The impact of cultural assumptions on simulated energy, comfort, and investment returns of design decisions in two deser
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The impact of cultural assumptions on simulated energy, comfort, and investment returns of design decisions in two desert climates Research Article
Esteban Estrella Guillen1,2 (), Holly W. Samuelson1, Christine Vohringer1 1. Harvard Graduate School of Design, 48 Quincy St., Cambridge, MA, USA 2. Universidad de Monterrey, Av. Ignacio Morones Prieto 4500, San Pedro Garza García, NL, Mexico
Abstract
Keywords
In Latin America, default assumptions and borrowed templates and methodologies are often used
performance simulation,
in energy modeling, resulting in models that might not represent their cultural context and
energy model,
leading to policies awkwardly fit to local practices. Policy-driving low-income housing studies in
low-cost housing,
Mexico, for example, activated both heating and cooling in energy models even though less than
housing policy,
5% of the homes in the country have heating systems. This paper illustrates the importance of modeling local sociocultural habits and practices, and how this can affect design outcomes. Here, we modeled low-income housing representative of typical residences in two desert climates— Hermosillo, Mexico, and Copiapo, Chile—using EnergyPlus. Settings representing local practices in
thermal comfort, culture
Article History Received: 04 December 2019
each region were tested against default values, including occupancy settings, regional construction
Revised: 03 July 2020
systems, and importantly, HVAC settings related to partial conditioning. Their impacts were
Accepted: 28 August 2020
measured via variation in energy use, comfort conditions, and the payback period of design upgrades. Results demonstrated how certain assumptions can have a high “design significance”, a
© Tsinghua University Press and
term we propose for inputs that completely change optimal design decisions, as well as the
Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany,
importance of considering thermal comfort in such decisions. Including partial conditioning, for
part of Springer Nature 2020
example, resulted in at least double the payback period and discomfort degrees for design upgrades in 16 of 24 instances.
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Introduction
E-mail: [email protected]
Building Thermal, Lighting, and Acoustics Modeling
In Latin American countries, sustainability programs and policy are often based on external standards and methodologies; the EcoCasa program in Mexico and the Sustainable Construction Code (CCS in Spanish) in Chile, for example, are based on the German Passive House Standard and the British BREEAM certification, respectively. Furthermore, energy modelers in these countries, like elsewhere, tend to rely on default modeling templates and assumptions that might not accurately represent their context. This can potentially lead to misrepresentation, and, since building codes and other building-industry policies are often informed by building performance simulation, to policies awkwardly fit to local practices. For instance, in most Mexican and Chilean low-income homes, having both heating and coo
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