Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting containment measures have shown that energy consumption in buildings is linked to several factors, such as living habits, occupancy profiles, and heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. This paper addresses the influences of such factors on energy consumption in a residential building, analysing different scenarios (pre-COVID-19, lockdown, post-COVID-19), in terms of discomfort and energy needs, through the new hourly calculation method (UNI EN ISO 52016). Energy and environmental effects were studied in a real case study near Rome by varying occupancy profiles, lighting and appliance schedules, and HVAC systems. Results show that, during the heating period, the lockdown scenario led to the lowest hours of discomfort (−29% on average), but the highest in the cooling period (up to +154%, +28% on average). The same scenario led to reasonable reduction of energy needs for heating (−14%), but also highlighted a significant increase (+60%) for the cooling period. This study underlines how the pandemic has influenced the energy and environmental behaviours in buildings. Moreover, the new hourly calculation method points out the importance of analysing HVAC systems, in terms of hours of discomfort, which could provide results that are more reliable.
Highlights
Growing attention on energy consumption in the building sector, and efforts made to reduce it have led, throughout the years, to a decrease in energy intensity
The comparison between hours of discomfort, energy consumption, and environmental impacts related to different human habits, pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic, requires a methodology that considers different scenarios, changing the significant parameters related to these aspects
Energy simulations were performed by setting the three profiles defined in the previous section with the aim of analysing their impacts on: 1
Summary
Growing attention on energy consumption in the building sector, and efforts made to reduce it (especially in most developed countries) have led, throughout the years, to a decrease in energy intensity. The final energy use per m2 (which is a measure for the energy intensity) has been decreasing by a yearly rate of 0.5% to 1% since 2010. This virtuous trend has not pair with the average annual floor area growth, which has remained around 2.5% since 2010 [1]. This means that energy efficiency measures (for new and renovated buildings) proceed slower than floor area expansion. For the HVAC systems, the efforts in promoting (on an average global level) heat pumps, renewable energy systems (RES), efficient electric technologies, and district heating are struggling, in regard to substituting fossil fuel-based assets (including boilers, furnaces, and cook stoves) [1]
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