The impact of refurbishment on thermal comfort in post-war office buildings

Post-war office buildings have been modelled using EnergyPlus to determine the effect on thermal comfort of a range of energy- saving refurbishment measures. The native buildings were found to be thermally uncomfortable in the winter due to low operative temperatures arising from their concrete construction and single glazing. When the building envelope was refurbished, the energy performance improved markedly and the buildings became thermally comfortable in the winter. However, in the summer they were prone to overheating, though the impact was mitigated by shading and night cooling. It is concluded that a wider range of refurbishment techniques needs to be investigated to achieve simultaneous energy reduction and year-round thermal comfort.