Resilience to climate change: thermal comfort strategies in naturally ventilated classrooms

• Grant number: 24/06743-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Architecture and Urbanism Technology
• Principal Investigator: Leticia de Oliveira Neves
• Grantee: Eduarda Gonçalves Chaga
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FEC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/21928-6 - Naturally ventilated classrooms in developing countries: passive strategies for overheating mitigation, BE.EP.MS

Abstract

The thermal conditions of classrooms affect well-being, personal development and health of its users. Poor indoor environmental conditions, such as high temperatures, can be prejudicial to students, and are aggravated by climate change and heatwaves. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of heatwaves and climate change on thermal comfort in naturally ventilated classrooms of primary schools. Therefore, classrooms from a school located in Campinas-SP and subsidized by the Foundation for the Development of Education (FDE) of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, will be monitored, and questionnaires will be applied to its users, including children, teachers and pedagogues. Computer simulations will be developed in the EnergyPlus and jEPlus programs, involving three steps: (i) calibration of a model based on data collected in situ, (ii) simulations of future climate scenarios for the current design condition and (iii) simulations of passive design strategies, considering the current scenario and future scenarios. The results will be analyzed in terms of users' thermal response, including evaluation of the percentage of hours in the temperature range (PHFT), the heating and cooling thermal loads and users' thermal sensations. Definitions, metrics and approaches used to quantify thermal resilience will also be considered. We aim to qualify and quantify the resilience of school environments in the face of the current climate scenario and future scenarios, especially in heatwave events, as well as to compare differences in thermal response and thermal comfort during heatwaves or during milder temperatures. The results will also be compared with other similar investigations from the specialized literature on the subject.