PMV model by O.
Fanger differs substantially from the PMVeas model particularly regarding the sensitivity to
breezes or, technically speaking, to elevated air speed.
Underpinned by a heat balance model developed in the 1970s for air conditioned
spaces, the derived ‘static’ comfort standards tend to prefer lower temperatures and low air
speeds as achieved with conventional air-conditioning techniques. Being developed in mid-
latitude climates, systematic discrepancies were found when applied to warmer climates. The
heat balance comfort model does not fully explain thermal comfort conditions experienced
in naturally ventilated buildings with elevated air speed (de Dear, 2011).
Adaptive comfort models, developed based on extensive field studies across the world,
can describe this phenomenon (Humphreys et al. 2016). With ASHRAE Standard 55-2013,
Appendix G, Addendum d, a procedure for evaluating the cooling effect of elevated air speed
is described. One tool including PMVeas for a static condition is the CBE Thermal Comfort Tool
developed at the University of California Berkeley (Hoyt, 2013). For dynamic thermal
simulation this procedure has been incorporated into TRNSYS 3D since the release of version
17.
Three main characteristic steps can be identified for the Hybrid System design process:
1. Introducing the PMVeas as design objective for thermal comfort
2. Cooling load evaluation and design optimization with dynamic simulation to achieve
maximum room air or operative temperatures. of 28 °C and a relative humidity < 70%.
This step yields 3 of the required design parameters which describe the building quality,
IAQ and system performance: Tair, MRT and RH.
3. Comfort evaluation with the adaptive comfort model with auto-clothing and auto-
elevated air speed strategies to verify that design objectives, e.g. PMVeas < 0.5, are
achieved. This can form part of the dynamic analysis or be evaluated in a post process.
In this step, the two personal parameters, clo and met, are considered, the design is
verified and the optimal air speed v is evaluated (6th parameter).
Step 1: Introducing PMVeas as a design objective to the design process
One of the most important steps in the design process with the client and design team is to
introduce the PMVeas as the design parameter for thermal comfort and to replace the simple
maximum temperature set point. ASHRAE compliance is achieved when -0.5 < PMVeas < 0.5,
which is equivalent to 90% of the occupants being satisfied with the environmental conditions
and is the best result which can be achieved in practice.
Step 2: Cooling load evaluation and design optimization with dynamic simulation tools
With dynamic simulation tools the thermal performance of a design can be reliably evaluated
while accounting for the local climate, program, internal loads and operation. Effects of
passive envelope qualities such as thermal insulation, solar protection, solar gain, thermal
mass, infiltration, materials, colours and many more can be studied in combination with
active systems for HVAC. The authors want to emphasise that all options to reduce external
and internal loads shall have preference, but that is not the topic of this paper.
Figure 2. Study of indoor CO2 level over the course of the day. Example is for 13 cfm.
The different design alternatives are also compared with respect to electrical energy
demand, particularly auxiliary energy demand for mechanical ventilation. As indoor air
temperatures increase it is found that cooling energy savings from heat recovery are
outweighed by the additional auxiliary electrical energy demand. Thus, it was found that the
return air system could be omitted and the exhaust air could be spilled over to adjacent semi-
enclosed areas. Mechanical systems could be simplified, investment costs and space
requirements for ducts and mechanical systems could be reduced without compromising the
performance, energy demand and comfort (Kessling et al. 2014 and 2016). This step typically
yields 3 of the required design parameters which describe the building quality system
performance Tair, MRT and RH.
Step 3: Comfort evaluation and design verification
Auto-clothing
People are able to adapt their clothing to the prevailing climatic conditions. To consider this
aspect, we propose a typical range for clothing factor depending on the local climate, the local
cultural preferences and the intended use of the building. ASHRAE e.g. suggest a clothing
factor for 0.5 for summer and 1 for winter. To simplify the modelling, we suggest defining the
clothing factor based on the ambient conditions: e.g. assuming that people wear typical
Figure 3. With the Auto eas algorithm the optimal air speed is identified. The result shown are for an IT
office with Hybrid System Design. Left: conditions in a psychometric chart. Right: the comfort conditions rated
with PMVeas. The colors indicate the different air speeds in m/s: blue: 0, red 0.3, green 0.7, purple: 1. The
graph shows how the elevated air speed compensates for higher indoor temperatures. This control algorithm
mimics people adaptive choices to control their thermal environment with a ceiling fan.
Conclusion
For comfort design a holistic view of all the parameters which make up human comfort is key.
Designers can broaden design strategies from focusing on a single temperature set point to
include physical phenomena of heat radiation as well as environmental parameters such as
wind speed to design for adaptive environments. In warm climates, a Hybrid System Design
presents an attractive choice to create comfortable environments with smaller air
conditioning systems, reduced chiller capacities and lower energy demand. Adaptive Comfort
and Hybrid Comfort Design is not a poor man’s choice. It is a choice for new, breathing
architecture, for new aesthetic and functional solutions, for opening up façades with better
indoors-outdoors connections, and for context sensitive design in response to local climate
and cultural conditions.
References
ASHRAE Standard 55 (2013). Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. American Society
of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, ASHRAE.
EN 15251 (2012). Indoor Environmental input parameters for design and assessment of energy
performance of buildings. European Norm.
ISO 7730 (2012). Ergonomics of the thermal environment. International Organization for Standardization.
de Dear, R. (2011). Adaptive Thermal Comfort, Background, Simulations, Future Directions,
http://eetd.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/dedear-sem04feb2011.pdf.
Humphreys, M. Nicol, F. Roaf, S. (2016). Adaptive Thermal Comfort - Foundation and Analysis. ISBN: 978-
0-415-69161-1, London: Routledge.
Hoyt, T. et al. (2013). CBE Thermal Comfort Tool, Center for the Built Environment, University of California
Berkeley. http://cbe.berkeley.edu/comforttool/.
Franke, L. Kessling, W. Engelhardt, M. Wong, M.S. (2014) Evaluation of Comfort Concepts with Tempered
Air and Elevated Air Speed in Tropical Climates. PLEA Conference, Ahmedabad, India.
Kessling, W. Engelhardt, M. Kishnani, N. (2016) Developing the Net Zero Energy Design for the School of
Design and Environment of the National University of Singapore. PLEA Conference, Los Angeles, USA.
Abstract: One third of the world’s total population is from the urban areas of the middle income nations. The
cities are growing and so is the need to provide basic shelter. The lack of provision of affordable homes in the
urban areas leads to encroachment and unplanned development. One such city where more than 50% of its
population lives in such settlements is Mumbai, India. The thermal and visual comfort in these spaces are
achieved by using air-conditioning and artificial lighting, which increases their energy consumption and
household expenditure. Thus, the main focus of the investigation was to study the existing living conditions
and to find retrofitting strategies in order to improve their living environments and offer the inhabitants
passive alternatives to the increasingly widespread use of mechanical options. The study suggested
incorporation of strategies like fenestration design to achieve variable ventilation rates, to reduce the risks of
overheating as well as the allowance of required amount of daylight whilst simultaneously minimizing the solar
gains. The fieldwork and computational analysis aided in concluding that, these developments had high scope
for improvement, hence adopting careful strategies would considerably improve the habitable conditions of its
user along with sustaining its socio-cultural importance.
Introduction
At present, every developing nation is facing an acute shortage of shelter for its citizens
followed with partial distribution of food and livelihood. With the growing population, these
nations are also the worst affected areas that experience severe life and goods damage
during natural calamities. High density, minimal housing, affordability, poor sanitation were
some of the reasons for maximum loss during one such catastrophe that Mumbai
experienced during the July 2005 floods. Therefore, it becomes extremely important to look
at the existing living environments, understand them, learn from them and apply the
learnings in order to minimize the damage and improve the living standards. At the same
time, it is also important to make space for a progressive and sustained socio-economic
development over the long term.
The emergence of mega-cities during the late 20th and early 21st century also brought
with it, global economic transformations and fundamental changes in terms of national
growth and development strategies. During this time and even today, Mumbai, is
undergoing massive construction that includes high-end office towers, malls and luxury
housing projects. However, simultaneously the city has also been experiencing an explosion
of unplanned settlements that include small home based workshops, street vending and
informal housing. These settlements are often looked upon as areas that are on the verge of
Context
Climate
Figure 2. Existing Built Fabric – Dharavi (Outdoor alleyway, Existing Layout and Indoor Space)
Existing Thermal and Visual Condition: Spot Measurements & Continuous Measurements
Sector 5 of Dharavi was chosen for fieldwork, which roughly represented the overall
working and housing stock of Dharavi. A 30m2 ground floor household (Owner: Paul Raphel)
was chosen for indoor environmental analysis and the spot measurements were quantified
for the household and the area around it, to understand the microclimate the built
environment created and how it affected the indoor climatic conditions. The data collected
from the fieldwork was subsequently analysed and pre-design strategies were tested based
on the fieldwork analysis.
Outdoor: The spot measurements taken in the outdoor spaces and alleyways verified
that the shaded alleyways aided in maintaining lower temperatures by blocking the solar
radiation. However, this obstruction also led in cutting off the daylight entering the
Design Application
Strategies
The fieldwork aided in concluding that though Dharavi was one of the most sustainable
developments, the thermal and visual quality that was experienced (indoor and outdoor)
during the fieldwork could not be neglected. Hence, a step by step process to understand
the user requirements and the possible ways in which minimum comfort requirements
could be met, were taken into consideration. The possibilities of development that were
established in order to evaluate the proposal were as follows:
Alterations – This consisted of - i. Change in roof; ii. Change in window to
floor ratio; iii. Change in the drainage system; iv. Change in the wall system
New Development – This consisted of - i. A new design development keeping the
existing footprint; ii. Application of learnings from the ‘Alterations’ to the new
development.
Completely New Development – i. This would mean a completely new design, with
new density ratios and open spaces; ii. A complete change in the design and culture
of the existing fabric. Considering the first possibility of development, the following
design interventions were proposed and analysed:
Social alley
Social alley
Analytic Work
Ventilation Strategy
Window proportions played an important role because they determined the amount of
daylight levels in the house and also directed the air flow movement. Thus, various
permutations and combinations for the inlet size, stack height and the aperture size for the
window were calibrated in Optivent in order to determine the best suited option that could
be adopted for the given typology. It was observed that, when the window size was
maximized, highest air changes per hour was achieved. However, with the dense format of
the existing development it was not practical to suggest openings of 2m*1m. Hence, the
second best option was chosen, where though the window size was smaller (1.7m*0.35m),
higher air changes per hour was achieved by considering maximum stack height of 0.9m.
Figure 7. Daylight Analysis – For Summer (May) - Case A (Derived from Ecotect)
Figure 8. Daylight Analysis – For Summer (May) - Case B (Derived from Ecotect)
Hence, it was concluded that providing a fixed glass window (Case B) along with
openable slit window on ground level could improve the daylighting conditions of the house
during most times of the year. The daylight levels achieved on the top level in Case A was
not up to the standard requirement, while the levels achieved in Case B were way higher
Thermal Analysis
The lack of ventilation caused higher indoor temperatures along with increase in the
humidity levels and hence cross ventilation was needed. The occupancy gains, equipment
gains and occupancy patterns were calculated in order to perform TAS Simulations. A
thermal comfort band from ASHRAE 55 model (CBE thermal comfort tool), with 80%
acceptability limit was considered for the thermal analysis.
Typical Summer Days
On Global Radiation: According to the climate data obtained from Meteonorm and TAS
Simulations, maximum radiation (1000Wh/m2) was received from 11:00-13:00, for the
analysed days, from 24th May to 27th May (Figure 9). Gradual rise and fall in external
temperature from 6:00-19:00 could be associated with the global radiations. The
temperature dropped by a maximum of 7oC when there were no radiations i.e. during night.
Wh/m2
oC
Figure 9. Typical Summer Days – 24th May to 27th May – Ground Level (Derived from TAS)
Existing - Apart from global radiation, internal heat gains and lack of ventilation were
the key reasons for higher indoor resultant temperature in the existing scenario. Case A -
The cooling coils were set to operate from 9:00 to 17:00 when the global radiations was
higher. Hence, consistent drop in temperature was observed during this period. Case B -
With no mechanical cooling, 5-6oC drop in the resultant temperature as compared to the
existing case was observed.
Thus, it was observed that, the cooling coils worked satisfactorily and managed to
maintain the indoor resultant temperature within the comfort band throughout. But, with
no mechanical ventilation, Case B also worked exceptionally well and managed to get the
temperatures in the comfort band.
Conclusion
The fieldwork and the computational analysis aided in concluding that effective ventilation
strategies with appropriate stack heights, worked in favour of the hot and humid climate.
Case A (Hybrid Downdraught Cooling) – In spite of the climatic conditions, this
method reduced the internal resultant temperature by 8oC. However, since the cooling coils
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank URBZ (Research Institute, Mumbai), Dr. Martina Maria Spies
and Activist Paul Raphel for their support in the study. The author is also grateful to
Santander’s for the Travel Grant that enable the fieldwork in Dharavi, Mumbai to take place.
References
Cronin, A.A. (2004). Water and Sanitation in the World’s Cities: Local Action for Global Goals. UK and
USA: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Dovey, K. and Tomlinson, R. (2012). Dharavi: Informal Settlements and Slum Upgrading. Melbourne.
University of Melbourne. Available from http://www.placeresearch.net/pdf/DHARAVI%20report.pdf.
[Accessed 29 April 2015].
Fernando, V. (2009). In the Heart of Bombay: the Dharavi Slum. Available from http://base.d-p-
h.info/fr/fiches/dph/fiche-dph-7867.html#Haut. [Accessed 27 April 2015].
Ford, B., Schiano-Phan, R. and Francis, E. (2010). The Architecture & Engineering of Downdraught
Cooling: A Design Sourcebook. U.K. PHDC Press.
Grima, J. and Gandolfi, N.M., 2012. URBZ Urbanistica collettiva. Domus, (955), pp.54.
Gregory, R. (2010). Urbanism. Architectural Review. September. (228), pp.88-91.
Gupta, V., 1981. Natural cooling of buildings. RR-Sl, Innovative Informations Inc., Greenbelt, MD.
Gupta, V., 1984. Indigenous architecture and natural cooling. Energy and Habitat, pp.41-58.
Raith, K. (2012). Dharavi, Mumbai – The value of a Slum. Architektur Aktuell, (391), pp.72-85.
Savchuk,K. and Encanove,M. (2008). Urban Typhoon Workshop in Koliwada, Mumbai. Available from
http://www.urbantyphoon.com/dharavi.htm. [Accessed 27 April 2015].
Tregenza.P, Wilson, M. (2011). Daylighting: Architecture and Lighting Design. Routledge.
Tyler,H. et al. (2013). ASHRAE-55. CBE Thermal Comfort Tool. Available from
http://cbe.berkeley.edu/comforttool/. [Accessed 25 June 2015].
Introduction
Students have diverse activities during a day with limited adaptive actions in classrooms (Teli,
Mark F Jentsch, et al. 2012) so their perception of thermal comfort may be totally different
than that of occupants in an office. As a result, there is no guarantee that steady state heat-
balanced model of thermal comfort obtained from experiments with adults (Fanger 1970) or
adaptive model of thermal comfort developed from surveys in offices (Dear et al. 1998; Nicol
& Humphreys 1973) can reliably represent student’s perception of thermal comfort. Although
several studies have considered thermal perception of children at schools (Humphreys 1977;
Teli et al. 2014; Montazami et al. 2017; ter Mors et al. 2011; De Giuli et al. 2012), there are
still fewer researches in hot-arid climates like Iran (Haddad et al. 2013; Haddad et al. 2016a;
Zahiri et al. 2011), especially with regards to the effect of spatial configuration and design on
thermal environment and thermal perception. In Iran, most school buildings have compact
plans with poorly insulated envelopes and usually no external shadings while there are no
regulations to control indoor temperature (Zomorodian & Nasrollahi n.d.). That results in
Methodology
The methods applied in the paper include both measurement of environmental variables and
questionnaire surveys. The study is conducted in mid seasons, fall and spring, to make sure
that no heating system or cooling system is in use in the school. The average temperature of
Kashan is 19.2oC in April and 24.4oC in May (Anon n.d.) but there is a large difference between
day and night temperature.
Location, Building
Case study buildings are located in Kashan, Iran (33° 58' 59" N / 51° 25' 56" E) which is
characterized with desert climate and clear-sky conditions, (Fig 1). The high school is chosen
due to its design reminding Iranian traditional architecture with four south facing and four
north facing classrooms surrounding a central courtyard, (Figs 1, 2 & 5). The studied primary
school is located across the high school but with a typical compact design of schools in this
region, (Figs 1 & 3). Schools have inclined 25 degree toward west and have North-West and
South-East orientation, (Fig 1). As all the classrooms are the same in size and design, one
south facing classroom and one north facing classroom have been selected in the middle of
each school.
Fig 1. Left: location and orientation of the schools (Image from Google Earth). Fig 2. Middle: high school floor
plan. Fig 3. Right: primary school floor plan
Both schools have medium thermal mass buildings with classrooms of approximately
the same size, around 50 m2. High school classrooms are day-lit through 4 double glazed
windows with 2.3 m height and 0.5 m width, WWR=20%, (Fig 4), and primary school
classrooms are day-lit with 2 double glazed windows which cover 21% of the wall, without
external shadings, (Fig 6).
Subjective Measurements
A total of 113 girl students aged 15-18 were surveyed three times in the high school, 59
students from 20-22 April 2015 and 54 students from 19-21 October 2015, collecting a total
of 323 questionnaires. 59 students aged 10-11 were surveyed in the primary school during 5-
7 May 2014, collecting a total of 172 questionnaires. Table 1 provides detailed information of
the number of subjects. The schools’ academic year start around September 25 and ends
around June 18 and classrooms are occupied from Saturday to Wednesday, 8:00 to 14:30.
Table 1. Provides detailed information of the number of subjects
School Season Classroom Number of Votes/Number of Students
Orientation 1st day 2nd day 3rd day Total
High Spring South 30/30 30/30 28/30 88/90
School North 28/29 27/29 29/29 84/87
Fall South 26/26 26/26 24/26 76/78
North 28/28 23/28 24/28 75/84
Primary Spring South 28/29 28/29 29/29 85/87
School North 29/30 30/30 28/30 87/90
Prior to doing the main study in the high school, a group of 10 students were selected
from each classroom to fill out a 7-point scale questionnaire in two successive days in spring
at three different times, 9, 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Based on feedback received from students
and teachers, the questionnaire was long and confusing so it changed to a five point scale
questionnaire in its second edition, (+2) Hot, (+1) Warm, (0) Neutral, (-1) Cool and (-2) Cold.
For devising the appropriate questionnaire for children in the primary school, authors took
into account several studies (Fabbri 2015; Teli, Mark F. Jentsch, et al. 2012; Haddad et al.
2012), yet, teachers checked the questions and commented on changing the 7-point scale
questionnaire to a 5-point scale questionnaire, (+2) Hot, (+1) Warm, (0) OK, (-1) Cool and (-2)
Cold. The questionnaires were administered only once in each three days but at different
hours as students found it tiring to fill out questionnaires three times a day. Although the
study by (Goto et al. 2002) shows that 15 min of sedentary activity enables the body to reach
a stable thermal state, the surveys were handed out after 30 minutes of the classroom activity
to provide a safety margin (Montazami et al. 2017; Teli, Mark F. Jentsch, et al. 2012).
Metabolic rate was considered 1.2 met as students were engaged in sedentary activity
after half an hour of the start of the class. The clothing values were found to be within a range
of 0.7 to 0.8 Clo; the Clo value is relatively high for spring and fall in this region which is due
to Islamic regulations and dress code. Moreover, as schools are segregated and students are
exposed to same cultural background and outdoor temperature (Haddad et al. 2016a),
clothing patterns are not very different.
Results
Students’ perception of the questionnaire
All replies were controlled in terms of inconsistency so that the cases with (TSV+TPV)<-3 or
(TSV+TPV)>+3 are not reliable since a student feeling hot does not normally prefer a warmer
environment (Teli, Mark F Jentsch, et al. 2012). The replies were all reliable, even in the
primary school, which confirms students’ good understanding of the questionnaires.
Students’ thermal sensation and thermal preference vote
Fig 7 shows the distribution of TPV in relation to TSVs at each classroom, with mean operative
temperature for each orientation. Students mostly find their environment ‘warm’ in south
facing classrooms, 51% in high school and 59% in primary school. Students mostly feel ‘neutral’
in north/high school (54%) and have close warm (38%) and neutral sensations (31%) in
north/primary school which is due to higher mean operative temperatures (29.3oC), (Fig 7).
TPVs are centred on cooler and colder with 83% in south/high school, 67% in north/high
school, 87% in south/primary school and 95% in north/primary school. Students in both
schools have a more neutral sensation towards north facing classrooms than south facing
classrooms, especially in the high school where the difference between operative
temperature in north and south facing classrooms is higher than in the primary school. This
can be attributed to the special design of this school with the courtyard in centre.
60.0 32
Mean Operative Temperature
Percent of Thermal Preference Votes
50.0 30.3 30
29.3
40.0 28
26.9
30.0 26
24.8
20.0 24
10.0 22
0.0 20
Hot Warm Neutral Cool Cold Hot Warm Neutral Cool Cold Hot Warm Neutral Cool Cold Hot Warm Neutral Cool Cold
Fig 7. Relative Frequency of TSV against TPV and operative temperature
According to equation 1, TSV in the high school remains close to neutral, between +0.5
and -0.5, when the operative temperature is between 23.7oC and 26.5oC and PMV is close to
neutral when the operative temperature is between 21.4oC and 25.9oC. PMV slightly
overestimates students’ thermal sensation in the high school while they can tolerate higher
temperatures. Most of PMV points fall a little above those of TSV in the high school or are
very close to TSV points but TSV is slightly higher than PMV at higher temperatures, more
than 27oC, which shows students sensitivity to higher temperatures.
According to equation 2, primary school students’ TSV is close to neutral sensation,
when the operative temperature is between 18.7oC and 26.4oC, and PMV is close to neutral
when the operative temperature is between 20.9oC and 24.9oC, meaning that children accept
a wider range of temperatures than what has been suggested by PMV model and feel less
sensitive to temperature variations. Although all PMV points fall above those of TSV in the
primary school, Fig 11, it cannot be concluded that PMV overestimates children’s thermal
perception as, first, graphs and equations show that at lower temperatures, PMV model
would underestimate children’s perception, second, the number of students are not large
enough to draw any firm conclusion. According to the results derived from this study, it can
be assumed that while PMV model underestimates children’s thermal perception at low
temperatures, it overestimates children’s thermal sensation at high temperatures. Generally,
the range proposed by PMV is much more limited that the range accepted by children in this
study. While children tolerate lower temperatures than high school students, upper threshold
of neutral temperature for them (26.4oC) is very close to that for adults (26.5oC) in this study
and is higher than PMV predictions.
The correlation between TSV and Top is quite satisfactory for the high school with
r2=0.88 showing that students’ mean sensation of thermal conditions is greatly affected by
operative temperature variations. The regression gradient of 0.36 derived from this study is
very close to the mean value derived from the study by (Humphreys et al. 2007) for adult
subjects which is 0.37 scale unit/oC. On the other hand, the correlation found between Top
and TSV (mean) in the primary school is less satisfactory (r2=0.4). The low regression gradient of
0.13 shows that children are less sensitive to temperature changes which agrees with the
studies done by (Teli, Mark F Jentsch, et al. 2012; Humphreys 1977). The derived value, 0.13,
is lower than the value in the studies by (Teli, Mark F Jentsch, et al. 2012; Haddad et al. 2016b)
which is 0.27.
Mean Vote
1 TSV(mean) = 0.13To - 2.94
y = 0.7772x + 0.9857
1.7
R² = 0.40047 R² = 0.4062
0.5
1.2
TSV(mean) = 0.3652To - 9.0544
PMV
0
0.7 23 25 27 R² = 0.887
29 31 33 35
PMV = 0.5912TSV + 0.3117
-0.5
R² = 0.9224 Operative Temperature
0.2
-0.30 -0.10
-0.3
0.10 0.30 0.50 0.70 0.90 1.10 1.30 1.50
TSV
PMV High School TSV High School TSV Primary School PMV Primary School
Fig 9. Left: TSVs by PMV. Fig 10. Right: TSV and PMV plotted against Top
Conclusion
Results show that north facing classrooms provide lower temperatures and students’ votes
are more close to neutral in north facing classrooms. Moreover, Top is closer to Tout in the high
school with the courtyard design than in primary school with compact design, especially in
north facing classrooms where the effect of solar radiation is less. Courtyard design can
provide higher levels of natural ventilation and reduce overheating in this region.
Results show that PMV overestimates high school students’ perception of comfort; TSV
is lower than PMV in 8 out of 12 surveys and is higher than PMV only in high temperatures.
According to the findings of this study and equation 2, PMV model also overestimates
children’s thermal sensation at high temperatures and underestimates it at low temperatures.
A wider range of neutral temperatures are accepted by children (18.7oC =<Tn<=26.4oC) than
that suggested by PMV (20.9oC =<Tn<=24.9oC) while many studies have confirmed that
rational thermal comfort model underestimates children’s thermal perception (Teli, Mark F
Jentsch, et al. 2012; Montazami et al. 2017; ter Mors et al. 2011; Zeiler & Boxem 2009; Liang
et al. 2012; Haddad et al. 2016b). The wider range of neutral temperature for primary school
students than that by PMV model suggests that the physiology of children in this study can
well adapt to wide outdoor temperature changes. Children’ adaptability to lower
temperatures can be justified by their higher metabolic rate and activity level as already
confirmed by (Haddad et al. 2016b; Teli, Mark F Jentsch, et al. 2012; Montazami et al. 2017)
and children’ adaptability to higher temperatures can be justified by their expectations of the
region. Moreover, higher PMV points than TSV points at high temperatures can also be
attributed to the high mean value of Clo in this study (0.75) which results in high PMV values.
As girl students have to follow dress codes and cannot take much adaptive behaviours
towards clothing due to Islamic regulations, especially in mid-seasons, other behavioural and
environmental behaviours should be provided and encouraged, especially for young children.
References
Anon, Chaharmahal Weather Station Website. Available at: http://www.chaharmahalmet.ir/stat/
archive/iran/esf/KASHAN/38.asp.%22.
Ansi/Ashrae, 2013. ANSI/ASHRAE 55:2013 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy,
Dear, R. De et al., 1998. Developing an adaptive model of thermal comfort and preference. ASHRAE
Transactions, 104(Part 1), pp.1–18. Available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4qq2p9c6.pdf%5Cnhttp://
escholarship.org/uc/item/4qq2p9c6.pdf%5Cnhttp://repositories.cdlib.org/cedr/cbe/ieq/deDear1998_ThermC
omPref.
Fabbri, K., 2015. Indoor thermal comfort perception: A questionnaire approach focusing on children,
Fanger, P.O., 1970. Thermal comfort. Analysis and applications in environmental engineering. … comfort
Analysis and applications in environmental …. Available at: http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/
Thermal design, climate change and human evolution: The evolutionary costs
of comfort in artificial environments on human health
Guillermo Ivan Lastra1, Gloria María Castorena2, Víctor Armando Fuentes, Jonathan
Alejandro Galindo3 and Anibal Figueroa2
1
Bioclimatic Design, Design and Arts Division, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico
City. ivanlastra@hotmail.com;
2
Environmental Design, Design and Arts Division, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana,
Mexico City. gmce@correo.azc.uam.mx, dircad@correo.azc.uam.mx;
3
Department of Clinical Psychology, Universidad de Guanajuato, Celaya Salvatierra.
jonathan.galindo@ugto.mx.
Abstract: The present paper represents the proposal of a line of research whose objective is to explore the
importance of build environment in human health and cognitive expression from an interdisciplinary point of
view in order to improve the design of human habitat explaining the evolutionary function of environmental
diversity and providing evidence of the risk represented by climate change and artificial environments (more
specifically, thermal monotony and permanent lighting) due to the evolutionary capacity of homeotherms to
respond to environmental changes by triggering responses in cognitive plasticity, whose biological function is to
increase the chances of survival under environmental threats but it could also pose a health risk when activated
by false signals in artificial environments. In humans this hypothesis is supported by the evidence of the
interrelation between plasticity and environmental information in the fields of evolution and epigenetics, as well
as evidence of positive selection of alleles linked to Schizophrenia, Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Keywords: Evolution, thermal environments, ADHD, ASD, Schizophrenia
Introduction
The idea that the only way to access to comfort is through thermal monotony was formalized
more than a century ago with the implementation of the first artificial climate control system
and the publication of the Rational Psychrometric Formulae (Carrier, 1911).
Even today, despite the lack of scientific evidence and regardless its high economic,
energetic and environmental costs, the main goal of HVAC systems is the elimination of any
perceptible oscillations throughout the day and seasons (e.g. de Dear, 2014). The challenges
posed by climate change and the possibility of improving comfort through thermal diversity
allow us to reconsider the role of oscillations in health and human evolution because even if
it is practically impossible to design a comfort model capable of abstracting the wide systems
of the thermal response, the understanding of its practical and evolutionary function could
be fundamental to avoid the mistakes committed decades ago in other fields of human
knowledge, by recognizing that the most comfortable is not always the healthiest.
Figure 2. Oscillations in large-scale orbital cycles, temperature and calculated insolation for the last 400
thousand years at 65ºN for the the summer solstice. Based on Petit et al, 1999 and Berger et al, 2016.
The resulting climatic variability represents a possibility of unification in evolutionary
history (Potts & Faith, 2015) because it allows us to reconceptualise human morphological,
physiological and behavioural characteristics as evolutionary responses to face the most
demanding climatic changes (Grove, 2012). In the last thousand years, these climatic changes not
only allowed the expansion of humans across continents but also gave direction to the genetic
expression of the most convenient alleles to cope with these factors (Jablonski et al, 2012).
This leads to consider the substantial differences between populations as adaptations to
latitude, solar radiation, temperature and relative humidity (Hancock et al, 2011). Those
Figure 3. Variation in average temperature (ºC) and direct solar radiation (W/m ) near to 65ºN. Östersund.
2
Figure 4. The historical success of human cognitive plasticity triggered by changes in the environment is
evident in the coincidence between human innovation, solar insolation changes, and molecular evolution
events in GABA system linked to psychiatric disorders. Based on data from Lo et al, 2007 and Berger, 2016.
Figure 5. Solar insolation near to 65ºN throughout the year. Östersund, Sweden. Both artificial lighting systems
and antidepressant treatments with SSRIs modify the environmental signals by eliminating the seasonal effect
on serotonin transporter. Image from timeanddate.com
Conclusion
Although the impacts of climate change over the next 30 years are not considered an urgent
threat to human health (Papworth et al, 2015), this point of view completely changes if we
take into account that almost 50% of the world population lives in cities spending about 90%
of time indoors (Andersen, 2015), and that even under modest assumptions, the fraction of
households with HVAC systems will increase from the current 13% to more than 70% by the
end of the century (Davis & Gertler, 2015) so that human health effects could actually be
more immediate.
In this context, it is essential to understand the interaction between the artificial
environments and humans, both in the framework of their evolutionary history and the
individual response to the artificial environments, in order to provide answers not only with
respect to comfort, but also with regard to its influence on health, as a possibility to reduce
its negative effects and ensure the quality of life in an ever closer future.
Fortunately, nowadays there are several proposals that explore the possibility of
improving comfort through thermal diversity (e.g. Huizenga et al, 2001; Nicol & Humphreys,
2002; de Dear, 2011; Auliciems, 2014), which allow us to rethink the role of thermal
oscillations in human health and evolution. In fact, it is practically impossible to design a
model of thermal comfort capable of abstracting the whole human thermal responses.
However, the understanding of its practical and evolutionary function can be fundamental to
avoid the wrong assumptions that have been maintained for decades as absolute truths in
other fields of human knowledge when recognizing that, in most cases, the most comfortable
turns out to be also the most harmful to health.
As confirmed by the medical sciences, after hundreds of thousands of years of human
evolution, the healthiest remains the closest to the natural. Although it is impossible to
suggest the elimination of artificial systems in all the latitudes of the world, it is undeniable
that it is possible to adapt the HVAC patterns to daily and seasonal oscillations with an
extension of the range, from the current 3ºC (based on SET model) to 10ºC (Evans, 2003),
avoiding sudden changes with a rate maximum change in the air temperature of 1°C per hour
(Fanger cited in Evans, 2007). This would imply great advantages not only for energy saving
but also for health.
The same trend can be easily applied to lighting systems by implementing a dynamic
design capable of incorporating both natural lighting and the combination of light
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91, pp.101-117.
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PNAS, 112(19), pp.5962-5967.
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PNAS of USA, 111(26), pp.E2751-9.
Kevin Ka-Lun Lau1,2,3, Yu-Ting Kwok1, Justin Ching-Kwan Ho2, Pak-wai Chan4 and Edward
Yan-Yung Ng1,2,5
1
Institute of Future Cities, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong;
2
Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability, The Chinese University of Hong Kong,
Shatin, Hong Kong;
3
CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong
Kong;
4
Hong Kong Observatory, Kowloon, Hong Kong;
5
School of Architecture, The Chinese Unviersity of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
Abstract: In Hong Kong, over 40% of the population reside in public housing estates and the majority of the
occupants are elderly and people with disabilities, making them more vulnerable to extreme hot weather.
Under near-extreme summer conditions, the poor conditions of thermal comfort is accentuated due to the
high air temperature and exposure of solar radiation. The objectives of the present study is to examine the
thermal comfort conditions in two common types of buildings in public housing estates in Hong Kong under
typical and near-extreme summer conditions. Numerical modelling was used to obtain information about the
PMV values and air temperature in the units of the two dwelling types. Results suggested that the level of
thermal comfort varies across these two types of buildings. It was found that the more recent building type
(Harmony) generally provides better thermal comfort in dwellings. It also exhibits smaller increase in thermal
discomfort under near-extreme summer conditions in terms of maximum PMV values recorded. Further work
will focus on identifying design parameters that are potentially influential to thermal comfort and the
corresponding effect on energy consumption under different meteorological conditions, which will be
incorporated into design recommendations in subsequent stage of the study.
Keywords: Thermal comfort, high-density cities, near-extreme summer, summer reference year
Introduction
The compact living environment in high-density cities leads to deteriorating living quality
and significantly affects the health and well-being of building occupants. Reduced
ventilation in high-density urban environment was found to be associated with the
transmission and spread of infectious diseases (Li et al., 2007). Cramped environment also
causes thermal discomfort (Cheng and Ng, 2006), noise annoyance (Kang, 2001), and
psychological stress (Kaplan, 2001).
Thermal comfort of indoor environment is particularly important to building occupants
since overheating in buildings causes heat stress and even deaths if heat is accumulated
(Roaf et al., 2009). The 2003 heatwave in Europe is one of the examples of how prolonged
intense heat causes deaths in buildings (D'Ippoliti et al., 2010).
Methodology
Building Types
Two common building types were selected for the present study. Trident (Figure 1, left) is a
common building type in public housing estates in the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. It is
characterised by the Y-shape building form and typically up to 35 storeys. There are
generally 18 - 24 units per storey with a size of 32 - 44 m2. Harmony (Figure 1, right)
emerged as a successor to Trident and it was still adopted in recent development of public
housing estates. It generally has over 40 storeys with 16 - 18 units per storey. The unit size
ranges from 16 - 51 m2. Both represent the typical high-density residential environment in
Hong Kong.
Experimental Setup
Numerical simulation was performed using DesignBuilder v5, in which indoor environmental
conditions were generated by the dynamic EnergyPlus v8.5 simulation engine. Generic
models of the units were constructed in block level and further partitioned into zones with
different activities allocated accordingly (Figure 2). Full-size windows without fitted air-
conditioners or exhaust fans were carefully placed at a height of 1.8m based on the floor
layout plans. Component blocks were then added on top of windows where the flat above
extrudes for providing shading. To reduce the computational cost, only flats of the mid or
top floors for each building type were constructed in detail, while the common areas and
the rest of the building were represented by a single adiabatic component block.
Figure 1. Building layout of Trident (left) and Harmony (right) types in public housing estates in Hong Kong.
The physical parameters of the modelled units were specified for the two building
types in order to produce more accurate and realistic results. Construction materials were
also determined according to current literature and practice (Table 1). Occupant density was
assumed to be 0.083 person/m2 based on the average living space per person of 12m2
(Housing Authority, 2016). Simulations were set as free-running for each building type. No
mechanical ventilation was applied and windows were assumed to remain open for 30% of
the time.
