Evaluating the potential of adaptive comfort approach using historic data to reduce energy consumption in buildings in southern Spain

Abstract

The application of adaptive comfort models is among the determinant factors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. This research studies the region of Andalusia (south of Spain). A cluster analysis is applied to 786 Andalusian municipalities, and 4 groups are established according to the potential of adaptive strategies. A town is chosen from each group, and an hourly specific study is conducted for the last 20 years, as well as a daily study of the old time series by using an artificial neural network based on the existing climate data. The possibility of application of the EN 16798-1:2019 standard during the days of the year is analysed, as well as the possibilities of using natural ventilation and the possibility of using adaptive setpoint temperatures in comparison with both 3 fixed heating temperatures and 3 fixed cooling temperatures by considering the energy saving. The results to apply the standard ranged 69.0 and 100% of the days of each year. The possibilities of natural ventilation considered were greater than 10% of the hours of the year in all the assumptions. The energy saving of cooling degrees reveals a greater potential in the area studied than that of heating degrees; this tendency is supported by the study of old temporary series which are part of the climate variation predicted throughout the 21st century.

An Analysis of Thermal Comfort Models: Which One Is Suitable Model to Assess Thermal Reality in Brazil?

“…The author also mentioned that for future works, several pieces of data can be incremented, such as socioeconomic data of the users, types of walls of the buildings, and floor insulation, that can contribute to the understanding of the results both for Brisbane in Australia and Florianópolis in Brazil that are under the same climate for being located at the same latitude. For the application of adaptive strategies, Bienvenido-Huertas et al [9] considered temperature records from the 20th century until 2019 in buildings in southern Spain. Hence, cluster analysis has a versatile application in numerous areas, enabling the union of elements with common characteristics in clusters.…”

“…Thermal environments directly influence the well-being [6], quality of life [7], health [8], and productivity [5] of people. Moreover, the assessment of thermal comfort in environments can contribute to the decrease in the use of ventilation, heating, and air-conditioning systems, consequently reducing energy consumption [9].…”

Thermal comfort of older people during summer in the continental Mediterranean climate

“…Buildings are responsible for 36% of greenhouse gas emissions and one of the European Union's objectives is to reduce these emissions by 90% J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f by 2050 [18]. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are one of the main elements responsible for building consumption and emissions, and thermal comfort is directly implicated in this [19,20]. Thermal comfort is one of the most important factors for indoor environmental quality.…”

“…Thermal comfort is one of the most important factors for indoor environmental quality. It affects human health and energy efficiency [6,[20][21][22]. Approximately 75% of heating and cooling is generated by fossil fuels, according to Eurostat [23].…”