The use of cool roofs is a passive technique to reduce the cooling load of buildings in hot climates, moreover, it is use has the potential to mitigate the heat island phenomenon. This study presents a method to quantify and monetize the benefits of applying the cool roof passive technique in buildings without air conditioning. The proposed method can be adapted to other passive techniques. For this study, an experimental step was carried out to measure the thermal emittance and reflectance of fiber cement tile samples. The study also presents a thermoenergetic performance analysis using EnergyPlus simulations. The last part highlights the innovation of this method in relation to other studies, which consists of monetizing the thermal benefits of the cool roof passive technique. The analysis contemplates a single-family residential building model for three cities in different regions of Brazil (Florianópolis/SC, São Paulo/SP and Manaus/AM). Fiber cement tiles in their natural color were considered and painted white, representing a cool roof. The solar reflectance of the white-painted samples was around 50% higher than that of the conventional (unpainted) samples. When comparing conventional and cool roofs, the reduction in heat flow through the roof was over 80 % for all three cities. Although the building analyzed does not have air conditioning, the proposed method makes it possible to quantify the thermal load that the passive technique could avoid. The most significant results were in Manaus, resulting in a possible saving of US 4.2/m² per year.

Reducing carbon emissions and energy demand in buildings is vital for addressing climate change, especially as extreme weather increases cooling and heating needs. Thermally resilient cooling in social housing is essential for protecting occupants and enhancing energy efficiency, but integrating embodied and operational emissions with thermal resilience analysis is challenging due to software limitations. This study uses building simulations and BIM-LCA tools to evaluate thermal resilience and carbon emissions in light, intermediate, and heavy structures for social housing in Curitiba, São Paulo, and São Luís, Brazil. The light-insulated envelope improves thermal resilience in Curitiba and São Paulo, achieving ∼90% thermal autonomy with low cooling loads. In São Luís, only light non-insulated envelopes achieve TA above 25%, yet all cases exceed 3°C IOD, and heavy envelopes increase cooling loads above 250 kWh/m². In São Luís, recovery times exceed >200 hours, with Tmax from 34–38°C. Trend analysis shows Tmax strongly correlates with thermal vulnerability (R² > 0.85). Operational emissions dominate in hot climates, while embodied emissions prevail in cold climates. Light envelopes show lower emissions and cooling loads but vary in resilience across climates. While insulation improves resilience in São Paulo and Curitiba, it is less effective in São Luís. Database comparisons reveal significant discrepancies in ceramic bricks and softwood between Tally and SIDAC, affecting emissions and PED. Ceramic tiles and concrete, show closer alignment, reducing overall uncertainty.

This study introduces a methodology to develop reference building models for energy simulations in non-residential building sector in Brazil. The method uses data from national energy efficiency regulations and research projects to model thermal properties, internal gains, schedules of operation, HVAC systems, and geometries obtained from representative archetypes. These reference models represent typical characteristics of the Brazilian commercial building stock and are designed to assist in predicting energy consumption and support the Brazilian Building Energy Labeling Program. Benchmarks for thermal loads and electricity end-uses were calculated and compared across building types in Brazil, revealing significant variations in performance. Generalization analysis of the models showed the relevance of building orientation and operational schedules on energy use, highlighting their importance in the analysis. Reference building energy use intensity (EUI) was also compared with actual data from the Brazilian building stock, demonstrating that most reference models have a higher EUI than the average but remain below maximum values. This work fills a gap in the development of reference buildings for the non-residential sector in Brazil, offering validated models that can be applied in energy planning and used to evaluate the impact of new technologies in specific building types.

