A Review of Balcony Impacts on the Indoor Environmental Quality of Dwellings

Catarina Ribeiro, Nuno M. M. Ramos and Inês Flores-Colen
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Catarina Ribeiro: CONSTRUCT-LFC, Faculdade de Engenharia (FEUP), Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Nuno M. M. Ramos: CONSTRUCT-LFC, Faculdade de Engenharia (FEUP), Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Inês Flores-Colen: CERIS, DECivil, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 16, 1-19

Abstract: Balconies are an ancient architectural archetype that are being increasingly considered in multi-family buildings of high-density cities. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the impacts of balcony types on the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and energy consumption of dwellings. Of the reviewed studies, 69% were published during the last decade, making it evident that awareness of the positive impact of balcony spaces is continuously increasing. The literature review allowed us to identify three balcony spaces according to their morphology and their boundary system: open balcony (OB), glazed balcony (GB), and eliminate balcony (EB). It was concluded that these balcony types produce relevant impacts in four factors that contribute to the indoor environmental quality: thermal comfort, indoor air quality, visual comfort, and acoustic comfort. Practical design recommendations and constraints were provided according to distinct climatic conditions and building technologies. This review also explored the assessment methodologies used for the optimization of the balconies on the design process. The literature highlighted the lack of a comprehensive study about the impact of balconies in mild and Mediterranean climates, as well as the knowledge limitations concerning the balance between the impacts on IEQ factors.

Keywords: balconies; glazed balconies; residential buildings; comfort; indoor environmental quality; building passive strategies; energy efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:16:p:6453-:d:397248

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