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Due to climate change conditions, natural ventilation potential may reduce over the years and increase dependence on HVAC systems. Moreover, occupants' behaviour regarding natural ventilation is a significant parameter affecting the thermal-energy performance of residential buildings as people tend to occupy their homes differently depending on their life, work and cultural routines. Therefore, in this study, the thermal-energy performance of a Global South (GS) housing case study located in Brazil was assessed in a future weather context. This paper included two major steps: (1) Optimization procedure to create optimized models based on different occupancy patterns; and (2) Parametric analysis to explore the building's thermal-energy performance for a given constructive design option, occupant behaviour and weather data. The optimization procedure included a multi-objective optimization based on the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) to minimize discomfort hours and cooling energy demand, while parametric analysis explored the occupants' behaviour varieties derived from alternative occupancy patterns, ventilation availabilities and HVAC operation modes. The obtained future context simulation results indicated an increase in discomfort hours and cooling energy demand, while the most appropriate architecture design might vary depending on the occupancy behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent dramatic growth of the building sector's energy consumption to provide thermal comfort to consumers, the constraints of climate change and the scarcity of energy supplies have necessitated a wiser and more effective reduction in the amount consumed. As a result, phase change materials (PCMs) have attracted much interest as latent heat thermal storage systems in recent decades. This paper aims to explain the possibility of using PCMs in buildings by establishing an overall conceptual framework for the processes of selecting and integrating PCMs in building sector applications. Moreover, it leads to a comprehensive matrix that identifies the best and most common type of material for each building's component, as well as its temperature and thickness properties, its thermal impact, and the most popular integration techniques. The findings show paraffin as the major used type in all building components, while salt hydrate is employed in facades. The most prevalent incorporating technique is macro-encapsulation, which prevails in most building components with its direct effect on cooling and heating applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the implication of present and future bioclimatic potential of passive heating and cooling design strategies for climate change scenarios of five locations covering all climate zones of India. Weather data for future climate change were developed for A2 (medium-high) scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for four time slices, namely TMY (Typical Meteorological Year), 2020, 2050 and 2080. A case study residential building was used for calibration and validation of the bioclimatic potential using EnergyPlus simulation. Results show a strong correlation between the annual bioclimatic summer and winter discomfort hours and the corresponding annual cooling and heating energy load for the changing climate scenarios. Results also show an overall increase in annual cooling energy load, over and above the base case, ranging from 18% to 89% among the five cities in 2020; 32% to 132% in 2050 and 58% to 184% in 2080 if residential buildings continue to be operated in the same manner as it is done today without passive strategies. The use of passive strategies may reduce the annual cooling load by about 50%– 60% in residential buildings in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including health and wellbeing, low-carbon buildings and climate change.

This study focused on enhancing the balance between sufficient daylighting and heat mitigation in lecture halls, set within the challenging hot-arid climate of Saudi Arabia, through the optimization of window designs and the incorporation of light-shelves. To achieve this, a combination of in-detail Parametric Sensitivity Analyses (PSA) was performed in the first stage to find the best configuration of windows, while a multi-objective optimization (MOO) strategy was applied in the second stage considering multiple objectives in each stage. Before running both analyses, the simulation model was validated by field measurement. The optimization results show that the optimal window configurations obtained through PSA and MOO offer significant potential for improving daylighting performance, energy efficiency and comfort. In terms of the overall best solutions from PSA and MOO, the PSA demonstrated substantial improvements, with Useful Daylight Illuminance (UDI) rising by 46.31% to 55.36%, glare decreasing by 52.17% to 82.61% and Energy Use Intensity (EUI) improving by 0.89% to 2.63%. Additionally, MOO solutions yielded even more significant enhancements, increasing UDI by 43.58% to 58.37%, reducing glare by 95% to 100% and enhancing EUI by 1.81% to 3.88%. This has resulted in a more evenly distributed and efficient daylighting throughout the space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the performance of a newly developed air conditioner which can produce different airflow modes such as dynamically changed simulated natural wind (SNW) and constant mechanical wind (CMW). Climate chamber experiments were conducted to study the demand for air movement and to compare effects of SNW and CMW on human subjects’ thermal comfort perception in warm environment. The results indicate that it was possible for subjects to remain comfortable at 28℃ and 30℃ with a suitable air velocity range of 0.4–0.6 and 0.7–0.9 m/s, respectively. Compared