Research Projects

The combined negative effects of climate change and urban heat island effect have led, among other things, to a drastic increase of buildings' cooling requirements. In this context, many countries face the challenge of providing building occupants with good thermal conditions and good indoor air quality, while doing this in an energy-efficient manner. The present proposal represents an effort in this direction, specifically addressing the potential to improving the thermal comfort in response to rising temperatures in the summer months. To this end, the scientific objectives of this project are 1. To implement a technically feasible and economically affordable space cooling and ventilation solution. 2. To test this solution empirically in a realistic setting with participants. 3. To develop an occupant centric control method for the operation of this system based on monitored occupant behaviour OB to improve indoor-environmental quality thermal comfort, fresh air supply, occupant perception, and energy efficiency.