Figure 2. (a) On Chiu House (Trident type) in Cheung On Estate and generic models of (b) the whole building, (c)
mid-floor flats and (d) a partitioned flat constructed in DesignBuilder.
Figure 3. Summer mean PMV of different orientations for Trident (left) and Harmony (right) using TRY and SRY
data. Line graph shows the difference in PMV between TRY and SRY.
Indoor air temperature was extracted to examine the overheating conditions of the
modelled units. Table 2 shows the daily maximum indoor temperature (Tmax) in different
orientations of the Trident units. It clearly shows that the east- (T1) and west-facing (T6)
façades exhibit higher Tmax, which is up to near 1°C higher than the south-facing units in July
under the typical (TRY) scenario. Solar altitude is relatively lower when these units were
sunlit so the level of solar radiation is more intense, resulting in higher thermal load in the
units. Moreover, the highest increase in Tmax under the near-extreme (SRY) scenario was
observed in west-facing units (about 1.6°C higher than the TRY scenario. It implies that
design features should be oriented to reducing the absorption of solar heat in these units.
Indoor Tmax observed in the Harmony units is generally smaller than that in the Trident
units. The differences between east- and west-facing units and other orientations are
smaller in Harmony units (Table 3), suggesting that new design of public housing creates a
Figure 4. Mean indoor temperature for individual hours for Trident (left) and Harmony (right) using SRY data.
Further Work
The present study compares the level of thermal comfort in two common types of public
housing in Hong Kong under typical and near-extreme summer conditions which were
represented by TRY and SRY respectively. Numerical modelling was used to obtain
information about the PMV values and air temperature in the units of the two dwelling
types. It was found that the more recent building type (Harmony) generally provides better
thermal comfort in dwellings. It also exhibits smaller increase in thermal discomfort under
near-extreme summer conditions in terms of maximum PMV values recorded. Higher PMV
values were observed in east- and west-facing units and the west-facing units also showed
higher maximum air temperature due to the combined effect of high air temperature in the
afternoon and direct sun exposure. Due to the difference in insulation, the Harmony units
have a smaller diurnal range of indoor air temperature which provides more stable indoor
environmental conditions and better thermal comfort.
Further work will focus on identifying parameters that are potentially influential to
thermal comfort and the corresponding effect on energy consumption under different
meteorological conditions. Design features will also be identified and findings will be
incorporated into future design of public housing which accommodates the majority of
population in Hong Kong. Parametric studies will therefore be conducted to examine the
sensitivity of different design parameters and determine the extent of how they affect
thermal comfort conditions.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the General Research Fund from the Research Grants Council of
Hong Kong [Grant number: 14603715].
References
Cheng, V., Ng, E. (2006). Comfort temperatures for naturally ventilated buildings in Hong Kong.
Architectural Science Review, 49, pp. 179–182.
D'Ippoliti, D., Michelozzi, P., Marino, C., de'Donato, F., Menne, B., Katsouyanni, K., Kirchmayer, U.,
Analitis, A., Medina-Ramón, M., Paldy, A., Atkinson, R., Kovats, S., Bisanti, L., Schneider, A., Lefranc, A., Iñiguez
C., Perucci, C.A. (2010). The impact of heat waves on mortality in 9 European cities: results from the EuroHEAT
project. Environmental Health, 9, 37.
Fanger, P.O. (1972). Thermal comfort: analysis and applications in environmental engineering. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Hong Kong Observatory (2016). Statistics of Special Weather Events - Number of Very Hot days.
Available at: http://www.hko.gov.hk/cis/statistic/vhotday_statistic_e.htm
Jentsch, M.F., Eames, M.E., Levermore, G.J. (2015). Generating near-extreme Summer Reference Years
for building performance simulation. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 36, pp. 701–727.
Kang, J. (2001). Sound propagation in interconnected urban streets: A parametric study. Environment
and Planning B: Planning and Design, 28(2), pp. 281–294.
Kaplan, R. (2001). The nature of view from home: Psychological benefits. Environment and Behaviour,
33(4), pp. 507–542.
Abstract: Indoor environmental quality significantly impacts on students’ performance and productivity,
particularly thermal comfort levels. Currently in Vietnam, very few studies have dealt with the issue and the
current trend is to install energy-intensive air-conditioning in primary schools as this is perceived as more
comfortable. In this study, the authors investigated the users’ perceptions of thermal comfort in three primary
schools in Ho Chi Minh City during the mid-season (September 2015) and the hottest season (April 2016). In-situ
spot and long-term measurements were recorded. Questionnaires were completed by 2,145 children (from 8 to
11 years-old) and 62 teachers to understand their experiences and the extent of their interaction with the
building in 62 naturally ventilated classrooms. The results were analysed by correlating the conditions measured
and the comfort mean votes. Throughout this study, children were observed to tolerate higher thermal comfort
condition than the recommended values in the standards. Around 7% of the occupied time during academic
year presented temperatures over 33oC, in which less than 80% of the children voted acceptable. The results
indicated that Vietnamese children had higher thermal comfort tolerance than the comfort levels suggested in
the standards. Using air conditioning system all year round was deemed unnecessary.
Keywords: thermal comfort, primary school, natural ventilation, indoor environmental quality, children.
Introduction
The indoor environment significantly impacts on students’ performance and productivity (Fisk,
2000, Mendell and Heath, 2005, Teli et al., 2015). Among the factors required to achieve
satisfactory indoor environmental quality, thermal comfort can be considered as one of the
most important issues, especially in tropical countries (Al horr et al., 2016). After investigating
several case studies, Frontczak and Wargocki (2011) stated that the building type, outdoor
conditions and the season all have an influence on thermal comfort.
Research on thermal comfort to date has been based on adult comfort and mainly
focused on residential buildings and offices. There have been a limited but increasing number
of studies about comfortable thermal environment for young children in primary schools. Teli
et al. (2015) suggested that UK children’s comfort temperature could be 2oC lower than
adults’, Trebilcock et al. (2017) came to similar conclusions in Chile and de Dear et al. (2015)
in Australia. Fabbri (2015) also argued that children are less sensitive to cold condition due to
higher metabolism. In summary, a number of field studies showed evidence that children
have different thermal comfort requirements than adults and therefore existing international
standards, which are based on adults’ perception, may not be appropriate for children.
In Vietnam, there has been a few studies about thermal comfort in residential buildings
in Da Nang (Nguyen, 2013) and in secondary schools in Ho Chi Minh City (Tran, 2010). Tran
(2010) suggested that the neutral comfort temperature for classrooms in secondary schools
Case studies
Three primary schools with similar characteristics all located in central Ho Chi Minh City were
investigated. School 1 is in the medium density residential area whilst the others (School 2
and School 3) are in the high density residential area. There are 62 classrooms in total in the
three schools with approximately 35 pupils per class on average. The typical room size is 40-
50m2. The floor-to-ceiling height is 3-3.3m. The walls are made of single/double bricks
without thermal insulation. Doors and windows have single glazing and steel frames in School
1 and School 2. In School 3, most of classrooms have wooden louvered windows and a door.
There are ceiling fans and artificial lighting in all classrooms. Some classrooms have curtains
or blinds. The academic year in Vietnam is from the middle of August to the end of May every
year. The school time is 7:00 - 10:00 and 13:00 - 16:00 Monday to Friday. Children wear similar
uniform in these schools with the clothing insulation level of 0.55clo on average.
Methodology
Methods used included the collection of environmental data and the deployment of a
questionnaire designed by the authors. The sets of data were then correlated to enable the
understating of perception of comfort in relation to actual measured data. The periods of
data collection included September 2015 (mid-season) and April 2016 (hottest season). In the
mid-season, only School 1 was investigated. The typical weather was hot with little rainfall
(average daily temperature 29.9oC and relative humidity 73.6%). In the hottest season, the
authors conducted the investigation in three primary schools when the weather was
significantly hot without rainfall (average daily temperature 31.8oC, relative humidity 68.4%).
Long term recording
Two modules of a NETATMO environment/weather station were installed in one selected
classroom in each school in order to conduct long term in-situ measurement of environmental
conditions. The outdoor unit recorded outside air temperature and relative humidity while
the internal unit monitored the indoor environmental parameters. The data were recorded
every five minutes and continuously recorded from August 2015 to May 2016. The NETATMO
system has an accuracy of ±0.3 oC for temperature and ±3% for relative humidity. The long-
Table 2 Spot point measurements and the overall thermal sensation mean vote in the three primary schools
Thermal Sensation Mean Indoor Air Temperature Relative Humidity Range [%]
Vote Range [oC]
School 1 -0.2 29.2 - 34 49.1 – 83.4
School 2 0.56 31.7 – 35.8 42.8 – 78.5
School 3 0.51 31.1 – 36.1 48.4-79.3
The temperatures measured were higher than 27oC in all investigated classrooms.
Therefore they were classified as Building Category IV (CEN, 2007), which is out of the range
for good indoor thermal comfort.
If compared with the Vietnamese standards, only seven classrooms presented
temperatures below 31.5oC during the investigation period (equivalent to 14% of classrooms)
and therefore could be classified as ‘acceptable’ in terms of thermal comfort conditions, even
though they are still out of the desired comfort zone. Only one classroom, which was
measured in the morning, presented the temperature of 29.2oC (below 29.5oC) and therefore
was within the comfort zone. Generally, the measured conditions did not achieve thermal
comfort based on Vietnamese standard.
The results showed that thermal conditions in School 1 differed from the others.
Perhaps the location of the buildings caused the differences between the schools but there is
not enough evidence to infer this conclusion. Even the best environmental comfort conditions
recorded in School 1 were not maintained throughout the day as temperatures would go
above the comfort zone from around 8:00am until the end of school time.
School 1 in the mid-season and the hottest season
The data collected in School 1 were used to compare the mid-season and the hottest season
results. The recorded outdoor temperature ranged from 26oC to 35 oC in the mid-season and
from 28 oC to 37oC in the hottest season. Compared with the results of the mid-season (Vi Le
et al., 2016), the thermal sensation mean vote raised from (-0.43) to (-0.2) when the mean
indoor air temperature increased from 29.9oC to 31.8oC and the mean relative humidity
decreased from 78.3% to 69% in School 1. The result showed that although the children felt
comfortably cool in both seasons, they perceived warmer thermal environment in the hottest
season in their classrooms.
Figure 1 The percentage of children voting Neutral and Warm-Neutral-Cool in relation to the offset from the
comfort temperature in the mid-season and the hottest season
In Figure 2 it can be seen that the highest percentage (87.3%) of children voted warm-
neutral-cold around 29.9oC while only 41.6% of children voted neutral. In addition, 51.2% of
children voted neutral around 32.8oC while 81% of the votes were for warm-neutral-cold.
These results suggested that the percentage of children feeling acceptably comfortable
(warm-neutral-cold) increased although the number of neutral votes reduced for
temperatures below 32.8oC.
In Figure 2, the results showed that 80% of children felt acceptably comfortable at 33 oC.
Therefore, it can be suggested a maximum temperature of 33oC could be taken as a threshold
to evaluate overheating issues in primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The comfort line in Figure 2 shows the percentage of children voting comfortable for
the question of ‘Do you feel comfortable at the moment?’ in the hottest season. The results
showed that 87.6% of children felt comfortable at 29.9oC and 77.4% votes for comfort were
Figure 2 The percentage of children voting Neutral and Warm-Neutral-Cool in relation to classrooms’ indoor
temperature in the mid-season and the hottest season
Figure 3 The percentage of children’s thermal preferences in relation to classrooms’ indoor temperature in
the hottest season
As seen in Figure 3, during the hottest season of the year, 63% of children preferred to
be cooler and less than 5% of votes preferred to be warmer. When the temperature
decreased, the percentage of children wanted ‘no change’ and ‘being warmer’ increased and
less children preferred to be cooler. Despite the children’s responses that they felt
comfortable with the current temperature in their classrooms, 38% of the children preferred
a cooler thermal environment.
At the temperature of 32.8oC, when the highest percentage of the children voted
neutral (Figure 2), the majority of the children (more than 50%) still preferred to be cooler
(Figure 3). This suggests that the warm-neutral-cold line is a better indication of thermal
comfort. The temperature when most of the children voted warmed-neutral-cool was 29.9oC
as shown in Figure 2.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Ministry of Education and Training - Vietnam, Newton Fund
- British Council, the University of Nottingham who funded the project and the primary
schools for their participation and support during the investigation.
References
Al Horr, Y., Arif, M., Katafygiotou, M., Mazroei, A., Kaushik, A. & Elsarrag, E. 2016. Impact of indoor
environmental quality on occupant well-being and comfort: A review of the literature. International
Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, 5, 1-11.
Cen 2007. EN 15251:2007. Indoor environmental input parameters for design and assessment of energy
performance of buildings addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting and acoustics.
Brussels: European Committee for Standardization.
Cibse 2015. Guide A. Environmental design. London: The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers.
De Dear, R., Kim, J., Candido, C. & Deuble, M. 2015. Adaptive thermal comfort in Australian school classrooms.
Building Research & Information, 43, 383-398.
Fabbri, K. 2015. Indoor Thermal Comfort Perception: A Questionnaire Approach Focusing on Children, Springer.
Fisk, W. J. 2000. Health and productivity gains from better indoor environments and their relationship with
building energy efficiency. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment, 25, 537-566.
Frontczak, M. & Wargocki, P. 2011. Literature survey on how different factors influence human comfort in indoor
environments. Building and Environment, 46, 922-937.
Mendell, M. J. & Heath, G. A. 2005. Do indoor pollutants and thermal conditions in schools influence student
performance? A critical review of the literature. Indoor Air, 15, 27-52.
Ministry of Construction 2004. Dwelling and public buildings - Parametes for micro-climates in the room. TCXD
VN 306:2004. Ha Noi, Vietnam: Ministry of Construction.
Montazami, A., Gaterell, M., Nicol, F., Lumley, M. & Thoua, C. 2017. Developing an algorithm to illustrate the
likelihood of the dissatisfaction rate with relation to the indoor temperature in naturally ventilated
classrooms. Building and Environment, 111, 61-71.
Nguyen, A. T. 2013. Sustainable housing in Vietnam: Climate responsive design strategies to optimize thermal
comfort. Doctor of Philosophy, University of Liege.
Teli, D., James, P. a. B. & Jentsch, M. F. 2015. Investigating the principal adaptive comfort relationships for young
children. Building Research and Information, 43, 371-382.
Tran, V. T. 2010. Efficient classroom lighting and its environmental consequences in schools in Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam. Doctor of Philosophy, London Metropolitan University.
Trebilcock, M., Soto-Munoz, J., Yanez, M. & Figueroa-San Martin, R. 2017. The right to comfort: A field study on
adaptive thermal comfort in free-running primary schools in Chile. Building and Environment, 114, 455-
469.
Vi Le, T. H., Gillott, M. C. & Rodrigues, L. T. 2016. The case for hybrid ventilated primary schools in Ho Chi Minh
City in Vietnam. 36th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. Cities, Buildings,
People: Towards Regenerative Environments (PLEA 2016). Los Angeles, USA.
Introduction
The main goal of this project was to evaluate the performance of urban exterior areas next
to some of the Brazilian Modernist Architecture icons produced between 1930 and 1965 in
São Paulo, focusing to understand the interrelations of the various urban environmental
comfort aspects (thermal, acoustic, lighting, ergonomics, mobility, quality and adequacy of
sidewalks, urban design, green areas, etc.). The research is based on the comparative
studies of a group of five buildings: Banco Sul Americano (nowadays Itaú Bank), on Paulista
avenue, by the architect Rino Levi; Conjunto Nacional, on the same avenue, designed by
David Libeskind; Edifício Itália, on Ipiranga Avenue, designed by Franz Heep; Edifício Copan,
designed by Oscar Niemeyer; and Edifício Esther, designed by Álvaro Vital Brazil. The main
results are the comparative understanding of the characteristics of two strong centralities in
São Paulo, República and Paulista Avenue, with very diverse urban aspects and derived from
Scenario
The climate scenario of São Paulo is characterized by typically hot and humid summers, with
almost daily rains and drizzles, and typically dry winters, with medium cold days and nights.
The average temperature is 19°C, with an average minimum temperature of 12°C during the
winter and average maximum temperature of 28°C during the summer. Average
precipitation goes from 40mm in August (winter) to 240mm in January (summer).
In the second half of the 19th century, Brazil became the most important coffee
productor and, with this process a new elite was Born in São Paulo, who wanted the city to
be like a living space, but the activities that were made in the streets still by slaves and the
poorest people did not reflect the image of an important, modern and rich city. So the
administration started to implement changes aiming to make São Paulo center look like
Paris with boulevards, gardens, plazas and streets inspired in the French city. This style
influenced the renovations of the city historical centre and one of the first city centre
expansions, República Neighborhood, that showed huge urban development in the first half
of the 20th century, with narrow streets and "boulevard" avenues, no lateral distancing
between the high-rise modernist and "eclectic" buildings that are frontally aligned with the
streets.
From 1930, the city took a different urban development path, influenced by the
decisive Prestes Maia’s Master Plan (called Avenues Plan as well), that inserted in São Paulo
a north american model, based mainly on developing car infrastructures. The individual car
was chosen as the main transport model and, until the emergence of new initiatives in the
2000's, all the major urban interventions were focused on the car and not on the people,
which brought the problematic pedestrian’s space that we currently find in São Paulo’s
streets. This urbanistic vision dominated most of the city expansions during the second half
of the 20th century, including the quick and striking development of Paulista Avenue as the
city's economic and financial centre, with a wide space avenue, marked by generous
sidewalks, numerous car lanes and high-rise buildings aparted from each other and from the
street by gardens and/or larger sidewalks.
These central built environments show very different urbanistic aspects, but both
strongly marked by intense traffic - and consequently intense traffic noise and low air
quality due to pollution -, outrageous vegetation removal and excessive use of asphalt and
concrete. The urban built density has created urban canyons, marked by intensive noise,
wind corridors and drastic changes in the street and buildings insolation conditions. The
urban microclimates, built density, surface materials and pollution cause heat accumulation,
temperature inversion and heat islands. At some point, we are all pedestrians and subjected
to these conditions.
Figure 3. Assessment Card of environmental lecture in front of Conjunto Nacional Building
For the complete research, there were made approximately 2500 interviews in 25
measurement events 21 different points during 12 days in all four seasons distributed in 3
years. For this specific study, the sample was composed by approximately 500 interviews in
6 points during 3 days in March, April (autumn) and July (winter), 2015. In the República
Area: three points in Ipiranga Avenue measured in April: COPAN Sidewalk (Figure 4), Itália
Sidewalk (Figure 5) and Esther Sidewalk (Av. Ipiranga sidewalk on the other side of the
street, close to the underground entrance and the República Square - Figure 6). In Paulista
Avenue: also three points were measured: CN Sidewalk (Paulista Avenue sidewalk,
measured in March and July - Figure 7), CN Interior (measured in March, except for the
absence of vehicles, it functions as a covered street, open to public and connecting streets,
with huge pedestrian influxes, commercial establishments, natural lighting and even wind -
Figure 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (from left to right). Photographs from the measurement points
Results
The measurement days in March and April showed high temperatures, clean sky, and heavy
solar radiation, while in July it presented clean sky, medium temperatures and medium solar
incidence. The points have the following sidewalks widths: COPAN Sidewalk - 20,4m (22,3
yd), Itália Sidewalk - 13,2m (14,4 yd), Esther Sidewalk - 7,8m (8,5 yd), CN Sidewalk - 9,3m
(10,2 yd), CN Interior - 7,0m (7,7 yd) and Itaú Sidewalk - 12,2m (13,3 yd). The diagnosis
registered heavy pedestrian traffic in all points: around 1000 to 2000 pedestrians/hour in
COPAN Sidewalk and Esther Sidewalk, and up to 3680 pedestrians/hour in Itália Sidewalk. In
CN Interior it was around 800 to 2200 pedestrians/hour, in CN Sidewalk it went from 1140
to 3380 pedestrians/hour, smaller than Itaú Sidewalk, with 1600 up to 4240
pedestrians/hour. Also vehicular traffic is heavy: in República points around 1000 to 3500
vehicles/hour, with 5% to 13% of heavy vehicles (ex. buses), while in Paulista Ave. (except
CN Interior) there were around 1700 to 3800 vehicles/hour with 3,3% to 8,1% of heavy
vehicles.
Intense Equivalent Noise Level: almost always above 70 dB(A) in all points (except for
Itaú Sidewalk), in República points it went from 69 dB(A) to 73 dB(A) and in Paulista Avenue
from 67 dB(A) to 79 dB(A). COPAN sidewalk presented the lowest noise levels among the
República points during off-peak hours, which would be due to lower traffic intensity and
bigger distance between the sidewalk and and the street lanes, separated by parking lanes
and trees. Surprisingly, the self-declared acoustic comfort was the lowest in COPAN
Sidewalk (around 20%). This might be related to the users' different expectations to these
different spaces: Itália sidewalk is a narrow unshaded corner between two busy avenues
while COPAN sidewalk is a wide path shaded by trees with parking areas and cafes, which
means that the first point is less satisfactory and seen as a "pass-by" space while the second
one is a more comfortable area configured as a place to stay, not only passing by. This
different expectation reduces the tolerance of pedestrians to the noise and other adverse
conditions.
In Paulista avenue, we also found intense equivalent noise levels above 70 dB(A)
during all day on CN Sidewalk and CN Interior while the Itaú Sidewalk levels were almost
constant and under the mark of 70 dB(A). Although, even when the CN Interior point
showed noise levels around 5 dB(A) higher than the exterior Itaú Sidewalk point, the
percentages of self-declared acoustic comfort were significantly higher (up to 30% higher)
than the exterior points. Exterior noises were originated mainly from traffic (vehicles, sirens
and horns), nearby construction sites, and musicians presentations in the streets (which was
pointed as a pleasant sound by pedestrians but sometimes as a disturbing noise by people
Discussion
From these analysis, it was concluded that a street in São Paulo, to be considered
comfortable by the majority of the pedestrians shall provide shading and protection against
overexposure to the sun, as well as solutions to create both expose open-to-sky areas and
shaded spaces. It shall permit air movement for sanitary conditions and adequate removal
of pollution and heat. The urban design must be thought not to cause the growth of urban
canyons.
These series of surveys evidenced that, in São Paulo, the most incident factor on the
pedestrian comfort is the thermal comfort, and the globe temperature is the best and most
reliable value to understand it. Solar radiation is the most incisive subfactor over the user's
general comfort: during the summer the pedestrians tend to look for shaded spaces while
during the winter they have a bigger tolerance and desire for open-to-sky sunny spaces.
Figure 10. Thermal Comfort and General Comfort x TEP - Temperature of Equivalent Perception
When in thermal discomfort, the pedestrians show lower tolerance to the other
environmental variables and tend to declare general discomfort with the environment. As
References
Bistafa, S. R. (2002). Acústica aplicada ao controle de ruído. São Paulo: Edgar Blücher.
Cambiaghi, Silvana S. (2004). Desenho Universal: Métodos e Técnicas de Ensino na Graduação de
Arquitetos e Urbanistas. Master. Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo.
Corbella; Yannas (2009). Em Busca de Uma Arquitetura Sustentável Para os Trópicos. Rio de Janeiro:
Revan.
Monteiro, Leonardo M. (2008). Modelos Preditivos de Conforto Térmico: Quantificação de relações
entre variáveis microclimáticas e de sensação térmica para avaliação e projeto de espaços abertos. PhD.
Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo.
Schmid, Aloísio L. (2005). A ideia de conforto: reflexões sobre o ambiente construído. Curitiba: Pacto
Ambiental.
Abstract: Offices are important to wellbeing, health and productivity of occupants. Dissatisfaction with
environmental conditions of offices is widespread. When people sharing offices have differing comfort
preferences it can lead to conflict between colleagues. This work explores if environmental comfort conflict
affects users' ratings of office Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). This study uses a Building Use Studies (BUS)
questionnaire, with additional questions on conflict, to assess the quality of offices within 8 different buildings.
Ninety-seven participants’ responses have been included in the analysis. The results show 51% have had conflict
with a colleague in the year 2016, regarding one or more elements of office comfort. The prevalence of conflict
was: heating 43%, cooling 40%, ventilation 37%, noise 36%, light 27%. Student's t-tests between those who had
conflict compared to those who did not, reveal those who have experience conflict rate their office’s quality
statistically significantly poorer, rating them up to 20% worse. These results suggest that environmental comfort
conflict and office occupants’ ratings of IEQ are related. This work concludes with a discussion of potential causes
that could be explored in further work.
Keywords: Indoor Environmental Quality, Building Use Studies, Interpersonal Conflict, Colleagues, Comfort
Introduction
The quality of offices affect workers’ health and productivity (Fisk et al. 2011), therefore, the
quality of offices is important at the individual, organisational and societal levels. Open plan
offices are becoming the predominate office layout, workers, however, often have diverging
ideals for their environment (Frontczak and Wargocki 2011). The ability to control the indoor
environment has been shown to improve worker satisfaction with the Indoor Environmental
Quality (IEQ), however, in shared spaces, it is unlikely to satisfy all occupants. Conflict over
office temperature has been found to be a leading cause of conflict between employees in
polls (Behan 2015, CareerBuilder 2015), though built environment and organisational
psychology research have not investigated shared office conditions as a trigger for conflict.
A report by Consulting Psychologists Press (2008: 5, 27) states that 80% of UK workers
have experienced some conflict, spending on average 1.8hrs per week dealing with workplace
conflict; 57% state that conflict left them with negative feelings. Further confirmed by a report
by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD 2008), almost half of human
resources professionals frequently manage conflict, spending 3.4hrs each week managing
conflict. Interpersonal conflict can be demotivating, and lead to further negative outcomes,
such as personal insults, bullying, illness and absences. The effect of conflict can have a large
Figure 1. Extract from questionnaire, showing conflict questions.
The survey was structured with the BUS questionnaire before the conflict questions.
The conflict questions were separated from the BUS questionnaire, with the intention of not
influencing the BUS results. It is assumed that participants did not return to the previous
section of the questionnaire and adjust IEQ responses following questions on conflict.
However, due to this separation, all factors of conflict and IEQ will need to be cross-correlated.
Results
476 printed surveys were distributed to university staff and research students, among 8
buildings on the campus. Surveys were completed between November 2016 and January
2017. There was a response rate of twenty six percent, with 124 surveys returned. The
returned surveys comprise of office staff (n= 73), PhD students (n = 20), lecturers (n = 13),
librarians (n = 11) and technicians (n = 5).
Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction
Dissatisfaction
Temperature
Temperature
Summer Air
Winter Air
Summer
Winter
Noise
Light
NoCon 1.84 NoCon 1.50 NoCon 1.74 NoCon 2.24 NoCon 2.35 NoCon 1.96
Conflict
Con 2.18 Con 1.80 Con 2.44 Con 2.99 Con 2.82 Con 2.29
over Diff 8.4% Diff 7.5% Diff 14.7% Diff 15.8% Diff 9.9% Diff 9.0%
Heating P.val .187 P.val .083 P.val .001*† P.val .000*† P.val .094 P.val .170
NoCon 1.86 NoCon 1.85 NoCon 1.49 NoCon 1.69 NoCon 2.34 NoCon 2.38
Conflict
Con 2.35 Con 2.18 Con 1.84 Con 2.58 Con 2.82 Con 2.65
over Diff 12.2% Diff 8.0% Diff 7.3% Diff 18.5% Diff 9.8% Diff 6.9%
Cooling P.val .039* P.val .206 P.val .050* P.val .000*† P.val .051 P.val .267
NoCon 2.27 NoCon 1.96 NoCon 1.79 NoCon 1.53 NoCon 1.82 NoCon 2.33
Conflict
Con 2.80 Con 2.23 Con 2.30 Con 1.81 Con 2.54 Con 2.73
over
Diff 13.2% Diff 6.6% Diff 10.6% Diff 5.9% Diff 15.1% Diff 10.2%
Ventilation P.val .018* P.val .277 P.val .050* P.val .131 P.val .002* P.val .053
NoCon 2.18 NoCon 2.30 NoCon 1.87 NoCon 1.80 NoCon 1.48 NoCon 1.82
Conflict
Con 2.98 Con 2.79 Con 2.40 Con 2.40 Con 2.01 Con 2.36
over Diff 19.9% Diff 12.2% Diff 11.0% Diff 12.6% Diff 11.1% Diff 13.9%
Lighting P.val .000*† P.val .031* P.val .028* P.val .043* P.val .014* P.val .013*
NoCon 1.72 NoCon 2.26 NoCon 2.27 NoCon 1.93 NoCon 1.92 NoCon 1.38
Conflict Con 2.42 Con 2.90 Con 2.88 Con 2.46 Con 2.06 Con 2.05
over Noise Diff 17.5% Diff 15.9% Diff 12.8% Diff 11.1% Diff 2.9% Diff 17.3%
P.val .001*† P.val .002* P.val .008* P.val .059 P.val .607 P.val .000*†
NoCon = Mean dissatisfaction of those reporting no conflict. Con = Mean dissatisfaction of those reporting
conflict. Diff = Difference between means, as a percentage of maximum potential dissatisfaction.
P.val = Statistical significance from Student’s t-test, between those who had conflict compared to those who
did not. * = Denotes P.value is < .05 . † = Denotes P.value is < .05 following Holm adjustment
Correlation between stressfulness of conflict and dissatisfaction with IEQ has been
assessed. This removed all participants who did not experience conflict, this reduced the
sample sizes for correlation. Correlation shows some relationships, although, none remain
statistically significant after correcting for multiple comparisons with a Holm adjustment.
Discussion
This study focuses on four potential hypotheses linking environmental comfort conflict with
IEQ ratings, the results from this study are interpreted through these explanations.
1) Sensitivity
The strong difference in means between dissatisfaction with light across all types of conflict,
could potentially mean that people who engage in conflict are more sensitive to
environmental stimuli than their colleagues (Ursin 2014). This sensitivity could, therefore,
manifest in a desire to adjust the office environment more frequently or to greater extremes
than their colleagues potentially leading to conflict.
Conclusion
This work has examined environmental comfort conflict along with office conditions assessed
with the BUS questionnaire. It has found that conflict over office conditions is common with
over half sampled reported conflict over one or more aspects of office comfort in the last year,
though, the average 'stressfulness' of these conflicts is low.
This work shows that staff which reported conflict on average rated their office IQE
worse. No significant correlation between 'stressfulness' of conflict and environmental
dissatisfaction have been observed, though this may be due to the small sample size. The
strength of the difference in means and significance of dissatisfaction comparing those who
experienced conflict to those who have not, lead us to conclude that conflict over office
environmental conditions is related to workers’ ratings of office IEQ. However, these results
do show significant differences in means in conflict experience that are not logically
connected, but other studies show that IEQ factors can be interrelated. However, neither the
cause nor direction of influence is resolved from this work.
The association between office workers who had conflict office rated their offices worse,
compared to those who did not and fit with common sense expectations. Additionally,
reported conflict is of a similar frequency compared to polls (Behan 2015, CareerBuilder 2015),
and supports Danielsson et al (2015) link between noise and conflict, gives further weight to
this exploratory survey.
This study assumes the cross analysis of environmental conflict with IEQ are both linear
in scale. A limitation of this project is the sample size, the small sample has prevented
comparing workers between buildings and rooms, leading to the assessment of the cohort
together. Further study with a larger population size would be welcomed. Also with a large-
Acknowledgements
We are grateful for the participants’ time in completing the survey. We appreciate Adrian
Leaman of the Usable Building Trust for the licence for the BUS survey and his advice for this
project.
References
Ashkanasy, N. M., Ayoko, O. B. & Jehn, K. A. (2014) ‘Understanding the physical environment of work
and employee behavior: An affective events perspective’. Journal of Organizational Behavior 35(8), 1169–
1184. doi:10.1002/job.1973
Ayoko, O. B. & J. Härtel, C. E. (2003) ‘The Role of Space as Both a Conflict Trigger and a Conflict Control
Mechanism in Culturally Heterogeneous Workgroups’. Applied Psychology 52(3), 383–412. doi:10.1111/1464-
0597.00141
Behan, K. (2015) ‘Daily Office Wars Revealed in New National Survey Provided by OpenWorks’.
Retrieved from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/08/prweb12916617.htm
CareerBuilder. (2015) ‘Temperature Wars Are Heating Up the Workplace, According to New
CareerBuilder Survey’. Retrieved from
http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=12%2F17%2F2015&id=pr926&ed=
12%2F31%2F2015
CIPD. (2008) Leadership and the Management of Conflict at Work ( No. October), 21. London: CIPD.
Retrieved from http://www2.cipd.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/E426E492-7AED-46A6-B8F5-
92B9CF9725C5/0/4545Leadershipconflict.pdf
Consulting Psychologists Press Inc. (2008) Workplace conflict and how businesses can harness it to
thrive, 36. Mountain View, CA: CPP Global. Retrieved from
https://www.cpp.com/pdfs/CPP_Global_Human_Capital_Report_Workplace_Conflict.pdf
Danielsson, C. B., Bodin, L., Wulff, C. & Theorell, T. (2015) ‘The relation between office type and
workplace conflict: A gender and noise perspective’. Journal of Environmental Psychology 42, 161–171.
doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2015.04.004
Dykes, C. & Baird, G. (2013) ‘A review of questionnaire-based methods used for assessing and
benchmarking indoor environmental quality’. Intelligent Buildings International 5(3), 135–149.
doi:10.1080/17508975.2013.783457
Fisk, W. J., Black, D. & Brunner, G. (2011) ‘Benefits and costs of improved IEQ in U.S. offices’. Indoor Air
21(5), 357–367. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0668.2011.00719.x
Frontczak, M. & Wargocki, P. (2011) ‘Literature survey on how different factors influence human
comfort in indoor environments’. Building and Environment 46(4), 922–937. Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2010.10.021
Hedge, A. (1996) ‘Addressing the psychological aspects of indoor air quality’. The 1st indoor air quality
seminar.
Kinman, G. & Jones, F. (2005) ‘Lay representations of workplace stress: What do people really mean
when they say they are stressed?’ Work & Stress 19(2), 101–120. doi:10.1080/02678370500144831
Rahim, A. (1992) ‘Managing conflict in organizations’. In: Construction conflict management and
resolution (P. Fenn & R. Gameson, eds.), 370–379. London: E & FN Spon.
Ursin, H. (2014) ‘Brain sensitization to external and internal stimuli’. Psychoneuroendocrinology
42(0306), 134–145. Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.01.008
María Gloria Melián PhD, Alejandro Max Pasten Lic. and María Gloria Gómez-Núñez
Abstract: This work was realized with the aim to determine the bio-environmental zones, of the Oriental
and Occidental regions of the country, taking into account the annual climatic variations during the period of
30 years. The aim is to obtain adequate guidelines and design parameters, to improve the possibilities of
habitability and hygrothermal comfort of building interiors, according to the climatic regions.
For the analysis there were defined two periods, winter (July), where it is confirm the demand of energy for
the heating and summer (January), with the indexes of corrected effective temperature (CET), a scale of
thermal sensation where the relative humidity affects the temperature. According to the results, compared
with levels of comfort required in habitability, there were proposed strategies to improve and mitigate such
discomfort. They will be able to be used as a tool for urban planning and for the development of architectural
projects of low environmental impact, as well as to transform and adapt the existing buildings, based on
criteria of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, in order to reduce the energy dependency on
the electrical network.
Introduction
This study defines the bio-environmental areas of the Eastern and Western Regions of
Paraguay, with criteria to be considered in the architectural design, regarding the
hygrothermal comfort of the interior spaces, to optimize the use of energy for air
conditioning and natural lighting indoors lighting indoors. Therefore, the buildings are
designed with specific guidelines to consider, in order to adapt these to the area of use.
The bio-environmental zoning of a territory, as in this case, is based on the reciprocity
between the human being, the climate, the site. Its natural resources, geographical position,
and the building are related to the climate variations during the year. The purpose of
understanding the bio-environmental different zones is due to the need to design and apply
bioclimatic strategies according to each zone, focused on energy efficiency in new buildings
and/or refurbishing existing ones.
The work has as antecedent the procedures performed to define the bio-
environmental zones in the IRAM Norms 11603-2012, of Argentina on the same subject.
It defines the mapping, for each bio-environmental zone, characterized by the
difference of climate, temperature, humidity, winds, precipitation, solar radiation in order
to adapt to the climatic incidences in the specific site, according to the geographical
location, with general design parameters.
