Exploring Climate-Change Impacts on Energy Efficiency and Overheating Vulnerability of Bioclimatic Residential Buildings under Central European Climate

Luka Pajek,Mitja Košir

doi:10.3390/su13126791

Abstract

Climate change is expected to expose the locked-in overheating risk concerning bioclimatic buildings adapted to a specific past climate state. The study aims to find energy-efficient building designs which are most resilient to overheating and increased cooling energy demands that will result from ongoing climate change. Therefore, a comprehensive parametric study of various passive building design measures was implemented, simulating the energy use of each combination for a temperate climate of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The approach to overheating vulnerability assessment was devised and applied using the increase in cooling energy demand as a performance indicator. The results showed that a B1 heating energy efficiency class according to the Slovenian Energy Performance Certificate classification was the highest attainable using the selected passive design parameters, while the energy demand for heating is projected to decrease over time. In contrast, the energy use for cooling is in general projected to increase. Furthermore, it was found that, in building models with higher heating energy use, low overheating vulnerability is easier to achieve. However, in models with high heating energy efficiency, very high overheating vulnerability is not expected. Accordingly, buildings should be designed for current heating energy efficiency and low vulnerability to future overheating. The paper shows a novel approach to bioclimatic building design with global warming adaptation integrated into the design process. It delivers recommendations for the energy-efficient, robust bioclimatic design of residential buildings in the Central European context, which are intended to guide designers and policymakers towards a resilient and sustainable built environment.

Highlights

IntroductionSince Neolithic times, the building of homes has provided people with a higher degree of flexibility and independence in terms of climate and consequential habitability
Since Neolithic times, the building of homes has provided people with a higher degree of flexibility and independence in terms of climate and consequential habitability.Shelters and houses offered their occupants protection from the environment, predators and intruders [1]
The conformity with the rules was evaluated for the 1981–2010 period since these are the climate data used in current energy efficiency compliance assessments in Slovenia

Summary

Introduction

Since Neolithic times, the building of homes has provided people with a higher degree of flexibility and independence in terms of climate and consequential habitability. Shelters and houses offered their occupants protection from the environment, predators and intruders [1]. People were no longer forced to migrate towards flourishing regions with pleasant weather as the seasons passed and the climate changed. The best performing building design ideas were passed on, and the knowledge on climate-adapted buildings was passed on intrinsically from generation to generation. Together with the occupants’ and society’s needs and expectations, and the technological know-how about building, form the socalled triquetra of bioclimatic building design [1]. The concept of bioclimatic building design is often associated with the harmonisation of climate, comfort, and energy

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Conclusion