Understanding the challenges of determining thermal comfort in vernacular dwellings: A meta-analysis

Hygrothermal calibration and validation of vernacular dwellings: A genetic algorithm-based optimisation methodology

“…Compliant with: ISO 7726, ASHRAE 55 (2) ; ISO 7243/7726, EN 27726 (3) ; EN 15251 (4) ; EN 12464-1:2011 (5) ; ISO 9669-1:2014, ISO 6946 (6) Sensitivity analysis…”

“…Vernacular dwellings are inherently linked to their environmental context and available resources, and built to meet specific needs using traditional technologies while accommodating the values, economies, and ways of life of the cultures that produce them [1,2]. Currently, the dynamic thermal simulation of these types of dwellings is an expanding research field with extensive potential for, inter alia, obtaining long-term performance predictions, performing sensitivity and parametric analyses, and examining climate change resilience and its impact on thermal comfort [3,4]. Since the research interest on this topic peaked in 2014, 26 studies have been published on modelling vernacular dwellings , of which 19 focus on thermal comfort evaluation [6,11,[14][15][16][17]21,22,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] by combining simulation and in situ monitoring, with EnergyPlus via the DesignBuilder interface being by far the most employed [4].…”

“…Currently, the dynamic thermal simulation of these types of dwellings is an expanding research field with extensive potential for, inter alia, obtaining long-term performance predictions, performing sensitivity and parametric analyses, and examining climate change resilience and its impact on thermal comfort [3,4]. Since the research interest on this topic peaked in 2014, 26 studies have been published on modelling vernacular dwellings , of which 19 focus on thermal comfort evaluation [6,11,[14][15][16][17]21,22,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45] by combining simulation and in situ monitoring, with EnergyPlus via the DesignBuilder interface being by far the most employed [4]. Moreover, a systematic review of vernacular dwellings' climate responsiveness was recently published, confirming the research trend of coupling fieldwork with simulation for evaluating climate responsiveness and the effectiveness of strategies, with EnergyPlus via DesignBuilder being the main simulation software, followed by Ecotect, Phoenics and eQuest [46].…”

“…The thermal simulation of vernacular dwellings presents specific challenges linked with a lack of consistent validation methodology or guidelines for hygrothermal model calibration, input-data dependent model accuracy, the gap between modelled and actual conditions, and software limitations for modelling complex vernacular architecture elements [4]. An inaccurate modelling stage may lead to inappropriate conclusions and interventions, which in turn misinform the indoor thermal comfort assessment and the retrofitting decision-making process [47].…”

Understanding thermal comfort in vernacular dwellings in Alentejo, Portugal: A mixed-methods adaptive comfort approach

“…While recent research has started to evaluate thermal comfort in vernacular dwellings, the bulk of this work is linked to their sustainability strategies [5,6]. A meta-analysis of 40 vernacular dwelling studies [7] highlighted the adaptive thermal comfort approach was the main method used for assessing these buildings, with the ASHRAE 55 model being the most popular (both stand-alone or combined with EN 15251). No studies adopting the updated EN 16798 were found.…”