This study assesses the daylight performance of Brazilian social housing according to the proposed Section 13 of NBR 15575-1 and the design requirements introduced by Ordinance MCID No. 725/2023. Two building typologies were analyzed in three cities (Cuiabá, Florianópolis and Recife) through annual climate-based simulations, considering variations in surroundings, topography and solar orientation. Two scenarios were assessed: a pre-ordinance baseline and a post-ordinance configuration implementing the prescribed requirements. The research introduces an innovative methodological framework that integrates architectural and urban variables to explore how regulatory design criteria influence daylight availability. An open-access Power BI platform was developed to explore simulation data. Results showed that the living rooms of post-ordinance buildings had more non-compliances with the standard, particularly on lower floors and denser surroundings. Sloped terrains increased shading effects, while latitude and cloudiness amplified intercity differences. The findings indicate a mismatch between regulatory parameters and daylight performance, particularly for the minimum spacing between buildings prescribed by the ordinance. The study highlights the need to revise standards and integrate complementary architectural strategies to ensure adequate daylight availability in future social housing developments.

Climate anomalies linked to a changing climate increasingly challenge buildings to maintain comfortable indoor environments without excessive energy use. This study assessed physiological, behavioral, and perceptual responses of occupants in a mixed-mode office during an anomalous year in a subtropical region, which caused hotter-than-average conditions in typically mild seasons. In a year-long living-lab experiment, indoor environmental variables, HVAC use, clothing insulation, thermal perceptions, and physiological signals of 21 participants (12 females, 9 males) were monitored to examine adaptations to these anomalous conditions. Hotter-than-average days elicited higher mean and localized skin temperatures, particularly during outdoor exposure during lunch breaks. Occupants also adopted behavioral strategies, mainly reducing clothing insulation and adjusting building systems to reach higher air velocity levels. Indoor thermal perceptions varied under hotter outdoor conditions; however, the magnitude of this shift depended on the analytical direction adopted in the regression modeling. When thermal sensation was treated as the response variable to indoor conditions, the analysis indicated a notable reduction in neutral SET (-1.12 °C) during hotter days, whereas treating indoor conditions as the response to thermal sensation resulted in a minimal shift (+0.12 °C). Overall, the findings suggest that buildings can maintain comfortable conditions under climate anomalies when occupants are provided with meaningful adaptive opportunities. Incorporating building interfaces that enable adaptive opportunities, promoting flexible clothing adjustments, and applying adaptive comfort principles are essential for enhancing both building and human resilience in a warming and increasingly variable climate.

This multi-site experimental study investigated the Hue-Heat Hypothesis (HHH), which posits that light hues can influence human thermal perception, as well as broader cross-modal interactions between visual and thermal domains. Across 464 experimental sessions in eight test rooms around the world, participants were exposed to varied thermal conditions (∼20 °C, ∼24 °C, ∼26 °C, and ∼28 °C) and typical white-light Correlated Color Temperatures (CCT, warm light: ∼3000 K; neutral: ∼4000 K; cool light: ∼6000 K) from LED sources (horizontal illuminance: ∼500 lx). The study assessed thermal, visual, and overall perceptions. Results revealed that thermal sensation and preference were predominantly influenced by thermal conditions, gender, and the laboratory setting, indicating that no statistically significant effects were found in support of the HHH. Similarly, visual perceptions were influenced by lighting conditions but not by the thermal environment. For instance, cool light was perceived as brighter than warm light, leading participants to prefer brighter light under warm light hues. Ultimately, this research revealed the significant challenges of interlaboratory experiments in this field, as local climate and test-room characteristics complicate both the conduct and the standardization of data analysis. Our findings highlight both the limited role of white-light CCT in shaping thermal sensations and the methodological challenges of multi-site comfort research, underscoring the need for careful data harmonization and context-aware analyses in future international collaborations.