with CMW, SNW produced stronger cooling effect and induced better perceived thermal comfort voting from human subjects. Over 60% of these subjects preferred SNW to CMW. These experimental findings would serve as a reference for the design of more energy saving space conditioning systems in warm climates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historic settlements adapting to local climate and geographical environment contain rich and precious scientific design concepts, which should be investigated extensively. This paper is a study on the sustainable design and planning experiences of Chinese historic settlements. In this study, the thermal environment of Jin-Jiang-Li village with ‘comb-like’ layout in the southern China was simulated to evaluate the interactions between layout, landscape design, and ambient environment. The study has illustrated that the layout as well as the presence of water and vegetation would have an obvious-reducing effect and could play a very important role in improving the microclimate of historic settlements. The findings of our study have an essential practical significance for creating modern sustainable human environments and adapting to the changing modern climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concrete core cooling system is an energy efficient alternative to the conventional mechanical cooling system. It provides better comfort due to direct absorption of radiation load, low indoor air velocity, apt vertical temperature gradient and absence of noise. It can be operated at relatively higher water temperature, which facilitates the use of passive cooling strategies. In this study, a cooling tower, which is an ‘evaporative cooling system’, is preferred over other passive cooling options due to its better cooling performance in dry regions and its ability to operate all through the day. This paper presents the results of computational fluid dynamic analysis of a room cooled by concrete core cooling system supported by a cooling tower. The study reveals that for a typical hot–semiarid summer climatic condition in India, the system reduces the average indoor air temperature to a comfortable range of 23.5 to 28℃ from an uncomfortable range of 35.3 to 41℃ in a building without cooling. The average predicted percentage of dissatisfied falls from 99.7% in a building without cooling, to 37.3% if roof and floor of a building are cooled with concrete core cooling system and further to 6.3% if all surfaces are cooled with concrete core cooling system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the energy-saving potential of free cooling and demand-based ventilation with chilled beam system. In the analysis, four beam concepts were considered: standard, self-regulating, free cooling and demand-based ventilation chilled beam systems. The self-regulating chilled beam system utilizes high temperature water for cooling and there is no need for regulation valve. The inlet water temperature is close to room air temperature (20–22℃) and the room air temperature is allowed to vary between 21 and 25℃. The free cooling for the inlet water is provided by the preheat coil of the air handling unit. The introduction of demand-based ventilation further increases the energy efficiency. Energy consumption of the robust self-regulating system is slightly higher than with traditional chilled beam system: self-regulating system keeps the room air temperature lower than with traditional beam system. With free cooling, it is possible to save about 15% of the delivered energy compared with the standard beam system. With the occupancy rate of 60%, energy consumption is reduced by 36% with demand-based ventilation, respectively. When both free cooling and demand-based ventilation are used with 60% occupancy rate, the energy consumption is 44% lower than with the traditional beam system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making cities smarter and more competitive is one of the major challenges of climate change and energy security. Smart city initiatives have arisen Europe-wide to help cities to start planning their future in a new way to become more sustainable and resilient. New business models need to be investigated to foster local business development, innovative local administrations and industries, valorize the cultural heritage and the research outcomes and promote community’s participation. This transition is even more complex and necessary for sparsely populated regions with poor infrastructures in the buildings, manufacturing and transport domains and with a multi-layer local governance (e.g. Italian Towns, Provinces and Region). In this case, a widespread concept of smart city can be applied proposing systematic strategies for urban innovation with a regional-wide perspective. This paper focuses on a coordinated project aimed to promote smartness among local areas in a small region in Southern Italy (Basilicata). The ‘Smart Basilicata’ project constitutes a unique example in which, by working together, multi-layer public authorities, private enterprises, research organizations and universities drafted the basis for a regional strategy for smart-related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although urbanization has deeply changed farmers' livelihoods, the improvement of their adaptation to climate change is not yet particularly clear, due to many interactive pressures and complex differences in farmers' livelihood strategies. This study uses 2-year household survey panel data from Na'Yong and Zhen'Xiong in southwest China, both of which are typically affected by meteorological disasters. First, we constructed a multi-dimensional induction of sensitivity indicators. Then, we divided farmers' livelihood strategies and identified their sensitivity levels. Finally, we extracted the typical characteristics of farmers' livelihood