Method
The investigation of the research is based on the evaluation of climatological data in
summer and winter over 30 years, by day, by month and by year. Using the climatological
data of the National Meteorological Office and processing selected variables.
The geographic areas that present similar climatic conditions are determined, which
are used for the application of bioclimatic strategies that allow the development of designs
that minimize the use of electrical energy of the network. The zones are defined, and the
bio-environmental strategies for the buildings suggested, including thermal inertia of
materials, use of solar radiation, prevailing winds, rains, site vegetation, among others.
For the determination of bio-environmental zones are specified criteria. The Effective
Temperature is used in summer for warm weather and in winter for cold weather. We
analyze the values of the month of January (summer in the southern hemisphere) and July
(winter) through a period of thirty years, (Dry Bulb Temperature, T. Wet Bulb, Average
Radiant T., and Air Velocity, Thermal amplitude, Difference of oscillation between Max
Temperature and Min Temperature. Wind; Direction-frequency, Speed-frequency). Hours of
sun (monthly average), % in hours that direct solar radiation is available.
The geographic position is an important variable to be mentioned, as high as this can
reach (present altitude), the maximum temperature will tend to decrease at the rate of
0.9 °C for each 100 meters of elevation, in this research this variable is not used, although it
should be used for each Municipality.
Equivalent temperatures for summer and winter defined, of the Meteorological Station.
The stations that are in the Eastern and Western regions of the country. Table 4. They refer
to Figure 3 and 4 of maps.
Table 4. Equivalent temperature for summer and winter.
Lon Lat ASNM Name of the Meteorological Station TE Summer TE Winter
-60.62 -22.03 167 Aeropuerto de Mcal. Estigarribia 50.3 12.8
-57.94 -22.28 78 Puerto Casado 49.2 14.7
-55.83 -22.64 563 Aeródromo de Pedro Juan Caballero 41.9 10.8
-58.79 -23.50 98 Pozo Colorado 51.3 12.0
-57.43 -23.44 75 Aeródromo de Concepción 49.2 12.1
-54.63 -24.03 297 Aeródromo de Salto del Guairá 46.3 11.2
-57.51 -25.24 83 Aeropuerto Internacional “Silvio Pettirossi” 46.8 12.6
-56.44 -25.75 163 Villarrica del Espíritu Santo 46.6 10.8
-54.84 -25.46 247 Aeropuerto Internacional Guaraní, Minga Guazú 47.3 10.9
-58.32 -26.88 58 Aeródromo de Pilar 46.9 11.0
-57.13 -26.67 131 San Juan Bautista 45.6 10.5
-56.35 -26.18 142 Caazapá 44.7 11.9
-55.90 -27.30 90 Encarnación 46.1 9.9
Figure 1. Comparison of summer (December, January, February 2013), Humidex Index
Figure 2. Comparison of winter (June, July, August 2013), Equivalent temperature index
Figure 3. Map of the equivalent temperature for the for the Paraguay Regions winter (july).
The values were calculated using the first equation which includes the minimum
temperature and the wind speed. With the wind variable, the thermal sensation of the most
exposed areas is the south of the territory. Figure 3.
Figure 4. Map of the equivalent temperature for the Paraguay Regions summer. Elaboration: Max Pasten.
Figure 5. Map of maximum thermal amplitude in the period between 1972 and 2013.
Figure 6. Map of minimum thermal amplitude extremes in the period between 1972 and 2013.
Elaboration: Max Pasten. Direction of Meteorology.
In this case the daily thermal amplitude was calculated (Tmax-Tmin) and the maximum
value and the date of the occurrence were selected. The other case was selected from the
database, the lowest temperature recorded in each of the meteorological stations.
References
Czajkowski, J.(2009). Arquitectura sustentable. Arq. N°3. Buenos Aires: Clarín.
Chávez, R. y Fuentes, V. (1986). Arquitectura bioclimática y energía solar. Viento y arquitectura. México:
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.
De Schiller S. (2002). A renewed focus on the design process, Sustainable building.
Edwards, Brian. (2008). Guía Básica de la sostenibilidad. Segunda edición. Ed. G.G. Barcelona.
Evans, J.M., De Schiller, S. (1991). Diseño bioambiental y arquitectura solar. Segunda Edición.
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Buenos Aires: FADU-UBA.
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Gonzalo, G. E. (2003). Manual de Arquitectura Bioclimática. Buenos Aires: Nobuco.
Grinberg, C. Climatización. Arq. N°4. Buenos Aires: Clarín.
IRAM. (2011). Norma 11603. Acondicionamiento térmico de edificios. Clasificación bioambiental de la
República Argentina.
Ken Yeang. El rascacielos ecológico. Gustavo Gili.
Ken Yeang. (1999). Proyectar con la naturaleza. Bases ecológicas para el proyecto arquitectónico.
Barcelona: Gustavo Gili.
Melián, M.G. (2016). Calificación de la edificación sustentable para la Región Oriental de Paraguay.
Universidad Católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. (Unedited) Asunción.
Pasten, M. (2014). Climas del Paraguay. Gerencia de Climatología e Hidrología. DINAC. Asunción.
Rosas, M., Garrido, N. (2008). Ahorro, eficiencia y gestión de la energía. Módulo 8. 2° Edition. Barcelona:
Cátedra Unesco e sostenibilidad de la UPC.
Serra , R. y Coch, H. (2005). Arquitectura y energía natural. México: Alfaomega.
Serra, R. (1999). Arquitectura y Climas. Barcelona: Gustavo Gili.
Tortajada, R, Hansson, C. (2008). Hacía una arquitectura sostenible 2. Valencia: ICARO-CTAV.
1
Dept. of Architecture and Building Engineering, G. S. of Urban Environment Science, Tokyo
Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan, meshino-ryo@ed.tmu.ac.jp
Abstract: In recent years, high thermal insulation of housing has become increasingly popular because energy
saving in residence is required for a global environment. However, the influence of high thermal insulation of
housing on the life, awareness and behaviour of residents has not been clarified. Therefore, we conducted a
questionnaire and actual measurement survey targeting the metropolitan area of Tokyo during summer and
winter to examine the relationship between the thermal insulation performance of housing and the lifestyle of
the residents. In this study, we focused on the window which has big heat transfer and estimated thermal
insulation performance of housing depending on the kind of window glass and window sash. The main results
clarified in the above method analysis are as follows: 1) As the thermal insulation performance increased, the
thermal satisfaction in all rooms became higher both during summer and winter. 2) As the thermal insulation
performance improved, the temperature difference in the entire room decreased and the active area of
residents in the house tended to increase both during summer and winter.
Keywords: Thermal insulation performance, Indoor thermal environment, Life style, Questionnaire survey,
Measurement survey
Introduction
In response to environmental problems such as global warming, various countermeasures
have been taken in industry, transportation, household sector, etc. in Japan. In particular,
efforts to conserve energy in buildings have been regarded as essential, and a policy was
obligated to comply with energy conservation standards for all new houses and buildings by
2020 (MLIT, 2016). Thus, high insulation of houses and use of natural energy will be
promoted, and energy conservation and thermal comfort are expected to improve. Besides
the hardware aspect of improving building performance, soft aspects, such as consciousness
of energy conservation and behaviour of households have also been emphasised in recent
years as research on energy conservation in houses, and many researches related to them
have been made (Yoshino et al, 2006). However, there are few case studies focusing on the
outer shell performance of houses, the consciousness and livelihoods of residents (Sato,
1994).
And it is thought that it is necessary to clarify the influence of high insulation of
houses, which will increase in the future, on the life of the household. Therefore, in this
study, under the hypothesis that -the difference in the thermal insulation performance of
the residence brings about a change in the lifestyle of the residents-, actual
measurements and questionnaire surveys are conducted for the houses built in the
Survey Summary
Measurement survey summary
To ascertain differences in indoor thermal environments due to differences in thermal
insulation performance, actual measurements were conducted in winter. The survey was
conducted at a total of nine detached and apartment houses built in the metropolitan area
of Japan. The implementation period was from January 27 to February 19 in 2016.
Measurements were conducted in the living room, bedroom, washroom, and outdoor
temperature and humidity of each residence at intervals of 10 minutes. And the surface
temperature was measured in the living room and the bedroom. Table 1 shows a summary
of this survey.
Classification Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅴ Ⅵ
Thermal insulation performance Low Middle High Low Middle High
Architectural forms Detached house Apartment house
Low-E pair Low-E pair
Window glass Single Pair or Single Pair or
Triple Triple
Steel Aluminum Steel Aluminum
Window sash or Aluminum and or Aluminum and
Aluminum Plastic Aluminum Plastic
Effective Summer mail 54 47 22 81 21 3
number of Winter mail 35 47 11 60 13 4
respondents Winter e-mail 142 78 6 172 53 1
5 GroupⅢ
GroupⅣ 20
at dawn [℃]
3
r=1/10
2
GroupⅣ
1 15 GroupⅡ
0
Indoor/outdoor
GroupⅢ
-1 temperature difference [℃]
10
2 6 10 14 18 22 -8 -4 0 4 8 12 16
Indoor/outdoor temperature difference [℃] Average temperature outside at dawn [℃]
Fig.1 Fig.2
Relationship between vertical temperature Relationship between the minimum room
difference in the living room and temperature and the
indoor/outdoor temperature difference average temperature outside dawn
3.12 2.62 2.98 2.79 2.68 2.87 2.89 Ⅰ 3.14 3.00 2.96 2.59 2.75 2.68 2.62
3.38 2.83 3.30 3.02 2.91 3.02 3.39 Ⅱ 3.52 3.28 3.37 2.86 2.98 2.99 2.94
3.81 3.38 3.71 3.57 3.57 3.29 3.71 Ⅲ 2.94 3.35 3.29 2.94 3.00 3.06 3.24
3.16 2.86 3.08 2.83 2.80 3.09 3.13 Ⅳ 3.68 3.31 3.53 3.09 3.17 3.22 2.95
3.86 3.43 3.52 3.38 3.05 3.33 3.48 Ⅴ 3.80 3.50 3.79 3.32 3.41 3.45 3.05
25 20 15 10 5 0 0 5 10 15 20 25
Fig.3 Average thermal satisfaction of each room (Left: in summer; right: in winter)
(Scale : 1.Highly dissatisfied ← 3.Neutral → 5.Highly satisfied)
Rate[%]
60 40.9 60 56.0
50 25.0 50 43.0
40 40 43.9
30 66.7 30
59.6
50.6 53.3
20 40.9 40.0 20 41.5
30.4 27.8
10 10 19.7
0 0
Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅴ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅴ
Fig.4 Sensation of temperature difference between air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned rooms
(Left: in summer; right: in winter)
Thermal comfort
4 comfortable 4
comfortable Summer
Neutral 3 Neutral 3
Slightly Slightly
2 uncomfortable 2
uncomfortable
Uncomfortable 1 Uncomfortable 1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Fig. 5 Relationship between thermal sensation and thermal comfort in the washroom
(Left: group I; right: group III)
80 80
Rate[%]
Rate[%]
60 60
40 40
48.1 51.1
20 20 37.9
27.3 31.2 29.4 27.6 27.3
23.5
9.5
0 0
Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅴ Ⅰ Ⅱ Ⅲ Ⅳ Ⅴ
Fig. 6 Ratio of unusable to usable rooms (Left: in summer; right: in winter)
⑤
⑦ Neither
⑭
⑬ 0.1 ⑥ Ⅲ
⑲
⑩ Like to spend at home Not so much
① ⑯
⑪
Ⅰ
0 Ⅱ Not at all
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 Ⅳ 0.2 0.4 0.6
② Ⅴ ▲Questionnaire evaluation choices
⑰ ④
㉑ ⑳ -0.1 ⑫ ③
⑱
⑧ Axis Contribution rate
-0.2 ⑨ The first axis 79.9%
⑮ Multi-consumption trend The second axis 12.3%
Cumulative contribution rate 92.2%
-0.3
The first axis (Horizontal axis) ▲Contribution rate
0.3
⑩ Classification Applies
Multi-consumption and 0.2 Question items
Slightly applies
environmental adjustment trend ⑮
④ Not applicable
Ⅰ
The second axis
0.1
⑫ Action against the cold
③ ▲Questionnaire evaluation choices
⑬ Ⅲ ㉑
⑧ ①
0 Ⅴ ⑱ 0.4
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 ⑥ 0 Ⅳ 0.2 0.6
⑭ ⑦ Ⅱ⑯
-0.1 ② ⑤
⑳ ⑨
⑰ Axis Contribution rate
-0.2 ⑲ The first axis 76.5%
Energy-saving The second axis 12.7%
⑪ consciousness trend Cumulative contribution rate 89.2%
-0.3
The first axis ▲Contribution rate
In addition, since the clear trend was shown as described above, the adequacy of
substituting the heat insulation performance of the house by the kind of the window glass
and the window sash was also proved.
References
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan (MLIT), (2016). Overview of
the Act on the Improvement of Energy Consumption Performance of Buildings. URL; http://www.mlit.go.jp/
common/001134876.pdf
Sato, K. (1994). Thermal environment and living activity, living space of the residential house -study
on the planning of detached houses in Hokkaido Part 1-. Prof., Dept. of Architectural Construction, Dohto
University.
Yoshino, H. et al, (2006). Indoor thermal environment and energy saving for urban residential
buildings in China. Tohoku University, Japan. Energy and Buildings, pp.1308-1319.
Meshino, R. et al, (2016). Research on the Relationship between Thermal Insulation Performance
and Life-Style in Residence -part1 examination based on summer investigation for the metropolitan area-,
Summaries of Technical Papers of Annual Meeting, A.I.J., D-1, pp.1145-1146.
Meshino, R. et al, (2016). Research on the Relationship between Building Thermal Insulation
Performance and Housing Evaluation by Residents, Proceedings of JSES/JWEA Joint Conference, pp.145-148.
Abstract: This paper offers an overview of construction solutions to promote sustainability practices in the
Iranian building industry. A special emphasis is given to the reduction of energy and the achievement of
comfort to the occupants. Sustainable practices in buildings, often termed as a green construction or
sustainable buildings, refer to using structures and processes that should be used to reduce the environment
impact and promote the use of sustainable resources during the life-cycle of a building from scratch to design,
construction, repairs, renovations, operations, and destruction. This paper examines contemporary design and
construction practice in buildings in terms of its sustainable performance. It aims to show that better
performance is possible by the adoption of basic environmental design criteria with building materials and
components available. This is done by modelling a building with Energy Plus software and measuring its
performance. An improved scenario is compared with a typical building for a given construction technology
and materials used. The study concludes that the new modelled building employing simple modifications in
resources, technology of construction and components (produced and available locally), is more sustainable
and energy efficient compared to the traditional building.
Keywords: Energy Plus, sustainable building, thermal comfort, sustainable practice, solar panel, improved
building
Introduction
The “building industry” has a substantial impact on the environment. Buildings are
responsible for 35% of the primary energy consumption in Iran (2013). Buildings are the
main consumers of water, material resources and are major polluters. Sustainable
construction practices need to address the consumption of water and energy, the
generation of waste, the consumption of construction materials and its incorporation in the
structure (Lane, M. B., 2005). This is particularly relevant in Iran, as design and typical
construction practices can lead to poor sustainable performance (Arman Hashemi et al.,
2015). Buildings are rarely designed to be energy efficient. They rely heavily on cheap fuel,
mainly derived from fossil fuels, to cope with extreme weather conditions (both hot
summers and cold winters). As a result, buildings tend to be high energy users if they are to
guarantee comfort levels to the occupants. Design-based solutions involving relatively
simple changes in materials (sourced locally), components and construction technologies
(locally produced and available) can be a cost effective and an environmentally sound way
to improve the performance of buildings.
50 100
50
0
0
sep
aug
feb
jul
nov
dec
apr
mar
may
jun
jan
oct
sep
aug
feb
jul
nov
dec
apr
mar
may
jun
jan
oct
-50
13 1
20
66
22
61
Figure 4. Section Figure 5. Plan (north up) & North Elevation
80
KWh/m2 60
40
20
0
electricity gas electricity gas
Standard Improved
150
100
kwh/m2
50
0
standard improved
electricity gas
Figure 7. Total energy consumption for the two simulated models.
Conclusions
Buildings currently pose an ecological challenge greater than any other industry. There is an
imperative need to adopt more sustainable practices to reduce CO2 emissions and promote
resilience to cope with climatic events in the future. Despite having vast energy resources
derived from fossil fuels, which result in affordable units of electrical and gas used in
acclimatising buildings, there is an increasing awareness in Iran of the need to adopt more
environmental friendly solutions. There is also the problem of frequent blackouts, due to
overload capacity, which puts occupants of buildings heavily reliant of active systems
buildings at risk. Climate change and rising temperatures are also aggravating problems of
overheating and creating high rates of mortality in heat waves.
References
Aghili, J.,. (2001). Urban planning and municipal structures: Tehran, Iran. ISBN: 964+5693-28-4 .
Amanda Heal et al. (2006). The Vernacular as a Model for Sustainable Design .
Arman Hashemi et al. (2015). Feasibility of Application of Modern Methods of Construction in Iran .
International Conference, 22-25 September 2015, Lecce, Italy. .
Asheim, B. et al. (2007). Constructing knowledge based regional advantage: implications for regional
innovation policy. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management .
Azizi, M. M. et al. (1995). The provision of urban infrastructure in Iran: an empirical evaluation. . Urban
Studies, 32(3), pp 507-522.
Bainbridge, D.A. (2004). Sustainable building as appropriate technology. Sustainable Construction for
the Global Village.
Bartke, R. W. (1973). Land Use Planning in Iran-A Critical Survey. . Wayne Literature Review, pp 20-87 .
Brockerhoff, M. & Brennan, E. (1998). The poverty of cities in developing regions. Population and
development Review, pp 75-114 .
Ermolli (2002). The environmental benefits of the OffSite Manufacturing. CIB World Conference.
EPO (2010) Energy Balance 2008, Energy planning office, Ministry of Energy: Tehran, pp. 303.
Fallah, M. H. (2002). Building industry and sustainable development. Soffe magazine(40), pp 64-79.
Golabchi, M, Mazaherian, H. (2010). Constructional new technologies. . Tehran university publication,
Iran.
Green Building and Design. (2012). Unsustainable Building Practices in Iran.
H. Arbabian and N.B. Sarmadi. (2004). Improvement of Iranian construction industry.
Hossein Zabihi et al. (2013). Towards Green Building:Sustainability Approach in Building
Industrialization. International Journal of Architecture and Urban Development.
Kamar, K. A. M. et al. (2010). Sustainable and Green Construction, Construction Industry. Development
Board (CIDB) Malaysia.
Lane, M. B. (2005). Public Participation in Planning: An Intellectual History.
Ning, C., and Hoon, D. (2011). The sustainable development strategy of tourism resources. Exploring the
feasibility for Weihai City of China. International Journal of Procedia Engineering, 21, pp 543-552. .
Peter O. Akadiri et al. (2012). Design of A Sustainable Building: A Conceptual Framework for
Implementing Sustainability in the Building Sector. Buildings 2, 126-152.
Rover, R. (2010). The role of policies in promoting sustainable practices. The Netherlands .
Shahraki, A. A. (2014). Sustainable new towns in Tehran. Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
Ujjawal V Sidhpura et al. (2013 ). Major Aspects of Sustainability in Building,Volume : 3 | Issue : 12 |
ISSN - 2249-555X.
van de Ven, F. et al. (2000). Different approaches to assessment of design and management of
sustainable urban water systems.
Enriching Building Information Modeling (BIM) with Sensor Data and Thermal
Images for Thermal Comfort Analysis
Worawan Natephra1, Ali Motamedi1, Nobuyoshi Yabuki1 and Tomohiro Fukuda1
1
Division of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of
Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, Japan 565-0871.
Email: natephra@it.see.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp
Abstract: The lack of adequate data containers and data collection procedures prevents Building Information
Modeling (BIM) from being efficiently used for the thermal comfort analysis. The paper presents a framework
for integrating environmental data with the BIM for the purpose of thermal comfort analysis. The environmental
data, such as indoor/outdoor air temperature, humidity, and temperature values of building envelope collected
by measurement instruments and sensors are proposed to be systematically stored in a BIM. In our proposed
method, the 3D BIM is enriched by spatio-temporal surface and air temperature information using tools such as
Grasshopper visual scripting. The information is used to calculate variables, such as Mean Radiant Temperature
(MRT) and operative temperature, to evaluate the occupants’ thermal comfort level for each space. The result
of the case study verified that the developed system is capable of automatically calculating operative
temperature and MRT considering the position of the occupant in the room for assessing the thermal comfort
level.
Keywords: Building Information Modeling (BIM), thermal comfort, 3D thermal model, temperature sensor,
thermographic data, Mean Radiant Temperature (MRT), operative temperature
Introduction
Thermal performance of the building envelope exerts considerable influence on maintaining
indoor environmental conditions. Improving the thermal performance of the building
envelope is one of the most effective ways to prevent excessive building energy consumption
and to maintain optimal comfortable temperature for occupants. Various sensors are
available to capture real-time information that is necessary for building operation and
maintenance, e.g., room temperature, humidity level, air flow rate, CO2 level, and infrared
images. Infrared (IR) thermography or thermal imaging and sensors are tools that assist with
the diagnosis of building issues, recognizing its problems, prioritizing building maintenance,
inspecting hidden problems, and predicting required maintenance.
Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been used for verifying building thermal
performance to achieve a higher level of thermal comfort (Sinha et al., 2013) . Although BIM
provides the ability to share multi-disciplinary information, the current BIM is not yet mature
to be readily used for integrating thermal and environmental sensor information to assess
thermal comfort. BIM requires tools to extend its ability to analyse the thermal comfort of
designed buildings by accommodating environmental information to be used in the analysis
process.
𝑇 ' 45/ = 𝑇?' 𝐹AB? + 𝑇C' 𝐹ABC + ⋯ + 𝑇E' 𝐹ABF + ⋯ 𝑇G' 𝐹ABH (3)
where 𝑇E is the average of the surrounding surfaces temperature and 𝐹ABH is the angle
factor between the person and surrounding surfaces.
The angle factor between the person and the surface can be computed using the
following equation: 𝐹ABF = 𝐹JKL 1 − 𝑒 B(3/O) /P) 1 − 𝑒 B(,/O) /Q) (4)
Visual Programing
Visual programming interface can replace the conventional coding tools with the visual
metaphor of connecting small blocks of independent functionality into a whole system or
procedure (Boeykens et al., 2009). An integrated visual programing interface with the existing
BIM can easily establish relationships between parameter of building elements and any
external data through node-based visual programming language. Additionally, a visual
programming interface can provide a new workflow to make the building performance
optimization more accessible for innovative energy-efficient building design (Rahmani Asl et
al., 2015).
Figure 1. Overview of the proposed method
BIM Modeling and Environmental Data Acquisition
The first step is BIM modeling and data collection. Thermographic data, including surface
temperature readings (i.e., thermographic images) and sensors’ readings, including air
temperature and humidity values, are collected in a building. A 3D BIM model of the building
is also created (Figure 1a).
Mapping Thermal Data on BIM Model and Preparing Environmental Data
The second step is to map thermographic images on the BIM model and to prepare the
acquired environmental data (Figure 1b). In order to integrate thermographic images of the
building envelope with the 3D BIM model, Grasshopper visual scripting is used. A series of
thermal images are loaded and displayed on the 3D model using the ImageSampler
component in Grasshopper. Additionally, in order to add the collected environmental data,
such as sensor readings, to the proposed system, a visual programing interface is used. Sensor
readings from data logger software, i.e. HOBO Ware, which contains air temperature values,
coordinates of sensors, and timestamps, are transferred and stored in spreadsheet data files.
The spreadsheet files can be connected with Grasshopper using file path functions and its
plug-in gHowl. Consequently, the prototype system produces an enriched BIM model with
thermographic textures and with color codes, coordinate references, and the environment
sensor data that can be directly read in our system.
Data Extraction and Data Processing
The third step is data extraction and data processing. The obtained raw data are processed to
support thermal comfort evaluation (Figure 1c). In order to acquire the surface temperature
data from thermographic images that are mapped on the BIM model in Rhinoceros, visual
scripting is used. It extracts numeric RGB values from images and their coordinates positions
(x,y,z) (Figure 2a). The RGB values are extracted based on a planar grid of pixels that contains
temperature data. The RGB values of the point in the center of each grid is used for the
(a) Visual scripting for extracting (b) RGB values are convert to (c) Temperature legend
thermal data as RGB values temperature data
Figure 2 Data extraction and data interpretation
(a) Surfaces surrounding the occupant are (b) The Expression component in Grasshopper for
separated for determining angle factors calculating angle factor
Figure 3 Proposed visual scripting for calculating occupant’s angle factor
After retrieving MRT and the average value of the indoor air temperature, the operative
temperature is calculated. In order to evaluate the thermal comfort level based on the
adaptive method, Ladybug (a plug-in for Grasshopper (Mostapha et al., 2013)), is used. The
adaptive comfort parameters are based on the ASHRAE 55 2013 adaptive standard. The
adaptive method model defines comfortable conditions within 80% and 90% acceptability
limits (Figure 6b), indicating the percentage of indoor comfort acceptable range.
Case Study
The student lounge on the 4th floor of the M3 building at Osaka University, Japan, was chosen
as an experimentation area (Figure 4a-4b). The case study room is naturally ventilated with
(a) M3 building (b) Experimentation room (c) Experimentation room floor plan
Figure 4. Experimentation room and the placement of air temperature and humidity sensors
3D BIM Modeling and Environmental Data Acquisition
A 3D BIM model of an existing building is created using Autodesk Revit. The geometry of
building elements, e.g., walls, ceiling, windows, doors, and their material properties, are
modeled. The model data is then exported to Rhinoceros with Grasshopper scripting via an
IFC file.
2D thermographic images were captured using a low cost thermographic camera (i.e,
FLIR C2) with infrared sensor 80×60 (4,800 measurement pixels). The temperature range of
the camera is −10°C to +150°C with a ±2°C accuracy with the field of 41° × 30°. The interior
thermographic images were captured in cloudy and clear weather conditions, while air
temperature and relative humidity data were collected using data loggers (i.e., HOBO UX100,
temperature sensor ±0.21°C at 50°C, relative humidity ±2.5% from 10% to 90% RH). There
were four measurement points for collecting indoor air temperature and relative humidity
data, and one data collection point was chosen for the outdoor air temperature. The
measurement points were chosen at working-level height, approximately 1.0 meter above
the floor, with 1.0 and 1.5 meter distances from their adjacent walls. Sensors were set to
collect real-time temperature and humidity measurements at time intervals of 15 minutes
and the location of each sensor in the experiment room is shown in Figure 4c.
Integrating Thermographic Images and Temperature Data with BIM
The model was exported from Revit to Rhinoceros and then each thermographic image was
mapped on its respective parallel wall on the 3D BIM model. Automatic mapping of the
thermographic images was performed in Rhinoceros via Grasshopper. Sensor data that are
stored in a spreadsheet data file are directly read in the system when calculations of thermal
comfort variables are required.
Calculating Thermal Comfort Variables
Two locations in the model were chosen for calculating the MRT, operative temperature, and
evaluating thermal comfort during the working hours (from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.). The BIM model
of the experimentation room (6m × 3.90m × 3.2m) with windows (4.80m × 2.00m) is shown
in Figure 5.
(a) Observed indoor/outdoor air temperature measurement and (b) Thermal comfort in summer using
calculated value of MRT and operative temperature considering adaptive standard
angle factors of two occupant locations
Figure 6. Values for thermal comfort variables and the measurement of thermal comfort
Conclusions
This paper investigated a method for enriching BIM with thermal information that can be
used for the indoor thermal comfort evaluation of buildings. A BIM compatible application
(Rhinoceros and its plug-in Grasshopper) was chosen for the development of the system. The
proposed method has been verified in a student lounge of Osaka University building. With
the help of visual scripting, thermal textures, sensor data, and the BIM model, this can be
successfully integrated. In addition, our system facilitated the process of calculating MRT
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant
Number JP26-04368.
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Abstract: In the search for comfortable thermal environment, this paper investigated thermal sensations and
indoor air temperature of traditional buildings in the dry season at Okigwe, Nigeria, with the aim of developing
a model for the prediction of neutral temperature and comfort range. Data were obtained through
administration of copies of questionnaires, and measurement of indoor air temperature, monitored
simultaneously from 1 November 2015 to 31 March 2016, in the two selected traditional buildings, constituted
the field measurement. In addition, monthly repeated transverse survey was conducted to record the thermal
sensation votes of the occupants in the monitored buildings. The findings showed that the mean dry season
0 0 0
indoor air temperature was 28.8 C with maximum of 30.5 C and minimum of 27.2 C. The mean occupants’
thermal sensation votes (TSV) was regressed upon indoor air temperature (MIT) and a prediction model: TSV =
0
0.65 (MIT) – 13.5 was developed, through which the neutral temperature was determined to be 26.8 C and
0 0
comfort range between 25.6 C and 28.2 C. Thus, the model developed could be used, prior to the
conceptualisation of design ideas, for the prediction of thermal sensations of the occupants of traditional
buildings in the dry season at Okigwe, a warm climatic zone in Nigeria.
Keywords: Dry season, Neutral temperature, Indoor thermal comfort, Traditional buildings and Thermal
sensation
Introduction
In buildings, increased productivity, well-being, and overall satisfaction are primarily some of
the expectations of occupants as most of their times and activities are spent within them. The
search for thermally comfortable environment amidst excessive costs of energy, fossil fuel,
and emergent issues from global climate changes have led to the continuous development of
mitigation and adaptation strategies and standards. To achieve optimum thermal
environment, humankind deploys passive strategies involving use of ambient energy
resources and active controls mechanisms concerned with adoption of electro-mechanical
devices for comfort. Several organisations in the developed countries, such as American
Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), European
Standards (EN), and International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) provide standards,
codes, and indices that are universally considered for indoor thermal comfort predictions
(Djamila, 2014). However, one of the significant issues from these internationalisation is that
responses to the prescriptions of the climate vary according to location and people. This
Karyono (2015) corroborated in a previous study that differences in subject comfort
temperatures were due to bodily adaptation to the surrounding climate.
Nigeria, despite being the most populous country in Africa and seventh in the world,
has neither standard energy efficiency code for buildings nor thermal comfort standard
Methodology
This paper reports the investigation of thermal sensation votes of occupants and indoor air
temperature of traditional buildings from a parent study on: Comparative Evaluation of
Indoor Thermal Comfort Conditions of Traditional and Contemporary Buildings in the Dry
Season at Okigwe, Nigeria. The parent study aimed at the establishment of design criteria for
thermally comfortable environment and the objectives examined thermal design
characteristics, thermal sensations of occupants, indoor air temperature and relative
humidity values of traditional and contemporary buildings. Survey and field measurement
research design approaches was adopted in this study.
Data from survey approach were obtained through self-administrated questionnaires.
Self-administered questionnaire as described in Oppenheim (2005) is a technique of data
collection, whereby the questionnaires are usually presented to the respondents by an
interviewer or approved representative. In this study, research assistants trained in the local
milieu of the study area assisted in the distribution of copies of the questionnaires. They
interpreted the questionnaire contents in the local dialect as most of the occupants of
traditional buildings are illiterates. Indoor air temperature monitored simultaneously in two
traditional buildings constituted the field measurement data. In addition, repeated transverse
survey was conducted to obtain monthly thermal sensation votes of the occupants of the
selected traditional buildings. Repeated transverse survey as described in Nicol et al. (2012)
is an approach where the same population is visited periodically to collect data, say once a
month or once a season. The respondents in the sampled traditional buildings were visited
once a month from November 2015 to March 2016 to record their thermal sensation votes
and same period was used to collect data on the indoor air temperature.
Population and Subject Characteristics
The study was made of two populations: buildings and occupants. Buildings whose fabric:
walls, roofs and floors were made of mud, thatch, and rammed earth respectively were
chosen as representative samples of traditional buildings. Evans (1980) buttressed the choice
of roof and wall as both possess qualities that modify the internal environment of buildings.
Two buildings were selected, though one of them had its roof element made of corrugated
iron roofing sheets. The occupants’ population comprised 150 randomly selected adult
household heads who live in buildings whose fabric characteristics represented those of
traditional buildings.
Data Collection
In the distribution of the self-administered questionnaires, a two-level multi-stage cluster
sampling technique was adopted. The first stage had a sampling frame of the 22 autonomous
communities in the study area stratified into the 11 electoral wards as recognised by the INEC.
In the second stage, the electoral wards were arranged alphabetically and through random
sampling of one out of every two (1:2); however, two wards belong to the same autonomous
community (Umulolo) and were merged as one ward for this study, thus giving a total of ten
Fig 1: T1 Fig 2: T2
8
27
22 7
18 6
2 11 13 7 5
TSV
3- 5- 4
1- 2- 4- 6- 7- 3 y = 0.6369x - 13.11
Slig Slig R² = 0.98575
Col Coo Neu Wa 2
htly htly
d l tral rm Hot 1
cool w… 0
Series1 2 11 13 7 27 22 18 22 27 32 37
Votes MIT
Fig 3: Thermal Sensation Votes Fig 4: Regression line of TSV on MIT
Discussion
The indoor air temperature of buildings is dependent on the components and composition of
the envelope for thermal comfort. Traditional buildings are unique in its form and materials;
but the findings from this study indicate a discontinuation trend in the adoption its methods
and components, as only a quarter (28%) of the existing buildings still had its full complement.
The corrugated iron roofing sheet which is a contemporary building material has replaced the
thatches on traditional buildings. The assessment of the subjective comfort votes based on
the seven-point ASHRAE scale revealed that the occupants of traditional building were not
comfortable with the thermal environment of their buildings as less than half (47%) of the
votes were cast inside the central three categories of the thermal sensation scale. The ASHRAE
scale recommends that an acceptable comfortable thermal environment should have 80% of
occupants’ votes in the central three categories of (vote =3, 4 & 5 on 1 to 7 scale).
The relationship between indoor air temperature values and mean values of occupants’
thermal sensation votes was found to be significantly different. Indoor air temperature would
increase by 65% for a 100% increase in the thermal sensations of the occupants. The neutral
temperature (26.80C) and comfort range (25.60C - 28.20C) established in this study had lower
values when compared with other related findings. Efeoma and Uduku (2016) reported a
neutral temperature of 28.50C for both dry and rainy seasons. The study area, Enugu, Nigeria
is in the same warm-humid climatic region with Okigwe, Nigeria. This may not be unconnected
with differences in the behavioural adaptations, seasons and type of buildings studied.
The lower value obtained is also indicative of the good thermal qualities of traditional
buildings. The locally available materials, resources and conditions used in the construction
of traditional buildings without recourse to mechanical and artificial systems of heating,
ventilation and air conditioning; aided in the reduced values obtained. This implies that the
methods and components of traditional buildings lead to reduced consumption of substantial
amounts of energy and costs (Roaf, et al., 2009; Qaemi & Heravi, 2012; Sarkar, 2013).
Whereas, active control systems promote use of electro-mechanical devices for comfort,
which adversely affect the environment by causing mismanagement of energy resources (de
Dear & Brager, 1998).
Acknowledgements
The author is grateful to Associate Professor Odim Onuoha Odim and Professor Abiodun
Olotuah (Doctoral thesis supervisors) and all the research assistants for their roles in the
completion of this study at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU),
Anambra State, Nigeria.
References
Akande, O. K. & Adebamowo, M. A., 2010. Indoor Thermal Comfort for Residential Buildings in Hot-Dry
Climate of Nigeria. Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK, Network for Comfort and Energy Use in Buildings, pp. 1-
11.
Akintoye, A., 2000. Analysis of Factors Influencing Project Cost Estimating Practice. Construction
Management and Economics, Volume 18, pp. 77-89.
ASHRAE 55, 2004. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004: Thermal Environment Conditions for Human
Occupancy. Atlanta, Georgia: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.
Candido, C., de Dear, R. J., Lamberts, R. & Bittencourt, L., 2010. Air Movement Acceptability Limits and
Thermal Comfort in Brazil's Hot Humid Climate Zone. Building and Environment, pp. 222-229.
de Dear, R. & Brager, G. S., 1998. Toward an Adaptive Model of Thermal Comfort and Preference. ASHRAE
Transactions, 104(1), pp. 145-167.
Djamila, H., 2014. Exploring the Preferred Temperatures on Occupants Thermal Comfort in the Humid
Tropics. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, 3(4), pp. 98-102.
