Dynamic comfort: engaging the occupants in low energy house.

This paper presents a passive design strategy where thermal comfort is achieved by engaging the occupants to define their own comfort condition and vary the quality of the space according to their needs. Two naturally ventilated houses in South Australia designed with this approach were tested and their actual performance documented. The results showed that most of the time the houses were always comfortable without any assistance from active systems. With simulation, confirmed by the interview with the occupants, it was discovered that the most critical strategy was the use of movable external shading devices. This strategy allowed the occupants to open or close parts or all of the shades as needed. As a result, the house provided a 'dynamic comfort' while maintaining a low operating energy.