Extending the Thermal Comfort Band in Residential Buildings: A Strategy towards a Less Energy-Intensive Society

Abstract

Extending set-point temperatures in residential buildings has a significant impact on energy demand and thermal comfort. European governments have adopted this strategy to mitigate the energy crisis. Previous studies attempting to quantify energy savings by extending set-point temperatures were limited due to a lack of building stock characterisation, poor climate representation, and the absence of uniformity in the reference set-point temperature. In this study, a large-scale simulation was conducted, which included six building models covering 90% of southern Europe Köppen–Geiger climates, where 20 °C and 25 °C were the reference heating and cooling set-point temperatures, respectively. This also accounted for the thermal characteristics of the older building stock, built more than 15 years ago, and the new buildings built under the latest version of Directive 2010/31/EU. The results show that reducing the heating set-point temperature by 1 °C can lead to an average demand reduction of 20%, while raising the cooling set-point temperature by 1 °C can lead to a 25% cooling demand reduction. The oldest building stock shows a higher absolute savings potential. Adjusting thermostats by 1 °C in Spanish homes during the winter season could represent a saved natural gas volume of 1.8 million normal cubic meters, nearly 40% of the gas demand of households in 2022. These findings suggest that extending the set-point temperatures in residential buildings can be a promising strategy towards a more energy-efficient society without compromising the occupant’s thermal comfort.