strategies that contribute to low sensitivity. The research shows that although non-agricultural labour can improve the income level of farmers, there is no clear positive relationship between farmers' income and their sensitivity. Levels of sensitivity depend not only on the risk of farmers with a higher exposure to the natural environment but also on the ability of farmers to disperse and avoid natural risks. Livelihood strategies with lower sensitivities have three main characteristics: diversification, marketization and ecological sustainability. This study provides a practical basis for the sustainable livelihood of farmers in the context of climate change and attempts to provide a reference for other developing countries towards the end of achieving ecological poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advanced naturally ventilated systems based on integration of basic natural ventilation strategies such as cross-ventilation and stack effect have been considered to be a key element of sustainable design. In this respect, there is a pressing need to explore the potential of such systems to achieve the recommended occupant comfort targets throughout their lifetime without relying on mechanical means. This study focuses on use of a windcatcher system in typical classrooms which are usually characterized by high and intermittent internal heat gains. The aims of this paper are 3-fold. First, to describe a series of field measurements that investigated the ventilation rates, indoor air quality, and thermal comfort in a newly constructed school located at an urban site in London. Secondly, to investigate the effect of changing climate and occupancy patterns on thermal comfort in selected classrooms, while taking into account adaptive potential of this specific ventilation strategy. Thirdly, to assess performance of the ventilation system using the newly introduced performance-based ventilation standards for school buildings. The results suggest that satisfactory occupant comfort levels could be achieved until the 2050s by a combination of advanced ventilation control settings and informed occupant behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas emissions are causing global average temperatures to rise, and Finland will experience an increase in the frequency and severity of hot weather and heatwaves in the future. Finnish buildings are built for the cold, and there is a need to adapt housing to protect against heat. This study examines how individual and combinations of passive adaptations can reduce overheating in three modern structural timber case study apartments in Jyväskylä, central Finland. The modelling tool IDA Indoor Climate and Energy is used to simulate indoor temperatures and energy consumption under current and predicted typical future (2030, 2050 and 2100) climates. Results show increasing overheating risks in the future, with the effectiveness of passive mitigation strategies varying by type and climate scenario. The most effective individual adaptation is daytime natural ventilation, while the most effective combined solution is natural ventilation and external shutters, which eliminate overheating in Jyväskylä until the 2100s. The effectiveness of occupant-controlled passive measures supports their use to reduce cooling demand, increasing passive survivability and enabling occupant adaptive comfort. Changes to building regulations and overheating modelling standards in Finland may be required to exploit the full potential of passive overheating measures and reduce reliance on active systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change will likely put dwellings at risk of overheating and potentially increase cooling demand in the decades ahead, leading to higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to the energy consumed for mechanical cooling. Contemporary constructions with highly insulated fabric have been found to suffer from periodic overheating in today's climate, the occurrence of which is projected to increase in frequency as the temperature rises. This critical review investigates the factors affecting overheating risks in dwellings and passive cooling strategies to mitigate overheating impacts on occupant thermal comfort and wellbeing. The cooling efficiency of passive strategies is affected by the design, construction and operation of buildings, as well as climate and occupancy. A framework has been developed to illustrate the effect of overheating factors on the cooling efficacy of passive strategies. Findings suggest that a combination of passive strategies is required to minimise overheating risks by the 2080s. External solar shading is the most effective method for retrofitting insulated dwellings. On the other hand, cool paint is ideal for uninsulated dwellings. In addition, thermal mass and natural ventilation require occupant interaction for optimal air circulation and cooling performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal performance of buildings highly depends on the climate conditions, which have given rise to several traditional and modern climate-conscious strategies. However, these strategies might need to be modified to cater for global warming. This research considers the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) to predict the effectiveness of one such strategy, that is, natural ventilation for the year 2100 for the tropical island of Mauritius. A total of 3 regions (Port Louis, Vacoas and St Pierre), each with distinctive micro-climates, were selected to assess the thermal discomfort levels under future climate scenarios (RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5). The results show that, in 2100, discomfort levels during occupancy periods will increase by a maximum of 15% in Port Louis, while the other 2 regions will have an increase of 11%, under the worst scenario, while using