Phase change materials (PCMs) are a promising passive technology for reducing building heating and cooling energy use, yet their whole-building effectiveness as latent thermal storage remains insufficiently characterized. The present study introduces PCM Effectiveness Indicators (PCMEIs), a set of physics-informed, whole-building metrics that relate daily thermal-load reductions to the installed latent heat capacity. Using these indicators, this study demonstrates that PCM activation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for whole-building effectiveness. The proposed indicators capture dynamic, year-round performance across climates, implicitly accounting for partial phase transitions, fluctuating loads, and interactions with passive design strategies. They can be applied consistently to heating, cooling, and mixed-load analyses. Using EnergyPlus simulations and a global sensitivity analysis, 400 design configurations were evaluated for a prototype building in four ASHRAE climate zones (3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A). Across all climates, envelope characteristics, particularly the window-to-wall ratio, exerted a stronger influence on PCM effectiveness than commonly studied material properties such as melting temperature. These findings highlight the importance of co-optimizing PCMs with envelope design variables, especially at early design stages. Furthermore, PCMs achieved the highest effectiveness in heating-dominated climates and when mitigating cooling loads. Despite substantial PCM-induced load reductions, PCMEI values rarely exceeded 20%, indicating practical limits to whole-building latent-capacity utilization under real climatic variability. A design threshold was identified: maintaining installed latent heat capacity below approximately twice the building’s peak daily thermal load prevents oversizing and maximizes utilization. The proposed PCMEIs provide a transparent and scalable framework for whole-building evaluation of PCMs, supporting benchmark development and performance-based integration in energy-efficient building design.

Heat waves are among the most critical climate hazards, threatening both human health and the resilience of energy systems. Despite increasing attention in recent years, research on the interaction between heat waves and building thermal performance remains heterogeneous, with varied definitions and metrics across studies. This study presents a systematic review dedicated to this topic, analyzing 93 peer-reviewed articles to identify how heat waves are defined, detected, and linked to building performance and occupant well-being. Heat wave detection methods were categorized into climatological (absolute or relative threshold definitions), commonly accepted events, and simulation based. The relative threshold definition was identified as an effective method for selecting heat waves for building performance analysis. However, recent studies using simulation-based detection methods showed that external heat waves do not necessarily coincide with periods of extreme indoor heat. Investigators recommend using comprehensive heat stress indicators for simulation-based detection in future studies, while noting that current indices generally fail to capture cumulative heat stress. Vulnerability is also unevenly addressed, with comfort models still centered on young, healthy adults. In parallel, emerging metamodels offer opportunities to reduce the computational burden of large simulation studies. Finally, results indicate that peak cooling demand can arise during heat wave events that differ from those most critical for indoor environmental quality. Close collaboration among thermal simulation experts, meteorologists, public health officials, and urban planners is needed to develop comprehensive heat wave definitions and heat warning systems tailored to local contexts.

This study investigates the interplay between thermal perception and acoustic annoyance in an open-plan office in Southern Brazil’s hot and humid climate. Using environmental measurements and subjective assessments, the research explores how the thermal and acoustic environment across seasons, and the use of thermal Personalized Environmental Control Systems (PECS) affect occupants’ acoustic and thermal perceptions. Ten noise sources were analyzed to assess their association with acoustic annoyance and the resulting coping mechanisms like the willingness to use headphones (acoustic PECS). People’s activity and colleagues’ thermal PECS were the most common sources of acoustic annoyance. Seasonal patterns showed higher annoyance by people’s activity in summer while colleagues’ thermal PECS were more disturbing in winter due to the louder operation of portable heaters. Results from linear mixed-effect models further revealed that thermal sensation was mainly described by air temperature and participants’ PECS use, while cross-modal effects emerged for thermal pleasure, which was significantly associated with acoustic annoyance from colleagues’ PECS and people’s activity. Conversely, annoyance from people’s activity was explained only by noise levels, while annoyance from colleagues’ PECS was related to both thermal and acoustic factors. These findings highlight that cross-modal interactions selectively shape comfort evaluations and emphasize the role of personal and colleagues’ adaptive behaviors in shared workspaces. However, the relatively small sample size limits the generalization of the results, and future studies should include a larger and more diverse participant group to reinforce these findings.