cooling demand

Due to climate change, Western Europe is experiencing a surge in cooling demand, leading to higher summer temperatures accompanied by longer and stronger heat waves, thereby intensifying the toll on our buildings. This signals the need for architects to design buildings that take advantage of passive technics to provide thermal comfort. In recent years, natural ventilation has become a widely used method for reducing energy consumption and expenses. However, the utilization of natural ventilation can be restricted due to heatwaves and the impacts of climate change.

The increase of the ambient air temperatures in urban areas during the past few decades, due to the heat island phenomenon and the warming of the lower atmosphere, has strong impact on the energy profile of buildings, the comfort conditions, the air pollution and the indoor environment, especially in the Mediterranean regions with hot climate conditions. The present paper focuses on the investigation of the impact of the temperature increase in nine Greek cities over the last forty years on the energy demand of buildings.

Office buildings in Chile show higher cooling than heating energy demand. The climate of the country show important differences between cities by the ocean and those of interior regions, located between the coastal and the Andes range. Main cities of Central Chile, where more than 40% of buildings are constructed every year are Santiago and Valparaíso, both located at around 33° S. Santiago presents a Mediterranean climate, with a high temperature oscillation between day and night during cooling period.