Geoffrey van Moeseke

Personal Environmental Control Systems (PECS) have been identified as a means of reducing energy consumption in buildings and increasing occupant thermal comfort. However, the deployment of these systems in real-world scenarios remains constrained, and to date, there has been a lack of research addressing the barriers to their implementation. Thus, the objective of this study is twofold: firstly, to assess the acceptability rate and, secondly, to make a preliminary determination of the barriers to the use of this equipment. In order to achieve this objective, 36 participants, ranging in age from 20 to 79, were invited to test a Multiple Heating Device (MHD) in a semi-controlled laboratory setting. The participants were then invited to express their opinions on the device during a semi-structured interview. The declared acceptability rate is 80,55\% and the most significant barriers are: a) the fear of feeling cold once out of the MHD, b) the lack of an encompassing warm, c) the incompatibility with meetings and d) a preference for clothing. Furthermore, the acceptability rate, thermal acceptability vote, thermal comfort vote and thermal sensation vote were found to be lower among the elderly compared to the younger participants.

Personal Comfort Systems (PCS) are good candidates for reducing energy consumption in buildings and increasing occupant comfort. However, their deployment in real-world situations is limited, and to date there are no studies discussing the barriers to their deployment. The objective of this study is therefore to determine the barriers to the acceptability of this equipment. To do this, 36 participants aged 20 to 79 tested an Multiple Heating Devices (MHD) and were able to express their opinions on it during a semi-structured interview. The most significant barriers are the fear of feeling cold once out of the MHD, the lack of an encompassing warm and a preference for clothing. In addition, older people reported lower acceptability and thermal comfort provided by the MHD.

Domestic heating is a major contributor to energy consumption and must be minimised to achieve climate targets. Building on the concept of addressing the distinct heating needs of individuals and buildings separately, the Slowheat project implemented a three-year transdisciplinary real-world laboratory focusing on adaptive heating practices. This initiative involved 23 households in Brussels, Belgium, in a collaborative exploration of the sufficiency of heating: minimising heating while meeting needs for comfort. Starting with a mean thermostat setting of 19°C, participants reduced their indoor temperature to a long-term mean close to 15°C thanks to adequate warming of individuals through personal comfort systems, clothing and physiological adaptation. It resulted in a 50% reduction in heat consumption, without an increase in electricity consumption. These results exceed those of similar published experiments. The qualitative analysis highlights the multiple dimensions of social practices related to heating and underscores the key influence of control and comfort in sustaining significant temperature reduction. Policy relevance This paper presents the findings of the Slowheat project, which engaged 23 households in the Brussels-Capital Region over three years around the idea of ‘heating people, not buildings’. The subgroup involved in the quantitative analysis achieved a reduction in heating consumption close to 50%, without an increase in electricity consumption and with normalised indoor temperatures around 15°C. The results indicate that the potential for reducing energy consumption through changes in domestic heating practices is greater than previously documented in the literature, at least among climate-conscious and educated individuals. A co-creation approach was used. Key factors are highlighted that facilitated or inhibited the adoption of a sufficient heating practice. In doing so, it provides a framework for scaling up the Slowheat project. Furthermore, this shows the need for individuals to gain greater control over their indoor environments. Four dimensions of control are emphasised, including the crucial aspect of social norms, for which policy instruments may play a role.

While the potential impact of climate change mitigation measures is well documented in building sciences literature, there are only relatively sparse studies focusing on the efficiency of adaptation strategies. This paper aims to contribute to this topic by evaluating the extent to which the design of a typical nearly Zero Energy Buildling (nZEB) house in Wallonia (Belgium), and its current operation, could provide summer thermal comfort in a changing climate. Based on calibrated whole building energy simulations, and on the integration of future climate data directly derived from a high-resolution climate model, this study evaluates the potential evolution of overheating risks in the living room and in the main bedroom of the house. Discussing the compliance with existing overheating criteria, the study shows that the passive strategies currently deployed in the house might not be sufficient to guarantee summer thermal comfort especially in the bedroom, and that other strategies might be necessary in the future to limit the use of active cooling systems and curb their environmental impacts. This study concludes that considering the potential of these strategies to guarantee summer thermal comfort in a changing climate should be a priority for the design of nZEB houses (and their related policies) also in temperate oceanic climates.

This study investigated the impact of the design of wall systems, mainly made of compressed earth blocks (CEB), on the indoor thermal comfort of naturally ventilated housing in hot climates of Burkina Faso. Conventional housing was modeled and calibrated using the WUFI^® Plus dynamic simulation tool based on typical field surveys and the literature. This allowed testing the ability of different wall designs to impact thermal comfort. Thermal discomfort was assessed through an adaptive approach and was based on the annual weighted exceedance hours of overheating. Six designs of walls made of CEB and other locally available materials were simulated and compared to those made of classical hollow concrete blocks. The results of the simulation reveal that the profiles of thermal discomfort vary depending on the wall designs and building spaces. Thus, the wall made, from the outside toward the inside surface, of plywood of 2 cm, an insulation layer of 5 cm and a CEB layer of 29 cm thickness is the most suitable for an annual reduction in overheating for the living room. Regarding the bedroom, the most suitable wall is made of a 14 cm CEB layer, 5 cm insulating layer and 2 cm wood layer from the outside toward the inside surface.

The potential of carbon dioxide emissions mitigation in the building sector can be achieved through energy policies, progressive goals, and support systems to attain sustainable constructions that guarantee the reduction of emissions. Net-Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) is a concept that allows moving forward to neutralize buildings’ carbon emissions. This has been demonstrated by more industrial countries which have set goals and challenges to progressively approach an energy neutrality balance for buildings. Therefore, the target of this research is to define a framework for a new standard to reach NZEB in Chile. Firstly, an exhaustive review of the energy policies, NZEB definitions, and components of an NZEB system took place. Secondly, focus group discussions with local and international professionals from the building sector were organized to define a vision, opportunities, and potential measures with a focus on policies, to implement and develop local technologies for NZEB buildings in Chile. The study identifies the need to advance public policies to achieve an integrated policy for the implementation of energy neutral concept buildings. Finally, the paper presents a NZEB standard framework, including key performance indicators and suggested performance metrics thresholds.