natural ventilation. Results, thus, establish that natural ventilation will not be efficient under the impact of climate change, although varying for different climate conditions. This research indicates that there is a need to shift from natural ventilation as traditional cooling method to other energy driven method such as Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning (HVAC system) and hybrid mixed-mode systems for future climate change adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the effects of climate change on building indoor thermal conditions is of importance for providing a comfortable thermal environment for occupants. Some multi-family dwellings have already been listed as heritage in China (hereinafter referred to as heritage apartments), limiting modifications to the building envelope. However, the effect of climate change on thermal comfort in heritage apartments with a compact interior (i.e. without a living room) built before the 1980s in different Chinese climate zones has seldom been studied. This study focuses on the current and future thermal comfort in two-bedroom heritage apartments in China. The study was conducted for two different Chinese climate zones, that is, a cold climate zone (Beijing), and a hot summer and cold winter climate zone (Shanghai) and both current climate scenarios (typical meteorological years) and future climate scenarios (2050) were used. The results indicate, among other things, increases of 58%–60% and 41%–44% in the predicted average number of overheating hours in 2050 compared to the current climate for the studied bedrooms on the first floor in dwellings in Beijing and Shanghai, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social housing sector is playing an important role in Brazil, due to the necessity of its expansion. Currently, many residential projects perform poorly in terms of energy efficiency and thermal comfort. In addition, the impact of climate change on energy consumption may aggravate the energy scenario, increasing the dependence on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. In parallel to this, there is a growing adoption of the Structural Concrete Insulated Panels (SCIP) and insulated concrete form (ICF) in the Brazilian construction industry, due to their advantages in reducing construction time, and cost. Therefore, this study provides a discussion on thermal-energy performance focusing on parametric analysis of the SCIP and ICF wall systems adoption for social housing in Brazil. Due to the fact that building performance is heavily affected by weather conditions, this study evaluated the computer simulation of the thermal-energy performance of SCIP and ICF wall systems for hot climates while addressing the impacts of climate change. The city of Rio de Janeiro, characterized by the tropical climate was selected, and the Climate Change World Weather File Generator (CCWorldWeatherGen) tool was used to produce weather data for future climate scenarios, such as 2020, 2050 and 2080. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both housing structure and occupant use of homes influence health outcomes and carbon emissions. However, it remains unclear how these elements interact. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 technical experts in the New Zealand housing and health sectors. We applied the general inductive method for qualitative data analysis and generated frameworks for 'housing structure' and 'occupant behaviour' including: (i) issues or barriers, (ii) solutions or facilitators and (iii) potential interventions. Addressing the location, aspect and design of the house were seen to offer the greatest gains in energy efficiency, indoor temperature and air quality. Insulation, heating and ventilation were the most critical technologies for promoting health. Raising consumer expectations of housing standards was thought to be critical to boost demand and drive supply for better quality housing. Participants proposed that sharing personal stories, combining information with active strategies (demonstration, skill rehearsal) and providing incentives were promising strategies to realise the full potential of health-enhancing home design. Schools and the local community were identified as suitable settings. We conclude that public health interventions should not only aim to build homes that maximise health and environmental outcomes but must also pay attention to how occupants behave and interface with their houses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overheating in buildings is one of the increasing concerns related to climate change and can lead to an increase in heat-related health issues and higher energy consumption due to the use of air conditioning systems. Literature shows that internal conditions and demand on environmental control systems can vary with height within buildings. However, an architectural trend towards highly glazed façades for tall buildings suggests the vertical gradient of performance is not always considered in the design process. By simulating a high-rise residential building in London, a comparative analysis of the overheating risks and daylighting at different levels in the building was conducted. In this study the model was able to consider the influence of surrounding built environment on solar gain and so influence of urban location on overheating risk was taken into account. Simulations were conducted using typical reference years as well as meteorological data for specific heat-wave periods experienced in London and that are expected to become more intense and frequent due to climate change. Passive mitigation options (external shading) are demonstrated to help reduce overheating occurrence by 74%, at the same time the impact of decreased daylighting (30%) is less problematic at higher levels where daylight factor is