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Research Trends of Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings
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Research Trends of Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "G: Energy and Buildings".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 June 2026 | Viewed by 7546

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Roberto de Lieto Vollaro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, Roma TRE University, 00146 Rome, Italy
Interests: energy engineering; energy systems; heat transfer; thermal comfort
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Luca Evangelisti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, Roma TRE University, 00146 Rome, Italy
Interests: building physics; energy efficiency; experimental measurements; building energy simulation; heat transfer; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Edoardo De Cristo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering, Roma TRE University, 00146 Rome, Italy
Interests: building energy simulation; heat transfer; sustainability

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal comfort and energy efficiency in buildings are two fundamental aspects of a wider issue related to our communities in terms of human well-being and energy sustainability. Efficient buildings need high-efficiency energy systems and components that are able to satisfy local energy demands to also employ renewable energy resources. Within this context, single structures need to be designed by applying a holistic vision oriented towards energy efficiency and indoor comfort. In turn, single structures can be considered part of greater communities able to join forces and invest in clean energy towards a zero-carbon emission perspective. The concept of designing energy communities based on renewables or community-based energy projects has gained worldwide attention, demonstrating economic, energy, and environmental benefits. Consequently, this Special Issue, titled “Research Trends of Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings”, has a wide-ranging goal, considering different levels of knowledge. This Special Issue welcomes high-quality papers focused on the following topics:

  • HVAC system solutions;
  • Renewable energy sources for buildings;
  • Energy communities;
  • Thermal and visual comfort;
  • Urban building energy modeling;
  • Heat transfer in building components;
  • Zero or nearly-zero energy buildings;
  • Case studies.

Prof. Dr. Roberto de Lieto Vollaro
Dr. Luca Evangelisti
Dr. Edoardo De Cristo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • thermal comfort
  • energy efficiency
  • renewables
  • energy communities
  • case studies

