Resilience to increasing temperatures: residential building stock adaptation through codes and standards

Abstract

The resilience of the current Spanish residential building stock to increased temperatures is modeled. Homogenised daily temperature data recorded at 50 Spanish meteorological stations for the periods 1950 -1979 and 1981 -2010 were used to investigate anticipated climate warming on Spanish residential building stock by means of the degree day method. Impacts on residential buildings were investigated for three different future time periods (2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100) for three representative Spanish provincial capitals. Future climate change scenarios comprising two statistical downscaling methods, three general circulation models, and two carbon emission scenarios were used to project local climate. Results show that 72% of current residential building stock in Spain is thermally unprotected. In addition, the energy demand for heating the building sector in Spain is expected to decrease between 30% (Barcelona, B2 scenario) and 36% (Valencia, A2 scenario) by 2100, while the respective energy demand for cooling could increase between 107% (Valencia, B2 scenario) and 296% (Madrid, A2 scenario) by 2100. To increase resilience to higher winter and summer temperatures, strategies for modifying the built environment are needed, particularly for the role of building codes and standards.

Quantitative internal infrared thermography for determining in-situ thermal behaviour of façades

“…According to Gangolells et al, [69], 59% of the current Spanish residential building stock was erected before the first thermal regulation NBE-CT-79 [70]. Nearly 38% of Spanish residential buildings already in use were built under NBE-CT-79 [70], satisfying the minimum thermal requirements.…”

Climate change and thermal comfort in Southern Europe housing: A case study from Lisbon

“…National Adaptation Plans are generally considered the backbone of regulation and strategies regarding adaptation, although approaches for implementing and evaluating the proposed strategies seem to be lacking [19]. This gap is acknowledged by Gangolells et al [20] while exploring the impacts of the Spanish stock of buildings to climate and summer overheating. It argues for the role of regulatory instruments, until now focusing strongly on mitigation, as well as the very constitution of the existing building stock, concerning age and physical quality.…”

“…In fact, Southern Europe is characterized by a stable and aging building stock of significant proportions, mainly built prior to the implementation of thermal regulations [6], which has been already been identified as a major challenge regarding sustainable development [21]. In existing buildings, adequate thermal performance is mainly promoted through retrofitting actions, prone to increase thermal insulation and air-tightness, and several authors have already suggested that a heating-reduction driven policy and decision-making regarding measures such as insulation, can have unexpected effects if considered in a climate change context [22,13,20]. These studies also stress the fact that most literature dedicated to adaptation regarding thermal comfort is technically focused and driven to understand adaptation measures to be applied to buildings [12,23,24].…”

Energy Benchmarking of Existing Office Stock in Spain: Trends and Drivers

“…Offices built before 1981 have no thermal protection, as the first legislation regulating buildings' thermal conditions, NBE-CT 79 [49], was introduced in Spain in 1979. This prescriptive code was in force from 1981 to 2006 and set minimum thermal requirements for individual building envelopes by establishing maximum heat transmission coefficients, and a maximum overall heat transmission coefficient for the entire building [50]. Thermal requirements were overhauled in 2007, when the Spanish Technical Building Code was introduced [51].…”