greater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, urban climatic factors are seldom taken into account in urban planning and urban management due to the lack of basic data, as well as practical evaluation tool to bridge the gap between climatic data and urban planning. Comprehensive surveys were performed to determine residential environment factors, such as urban thermal comfort environment, urban air quality, urban wind environment and urban short-term heavy precipitation disasters, at community scale. A standard of urban climate environment map and an atlas of climate environment in the typical cities were then compiled to encourage urban environmental adaptation. The state council has approved the "China's National Plan on Climate Change (2014-2020)"[20] in 2014, with the goal of reducing CO SB 2 sb emissions per unit GDP by up to 45% by 2020, limiting the energy- and emission-intensive industries, promoting the utilization of new energy sources and improving adaptation to climate change. [Extracted from the article]

Stakeholders, researchers and designers apply different overheating metrics because they follow different comfort theories or comply with different regulations and standards. As a result, there is no common ground for generalization, intercomparison and final concordance of their conclusions. Correlation of indices would simplify the analysis being conducted during the design (optimization process) or operational (comfort assessment) phase of buildings. This research compares and statistically correlates results of seven widely used long-term overheating indices on four ‘free-running’ representative dwellings and characteristic climatic conditions of central Europe (Denmark, United Kingdom, Austria and France). Different renovation steps and passive cooling strategies were applied on these case studies creating 66 variants for comfort assessment. The analyses were conducted with the use of a dynamic energy performance engine and widely accepted calculation methods and statistical tools. The statistical analyses show that dynamic indices originate from the same adaptive comfort theory directly related with each other. In addition, it is possible to create general and widely applied relationships between static overheating indices independently of the case study and climatic condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The roof reflectance surface and skylight shade reflectance are two significant factors affecting air-conditioning energy consumption and indoor lighting in a single-storey large volume building, such as a railway station. Based on qualitative analysis on the effect of cool roof on building performance, a model of a large tall railway station built in the software EnergyPlus was verified by field data. The model was applied to analyse the effect of cool roof reflectance and skylight shade reflectance on the installed capacity of air-conditioning system, lighting energy consumption and indoor thermal comfort under different climates. The results show that the high reflectance surface of opaque cool roof is beneficial by reducing the energy consumption for indoor cooling and the installed capacity of air-conditioning system and improve the indoor thermal comfort in summertime. However, the opposite is true in wintertime, and this could consequently lead to more annual energy consumption. The high reflectance of skylights could reduce the energy consumption for cooling in summer and limit the energy consumption for heating and lighting in winter, thus reducing the annual energy consumption by a large amount. This study indicates that the local climates and the inherent characteristics of roof structure should be considered in the practical use of cool roof technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a major sector contributing to the UK’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, housing is an important focus of government policies to mitigate climate change. Current policy promotes the application of a variety of energy efficiency measures to a diverse building stock, which will likely lead to a wide range of unintended consequences. We have undertaken a scoping review identifying more than 100 unintended consequences impacting building fabric, population health and the environment, thus highlighting the urgent need for government and society to reconsider its approach. Many impacts are connected in complex relationships. Some are negative, others possibly co-benefits for other objectives. While there are likely to be unavoidable trade-offs between different domains affected and the emissions reduction policy, a more integrated approach to decision making could ensure co-benefits are optimised, negative impacts reduced and trade-offs are dealt with explicitly. Integrative methods can capture this complexity and support a dynamic understanding of the effects of policies over time, bringing together different kinds of knowledge in an improved decision-making process. We suggest that participatory systems dynamics with multi/inter-disciplinary stakeholders is likely to offer a useful route forward, supporting cross-sectorial policy optimisation that places reducing housing GHG emissions alongside other housing policy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of climate change to the world of indoor construction. According to the authors, the requirements for resources as well as the way of constructing homes and working spaces alter as the climate changes. They believe that such phenomenon will further restrict the air movements which will create additional indoor air pollution. Aside from that, buildings will have to be weather proof as a result of inclement weather and related conditions which depicts more spending. Experts emphasize that the design of a building and the population size are important factors to be considered in indoor construction.