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The main objective of this article is to demonstrate that passive energy refurbishment interventions influence comfort conditions of households for both cold and hot annual periods, while they help to avoid or promote temperature-related health risk situations. However, improving the thermal efficiency of the building envelope is encouraged in order to reduce energy demand for heating and cooling instead of considering also their impact on users’ health. The calculation methodology to quantify improvements, on the other hand, is drawn from regulation-based standards, which describe the optimal achievable efficiency levels and energy cost savings. The present study, however, addresses how diverse thermal performance variables are (climate, thermal comfort range and occupancy rate), and shows that different thermal assessment standards influence the obtained results. An energy simulation approach was developed to evaluate different scenarios and compare the results. In conclusion, the results contribute to an understanding or to a discussion of the suitability of current energy renovation policies with regard to indoor thermal comfort and temperature-related health risk situations.

The energy poverty derived from socio-economic imbalances affects mostly households with fewer economic resources, being social housing complexes one of the most vulnerable sectors. The insufficient access to energy and the incapability to maintain dwellings at an adequate temperature can have negative impact on people’s health due to the prolonged exposure to poor hygrothermal conditions. Therefore, the prioritization of building retrofitting actions must be carried out regarding the actual state of the housing and the family economy. This paper proposes the definition of a prioritization map that gave a general knowledge of the energy vulnerability situation of the existing building stock. To this end, the dwelling’s energy performance is analysed, focusing on the correlation among its characteristics and the energy vulnerability of its inhabitants. In this way, dwellings with high energy poverty potential are identified in order to develop different energy retrofitting strategies. By applying this method to 14 case studies of social housing in Bilbao, Spain, it was obtained a prioritization map with six levels of vulnerability that can serve as a tool for public entities to design their future strategies. It has been proven that building compactness and year of construction are important factors with a great impact on the heating demand and final consumption in dwellings. Acknowledging the vulnerability context of the building stock eases the decision-making process and the definition of intervention guidelines, prioritizing those in a situation of greater vulnerability.