Constructive Retrofit Guidelines for Social Housing Buildings in Beira Interior Region, Portugal, for Actual and Future Climate Scenarios

Abstract

An important part of the Portuguese social housing building stock is unappropriated regarding the actual regulation and resident’s comfort requirements, which are expected to increase due to the impact of climate change. Beira Interior region in Portugal is one of the fewest Portuguese zones that presents both winter and summer most severe scenarios in many places. Future climate scenario projections for this region indicate more aggressive summer seasons, with the occurrence of heat waves becoming more significant, while winter seasons are expected to maintain a rigorous profile. The present article, which reflects the work still in progress, presents the development of a proper methodology for social housing retrofit in Beira Interior region for present and projected climate scenarios under Portuguese realistic cooling/heating habits of occupants. It focuses on monitoring internal temperatures in order to understand actual dwellings performance considering occupant behaviour, along with the construction of a dynamical multi-zone model for dynamical thermal simulations. Comparing the results with appropriate thermal comfort standards, proper retrofit measures will be identified and tested. Therefore, it is aimed the accomplishment of constructive retrofit guidelines, which are expected to be valuable tools for stakeholders interested in the retrofit of the Portuguese social housing stock.