Efeoma, M. & Uduku, O., 2016. Longitudinal Survey of Adaptive Thermal Comfort of Office Workers in the
Hot Humid Zone of Enugu, Nigeria. Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK, Network for Comfort and Energy Use in
Buildings.
Evans, M., 1980. Housing, Climate and Comfort. New York: Halsted Press.
Fanger, P. O., 1972. Thermal Comfort: Analysis and Applications in Environmental Engineering. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Karyono, T. H., 2015. Predicting Comfort Temperature in Indonesia, an Initial Step to Reduce Cooling
Energy Consumption. Buildings 2015, pp. 802-813.
Nicol, F., Humphreys, M. & Roaf, S., 2012. Adaptive Thermal Comfort: Principles and Practice. London :
Routledge.
Oppenheim, A. N., 2005. Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement. New ed.
London: Continuum.
Qaemi, M. & Heravi, G., 2012. Sustainable Energy Performance Indicators of Green Building in Developing
Countries. Construction Research Congress, pp. 1961-1970.
Roaf, S., Crichton, D. & Nicol, F., 2009. Adapting Buildings and Cities for Climate Change: A 21st Century
Survival Guide. Oxford: Elesvier Press.
Sarkar, A., 2013. Study of Climate Responsive Passive Design Features in Traditional Hill Architecture of
Khyah Village in Hamipur, Himachaal Pradesh, India for Indoor Thermal Comfort. J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A, 94(1),
pp. 59-72.
Abstract: This article presents a participative model for evaluation in open urban spaces, named Opine. The
mobile application was developed for the investigation of user comfort. The application’s objective is to verify
the users’ perception of open urban spaces with regard to thermal environmental conditions; acoustics;
daylight and ergonomics, and enable quick acquisition of these opinions. Studies in the area of environmental
comfort and climate in open urban spaces presuppose the acquisition of data pertaining to environmental
conditions, the physical characterization of spaces and users’ opinions (subjective answers). The last years
have shown that, despite the technology used in field researches, part of this information could be acquired in
a more dynamic manner. The development of the application led us to think of it as merely a questionnaire,
for it would – then – be more direct and easy to understand. The application was developed for Android
systems, with the following characteristics regarded as Paramount: easy to understand; clear; organized; easy
to read. It should also be visually instinctive to the user, making the data acquisition process more agile and
also enabling the rapid and dynamic treatment of the data.
Keywords: urban space, participative model, environmental comfort, Android system, OPINE.
Introduction
Quality of urban spaces contributes to quality of life, and knowledge of the relations
between urban micro-climatic patterns and their implications to users’ environmental
comfort is a practical and effective solution. More than 50% of people in the world live in
cities and – thus – knowledge of urban climate contributes to the understanding of urban
sustainability. Also, when projected with potential global climate changes (PBMC, 2014),
urban climate should be contemplated in the parameters for urban planning and
qualification of open urban spaces. Urban climate is one of the elements of the physical
environment which – although affects health, laboral performance and human psychological
state – is frequently neglected in urban planning and design of cities and urban spaces.
Knowledge of the relations between microclimate and user comfort provides tools for
large-scale planning and design, enabling a better living for people in urban spaces.
According to Mills (2006), had climate studies been incorporated into the zoning of cities,
many environmental problems could have been reduced.
Figure 2. Development system diagram – participative model.
Opine – variables for collection
Some pre-requisites were settled upon for the development of the app: 1. Contain a clear
survey: 2. Easy and quick to answer: 3. Questions and its possible answers must be easy to
understand; 4. Lead users to answering all mandatory questions; 5. Use of a visual language
which appeals to the target audience (students); 6. Compel the user to answer it; 7.
Generate feedback which can be used in comfort indexes; 8. Ergonomic should be designed
for ease of navigation; and 9. Be made so as to reach a large audience.
The user’s contribution, on opening the app, is to answer questions pertaining to his /
her perception of the Campus’ open spaces, in regards to thermal environmental conditions,
acoustics, illumination and ergonomy.
The user accesses the app through the phone’s menu, by clicking the OPINE logo. The
splash screen shows the slogan “Are you comfortable?” (“Você está confortável?”).
Subsequently, on the MENU option, a text is shown explaining what the app is about, also
making an alert on the use of the device’s battery and the non-use of the information in
case the user so chooses (Figure 3):
“Welcome!
This app is intended as means to obtaining, in a practical and dynamic manner,
informations on users’ perceptions of environmental conditions in outer open spaces of the
Campus.
Your answers are very important to a critical analysis of the procedure developed for
the remote acquisition of data, for evaluation of the comfort conditions of urban open
spaces.
Thank you!”
After accessing the app, the user inputs some data – essential to understanding his /
her positioning in the built environment, as well as information pertaining to: age, sex,
height, attire, physical activity (still, walking, running…) as well as his / her mood at that
specific point.
Figure 4 shows some examples of the screens for input of users’ initial information.
The input of initial information is followed by nine screens which try to obtain from
the user information as to his / her satisfaction as to environmental and spatial parameters
of his / her current location. For these informations the user uses slide-bars going from 0%
to 100% satisfaction. Figure 5 shows some of these nine screens.
Information requested are: 1. How do you feel about this place?: 2. How do you feel
about air quality at this time?; 3. How do you feel about ambient noise at this time?; 4. How
do you feel about light reflected from buildings, passing cars and ground at this time?; 5.
Figure 3. a. App icon / logo which will be shown on the device’s menu; b. Splash screen; and; c. Initial screen -
information.
Figure 4. App screens: a. Question about user’s location – and if there are more trees or buildings; b. User
information (age and gender); and c. Current mood.
Three additional questions comprise the App and have more of an informative character:
a. Predominance of the vegetation in the area; b. Do you consider the sidewalk width (from
too narrow to too wide); and c. Please check any items (urban furniture) you miss: benches
/ trash bins / bicycle rack (Figure 6).
Figure 6. App screens / additional information – user’s opinion
An important point to mention is that, during the development of the app, some data
were fundamental to the final formatting / design. Information for the creation of screens,
such as distances, widths, heights, fonts, colors, etc., are part of the “designer / programmer”
domain, must be addressed in synchrony and are multi-disciplinary. Based on these
informations, the programmer can reproduce the desired design in the actual app and insert
images and icons created by the designer. Figure 7 presents an example of the development
of the screens.
Conclusion
We present, here, the development of a mobile application for the acquisition of data from
the user. It has several desired qualities: easy understanding, clarity, organization,
readability, images to make it more intuitive, does not stray from the Android model and its
visual identity is related to the theme.
Figure 7. Creation of app screens – development.
Acknowledgements
FAPESP - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo for financial
supporting and the Programa Unificado de Bolsas de Estudos para Estudantes de Graduação
(PUB) da Universidade de São Paulo for financial supporting by undergraduate's students
Erika Luzie Vanoni Peixoto, Júlio Cesar Sevarolli Assis and Karina Miyuki Suzuki.
References
DEITEL, H. M. and DEITEL, P. J. Java: Como programar, 6a. Edição, 2005.
LECHETA, R. R. Google Android 4a edição. Novatec Editora, 2015.
MILLS, G. (2006). Progress toward sustainable settlements: a role for urban climatology. Theoretical and
Applied Climatology, volume. 84.
MONTEIRO, L. M.; ALUCCI, M. P. (2011) Proposal of an outdoor thermal comfort index: empirical
verification in the subtropical climate. Architecture & Sustainable Development. Louvain-la-Veruve. Press
Universitaires de Louvain, pp. 433-438.
Oke, T.R. (1987). Boundary layer climates. 2nd ed.
PBMC (2014). Mitigação das mudanças climáticas. Contribuição do Grupo de Trabalho 3 do Painel
Brasileiro de Mudanças Climáticas ao Primeiro Relatório da Avaliação Nacional sobre Mudanças Climáticas
[Bustamante, M. M. C., Rovere E.L.L, (eds.)]. COPPE. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro,
Brasil, 463 pp.
Tudo cellular (2016). Disponível em: http://www.tudocelular.com/windows/noticias/n60530/windows-
phone-crescimento-brasil.html. Acesso em 27 de janeiro de 2016.
Universidade de São Paulo. Anuário Estatístico (2015). Disponível em
https://uspdigital.usp.br/anuario/AnuarioControle. Acesso em 25 de dezembro 2015.
Introduction
Residential buildings are responsible for nearly a third of UK’s greenhouse gas emissions
(DBEIS, 2017). Emission reduction of buildings can be achieved by various ways, such as
changing the energy provision of the supply chain, improved building design, and through
energy efficiency and curtailment behaviours (Gardner and Stern, 2008). The design of
sustainable residential buildings might have the potential to moderate the environmental
strain and reduce the energy and resource appetite of buildings by applying contemporary
‘green’ building practices, such as the use of efficient materials or sustainable features to
name but a few (Friedman and Wybor, 2016). However, residents often use sustainable
buildings and its appliances in unsustainable ways, offsetting the expected gains (Asmar and
Tilton, 2015). Understanding the complex tangle of residents’ everyday environment related
behaviours and practices performed in sustainable buildings might inform the design of
sustainable residences, enabling it to create physical surroundings with higher level of
behavioural resilience.
Architectural design has the potential to support learning, to unleash creativity, to
boost work performance, to promote social connectedness, or even to facilitate faster
Method
Given the unexplored nature of the investigated area, the study uses Grounded Theory
(Charmaz, 2014) as research methodology. The interviews conducted were used to develop
a theoretical understanding of how sustainable student accommodations shape
environmentally relevant behaviours and practices.
Participants
Twenty (n=20) participants were sampled from four sustainable student accommodations
across the UK. All accommodations were BREEAM (Building Research Establishment
Environmental Assessment Method) Excellent certified. BREEAM is an established method
of assessing, rating and certifying buildings with high environmental commitment (BRE,
2017). All participants had already spent more than two months in the studied
accommodations, meaning that they probably all were familiar with their new environment
and able to have an in-depth conversation about their experiences with the
accommodations. Further site and participant characteristics are presented in Table 1.
Results
The study surfaced a set of needs that students were aiming to fulfil while using the design
features of the accommodations. The identified needs are comfort, control, privacy, ease of
use and hygiene. Moreover, the direction of environmentally affecting behaviours seems to
be swayed by how far the sustainable design features consider and satisfy students’ needs.
In cases where design features do not support the identified needs, students find ways to
circumvent or adjust features, resulting in less environmentally desirable outcomes.
Conversely, where features are sensitive to the needs that emerged from the analysis, use is
as intended, ensuring positive environment related behavioural negotiations. Figure 1
presents the map of design features surfaced from participants’ recounts, the relation of
design features with student needs, and the final behavioural outcomes. The continuous
lines highlight the scenarios where the needs were satisfied and use was environmentally
supportive, while the dashed lines show the cases that led to less environmentally friendly
behaviours since needs were not supported by the design features.
Privacy, in the sense of visual privacy (Altman, 1975), in student rooms prevailed as a
very pertinent need, even more that the rooms were the only private space students had in
the studied accommodations. Student narratives linked privacy to the large, double glazed
windows meant to capture daylight and to reduce artificial light use in sustainable buildings.
However, the interviews revealed that windows might sometime cause privacy issues that
had the opposite behavioural and environmental effect than the one originally intended. It
was quite common that students, especially the ones living on the ground floor, said that
they felt uneasy because people could see into their rooms so they closed the blinds and
used artificial lights.
“Everyone can see from the outside as I like my privacy I always down the curtain and I
use my lamp. “ (Felix, Site 1)
In contrast, when design resulted in a bright space with no privacy issues, the
behavioural and environmental outcome was as expected and served sustainability goals.
“I never have the blinds down really because I think it’s just so nice to get the sunlight
in and just work with that. “ (Jack, Site 2)
Conclusion
The paper argues that comfort is a decisive need that has to be considered while designing
sustainable student accommodations that promote sustainable behaviour. The sustainable
features considered during the design ought to address sustainability on a technical level
but also have to be mindful of residents’ needs in general and comfort in particular.
Understanding comfort with the various nuances it holds for each design feature integrated
in sustainable student accommodations, may be key to ensuring sustainable use by design.
Although contemporary sustainable student residences do integrate technically sustainable
features on one hand, and do aim to design comfortable student environments on the other
(Friedman and Wybor, 2016), the sustainable use of the integrated sustainable features
needs to be further considered from a comfort perspective in order to support proper use.
References
Aghemo, C., Blaso, L., Pellegrino, A. (2014). Building automation and control systems: A case study to
evaluate the energy and environmental performances of a lighting control system in offices. Automation in
Construction, 43, pp. 10–22
Al horr, Y., Arif, M., Katafygiotou, M., Mazroei, A., Kaushik, A., Elsarrag, E. (2016). Impact of indoor
environmental quality on occupant well-being and comfort: A review of the literature. International Journal of
Sustainable Built Environment, 5, pp. 1–11
Introduction
Much attention on sustainable buildings has been put on energy aspects. However, health is
the most precious resource we have, and energy is only one aspect of sustainability. A primary
goal for sustainability should be to sustain good human health and provide healthy living
environments. This was the starting point for a series of workshops with international experts
initiated by the VELUX Group, based on a wish to start a discussion on how to create healthier
residential buildings.
Three key principles were identified: Live in balance with nature, Adaptability and
Sensibility. Furthermore, those principles are supported by ten key factors including:
Variation, Stimulation/absence of stimulation, Outdoor/indoor relation, Light/darkness,
Electrical lighting, Cool/warm, Silence/sounds, Rest/activity, Control and Flexibility related to
seasons.
The principles and guidelines presented here can be used to guide and improve the
design of residential buildings of all types, including apartment buildings, and are applicable
to both new and existing dwellings (Circadian House, 2013).
Methods
In the context of this paper, a Circadian House is understood as a dwelling that promotes
health by entraining and synchronising the circadian rhythms of its occupants to the 24h day-
night cycle and the seasonal changes of day length.
Results
It is not possible to include all results in this short paper. In the following we will highlight
selected key results organised around a selection among the ten key factors.
Contact to nature
Dwellings should have at least one outdoor or semi-outdoor space (e.g. a garden, terrace or
balcony) that provides direct contact to nature. Research studies show that improved mood
and reduced stress are consistent benefits of living in close contact with nature (Veitch &
Galasiu, 2012).
Outdoor spaces must be treated as an extension of the house and designed to inspire
the occupants to spend as much time as possible outside, offering a close contact to nature
in all seasons of the year. Outdoor spaces should be designed for a variety of activities such
as dining, playing, working, relaxing etc. People affected by the seasonal changes in day length
will benefit from extra exposure to high levels of daylight in outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces.
Also, exposure to daylight and sunlight outside allows our body to produce vitamin D, which
people in modern societies often lack due to the large amount of time spent indoors.
Balconies and terraces should be shielded from wind and have good connections to relevant
rooms of the house in order to maximise their use.
View to outside
Views to the outdoor surroundings are crucial in order to maintain contact with nature and
satisfy our needs for orientation in time and place while indoors. There is clear evidence of
the benefits of window views, particularly views offering contact to life and nature. A good
view can have restorative benefits (leading to e.g. stress relief) and sometimes even result in
quicker recovery time after illness and less post-surgery pain medication.
It is important to analyse view content on-site and make sure that all main living and
activity rooms in the house have generous views to the sky and ground, and to natural and/or
urban landscapes around the house. Shading systems should be designed so that adequate
views to the outside can be maintained in the rooms even at moments when it is necessary
to block direct sun penetration. To this effect, it is important to consider proper control of
sunlight in summer (Kaplan, 2001; Kellert, 2008).
Healthy light
Light is used by individuals for image forming light detection (vision) and for a variety of non-
image forming light detection (non-vision) tasks including daily time cues for sleep/wake
cycles and alertness levels. In addition, there is increasing evidence that human biology can
be affected by changing light levels and exposure across seasons. Seasonal depression has
been linked to reduced light exposure during the winter period, and attenuated levels of
vitamin D can increase vulnerability to both developmental and somatic diseases in adults
(Wirtz-Justice et al 1996). It should be noted that UV light also is a strong germicide that can
help prevent the spread of some diseases in buildings.
Discussion
During the workshops, several fundamental questions were asked about the link between
housing quality, indoor environment, circadian rhythms and health. Questions like: Can a
house really support circadian rhythms? Not by just providing for the adequate amount of
daylight given the time of day, but also, e.g. by allowing indoor temperatures to follow (to a
certain extent) the variation in outside temperatures. Can a building’s design really support a
healthy and active lifestyle? And how can the indoor environment in our homes promote
comfort and wellbeing, rather than just maintain acceptable indoor conditions? In the 1860s,
Florence Nightingale identified five essential points in securing health in dwellings: pure air;
pure water; efficient drainage; cleanliness; and light, especially sunlight. “Do not build good
hospitals, build good homes” is her famous quote (still very true).
Conclusions
The result of the workshops is a vision to realize healthy homes that support the different
biological needs of their occupants. Based on the discussions, the core elements of a Circadian
House have been defined under 3 key principles and 10 key factors.
Key principles
• Live in balance with nature - A house in balance with nature allows the occupants to live
with and follow the daily and seasonal cycles of the outdoor environment.
• Adaptability - A house whose space and occupants can adapt to changing conditions (daily,
seasonal) and needs.
• Sensibility - A house that provides protection against harmful substances, which humans
cannot sense, and allows freedom to control parameters that can be sensed.
Acknowledgement
The work is based on workshop discussions and correspondence with the following, without
whom there would have been no Circadian House specification. Anna Wirz-Justice, University
of Basel, Switzerland; Anne Helene Garde, National Research Center for the Working
Environment, Denmark; Atze Boerstra, BBA Binnenmilieu, The Netherlands; Dean Hawkes,
University of Cambridge, UK, Francis Allard, University of La Rochelle, France, Hal Levin,
Building Ecology, US, Jelle Laverge, University of Gent, Belgium, Koen Steemers, University of
Cambridge, UK, Luc Schlangen, Phillips Lighting, The Netherlands, Mariëlle Aarts, Eindhoven
University of Technology, The Netherlands, Nick Baker, University of Cambridge, UK; Ole
Bouman, Biennale Shenzhen; Pawel Wargocki, Technical University of Denmark; Per Olaf Fjeld,
University of Oslo, Norway; Richard Hobday, Independent researcher, UK; Russell Foster,
University of Oxford, UK; Staffan Hygge, University of Gävle, Sweden; Thomas Witterseh,
Danish Technological Institute, Denmark; Truus de Bruin, Delft University of Technology, The
Netherlands. The VELUX Group provided financial support for the workshops.
References
Boyce, P. R., Hunter, C., & Howlett, O. 2003. The benefits of daylight through windows. Troy, NY: Lighting
Research Center. (http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/daylightDividends/index.asp).
Brager GS and de Dear RJ, 1998. Thermal adaptation in the built environment: a literature review. Energy
and Buildings, Volume 27, Issue 1, February 1998, Pages 83–96.
Brainard GC and Veitch JA, 2007. Lighting and Health workshop – final report based on a workshop
session at the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage meeting in Beijing (2007). NRCC report 50464. NRC
Introduction
It is commonly found in the Asian culture with a strong family values that patients always be
accompanied by other people such as a partner and relatives during their visits to a hospital.
In Thailand, for example, the number of accompanying rate raised up to 95.1% for in-
patients, which is accounted for an overnight stay. Despite providing supports to patient,
this companionship invloves an indoor environmental issue in optimising thermal
environment and comfort in hospital, particularly in a patient room, because of their distinct
variation in physical health and individual needs.
There are a number of evidence that indoor environment has an impact on healthcare
occupants; because the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) involve not only a health risk and
safety, but also healing process of patient (Ulrich et al, 2004). The thermal environment is
also an important factor for the occupants’ comfort as well as symptoms of their health
conditions; including dry, itchy skin, and thirst (Hashiguchi et al, 2005). A comfortable
thermal environment also benefits to balancing the moods and facilitating healing in
patients (Hwang et al, 2007). For an evaluation of thermal comfort in patient rooms, a
number of studies had conducted a comparison results between patients and staff by using
ASHRAE Standard 55 methodology and ISO7730 based on Fanger’s predicted mean vote
Research methods
To clarify the comfort requirements of patient and companion in a patient room, the
research framework covered objective measurments on the actual IEQ, including thermal
environment conditions, and a subjective occupant satisfaction survey. The empirical data
were collected during July 2015 to May 2016, at 53 patient rooms of 5 different wards in
two large-scale general hospitals located in a rather hot-humid urban climate of Bangkok,
Thailand. All cases reflect all-in-one hospital building with the generic physical environment
of a single bed patient room, which is commonly depended on air conditioning system.
Objective measurements for IEQ
This study conducted an automated measurement of the air temperature, relative humidity,
CO2 concentration, sound level and illuminance by installing indoor climate sensors in 6
patient rooms. All of the devices were set for 10-min recording intervals and were installed
approximately 1.0 m above floor level. Additionally, during the occupants’ survey in 53
patient rooms, indoor environmental conditions around each interviewee, including a globe
temperature and wind velocity, were simultaneously recorded every one minute
throughout the survey period or at least 30 mins in each room.
For thermal comfort assessment, the mean radiant temperatures were calculated
according to the equation in ISO 7726. A metabolic rate and clothing insulation were
estimated from subjects’ clothing and their activities at the time of interview. The metabolic
rate was determined according to the metabolic rates for typical tasks in ASHRAE 55-2013.
Clothing insulation values were derived by applying the equation from ISO 9920. The
bedding ensemble that comprises of a single bed, mattress, sheets, and blanket was taking
into account in this research because the total insulation resistance of bedding highly affects
thermal comfort for a resting patient with a reclining posture (Lin and Deng, 2008).
The occupant surveys on environmental sensation and satisfaction was done by using
a semi-structured interview following the questionnaire. The procedure took approximately
15-20 mins per participant. A total of 89 IPD occupants of different wards were invited to
participate in this survey. This research focused on in-patients who admitted and stayed in
the hospital for at least one night. With a limited accessibility, half of patients that involved
Thermal Environment
Air temperature in patient rooms of both case study hospital was almost identical in a range.
However, it can be seen from Figure 1 that the average air temperatures were far above the
upper limit of Thai standard and AIA/FGI. More than 55 % of all investigated data failed to
meet the Thai standard and AIA/FGI. The reason for a failure to comply with AIA/FGI is also
because of the high humidity. Moreover, more than 90 and 70 % of the results from both
hospitals were outside of the summer comfort zone for healthcare occupants wearing
ordinary summer clothing (0.5 clo) recommended by ASHRAE 55-2013 (Figure 1). The main
reason for this involves not only high temperatures, but also high and unstable humidity.
This results indicated the issue concerning temperature setting and humidity control of a
patient room in a hot-humid region
Illuminance
Similar to the international standards, a lighting condition in patient room recommended by
the Thai standard is at 100 lx. About 25 % of measurements complied with the
recommendation. The average illuminance was 168 to 171 lx, and nearly 15 % were brighter
than 300 lx. Some fluctuation and unstable distribution of lighting were found. The natural
lighting was having a role because all of the patient rooms are fitted with a large glass
window and a single layer adjustable curtain. However, a problem concerning the solar heat
gains through this opening was reported.
Acoustic environment
According to the Thai standard, an acoustic condition suggested for a patient room should
range between 40 to 45 dBA. However, the result indicated that less than 5% of the actual
measurements were in the recommended range of sound. Although the average acoustic
level in patient rooms was around 53 - 58 dBA, up to 30 % of data from H1 and 15 % from
H2 were louder than 60 dBA.
Indoor air quality (IAQ)
The level of CO2 concentration is measured as an indicator for IAQ. The result shows the
average CO2 level in a patient room of IPD at 847 and 594 ppm for H1 and H2 respectively.
Almost 98 % of CO2 level from H2 were controlled under 1,000 ppm. Whereas, nearly 30 %
Figure 2. Percentage frequency of thermal sensation vote (ASV & PMV) by each group of occupants
As the thermal comfort of in-patient can be different from a healthy companion, this
research separately analysed the data of in-patients and companions in order to clarify the
difference. As shown in Figure 2, the PMV results for in-patients and companions produced
uniform graphs of distribution whereas the results based on the actual sensation vote (ASV)
illustrated the different thermal sensation between in-patients and companions. The
distribution of ASV results for the companions concentrated at slightly colder than neutrality
(ASV between -1 and 0). It can be a case that the illness and medical treatments may
decrease an ability to remain cognitively aware of their surrounding environment.
Furthermore, this study found a strong relationship between the PMV and ASV data
for in-patients whereas the results for companions did not reach the significant level (Figure
3). However, the regression plot indicated that the prediction fails to give the accurate
information on their thermal sensations. A neutrality (PMV=0) for patient was shifted to
0.14 scale points of the ASV and to -0.37 for the companions. This discrepancy between
PMV and ASV poses a problem in deciding the appropriate thermal comfort, particularly in
term of the temperature, in a healthcare building in a tropical region.
To reconcile such different neatruality, this research suggested for a common range of
temperature by a correlation analysis between the predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD)
and operative temperature based on the theoretical calculation of the PMV and the actual
percentage of dissatisfied (APD) with the operative temperature (To). The acceptable
temperature range for thermal comfort of both occupant groups in a patient room was
calculated at 20 % of PPD according to ASHRAE Standard 55. Regarding to a study in Taiwan
hospital, the range of temperature for the comfort zone by 20 % of dissatisfaction was
suggested between 21.8 - 26.2 °C for summer (Hwang et al, 2007). Figures 3 also shows that
the temperature range based on the observed APD, 23.1 - 26.5°C, was narrower and the
lower range was slightly warmer than that one from the PPD prediction which being 22.8 -
28.3 °C. The values of calculated PPD for companions was higher than those of in-patients
although their direct votes for thermal comfort satisfaction was greater than 95 %. The
difference of comfort satisfaction between in-patients and companions was less than 5 %,
however, 88 % of in-patients preferred no change of the indoor environment. In addition,
in-patients tend to prefer slightly warmer thermal environment than their companions who
are satisfied at lower temperature.
Occupants perception and satisfactions on IEQ in a patient room
Although thermal comfort parameter can be one of the good indicator for the comfort
requirement, it can be false or underestimate for patients who are in a frail condition. The
results from occupant satisfaction surveys shows that more than 68 % of in-patients felt
better than neutral in their patient room environments, which was greater than the
companions.
Focusing on five major IEQ parameters, more than 50 % in-patients perceived the
indoor air temperature, humidity, illuminance and acoustic conditions as neutral. About 31 %
of in-patient reported on un-fresh and stuffy air quality. Whereas, the companion mostly
indicated uncomfortable condition concerning overall environment, the acoustic condition
in particular. The results lead to the understanding that in-patients could accept the
environmental conditions with a lower expectation even though their sensation votes were
outside of the thre commended comfort criteria. However, in-patients are influenced by
their health conditions and medical treatments, and their attitudes that is given a medical
treatment activities as the highest priority. They may not found themselves in the best of
comfort state. To accurately evaluate the patient comfort, this study then addressed on the
extended parameter beyond thermal comfort factor.
Figure 4. Correlations between comfort satisfaction and IEQ sensivity of in-patient and companion
Regarding a pearson correlation analysis between overall comfort and the major IEQ
parameters, the results indicated that indoor air quality is significantly related to the overall
satisfaction of indoor environmental comfort for in-patient (p < 0.01), while acoustic and
lighting plays more important role for the companions (Table 3). To validate the result, this
study ran a regression analysis of those significant parameters, the coefficient for IAQ
parameter was statically significant (p < 0.01). The result indicated that for every unit
increase in IAQ perception, about 0.32 unit of overall environment satisfaction for in-patient
can be expected to increase. For the companions, the coefficient of acoustic conditions was
significant at p < 0.01 while the factor of illuminance was not reach a significant level. This
result suggested that the overall comfort satisfaction of the companions can be expected to
increase by 0.22 unit for every unit increase in an acoustic perception. As the results, this
study provided a clear evidence to confirm that there was a combined effect of thermal
environment with other IEQ conditions that constitute the comfort of occupants in a patient
room. A perception on IAQ is one of the important indicator for overall environmental
comfort satisfaction of in-patients, and acoustic environment is another key for the
companions’ comfort.
Conclusion
This study clearly verified the specific requirements for the thermal comfort of in-patients
and their companions which is significant for enhancing the optimal comfort and health in a
patient room in a hot-humid region. The measurement results indicated that in-patients
could accept their patient room environment although the thermal condition therein failed
to comply with the Thai standard and AIA/FGI, as well as the summer comfort zone of
Acknowledgement
This study is a part of the project "Technology of Urban Architecture Rooted in Regional
Asian Climate" supported by TMU advanced research under the "Asian Human Resources
Fund” of Tokyo Metropolitan Government. All kind supports from the case study hospitals is
gratefully acknowledged.
References
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pp.1195-1204
Introduction
Thermal comfort has been defined as ‘that condition of the mind that expresses satisfaction
with the thermal environment’ (ASHRAE/ISO 7730), as such thermal comfort is not a steady-
state entity rather it is a subjective assessment of the environmental conditions that is
influenced by the perceptions and expectations of each individual. It is thus acknowledged
to be a uniquely personal measure of both the physiological and psychological satisfaction
one feels within the environment (Fountain et al. 1996; Hensen 1991; Nicol et al. 2012).
Two methodological formats have dominated research in to thermal comfort, the
deterministic lab-based steady-state methodology which has underpinned most of the
established comfort standards the world over, and the holistic person-environment centric
field-study methodology (de Dear 2004; Nicol et al. 2012). The steady-state studies have
been successful in providing a solid foundation of thermal comfort knowledge, however the
lack of contextual (location, outdoor climatic conditions) and psychological influences
(based on previous experiences and expectations) within it has led to dissatisfaction with
the steady state model (de Dear & Brager 1998; Brager & Dear 1998; Fountain et al. 1996).
Field study methodology is on the other hand rooted in context (climatic, social and
psychological) providing a largely unadulterated representation of the environmental
Lines of enquiry
The adaptive predictive formulae are often reflective of the difference in thermal comfort
parameters for different seasons within a region, attributing such variations to
acclimatization and expectation. In hot-dry climates however there is often a large diurnal
change in temperature which has a significant effect on lifestyle including the passive
cooling of indoor climates (i.e. opening of windows during the cooler night and closing them
during the hottest part of the day) (Nicol et al. 2012) yet the reference temperatures
currently used in the adaptive equations are not sensitive to these daily fluctuations.
Saidu Sharif
Saidu Sharif
formula
Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar
used
Multan
Multan
Multan
Quetta
Quetta
Quetta
(predicted
mean)
Multan - Sig. Insuf. Non - Sig. Sig. Non - Non Insuf. Non
data Sig. Sig. Sig. data Sig.
Peshawar Sig. - Insuf. Non Non - Non Non Insuf. - Insuf. Non
data Sig Sig. Sig. Sig. data data Sig.
Quetta Sig. Sig. - Non Non Non - Non Insuf. Non - Non
Sig. Sig. Sig. Sig. data Sig. Sig.
Saidu Sig. Sig. Insuf. - Non Sig. Non - Insuf. Non Insuf. -
Sharif data Sig. Sig. data Sig. data
The analysis of the Multan adaptive formula shows a significant difference in
predicted mean and empirical data for the temperature range of 25oC - 30oC with the city of
Peshawar [M=30.47, SD=1.03; t(5)=4.15, p=.009] while no significant difference was
recorded for Saidu Sharif and insufficient data was available for Quetta. Between 30oC -
35oC a significant difference was reported for Peshawar [M=28.48, SD=1.38; t(3)=-3.3,
p=.045] and Quetta [M=29.46, SD=.91; t(9)=-4.5, p=.001] while Saidu Sharif was not
significantly different. In the 35oC- 40oC temperature range no significant difference was
recorded for Peshawar and Saidu Sharif while there was insufficient data for analysis for
Quetta.
The analysis of the adaptive formula of Peshawar showed a significant difference with
the Multan empirical data in the 25oC - 30oC range [M=30, SD=.68; t(5)=4.6, p=.006], Saidu
Conclusions
This paper hypothesizes that adaptive formulae that are regionally developed within the
climatic and cultural environment in which they are to be applied will provide a more
accurate prediction of thermal comfort preference for the local population than those
developed through large databases of climatically diverse field studies such as ASHRAE’s RP-
884. The hypothesis was tested on a sub-set of the RP-884 (the Pakistan Project) focusing on
the case studies that fall within hot climatic classification and within a single geographic
region.
A thorough statistical analysis of the climatically and regionally appropriate adaptive
equations developed from this dataset show that the predictive accuracy of the formulae
increases when the outdoor reference temperature used is reflective of daily variations in
outdoor conditions. These tests also indicate that the local populations of different regions
within a climatic classification have varying perceptions of thermal comfort due to which the
adaptive formula developed for a particular region may not be wholly applicable to other
regions within the same climatic classification. These results thus reinforce the need for
regionally developed adaptive formulae which incorporate a sensitivity to diurnal variations
in temperature, and to the local climatic and cultural context.
It is pertinent to note that due to the limited available data for the development of
regional adaptive formulae, there was in some instances insufficient data for analysis,
however these have been highlighted within the results of the test (Table 1) and do not
detract from the conclusions outlined. Furthermore, the focus of this investigation was on
the case studies located in hot climatic regions which are also part of the developing world.
It is uncertain if similar results would be achieved in developed world regions within
References
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Brager, G.S. & Dear, R.J. De, 1998. Thermal adaptation in the built environment : a literature review.
Energy and Buildings, 17, pp.83–96.
de Dear, R., 2004. Thermal comfort in practice. Indoor air, 14 (Suppl 7), pp.32–9. Available at:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25076188.
de Dear, R. & Brager, G.S., 1998. Developing an Adaptive Model of Thermal Comfort and Preference.
ASHRAE Transactions, 104(1), pp.145–167.
de Dear, R.J. & Auliciems, A., 1988. Airconditioning in Australia - II - User attitudes. Architectural Science
Review, 31(September), pp.19–27.
de Dear, R.J. & Brager, G.S., 2002. Thermal comfort in naturally ventilated buildings: revisions to
ASHRAE Standard 55. Energy and Buildings, 34(6), pp.549–561. Available at:
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Buildings, 24(3), pp.179–182. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0378778896009887.
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comfort in Paksitan - toward new indoor temperature standards. School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes
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Thermal Comfort in Homes of Social Interest Study
Mateus Felipe dos Santos Silva1, Denise Damas de Oliveira Morelli1
1
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University Adventist Center of São Paulo,
Engenheiro Coelho, Brazil, mateusfelipe2005@hotmail.com
1
Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, University Adventist Center of São Paulo,
Engenheiro Coelho, Brazil, denise_d@uol.com.br
Abstract: Research relates thermal comfort in homes of social interest in three different historical
moments, specifically about the evolution of materials, scaling of rooms and openings (windows),
indicating which variables are of greater influence on thermal comfort to the user. Today housing
constructions prioritizes low cost, not allowing thermal comfort in each room, and it doesn't favor family
life, which has a fundamental role in the promotion of human development and quality of life. The goal
is to analyze and compare three houses of social interest, one-story houses, related to surrounding
materials, variables of thermal comfort that comply with the ABNT 15220-3 standards with the
specifications and construction guidelines, bioclimatic strategies for the whole national territory. For the
choice of the object of study, the bibliographic survey identified three important moments in the
development route of homes of social interest which are: the first house of the 1930s, IAPI (Retirement
and Pension Industry Institute), the second from the 1990s CDHU (Urban Housing Development Center)
and the third from 2015 MCMV (My House My Life). The result indicates that the materials used in the
dwellings of the IAPI program and of My House My Life complies with the minimum to the construction
guidelines standards and the CDHU program does not reach the specifications of the ABNT. It is
concluded that to produce a home with thermal comfort of social interest it’s necessary that the choice
of materials guarantee the thermal performance that complies with the bioclimatic zoning of each
region of Brazil and the needs of the user.abstract should be a maximum of 200 words. The text on the
abstract should not have paragraphs.
Keywords: Housing, thermal comfort and ABNT 15229-3 standards.
Introduction
Homes of social interest in Brazil, exerts a fundamental role in the lives of citizens, with
a reference to protection, ownership, family and to belong to a society that expresses
culture, beliefs and yearnings inside a urban life, BONDUKI (1998).
According to City Ministry (2016), the goal is the reduction of a housing deficit for the
population that have a salary of 0-5 minimum wages. The housing issue was restricted
to a numerical problem, ignoring social, cultural and climatic aspects. The unit destined
to this population does not contemplate the aspects that guarantee the thermal
comfort, flexibility and special accessibility, reforming or enlargement that meets with
security.
