Analysis of the impacts of climate change on the energy use and indoor environmental quality in an office

Sammanfattning: As the climate continues to change in upcoming years, the building sector will face serious and challenging problems where buildings will need to be adapted to withstand the changes. This study examined the impact of climate change on the energy need and indoor thermal comfort of an office building in Stockholm, Sweden. Three different passive strategies, interior blinds, external shading and night-time ventilation have been implemented on the case study building in order to maintain thermal comfort and energy efficiency. Two different future climate conditions were examined, both representing the year 2070. However, only one considered the outdoor air temperature while the other considered more weather parameters. The energy simulation software IDA ICE was used to analyse the energy performance and indoor climate of the case study building with respect to the different climates. The results demonstrate that there will be an increase in cooling demand and decrease in heating demand in the future. The introduction of external shading and night-time ventilation proved to be the most effective strategies regarding thermal comfort and energy use for both current and future climates.