Influence of future climate changes scenarios on the feasibility of the adaptive comfort model in Japan

Adaptive comfort models have emerged as a sustainable way of providing comfort in connection with local climate. Additionally, climate change has posed an additional challenge. In previous studies, the authors clarified how climate change would affect the feasibility of the adaptive comfort model at a worldwide scale, but local considerations for some countries remained unsolved. This study presents the first comprehensive research on the applicability of the adaptive comfort model in Japan not only for current, but also for future scenarios considering the climate change. Remarkable differences across Japanese regions were found, especially between the Northern underpopulated regions of Hokkaidō and Tōhoku and the cities that belong to the Taiheiyō Belt. In general, the adaptive comfort model will find application both in current and future scenarios, but natural ventilation will not play an important role. Special attention should be drawn to the potentials saving of cooling degrees that can be achieved if adaptive setpoint temperatures become commonplace in the future in the Kantō region. These results pave the way for the consideration of the adaptive comfort model as a resilient strategy to adapt to the future changes in climate scenarios for the building industry

Prediction of Fuel Poverty Potential Risk Index Using Six Regression Algorithms: A Case-Study of Chilean Social Dwellings

In recent times, studies about the accuracy of algorithms to predict different aspects of energy use in the building sector have flourished, being energy poverty one of the issues that has received considerable critical attention. Previous studies in this field have characterized it using different indicators, but they have failed to develop instruments to predict the risk of low-income households falling into energy poverty. This research explores the way in which six regression algorithms can accurately forecast the risk of energy poverty by means of the fuel poverty potential risk index. Using data from the national survey of socioeconomic conditions of Chilean households and generating data for different typologies of social dwellings (e.g., form ratio or roof surface area), this study simulated 38,880 cases and compared the accuracy of six algorithms. Multilayer perceptron, M5P and support vector regression delivered the best accuracy, with correlation coefficients over 99.5%. In terms of computing time, M5P outperforms the rest. Although these results suggest that energy poverty can be accurately predicted using simulated data, it remains necessary to test the algorithms against real data. These results can be useful in devising policies to tackle energy poverty in advance

Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?

People's subjective response to any thermal environment is commonly investigated by using rating scales describing the degree of thermal sensation, comfort, and acceptability. Subsequent analyses of results collected in this way rely on the assumption that specific distances between verbal anchors placed on the scale exist and that relationships between verbal anchors from different dimensions that are assessed (e.g. thermal sensation and comfort) do not change. Another inherent assumption is that such scales are independent of the context in which they are used (climate zone, season, etc.). Despite their use worldwide, there is indication that contextual differences influence the way the scales are perceived and therefore question the reliability of the scales’ interpretation. To address this issue, a large international collaborative questionnaire study was conducted in 26 countries, using 21 different languages, which led to a dataset of 8225 questionnaires. Results, analysed by means of robust statistical techniques, revealed that only a subset of the responses are in accordance with the mentioned assumptions. Significant differences appeared between groups of participants in their perception of the scales, both in relation to distances of the anchors and relationships between scales. It was also found that respondents’ interpretations of scales changed with contextual factors, such as climate, season, and language. These findings highlight the need to carefully consider context-dependent factors in interpreting and reporting results from thermal comfort studies or post-occupancy evaluations, as well as to revisit the use of rating scales and the analysis methods used in thermal comfort studies to improve their reliability

The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal perception scales

Thermal discomfort is one of the main triggers for occupants’ interactions with components of the built environment such as adjustments of thermostats and/or opening windows and strongly related to the energy use in buildings. Understanding causes for thermal (dis-)comfort is crucial for design and operation of any type of building. The assessment of human thermal perception through rating scales, for example in post-occupancy studies, has been applied for several decades; however, long-existing assumptions related to these rating scales had been questioned by several researchers. The aim of this study was to gain deeper knowledge on contextual influences on the interpretation of thermal perception scales and their verbal anchors by survey participants. A questionnaire was designed and consequently applied in 21 language versions. These surveys were conducted in 57 cities in 30 countries resulting in a dataset containing responses from 8225 participants. The database offers potential for further analysis in the areas of building design and operation, psycho-physical relationships between human perception and the built environment, and linguistic analyses

