Impact of Climate Change: Environmental Assessment of Passive Solutions in a Single-Family Home in Southern Spain

According to the IPCC Climate Change projections by 2050 temperatures in southern Spain will have increased noticeably during the summer. Housing—in its current form—will not be able to provide a suitable response to this new climate scenario, and will in turn prompt an increase in cooling energy consumption and a series of problems relating to health and comfort. The DesignBuilder simulation tool was used to quantify the impact of this future climate scenario on energy demand, as well as its effect under free-running conditions on indoor temperature. Different passive conditioning strategies were evaluated to establish their influence on the indoor comfort conditions. The case study examined a theoretical single-family residential unit model in order to establish guidelines for the pre-selection of the most suitable passive solutions. The results show that passive conditioning strategies analysed (envelope treatment, solar gain protection and night-time natural ventilation) reduce energy demand and indoor temperatures, thus increasing energy efficiency and improving indoor comfort conditions. Therefore, these passive conditioning strategies reduce the cooling energy consumption.

[1]  R. Suárez,et al.  Design and Performance of Test Cells as an Energy Evaluation Model of Facades in a Mediterranean Building Area , 2017 .

[2]  Pablo Aparicio-Ruiz,et al.  Field study on adaptive thermal comfort in mixed mode office buildings in southwestern area of Spain , 2017 .

[3]  F. Ascione.  Energy conservation and renewable technologies for buildings to face the impact of the climate change and minimize the use of cooling , 2017 .

[4]  Masayuki Mae,et al.  Anti-insulation mitigation by altering the envelope layers’ configuration , 2017 .

[5]  Ali Mostafaeipour,et al.  Energy saving evaluation of passive systems for residential buildings in hot and dry regions , 2017 .

[6]  Brent Stephens,et al.  Empirical Operational Energy Analysis of Downtown High-Rise vs. Suburban Low-Rise Lifestyles: A Chicago Case Study , 2016 .

[7]  Yoshiki Yamagata,et al.  Roof ponds as passive heating and cooling systems: A systematic review , 2015 .

[8]  Dionysia Kolokotsa,et al.  On the impact of urban overheating and extreme climatic conditions on housing, energy, comfort and environmental quality of vulnerable population in Europe , 2015 .

[9]  Pedro M. M. Soares,et al.  Assessing energy savings in cooling demand of buildings using passive cooling systems based on ventilation , 2014 .

[10]  Lin-Shu Wang,et al.  A study of building envelope and thermal mass requirements for achieving thermal autonomy in an office building , 2014 .

[11]  T. Tsoutsos,et al.  Assessing the passive cooling effect of the ventilated pond protected with a reflecting layer , 2014 .

[12]  Yat Huang Yau,et al.  The performance study of a split type air conditioning system in the tropics, as affected by weather , 2014 .

[13]  Sanja Stevanović,et al.  Optimization of passive solar design strategies: A review , 2013 .

[14]  K. Sopian,et al.  A review of energy aspects of green roofs , 2013 .

[15]  Patrick James,et al.  Transforming existing weather data for worldwide locations to enable energy and building performance simulation under future climates , 2013 .

[16]  G. Vanoli,et al.  Green roofs in European climates. Are effective solutions for the energy savings in air-conditioning? , 2013 .

[17]  Mattheos Santamouris,et al.  Passive cooling dissipation techniques for buildings and other structures: The state of the art , 2013 .

[18]  M. Zinzi,et al.  Cool and green roofs. An energy and comfort comparison between passive cooling and mitigation urban heat island techniques for residential buildings in the Mediterranean region , 2012 .

[19]  Christina Diakaki,et al.  Numerical and experimental analysis of cool roofs application on a laboratory building in Iraklion, Crete, Greece , 2012 .

[20]  S. A. Al-Sanea,et al.  Effect of thermal bridges on transmission loads and thermal resistance of building walls under dynamic conditions , 2012 .

[21]  Rasmus Lund Jensen,et al.  Experimental Analysis and Model Validation of an Opaque Ventilated Facade , 2012 .

[22]  C. Ramírez-Balas,et al.  Reducing the Energy Demand of Multi-Dwelling Units in a Mediterranean Climate Using Solar Protection Elements , 2012 .

[23]  Javier Ordóñez,et al.  Energy efficient design of building: A review , 2012 .

[24]  Cristina Sanjuan,et al.  Energy evaluation of an horizontal open joint ventilated façade , 2012 .

[25]  Theocharis Tsoutsos,et al.  On the selection and design of the proper roof pond variant for passive cooling purposes , 2011 .

[26]  E. Blanco,et al.  Energy performance of an open-joint ventilated façade compared with a conventional sealed cavity façade , 2011 .

[27]  Samar Jaber,et al.  Optimum, technical and energy efficiency design of residential building in Mediterranean region , 2011 .

[28]  Robert H. Crawford,et al.  Impact of past and future residential housing development patterns on energy demand and related emissions , 2011 .

[29]  Renato Lazzarin,et al.  Energetic and economic savings of free cooling in different European climates , 2009 .

[30]  Niccolò Aste,et al.  The influence of the external walls thermal inertia on the energy performance of well insulated buildings , 2009 .

[31]  Ho-Tae Seok,et al.  Establishing the Design Process of Double-Skin Façade Elements through Design Parameter Analysis , 2009 .

[32]  T. Reichler,et al.  How Well Do Coupled Models Simulate Today's Climate? , 2008 .

[33]  T. McMahon,et al.  Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification , 2007 .

[34]  M. Santamouris,et al.  A study of the thermal performance of reflective coatings for the urban environment , 2006 .

[35]  Argiris Tzikopoulos,et al.  Modeling energy efficiency of bioclimatic buildings , 2005 .

[36]  Francesco Leccese,et al.  Ventilated facades energy performance in summer cooling of buildings , 2003 .

[37]  M. Santamouris,et al.  Analysis of the green roof thermal properties and investigation of its energy performance , 2001 .

[38]  E. Eumorfopoulou,et al.  The contribution of a planted roof to the thermal protection of buildings in Greece , 1998 .

[39]  Behrouz Mohammad Kari,et al.  Cooling load reduction in office buildings of hot-arid climate, combining phase change materials and night purge ventilation , 2016 .

[40]  L. Cabeza,et al.  Thermal assessment of extensive green roofs as passive tool for energy savings in buildings , 2016 .

[41]  Armando C. Oliveira,et al.  A field study on building inertia and its effects on indoor thermal environment , 2012 .

[42]  David Coley,et al.  Changes in internal temperatures within the built environment as a response to a changing climate , 2010 .

[43]  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS , 2009 .

[44]  D. Rao,et al.  Ditigal simulation of indoor temperatures of buildings with roof ponds , 1983 .