Today, housing construction prioritizes low cost, not allowing thermal comfort in
rooms, and does not favor family living, which plays a key role in promoting human
development and quality of life.
Goal
The objective of this work is to analyze and compare three housing units of social
interest, one-story houses, related to the surrounding materials, the thermal comfort
variables that meet the ABNT 15220 standards with specifications and constructive
guidelines, bioclimatic strategies for the entire Brazilian territory.
Method
In order to choose the object of study, in the bibliographic survey, it was
identified three important moments in the trajectory of the development of homes of
social interest in Brazil that were: the first housing unit of the 1930s, IAPI (Retirement
and Pension of Industry Institute) projects with the modernist concept of laminate-
shaped buildings and individual houses without ornaments and minimal design, the
second from the 1990s CDHU (Urban Housing Development Center) projects with
minimal design, but with a expansion project, and some buildings have constructive
1a 2a 3a
Figure 1. 1a. IAPI (1930); 2a. CDHU (1990); 3a. MCMV (2015)
The characteristics of the enclosure, wall and roof materials, between the
specimens are different due to the evolution of the materials used in the constructions
of each period (Table 1).
Table 1. Design and Physical Characteristics of the Materials
CLOSING PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
PROJECT
IAPI Solid Brick masonry (10,0x6,0x22,0 cm),
Wall mortar of 2,5 cm internal and external
totaling 15cm of thickness
Flat Clay tile(1 cm) with wooden lining
Roof with thickness of 1 cm
Roof Clay tile of 1 cm unlined
Openings Steel frames
Ceramic floor
Floor
Openings Wooden frames of law or metallic
Cemented Floor
Floor
The NBR 15220 - Thermal Performance of Buildings Part 3: Brazilian bioclimatic
zoning and constructive guidelines for single-family homes of social interest, brings the
recommendations for the summer and winter periods, the percentage of opening area,
physical properties of materials for walls and rooves (Table 2).
Table 2. Recommendations for constructive guidelines and strategies for passive thermal conditioning.
ABNT 15220-3 OPENING SHADING EXTERNAL CLOURE STRATEGIES
For each bioclimatic zone, it follows recommendations of transmittance, thermal
delay and solar factor for wall, roof and percentage for openings (window) in relation
to the floor of the environment.
With the data obtained in the software for each bioclimatic zone of Brazil, it is
possible to verify if the building is meeting the constructive specifications for the best
thermal performance of the building. With the knowledge of the materials used in the
walls, roofing and sizing of the window areas for each environment, a comparative
analysis was carried out with each typology with the different climatic zones. The
comparative analysis between the examples of homes of social interest and climatic
variations began with the period and construction system, type of material for sealing:
walls and roofs and areas of openings (windows). The thermal transmittance (U), the
thermal coefficient (Ct), the thermal delay (ⱷ) and the opening area in relation to the
floor area of the environment of each type of dwelling were calculated. It is important
to choose the building material for each type of bioclimatic zone that generates
different thermal behavior in which it can lead or create resistance to heat, providing
comfort inside the building.
With the comparative analysis, the recommendations and constructive
guidelines for each bioclimatic zone, the indications for social housing, IAPI, CDHU and
MCMV and to achieve thermal comfort within the rooms, the following design
parameters are indicated:
Zone 1: IAPI (wall); CDHU (wall and roof)
Wall sealing (Winter: heavy inner walls, artificial heating required);
Roof sealing (Winter: solar heating of the building);
Zone 2: IAPI (wall); CDHU (wall and roof)
Wall sealing (Winter: heavy inner walls, artificial heating required);
Roof sealing (Winter: solar heating of the building);
Zone 3: CDHU (wall and roof)
Wall sealing (Winter: heavy inner walls)
Roof sealing (Winter: solar heating of the building);
Zone 4: IAPI (wall); CDHU (wall and roof); MCMV (wall)
Wall sealing (Winter: heavy inner walls), (summer: thermal inertia for cooling)
Roof sealing (Winter: solar heating of the building), (summer: evaporative
cooling)
Zone 5: CDHU (wall and roof)
Wall sealing (Winter: heavy inner walls), (summer: reflective walls)
Roof sealing (Winter: solar heating of the building), (summer: light and isolated)
Zone 6: IAPI (wall); CDHU (wall and roof); MCMV (wall)
Wall sealing (summer: thermal inertia for cooling)
Roof sealing (summer: evaporative cooling)
Zone 7: IAPI, CDHU and MCMV (wall and roof)
Wall sealing (summer: thermal inertia for cooling)
Conclusion
It is concluded that to carry out the construction of a home of social interest with
thermal comfort it’s necessary to understand the climate of each region, adopting the
recommendations and guidelines of the ABNT 15220-3 standards that allows small
changes in the projects in homes of social interest already existing, that meets a
significant reduction in thermal discomfort within a building. The choice of
construction material suitable for each type of zoning, construction system and
opening area are solutions that can improve the level of comfort in the summer to
meet the needs of the user, reconciling goals, culture and family life.
References
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. NBR 15220: Desempenho térmico de
edificações – Parte 3: zoneamento bioclimático brasileiro e diretrizes construtivas para habitações
unifamiliares de interesse social. Rio Janeiro, 2005.
BONDUKI, Nabil. Origens da habitação social no Brasil - Arquitetura moderna, Lei do Inquilinato
e difusão da Casa Proletária. São Paulo: Estação Liberdade, 1998.
FERREIRA, J. S.W. Produzir casas ou construir cidades? Desafios para um novo Brasil urbano. 1ª
Edição FUPAM, São Paulo, SP, 2012.
GIVONI. Confort climate analysis and building design guidelines. Rev. Energy and Building 18 (1)
Lausanne, 1992.
Ministério das Cidades. www.cidades.gov.br (acesso 21.11.2016)
OLGYAY, V.; OLGYAY, A. Design with climate. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 19
Introduction
The Holy Rosary Church represents the resettlement of the Portuguese Catholics in
Bangkok, after the collapse of Ayutthaya realm and its age will be 120 years old in this
September, 2017. This Gothic Revival Style church was built in ca. 1890 (2433 B.E.),
consecrated in 1897 (2440 B.E.). This historic building won an Architectural Conservation
Award from the Association of Siamese Architects in 1987. It is located in Samphanthawong
District, on the eastern bank of Chao Phraya River and has been accommodating community
activities for ages.
However, the impact of climate change and changing of land use around the church
have significantly affect the thermal comfort perception of the occupants, as an increase in
external temperature influences directly on the internal climate of building. (Nemachoua, et
al., 2017). The church provides several ceremonies for the Catholics, including Mass, praying
the rosary, funeral Mass, and wedding ceremony, etc. and when the church is occasionally
overcrowded, natural ventilation through existing operable windows might not be enough
to make occupants feel comfortable, especially in summer period. Moreover, most of the
historic churches in Bangkok have installed large air-conditioning systems, as some
parishioners thought to be the proper solution to improve indoor thermal environment.
Only A few churches still employing natural ventilation strategy or using simple mechanical
fans with supplementary evaporative coolers (mini-split systems). However, the physical
conditions of the church and its historical importance have to be carefully considered, our
research team are aiming for the optimum solution both for improving environmental
comfort and building conservation.
Literature Review
Architectural characteristics and importance of the Holy Rosary Church
According to the previous study (Suriyothin, 2016) ‘Interior Lighting Design for the Holy
Rosary Church, Bangkok, an important characteristic of the Holy Rosary church lies in its
employment of the Gothic Revival style. The building utilizes a load-bearing wall structure
with a timber framed roof truss system. Decorated with stencil painting, the interior curved
ceiling is of wooden boards placed longitudinally along the length of the main roof. One of
the key decorative features of the building is its beautiful stained glass windows which allow
natural light to shine through. However, there are small openable areas underneath the
window units allowing cross ventilation through the interior space.
Thermal comfort
Thermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal
environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation of six factors namely, metabolic rate,
clothing insulation, air temperature, radiant temperature, air speed, and humidity. It is
possible for all six of these factors to vary with time. (55-2013, 2013). As the air temperature
increases, convection cooling is reduced. As air temperature exceeds skin temperature, the
body begins to gain heat from the environment. The rate of convective heat loss is also
affected by the speed of the air movement across the skin’s surface (Moore, 1993). Air
movement accelerates convection, but also changes the skin and clothing surface heat
transfer coefficient, as well as increases evaporation from the skin, thus producing a
psychological cooling effect. Li et al. (2014) states that thermal comfort and human health
demands need sufficient amount of fresh outdoor air. In a natural ventilated building,
occupants may endure higher temperature as a study shows significantly wider range of
temperatures are accepted by the occupants, which fall out of the Fanger’s thermal comfort
standard (ISO 7730, 2005). High humidity restricts evaporation from skin and in respiration,
and thus kerb the dissipation mechanism (Szokolay, 2004). As skin temperature increases,
perspiration increases, and the skin is cooled by evaporation. The rate of evaporation is
dependent on both the relative humidity and velocity of surrounding air (Moore, 1993).
Radiation exchange depends on mean radiant temperature. Clothing is the thermal
insulation of the body. If clothing can be freely chosen, it is an important adjustment
mechanism, but if it is constrained in a warm environment, it should be compensated for by
a cooler air temperature. Acclimatisation and habit is a strong influence, both physiologically
and psychologically (Szokolay, 2004). Gender, age, and climate conditions all have an impact
on the thermal comfort perceived by the occupant (Nicol & Humphreys, 2002) (Smolander,
2002). Location and typology of the building along with outdoor climate and season also
influence thermal comfort of occupants (Frontczak & Wargocki, 2011).
Methodology
In order to investigate the thermal comfort performance in the church, the methodology are
divided into three steps namely building surveys, thermal performance measurement and
field surveys.
Building surveys
First of all, the researcher observed the functions of the church; architectural condition,
ventilation systems, human behaviors, and schedules in different ceremonies along the
observation period between April, 2016 and May, 2017
Results
Building survey
The church was built in 1891 and its wall bearing is the main structure. The roof was created
by wooden truss with terra cotta tiles. The plan is symmetry and the orientation of this
building is East-West. The river seems to give benefits to the church since the West side of it
can percept the cool air. However, the entrance of the church faces the large concrete
surface on the West side leading heat and light reflecting into the building through the
opened-doors. As seen in Figure 1, the church is divided into three zones namely the
entrance: porch, the middle area: nave-sanctuary and sacristy.
The existing ceiling and wall mounted mechanical fans in the church are allowed to be
freely operated by parishioners during the Mass and other ceremonies both for the nave
and the sanctuary. Additionally, in the evening Mass which always full of parishioners, the
evaporative cooling fans are employed for the priests who wear the high clo-values clothing.
Figure 1 Floor plan of the holy rosary church with HOBO positions and zoning
Figure 2 External, internal temperatures and RH in rainy season around 19:30-20:30 on Sunday
Figure 3 Internal air temperatures and RH in the nave from June, 2016- May 2017
Figure 3 shows the internal air temperature and RH at one of the measuring point in
the nave. In winter, the temperature and RH ranges were broader than in rainy season.
However, in summer, the maximum temperature was highest throughout the data
collecting period and the minimum RH was a little less than in winter.
Field surveys
According to the questionnaires, there are 337 responses along the observation period. The
ages of the participants ranges from 16 to older than 60 years old. The overwhelming
majority of them fell into 46-60- year-old group which is 28%, followed by a 13-30-year-old
group and older than 60 year-old group, which accounted for 27% and 25% respectively.
63% of the responses are weekly attendants. Overall, the numbers of female are as twice as
male. Around 93% are parishioners. Most participants (35%) wore T-shirt or short-sleeve,
trousers and sandals (0.53 clo) with the second largest (10%) wore T-shirt, shorts and
3 = very acceptable, 2 = moderately acceptable, 1 = slightly acceptable,
-1 = slightly unacceptable, -2 = moderately unacceptable, -3 = very unacceptable
The comfort scale (Figure 4) show that most participants felt moderately acceptable to
thermal environment during the Mass in most seasons. However, the higher the
temperature the comfort line tends to decrease while the relative humidity do not make
any different in comfort.
The last charts (Figure 5) present the adaptive models that rely on the entire data
collected during rainy season from the field surveys, and the bioclimatic charts were also
plotted during the evening Mass.
Figure 5 (left) Adaptive model in rainy season with operative temperature 32.8 C, prevailing mean
o
o
outdoor temperature 30.2 C and air speed 0.6m/s (Tyler, et al., 2013) (right) Bioclimatic chart during
rainy season between 19:30-20:30
Thermal comfort improvement in historic building is rather difficult due to its physical
constraint. However, the simplest way is to provide appropriate environmental strategy
along with the ability to control over indoor thermal environments for occupants, such as
freely operable openings and mechanical fans, etc. as they can also adapt their behaviours
to restore their comfort. Besides, the church will be restored after the 120th Anniversary.
Hopefully, this research will be one of the design alternatives as well as a starting point for
the use of an appropriate technology for a sustainable building refurbishment projects in
the future. It is suggested to further study on this specific type of building, as culture and
religious belief might affect psychologically on occupants.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge in particular the work and support of the team, Dr. Atch
Sreshthaputra, Arpichart Kittimethaveenan, Piranya Leerungruangpan, Kawin Dhanakoses,
Kanchanok Suwanchote and Promtida Miliang. Funding for our projects has come from the
Department of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University.
References
55-2013, A.-A. S. (2013). Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. [Online]
Available at: http://www.ansi.org [Accessed 20 March 2017].
Asavavichai, K., Netipongpiroj, A. & Sreshthaputra, A. (2015). Thermal Comfort Preference of Elderly in
Thailand. s.l., The 55th Kasetsart University Annual Conference.
Chitkhachonwanit, K. (2004). Thermal Comfort and Adaptibility to Living for Local People, s.l.: Institute
of Research and Development, Silpakorn University.
Climatic Group, M. D. B. (2012). The Climate of Thailand. [Online]
Available at: https://www.tmd.go.th/en/archive/thailand_climate.pdf [Accessed 3 March 2017].
DDS, 2017. Department of Drainage and Sewerage. [Online]
Available at: http://dds.bangkok.go.th/services.php [Accessed 20 May 2017].
de Dear, R. & Brager, G. S. (2002). Thermal comfort in Naturally ventilated buildings: revisions to
ASHRAE Standard 55. Energy and Buildings, Volume 34, pp. 549-561.
Frontczak, M. & Wargocki, P. (2011). Literature survey on how different factors influence human
comfort in indoor environments. Build Environ, 46(4), pp. 922-937.
Introduction
Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
As approximately 45% of the total population of Dhaka constitutes the middle income and
upper-middle income groups (Islam, 2004), electricity consumption by this group is a critical
factor in the national energy balance. According to reports, the electricity consumption in
the residential sector has almost doubled in years from 2006 to 2012 (DESCO, 2012). With
the rising demand for electricity in the residential sector, it is necessary to adopt passive
design features while designing residential buildings for middle income group in planned
residential areas of Dhaka city. While domestic electricity consumption is considered in
three sectors, for lighting, for cooling and for household appliancess, this discussion focuses
only on that consumed for cooling. Reporting on a recent study (Tariq, 2016), the paper
discusses whether electricity consumption can be related to plan layout, interms of, spatial
quality, in apartment units inhabited by middle income group, in Dhaka.
The Investigation
An open type questionnaire was prepared, based on the theoretical understanding of issues
related to energy consumption in residential buildings, and several energy consumption
assessment questionnaires, particularly from the “Smart Living Handbook”. A pilot survey
was then conducted on a randomly selected residential apartment unit, to test run the
questionnaire and to assess the energy consumption in three different fields separately, viz.
for lighting, for cooling and for general household activities. This helped to validate the
questionnaire data with the electricity consumption bill and vice versa. Finally, a more
extensive field survey was undertaken, based on this questionnaire in the randomly selected
residential apartment units within particular residential areas, mostly inhabited by the
middle income group in Dhaka city.
The following issues had been addressed in the prepared questionnaire,
- Size of the apartment unit
- Duration of occupancy
- Numbers and type of electrical appliances used for lighting, cooling and other
household activities
- Running hours per day for each electrical appliance.
The following data had to be recorded directly by the surveyor during field survey,
- Electrical specification of the electrical appliances
The Results
The floor plans were drawn during the survey of all study units (Figure 1). The plan layouts
provide an insight of the functional zoning, spaces and their uses of each individual case. It
also provides the information about the position and size of the openings. Understanding
the typology of plan layout, along with size and position of the openings is important to find
the relation between plan layout and its ventilation and day lighting situation, as these
issues are associated to the overall electricity consumption by each apartment unit. These
selected eight apartment units were situated at different locations of the city, having high
demand for apartment ownership among the middle income group (Ahmed, Z. N., 1995).
After detailed survey and questionnaire responses, a comparison among the eight samples
was made, to establish whether the layout, and the average electricity consumption during
summer months, had any noticeable relationship (Table 2).
OPEN TYPE PLAN LAYOUT
Case-1 Case-2 Case-3 Case-4
CELLULAR TYPE PLAN LAYOUT
Case-4
Case-1 Case-2 Case-3
CELLULAR TYPE LAYOUT PLAN
Case-5 Case-6 Case-7 Case-8
Figure 2: Wind flow simulation of selected samples
Figure 2 reveals that, in the open type layout plans, average indoor airflow through indoor
spaces remains between 0.5-1.0ms-1, and most of the bed rooms get natural air flow. But,
average indoor airflow through indoor spaces remain between 0.2-0.4ms-1 in cellular type
layout plans, which is much lower. Most of the areas in cellular type plan layouts have
almost no indoor airflow. Moreover, Orange to yellow areas define the wind flow zones,
which are seen to penetrate the plans in the open plan layouts (Cases 1 to 4), while they
remain confined in the cellular layouts.
Conclusion
In this research, the electricity consumption in the apartment units inhabited by middle and
upper-middle income group were studied to find whether plan layout had any significant
impact on electricity consumption for the purpose of cooling comfort. Both qualitative and
quantitative aspects of plan layout, building elements and consumption data were analysed
to investigate the impact of plan layout on electricity consumption in apartment units. The
results revealed a significant relationship between plan layouts and related electricity
consumption for cooling comfort.
Considering the significant amount of electricity consumed by the residential buildings
in general and the prevailing electricity crisis in Dhaka, it is important to adopt reasonably
simple energy efficient design features, that translate into less consumption of electricity for
thermal comfort. The findings from the study suggest that, by adopting “open type” layouts
References
Ahmed, Z. N. (1995), Assessment of Residential Sites in Dhaka with respect to Solar Radiation Gains.
unpublished PhD thesis. DeMontfort University; Leicester, UK.
Allen. T, Bell. A,Graham. R, Hardy. B, Swaffer. F. (2004). Working without Walls. Office of Government
Commerce, London.
Annual Report 2012. Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (DESCO).
Islam, N. (2004). The poor’s Access to Land and Housing in Dhaka. World Bank.
Labib, S.M. et al (2013). Location and Size preference for Apartments in Dhaka and Prospect of Real
Estate Market. Bangladesh Research Publications Journal, Vol.9, Issue: 2, pp. 87-96.
Smart Living Handbook. 4th Edition, May, 2011, pp 64-68.
Tariq, S.H. (2016). An Investigation on Energy Consumption for Thermal Comfort with Respect to Plan
Layout of Residential Apartment Buildings in Dhaka, M. Arch. Thesis, (unpublished) Department of
Architecture, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka.
Introduction
Predictions of office building energy use often vary from actual energy consumption by
failing to account for adaptive occupant behaviour (AOB). Previous studies suggest that the
application of motivational strategies to enhance AOB can reduce energy consumption by
10-30% (Judd, K. S., et al 2013). Offering adaptation strategies to achieve comfort in
physiological and psychological terms (Isalgue, A., et al, 2006) can lead to improvements in
employees’ health, job satisfaction, well-being and productivity. Strategies proven to be
effective include:
- Environmental information to help inhabitants better understand their environment
(Malone et al. 2013).
- Atmosphere that differentiates the ambience of diverse spaces (McElroy, et al, 2010)
enabling inhabitants to choose where they would feel most comfortable (Levin, H.,
2003).
- Adaptive buildings that enable the inhabitants to control and customize their
environments (Nicol, F., 2001). However an excess of control might be problematic
(Bordass et al, 1993) overstimulating the occupants (Baker et al, 1996).
This paper presents the findings of a recent research project that looked at
environmental issues of office buildings in Madrid. The project focused on the case study of
an abandoned office building built in the 1970s in central Madrid (Torrubia-Aznarez, J.,
2016).
Figure 1: (Top) Comparison of outdoor air temperature with the predicted Mean Indoor Temperatures (MInT)
of conventional typical office buildings and improved design with more efficient envelope and appliances.
(Bottom) Madrid average weather data (Source: Torrubia-Aznarez, J., 2016)
Figure 2: Left: Location of the working patterns depending on the internal conditions of the space to join them
creating atmospheres. Right: 14th plan distribution. (Source: Torrubia-Aznarez, J., 2016)
The atmospheres of different spaces were designed to be accessible, adaptable and
vibrant so as to create spatial familiarity and mindful design providing stimuli management
and privacy.
Building Envelope
The case study building, Torre Ederra (fig: 3), is an abandoned glazed tower of 22,700m2
located in the “Azca” business centre. It is characterised by very low quality construction.
Figure 3: Evolution of the east elevation and layering. (Source: Torrubia-Aznarez, J., 2016)
Figure 4: Average annual solar radiation (Source: Torrubia-Aznarez, J., 2016)
Gardened areas on the terraces will help provide reductions in mean radiant
temperature.
Façade Layer
A layer must be added to the façade for the control the solar gains and overillumination.
The design of this layer is divided into three steps:
Geometry: A hexagonal pattern was chosen and tested for visual acuity, glare, solar
protection and daylighting using Ladybug. The aim was to create a vibrant, modern
atmosphere that would appeal to occupants’ perception of an innovative and attractive
work environment.
Modulation: Modules were sized to fit an operable window. Each floor will have three
façade modules and two shading modules for better solar control and easier management.
Percentage of transparent surfaces: window to wall ratios were varied on the thermal
simulations performed with EDSL TAS as shown in fig: 5 and table: 1 below.
Distribution of transparent surfaces: Three options were tested against a daylight
availability target of 200 lux. The chosen option offers a wider variation in daylight
conditions through the different spaces, higher lighting levels in the inner area and lesser
risk of glare.
Shading
Excess solar gains, overillumination and glare issues were tackled with the addition of four
types of shading devices. These were to meet a requirement for solar protection for vertical
solar radiation values above 50W/m2 (Reinhart, C.F., 2001). Solar radiation values below
40W/m2 are allowed in the cold period. Most of the shading devices will be controlled by
the inhabitants. Those located in areas that host activities requiring high levels of
concentration or have a sporadic schedule will be operated automatically but with the
option to override the system.
Daylight conditions met illuminance levels above 200 lux for more than 50% of
working hours and the core above 100lux. Annual Glare metrics (DGP) showed positive
results with momentary problems on the east and west facades during early mornings and
late evenings. These situations can be tackled by using internal translucent screens.
Thermal comfort (operable modules):
The number of operable modules was set for each façade sector (Table: 02) according to
indoor comfort conditions for the 21st of June. Some areas may reach 30C during warm
ST
Figure 6: Temperatures during the 21 of June for 20% 40%, 60%and 80% of operable surface (Source:
Torrubia-Aznarez, J., 2016)
th
Table 2: Percentages of open surface & correspondent operable modules per zone. (14 floor) (Source:
Torrubia-Aznarez, J., 2016)
The operable modules will be manually controlled by the occupants during the
working hours. During the night hours an automatic system will manage them to obtain
night cooling advances.
Conclusions
The application of passive design strategies can create comfortable, free-running working
environments. For the case study in Madrid the need for mechanical heating is eliminated
(fig: 7), and the residual cooling loads or hours of overheating are very low (Table: 03).
Sensible daylighting design reduced considerably the use of electric lighting. The remaining
equipment and lighting loads may be met by 50% from PV panels on the facades and parts
of the rooftop.
Further research is required for a better understanding of the occupant environmental
requirements and well-being. The main issues to be researched are thermal perception
fluctuations through the day, lighting conditions such as circadian effects, and variations in
contrast levels to create interesting spaces that offer visual comfort.
References
Baker, N., M. Standeven (1996) Thermal comfort for free-running buildings. Energy and Buildings 23, pp:
175-182.
Bordass, B., K. Bromley & A. Leaman (1993) “User and Occupant Controls in Office Buildings” In Proc.
ASHRAE Conference Building Design, Technology and Occupant Well-being in Temperate Climates. Brussels,
Belgium.
Isalgue, A., M. Palme, H. Coch, R. Serra (2006) “The importance of users’ actions for the sensation of
confort in buildings”. In Proc.PLEA 2006 Conference.
Abstract: The aim of this work is to present an analysis about three vernacular houses (Churajón, Moral,
and Chicha) from remarkable architectonic periods of the Arequipa city in Peru: Pre-Spanish, Colonial, and
Republican. Some historic facts related with the region are presented in order to furnish a general
panorama. This city is an oasis on the border of the Atacama desert, and aside there are three volcanoes,
and it can to suffer earthquakes. The bio-environmental equilibrium is fragile. Nowadays, due to the urban
spread and the increase of the land price, the poor people go to live in the city periphery inside
uncomfortable and fragile houses. It is observed an intense occupation of the meadow areas which are
crucial to maintain the regional climate, food production, and the ecosystem. Fundamentals of social
sustainability and bioclimatic architectures are employed in the analysis in order to create conditions to
empower poor people and to protect the environment.
Introduction
Nowadays, around the world the integration of the sustainability in the cities is a
permanent challenge. (Bui, 2012) lists in this way some subjects to be considered by
developing countries: urban demography growth, non-equilibrium urban-rural, land
access, spontaneous housing, urban transport, environmental quality, healthy, education,
people equity, cultural value and patrimony conservation. (Vallance et al, 2011)
emphasize social aspect of sustainability and say: “we have highlighted the necessity of
working through underlying conflicts and equitable and meaningful solutions to the
problems confronting us”. (Mora, et al, 2008) present some housing problems in Peru:
(13.7%) dwellings built using precarious or non-desirable materials, (32.29%) dwellings not
offering minimum living standards (electricity, sewage system, running water).
Arequipa, the second Peruvian city, has been engaged to apply some
sustainable politics and strategies to deal with the divorce urban-territorial and
environmental, pressure on peasant lands, meadow reduction, air and water pollutions,
(Encalada et al, 2009). It is a fact that poor people lost ancient techniques and how to
use local building materials, and then producing waste and pollution to the
environment and indoor non-comfortable and fragile houses. From methodological
point of view, (Rapoport, 1990) proposes for vernacular architecture an approach
considering process and product, and emphasizes to learn by analysis. (Almodóvar et al,
W in d Fre q u e n c y (H rs) A v e ra g e W in d T e mp e ra tu re s
5 0 k m/ h % 50 k m/ h mm
95 + 1 .0 +
85 0 .9
4 0 k m/ h 75 40 k m/ h 0 .8
65 0 .7
55 0 .6
3 0 k m/ h 45 30 k m/ h 0 .5
35 0 .4
25 0 .3
2 0 k m/ h 15 20 k m/ h 0 .2
<5 < 0 .1
1 0 k m/ h 10 k m/ h
Figure 3. (from left to right) Yearly Average wind frequency, ambient temperature, relative humidity, rainfall.
(Data processed from Rodrigues Ballón airport by weather tool 2011).
Psychrometric Chart AH
Location: AREQUIPA, PER
Frequency: 1st January to 31st December W eekday Times: 00:00-24:00 Hrs
W eekend Times: 00:00-24:00 Hrs 30
Barometric Pressure: 101.36 kPa
© A.J.Marsh '00
SELEC T ED D E S I GN T ECH N I QU E S : 25
1. passive solar heating
2. thermal mass effects
3. exposed mass + night-purge ventilation
4. natural ventilation 20
5. direct evaporative cooling
6. indirect evaporative cooling
15
10
5
Comfort
D BT (°C) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
The Neoclassic Moral House (1750) is chosen as the vernacular representative of this
period. The orientation of the colonial urban plot follows an azimuth of 20° from North,
parallel to the river Chili. This house has a central courtyard with a tree in the center, and is
made of the white volcanic stone named sillar (walls and vault roof), and presents small
windows. Nowadays this building is a museum, Tables 1 and 2. The NE-SW streets receive
the cold night winds, and NW-SE streets the fresh daytime winds. The open inner courtyard
provides ventilation during days and nights. The rooms mostly occupy the façade oriented
to the daytime winds, and at night cold winds are incident on the service rooms. Also, at
night, the bedroom doors were closed to conserve the ambient air heated and to reduce
cold night air currents.
Figure 8. The vernacular by synthesis, building escalate processes in Arequipa. (a) Popular house;(b) High
income house (c) Church. Source: Adapted from Bustamante, 2006.
Figure 9. Picture of house façades from the Chicha architecture in Peru. Source: Arq.Jorge Burg Bartra
Table 2 Urban vernacular typologies analysed. Source: by the author.
Conclusions
The analysis performed reveals that the low-income housing in Arequipa is a problem
evolving the sustainability in its broad sense. People and city are actors interfering on the
fragile environmental equilibrium of this region. Also there are social problems as poverty,
lack of housing and social segregation. Aside are the natural impacts from volcanoes and
earthquakes. The ancient inhabitants create conditions to be well adapted through
adequate shelters, agriculture, and grazing activities. The Churajón house is a vernacular
good example: correct implantation, high wall thermal inertia, two ways cover, advantage
from topography and the fresh daily winds, use of local materials. From the colonial period
the vernacular Moral house is well adapted to the environment: good plot implantation,
References
Almodóvar, J.M., Jiménez, J.R. (2008). Spanish-American Urbanism Based on the Laws of the Indies: A
th
Comparative Solar Access Study of Eight Cities. Proceedings 25 Conference on Passive and Low Energy
Architecture (PLEA), Dublin, Ireland.
Almodovar, J.M., La-Roche, P., Ramón-Jiménez, J., Dominguez, I. (2012) Learning from the Past:
th
Environmental aspects of the traditional architecture of Arequipa, Peru. PLEA2012 – 28 Conference,
Opportunities, Limits & Needs Towards an environmentally responsible architecture Lima, Perú 7-9 November.
Álvarez,P. (2000) La arquitectura y la distribución espacial del poblado prehispánico de Parasca
(Polobaya) Arequipa. Universidade Católica de Santa Maria.
Barroso, C.K., Bastos,L.E.G., SANTOS,C. NIEMEYER,L., SALGADO,M., ZAMBRANO, L.A. (2012). Princípios
de Alta Qualidade Ambiental Aplicados ao processo de seleção de projetos de Arquitetura: O
Laboratório Nutre. Vols. Volume 7, Número 1 . São Carlos, Brazil: Revista Gestão e Tecnologia de Projetos.
Bernedo,M.L. (1949) A cultura Puquina.Ministerio de Educación del Perú. pp. 35-49.
Bui, T.U. (2012) L`intégration du développement durable dans les projets de quartiers : le cas de la ville
d`Hanoi. Thèse doctorat de l`Université de Toulouse.
Burga, J. (2010) Arquitectura vernácula peruana: Un analysis tipológico. Lima. Colegio de Arquitectos
del Perú.
Chamfreau,M. (1988) La vivenda de los pueblos jóvenes de Arequipa y Trujillo. Lima. Buletim Instituto
Francés. IFEA.
Encalada,S. (2009) Estrategia ambiental urbana en Arequipa. In: Encalada,S. Zucchetti,A.,Peralta,M.
SCP/LA21 en Perú. Serie estrategias de apoyo a la gestión urbano ambiental. GEO cities UN Habitat, 28pgs.
IEC. Arbulú R. (2015) Informe económico de la construcción. Vol. Número 5. CAPECO.
Llhanque,J. (2003) Effectos de la contaminación atmosférica en el clima urbano y calidad ambiental de
Arequipa. Universidad Nacional de San Agustin. Arequipa.
Lopes-OSorio,J.M., Vizcara,G.R., Codes,U.M.(2015). Architectures in transformation in Peru: Tradition
and modernity. In: Vernacular Architecture: Towards a Sustainable Future - Mileto,V., Garcia,S. & Cristini
(Eds).pp.443-448.@2015 Taylor and Francis Group, ISBN 978-1-138-02682.
Mora,A.G., Calvo,P.C. (2008) House finance mechanisms in Peru. UN Habitat.Nairobi. 50 pgs. Pastor,P.
(2014) Historia de la Arquitectura v.6, Universidad Nacional de San Agustin.
Ramirez,C. (2002) Equipo AQPLAN21. Plan director de Arequipa Metropolitana 2002-2015.
Municipalidad Provincial de Arequipa, 2002.
Rapoport,,A.(1990). Defining vernacular design. In: Vernacular architecture: paradigms of
environmental response. Turan Mete(ed.). Green Publishing Company Limited. Aldershot, England..pp 67-101.
Vallance,S., Harvey C., Perkins,H.C., Dixon,J.E. (2011) What is social sustainability? A clarification of
concepts. Geoforum 42 (2011) pp. 342–348.
Julie A. Waldron1, Dr. Glyn Lawson1, Prof. Darren Robinson2 and Dr. Sue Cobb1
Abstract: This paper presents part of the outcomes of a programme of research into the influence of the thermal
environment on human behaviour in an outdoor public seating area. The research was conducted during one
month in summer, autumn and winter of 2015 and 2016. The data gathered consists in the conduct of people
using a public square in Nottingham city centre, and measurements of the environmental conditions taken at
that place. The data of Number of People and the Size of Groups of people, were analysed according with the
thermal environment of the place. The results showed a strong significant correlation between Number of
People and Globe Temperature_sun [r = .66, p < .001]. A multiple regression analysis found that the Number of
People per minute in a public space can be predicted using the Globe Temperature_sun and the Wind Speed data
of that place [R-square of .39, p < 0.001]. These prediction models can be used to forecast the occupancy of the
place and the grouping of users under different environmental conditions. The results can assist the design of
urban spaces by allowing testing their future use with predicted data of human behaviour. In addition, the data
obtained will serve as a foundation for further research about the human behaviour in public spaces.
Introduction
The study of human behaviour in outdoor urban spaces has become a field of interest, due to
the need to guarantee the wellbeing, leisure, socialisation, and general outdoor activities for
“…3.5 billion people that live in cities” (Carmona, 2014, p.5). In the case of countries with
seasons, the complexity of urban design is even greater due to the constantly changing
environmental conditions which constitute additional variables to be taken into account.
The study of human behaviour in outdoors permits collection of valuable information
about how people use public spaces and how this is affected by environmental conditions.
Empirical observation of users in public spaces has been conducted by several authors over
the last five decades. For instance, Gehl Architects developed observational studies since
1960’s regarding the occupancy and activities in different cities across the world (Gehl &
Svarre, 2013). According to Gehl, the quality of the physical environment affects the use of
the space, as necessary activities will occur despite the quality of the space, for example going
to the school or shopping will always happen despite the characteristics of the built
environment. However, optional or spontaneous activities, such as: standing around or
sunbathing, are more likely to appear under physical conditions which favour those activities,
this is because “…place and situation now invite people to stop, sit, eat, play, and so on” (Gehl,
2011, p. 11). Furthermore, the studies conducted by Space Syntax since 1980’s (2007) are
focused in the connectivity between the built environment and social activities. In the study
Method
The place selected to conduct the experiment was Trinity Square in Nottingham city centre.
This public square was selected because it is typically occupied by different type of users (in
terms of age, gender, occupations, activities, among others), it possess a constant pedestrian
flow, it is a medium size square (suitable for camera capture) and it encourages people to use
various types of public furniture, which allows different postures, from leaning to laying down.
The data was gathered during summer and autumn 2015 and winter 2016, in order to
register the broadest range of environmental conditions of Nottingham. The study was
conducted for four weeks in each season, recording three hours every day, which were
randomly selected between 10:00am and 6:00pm.
A video camera was placed in a discrete position in order to avoid disturbing the
normal use of the square. The environmental station was also placed in a discrete
position, but located to ensure that the sensors were measuring the same environmental
conditions as perceived by the users. The environmental station was therefore adjusted to
head height of a person sitting.
Of the data gathered, one week for every season was analysed, making sure to include
all the days of the week. However, the days selected were not sequential. When one day
Video Recorder
N
Environmental
Station
Experiment Area
Figure 1 – Left: Photo of Trinity Square. Right: Sketch Plan view with the location of the Environmental Station,
Video Camera and Area Evaluated.
