<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The main objective of this article is to demonstrate that passive energy refurbishment interventions influence comfort conditions of households for both cold and hot annual periods, while they help to avoid or promote temperature-related health risk situations. However, improving the thermal efficiency of the building envelope is encouraged in order to reduce energy demand for heating and cooling instead of considering also their impact on users’ health. The calculation methodology to quantify improvements, on the other hand, is drawn from regulation-based standards, which describe the optimal achievable efficiency levels and energy cost savings. The present study, however, addresses how diverse thermal performance variables are (climate, thermal comfort range and occupancy rate), and shows that different thermal assessment standards influence the obtained results. An energy simulation approach was developed to evaluate different scenarios and compare the results. In conclusion, the results contribute to an understanding or to a discussion of the suitability of current energy renovation policies with regard to indoor thermal comfort and temperature-related health risk situations.</p></abstract>

The main objective of this article is to demonstrate that passive energy refurbishment interventions influence comfort conditions of households for both cold and hot annual periods, while they help to avoid or promote temperature-related health risk situations. However, improving the thermal efficiency of the building envelope is encouraged in order to reduce energy demand for heating and cooling instead of considering also their impact on users’ health. The calculation methodology to quantify improvements, on the other hand, is drawn from regulation-based standards, which describe the optimal achievable efficiency levels and energy cost savings. The present study, however, addresses how diverse thermal performance variables are (climate, thermal comfort range and occupancy rate), and shows that different thermal assessment standards influence the obtained results. An energy simulation approach was developed to evaluate different scenarios and compare the results. In conclusion, the results contribute to an understanding or to a discussion of the suitability of current energy renovation policies with regard to indoor thermal comfort and temperature-related health risk situations.

Relationship Between Energy Demand, Indoor Thermal Behaviour and Temperature-Related Health Risk Concerning Passive Energy Refurbishment Interventions

University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

Environmental and Climate Technologies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The main objective of this article is to demonstrate that passive energy refurbishment interventions influence comfort conditions of households for both cold...

Relationship Between Energy Demand, Indoor Thermal Behaviour and Temperature-Related Health Risk Concerning Passive Energy Refurbishment Interventions

Published Online: Sep 23, 2020

Page range: 348 - 363

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2020-0078

Keywords
Energy demand, energy refurbishment, indoor thermal behaviour, indoor thermal comfort, indoor thermal health risk

© 2020 Matxalen Etxebarria et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Relationship Between Energy Demand, Indoor Thermal Behaviour and Temperature-Related Health Risk Concerning Passive Energy Refurbishment Interventions

Published Online: Sep 23, 2020

Page range: 348 - 363

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2020-0078

KeywordsEnergy demand, energy refurbishment, indoor thermal behaviour, indoor thermal comfort, indoor thermal health risk

© 2020 Matxalen Etxebarria et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Energy demand, energy refurbishment, indoor thermal behaviour, indoor thermal comfort, indoor thermal health risk