Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study Research
Despite the efforts to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, the actual energy consumption decreased much less than expected in recent years. Therefore, energy sufficiency is gaining attention as a complementary approach to energy efficiency. It aims to reduce the actual energy consumption of...
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doaj-a98d6838c7cc4844931206041fb28ea32021-07-15T15:47:10ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502021-06-01137257725710.3390/su13137257Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study ResearchNick Van Loy0Griet Verbeeck1Elke Knapen2Sustainability Group, ArcK Research Group, Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building E, 3590 Diepenbeek, BelgiumSustainability Group, ArcK Research Group, Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building E, 3590 Diepenbeek, BelgiumSustainability Group, ArcK Research Group, Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building E, 3590 Diepenbeek, BelgiumDespite the efforts to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, the actual energy consumption decreased much less than expected in recent years. Therefore, energy sufficiency is gaining attention as a complementary approach to energy efficiency. It aims to reduce the actual energy consumption of buildings by providing thermal comfort to residents in a sufficient way. This demands for alternative heating practices, such as the application of personal heating systems. Although a review of past studies shows that, in office buildings, thermal comfort can be provided with less energy by using personal heating systems, the application in a residential context is much less explored. Our hypothesis is that an innovative, energy-sufficient personal heating practice also has potential to reduce the overall energy consumption in dwellings. Therefore, this paper presents the results of a one-week case study on personal heating as an energy-sufficient heating practice in three dwellings. During the case study, the ambient temperature was reduced to 18 °C, and residents were allowed to use active and passive personal heating systems to make themselves as comfortable as possible. They were also asked to evaluate their thermal sensation and thermal comfort. The results show that, despite a lower indoor temperature, residents are able to achieve thermal comfort by using personal heating at the locations where they effectively reside. Additionally, a significant energy saving potential was found. The case study proved our hypothesis, leading to the conclusion that an innovative, sufficient personal heating practice in dwellings can be a supplementary step to reduce the energy consumption to meet the global challenges.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7257personal heatingpersonal conditioning systemresidential contextenergy sufficiencythermal comfortenergy savings |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nick Van Loy Griet Verbeeck Elke Knapen |
spellingShingle |
Nick Van Loy Griet Verbeeck Elke Knapen Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study Research Sustainability personal heating personal conditioning system residential context energy sufficiency thermal comfort energy savings |
author_facet |
Nick Van Loy Griet Verbeeck Elke Knapen |
author_sort |
Nick Van Loy |
title |
Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study Research |
title_short |
Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study Research |
title_full |
Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study Research |
title_fullStr |
Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study Research |
title_full_unstemmed |
Personal Heating in Dwellings as an Innovative, Energy-Sufficient Heating Practice: A Case Study Research |
title_sort |
personal heating in dwellings as an innovative, energy-sufficient heating practice: a case study research |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2021-06-01 |
description |
Despite the efforts to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, the actual energy consumption decreased much less than expected in recent years. Therefore, energy sufficiency is gaining attention as a complementary approach to energy efficiency. It aims to reduce the actual energy consumption of buildings by providing thermal comfort to residents in a sufficient way. This demands for alternative heating practices, such as the application of personal heating systems. Although a review of past studies shows that, in office buildings, thermal comfort can be provided with less energy by using personal heating systems, the application in a residential context is much less explored. Our hypothesis is that an innovative, energy-sufficient personal heating practice also has potential to reduce the overall energy consumption in dwellings. Therefore, this paper presents the results of a one-week case study on personal heating as an energy-sufficient heating practice in three dwellings. During the case study, the ambient temperature was reduced to 18 °C, and residents were allowed to use active and passive personal heating systems to make themselves as comfortable as possible. They were also asked to evaluate their thermal sensation and thermal comfort. The results show that, despite a lower indoor temperature, residents are able to achieve thermal comfort by using personal heating at the locations where they effectively reside. Additionally, a significant energy saving potential was found. The case study proved our hypothesis, leading to the conclusion that an innovative, sufficient personal heating practice in dwellings can be a supplementary step to reduce the energy consumption to meet the global challenges. |
topic |
personal heating personal conditioning system residential context energy sufficiency thermal comfort energy savings |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7257 |
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