Yves Lambert presents the challenge of sustainable buildings - with the users in mind

1. Unintended Consequences of the European NZEB policy

2. EPBD Recast 2010

5. ENERGY

6. More insulation and building airtight decrease energy consumption for heating
Indoor Air Quality
But, this prevents the house from breathing, and pollutants can accumulate

7. Visible consequences for the house
• Condensation
• Moisture damage
• Mould growth

8. Invisible consequences for the house
• Interior air pollution (CO2 and VOC)
Source: French national survey OQAI, 600 new homes, CSTB, France
Source: Renovair, Explorative study on the quality of the indoor environment
in buildings after (energy-efficient) renovations, VITO, Belgium

9. Invisible consequences for the house
• Increase in dustmite population

11. Consequences for the occupant
• Throat irritation and -infection
• Headache
• Allergic reaction
• Asthma
• Cancer
• …

12. More insulation and building airtight increases energy-efficiency
Overheating
But, together with a lot of glass, this can cause overheating

13. Source: Euro4M Climate Indicator Bulletins
Climate change
Source: NASA Earth Observatory chart by Joshua Stevens
We just broke the record for hottest year,
nine straight times (The Guardian, 11 July 2016)

14. Facts and figures
During the sweltering summer of 2003,
over 35000 people died across Europe from heat-related causes.
The heat-related illness and death cases mentioned above resulted
not only from unusually high peak outdoor temperatures,
but also from a failure of buildings to successfully mitigate
the external environment. High indoor temperatures can also
increase sleep fragmentation, which is directly linked to poor health.
Epidemiological studies have shown that mortality begins to rise
above a heat threshold of around 24.7 °C of the maximum
daily temperature.
Source: The impact of climate change on the overheating risk in dwellings,
Mohamed Hamdy, Salvatore Carlucci Pieter-Jan Hoes, Jan Hensen, Elsevier 2017
Source : Summary of the mortality impact assessment of the 2003 heat wave in France,
Pirard P, Vandentorren S, Pascal M, Laaidi K, Le Tertre A, Cassadou S, Ledrans M.. 2005

15. Vulnerable groups

16. Solution ?

17. Solution ?

18. Cooling makes the planet hotter
Worldwide power consumption for air conditioning alone is forecast to surge 33-fold by 2100
as developing world incomes rise and urbanisation advances. Already, the US uses as much
electricity to keep buildings cool as the whole of Africa uses on everything; China and India
are fast catching up. By mid-century people will use more energy for cooling than heating.
It took 15 years for the number of air-conditioned homes in the US to grow from 64mio to
100mio – but 50mio new domestic AC units were bought in China in 2010 alone.
And since cold is still overwhelmingly produced by burning fossil fuels, emission targets
agreed at the international climate summit in Paris risk being blown away as governments
and scientists struggle with a cruel climate-change irony: cooling makes the planet hotter.
Solution ?

19. Conclusion:
It is recommended that the government should act, through, for example,
policy decisions and adaptation interventions, to protect existing and new
dwellings from the ever-increasing risk of overheating. The actions (e.g.,
stipulating and/or promoting the use
of ventilative cooling and shading) should be taken quickly for those
buildings that are sensitive to the climate change (e.g., buildings without
good ventilative cooling options) and that are already suffering from some
kind of overheating risk (e.g., new, well-insulated buildings without
sufficient shading options).
Scientific studies

20. Solar shading
Summer
Winter
Transitional season
TREES

21. Nightcooling
Supply
Extraction
Extraction

22. Solution !
• Energy-efficient (EPBD)
• Comfort (IAQ, Overheating)
• Environment (Waste, life cycle)