Linking Indoor Thermal Comfort with Climate, Energy, Housing, and Living Conditions: Portuguese Case in European Context

Abstract

Even though the milder climate scenario and constant evolution of thermal building regulation are in light of European initiatives, in Portugal, there are few houses where occupants can remain all the time in perfectly comfortable temperature conditions without resorting to heating or cooling. According to the Long Term Strategy for the Renewal of Buildings (ELPRE), this results from the combination of several factors, namely, low energy use for air conditioning compared to energy needs and aged building stock with poor energy performance. In fact, around 70% of the dwellings currently certified have low energy efficiency (C or less). The purpose of this review article was to analyse and discuss the factors affecting indoor thermal comfort, the inability to keep the home adequately warm in winter and cool in summer, and the risk of poverty or social exclusion in the European context, namely in Portugal. It fills the gap in the literature researching and analysing the motivations for these lower consumptions in Southern Europe, being Portugal a paradigmatic case. The current work integrates the indoor thermal comfort evolution and the current situation in Portugal in the EU context through different thermal comfort indicators and linking with the other statistics data, which may impact the indoor thermal comfort.