The Adaptive Comfort Factor in Evaluating the Energy Performance of Office Buildings in the Mediterranean Coastal Cities

Abstract

This paper examines the thermal comfort conditions during summer and winter in an existing office building in an urban context. It investigates and correlates the results obtained from a questionnaire survey, conducted during summer and winter, with the two comfort models – for mechanically ventilated spaces and non-mechanically ventilated ones - in order to determine the most appropriate one for the energy performance evaluation of the office buildings in the coastal Mediterranean region. The study is carried out within the framework of the Urban Europe project Smart Urban Isle and it specifically refers to the Cyprus case study. The project considers the bioclimatic design of the buildings and of their urban environment, as well as potential energy management systems, in order to define and evaluate urban isles as a basic unit of energy measurement for Smart Cities. The Cyprus case study focuses on the impact of the thermal comfort Standards on the energy performance evaluation of the buildings and it promotes the sustainable and energy efficient design by selecting the most appropriate Standard to assess the thermal comfort for occupants.