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 6736 KiB  
Article
Thermal Comfort of Older People: Validation of the MPMV Model
by Abdelaziz Laouadi, Melina Sirati and Zahra Jandaghian
Energies 2025, 18(6), 1484; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18061484 - 17 Mar 2025
Viewed by 575
Abstract
Older people are the most vulnerable to extreme heat and cold events, and understanding their thermal comfort requirements is an important component for the design of healthy buildings. There are, however, very few predictive thermal comfort models for older populations. The aim of [...] Read more.
Older people are the most vulnerable to extreme heat and cold events, and understanding their thermal comfort requirements is an important component for the design of healthy buildings. There are, however, very few predictive thermal comfort models for older populations. The aim of this paper was to validate the newly developed MPMV model for older people using thermal sensation data collected in climatic chambers and field studies in urban and rural buildings under various climate zones. Besides the six customary physical parameters governing thermal perception, the model accounts for additional factors covering heat retrieval from or heat addition to the body core and adjustment constants for regulatory sweating rate and non-shivering thermogenesis, which are important for the thermal adaptation of people in real settings. The model predictions show good agreement with measurement in climate chambers, with an overall RMSE = 0.44. Similarly, the model reproduces field measurement with a high degree of accuracy in 71% of the studies, with RMSE = 0.52. The major differences were observed in urban and rural residences during the winter of cold climates and summer of hot climates. These discrepancies could be attributed to unreported factors, such as the transient effects, misestimation of personal input data, and seasonal adaptation of residents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Trends of Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings)
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32 pages, 9228 KiB  
Article
Measurement-Based Assessment of Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort in Households Under Non-Controllable Conditions
by George M. Stavrakakis, Dimitris Bakirtzis, Dimitrios Tziritas, Panagiotis L. Zervas, Emmanuel Fotakis, Sofia Yfanti, Nikolaos Savvakis and Dimitris A. Katsaprakakis
Energies 2025, 18(5), 1087; https://doi.org/10.3390/en18051087 - 24 Feb 2025
Viewed by 575
Abstract
The current research presents a practical approach to assess energy performance and thermal comfort in households through monitoring campaigns. The campaigns are conducted in a Greek city, involving the installation of low-intrusive recording devices for hourly electricity consumption, indoor temperature, and relative humidity [...] Read more.
The current research presents a practical approach to assess energy performance and thermal comfort in households through monitoring campaigns. The campaigns are conducted in a Greek city, involving the installation of low-intrusive recording devices for hourly electricity consumption, indoor temperature, and relative humidity in different residences in winter and summer periods. The recorded indoor environmental conditions are initially compiled to the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) index, followed by the formulation of databases of hourly electricity consumption, PMV and local outdoor climate conditions retrieved by an official source of meteorological conditions. A special algorithm for database processing was developed which takes into account the eligibility of data series, i.e., only the ones corresponding to non-zero electricity consumption are treated as eligible. First, the sequential temporal progress of energy consumption and thermal comfort is produced towards the assessment of energy-use intensity and thermal comfort patterns. Secondly, through summing of the electricity consumption within 0.5-step PMV intervals, under three outdoor temperature intervals with approximately the same number of eligible measurements, reliable interrelations of energy consumption and PMV are obtained even for residences with limited amount of measured data. It is revealed that the weekly electricity consumption ranged within 0.15–3.59 kWh/m2 for the winter cases and within 0.29–1.72 kWh/m2 for the summer cases. The acceptable range of −1 ≤ PMV ≤ 1 interval holds an occurrence frequency from 69.46% to 93.39% and from 37.94% to 70.31% for the winter and summer examined cases, respectively. Less resistance to discomfort conditions is observed at most of the summer examined households exhibiting the electricity peak within the 1 ≤ PMV ≤ 1.5 interval, contrary to the winter cases for which the electricity peak occurred within the −1 ≤ PMV ≤ −0.5 interval. The study provides graphical relationships of PMV and electricity consumption under various outdoor temperatures paving the way for correlating thermal comfort and energy consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Trends of Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings)
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31 pages, 8812 KiB  
Article
Improving Energy Efficiency of School Buildings: A Case Study of Thermal Insulation and Window Replacement Using Cost-Benefit Analysis and Energy Simulations
by Dušan Ranđelović, Vladan Jovanović, Marko Ignjatović, Janusz Marchwiński, Ołeksij Kopyłow and Vuk Milošević
Energies 2024, 17(23), 6176; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17236176 - 7 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2009
Abstract
This study demonstrates the benefits of comprehensive school building (SB) energy efficiency (EE) improvements through building envelope renovations, lighting upgrades, and changes to cleaner heat sources. The parametric study in the building energy simulation software was used to check the application of various [...] Read more.
This study demonstrates the benefits of comprehensive school building (SB) energy efficiency (EE) improvements through building envelope renovations, lighting upgrades, and changes to cleaner heat sources. The parametric study in the building energy simulation software was used to check the application of various interventions on the energy consumption of existing SBs while reducing CO2 emissions with the most profitable return on investment (ROI). The energy savings from window replacements did not correspond with expectations. However, other measures such as the wall, roof insulation, and lighting modernization improved EE by up to 152 kWh/m2 and 41 kg/m2 CO2/m2 annually. The study also points to a significant trade-off between district heating (which reduces CO2 but has a slower ROI) and other heating solutions. The results suggest that climate-specific insulation thickness and glazing type needs are required, and optimal insulation strategies are shown to improve EE by 48–56% and CO2 reductions of 45–56%. Lighting replacement and biogas boiler use were both impactful. The findings support the importance of sustainable practices, which should stimulate educational awareness and environmental responsibility. This research presents actionable insights for EE and sustainable development from within educational facilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Trends of Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings)
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18 pages, 2171 KiB  
Article
Consequences of Non-Compliance with Technological Procedures in the Realisation of Construction Objects from the Point of View of Heat Consumption for Heating—A Case Study on Selected Construction Sites in the Slovak Republic
by Ján Hlina, Peter Makýš, Patrik Šťastný and Lucia Paulovičová
Energies 2024, 17(23), 5843; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17235843 - 21 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1875
Abstract
This article focuses on the energy performance of buildings with an emphasis on the consequences of non-compliance with technological practices during the building process. We analyse the impact of construction deficiencies on the consumption of heat for heating, focusing on specific case studies [...] Read more.
This article focuses on the energy performance of buildings with an emphasis on the consequences of non-compliance with technological practices during the building process. We analyse the impact of construction deficiencies on the consumption of heat for heating, focusing on specific case studies of selected building constructions in the Slovak Republic. The results show that non-compliance with prescribed technological standards and procedures leads to significant deterioration in the building’s energy efficiency, which is manifested in increased heat consumption and higher operating costs. The findings of this study have key importance for future construction projects as they offer valuable recommendations for improving energy standards and construction quality, thus contributing to a more sustainable and efficient building process. When designing buildings with near-zero energy demand, it is necessary to eliminate all risks in the project that arise during the preparation and design itself, as well as during implementation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Trends of Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings)
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15 pages, 4247 KiB  
Article
An Experimental Direct Model for the Sky Temperature Evaluation in the Mediterranean Area: A Preliminary Investigation
by Edoardo De Cristo, Luca Evangelisti, Claudia Guattari and Roberto De Lieto Vollaro
Energies 2024, 17(9), 2228; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17092228 - 6 May 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1570
Abstract
Since the beginning of the 20th century, many studies have focused on the possibility of considering the sky as a body characterized by an apparent temperature, and several correlations to quantify the apparent sky temperature have been proposed. However, the different models were [...] Read more.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, many studies have focused on the possibility of considering the sky as a body characterized by an apparent temperature, and several correlations to quantify the apparent sky temperature have been proposed. However, the different models were obtained for specific meteorological conditions and through measurements at specific sites. The available models do not cover all locations in the world, although the evaluation of the sky temperature is fundamental for estimating the net radiative heat transfer between surfaces and the sky. Here, experimental data logged from a regional micrometeorological network (in Italy, within the Lazio region) were processed and used to identify an empirical model for the estimation of the sky temperature in the Mediterranean area. Data relating to atmospheric infrared radiation were used to compute the sky temperature, aiming at identifying a direct correlation with the ambient temperature. Climatic data acquired during 2022 were processed. The proposed correlations were compared with other models available in the literature, including the standard ISO 13790. This study proposes an annual-based direct correlation in its initial phase, demonstrating a superior fit to the measured data compared to well-known direct empirical models from the literature. Subsequently, quarterly-based correlations are introduced further in a secondary phase of the work to improve the model’s adaptation to experimental observations. The results reveal that quarterly-based correlations improve goodness-of-fit indexes compared to annual-based and well-known direct empirical correlations. Finally, a detached building was modeled via a dynamic code to highlight the influence of different correlations on annual energy needs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Trends of Thermal Comfort and Energy Efficiency in Buildings)
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