The Importance of In Situ Characterisation for the Mitigation of Poor Indoor Environmental Conditions in Social Housing

Abstract

The energy efficiency improvements in existing buildings have become priority concerns of the European Union to encourage energy efficiency amongst residents and buildings as well as facility managers. The characterisation of the building stock plays an important role in the definition of energy renovation strategies. In Portugal, there are over 120,000 social housing flats. This paper focused on the holistic characterisation of a social housing neighbourhood concerning the “in situ” assessment of the indoor environmental conditions and thermal comfort over one year as well as air permeability tests of the flats and evaluation of the energy consumption. The hygrothermal monitoring campaign was carried out using thermo-hygrometer sensors to record the indoor air temperature and relative humidity of a large number of flats over a 12-month period. The airtightness of these flats was determined resourcing fan pressurisation test (blower door test). A relationship between the users’ modifications in the flats and their consequence over the air permeability was pursued and the importance of balconies and exhaust fans for the flats’ air permeability was discussed. The hygrothermal monitoring campaign of the case study was carried out, in order to assess the indoor thermal comfort according the ASHRAE 55 standard. The results show a significant discomfort rate, suggesting that the users are living in unhealthy environmental conditions and the issues that most contribute to the poor indoor environmental conditions that characterise this building stock. In addition, the energy, gas, and water consumption of the flats were collected, and a statistical analysis was performed. Correlations between the variables were observed and two clusters were identified. Cluster 1 includes the lower energy consumption flats, but no real impact on the thermal comfort was found as the entire dataset presented low indoor air temperatures.

A Case Study on a Stochastic-Based Optimisation Approach towards the Integration of Photovoltaic Panels in Multi-Residential Social Housing

“…The case study is a multi-residential building located in Aveiro, in the North-Centre region of Portugal. Based on previously conducted studies [28,37], the main characteristics of the building are herein highlighted. The building belongs to a large social housing neighbourhood (see Figure 1) built in the final of 80's, comprising 38 buildings, representing the main public housing complex of the city and more than five thousand habitants.…”

“…The ground slab consists of a concrete floor. A detailed description of the building solutions can be found in the previous works [28,37].…”

“…Air extraction grids are installed in the bathrooms. However, the users tend to close the ventilation grids and insufficient ventilation is commonly frequent as reported and discussed by Oliveira et al [37]. No heating or cooling systems were installed, with rare exceptions in which electric portable devices were seen in some flats and the domestic hot water was supplied by a condensing boiler.…”

“…The COP of 1.0 was also considered in the improved envelope scenarios, in order to evaluate the influence of keeping a less efficient heating system. Only the installation of heating systems was considered as typically no cooling systems are used in the Portuguese social housing building stock [37]. Table 2 presents the COP index used in EnergyPlus simulations.…”

Sustainability Assessment of a Low-Income Building: A BIM-LCSA-FAHP-Based Analysis

“…Despite the sector's relevance in the international economy, the United Nations (UN) estimates that about one billion people globally still live in inadequate buildings or do not have a place to live [6]. Access to adequate housing is an internationally recognized basic human right that plays an important role in society, providing citizens with dignity and security [7,8]. In Brazil, the housing deficit is approximately 6.2 million dwellings, which mainly affects low-income families [9][10][11].…”