Changes in residential buildings thermal comfort over a decade in Belo Horizonte (MG)

Abstract

Climate change has an impact on altering weather events and average temperatures across the globe. Understanding the impact of these changes on the building stock is essential for proposing climate resilience measures, especially in the case of residential buildings that have a significant energy consumption that tends to increase in this scenario. The objective of this article is to evaluate the impact of climate change on typical residential typologies for the city of Belo Horizonte (MG) for the period 2011-2023. The analyses were made by year-by-year computer simulations for 6 representative typologies and the results were analyzed from the ASHRAE 55 adaptive comfort model. For each of the models, a standard type of wall and roof were considered, changing the colors of the external walls. The results showed a reduction in the hours of comfort over the analyzed period and the importance of thinking about the thermal response of buildings in the long term. The results have implications for the approach of local urban regulations and legislation, linking traditional building parameters to energy planning on a municipal scale.