Understanding the Impact of Thermal Performance on Thermal Comfort in Dwellings: A Large-Sample Study With a Homogeneous User Profile

Initiatives abound for improving energy efficiency in existing dwellings stock, yet the impact in their indoor thermal comfort conditions, postretrofit performance, and comfort levels are insufficiently explored. Studies that evaluate this parameter, enabling the validation or adjustment of current policies of retrofit actions, would be essential. Thus, this paper details the thermal monitoring and behaviour of a sample of 92 dwellings with a homogeneous user profile, with the aim of identifying thermal and comfort patterns. For this purpose, continuous long-term monitoring is proposed for the comparative analysis of time series data for different climatic periods, instead of complex and individual data collection in situ. In order to correlate the envelope’s thermal behaviour, buildings are characterised in terms of building typology and construction period, after which occupant behaviours are examined via questionnaires on self-reported thermal sensations and adaptive actions. Key results point to a lack of relationship between the building typology and construction period and thermal performance, even after the implementation of energy efficiency improvement measures. Additionally, thermal comfort was found to be intermittent, albeit more present in winter than summer, with a marked heterogeneity when it comes to individual habits. These facts indicate that it is necessary to include additional thermal performance driving factors for determining practical comfort implications and characterising its correlation with energy efficiency.