Lawrence, R. orcid.org/0000-0001-9518-6693 and Keime, C. (2016) Bridging the gap between energy and comfort: Post-occupancy evaluation of two higher-education buildings in Sheffield. Energy and Buildings. ISSN 0378-7788
Abstract
Recent technical guidance has suggested that comfort and energy efficiency should not be seen as mutually exclusive [CIBSE, “TM54: Evaluating operational energy performance of buildings at the design stage”, 2013]. Currently, however, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of energy use during building operation and how it influences user comfort. Through comparison of the complex relationships between energy, thermal comfort, and environmental strategy in two flexible highereducation buildings in Sheffield, this paper demonstrates how designers can utilise aspects of active and passive design to deliver more comfortable, lower-energy workspaces. Analysis of the authors’ post-occupancy evaluation of each case study examines what lessons might be learnt and applied to other institutional buildings in order to save energy without compromising occupant comfort. The findings illustrate how perceptions of comfort can be improved by increasing the degree of environmental control occupants have without necessarily increasing energy consumption. The paper highlights the significance of occupancy patterns to a complete understanding of energy efficiency and comfort, and speculates that the prediction and assessment of energy per occupant may have an important future role to play in bridging the gap between energy performance and comfort.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Elsevier. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Energy and Buildings. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
Keywords: | Energy performance; Thermal comfort; Occupancy patterns; Post-occupancy evaluation; Environmental control; Active versus passive design; University buildings |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Architecture (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 07 Sep 2016 10:54 |
Last Modified: | 07 Sep 2017 23:30 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.09.001 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.09.001 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:104387 |