IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v210y2018icp152-166.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Modelling study of the impact of thermal comfort criteria on housing energy use in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Ren, Zhengen
  • Chen, Dong

Abstract

It is an increasing challenge for building designers in the 21st century to provide for thermal comfort at minimum energy cost by taking into consideration both the current and the future warming climate. Most previous studies have focused on thermal comfort in non-residential buildings under current climatic conditions. This study evaluates the impact of thermal comfort criteria by lowering the acceptability limits on space cooling energy requirements for Australian residential buildings, under both the current and projected future climates (with an assumed global warming of 2 °C) through building simulations using three different types of typical building constructions – lightweight, heavyweight, and a combination. The results show that under both current and future climates, relaxing thermal comfort criteria by lowering the acceptability limits from 90% to 70%, has a small or minor impact on space cooling energy consumption for the heavyweight and combination type construction in the subtropics (Brisbane), warm temperate (Sydney), temperate (Melbourne) and cool temperate (Hobart) climate regions. However, it has significant impact on space cooling energy consumption (saving more than 40%) in tropical regions (e.g. Darwin) and regions with a hot summer climate (e.g. Alice Springs and Mildura). For the lightweight type construction under the current climate, relaxing the acceptability limits will increase the energy star rating by 3.6 stars in Darwin, 0.5 star in Mildura, 0.3 star in Alice Springs and 0.2 star in Brisbane. Under the projected future climate, relaxing the acceptability limits to 70% will increase the energy star rating by 1.6 stars in Darwin, 1.2 stars in Brisbane, 0.7 star in Alice Springs and 0.3 star in Mildura. It was also found that for all the climates, relaxing the acceptability limits from 90% to 80% has greater impact than that from 80% to 70%. By relaxing the acceptability limits, the space cooling energy consumption can be minimized in tropical and subtropical regions for high set lightweight houses.

Suggested Citation

  • Ren, Zhengen & Chen, Dong, 2018. "Modelling study of the impact of thermal comfort criteria on housing energy use in Australia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 152-166.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:210:y:2018:i:c:p:152-166
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.10.110
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261917315581
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.10.110?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Singh, Manoj Kumar & Mahapatra, Sadhan & Atreya, S.K., 2011. "Adaptive thermal comfort model for different climatic zones of North-East India," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(7), pages 2420-2428, July.
    2. Ogbonna, A.C. & Harris, D.J., 2008. "Thermal comfort in sub-Saharan Africa: Field study report in Jos-Nigeria," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(1), pages 1-11, January.
    3. Romero, Ramona A. & Bojórquez, Gonzalo & Corral, María & Gallegos, Ricardo, 2013. "Energy and the occupant’s thermal perception of low-income dwellings in hot-dry climate: Mexicali, México," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 267-270.
    4. Tzivanidis, C. & Antonopoulos, K.A. & Gioti, F., 2011. "Numerical simulation of cooling energy consumption in connection with thermostat operation mode and comfort requirements for the Athens buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(8), pages 2871-2884, August.
    5. Yao, Runming & Liu, Jing & Li, Baizhan, 2010. "Occupants' adaptive responses and perception of thermal environment in naturally conditioned university classrooms," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 1015-1022, March.
    6. Ren, Zhengen & Paevere, Phillip & McNamara, Cheryl, 2012. "A local-community-level, physically-based model of end-use energy consumption by Australian housing stock," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 586-596.
    7. Taleghani, Mohammad & Tenpierik, Martin & Kurvers, Stanley & van den Dobbelsteen, Andy, 2013. "A review into thermal comfort in buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 201-215.
    8. Indraganti, Madhavi, 2010. "Thermal comfort in naturally ventilated apartments in summer: Findings from a field study in Hyderabad, India," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 866-883, March.
    9. Al-Sanea, Sami A. & Zedan, M.F., 2008. "Optimized monthly-fixed thermostat-setting scheme for maximum energy-savings and thermal comfort in air-conditioned spaces," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(5), pages 326-346, May.
    10. Yang, Liu & Yan, Haiyan & Lam, Joseph C., 2014. "Thermal comfort and building energy consumption implications – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 164-173.