The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal perception scales

Thermal discomfort is one of the main triggers for occupants' interactions with components of the built environment such as adjustments of thermostats and/or opening windows and strongly related to the energy use in buildings. Understanding causes for thermal (dis-)comfort is crucial for design and operation of any type of building. The assessment of human thermal perception through rating scales, for example in post-occupancy studies, has been applied for several decades; however, long-existing assumptions related to these rating scales had been questioned by several researchers. The aim of this study was to gain deeper knowledge on contextual influences on the interpretation of thermal perception scales and their verbal anchors by survey participants. A questionnaire was designed and consequently applied in 21 language versions. These surveys were conducted in 57 cities in 30 countries resulting in a dataset containing responses from 8225 participants. The database offers potential for further analysis in the areas of building design and operation, psycho-physical relationships between human perception and the built environment, and linguistic analyses

Towards the implementation of periodic thermal transmittance in Spanish building energy regulation

The recent development of the calculation methodology for dynamic thermal properties of buildings has opened new possibilities for reducing their energy demand; however, building codes still rely on the traditional static approach. This research aims at filling in this gap by exploring how periodic thermal properties can be implemented in the Spanish regulatory framework. For this purpose, 2,413 wall typologies were analysed in the two extreme climate zones as per the Spanish regulation pertaining to energy efficiency. Results show that the static U-value itself is not sufficient to optimize the energy demand of buildings, as for a single value of U variations of 4,000 kWh in the energy demand are expected. Regarding periodic variables, decrement factor and time shift were the most effective to minimize the energy demand, along with flexible limitations for the periodic thermal transmittance and the time shift. In warm climates, the former can be disregarded if the latter is greater than 15 h. The findings from this study disscuss the applicability of the static thermal transmittance and propose a methodology to select and limit periodic variables for the two most extreme climates in Spain

Does egg coloration reflect male condition in birds?

How colouration provides information about individuals in birds has been a central issue in recent decades. Although much information has been derived, little is known about the adaptive significance of egg colouration in birds. A recent idea suggests that biliverdin- and porphyrin-pigmented eggs may act as a post-mating sexual signal for males to assess female quality. In birds, it is common for males to influence prelaying female condition by courtship feeding. Using Eurasian kestrels, a species that lays protoporphyrin-pigmented eggs, we descriptively assessed the influence of male feeding on egg pigmentation by considering female phenotype, condition, breeding parameters and male body condition. We found that older females and females with greyer tails (an index of individual quality) produce highly pigmented eggs. However, male body condition was the only variable that explained egg colouration when considered together with the female-related variables. Therefore, females that mated with males in better condition laid highly pigmented eggs. With the same species, we also explored the cost of producing protoporphyrin-pigmented eggs using a food-supply experiment before the laying period. Food supplementation did not increase egg pigmentation, but hatching success and egg mass were positively related to egg colouration only in food supplied pairs. We suggest that egg colouration might be costly to produce and probably suggests egg quality. However, this cost cannot be explained by female quality, but by male condition instead. In general, our results do not support the theory that egg colouration is a post-mating sexual signal in species where males determine female condition at the time of laying.L.P.R. was supported by a postdoctoral contract from the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha.Peer reviewe

Energy saving potential in current and future world built environments based on the adaptive comfort approach

The building sector is among the main energy users in the world, and its consumption patterns are strongly affected by changes in climate conditions. The consumption prediction in future scenarios is one of the greatest challenges. The application of recent techniques, such as adaptive thermal comfort strategies, constitutes an opportunity to reduce energy consumption. This study aims at clarifying their worldwide application potential in two scenarios, current and 2050, linking it to predictions on world population distribution and on the development level of countries. By interpolating 15,897 meteorological database, worldwide maps were made to quantify the applicability of the model and to show that such applicability would largely benefit both developing countries and most world population. © 2019 Elsevier Lt