Influence of Adaptive Comfort Models in Execution Cost Improvements for Housing Thermal Environment in Concepción, Chile

Alexis Pérez-Fargallo, Carlos Rubio-Bellido and Inmaculada Gallego-Maya
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Alexis Pérez-Fargallo: Department of Building Science, University of Bio-Bio, Concepción 4030000, Chile
Carlos Rubio-Bellido: Department of Building Construction II, University of Seville, 41012 Seville, Spain
Inmaculada Gallego-Maya: Department of Building Construction II, University of Seville, 41012 Seville, Spain

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Most of the operational energy needed by the housing sector is used to compensate energy losses or thermal gains through the building’s envelope. As a result, any improvement in the thermal behavior will provide important opportunities to reduce energy consumption. This research analyzes improvements in the thermal envelope in social housing in the Greater Concepción area in Chile using adaptive thermal comfort models and thermal insulation investments. The objective set out is to evaluate the economic reduction of thermal envelope improvement costs for dwellings, which entails using the adaptive thermal comfort model obtained through monitoring and the surveys applied to the users of social housing in Concepción (CAS), against the international adaptive thermal comfort models established by the EN 15251:2007 and ASHRAE 55-2017 standards. Finally, it is concluded that, on having applied the social housing adaptive thermal comfort model (CAS), execution costs are reduced by between 28.8% and 58.2%, reaching a time of comfort in free oscillation similar to that obtained from applying the models of the EN 15251:2007 (74.2%) and ASHRAE 55-2017 standards (59.9%).

Keywords: energy efficiency; adaptive comfort; social housing; thermal environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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