    11. Ren, Zhengen & Paevere, Phillip & Grozev, George & Egan, Stephen & Anticev, Julia, 2013. "Assessment of end-use electricity consumption and peak demand by Townsville's housing stock," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 888-893.
    12. Oliveira Panão, Marta J.N. & Camelo, Susana M.L. & Gonçalves, Helder J.P., 2011. "Assessment of the Portuguese building thermal code: Newly revised requirements for cooling energy needs used to prevent the overheating of buildings in the summer," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 3262-3271.
    13. Liang, Han-Hsi & Lin, Tzu-Ping & Hwang, Ruey-Lung, 2012. "Linking occupants’ thermal perception and building thermal performance in naturally ventilated school buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 355-363.
    14. Peeters, Leen & Dear, Richard de & Hensen, Jan & D'haeseleer, William, 2009. "Thermal comfort in residential buildings: Comfort values and scales for building energy simulation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(5), pages 772-780, May.
    15. Karunakaran, R. & Iniyan, S. & Goic, Ranko, 2010. "Energy efficient fuzzy based combined variable refrigerant volume and variable air volume air conditioning system for buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 1158-1175, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jonghoon Ahn, 2020. "Performance Analyses of Temperature Controls by a Network-Based Learning Controller for an Indoor Space in a Cold Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-17, October.
    2. Bienvenido-Huertas, David & Sánchez-García, Daniel & Rubio-Bellido, Carlos, 2020. "Comparison of energy conservation measures considering adaptive thermal comfort and climate change in existing Mediterranean dwellings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    3. Jonghoon Ahn, 2022. "A Network-Based Strategy to Increase the Sustainability of Building Supply Air Systems Responding to Unexpected Temperature Patterns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-13, November.
    4. Aiman Albatayneh & Mustafa Jaradat & Mhd Bashar AlKhatib & Ramez Abdallah & Adel Juaidi & Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro, 2021. "The Significance of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort Practice over the Structure Retrofits to Sustain Indoor Thermal Comfort," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    5. Zhang, Sheng & Lin, Zhang, 2020. "Standard effective temperature based adaptive-rational thermal comfort model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    6. Naderi, Shayan & Heslop, Simon & Chen, Dong & Watts, Scott & MacGill, Iain & Pignatta, Gloria & Sproul, Alistair, 2023. "Clustering based analysis of residential duck curve mitigation through solar pre-cooling: A case study of Australian housing stock," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    7. Daniel Sánchez-García & David Bienvenido-Huertas & Mónica Tristancho-Carvajal & Carlos Rubio-Bellido, 2019. "Adaptive Comfort Control Implemented Model (ACCIM) for Energy Consumption Predictions in Dwellings under Current and Future Climate Conditions: A Case Study Located in Spain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-22, April.
    8. Aiman Albatayneh & Dariusz Alterman & Adrian Page & Behdad Moghtaderi, 2019. "The Significance of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort Limits on the Air-Conditioning Loads in a Temperate Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, January.
    9. David Bienvenido-Huertas, 2020. "Analysis of the Impact of the Use Profile of HVAC Systems Established by the Spanish Standard to Assess Residential Building Energy Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-19, September.
    10. Aiman Albatayneh & Dariusz Alterman & Adrian Page & Behdad Moghtaderi, 2018. "The Impact of the Thermal Comfort Models on the Prediction of Building Energy Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, October.
    11. Zhang, Sheng & Cheng, Yong & Oladokun, Majeed Olaide & Huan, Chao & Lin, Zhang, 2019. "Heat removal efficiency of stratum ventilation for air-side modulation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1237-1249.
    12. Sung Hoon Yoon & Jonghoon Ahn, 2020. "Comparative Analysis of Energy Use and Human Comfort by an Intelligent Control Model at the Change of Season," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-15, November.
    13. Jonghoon Ahn, 2021. "Abatement of the Increases in Cooling Energy Use during a Period of Intense Heat by a Network-Based Adaptive Controller," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.
