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A Review of Thermal Comfort in Residential Buildings: Comfort Threads and Energy Saving Potential

Author

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  • Naja Aqilah

    (Graduate School of Environmental and Information Studies, Tokyo City University, 3-3-1 Ushikubo-nishi, Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama 224-8551, Japan)

  • Hom Bahadur Rijal

    (Graduate School of Environmental and Information Studies, Tokyo City University, 3-3-1 Ushikubo-nishi, Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama 224-8551, Japan)

  • Sheikh Ahmad Zaki

    (Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kampung Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Abstract

Residential buildings instigate a vital role in creating a safe and comfortable indoor living environment. The phenomenon of overheating, an impact of climate change, can cause a negative effect on residents’ productiveness and heat-related illnesses and can even force high pressure on electricity generation by increasing the risk of power outages due to excessive peak cooling and heating requirements. Various issues on building thermal comfort are being evolved and discussed in review articles. However, there are few articles that review the current condition of adaptive thermal comfort studies and the potential for energy savings in residential buildings. Therefore, the aims for this paper are to: identify comfort temperature ranges in residential buildings, investigate the correlation of comfort temperature with indoor and outdoor temperatures with the aid of ‘comfort threads’, and clarify the effect of adaptive measures on residential energy saving potential. This study obtained a large variation of residential comfort temperatures, which mostly depend on the climate and operation modes of the building. ‘Comfort threads’ explains that people are adapting to a large variation of indoor and outdoor temperatures and the wide range of comfort temperature could provide significant energy savings in residential buildings. This review provides insight on and an overview of thermal comfort field studies in residential buildings.

Suggested Citation

  • Naja Aqilah & Hom Bahadur Rijal & Sheikh Ahmad Zaki, 2022. "A Review of Thermal Comfort in Residential Buildings: Comfort Threads and Energy Saving Potential," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-23, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:23:p:9012-:d:986982
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Panagiotis Michailidis & Iakovos Michailidis & Dimitrios Vamvakas & Elias Kosmatopoulos, 2023. "Model-Free HVAC Control in Buildings: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-45, October.
    2. Antonella Yaacoub & Moez Esseghir & Leila Merghem-Boulahia, 2023. "A Review of Different Methodologies to Study Occupant Comfort and Energy Consumption," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Qing Yin & Yuqi Zhang & Ying Liu, 2023. "Investigation on Thermal Comfort and Thermal Adaptive Behaviors of Rural Residents in Suibin Town, China, in Summer," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-27, April.
    4. Tyler R. Stevens & Nathan B. Crane & Rydge B. Mulford, 2023. "Topology Morphing Insulation: A Review of Technologies and Energy Performance in Dynamic Building Insulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-38, October.
    5. Prativa Lamsal & Sushil Bahadur Bajracharya & Hom Bahadur Rijal, 2023. "A Review on Adaptive Thermal Comfort of Office Building for Energy-Saving Building Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-23, February.

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