In many countries, the traditional method of ventilating dwellings involved natural ventilation, based on the operation of windows and high levels of infiltration through the building envelope, particularly through windows and window-wall joints. In Spain, in the middle of the last century, the use of vertical ventilation shafts in the wet rooms of dwellings became widespread, and it is currently the most common ventilation system in existing dwellings.

Efforts must be made to promote the use of efficient ventilation systems in buildings with the aim of reducing energy demand, as ventilation is a major source of energy loss. Nevertheless, the implementation of efficient ventilation systems is frequently constrained by regulations. It is therefore essential that governments and regulatory bodies facilitate and even encourage the use of appropriate solutions through the introduction of performance-based regulations. 

The context of climate change and the need of saving energy has required rethinking the ventilation and the air change rates in buildings, because of their increased impact on thermal losses. Indeed, ventilation plays a crucial role estimated around 30-50% of the energy delivered to buildings, becoming an even higher part in high-efficient buildings.  

This study explored the design optimization possibilities for Danish retirement homes while considering an increased risk of overheating due to elevated temperatures imposed by climate change. The focus was on combinations of design features and technical components ensuring thermal comfort and daylight. The study used a dynamic simulation tool to consider the current Danish design reference year and future climate predictions.

Climate change has exacerbated the summertime overheating in buildings, necessitating resilient adaptation strategies. Based on our previous work, which introduced a Thermal Resilience Index (TRI) ranging from Class F to Class A+ using a concept of resilient trapezoid framework, this study explores unit-level retrofit strategies for high-rise long-term care buildings.

The challenges posed by climate change and related thermal discomfort in school classrooms are a worldwide challenge. Recent research indicates that numerous low energy school buildings do not comply with comfort criteria and suffer from overheating. This study aimed to determine when indoor air temperature conditions in classrooms were vulnerable to overheating risk. Secondly, quantify the contribution and correlation of outdoor air temperature and individual building features on the indoor air temperature in Irish low energy naturally ventilated schools.  

The paper introduces an approach for assessing the resilience of buildings to both current heat waves and their recurrence in the future under the impact of climate change. The method, applied to the 60,000 dwellings of the RIVP (Régie Immobilière de la Ville de Paris), the second-largest social landlord in Paris, aims to provide reliable information to enable the buildings’ owner to assess the heat-related health risk for the tenants and the actions to be taken to decrease it.

Occupants in natural ventilated buildings usually control ventilation through window opening. As part of the PRELUDE H2020 project a framework of how to predict an indoor environment by correlating internal environmental variables and external climatic variables was developed; this was presented at the AIVC conference in 2022. The climate correlation model consists of equations correlating external and internal parameters, derived from predictions of a thermal model (EnergyPlus) of the target building.

The durability of air barrier systems is a topic that is rarely discussed during the design phase of most projects. An unfortunate amount of effort is spent on drawing details and specifying products with the sole intention of meeting energy code requirements, with much less thought being given to how those systems actually will be constructed and possibly worse – how those systems will fare over time.   

Achieving adequate airtightness of a building envelope is crucial for preventing moisture-related damages in cold and humid climate zones, such as in Norway. Leaky joints and perforations in air and vapor barriers are often critical points where damaging air leakages arise. Thus, the durability of products, such as adhesive tapes, is crucial to ensure a proper airtightness and performance of critical building details and overall constructions.