This experiment was approved by the Ethics Committee from the Faculty of Engineering
from The University of Nottingham. In compliance with the ethical considerations of the study,
a poster was placed beside the camera explaining the purpose of the experiment and
providing contact details of the author. The poster explicitly stated: “Upon your request, we
will not analyse any data related to your presence in the square. For this, or if you have any
other questions about the study, please contact…”
While studying natural environments, conditions may occur which cause changes in the
behaviour, which are not solely explained by the influence of the thermal environment. These
kinds of conditions have been excluded and therefore, the following events were excluded
from the sample: rainy days, days with wet surfaces or extraordinary urban activities such as
fairs.
The video data collected was coded to identify and classify the behaviours. The video
analysis was divided to code two different kinds of behaviours:
The Social Behaviour consisted in observing the occupancy of the square and the type
of group sizes. The sample size was 3779 minutes, corresponding to 21 hours per week, each
season. The analysis of this data was done using a matrix in Excel, registering the Number of
People per minute in the square and the number of Groups of 1 person, number of Groups of
2 people, number of Groups of 3 people and number of Groups of 4 or more people, per
minute in the square.
The Individual Behaviour analysis consisted in registering the behaviour per person. The
sample size is 3957 users observed remaining during the recorded period. This information
was analysed with Observer XT, using a coding scheme previously designed and validated. At
the end, the behavioural data was compared with the environmental data doing correlations,
multiple regression and survival analysis.
For the purposes of this paper, it will only be discussed some of the results of the Social
Behaviour analysis.
Table 2 presents the correlations between the environmental variables and the
Number of People, Groups of 1, Groups of 2, Groups of 3 and Groups of 4 or more.
Table 2 - Correlation between Environmental Factors and Behaviour: Number of People and Group Size.
Spearman's rho Correlations
Tg Tg Tr Tr
NP G1 G2 G3 G4+ Ta rH sun shad sun shad Va Light
NP Correl 1.00 .71** .83** .61** .56** .61** -.13** .66** .63** .57** .62** -.34** .55**
Sig. 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 .00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 .00 .00
G1 Correl .71** 1.00 .48** .32** .20** .49** -.06** .48** .47** .43** .46** -.21** .34**
Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00
G2 Correl .83** .48** 1.00 .38** .28** .50** -.14** .56** .53** .48** .52** -.29** .45**
Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00
G3 Correl .61** .32** .38** 1.00 .20** .36** -.03* .38** .38** .33** .37** -.21** .35**
Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .03 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00
G4 Correl .56** .20** .28** .20** 1.00 .30** -.09** .33** .32** .29** .32** -.17** .34**
+ Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00
Ta Correl .61** .49** .50** .36** .30** 1.00 -.23** .88** .97** .71** .89** -.05** .52**
Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 .00 .00
rH Correl -.13** -.06** -.14** -.03* -.09** -.23** 1.00 -.29** -.22** -.37** -.29** -.19** -.37**
Sig. .00 .00 .00 .03 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00 .00
Tg Correl .66** .48** .56** .38** .33** .88** -.29** 1.00 .95** .88** .94** -.24** .75**
su Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 0.00 .00 0.00 0.00 0.00 .00 0.00
Tg Correl .63** .47** .53** .38** .32** .97** -.22** .95** 1.00 .78** .93** -.15** .62**
sh Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 0.00 .00 0.00 0.00 0.00 .00 0.00
Tr Correl .57** .43** .48** .33** .29** .71** -.37** .88** .78** 1.00 .93** -.06** .81**
su Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 0.00 .00 0.00 0.00 0.00 .00 0.00
Tr Correl .62** .46** .52** .37** .32** .89** -.29** .94** .93** .93** 1.00 -.08** .73**
sh Sig. 0.00 .00 .00 .00 .00 0.00 .00 0.00 0.00 0.00 .00 0.00
Va Correl -.34** -.21** -.29** -.21** -.17** -.05** -.19** -.24** -.15** -.06** -.08** 1.00 -.29**
1
The Mean Radiant Temperature (Tr_sun and Tr_shadow) was calculated in accordance to BS EN ISO 7726:2001
by using the equation: Tr = [(Tg + 273)4 + ((1.1 * 108 * Va0.6)/(ɛg * D0.4))(Tg – Ta)]1/4 – 273, where ɛg is the
emissivity of the grey globe 0.95, and D is the diameter of the globe in meters 0.038.
The highest correlations found between the human behaviour and all of the
environmental conditions measured, were: Number of People and Globe Temperature_sun [r
= .66, p < .001]; Groups of 1 and Air Temperature [r = .49, p < .001]; Groups of 2 and Globe
Temperature_sun [r = .56, p < .001]; Groups of 3 and Globe Temperature_sun [r = .38, p < .001];
Groups of 3 and Globe Temperature_shadow [r = .38, p < .001] and Groups of 4+ and Light [r
= .34, p < .001).
As can be observed, Globe Temperature had a strong influence over Number of People
and Groups’ size. As reported by Nikolopoulou et al. (2001): “It is clear that warm conditions
and presence of sunlight are important factors in the use of the space”. Conversely, Relative
Humidity had a low or a nonexistent correlation with Number of People, and, and Groups’
sizes. According to Nikolopoulou and Lykoudis (2006), the Relative Humidity is a parameter
that has a relationship with comfort, but “… people are not very good at judging changes in
humidity levels, unless relative humidity is very high or very low”. Therefore, since Relative
Humidity is not a parameter that can be accurately perceived by people, its influence over the
Number of People or Groups’ size is low.
The highest correlation between human behaviour and the environmental conditions
measured was Globe Temperature_sun and Number of People [r = .66, p < .001]. Figure 2
presents the scatter plot of this relationship. This table shows that during winter, the Number
of People (blue dots in the scatter plot of Figure 2) started to increase dramatically when the
temperature reached at least 13 ºC, and continued increasing as the temperature became
warmer. It must be however noted, that most of the data collected of Number of People in
winter, corresponds to around 13 people or less at a time. During autumn and summer the
occupancy tend to increase.
The Globe Temperature_sun and Wind Speed account for the 39% of the Number of
People [r2 = .39, p < .001]. This means that the 39% of the Number of People is explained by
the influence of these two variables acting simultaneously. The equation was tested with the
40% of data remaining and the results obtained are significant [r = .66, p < .001] (Figure 3).
Figure 3 shows the scatter plot of the number of people and the predicted number of
people of the 40% of the date. It is observed that the model predicts up to 35% of Number of
People using Globe Temperature_sun and Wind Speed.
Figure 3 - Left: Scatter plot between predicted and real data. Right: Correlation Coefficients for Number of People
and Predicted Number of People.
This method of analysis has been applied to Group Size, obtaining also significant results.
Conclusions
The human behaviour is influenced by multiple environmental factors, acting simultaneously,
because the body is a multi-sensory organism which adapts to the environment.
Number of People is influenced by Globe Tempereature_sun and Wind Speed. This was
previously reported by other authors. Conversely, Relative Humidity does not influence the
Number of People or Group Size.
Number of People and Group Size presented several correlations with various
environmental factors, which could serve for further analysis. In this study, only the highest
correlations were considered.
Globe Temperature_sun and Wind Speed accounts for 35% of Number of People. The
remaining percentage corresponds to other variable not included in this research, such as
individual characteristics of the subjects.
Specific behaviours are influenced by different environmental factors. Globe
Temperature affects Number of People, but the Air Temperature affects Groups of 1. This
means that different statistic models are needed to predict different behaviours.
The validation of the model helps for its generalisability to be applied in different
locations with similar conditions.
Further studies could be undertaken to assess the several possibilities of the data
collected to predict the human behaviour.
References
Bröde, P., Fiala, D., Błażejczyk, K., Holmér, I., Jendritzky, G., Kampmann, B., Tinz, B. & Havenith, G. (2012).
Deriving the operational procedure for the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). International journal of
biometeorology, 56, pp. 481-494
BS EN ISO 7726 (2001). Ergonomics of the thermal environment – Instruments for measuring physical
quantities. BS: London.
Carmona, M. (2014). Explorations in Urban Design: an urban design research primer. Surrey: Ashgate
Publishing, Ltd.
Gehl, J. (2011). Life between buildings: using public space. Washington: Island Press.
Gehl, J., and Svarre, B. (2013). How to study public life. Washington: Island Press.
Nicol, F., Humphreys, M. A. & Roaf, S. (2012). Adaptive thermal comfort: principles and practice. Abingdon:
Routledge.
1
The Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Design, School of Energy, Geosciences,
Infrastructure and Society.
2
School of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Heriot-Watt University
Abstract: This report presents a feasibility study carried out in a Care Home in Edinburgh from December 2016
to March 2017. The aim of the study is to test a set of methods to assess room comfort and energy efficiency.
The methods consist of a literature review on indoor comfort for older occupants, a survey on both objective
and subjective thermal & humidity comfort in 10 selected rooms and an energy performance assessment for
the building. The review suggests an idea comfort zone of 22-24C and 45%-60% for older people in care homes.
The objective assessment shows that less than 1% of the time the room hygrothermal conditions were within
the suggested comfort zone. The subjective assessment carried out using a questionnaire survey reveals 70%
of the subjects felt “warm” and “slightly warm” on thermal site and 30% voted “slightly dry” on humidity side.
The energy assessment, using standard methods, shows that the care home had a fair energy performance
when compared against national benchmarks for similar buildings.
Introduction
Care homes are spaces that require a secure, warm and comfortable environment
continuously throughout the entire year, making them energy and resource intensive. Their
energy consumption was estimated about 2.4 million tons of CO2 and £468.5 million for
utility cost during 2008/2009 [Braddley, 2012]. Plus, the projected increase of the elderly
population has called for prioritising energy saving in care homes and operation strategies
to meet the challenge of achieving economic and environmental sustainable development
[Sait, 2014]. Care homes in Scotland have a higher demand for space and water heating due
to the cold climate in the UK, as its heating degree days is about 40% more than that of
England. Therefore, to meet an elderly person’s comfort temperature in Scotland requires
more heating.
Dry skin is very common among older people and the major cause of discomfort, itch
and even eczema, which has become a major problem of well-being in later life, especially
during winter, when central heating results in dry room air. The common term “winter itch”,
generally experienced by average occupants tends to be more pronounced in the elderly,
due the age-related dermatological conditions [Hurlow & Bliss, 2011]. But studies on
thermal comfort have been focussed primarily on average healthy adults for either hot
climate and free running buildings or older people response to temperature only.
Consequently, there is no clear guidance on indoor hygrothermal (thermal and humidity)
conditions; for the designer during the design stage or managers in daily operation of the
buildings.
The Methods
To achieve the aim three methods were applied: a literature review that established the
indoor comfort standard for older occupants, an assessment on thermal & humidity comfort
that compared the actual data against the standard, and an energy assessment that showed
energy performance in the care home.
The selected comfort zone in care homes
The comfort conditions for average adults has been thoroughly examined and standards are
well established and are commonly applied in design and management. On contrary, there
is currently no specific standard for older people’s hygrothermal comfort. To establish a
comfort zone for older people, research was based on reviewing latest research papers
together with the design guides issued by well-established organisations, CIBSE[2008] and
ASHRAE[2007]
Comfort studies have been primarily focused on average healthy adults, or older
people’s response to only temperature [Rupp et al, 2015] or heat stress in summer [Mendes
et al, 2015]. For winter comfort, studies only confirm that older occupants prefer a warmer
indoor environment [Nigel A.S]. The reasons are summarised as follows:
• Immobility and lower activity levels leading to a lower metabolic rate
• Reduced body heat production caused by low metabolism
• Deterioration of the heat control system and thermoregulation ability
• Reduction in lipid under the elderly’s skin
2
Figure 1. The plans (total floor area 976m ) and the selected test rooms in the study
Modelling
RdSAP (Reduced data Standard Assessment Procedure), the UK official method for
measuring the energy use in residential dwellings was used for this study [BRE 2012]. The
building was considered a joint of two semi-detached dwellings: one for the original build
and the other for new extension and so, two separate RdSAP spreadsheets were used. This
is due to the difference in use and varied construction methods for the two very different
parts of the building.
The process ignored individualised patterns of occupancy, hereby the input required
adaptation in order to cater to the needs of a care home occupancy in terms of density and
hours as well as hot water consumption. This was carried out through manual calculations
to work out the utilisation factor of the boiler and occupancy of which are manually entered
to the RdSAP spreadsheet to ensure a more fitting and accurate output.
Energy performance
The gas and electricity meter readings were obtained from management staff in order to
assess the care home’s overall energy output. As gas is used for cooking, heating and hot
water and electricity for lighting, appliances and cooling, the CIBSE Energy Consumption
Guide [CIBSE, 1996] breakdown was applied to the combined gas and electricity values
across both years (2015 and 2016). As space heating and lighting are the factors that vary
most per month, these factors will be calculated from taking the difference between the
average meter reading value (between the two years) and the other factors that make up
the energy usage such as hot water and catering for the gas consumption and appliances
and refrigeration for electricity.
The results were also compared against a survey carried out over 52 care home homes,
in which the energy performance is divided into “good”, “fair” and “poor” categories [DOE,
1996].
Figure 2. Measured data during frequently-used hours with two comfort zones respectively for average adults
and old people
There were some moments when the room temperatures went below 17˚C and beyond
30˚C. These happened in the Conservatory. But great majority were between 18-26 ˚C,
which is considered acceptable. The overall average temperature is 23.6˚C, within the
recommended comfort temperatures for older occupants at the high end of the
recommended range. However, when the newly defined zone for the older occupants is
applied, the vast majority of 99.2% of measurements are out-with the comfort zone
(highlighted by the yellow box) and toward the overheating side.
On the other variable, the overall average of recorded relative humidity over the
period was 33.2% and great majority were below the recommended low limit 45%. About
97.7% of the measured room humidity were out-with the comfort humidity level (low <45%)
and over 87% lower than 40%, the lower limit for healthy adults. This strongly suggests the
air in the care home is generally dry.
As the room air changes relative humidity reversely with its temperature, it is
expected that the room humidity could rise 5% when the room temperature drops two
degrees. There were a many hours in some rooms the temperature was as high as 28-30 ˚C.
If this could be reduced, it can be an easy solution to ease the dryness and improve comfort.
Surely this “objective figure” should be considered together with subjective judgement from
the short survey.
Comparing the monitored data against personal perception
Figure 3 shows the thermal comfort perception of each resident from the internal
conditions of their bedroom obtained through questionnaires and compared to the
objectively gathered temperature and RH measurements. These measurements are based
on the percentages; calculated for below, within and above the recommended range for
older occupants.
All bedrooms showing highs (>24˚C) occurring for more than 24.8% of readings have
answered that they feel on the warm side of the scale. The rooms with their occupants
opted “warm” all had high percentage of measurements higher than 24˚C. The three with
“Neutural” had low percentage for high room temperature than 24˚C. However, without
questions on satisfaction and preference, like “would you like to be warmer or cooler” it
would be difficult to decide if any attempt should be taken for improvement.
The other variable, the humidity shows to be low with most bedrooms showing that
the majority of percentages below the recommended minimum of 45%. 3 of the 4 residents
who answered ‘Warm’ for thermal perception correspondingly answered to find the
environment ‘Slightly Dry’. Those who answered ‘Neutral’ for both questions appeared to
have cooler bedrooms with slightly higher percentages showing to be <24˚C with 60.1-
85.9% of measurements below the recommended range. This would also lead to a small
improvement on the humidity,
Figure 4. The relative humidity versus personal perception
Figure 4 reinforces how often the RH fell below the recommended lower limit of 45%.
The only bedroom seeing more than 0.7% of measurements within the recommended range
being Bedroom 10 showing 10.3% of measurements within the recommended range.
Answers of ‘Slightly Dry’ shows 100% of measurements below 45%, also with 100% out-with.
Interestingly only three of them felt “Slightly Dry”. Again like thermal aspect, it would be
essential to add questions assessing their satisfaction and preference on the room humidity,
if any change should be made to improve the humidity comfort.
Figure 5. Meter readings, modelled & benchmarks
Both meter reading values show to be significantly larger in both electrical and fossil-
thermal consumption when compared to the RdSAP value with differences of approximately
335,581kWh/year. This result is possibly more in line with a code of best practice standard
of a care home with a fossil-thermal difference from the 2-year average of approximately
48,897kWh/year and an electrical difference of approximately 25,887kWh/year. Based on
the gathered results, the benchmark comparison show that the build is in-line with the
national average standards (CIBSE TM46).
Figure 6. Comparison of the Care Home energy performance results against the best practice
A closer comparison in Figure 6 shows that the Care Home gas consumption was near
the boundary between the “fair” grade and “poor” and the electricity was at the lower end
of the “fair” grade. As mentioned before, the care home consists of a building that was built
approximately 40-70 years ago and is now heating only for day activities and a newly
purposely built for whole day heating. Hence it is not surprising it’s overall energy
performance falls within the “fair” category.
Conclusions
Based on the results and discussion of this study, we can draw up the following findings.
Firstly, based on the review on both the current research and related national standards,
22-24°C for room temperature and 45-60% RH for relative humidity appear to have been
endorsed as the hygrothermal comfort zone for the elderly population in care homes.
References
ASHRAE, American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers; Health care
facilities/ chapter 7, HVAC application (SI), ASHRAE, 2007.
Braddley J, Carbon, Cost and Care; Environmental impacts of residential social care in the UK,
Nottingham: Nottingham Energy Partnershop, 2012.
BRE. The Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure for Energy Rating of Dwellings, 2012 edition.
British Standard BS EN ISO 10551:2001, Ergonomics of the thermal environment — Assessment of the
influence of the thermal environment using subjective judgement scales, 2001.
CIBSE, 1996. Energy consumption guide for nursing and residential homes, s.l.: Crown
CIBSE, Energy Benchmarks TM46, 1st ed., London: CIBSE, 2008.
CIBSE, The Chartered Institute of Building Service Engineering: Guide A: Environmental Design, London:
CIBSE, 2008.
Department of the Environment (DOE): Energy consumption guide for nursing and residential homes
Energy Consumption Guide ECG057, 1996
Hurlow J and Bliss D, “Dry Skin in Older Adults,” Geriatric Nursing, vol. 32, pp. 257-262, 2011.
Hwang R and Chen C, “Field study on behaviours and adaption of elderly people and their thermal
comfort requirements in residential environments,” Indoor Air, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 235-245, 2010.
Mendes S, Bonassi L, Aguiar C, Pereira P, Neves S, Silva S, Guimaraes R and Teixeira J, “Indoor air quality
and thermal comfort in eldery care centers, urban climate.,” Urban Climate, vol. 14, pp. 486-501, 2015
Rupp RF, Vasquez NG & Lamberts R, “A review of human thermal comfort in the built environment,”
Energy and Buildings, pp. 178-205, 2015.
Sait M, Care homes energy savings strategies are a priority in 2014, www.savemoneycutcarbon.com
White-Chu EF and Reddy M, “Dry skin in the elderly: complexities of a common problem,” Clin
Dermatol, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 37-42, 2011.
World Health Organisation, “Global Health and Aging,” 2016. [Online]. Available:
http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/global_health.pdf. [Accessed 16 Nov 2016].
Abstract: There have been few researches discussing the effect of architecture elements on thermal sensation
of humans. This study presents a series of experiments conducted in a climate laboratory to investigate the
effect of window form on thermal comfort in the cold climate of China. The experiments were carried out from
July to August 2016 and in January 2017 in a climate chamber, which was equipped with desks and chairs, etc.,
to simulate office environment. 64 subjects, mainly students aged from 18 to 26 without architectural
background, were tested in summer and in winter, 32 for each season. Three window design parameters were
selected as independent variables considering its visual characteristics, including: window-to-wall ratio (WWR),
sill height (SH) and horizontal continuity (HC). Physical measurements of air temperature, relative humidity,
wind speed, Carbon Dioxide and environment noise were measured. The experiments were conducted with
the combination of natural lighting and artificial lighting, being controlled at 500lux. The results showed that
WWR might have certain effect, while SH and HC have little effect, on thermal sensation.
Keywords: window form, window to wall ratio, sill height, horizontal continuity, thermal comfort
Introduction
Comfortable thermal environment not only can create better environment for improving
living and working conditions, but also has great benefit to the reduction of building energy
consumption. Thermal condition, together with acoustical, luminous condition and indoor
air quality, is important for evaluating indoor comfort. At present, the mainstream view of
academia in this field is that thermal comfort can be affected by physical, physiological and
psychological factors (Brager, 1998; Humphreys, 1998).
Window, as an important element of spatial interface, determines penetration, one of
the five main features of space, the other four features being size, shape, material and
colour of space. As provider of daylight and view, windows in vogue, bringing to the
forefront of consideration by professionals in architecture, lighting, photobiology and
psychology. Energy and environmental concerns and health and well-being goals each have
brought renewed attention to the value of window as a matter of debate and discussion in
both intellectual and practical lives of these fields, sharing a common goal of providing
healthy built environment (Farley et al, 2001; Boyce et al, 2003).
The presence of window offers benefits through two dimensions of view: first, the
effect of window on spatial appearance, particularly on the perceived spaciousness of room
(Bruder, 2011; Hawkes, 2011; Collins, 1976; Farley & Veitch, 2001; Kaye & Murray, 1982;
Butler & Biner, 1989& 1990; Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989; Stamps, 2004 & 2007; Stamps&
Krishnan, 2006),since strong evidence has shown that for many (but not all) types and
settings of room, people prefer window or skylight none due to the presence of window
Experimental method
Climate laboratory and subjects
This study presents a series of experiments conducted in a climate laboratory (CL) in Tianjin
University (Fig. 1). The building, with two floors, has good lighting and atmospheric
conditions. There is multi-storey residence in the east with good landscape including trees
and grasses. The study was conducted simultaneously in Chamber A and Chamber B
respectively, which are of the same size of 12m (length) X 12m (width) X 9m (height), both
towards east to prevent direct sunlight. Each chamber contains 36 windows, each window
being 1.8 m wide and 1 m high. Totally 64 subjects including under graduate and
postgraduate students participated in the experiments in summer and in winter, 32 in each
season, and 16 in each chamber. All of them had already lived in Tianjin for at least two
years and had adapted to Tianjin’s climate. They were required to wear standard clothes as
suggested. The figures are shown in Table 1.
Fig.1 Environment and sizes of space and windows of the CL
Table 1 Figures of subjects
Season Number Age Height(cm) Weight(kg) Male:Female
Summer 32 22.5±4.5 173.2±9.4 60.4±15.3 16:16
Winter 32 23.5±3.5 175.6±11.8 63.1±16.5 16:16
Experimental conditions
All the experiments were conducted withthe combination of natural lighting and artificial
lighting, being controlled at 500 lux. There were three window form categories: window-to-
wall ratio (WWR), sill height (SH) and horizontal continuity (HC), containing six different
conditions totally, as shown in Table 2 and Table 3. Restricted by existing conditions, there
W1: 20%, 1m W2: 40%, continuous W3: 60%
W4: 20%, 4m W5: 40%, less continuous W6: 40%, least continuous
Table 3 Three window form categories
Num
W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6
Categories
WWR √ √ √
SH √ √
HC √ √ √
Measurement
Table 4 Instruments and measuring points during experiments
1.Onset UX100-003 2.TES-1341 3.HQZY-1
Measuring points in CL 4.TES-1336A 5.HS5671A 6.AZ77535
Table 4 shows the instruments used for measuring the different figures of environment in
the experiments: 1. air temperature(Ta) and relative humidity (Hum); 2.air velocity (Av); 3.
black globe temperature (Tb); 4. indoor illumination; 5. environment noise; 6. concentration
of Carbon Dioxide. Ta and Hum were measured at 0.1 m, 0.6 m and 1.1 m high. The subjects,
wearing standard clothing ensembles, evaluated thermal comfort under each window form
conditions and at the temperature levels (36 times totally). And then they voted for their
comfort according ASHRAE’s 7-point thermal sensation scale (Table 5).
Table 57-point ASHRAE thermal sensation scale
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Clod Cool Slightly cool Neutral Slightly warm Warm Hot
Fig.2 Experimental procedure
Fig.5, Table 11 and Table 12 show the results of HC in the experiments. During summer, the
subjects in W6 were a little less sensitive than in W2 and W5 by about 0.08/°C. During
winter, the subjects in W5 were the least sensitive among the three HCs.
Conclusion
The conclusions are as follows:
1. Operative temperature has significant impact on thermal sensation.
2. The neutral operative temperature of summer and of winter is different. It is
between 25.9°C and 26.7°C in summer,and between 22.4°Cand 22.9°C in winter,
lower than that of summer by about 4°C.
3. In most cases, people in summer are more sensitive to indoor operative
temperature variations than in winter.
4. The present study suggests that window-to-wall ratio might have significant impact
on thermal comfort, especially in summer, while sill height and horizontal continuity might
have little impact on thermal comfort. The conclusions still need further study.
References
Boyce, P. R., Hunter, C., & Howlett, O. (2003). The benefits of daylight through windows. Troy, NY:
Lighting Research Centre.
Brager G S, de Dear R J. (1998). Thermal adaptation in the built environment: a literature review [ J].
Energy and Buildings, 27(1), 83-9.
Bruder, W. (2011). Light defines the journey of our lives. Daylight & Architecture, 15 (Spring), 58-70.
Butler, D. L., & Biner, P. M. (1989). Effects of setting on window preferences and factors associated with
those preferences. Environment and Behaviour, 21(1), 17-31.
Butler, D. L., & Biner, P. M. (1990). A preliminary study of skylight preferences. Environment and
Behaviour, 22(1), 119-140.
Cohen, S., Kessler, R. C., & Gordon, L. U. (1997). Strategies for measuring stress in studies of psychiatric
and physical disorders. In S. Cohen, R. C. Kessler & L. U. Gordon (Eds.), Measuring stress: A guide for health and
social scientists (pp. 3-26). New York: Oxford University Press.
Collins, B. L. (1976). Review of the psychological reaction to windows. Lighting Research and Technology,
8(2), 80- 88.
Farley, K. M. J., & Veitch, J. A. (2001). A room with a view: A review of the effects of windows on work
and well-being. (IRC-RR-136). Ottawa, ON: NRC Institute for Research in Construction.
Hartig, T., Mang, M., & Evans, G. W. (1991). Restorative effects of natural environment experiences.
Environment and Behaviour, 23, 3-26.
Hawkes, D. (2011). Imagining light: The measurable and the unmeasurable of daylight design. Daylight
& Architecture, 15(Spring), 27-38.
Humphreys M A, Nicol J F. (1998). Understanding the adaptive approach to thermal comfort[G].
ASHRAE Trans, 104(1), 91- 1004.
Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (Eds.). (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. New York,
NY: Cambridge University Press.
Kaplan, R. (2001). The nature of the view from home: Psychological benefits. Environment & Behaviour,
33(4), 507- 542.
Kaye, S. M., & Murray, M. A. (1982). Evaluations of an architectural space as a function of variations in
furniture arrangement, furniture density, and windows. Human Factors, 24(5), 609-618.
Keighley, E. C. (1973b). Visual requirements and reduced fenestration in offices: a study of window
shape. Building Science, 8, 311-320.
Stamps, A. E., III. (2004). Mystery, complexity, legibility and coherence: A meta-analysis. Journal of
Environmental Psychology, 24(1), 1-16.
Stamps, A. E., III. (2007). Mystery of environmental mystery. Environment and Behaviour, 39(2), 165-
197.
Stamps, A. E., III, & Krishnan, V. V. (2006). Spaciousness and boundary roughness. Environment and
Behaviour, 38(6), 841-872.
Abstract: This study assessed the effect of environmental color on thermal comfort through a series of
experiment in a climate chamber. Twenty one experiments were conducted in seven environmental chambers
with different color of walls (white, extreme red, light red, extreme yellow, light yellow, extreme blue and light
blue). The size of the chambers were kept the same (6m*6m*5m) and 32 persons (16 males and 16 females)
were tested. In each environmental chamber, the subjects were exposed to three ambient temperature levels
(25℃, 27℃ or 29℃). A questionnaire on thermal comfort was distributed and accomplished after the subjects
had read or studied for 1/2 hour in each experiment. And the neutral point of temperature and comfortable
temperature range were predicted according to the subjects’ mean thermal sensation vote (MTSV). The results
indicate that the subjects preferred a slightly higher neutral point of temperature and a wider comfortable
temperature range in extreme blue chamber than in extreme red or extreme yellow ones. While for the white,
light red, light yellow and extreme blue environment, the neutral point of temperature and comfortable
temperature range were very close. In addition, in light red and light yellow chambers, the subjects could
endure a higher comfortable temperature limit than in extreme red and extreme yellow chambers. Lastly,
implications of the findings and suggestions for environmental design and energy savings are discussed.
Introduction
As one of the main challenges towards a more sustainable future, reducing energy
consumption in buildings has been taken seriously over recent years. Researchers focused
on considerable numbers of areas such as retrofit strategies and “smart technologies”,
behavior change programmes and so on. Also, extensive researches have been carried out
on whether some athermal factors can affect a person's thermal sensation or thermal
comfort. In this paper, we researched a different approach towards reducing energy
consumption based on the color of surroundings, which is also closely related to
architecture design. An affirmative answer could lead to interesting energy saving
consequences. Compared with extreme red, we may paint or furnish a room with extreme
blue, light blue or even light red in summer, which can decrease the temperature needed
for comfort and make people feel delighted and satisfied.
A few earlier investigations studied the thermal effect of colors on man's preferred
ambient temperature or judgment of room temperature. Some found effects in line with
hue-heat-hypothesis: Itten and Clark found that subjects feel colder in rooms with
blue/blue-green walls. G.M. Huebner found that the color of light can almost affect thermal
sensation, and subjects feel significantly warmer under the light of 2700 K than 6500 K.
However, others did not observe any reliable effect of environment color on the judgment
Experimental Method
Subjects
Male (n =16) and female (n=16) students volunteered for this study. Most of the students
were between the age of 18 and 25 years old, 2 were 28, and 1 was 30. They were healthy
and had been living in Tianjin for more than three years. In the experiments, they all kept
sedentary activity, like reading or studying.
Experimental set-up and equipment
Twenty-one experiments were conducted in seven environmental chambers with different
colors of wall (white, extreme red, light red, extreme yellow, light yellow, extreme blue and
light blue). In each environmental chamber, the subjects were exposed to three ambient
temperature levels (25℃, 27℃ or 29℃).
The color of walls was chosen according to Munsell book of color, 1970. The three
extreme colors (5R4/14, 5Y8/12 and 5B5/8) were the purest in red, yellow and blue hues.
As a contrast on value and chroma, we also chose light red (5R8/4), light yellow (5Y9/4) and
light blue (5B9/4). In addition, we use white (N9) as neutral color. The temperature levels
were chosen in terms of GB 50736 and ISO7730.
The test was carried out in enclosed climate chamber, in which temperature, humidity,
and air velocity could be controlled. All the chambers were kept with the same size
(6m*6m*5m). To prevent glare from reflecting from plaster walls, the walls around were
Figure 1 Photograph of experimental set-up
Procedure
The subjects reported in good time prior to the commencement of the experiment. Before
starting the test, it was ascertained that the subjects had had sufficient sleep and normal
meals, had not have a cold or a fever, and had not consumed alcohol during the previous 24
h. Before they entered the chambers, they should keep seated and rest in the preparation
room for more than 30 min.
Each four subjects entered a chamber. During the exposure, the subjects were kept
occupied by reading, and were prohibited from eating, drinking or smoking while the test
was in progress. The subjects sat in the centre of the chamber in chair with seat and back of
plastic strips, which had only negligible influence on the persons’ heat loss to the
environment. A questionnaire on thermal comfort was distributed and accomplished after
the subjects had been reading or studying for 1/2 hour in each experiment. Then they
entered another chamber with different color or temperature, repeating the procedure
above. Each subject should experience all of the 21 kinds of chambers.
During the experiment, air temperature was kept at 0.5℃ up or below presupposed
temperature levels by adjusting air-conditioning according to the indicating number of
HOBOs at the height of 1.1 m.
Result
From the temperature range from 25℃ to 29 ℃, the percentage of thermal sensation vote
is given in Figure 2. The proportions of TSV in different color of rooms have some similarities.
With the temperature increasing, the number of the subjects who felt warm or hot (TSV > 0)
is growing whatever color of wall in the chamber is. At 29 ℃, the subjects who chose "+2"or
"+3" increase obviously; at 27℃, in all of the seven kinds of colored space the proportions
of “TSV < 0, TSV=0 or TSV>0” are very close (difference being below 15%).
Meanwhile, at different level of the temperature, the proportions of TSV between
different color also have difference. At 25℃, blue room and white room have the highest
proportion of “cool” or “cold”; at 29℃, when studying in red, yellow, light red and light
yellow chamber respectively, more subjects tend to select the "+3" than other conditions,
moreover in light red chamber and light yellow chamber , it has the highest proportion of
“neutral “, whose value is around 50%.
Figure 2 Percentage of Thermal Sensation Vote
Figure 3 shows the mean thermal sensation vote (mTSV) of all of the seven colors. The
mTSV of each color is calculated from 30 data. And regression equations are given in Figure
2. The graph indicates that the subjects in extreme red chamber and extreme yellow
chamber almost feel hotter than in other colored chambers, ranging from 25℃ to 29℃. The
graphs of extreme blue, light red, light yellow and white are very similar.
Color Regression equation R²
Red(5R4/14) y = 0.3007x - 7.7622 0.9865
Light red(5R8/4) y = 0.2672x - 7.032 0.9766
Yellow(5Y8/12) y = 0.3384x - 8.7661 0.9907
Light yellow(5Y9/4) y = 0.2688x - 7.0822 0.9988
Blue(5B5/8) y = 0.2823x - 7.4235 0.9994
Light blue(5B9/4) y = 0.2327x - 6.0125 0.9947
White(N9) y = 0.3028x - 8.0034 0.9995
Figure 3 Regression Equation of Seven Colors
Discussion
The impact of hue on thermal comfort
Figure 4 shows the neutral point of temperature and comfortable temperature range
(mTSV=[-0.5,0.5]) of extreme red, yellow, blue and white, according to which the impact of
hue on thermal comfort can be discussed (p<0.05).
Figure 4 Neutral point of temperature and comfortable temperature range
The results indicate that the subjects preferred a slightly higher neutral point of
temperature in extreme blue or white chambers than in extreme red or extreme yellow
chambers. The neutral point of extreme blue is 0.49℃ higher than red, and 0.4℃ higher
Conclusions
THe results indicated that “warm” or “cold” color, “extreme” or “light” color can affect a
person’s thermal sensation or thermal comfort theoretically, since neutral point of
temperature and comfortable temperature range differed when the subjects were in the
chambers with different hue, value or chroma. However, the difference is very slight (<1℃)
to make sure that hue really hase practical significance.
Despite the result shows that color may have little actual energy saving potential, we
can improve the experimental design from limitations of the studies. For instance, the study
tested only a narrow temperature range and sedentary activities of subjects. Further
research needs to define the magnitude of the effect, determine the exact range of ambient
temperatures in which color impacts on thermal comfort, in particular high temperatures
and variations of subjects’ activity, too. What’s more, the sample was limited to the age
range tested; it might give different comfort preferences varying with age. Furthermore, we
should make sure that differentally colored space does not impact on mood or performance
negatively. Finally, when we discuss which color we should design in a space, we must
measure positive or negative effect comprehensively on energy saving, economy,
architectural experience, physical and mental health of people and so on. It is such a
complicated question that we need more further studies and researches.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China
(Grant No.2016YFC0700201) and the National Science Foundation of China (Grant
No.51338006).
References
C.A. Bennett et al (1972), What’s so hot about red? Hum. Factors 14 (2) p149–154.
D.M. Pedersen et al (1978), Effects of room hue on ratings of self: other and environment, Percept. Mot.
Skills 46 p403–410.
G. Brager et al (1993), A comparison of methods for assessing thermal sensation and acceptability in
the field, in: Proceedings of Thermal Comfort: Past, Present and Future, Center for the Built Environment, UC
Berkeley, Retrieved from: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/5n94s9hz (accessed 16.06.15).
