Van Moeseke, G; De Grave, D; Anciaux, A; Sobczak, J and Wallenborn, G (2024) New insights into thermal comfort sufficiency in dwellings. Buildings & Cities, 5(1), pp. 331-348. ISSN 2632-6655
Abstract
Domestic heating is a major contributor to energy consumption and must be minimised to achieve climate targets. Building on the concept of addressing the distinct heating needs of individuals and buildings separately, the Slowheat project implemented a three-year transdisciplinary real-world laboratory focusing on adaptive heating practices. This initiative involved 23 households in Brussels, Belgium, in a collaborative exploration of the sufficiency of heating: minimising heating while meeting needs for comfort. Starting with a mean thermostat setting of 19°C, participants reduced their indoor temperature to a long-term mean close to 15°C thanks to adequate warming of individuals through personal comfort systems, clothing and physiological adaptation. It resulted in a 50% reduction in heat consumption, without an increase in electricity consumption. These results exceed those of similar published experiments. The qualitative analysis highlights the multiple dimensions of social practices related to heating and underscores the key influence of control and comfort in sustaining significant temperature reduction.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | energy saving; heating; housing; personal comfort system; social practices; space heating; sufficiency; thermal comfort |
| Index terms: | Belgium, adaptation, experiment, thermostat, laboratory, domestic heating, indoor temperature, clothing, consumption, dimension, electricity consumption, housing, household, energy-saving, energy consumption, exploration, qualitative analysis, social practice, space heating, comfort, thermal comfort |
| Subjects: | mechanical systems, research design and methodology, user focus, construction type, data collection methods, consumer economics, environmental resource management, health monitoring assessment and metrics, environmental science, energy systems, Geography, social theory, research management, occupational health and safety management, demography, environmental engineering |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Design Practice, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Sustainability, Construction Technology, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here