Operational Energy in Historic Religious Buildings: A Qualitative Approach

Étienne Berthold (), Kim Pawliw, Mathieu St-Pierre, Francis Pronovost and Léa Méthé
Additional contact information
Étienne Berthold: Department of Geography, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Kim Pawliw: Department of Geography, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Mathieu St-Pierre: Department of Geography, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
Francis Pronovost: Écobâtiment, Québec, QC G1R 2T9, Canada
Léa Méthé: Écobâtiment, Québec, QC G1R 2T9, Canada

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 21, 1-21

Abstract: Typically, operational energy is approached and evaluated from a quantitative point of view and, to a large extent, according to life cycle assessment (LCA). This article seeks to develop a qualitative approach to assess the past operational energy of a historic religious building in the province of Quebec, Canada. We propose a method for determining the past thermal sensation of individuals residing in a monastery by evaluating this sensation using the thermal sensation vote (TSV) related to the predicted mean vote (PMV). Doing so allows us to infer the operational temperatures and setpoints, providing an additional indicator of energy consumption. The proposed method is based on the identification and analysis of individual perceptions contained in archive documents, facilitating the reconstruction of the expressed thermal sensation and of a TSV index. The method is deployed on a prospective basis, enabling the creation of a chronological series designed to exhaustively document the thermal sensation during heating periods. This article contributes to discussions among critics who have observed a mismatch between TSV indices and PMV parameters and prognosis. It also brings us closer to a finer understanding of thermal comfort and the use/consumption of operational energy in historic religious buildings.

Keywords: operational energy; qualitative method; thermal sensation vote (TSV); predicted mean vote (PMV); historic religious building (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/21/9438/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/21/9438/ (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:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:21:p:9438-:d:1510342

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

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