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This paper uses an example of an architect designed and occupied suburban house in the temperate climate of Perth, Western Australia to demonstrate how climatic design and low-technology active systems can deliver thermal comfort in average climatic conditions. However when thermal conditions are more extreme acceptable temperature ranges may not be met. Thermal monitoring in the house over eight days of extreme temperatures in summer and winter shows that acceptable temperature ranges may not be met in winter. During extreme winter conditions south facing rooms fall below comfort conditions by up to 3 K in the late night and early morning. The conclusion drawn is that in naturally ventilated buildings personal and psychological behavioral adaptation must go hand-in-hand with climatic design. This behavioral adaptation may become more important in the future if current climatic extremes become the new normal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to tap the energy saving and climate mitigation potential of buildings, transaction costs of implementing energy efficient technologies need to be better understood and ultimately reduced. The objective of this paper is to identify and analyze the nature and scale of transaction costs resulting from the application of the passive house concept in energy efficient renovations. Related conceptual choices are also discussed. This study explores learning strategies as a potential to reduce transaction costs. It focuses on transaction costs borne by building owners and building developers in the planning and implementation phases of a passive house-oriented renovation in Sweden. Results reveal three main sources of transaction costs: due diligence, negotiations and monitoring. The analysis shows that transaction costs are non-negligible and for individual cost sources the scale can be three times higher than for conventional renovations. To reduce transaction costs, various learning strategies such as study visits, demonstration projects, new forms of meetings and new channels of (written) information were found. These strategies have the potential to half transaction costs of future renovation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A numerical model is developed to study indoor thermal conditions during heat waves. • Moisture buffering can have an important influence on the indoor thermal conditions. • Pre-cooling before the start of a heat wave can lower indoor temperature moderately. • Moisture-desorption cooling has a large potential in reducing indoor heat stress. Urban areas are increasingly impacted by the urban heat island effect, especially during heat waves. In the context of improving energy efficiency in buildings, passive and energy-efficient cooling methods are needed for reducing indoor heat stress and lowering building energy consumption during heat waves. In this study, a whole building simulation model that includes both moisture and heat transport in wall envelopes and indoor environment is developed. An analytical solution and two test cases are used to validate the developed model. The developed model is applied to study indoor thermal conditions in urban areas in Zurich, Switzerland in a hot summer. The results show that indoor temperature could not be accurately simulated when moisture transport in the wall envelopes is neglected. Due to the urban heat island effect, night ventilation is not sufficient to cool down the indoor environment during the heat wave in the urban area. The potential of precooling before the heat wave and moisture-desorption cooling from hygroscopic materials have been studied to reduce indoor heat stress in the urban area. The average operative temperature during the heat wave can be reduced by 0.43 °C by precooling before the start of the heat wave, whereas desorption cooling from hygroscopic materials could reduce the average operative temperature during heat waves by 1.31 °C. A combination of these two mitigation measures could lead to enhanced passive cooling effect. There is a large potential of using desorption of hygroscopic material to reduce heat stress during heatwaves, while minimizing energy consumption of buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]