    14. Gupta, V. & Deb, C., 2023. "Envelope design for low-energy buildings in the tropics: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yang, Liu & Yan, Haiyan & Lam, Joseph C., 2014. "Thermal comfort and building energy consumption implications – A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 164-173.
    2. Ning, Haoran & Wang, Zhaojun & Ji, Yuchen, 2016. "Thermal history and adaptation: Does a long-term indoor thermal exposure impact human thermal adaptability?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 22-30.
    3. Zhang, Sheng & Lin, Zhang, 2020. "Standard effective temperature based adaptive-rational thermal comfort model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    4. Buratti, C. & Ricciardi, P. & Vergoni, M., 2013. "HVAC systems testing and check: A simplified model to predict thermal comfort conditions in moderate environments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 117-127.
    5. Zomorodian, Zahra Sadat & Tahsildoost, Mohammad & Hafezi, Mohammadreza, 2016. "Thermal comfort in educational buildings: A review article," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 895-906.
    6. Enescu, Diana, 2017. "A review of thermal comfort models and indicators for indoor environments," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1353-1379.
    7. Guillén-Lambea, Silvia & Rodríguez-Soria, Beatriz & Marín, José M., 2017. "Comfort settings and energy demand for residential nZEB in warm climates," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 471-486.
    8. Sehar, Fakeha & Pipattanasomporn, Manisa & Rahman, Saifur, 2016. "A peak-load reduction computing tool sensitive to commercial building environmental preferences," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 279-289.
    9. Buratti, C. & Palladino, D. & Ricciardi, P., 2016. "Application of a new 13-value thermal comfort scale to moderate environments," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 859-866.
    10. Wang, Zhe & Hong, Tianzhen, 2020. "Learning occupants’ indoor comfort temperature through a Bayesian inference approach for office buildings in United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Xu, Xiaoqi & Culligan, Patricia J. & Taylor, John E., 2014. "Energy Saving Alignment Strategy: Achieving energy efficiency in urban buildings by matching occupant temperature preferences with a building’s indoor thermal environment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 209-219.
    12. Jin Wei & Fangsi Yu & Haixiu Liang & Maohui Luo, 2020. "Thermal Performance of Vertical Courtyard System in Office Buildings Under Typical Hot Days in Hot-Humid Climate Area: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, March.
    13. Yun, Geun Young & Steemers, Koen, 2011. "Behavioural, physical and socio-economic factors in household cooling energy consumption," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(6), pages 2191-2200, June.
    14. Alimohammadisagvand, Behrang & Jokisalo, Juha & Sirén, Kai, 2018. "Comparison of four rule-based demand response control algorithms in an electrically and heat pump-heated residential building," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 167-179.
    15. Naja Aqilah & Hom Bahadur Rijal & Sheikh Ahmad Zaki, 2022. "A Review of Thermal Comfort in Residential Buildings: Comfort Threads and Energy Saving Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-23, November.
    16. Tzivanidis, C. & Antonopoulos, K.A. & Gioti, F., 2011. "Numerical simulation of cooling energy consumption in connection with thermostat operation mode and comfort requirements for the Athens buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(8), pages 2871-2884, August.
    17. Nutkiewicz, Alex & Mastrucci, Alessio & Rao, Narasimha D. & Jain, Rishee K., 2022. "Cool roofs can mitigate cooling energy demand for informal settlement dwellers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    18. Yu, Xinqiao & Yan, Da & Sun, Kaiyu & Hong, Tianzhen & Zhu, Dandan, 2016. "Comparative study of the cooling energy performance of variable refrigerant flow systems and variable air volume systems in office buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 725-736.
    19. Chuan Chen & Mengshu He & Zihan Chu & Lishi He & Jiale Zhu & Yuan Bu & Jiangjun Wan & Lingqing Zhang, 2022. "Field Study on Indoor Thermal Environments of Monastic Houses and Thermal Comfort of Monks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.
    20. Prativa Lamsal & Sushil Bahadur Bajracharya & Hom Bahadur Rijal, 2023. "A Review on Adaptive Thermal Comfort of Office Building for Energy-Saving Building Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-23, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:210:y:2018:i:c:p:152-166. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.