A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Monitoring the performance of a Passivhaus care home: Lessons for user-centric design
The paper presents the results of monitoring a Passivhaus care home regarding the effect of design intentions, occupancy practices and user preferences, on building energy and indoor environmental quality performance through a mixed methods approach. The results of the thermal comfort assessment showed that the staff is uncomfortable, while the residents are comfortable. Warm temperatures are preferred by the residents. The staff understands the needs of the residents and acknowledge the fact that their discomfort assures the comfort of the residents. Energy usage is higher than expected. None of the daily routines required in a care home were considered in the energy calculations. The calculations were made by a team of designers, who did not know well the activities carried out in the care home. As a result, the expected performance of the building was unrealistic in terms of energy use. The results point at the importance of taking into account the user during the design process: even though the actual needs and preferences of the occupants were not considered in the energy calculations, they were considered in the design of the building's installations. This allowed the staff to air the rooms daily without compromising the comfort of the residents.
Monitoring the performance of a Passivhaus care home: Lessons for user-centric design
The paper presents the results of monitoring a Passivhaus care home regarding the effect of design intentions, occupancy practices and user preferences, on building energy and indoor environmental quality performance through a mixed methods approach. The results of the thermal comfort assessment showed that the staff is uncomfortable, while the residents are comfortable. Warm temperatures are preferred by the residents. The staff understands the needs of the residents and acknowledge the fact that their discomfort assures the comfort of the residents. Energy usage is higher than expected. None of the daily routines required in a care home were considered in the energy calculations. The calculations were made by a team of designers, who did not know well the activities carried out in the care home. As a result, the expected performance of the building was unrealistic in terms of energy use. The results point at the importance of taking into account the user during the design process: even though the actual needs and preferences of the occupants were not considered in the energy calculations, they were considered in the design of the building's installations. This allowed the staff to air the rooms daily without compromising the comfort of the residents.
Monitoring the performance of a Passivhaus care home: Lessons for user-centric design
Guerra-Santin, O. (author) / Grave, Anne J.J. (author) / Jiang, Shiyu (author) / Tweed, Aidan Christopher (author) / Mohammadi, Masi (author)
2021-11-01
Guerra-Santin , O , Grave , A J J , Jiang , S , Tweed , A C & Mohammadi , M 2021 , ' Monitoring the performance of a Passivhaus care home: Lessons for user-centric design ' , Journal of Building Engineering , vol. 43 , 102565 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102565
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Passivhaus-Hallenbad Bambados Monitoring
| TIBKAT | 2015
Passivhaus contra bioclimatic design
| British Library Online Contents | 2008