Energy-Efficiency Passive Strategies for Mediterranean Climate: An Overview

Ana Mafalda Matos, João M. P. Q. Delgado and Ana Sofia Guimarães
Additional contact information
Ana Mafalda Matos: CONSTRUCT, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
João M. P. Q. Delgado: CONSTRUCT, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Ana Sofia Guimarães: CONSTRUCT, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-20

Abstract: Among all the activities in a society, construction has a key role in environmental, social, and economic pillars. Construction is also responsible for a considerable amount of waste production, energy consumption, pollutant gas emissions, and consumption of nonrenewable natural resources. Regarding energy consumption, a high demand for building operational energy has been observed in the last decades due to the more demanding requirements of the users with a continuous search for better thermal comfort in their homes, namely in developed countries. In Portugal, for instance, more than 20% of the electricity consumed is related to residential buildings, which is based on CO 2 emissions and other pollutants that negatively affect the environment. Much of this consumed energy is a result of the HVAC systems installed inside buildings to provide users with thermal comfort. One exciting opportunity to mitigate buildings’ operational energy consumption while contributing to thermal user comfort is the use of passive solutions. Even though several passive options are available and constantly under research, their use is still considered limited. This paper overviews and highlights the potential of energy-efficiency passive strategies, namely for Mediterranean-climate countries, where passive solar technologies can be set as a viable solution, as this climate is mainly known for its solar availability (solar hours and solar irradiance). A comprehensive overview of innovative and traditional housing passive solutions currently available is presented and discusses the main advantages, disadvantages, and concerns contributing to the optimal use of climatic conditions and natural resources in those regions.

Keywords: buildings; passive cooling solutions; passive heating solutions; energy efficiency; Mediterranean climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/7/2572/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/7/2572/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:7:p:2572-:d:785082

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().