Abstract
Overheating in buildings is identified as an essential cause of several problems ranging from thermal-discomfort and productivity reduction to illness and death. The aim of this study is to assess the overheating risk in dwellings considering the diversity in dwelling designs and operations as well as the expected changes in climate. The overheating risk in thousands dwelling cases is assessed for current and future climate scenarios by using high-resolution dynamic thermal modelling and a new-defined performance indicator called indoor overheating degree (IOD). The dwelling cases represent 9,216 possible combinations of archetypes, orientations, fabric-characteristics, shading options, ventilation rates, internal-heat gains, and adaptation opportunities consistent with the characteristics of the Dutch dwelling stock from 1964 to 2012. The results show that for a given climate scenario, there is a significant difference in overheating risk in dwellings. The difference will increase in the future as global warming continues mainly because of the reduction in natural cooling potential. Dwellings with high solar-heat gains (e.g., detached houses with a large inefficient-shaded glazing area) and/or with low-heat transmissions (e.g., highly-insulated/small-facade apartments) are at higher risk of overheating than others. Adaptation interventions should be taken quickly for protecting those more sensitive dwelling to climate change.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the Conference on Healthy Building Europe 2015, May 18-20th 2015, Eindhoven, The Netherlands |
| Place of Publication | Eindhoven |
| Pages | 1-9 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