J. Itten(1961), Die Kunst der Farbe, O. Maier, Ravensburg.
L. Clark(1975), The Ancient Art of Color Therapy, Deving-Adair, Old Greenwich, CT,1975.
Introduction
Singapore is under tropical rainforest climate zone, experiencing hot and humid weather with
extensive sunshine and excessive rainfall. Naturally ventilated buildings in tropical climate
face the issue of thermal comfort and/or wind driven rain. In order to minimise energy
consumption through the use of natural ventilation while ensuring sustainable building
performance by minimising the associated issues, Building and Construction Authority (BCA)
commissioned a research project to look into the ventilation, the thermal comfort, and the
wind driven rain aspects of naturally ventilated non-residential buildings in Singapore. This
paper focuses on developing the thermal comfort model, analysis and validation, as well as
recommending the assessment criteria for future development of naturally ventilated retail
food establishment in Singapore.
Thermal comfort is defined as the condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with
the thermal environment (ASHRAE, 1992). Thermal comfort perception is affected by the
psychology and physiology of the occupant as well as the design of the building and the
climatology.
On the other hand, naturally ventilated buildings depend on climatic and geographical
characteristic where it is located. Inevitably, its indoor condition is governed by external
environmental factors such as wind, humidity, air temperature and solar radiation. Its climate
Methodology
Objective and Subjective Measurements
Data was collected through field survey. The measurement protocol for the field survey
followed Class II protocol of thermal comfort field research (Brager et al, 1998). The field
survey consisted of two parts, i.e. objective measurement which measured the environmental
parameters affecting thermal comfort, as well as subjective measurement which captured the
thermal perception of occupants in their actual daily environment. The environmental
parameters measured were air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and globe
temperature to calculate mean radiant temperature at the time of the subjective
measurement. The measurement was conducted using handheld equipment of Testo 445
which had a standard globe thermometer (accuracy of ±0.5°C) and a 3-function probe for
simultaneous measurement of air temperature (accuracy of ±0.3°C), relative humidity
(accuracy of ±2%), and wind speed (accuracy of ±0.05 m/s). The measurement was near each
occupant (respondent) and at around 0.8 – 1 m high from the floor. From each respondent,
the clothing and the activity information were noted down as well.
The subjective assessment was formulated into a questionnaire form. Standard form of
both seven scale of ASHRAE thermal sensation (Thermal Sensation Vote or TSV) and seven
scale of Bedford thermal perception (Thermal Comfort Vote or TCV) are used (Chrenko, 1974;
McIntyre, 1980). By using both scales, the consistency of response between thermal
sensation (hot to cold) and perception (uncomfortable-comfortable warm or cold) can be
further verified.
During the period of the indoor survey, a weather station was installed on the roof of
the building to measure the outdoor weather condition. The monitored parameters included
ambient temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation.
Figure 1. Thermal acceptability
Figure 2. Comparison of measured PMV and predicted PMV for model validation
Boundary Condition and Recommendation for Assessment Criteria
The PMV equation will be used by building designer/consultant to assess the thermal comfort
in the future building design. This section discusses how to derive the value for the PMV
equation.
The PMV equation has two components, i.e. DBT and WIND. For DBT, 32-year dry bulb
temperature from Changi meteorological weather station was analysed, and the most
frequently occurred DBT is 30°C. The baseline value of 30°C is raised to 32°C to accommodate
the high measured indoor air temperature and to factor in the effect of built-up heat from
the cooking stalls.
For WIND, indoor wind speed with or without fans shall be derived from CFD simulation.
As a guide, Table 5 show the various wind speed required based on air temperature of 32°C
to achieve the various PMV values. The wind speed required to achieve thermal comfort is
very low, which might be due to the low thermal comfort expectation and the short duration
of stay by the respondents.
Based on this table, PMV 1 as the highest acceptable value is recommended to achieve
the lower green building rating, while PMV 0.8 is recommended to achieve the higher green
building ration. With PMV 1 and PMV 0.8, the wind speed required is 0.22 m/s and 0.65 m/s
respectively, which is within the most frequently measured indoor wind speed during the
survey (0.44 – 0.84 m/s).
Table 5. Various wind speed required to achieve various PMV values with DBT 32°C
DBT (°C) WIND (m/s) PMV
32 0.22 1.0
32 0.44 0.9
32 0.65 0.8
32 0.87 0.7
32 1.09 0.6
32 1.31 0.5
Acknowledgments
This paper is part of the research project “Development of Computation Fluid Dynamic (CFD)
Simulation Methodology and Evaluation parameters, Thermal Comfort Model & Simulation
Methodology for Wind Driven Rain in Natural ventilated Building for Non-Residential
Buildings (NRB) BCA Green Mark Criteria” funded by Building and Construction Authority (BCA)
Research & Innovation Fund grant number 1.51.602.22153.00, and managed by Institute of
High Performance Computing (IHPC).
References
ASHRAE. (1992). ASHRAE Standard 55-92, Thermal Environment Conditions for Human Occupancy.
Atlanta: Amerian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers.
Brager, G.S., De Dear, R.J. (1998). Thermal Adaptation in the Built Environment: A Literature Review.
Energy and Buildings, 27, pp. 83-96.
Chrenko, F.A. (ed.) (1974). Bedford’s Basic Principles of Ventilation and Heating. London: H.K. Lewis.
McIntyre, D.A. (1980). Indoor Climate. London: Applied Science Publishers.
Rao, K.R., Ho, H.C. (1978). Thermal Comfort Studies in Hawker Centres in Singapore. Building Environment,
13, pp. 161-166.
Wong, N.H., Song, J., Tan, G.H., Komari, B.T., Cheong, D.K.W. (2003). Natural ventilation and thermal
comfort investigation of a hawker center in Singapore. Building and Environment, 38, pp. 1335–1343.
Wong, N.H, Song, J., Istiadji, A.D. (2006). A Study of the effectiveness of mechanical ventilation systems
of a hawker centre in Singapore using CFD simulations. Building and Environment, 41, pp. 726-733.
Yeang, K. (1987). Tropical Urban Regionalism: Building in South-East Asian City. Singapore: Concept Media.
Abstract: Under the background of climate change, urban heat stress exacerbates with increasing level of
urbanization (Rizwan et al., 2008). Local Climate Zones (LCZ) (Stewart and Oke, 2012) forms a systematic
classification scheme that is commonly used nowadays for zoning and classifying the internal structure of urban
areas. The world urban database and access portal tools (WUDAPT) (Mills et al., 2015) uses freely available
Landsat imagery to create LCZ classification of cities. This study chose samples based on WUDAPT database of
Beijing to explore whether different patterns and arrangement of buildings would influence the microclimate
in a typical LCZ scale. Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), as the most generally used indicator for
thermal environment, will be used to assess the microclimate situation in the study. Result shows that within
the same LCZ group, the microclimate situations vary with the building layout typology. To release the urban
heat stress in summer, terrace and court typologies are the ideal choices for Beijing. On the contrary, semi-court
and pavilion typology will cause extreme heat stress in summer.
Introduction
The fact of climate change and extreme weather creates new demand for the building
environment (Luber and McGeehin, 2008, Hallegatte, 2009). The Local Climate Zone (LCZ)
system comprises 17 zone types at the local scale, each type contributes differently to the
temperature increasing (Stewart and Oke, 2012). Its framework could be used to classify the
aimed site into appropriate LCZs, and it could support the city planners, landscape designers,
and global climate change investigators to make decisions. Using LCZ as the logical starting
point, the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT) uses freely available
Landsat imagery and LCZ classification framework to map the cities. It provides chance for the
public to access to the city data. However, the LCZ types are characterized mainly by the
parameters of land cover ratio, building height, construction material, street H/W and
vegetation(Stewart and Oke, 2012). The building information about pattern typology and
layout typology are not considered so far, but these factors will influence the thermal
Figure 1 Beijing WUDAPT
The image of Beijing WUDAPT (Figure 1) in 2014 shows that LCZ1, LCZ2, LCZ3 mainly
distributed in the center of Beijing, and the greening area mostly located out of the center.
Methods
Choose sample
The WUDAPT image gives clear description about the LCZ distribution over the whole city.
Different colors of the pixel represents for different types of LCZ.
The model resolution is 2m*2m, the base height is 0.75m on z axis direction. Version
250*250*30 is chosen when running the simulation.
Calculate the PET value
PET is defined as the air temperature that is required to reproduce in a standardized indoor
setting and for a standardized person whose core and skin temperatures that are observed
under the conditions being assessed. Normally, the calculation includes two steps:
1. Calculated the thermal conditions of the body with MEMI for a given combination of
meteorological parameters.
Figure 8 PET VALUE-LCZ TYPE
Figure 11 Different time PETmean Figure 12 PETmean for different building typologies
Discussing within the same building layout typology, the terrace typology’s
performance is the best among all the typologies during the whole simulation period. On the
other hand, the polyline-terrace, semi-court and pavilion typology have similar performance
that PETmean is around 34℃.
It should be noticed that in the group of LCZ1 or LCZ2, semi-court typology has opening
for better ventilation, while court typology is a closed building sample. However, the court
typology’s PETmean value is lower than semi-court typology. The reason for that is Beijing dry
weather in summer and ventilation is less important than dryness in Beijing. While in humidity
area, such as Hong Kong, Singapore, larger shading area still could help insulating solar
radiation. That is why in Beijing, the court typology is a better choice than semi-court typology.
In summary, although LCZ classified different urban areas according to some geometry
characteristics, the information it contains is not enough for architects and urban planners to
design climatic response and sustainable buildings and cities. It could been seen from charts
that even if in the same LCZ type, the effect of different building layout typologies is
significance. The difference of microclimate between the best and worst samples is huge,
under context of Beijing, terrace and court typologies are ideal solutions for LCZ1 and LCZ2
groups.
Variation of PET
Based on the result of PETmean, this part will focus on discuss the building layout typology
which has influences on PET value. Through three statistics of 1. Maximum mean value of the
simulation period, 2. Minimum mean value of the simulation period, 3. Variation (MAX-MIN)
Figure 13 MAX-MINmean Figure 14 LCZ2-4 Summer 13.00 output
Figure 13 indicates that in terms of the minimum mean value of each sample, the PET value
does not fluctuate a lot, while the maximum mean value is significantly different from each other.
Terrace and court typology have lowest maximum mean PET value, conversely, semi-court
typology has highest value which is over 50℃. People will feel extreme heat stress some places
in these kinds of building samples. The pattern of MAX-MINmean is similar to the pattern of
maximummean, the huge floating is accounted for the difference from highest PET value. For
example, LCZ2_4 is a typical Beijing semi-court building layout typology. In the courts space,
most of the space is with high PET values, while in the street space, the PET is significantly lower.
Therefore, the huge variation does not mean the diversity of microclimate in this simulation, it
could not provide comfortable thermal environment for different groups of people in high
density area.
Acknowledge
The study is supported by the Post Graduate Scholarship (PGS) grant from The Chinese
University of Hong Kong. We acknowledge our colleagues in Institute of Environment, Energy
and Sustainability for providing the Biomet calculator.
Reference
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street canyon on outdoor thermal comfort in hot and dry climate. Building and environment, 41, 94-108.
Grimmond, S.(2007). Urbanization and global environmental change: local effects of urban warming. The
Geographical Journal, 173, 83-88.
Hallegatte, S.(2009). Strategies to adapt to an uncertain climate change. Global environmental change, 19, 240-
247.
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Introduction
Thermal comfort is a term used to describe occupant satisfaction with the thermal
environment (ASHRAE, 2013). Currently ‘adaptive thermal’ is the most popular model in use
as it is not based on steady state human comfort votes in laboratory conditions (Nicol & Roaf,
2017). Instead it focuses on the use of non-mechanised passive cooling systems, which are
more environmentally sustainable. Furthermore, it considers occupants’ behaviour, clothing
and the effect of these sessions as important factors to thermal perception. In contrast, the
historic Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) model focused on laboratory reports on respondents’
comfort to satisfy mechanically operated energy building systems. However, there are still
limitations in using the adaptive model. Firstly, it can only be used in buildings that adopt
passive cooling systems. Also, occupants’ metabolic rate should range from 1.0-1.3 met,
whilst clothing be within 0.5 to 1.0 clo. Finally, outdoor temperature should have a 10 to 33.5
degree range. The adaptive model also does not explain clearly how the linear regression
analysis model incorporates all factors of measurement. Both the Adaptive and PMV models
use forms of top-down statistical analyses which focus on average group data. Conversely, is
it possible to use a bottom-up simulation model that seeks to construct a fundamental
personal thermal comfort pattern to explain how individual adaptive behaviour might affects
thermal sensation and vice versa?
Methodology
Sample selection and field studies
By the completion of this paper, the field study was still being undertaken. Thus, the data
presented was incomplete and from only two of the proposed ten subject responses. The
study was conducted in student bedrooms within new Edinburgh University student
accommodation. Each study bedroom had adjustable central heating and operable windows
that subjects could adapt to their individual thermal preference. Field studies were being
conducted from April to July 2017 with subjects conducting assessment measurements over
a two-week period.
Of the ten subjects, there are five of each sex. All of them will be briefed on the study
aims, acquainted with the instruments and trained to understand the measurement
processes required first. All the subjects have lived in Edinburgh for at least two years, and
thus would have acclimatization to the local temperate climate conditions.
Before the commencement of the exercise, the ‘EdenApp-Thermal Comfort’ mobile
application was installed onto the subjects’ smartphones and sensors (SensorTag and Testo
405i anemometer) were given to each subject. After adequate training on app and sensors
use, subjects were expected to undertake the two-week period of thermal assessment
recording. Each subject will fill in at least six digital questionnaire survey responses daily. Each
questionnaire readings would be expected to take a maximum of 2 minutes to complete. The
questionnaire (Figure 1) asked subjects for subjective data (Step 1-5), and guide respondents
connect with the sensors to measure environmental data (Step 6). These data were then
automatically uploaded to our ‘cloud’ server (Figure 2), where they would be used for future
Figure 1. Work flow of the questionnaire
Figure 2. Database on EdenApp cloud server
Results
Thermal environment of selected accommodation in Edinburgh
Figures 3 and 4 show histograms of the Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) from the two subjects
whose records are presented in this paper.
Figure 3. Histogram of Thermal Sensation Vote (from five subjects)
Figure 4. Histogram of Thermal Sensation Vote (left: subject 1, right: subject 2)
Most of the vote values are distributed between -1 and 1 which stands for slightly cold
and slightly warm. The subjects are mostly felt well with their room’s thermal environment.
From Figure 4, the thermal sensation vote from subject 1 is similar with the trend of the whole
group in Figure 3. However, the feedback from subject 2 shows a different pattern where
thermal vote is separately distributed between -1 with 1. Although the thermal environment
is acceptable to subject 2, it shows this subject is more thermal sensitive than others. This
individual difference helps to build personal thermal comfort pattern in the future.
Personal difference in indoor environment
Table 3 and Figure 5 shows individual difference of their preferred temperature and relative
humidity. Subject 2 have a wider acceptable range to temperature and humidity, but subject
2 prefer the room cooler and dryer. Table 4 shows which environment parameter is
significantly related with thermal sensation vote and the correlation among these parameters.
Table 3. Indoor operative temperature and relative humidity
Figure 5. Individual difference of operative temperature and relative humidity
Table 4. Personal correlation of each parameters
Subject Variables which have significance other correlation
with TSV
1 Ta, TIR, Rh Ta & TIR, Rh & Ta, MET & CLO
2 Ta, TIR Ta & TIR
0
24 26 28 30
-1
-2
O p e r a tiv e te m p e ra tu r e
-3
Figure 6. The comparison between TSV and PMV from respondent 1.
Interim conclusions
This paper presents a cheap and effective personal thermal measurement tool. There are
several points that could be developed and improved next as in relation to the project:
1. Lack enough data. As the study has not finished, the data is too limited to make any
conclusions. But it was successfully used by respondents as a prototype of cheap
thermal measurement tool to quickly record personal thermal comfort data.
Discussion
Thus far, depending on the current collected data, we have found using EdenApp thermal as
a measurement tool that students in their accommodation do have individualised thermal
preferences. They prefer to maintain their indoor environment to best suit their thermal
preference. Secondly, the PMV model cannot accurately predict individual thermal sensation
in a highly-personalised space such as a student room. It therefore makes sense to develop a
personal thermal sensation model both to improve localised energy efficiency and to
communicate to students how their actions can affect energy efficiency. Finally, Although the
field study has not finished and the analysis is from two respondents, EdenApp-Thermal
Comfort with its attached sensors demonstrates how a contemporary mobile app can enable
researchers the ability to record and analyse personalise thermal comfort responses and
simultaneously track related environmental measurements such as temperature and
humidity. The use of EdenApp-Thermal Comfort and cheaply purchased sensors also enables
the development of a ‘ground up data collection model’ for environmental analysis research,
and allows for the development of new digital methods for analysing and predicting
occupants’ comfort levels.
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Cha ir:
Andre w Pe ac oc k
1383
Introduction
The primary energy demand in India has grown from about 450 million tons of oil equivalent
(toe) in 2000 to about 770 million toe in 2012. This is expected to increase to about 1250
(estimated by International Energy Agency) to 1500 (estimated in the Integrated Energy
Policy Report) million toe in 2030. To match the expected increase in energy demand, the
Government is promoting greater use of renewable in the energy mix mainly through solar
and wind. The use of solar energy for generating electricity is well known. In India, the high
cost of installation of solar PV systems till very recent times discouraged many from taking
the solar way to generate electricity. With the policies of the present governing body in the
country, there is an unprecedented encouragement provided to the common people for
installing solar PV systems. A plethora of affordable solar related products have been
brought in the Indian market by various manufacturers. Easing of the statutory systems for
installation of Solar Roof Top Photo Voltaic (SRTPV) Systems and provisions for availing
Figure 1: Location Map showing the pilot smart city area of Aundh-Baner-Balewadi
The Study
The study was conducted between 2016 and 2017 over a period of about 12 months. The
pilot study was conducted in the months of Oct-Nov 2016. The study showed that one
residential community that had installed the SRTPV system had seen very encouraging
results by reduction in the amount of electricity bill issued by the State Electricity
Distribution Company. To strengthen and confirm the initial predictions of the study, the
authors selected 3communities that have installed the SRTPV System across the city of Pune.
One sample was from the Baner-Balewadi area. The authors investigated what would be
impact of implementation of such a system in the pilot smart city mission. After analysis of
the details provided by them regarding the reduction in the amount of electricity bills, it is
found that the installation of the SRTPV systems benefits the community by reducing its
energy consumption from the state electricity grid. The moment we generate electricity on
site, we help in the reduction of transmission and distribution losses. Reducing such losses
brings in an efficient system. Other communities are thereby inspired to go the solar way for
achieving energy efficiency. The purpose of the study, therefore, is to present the
Research Question
Based on the authors’ initial study, the research question framed is stated as:
Is the installation of Solar Roof Top PV system helpful in achieving energy efficiency in
communities? What can be the constraints towards this achievement and what can be the
solutions for them?
Research Objective
The research question led to the following objectives which the authors wanted to find out
more about.
1. To prove and convince the importance of installation of Solar Roof Top PV system
in community areas to achieve energy efficiency. This was also done to enhance
our knowledge in understanding what deterred the communities from installing
the system.
2. To validate if the installation is resulting in reduction of electricity usage from the
electricity grid and if energy efficiency is being achieved.
3. To know what active and passive technologies can be implemented to make the
communities energy efficient.
Based on the comparative analysis of the data collected from the 3 residential
communities in the city, the following hypotheses was formulated and tested.
#H1. Installation of Solar Roof Top PV System is likely to reduce the electricity
consumption from the grid thereby reducing the amount of electricity bills.
#H2. Calculations for Solar Roof Top PV system for another community validate the
study done in the selected sample communities.
Research Methodology
The science of the method in which the research is conducted is the research methodology.
The authors identified samples, research instruments and research methods for reaching
the research objectives.
a. Sample Selection: The authors selected 3 samples for the said study for which
complete data was available. The samples are chosen as they fit closer to the scheme of
definition of communities whereas the other residential projects are more of standalone
buildings.
b. Research Instruments: The research instrument contained collection of electricity
bills of the communities, pre and post installation of the Solar Roof Top PV System.
c. Research Method: The residential community managements were assured that the
data would be used purely for academics resulting in authentic data collection.
Data Analysis
The data of electricity bills before and after the installation of the Solar Roof Top PV System
was compared with regards to the total energy requirements, the total capacity of Solar
Figure 3.Graph showing Electricity consumption scenario of Padmavati Society
It should be noted that during the month of March 2017, there has been no usage of
electricity from grid. Rather, the society has given units to the grid through net metering
system and has gained in the electricity bill.
Findings
The investigators selected 3 residential communities, each that had installed a Solar Roof
Top PV System with authentic data of the electricity bills before and after the Solar Roof Top
PV system installation. The analysis of the data shows the communities becoming self
reliant and energy efficient owing to the installation of SRTPV systems. The benefits are in
the form of reduced electricity bill. The tariff structure that is at Rs. 15/unit as per the state
electricity bill is reduced to Rs. 9.5/unit after generating the energy by SRTPV. Although the
question is of high installation cost of the system, the payback period is just under 4 years.
The contributions of the residents for monthly maintenance expenses for the communities
reduced and were nearly stabilised post SRTPV installations. This proves hypothesis #H1.
The authors validated the findings by applying the concept to another residential
community in Balewadi. The details of the calculations for the selected SAHIL SAGA
community are presented.
Conclusion
While all the data and its analysis stand for SRTPV installations as a means of achieving
energy efficient communities, it can be concluded that:
Investigation’s Impact
The authors proceeded with the study to prove out there is a lot of scope for the installation
of SRTPV and make efficient use of energy, not only by generating it on site but also
reducing the transmission and distribution losses. This is certainly a step towards making
the communities efficient and sustainable.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficient_energy_use accessed on 12 April 2017 at 10.22 am.
http://www.iea.org/topics/energyefficiency/ accessed on 12 April 2017 at 10.25 am.
http://powermin.nic.in/en/content/overview-2 accessed on 12 April 2017 at 10.32 am.
http://solarrooftop.gov.in/Grid/financial_tool/2
Muriel Díaz1
1
Facultad de Arquitectura, Construcción y Diseño, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Chile,
madiazc@ubiobio.cl
Abstract: At the global level, district energy systems have been used at different scales; Complete cities;
University campuses and at the level of autonomous neighbourhoods, proving that district heating and cooling
systems can optimize the use of energy of buildings by allowing to recycle heat which otherwise would be
wasted or difficult to use. The question about the impact that the architectural and urban design has on these
systems arises, since the energy performance of a building is dependent of the adequate architectural design.
The main results of this review show that architects designing should work together with engineers early on
the design process to define the main aspects of the district heating system, by means of a heating and cooling
master plan that defines relevant parameters such as proportion of glazing and orientation, space for the
installation of solar heating and photovoltaics panels and thermal mass of the buildings. The use of thermal
mass to match energy demand with the availability of solar energy is a topic identified that leads to further
research as being able to take advantage of solar energy and solar gains seems to be very relevant to the
efficiency of the system.
Keywords: district heating, urban planning, energy efficient architecture, energy sources, design parameters.
Introduction
When signing the agreement at the Paris climate conference (COP21), a large number of
countries in the world united to fight climate change. This means that the 133 signing
countries (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2016) commit to
further developing policies on climate change as well as progress towards the achievement
of sustainable development objectives. This objective is achievable by reducing the
dependence on fossil fuels and at the same time assuring energy security. In this framework
the need for more efficient and less contaminating energy and heat supply systems is clear.
Moreover the EU Commission “adopted in 2011 the Roadmap for moving to a
competitive low carbon economy in 2050, focusing on the Energy Efficiency” (European
Parliament, 2012, p. 2). In this scenario, District heating systems can contribute; using
renewable energy sources; recovering heat from other sources; and using energy sources
matching with local availability, all of which should result in less CO2 eq generation.
District Heating
District heating systems aim to use local fuel or existing heat sources that otherwise would
not be exploited to deliver heat and hot water to residential, commercial or even industrial
customers through a distribution network at competitive prices with less pollution than
traditional heat sources. This technology exist since the 14th century (Rezaie and Rosen,
2012), but their modern use arouse at the beginning of the 20th century to deal with
hygienic and risk issues related to the use of wood burning and coal stoves in densely
populated areas of big cities both in USA and Europe. Former individual heating systems
where polluting the air, generating risk of fire and could not deliver proper internal heating
conditions.
The main improvements that District Heating (DH) systems could offer where; the
decrease in fire hazard superseding open flame coal or wood burners inside buildings, the
reduction of the risk of burst boilers since the equipment was centralized, reduction of
smoke nuisance and prevention of damage to the surfaces of the buildings. The production
of pollutants was also diminished by using air filters. But the most relevant improvement for
the indoor conditions and therefore for the users, were the uniformity of temperatures and
absence of dust or pollutants both related with indoor comfort (Gallo, 2003).
Other side improvements of DH at an urban scale are the decrement in the transport
of fuel and on a building level and more available space for architects and developers to
profit from. For example the use of basements to accommodate luxurious restaurants,
stores and others in New York (Willis, 1995).
A district heating system is composed of four main components; heat production plant,
distribution network, customer substation and internal distribution system (Figure 1). The
heat production plant is in many cases formed of several plants with different energy
sources that converge in one system. The distribution network consists of two lines of pipes
buried in the ground, one forwarding heat and the other returning the heat carrier at a
lower temperature. Today the new systems use prefabricated steel pipes with polyurethane
foam as insulation. The costumer substation is where both district and internal systems
interconnect and exchange heat or water depending on the connection system. Typically
the heat is transferred through heat exchangers called closed connection, but sometimes
hot domestic water is prepared by mixing hot district water and cold water in an open
connection as the method used in Russia (Werner, 2004). The internal distribution system is
formed by at least two systems, one supplying heat to radiators and other to domestic hot
water, a third system could heat supply air in mechanical ventilation systems.
Figure 1: Components of a district heating system
The history of District heating systems recognizes four generations as described on
Table 1 based on Lund et al. (2014).The technological advancement focuses on two key
aspects, heat carrier and energy source. The characterization of a system should consider at
least three factors; heat transport fluid, aim of the service and heat resource. Transport
fluid could be vapor, water and air, being water the most used today. The aim of the service
could be heating, cooling or both integrated in a single system. The heat source will be
discussed in the following point.
These four generations show that the technological development of the systems was
closely related with the security of supply and the losses in distribution. Steam had high
losses in distribution and was prone to steam explosions. The change to pressurized hot
water diminished both losses and burst, but the second generation was unable to control
heat demand. The third generation, known as the “Scandinavian district heating technology”
uses prefabricated buried pipes and substations to control heat demand. The fourth
generation focuses on the integration of renewable energy sources and delivering low
temperature water heating to energy efficient buildings.
Other field that has had changes in the last years is energy sources. In the beginning
oil, gas and coal where the preferred energetics, nowadays the only country that still uses
coal as main source of heat is China. European countries started to shift to other sources,
being Sweden one of the leaders, increasing the use of biomass since the oil crisis in 1973
(Lake, Rezaie and Beyerlein, 2017).
Energy Sources
The first district heating systems in USA used coal as their main energetic, further
development allowed to use the remaining heat from the production of electricity in
combined heat and power (CHP) plants. The selection of energy resources is mainly related
with availability and technology, nowadays this selection is shifting to environmental issues
mainly production of CO2 eq and exergy. The following list shows the main energy sources in
use or development.
Fossil fuels: Fuels like natural gas, petrol, coal, oil can produce energy and heat. Their
main advantage is that they are currently in use and the ease to control the amount of
energy or heat produced according to the specific needs. They are a big source of
greenhouse emissions, are not renewable and have very high exergy. Existing HD are
shifting to renewable sources.
Waste to heat or waste incineration: Domestic waste is incinerated to generate heat
or heat and electric energy (CHP). This technology reduces the amount of garbage that goes
to landfills while providing heat and power. The fumes from the process are potentially
harmful and need a proper management to prevent health related problems, the proportion
of ashes to waste in kg is around 3% in the case of Malmo (SYSAV, 2012). Waste to heat
technology was first used in the Nordic countries where Sweden had a leading role, using
nowadays, all their domestic waste as heat source.
1
Sustainable Energy Systems
Integrated design
Connolly et al., proposes that district heating is crucial to the implementation of future
sustainable energy systems (2014). But to achieve such ambitious goals low temperature
district heating should be implemented in coordination with low energy buildings. The
design of energy efficient buildings should be part of energy efficient neighbourhoods. The
renovation of existing buildings is also an issue that should be taking into account when
designing new or renovated DH (Park and Andrews, 2004; Gartland, 2015).
Further research
Future work on the relevance of architectural design on the efficiency of district heating
systems should focus on detailed dynamic simulation of buildings to prove the effect of
thermal mass and mixed-use building design to improve the efficiency of district heating
systems.
Since district heating was developed for cold climates with long winters and dense
urban areas, adapting it to other climates and urban settings should also be studied
considering the benefits that such systems have on air quality and indoor comfort. Research
should be focused on 4th generation developments considering the incorporation of
renewable sources of heat into the system in non-industrialized countries.
Acknowledgements
The work presented in this paper was developed during a research stay founded by the
Ministry of Energy, Chile at the Division of Building Services and Energy Systems at Kungliga
Tekniska Högskolan, Sweden.
References
Connolly, D., Lund, H., Mathiesen, B. V., Werner, S., Möller, B., Persson, U., Boermans, T., Trier, D.,
Østergaard, P. A. and Nielsen, S. (2014) ‘Heat roadmap Europe: Combining district heating with heat savings to
decarbonise the EU energy system’, Energy Policy. Elsevier, 65, pp. 475–489. doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.10.035.
European Parliament (2012) ‘Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25
October 2012 on energy efficiency’, Official Journal of the European Union Directive, (October), pp. 1–56. doi:
10.3000/19770677.L_2012.315.eng.
Gallo, E. (2003) ‘Skyscrapers and District Heating , an inter-related History 1876-1933’, Construction
History, 19(19), pp. 87–106.
Gartland, D. (2015) ‘Dublin City Spatial Energy Demand Analysis’. Available at:
http://www.codema.ie/images/uploads/docs/.
Lake, A., Rezaie, B. and Beyerlein, S. (2017) ‘Review of district heating and cooling systems for a
sustainable future’, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Elsevier, 67, pp. 417–425. doi:
10.1016/j.rser.2016.09.061.
Li, H. and Wang, S. J. (2015) ‘Load Management in District Heating Operation’, Energy Procedia. Elsevier
B.V., 75, pp. 1202–1207. doi: 10.1016/j.egypro.2015.07.155.
Introduction
Urban agglomerations are continuing to grow on a global scale. Despite being conducive to
economic growth, they cause many problems. Currently, cities already use about 75% of all
global energy resources and emit 70% of global greenhouse gases (Beuzekom, 2015). With
rapidly growing, denser populations, cities have been suffering from chronic traffic
congestion and frequent power failures due to a constant energy shortage, both of which
make life difficult for inhabitants and cause significant loss of economic opportunity. To
resolve the situation, city administrations need to promote multifaceted urban infrastructure
development along with urbanization, which encompasses roads, public transportation,
water supply and sewage, the energy supply system, and demand information.
From this perspective, our previous research proposes an architecture for a
comprehensive smart city planning aided tools (Yamamura, 2016) that considers all the
information from the above sectors. Urban energy planning tools is the most important part
that need to be firstly development. Various policies or technologies should be
comprehensively considered based on demand-side information on building features and
Figure 1. 3D model of the city and flowchart of the concepts underlying the tool’s function
Architecture
To address the above issues, in this paper we propose a GIS-BIM-based system that can
simplify building Big Data sets from BIM and integrate it with the city model built by the GIS.
This system consists of two parts: database and platform (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Architecture of the proposed tool
The database component interprets the city using layered data. The building
information related to energy consumption is from the BIM process, and the other urban
infrastructure data are from GIS. In the research reported herein, the database is comprised
Figure 3. Target area of case study
Database construction
The concept underlying the research presented in this paper was to provide supportive
technology when searching for an optimal site location of an urban energy system in the
planning stage of such systems. Proposed is a model with a site location and optimal design
based on the site information, building features, energy consumption, and on-site renewable
and untapped energy. Therefore, the database constructed to facilitate such goals consist of
urban planning information acquired by a GIS, including building features and city
infrastructure, as well as urban space information from BIM, such as underground shopping
centers. Energy consumption data are estimated based on the building information and
energy consumption units. See Figure 4 for representative views of database content.
Figure 4. Images of database content
1
Large scale is defined as a building area of more than 10,000 m2
Figure 5. Primary energy consumption modelled in three dimensions by the tool
Figure 6. Renewable and untapped energy potential according to building area and sewage flow
Scenario analysis
The target area is an urban center with high energy consumption and electricity use at peak
load. A district cooling and heating (DHC) system with a co-generation system (CGS) is planned
to be introduced into this area for managing electricity peak cuts. Using the tool proposed in
this paper, the information from different sectors of the target area, including urban planning,
energy consumption, and renewable and untapped energy, can be unified by 3D modelling.
One of the challenges for introducing a DHC system in urban areas is the limited urban
space for the required infrastructure, such as that needed for heat sharing between the target
buildings. To meet this challenge, the proposed tool selects the areas for introduction of a
CGS based on the following conditions:
- Buildings with high primary energy consumption and electricity peak load (which is
available in the energy consumption unit as mentioned before);
- Buildings of large scale (a building area of more than 10,000 m2);
- Buildings with high untapped energy utilization potential;
- Areas with a building reconstruction plan;
- Areas that are connected by underground spaces, such as for underground
shopping center (where the pipes for heat sharing would be situated).
Finally, three areas were selected as target areas.
The capacity of gas-fired power generators is set by the proposed tool as Figure 7 shows;
this research established two cases to determine the effect of heat sharing between buildings,
as follows:
Case 1: As in Figure 7(a), three areas into which individual CGS systems were introduced
and the heat was not shared.
Case 2: As in Figure 7(b), three areas into which individual CGS systems were introduced
and the heat was shared.
(a)Case 1 (b)Case 2
Figure 7. Cases established to study heat sharing using the proposed tool
The results suggest that, with the heat shared between the target areas (Case 2), the
efficiency of the energy recovery rate is 5% higher than for the case in which no heat was
shared (Case1).
References
I. van Beuzekom; M. Gibescu; J. G. Slootweg, 2015 IEEE Eindhoven PowerTech, A review of multi-energy
system planning and optimization tools for sustainable urban development
I.Yeo, J.Yee, A proposal for a site location planning model of environmentally friendly urban energy supply
plants using an environment and energy geographical information system (E-GIS) database (DB) and an artificial
neural network (ANN), Applied Energy 119 (2014) 99–117
Open data base, http://www.jsbc.or.jp/decc/
S.Yamamura, Assessment of urban energy performance through integration of BIM and GIS for smart city
planning, Procedia Engineering,2017
Introduction
An Eco-city is one in which energy consumption, pollution, and emissions rates are low,
thereby saving energy and enhancing environmental protection. Currently, China is
constructing a large number of new ecological cities to adapt the development of the city,
economy, and population for an ecological purpose. At the beginning of planning a new
town, it is important that energy planning is conducted and applied to ensure that the goal
of building an ecological city is fully realized. In the design of the ‘Xiuyuan river ecological
zone’ in Jinan City, China, the energy consumption analysis and optimization method is
adopted to fulfil ecological goals.
City profile
Jinan City is located in central Shandong Province, and the Xiuyuan river eco-city is located
in the western area of the old Jinan city, with a total area of 23.75 km2, and planned floor
area of 28,700,000 m2. The land is mostly undeveloped, and the river flows through the
center of the eco-city.
Research method
The demand for a green eco-city is forecast by the scenario analysis method, which is based
on eco-city planning, research on energy consumption in existing buildings, and an
understanding and analysis of energy consumption.
A scheme for renewable energy planning, based on an assessment of renewable
energy resources such as solar energy, shallow geothermal energy, wind energy, and
conventional coal and gas energy in the total land area, is proposed.
Type 2017 2020
Heating 5,450 10,090
Cooling 5,690 10,540
Hot water 890 1,640
Electricity load
The electricity load in the eco-city is divided into five categories: residential, public facilities,
industrial, commercial, and others. Load forecasting is carried out according to the density
data method, and the effect of energy saving measures is determined. The prediction
results in electricity load of 108.14 million kwh, with a load density of 20.1 MW/km2.
