Iñigo Rodríguez Vidal
Xabat Oregi Isasi
Jorge Otaegui Arce
This work is developed from the investigations initiated during the development of the Doctoral Thesis “EVALUATION OF THE PASSIVHAUS CONSTRUCTION STANDARD AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE CLIMATE FIELD OF THE BASQUE AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITY AND THE FORAL COMMUNITY OF NAVARRA. THE CASE OF OFFICIAL PROTECTION COLLECTIVE HOUSING ”defended by Iñigo Rodríguez Vidal in December 2015 at the Department of Architecture of the University of the Basque Country (https://addi.ehu.es/handle/10810/17870).
Given that the Passivhaus standard was originally defined in a conservative direction of energy, developed in climates with relatively low values of solar radiation, this study tried to analyze the consequences of a construction under the Passivhaus standard in climates present in the Basque Autonomous Community and the Foral Community of Navarra, very different from each other, but all characterized by less rigor in winter and greater in summer, with a greater or lesser incidence of both effects according to the climatic zones that we will describe.
From the previous point, it was about evaluating the applicability of the Passivhaus standard to each climatic zone. The aim was to carry out a study adapted to the climatic areas found in political territories, and to mark the appropriate construction and typological trends for a better adaptation to European energy saving regulations.
The study sought to evaluate the behavior of buildings in warm months in terms of thermal comfort, defining the best strategies so that they remain within optimal levels. Given that proposed passive cooling solutions such as natural ventilation, nighttime over-ventilation (mechanical and natural) and conductive ground contact cooling are the most common responses to overheating before opting for active cooling systems, he reflected on the adaptation of the same to the collective construction in urban environments typical of public housing developments. It was also evaluated whether other passive systems to avoid overheating, architectural solutions (fixed sun protection structures), mobile sun protection systems (external reflective blinds) can sufficiently improve the situation of possible overheating in the different climatic zones. Likewise, it was evaluated how the different construction systems behave, with greater or lesser thermal inertia, when it comes to achieving thermal comfort within the established ranges.
This study seeks to contrast the results obtained during the theoretical research by monitoring and conducting surveys among the users of houses built according to social protection housing regulations in the Basque Country.
The objectives of the study are:
Ratify the conclusions obtained by the previous study through the use of surveys and monitoring;
Evaluate the resilience of homes built under the Passivhaus standard to increasingly intense heat waves;
Assess the use by users of protective measures against overheating and the impact of the same in reducing overheating hours;
Complete climate-friendly improvements.