Thermal performance of a passive-designed dwelling unit and the influence of residents' dwelling condition.

Passive and low energy houses are not yet widespread throughout the world. One of the reasons is that their actual performance has not been clarified. In recent years, the number of houses has been increasing in Japan, however, there are very few examples of multiple dwelling building whose performance has been clarified. The annual thermal performance of two dwelling units in a multiple dwelling building in Japan is measured and their high performance is verified. The two dwellings have the same floor plan and same passive systems, but their thermal performance are clearly different, owing to the difference in the residents' dwelling conditions. This indicates that it is necessary to specify the mechanism and the performance of houses to house users.