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The study deals with a three-storey log house located in the suburbs of Ljubljana, Slovenia (temperate climate). Firstly, the calibrated thermal model of the log house was defined. The calibrated model had an hourly NMBE between −2.12 % and 1.84 % and a CV(RMSE) between 3.16 % and 3.57 %. Then, the adaptive thermal comfort during the warmer part of the year was assessed according to EN 16798-1 and future climate (SRES A2 scenario). Additionally, various building-related and organisational measures for overheating prevention were evaluated. It was found that the most effective measures to prevent overheating are the organisational measures of shading activation and night ventilation. It was demonstrated that the efficiency of night ventilation would even improve over time. Thus, at the end of the 21st century, discomfort hours could be reduced by 67 % compared to the baseline. In contrast, building-related measures have a significant effect only when combined with organisational measures. Overall, in 2071–2100 adaptive thermal comfort was improved most when the measure of increased thermal insulation was coupled with shading and night ventilation, resulting in 1053 discomfort hours less than the baseline case.

The study aimed to assess the overheating vulnerability of an existing multi-apartment building built in 1971 in Podgorica, Montenegro. The building consists of 80 apartments and is mostly still in its original state. Firstly, the building was modelled in EneryPlus, and a parametric study was performed with jEPlus. The energy need for heating and cooling was simulated using parameters such as thermal insulation level, window properties, external surface solar absorptivity, shading activation set-point, and natural ventilation cooling intensity. Moreover, the energy need was determined for four different climate periods, namely for the current and three future periods up to the end of the 21st century under the RCP8.5 climate change scenario. The total number of building models equalled 648 for each of the four climate scenarios, resulting in 2,592 simulated cases. After that, the overheating vulnerability score was determined using the minimax regret method and cooling energy need as a performance indicator. The best retrofit action was determined by identifying the most favourable combination of the overheating vulnerability and total energy need. The results deliver the appropriate energy retrofit actions to limit the increase in overheating risk and provide for climate change adaptation of the multi-apartment building stock in Montenegro.

The study aimed to develop a holistic, evidence-based calibration strategy and define a hybrid step-by-step methodology for building thermal simulations during the warm season. The methodology was demonstrated using the thermal performance of a naturally ventilated single-family log house in a temperate climate. The calibration process was supported by on-site measurements of indoor thermal conditions and occupant behavioural reports between April and July. Hybrid calibration methodology combines statistical indicators, such as NMBE, CV(RMSE), and R2, and a graphical evaluation of the deviation between the simulated and measured values. After 28 proposed calibration steps, a final calibrated model predicted the actual thermal response of the log house with an accuracy of ±1°C at 71.6% or ±2°C at 98.4% of the considered time. The results showed that occupant-related information, material properties and infiltration rates are crucial to improving the reliability of building thermal models. Moreover, in the calibration process of log houses, appropriate determination of building envelope materials' thermal conductivity, wood's solar absorptivity, and airtightness showed high importance. The study highlights the importance of calibration for reliable building thermal models, specifically in overheating prevention simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality of indoor environment as well as energy consumption in buildings are a growing concern in the context of overheating of buildings, as the EU legislation is primarily focused on heating season. The statistical data of EU have shown that there is already a large amount of buildings not comfortably cool during summer and the trend is increasing. Therefore, the main goal of this paper is to evaluate the influence of high intensity passive cooling as one of the passive solutions for overheating of buildings on the overall thermal response of building envelope systems. Specifically, a variety of multi-layer external walls during realistic summer time conditions of Central European climate were considered. For this purpose, a finite element method was used to simulate the non-stationary thermal response of several heavy weight and light weight external wall constructions. The results have shown that indoor air change intensity as well as internal heat gains have a significant impact on heat flow through the building envelope. Clear difference in thermal behaviour was detected between light weight and heavy weight envelope systems, as a consequence of different thermal mass and thermal insulation position. While the results of the conducted study represent guidelines to architects, designers, investors and other stakeholders in building industry, the growing popularity of light weight constructions, especially in residential buildings, dictates further research of building envelope configurations and passive cooling system impact on the thermal response of constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most children in early childhood spend approximately one third of the day in kindergartens. Therefore, it is essential that their stay in an educational institution is comfortable and without adverse health effects. Statistical data over the last decade show that the amount of enrolled children in kindergartens has increased. The problem of overcrowded kindergartens is usually solved by changing the existing norms for class sizes, or with alternative spaces that do not serve the original purpose. According to EU Directives, kindergartens are among building facilities that have to be renovated. The purpose of the paper was to analyse sanitary-technical and hygienic conditions of the selected playrooms of kindergartens and to define measures. Real-state conditions were evaluated in 35 playrooms of 16 kindergartens in the Central Slovenian region. The main emphasis was on the used materials, their cleaning capability, room acoustics, natural daylight, safety and comfort issues, as well on their possible adverse health effects. The combination of observation, measurements and calculations of reverberation time, and comparison with regulation demands was carried out. In many playrooms sanitary-technical and hygienic conditions did not fulfil regulation demands. Irregularities are mainly related to improper installation of final coverings, to low parapet heights and total opening area of windows, poor hygienic conditions, and selection of materials that may present health risks. Calculated and measured reverberation times deviated from optimal values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is expected to expose the locked-in overheating risk concerning bioclimatic buildings adapted to a specific past climate state. The study aims to find energy-efficient building designs which are most resilient to overheating and increased cooling energy demands that will result from ongoing climate change. Therefore, a comprehensive parametric study of various passive building design measures was implemented, simulating the energy use of each combination for a temperate climate of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The approach to overheating vulnerability assessment was devised and applied using the increase in cooling energy demand as a performance indicator. The results showed that a B1 heating energy efficiency class according to the Slovenian Energy Performance Certificate classification was the highest attainable using the selected passive design parameters, while the energy demand for heating is projected to decrease over time. In contrast, the energy use for cooling is in general projected to increase. Furthermore, it was found that, in building models with higher heating energy use, low overheating vulnerability is easier to achieve. However, in models with high heating energy efficiency, very high overheating vulnerability is not expected. Accordingly, buildings should be designed for current heating energy efficiency and low vulnerability to future overheating. The paper shows a novel approach to bioclimatic building design with global warming adaptation integrated into the design process. It delivers recommendations for the energy-efficient, robust bioclimatic design of residential buildings in the Central European context, which are intended to guide designers and policymakers towards a resilient and sustainable built environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]