Photoelectric Additional
Roof
Battery pack / system coefficient of
Building type utilization
roof area conversion photovoltaic
rate
efficiency curtain wall
Business 40% 50% 15% 1.2
Office 40% 50% 15% 1.5
Market 40% 50% 15% 1.0
Community
20% 50% 15% 1.0
service
Education 60% 50% 15% 1.0
Public buildings with solar panels can provide 0.19 billion kWh of electricity, only
considering the provision of living electricity demand and ignoring the comprehensive
energy efficiency of solar photovoltaic systems, system investment recovery period, and
other economic factors, reducing coal use by 0.69 million tons.
Solar heat can be used in residential lands, primary and secondary schools, and other
plots, which are large-scale uses of solar resources. Other uses of a centralized solar water
heating system in residential and commercial land development can demonstrate the
suitability of a solar thermal system. If the solar panels in the eco-city area region provide
heat of about 22×108 MJ, this provides 60% of residential buildings’ energy requirements
Evaluation of shallow geothermal energy resources in soil source
The distribution of geothermal soil heat in the ecological city area is within 100-400 meters
of the surface, and the temperature of the soil and groundwater equal to the local average
temperature, and is not affected by the environment or climate. Throughout the year the
heat fluctuates but maintains a balance.
Utilizing shallow soil geothermal energy is suitable for areas of smaller building density.
According to the plans for the eco-city, the construction area for the low-density residential
area, basic education, community services, and the other buildings with smaller building
density is in the northern part of the zone, with an area of 800,000 m2.
Evaluation of shallow geothermal energy resources for surface water sources
In the planning area, annual runoff from the river is large, and water flow is good; however,
due to large temperature differences between the river and the water source, the water
source can not be used for the water heat pump. The city can not use a river water heating
pump system for water resource protection, and other reasons.
Conclusion
To develop a scientific and rational renewable energy utilization plan for an eco-city, energy
demand should be forecast, and new and renewable energy resources assessed and
combined with new and renewable energy conversion system performance characteristics.
It should be conducted that analysis of construction sites for renewable energy supplies and
energy demand; and new and renewable energy engineering practices should be
established based on new and renewable energy capacity, preference, reliability, stability,
technical difficulty, economic and environmental conditions, and other aspects of the
evaluation. An applicability priority gradient, and the establishment of engineering
feasibility criteria, will be of use for a renewable energy target assigned to each area of land
and will help achieve the goal of ecological planning.
Acknowledgment
This paper is funded from Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province,
China(ZR2014JL034).
References
Phil Jones (2016). Ecocities—A Bottom-Up Project Driven Approach, Urban Environment
Design,101(06) ,193-197
Phil Jones, Xiaojun Li, Shanshan Hou (2016). Urban Scale Energy Modelling in the Built Environment,
Urban Environment Design,101(06) ,254-265
Huang Jianxiang, Wang Yali, Peng Rong (2016). Urban Microclimate & Pedestrian Comfort in Dense
Cities, Urban Environment Design,101(06) ,266-27
Shandong Province Residential Building Energy Efficiency Design Standards (DBJ 14-037-2012)
Urban Heating Pipe Network Design Specifications (CJJ 34-2010)
Tomasz Jasinski1
1
Institute of Social Sciences and Management of Technologies, Faculty of Organization and
Management, Lodz University of Technology, Lodz, Poland, tomasz.jasinski@p.lodz.pl
Abstract: The study describes possibilities to predict the electricity demand with artificial neural networks.
Empirical research includes energy market of the Ontario province in Canada and the energy market in Italy.
Numerous network models of MLP, GRNN and RBF architecture were subjected to tests. Delayed values of
energy demand, variables of technical analysis and meteorological data, as well as calculated on their base
index have been used as the independent variables. Cyclical character of the energy market was taken into
account in selection of the set of input variables. Verification of the quality of MLPs network prediction was
conducted in the test, which neurons contained activation function in a form of logistic function, hyperbolical
tangent and exponential function.
Keywords: electricity demand, neural networks, energy markets, artificial intelligence, prediction
Introduction
Artificial neural networks (ANN) belong to tools from the area of artificial intelligence. Their
origin dates back to the year 1943, in which the first mathematical model of neuron was
presented (McCulloch, Pitts, 1943). The scheme of artificial nerve cell presents Figure 1.
Inputs – indicated 𝑥" to 𝑥# constitute the equivalent of biological dendrites, i.e. structures
responsible for entering signals to biological nerve cell. In the artificial model with each of
recalled inputs (𝑥$ ) a certain real number indicated in Figure as 𝑤$ is connected. Signals
entered into the cell are multiplied by the real number assigned for the input, in this way
products will be calculated and then summed up. In the next stage, the established value is
transformed with so-called activation function. Described weights are the basis of ANN
function. In the study they are subjected to modification and thanks to that process the
network acquires knowledge.
The recalled activation function has the task to simulate signal transformations
occurring in the nucleus of biological cell, as well as partly within the synaptic connection.
Action potential in the biological cell in communication process has de facto character of
continuous function and usually changes in a range from about -40 to +70 mV. Also far
better are continuous functions in ANN during market analyses. Amongst the most
commonly applied are logistic function, hyperbolical tangent, sine and Gauss. After
described transformation the signal is derived from the cell using the output Y (equivalent of
biological axon) and goes to the cells of other layers or constitutes the output signal of
model (there are possible derogations from described principles, for example in some
Figure 1. Artificial neuron scheme (Jasinski et al., 2016)
Depending on connections between neurons and flow direction of signals, there are
distinguished different types of ANN. Research was conducted using three types of
networks – multi-layered perceptron (MLP), radial basis function networks (RBF) and
generalized regression neural network (GRNN). They all have one-way architecture, this
means that signals are transmitted from input to output, and in the network there are no
feedbacks (which are characterized by recurrent neural networks).
Figure 2. MLP scheme
Figure 2 shows an example of MLP scheme created based on single hidden layer. It
should be noted that only cells in hidden layers (there can be many of them – most often
applies one or two such layers) and always single output layers are subjected to the process
of study (modification of weights). Neurons of input layer are not subject to the process of
study, and their role is to collect data from the outside of model and their distribution inside
the network. The number of cells in this layer depends from the number of independent
variables of the model. By analogy, the number of cells in output layer corresponds to the
number of dependent variables. An attempt to predict the electricity demand was carried
out in this study. This indicates a need to equip output layer in only one neuron. The
number of cells in a hidden layer must be selected experimentally (in the subject literature it
is possible to find suggestions as for their selection, however they are often contrary and do
not lead to optimization of the model. In each case individually and experimentally it is
necessary to select their optimum number and parameters).
Figure 3. Annual cycles of the electricity demand (Ontario province in Canada)
In spite of reducing in the time average energy demand, the maximum consumption
usually does not indicate this type of trend. Increasing living standard of modern societies
directly related to the use of many electric devices, above all air-conditioning systems in
summer, as well as heating periods in winter (HVAC). This causes that in many countries the
energy system must meet the growing peak of energy demand. This situation constitutes a
particular treat for continuity of supplies in those countries, which do not have energy
production and distribution systems. As the example is Poland, in which predominant coal
power stations are not equipped with dry-cooling systems. Traditional and currently
considered obsolete water-based cooling systems are a real problem in the summer months.
High temperature causes an increased demand for energy due to more popular air-
conditioning systems, and at the same time reducing level of water prevents efficient
cooling and forces generators to reduce the production of electricity in the peak demand.
Figure 4. Weekly cycles of the electricity demand (Ontario province in Canada)
This show how important is the possibility to predict energy demand both in terms of
total and peak. The precision of these predictions constitutes the key element of providing
the continuity of supply, and affects the energy price by not-incurring costs associated with
maintaining large reserves of its production.
Weather conditions are one of basic elements determining the height of demand, in
particular air temperature and wind speed. Amongst other atmospheric factors commonly
lists the air humidity, which taken into account in the model is also possible by using such
index as for example humidex. Figure 3 presents the electricity demand with a chart of air
temperature. As can be seen the peak energy demand coincides with extreme temperatures.
The peak demand appears, as it was possible to expect, both in the summer and winter.
Provided direction of changes of the electricity demand to a large extent is consistent (in
cooling season) or opposite (in heating season) to the direction of temperature changes,
then dynamics of these changes are often different. A much higher level of compliance it is
possible to observe between dynamics of changes of the electricity demand and dynamics
of changes in humidex index (Figure 4). A new type of input variable based on humidex
index was used in empirical studies due to changing nature of dependencies between them
along with the change of cooling season on heating (and inversely). The original index value
was used for the temperature higher than 17oC (this value generally is regarded as a
transition temperature from heating to cooling), however for lower temperature the index
value was specific as 34-humidex. Such a rate is characterized in much large degree by one-
way relation towards the electricity demand (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Modified humidex index and electricity demand (Ontario province in Canada)
Figure 6. Sales volume of the electricity (IPEX)
Figure 7. MLP scheme predicting the electricity demand (Ontario province in Canada)
Figure 8 presents percentage error histogram (PE) of predictions for data from the test
set. The largest number of predictions was an error from the range of 0% to 2% caused with
revaluation future demand. The second group of predictions – in quantitative terms –
constituted those in which the demand for energy has been overestimated between 0% and
2%. This result should be considered highly satisfactory.
Figure 8. Percentage error histogram of the prediction for data from the test set (8 input variables, Ontario
province)
It is widely believed that efforts should be made to possible simple ANN structure,
because each of neurons, in addition to affecting the growth of potential networks,
Figure 9. Percentage error histogram of the prediction for data from the test set (5 input variables, Ontario
province)
Figure 10. Percentage error histogram of the prediction for data from the test set (8 input variables, IPEX)
Similar results were obtained in case of daily forecast of the sales volumes of
electricity on the IPEX. Studies were conducted using the same input variables as previously.
Percentage error histogram (PE) of obtained prediction was presented in Figure 10.
References
Italian Power Exchange (2017). Historical data. Available at: https://www.mercatoelettrico.org/
En/Download/DatiStorici.aspx (Accessed: 3 January 2017)
Jasinski, T., Marszal, A., Bochenek, A. (2016). Selected applications of artificial neural networks in the
currency market, futures market and spatial economics (in Polish). Lodz: Lodz University of Technology
McCulloch, S., Pitts, W. (1943). A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity. Bulletin of
Mathematical Biophysics, 5, pp. 115-133
The Independent Electricity System Operator (2016), Data Directory. Available at:
http://www.ieso.ca/power-data/data-directory (Accessed: 5 October 2016)
Abstract: By the development of the industrial technology, the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions increased,
which contributed to the phenomena of climate change. This research is concerned with using the renewable
energy source of wind farms as a tool to reaching zero carbon dioxide gases emissions. This is also part of the
new Egyptian vision that aims to increase wind power capacity to 20% by 2020.In line with this vision, the aim
of the research is to find the suitable lands in Egypt to accommodate wind farms in Egypt. With the variety of
variables affecting wind farms' locations as well as the density of current land uses in Egypt; it is important to
find the suitable tool that could conduct these types of analysis. The research used the land suitability analysis
conducted by the geographical information systems (GIS), in which multi criteria could be used to identify the
appropriate locations. Different variables affecting the presence of wind farms could be added and overlaid in
GIS including wind speed maps, wind directions map, and topography maps. The findings of this research help
identifying the suitable locations in Suez Governorate in Egypt that could accommodate wind farms.
Keywords: Global warming, Climate change, Wind farm, Geographical Information System (GIS), Land suitability
analysis.
Introduction
Global warming and climate change are important phenomena that appeared in the last
century. Their appearance depended on the significant increase of temperature that resulted
from the presence and development of the industrial revolution (Organization, United
Nations, 1992). The awareness of the earth’s population increased and led to finding solutions
that could help facing this problem. Most of environmental sector governments started to set
certain regulations to reduce the phenomena of global warming and climate change by using
renewable energy sources.
For Egypt, the highest percentage of greenhouse gas emissions is coming from indirect
sources: i.e. burning fuel in transportation and producing goods for consumers. According to
the climate investments fund, Egypt is the 11 speediest country producing greenhouse gas
(GHG) emitting nations on the world. The climate investments funds warn and expect to
exceed the percentage of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 300% by 2017. The increase
in population (range up to 2.6% per year) in Egypt will also lead to increased use of energy,
which by its turn will effect on the Egyptian economy (Funds, 2005). The energy industry and
transportation sectors emit a lot of carbon intensive. The percentage of carbon footprint
emitted from the transportation sector and power generation are calculated to be 42% and
21% respectively of Egypt’s total GHG emissions (Funds, 2005). The government is now
heading toward building stations for generating a renewable energy: i.e. Wind Farm, and
Literature Review
During the past few decades, the Geographic Information System (GIS) have been used to find
the suitable location for wind farms’ installation (Rodman, L.C et Meentemeyer, R.K, 2006).
GIS collects large geospatial information as criteria and integrate them into decision-making
to install wind farms. Baban and Parry (2001) set 14 criteria (including slope, land use, and
historic site) based on data collection from literature review and questionnaires to identify
the suitable location of wind farms in the United Kingdom by using weighted overlay analysis
in GIS. In the same way, Janke (2010) applied multi-criteria GIS modelling to find the best
location for wind farms in the State of Colorado, U.S. The criteria involved the wind potential;
distance to cities and roads; and population density, all collected from the geospatial
databases. The data were converted into raster data and overlaid to suitability map located
in north-eastern Colorado. According to the previously mentioned factors, Van Hoesen and
Letendre (2011) added new criteria such as new ecological and economic aspects to reduce
the total cost and avoid bird migration. The visual impacts of wind turbines in State of
Vermont were taking into consideration as another critical factor of view added by Van
Hoesen and Letendre (2010). Rodman and Meentemeyer (2006) used certain rules in GIS
modelling approach to determine the suitability map of wind farms in Northern California,
U.S. The factors were classified into three categories, being physical, environmental and
socio-economic. In south-western Taiwan, they used similar approach to locate wind turbines
(Yue and Wang, 2006). In Egypt, Effat, H., (2014) had two types of factors. First factors
contained wind speed, elevation of zones to get wind power density and the second factors
included economic factors such as distance from roads, power lines, and urban areas.
Table 1. Study areas, modelling approaches and factors adopted by studies on land suitability for wind
energy development (modified from Szurek et al., 2014).
City Source Approach Factors
Western Aydin et al., Multi-criteria Distance to: natural reserves, large cities, from towns,
Turkey 2010 decision-making distance from airports, noise, from lakes and wetlands,
with fuzzy set theory wind power.
United Baban and Multi-criteria Slope, distance to water bodies, historical sites, urban
Kingdom Parry, 2001 analysis & areas, roads and railways, land use and the presence of
questionnaire important ecological areas
Colorado, Janke, 2010 Multi-criteria Wind potential, distance to transmission lines, distance
U.S. analysis to cities, population density, distance to roads, land
cover, federal land
Northern Rodman Rule-based spatial Physical criteria: wind speed, forest density, valley slope
California, and analysis and distance to ridge; Environmental criteria: vegetation,
U.S. Meentemey endangered plant species and wetlands; Human impact
er, 2006 criteria: urban areas and recreation areas
Red Sea Effat, 2014 The Analytical First factors are wind speed, elevation zones used to
Governora Hierarchy Process derive the wind power density.
te, Egypt Second factor is economic factors involved distances
from urban areas, roads and power-lines.
Third, land constraints were derived from the evaluation.
Poultney Van Hoesen GIS-based overlay Wind potential, view shed for visual impact including
Valley, and analysis heights of canopy, slopes and elevation
Vermont, Letendre,
U.S. 2010
In this paper Land Suitability Analysis, based on Geographic information system (GIS),
will be applied in Egypt to identify the suitable place for wind farm. By using Geographic
information system, the identifying suitable land based on current land use maps, water
network system maps, climate maps within maximum temperature and minimum
temperature, rain fall time, wind speed maps, wind direction maps, humidity and bird
migration. Every map of this information has different raster layers with another scale. The
urban planner could not combine with two different units of raster layer such as: raster of
ground water in (m3/year) within raster of climate (m3/year). The selection of the suitable
land for Wind Farm is based on: Wind Resources, Roughness of the terrain and obstacles,
Road Access, Orography of the region, Accessibility to transmission and/or distribution
networks, Soil Conditions, and Environmental Impacts Obviously (Baban& Parry, 2001).
Methods
Description of the Suez Governorate, Egypt
Suez governorate coastline is located on the northern part of the Gulf of Suez between
latitude 29° 58' 25.36"N and Longitude 32° 31' 34.57" E. The Suez Governorate is bordered
from the north by Governorate of Ismailia, north Sinai Governorate, from the south by Red
Sea Governorate, from East bounded by South Sinai governorate, and from West bounded by
Cairo Governorate and Giza Governorate. The area of the governorate is 10,056.43 miles. The
weather condition in Suez is known by a desert climate. In Suez, there is almost no rainfall
during the year. The Suez governorate is identified by a dominantly hot and windy climate. In
Suez city, the average temperature is 22.7°C. The annual relative humidity is 53.5%. The
annual evaporation is 9.6 mm per day. The wind speed in some zones reach 7.9 m/sec, and in
other zones may reach 11.7 m/sec which is high potentials for Wind Energy. The average of
rainfall is 20 mm. May is the driest month and has 0 mm of precipitation. Rainfall starts in
Figure 1. Suez Governorate of Egypt Map
Power Lines Effat, H. Ease in connection of electricity Vector 250 m around Power
(NARSS) (Line) lines
Cities & Urban Effat, H. To reduce visual and noise Vector 2000 m around Cities
settlements (NARSS) impacts (Point)
Urban Areas and Cultural Sites Proximity and Setback: According to the CNdV Africa report
(2006), the legacy sites as civilized and historical value with provincial or national name are
clarified. These types of sites are categorized as educational amenities that must be protected
carefully. Willamson and Bartnicki (2012) granted a 550-m setback for historic areas,
recreational and urban. For the present study, historic sites used a setback of 1000 m however
for the cities growth expansion a setback of 2000 m where used.
Slopes: Bartnickiet Williamson (2012) and Luo et al. (2007) reported that the probability of
the turbine failure is increasing when the slope is higher than 9 dgrees as it is difficult for the
wind to hit the rotor of the turbine perpendicularly at the summit of steep. Therefore, if the
slope of exceeded 5 degrees this will harvest a high turbulent wind pattern causing instability
in the wind turbine. In addition, the project cost highly increases if the buildings are on high
slopes. Baban and Parry (2001) suggested that the terrain or zone must be flat or rounded to
be able to tolerate high wind speeds. The classification of the slope was most suitable for 5
degrees; marginally suitable less than 10 degrees and slopes more than 10 degrees are totally
unsuitable.
Ecological and Social Factors (Exclusion Zones/Constraints): Social and ecological evaluation
criteria could be factors or constraints. A constraint is restrictedly inappropriate zone for
installing wind turbines. According to Bennui et al. (2007), for protecting effect, it is excluded
on communities, environment, eco-conversation and visualization. Moreover, according to
Effat and Hegazy (2013) and Effat (2014) constraint standard has assigned as a threshold.
Shoreline Setback: The Wind farms must be far away from any residential areas. Moiloa (2009)
and DEAP (2006) suggested the distance for the wind farm is to be far away from the coast
for about 4 km. Around the shoreline, identical buffer zone was applied taking in
consideration the paths for bird flight and future marine activities for tourism.
Figure 3. Spatial patterns of suitability scores for each criterion (exclusionary area excluded).
Conclusion
The awareness of using wind energy production has increased that as a clean alternative to
non-renewable energy. This paper used the land suitability analysis conducted by the
geographical information systems (GIS), in which multi criteria could be used to identify the
appropriate locations of wind farms in Suez Governorate, Egypt. Different variables affecting
the presence of wind farms could be added and overlaid in GIS including wind speed maps,
wind directions map, and topography maps. The criteria depended on physical and socio-
economic factors to find suitable lands to locate wind farms including the population density,
land use, slopes, distance to roads, wind speed and transmission lines. The factors also include
ecological purpose that not to be located near cities and airports. The results showed that
548 and 2002 square kms of the total area were extremely suitable and highly suitable
respectively. The central and northeast parts of Suez Governorate of Egypt have showed to
be the most suitable locations for wind farms development.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Hala Effat for supporting the research with the
needed available data.
Abstract: Faced by global challenges brought on by climate-change and over-reliance on fossil fuels, more people
are looking towards developing energy systems characterised by renewables. Community energy groups have
been identified as key stakeholders who could play a strategic role in enabling the transition to a clean and
affordable energy supply. Acting as a contact for local energy consumers they can help residents engage with
energy matters by harnessing local natural resources to build social capital, creating revenue to address
community needs and combating fuel poverty. As these groups are defined by the communities in which they
exist, public participation and engagement is vital to their success. The extent of community involvement could
include identifying needs, generating solutions, seeking funding and managing assets to enable positive socio-
economic impacts. In this paper, the authors examine how a community energy group in Nottingham adopted
a model of local energy generation and storage to improve their energy security and to reduce fuel poverty.
Results indicate that the use of various engagement strategies provides opportunities to encourage active
discussions, explain processes and gather feedback. The regular planning of these sessions helps to maintain
momentum, enthusiasm and commitment and encourage wider participation as the project progresses.
Introduction
Globally, there is a growing shift towards sustainable development to tackle heavy
dependence on finite natural resources. Due to fossil fuels contributions to global warming
and environmental pollution, a reduction in their use is marked as one of the key targets of
the sustainability movement (United Nations, 2015). So far, major efforts have involved the
setting of global low-carbon goals such as the Paris agreement of December 2015 which aims
to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate-change and adapt to its effects (United
Nations, 2017). Even so, the success of this and similar global goals depends on their regional,
national and local implementation. In the European Union (EU), the Renewable Energy
Directive was established to create a policy that would require the EU to fulfil at least 20% of
its energy needs with renewables by 2020 through the implementation of individual national
targets. As part of this and other national initiatives, the United Kingdom (UK) aims to achieve
a national target of 15% by 2020 (Department of Energy and Climate Change, 2010, p.5). With
the onset of the UK’s departure from the EU (Prime Minister's Office, 2017), it is anticipated
that the government and other stakeholders will continue to be supportive of long-term
global, regional and national energy goals that enable the development of an independent
and sustainable energy sector. One of the most effective ways of doing this could involve
enhancing the UK’s energy policy agenda for energy security through the development of
resilient local energy systems.
Introduction
This paper develops a new methodology on scenario building within a Living Lab approach to
achieve Energy Transition towards a low carbon urban environment. Scenario tools are
already recurrently used in urban planning and design, in circumstances where it is important
to take a long-term view of techno-social developments and related strategies. It is also useful
when there are a limited number of key factors influencing appropriate strategies, and a high
level of uncertainty about such influences (van Timmeren et al., 2011). Scenarios build
plausible views of different possible futures for relevant actors based on groupings of certain
key social, spatial and environmental influences and drivers of change. The result is a limited
number of logically consistent yet different scenarios that can be considered alongside each
other (Ibid).
Although in recent years scenario planning and scenario modelling have become more
common (Schoemaker, 2004; Mehaffy, 2015), particularly in support of visioning processes
(Lemp et all, 2008; Bartholomew 2005), a Living Lab Approach (LLA) implies the necessity of
far-reaching interdisciplinary integration and active participation of the different actors. In
the reconfiguration of urban areas, a number of actors is involved with different ideas of the
future. What is needed, is a scenario based method that allows to set common objectives and
Figure 1. HQ Masterplan 2014. Hochschulgebiet Zurich-Zentrum Schlussbericht Vertiefungsthema
Energieversorqung (2015)
These needs have to be balanced with the use of green spaces that are of great
relevance for the area already, while the spatial transformation also has to go hand in hand
with new energy solutions and set strict goals regarding energy performance. In this already
challenging situation of high competition between different functions and their spatial use,
the additional challenge is to meet the 2000 Watt Society urban goals. Furthermore, at the
other (higher) administration levels, the energy policy commits to a challenging switch in the
energy mix from nuclear power production to renewable energy generation by 2050. The HQ
transformation takes this into account, although the potential to employ new energy sources
and infrastructures has to be tied to a century-old distribution network as well. Besides, it
Figure 3. View of the design project developed by Team Gigon / Guyer, in the design competition in 2015
Figure 3. Scenarios matrix for the HQ
Discussion
A numerical analysis of the energy performance of the four descriptive/qualitative scenarios
will be carried out in a second stage of the SPAGERCY research, providing the final assessment
for comparison of the scenarios on a quantitative base. However, some preliminary
conclusions can be drawn and factors of influence can be found by extrapolating the partial
results presented in this paper.
The deductive construction of the four scenarios highlights the connections between the
cooperation of types of land use and the availability of space for energy production. Where
the integration of functions balances the energy demand, this also potentially decreases the
competition for space. Furthermore, the introduction of microclimatic measures needs some
more elaboration in the construction of a knowledge basis, since it seems there is little
Conclusions
The application of the DOS method has showed its capacity to support complex multi-actor
process of spatial-energy transformation by helping in setting common transition objectives,
sharing and creating a multidisciplinary common ground, and exploring alternative spatial and
energy performative visions. In the evaluation phase of the method and its application in the
Zurich LL, the four visions have been considered a fundamental contribution for the body of
information and knowledge developed, and consistent in terms of description regarding the
relations between the energy impact factors and processes. Quantitative indicators will be
used in a second phase to calculate the balance between energy demand and on site
production (normative value).
The authors and the other researchers involved in the process point out that the
relatively limited number of actors that participated in the workshop can not be considered
sufficiently representative. The difficulties regarding the involvement are related with a
variety of cognitive limitations in dealing with uncertainty and complexity in scenario building,
pointed out by Schoemaker (2005). In the case of Zurich, the high political sensitivity
regarding the area, the request to discuss possible futures in a small setting and unusual
framework in this context were the key elements that led to limited participation of the
invited actors.
For this reason, a new phase has been planned to involve more stakeholders in the
evaluation of the visions developed during the workshop by experts, making use of a
interviews method. This additional implementation part in the hybrid DOS method is planned
for the coming months, and aims to overcome the described shortcoming.
References
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Amara, R. (1981). The futures field: searching for definitions and boundaries. The Futurist, 15 (1), 25–29.
Andersson
Borjeson et al. (2006). Scenario types and techniques: Towards a user's guide. Futures.
Carsjens, G. (2009). Supporting strategic spatial planning: Planning support systems for the spatial
planning of metropolitan landscapes. Wageningen
Dreborg, K.H. (2004). Scenarios and Structural Uncertainty: Explorations in the Field of Sustainable
Transport. Stockholm: Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm.
Kahn, H., Wiener, A.J. (1967). The Year 2000: A Framework for Speculation on the Next Thirty-Three Years,
Macmillan, New York.
Lemp et al. (2008). Visioning versus modelling. Journal of Urban Planning and Development.
Manzini, E. (2008). Scenarios of sustainable ways of living. Blog Ezio Manzini. Milano, 1-9.
Mehaffy, M.W. (2015). Urban form and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Findings, strategies, and Design
Decision Support Technologies. A+BE | Architecture and the Built Environment
Sager-Klauß, C.V. (2016). Energetic Communities: Planning support for sustainable energy transition in
small- and medium-sized communities. A+BE | Architecture and the Built Environment
Schoemaker, P.J.H. (2004). Forecasting and scenarios planning. The challenges of Uncertainty and
Complexity
van Notten, P.W.F., Rotmans, J. (2003). "An updated scenario typology." Futures 35(5): 423-443.
van Timmeren, A., van Bauer, P., Silvester, S. (2011) Smart Use of Storage Potentials of Electric Vehicles
for Renewalbe Energy Generation in the Built Environment; a Design Scenario, Proceedings World Conference
Sustainable Building, Helsinki.
Introduction
As part of the Future City Glasgow demonstrator project on Energy Efficiency (Energy
Efficiency Demonstrator, 2017), Glasgow City Council (GCC) had chosen to develop a process
for producing Opportunity Maps for urban renewable energy schemes. This was intended
to be a concrete example of how technology could help make life in the city smarter, safer
and more sustainable. Opportunity Maps would become publicly available tools which
would help to identify land where community renewables projects could most easily be
developed, and to give a guide to the kinds of challenges which might apply there; this
should avoid wasted effort during the normal technical development and planning control
stages of a project.
GOMap was developed to be a reusable method to estimate energy yields, evaluate
potential constraints and have these displayed on an interactive map. The methodology
was established through considering the potential for deploying renewable technologies on
vacant and derelict land (VDL). This is land that at one time had been used for housing or
industry, and so would be classed as a priority for being put to productive use; renewable
energy generation is one – though not the only - possible use. Beyond the household level,
the Scottish Government has set a target of 500 megawatts of community and locally-
owned renewable energy to be deployed by 2020 (Scottish Government: Renewable Energy
for Communities, 2013).
Figure 1. Grid system showing 2 sets of overlapping cells resulting in cells containing data from both.
GOMap
QGIS was used to build the interactive tool, GOMap. Geospatial and attribute data are
stored in shapefiles and become “layers” when imported into GOMap. Layers can be
combined, filtered and used in calculations; in Figure 2, a colour coding was used to show
the geographical variation in scoring - darker shades represent increasing levels of difficulty.
Interface
GOMap provides a dynamic interface allowing users to continuously update the opportunity
map in real-time by switching any constraint layer on or off. Acreage and energy yield
statistics are calculated based on the selected constraints and reported to the user:
Figure 3. GOMap interface showing context layers for Glasgow.
Results
GOMap calculated the land availability and solar energy yield for Glasgow in terms of both
citywide (Figure 4) and vacant and derelict land (Figure 5). It was shown that the amount of
land dictated as being possible for solar PV deployment was 2.9 x106 m2 or 285 ha. Using
the lenient method and making the assumption that each solar panel has an area of 20 m2
and the energy yield for one panel is 3018 kWh/yr, then the total number of panels and
annual energy yield were found to be 142,708 and 344.55 MWh/yr respectively. Assuming
the average house in Scotland consumes 5000 kWh/yr, the number of houses that could be
supplied energy from the solar panels equates to 68,910.
Figure 5. GOMap interface showing opportunity for vacant and derelict land.
Conclusion
GOMap has been developed to support informed decisions concerning the siting of
community scale renewable energy systems. The tool was developed for freestanding solar
photovoltaic (PV) farms in Glasgow’s Vacant and Derelict Land (VDL). GOMap was designed
to accommodate other energy systems in other geographies. The development process for
this project involved close collaboration between the planning experts in GCC providing
greater credibility to GOMap. It was implemented as an interactive Geographic Information
System, running on a freely open source application, QGIS.
The tool illustrated how individual and combined scores could vary spatially across
Glasgow, which would allow the user to examine overall suitability of a site in question and
be able to extract detailed information. Each individual factor and combined score was
displayed in layers all of which were based on a 50 x 50 m grid across the city. For some
issues, data existed in order for it to be mapped across Glasgow while others required a
detailed survey of individual sites.
Different combination methods were applied which generated different perceptions
concerning the size of the opportunity available. The stringent method applied the highest
score for any individual layer as the combined score and resulted in 15.7 % of the VDL area
as technically favourable and 7.8 % as politically possible; the recommended lenient method
summed the individual factor scores and displayed 42.9 % as technically favourable and
46.8 % as politically possible. Both methods could be used depending on whether the user
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Clarke, J. A., Evans, M. S., Grant, A. D., & Kelly, N. (1997). 'Simulation Tools for the Exploitation of
Renewable Energy in the Built Environment: The EnTrack-GIS System'. 5th Conf. International Building
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energy potential with a GIS tool: Case study Iowa'. Energy Policy, 45, 73-85.
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power in Brazil: Political, social and technical issues'. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 39, 828-834.
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m164474@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
3 Graduate school of engineering, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan,
ttanaka@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Abstract: Islands in Japan have local declining problem due to the population decreasing and the aging. On the
other hand, island in Seto Inland Sea have rich natural resources, mild climate, and vast farmland, so they have
high potential for using renewable energy. This study compares the supply potential of renewable energy and
the energy demands of the houses targeting Osakishimojima. On the supply side, as an energy potentials
considered local characteristics, 4 types of energies are calculated by using GIS. On the demand side, the total
heat and electric are calculated by estimating the heating load and cooling load, and lighting and consumer
electronics load and hot-water load by using simulation tools. Based on these result, the energy potential in
target area is clarified, and the feasibility of Zero Energy Island (ZEI) is evaluated. As a result, the following were
revealed. 1) In the target island, solar energy has high potential due to mild climate with many sunny days. 2)
Comparing biomass energy, potential of the pruned branches is higher because of vast orchard. 3) The potential
of renewable energy exceed the energy demands by combining the four types of energy in the target island. (ZEI
is feasible)
Introduction
In many islands of Japan, the population decreasing and the aging are progressing, and they
cause various problems. On the other hand, the islands of the Seto Inland Sea have rich
natural resources such as forests, mild climate, and vast farmland, so they have high potential
for using renewable energy. Therefore, this study estimates the energy demands of the
houses in the island and the supply potential of renewable energy and compares them
targeting Osakishimojima located in the Seto Inland Sea (Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture).
Based on the results, this study also evaluates the feasibility of energy independence.
Research outline
Flow of this study
The steps of this study are as follow.
1) Estimation of energy demands in the island
2) Estimation of the supply potentials of renewable energy
3) Evaluation of the renewable energy use potential.
cogeneration
cogeneration
cogeneration
cogeneration
solar power
small hydropower
Next, by using the results of this study, the supply potential of renewable energy and
the energy demands are compared in the target area. As for woody biomass energy, there
are two ways to use that are the pellet stove and gasification cogeneration. As a result of
estimating the supply potential by the two cases, in either case the supply potential of both
heat and electric power exceeds the energy demands and energy independence in the target
area seems to be feasible. Considering that surplus electricity can be sold, it is preferable to
supply by cogeneration for both thinned and pruning branches. Fig. 7 shows the supply-
demand balance in the case of cogeneration of both thinned wood and pruned branch.
35000
30000
25000
(GJ/year)
20000
15000
10000
5000
0
supply demand supply demand
heat electric
forest utilization pruning branches solar
small hydropower heating hot water
cooling lighting
Note
Table. 5 shows Nomenclature of equation (1) to (12).
Table 5. Nomenclature
Gt Annual available woody biomass quantity by forest utilization (t/year)
A Total forest area of the zone to be logged (ha)
B The age of the forest to be cleared (years)
C Forest volume of logging forest (m3)
D Forest area of logging forests (ha)
E Cut clearance rate (%)
F Dry specific gravity (0.6 t/m3)
Wtp Heat supply available amount by pellet stove (GJ/year)
Ht Calorific value of hardwoods (18.017GJ/t)
I Thermal efficiency of pellet stove (66%)
Wth Heat supply available amount by cogeneration (GJ/year)
J Thermal efficiency by gasification (40%)
Wte Electric power supply available amount by cogeneration (GJ/year)
K Power generation terminal efficiency (20%)
Gp Annual available woody biomass quantity (t/year)
L Orchard area (ha)
M Pruned branch of oranges per unit of discharge (t/ha/year)
Wpp Heat supply available amount by pellet stove (GJ / year)
Hp Calorific value of pruned branch (7.95 GJ/t)
N Availability rate of pruned branch (76.4%)
Wph Heat supply available amount by cogeneration (GJ / year)
Wpe Electric power supply available amount by cogeneration (GJ/year)
EH Heat supply available by using solar heat (GJ/year/door)
AS Solar collector area (6 m2)
Hθ Solar radiation at optimum tilt angle (kWh/year)
a Heat collecting efficiency of solar heat (0.4)
ES Electricity supply potential by solar power generation (GJ/year/door)
b Overall efficiency by solar power generation (0.084)
P Power generation by small hydropower (kW)
Q Flow rate (m3/s)
H Heading difference (m)
c Overall efficiency of small hydropower generation (0.72)
Epm Annual power generation capacity (GJ / year)
D Facility utilization of small hydropower generation (55%)
Introduction
Smart city has been becoming nowadays a popular topic that not only in developed countries
but also in developing countries. There are a variety of definitions for smart city in different
fields and regions. Generally, it aims for a sustainable city development through the optimal
management of the resources and potential, offering a comprehensively high quality life to
the citizens (I. Vassileva, 2016).
To deal with the environmental and energy problems caused by urbanization, the
planning of area energy system is one of the most important issues. Rather than the high
efficient energy system design in a single building, the urban energy planning needs to
improve its existing system while putting forward new system in a cooperative way. The
technologies or policies should be decided based on other related energy elements, like the
city infrastructure (the energy supply from the generation to demand side), the distribution
of natural energy potential (related to renewable energy) and urban structure (effect to
demand side and infrastructure development). Instead of one single solution, urban energy
technical packages, dealing with the environmental degradation should be an optimal
approach, with synergies among various elements and energy solutions.