Are Irish Low Energy School Designs Resilient Against Overheating?

The challenges posed by climate change and related thermal discomfort in school classrooms are a worldwide challenge. Recent research indicates that numerous low energy school buildings do not comply with comfort criteria and suffer from overheating. This study aimed to determine when indoor air temperature conditions in classrooms were vulnerable to overheating risk. Secondly, quantify the contribution and correlation of outdoor air temperature and individual building features on the indoor air temperature in Irish low energy naturally ventilated schools.  
To achieve these objectives, this research analysed 45 classrooms in five low energy naturally ventilated schools in Ireland. Advanced sensors were employed to gather precise and extensive air temperature readings across various classrooms and schoolyards. The investigation utilised an extensive database detailing the school buildings' features as well as indoor and outdoor air temperatures. The study applied advanced statistical methods to analyse and understand temperature dynamics in school buildings. A descriptive statistical analysis was used to uncover patterns and fluctuations in temperature within the school buildings. The analysis of variance for hypothesis testing was employed to reveal significant temperature differences between various school classrooms and levels. Cohen's d statistic was also used to quantify the effect sizes, providing insight into how specific building features impact indoor air temperatures. 
The findings show that the classrooms are able to meet overheating thresholds in the present, so they scored high on their indoor thermal resilience under future climate scenarios. They have sufficient natural ventilation potential to ensure thermal building resilience in current weather conditions. The field study-based approach adopted in the study offered a useful method to evaluate indoor thermal resilience in the existing building when the opportunity to avoid vulnerability "lock-in" is greatest. This study also comprehensively explains the relationship between school building features and indoor air temperature. The analysis using Cohen's d effect sizes prioritised certain building features when designing or retrofitting school buildings to improve the thermal comfort performance of classrooms against overheating. This study recommends utilising natural ventilation, developing robustness and recoverability plans for passive cooling systems, and occupant performance in overheating situations.