DESCRIPTION OF THE SESSION

The following session will discuss the outcomes of a 3 year national study on indoor thermal resilience and overheating risk in low energy non-residential buildings. The study, entitled project RESILIENCE, is near completion and this topical session will form the basis to discuss the policy implications around overheating and thermal resilience in non-residential buildings in Ireland and for temperate climates more generally. The project monitored overheating risk in 33 high performance non-residential buildings and evaluated factors of influence in building designs that were thought to have a high leverage effect on overheating. The aim is to foster an opportunity for international experts to debate the appropriate direction of regulations and policy to reduce vulnerability lock-in in building designs, using Project RESILIENCE as a framework for the discussion. There will be two collaborative engagement parts to the session; a workshop and an open discussion aided with interactive tools to collect opinions, ideas, recommendations from participants. The outcome will be a position on how research can better support policy initiatives that are needed to address thermal vulnerability in the built environment.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SESSION

The session will have four key objectives including:

• To explore how designers can achieve indoor thermal resilience in the context of non-residential buildings and national regulations.
• To critically evaluate existing vulnerabilities in a sample of high performance low energy Irish buildings and assess the presence of any recurring trends.
• To develop a position on the future direction of regulatory policy designed to mitigate overheating in temperate climates and also assess adaptation measures.

SESSION PROGRAMME

1. Introduction (12 mins)

   • Project RESILIENCE: Overview & Workshop Planning. Adam O’Donovan, Munster Technological University, Ireland
   • Overheating Mitigation Policy: Current Trends and Future Outlook. Paul D. O’ Sullivan, Munster Technological University, Ireland

    

   Workshop (30 mins)

   • Assessing the Vulnerability of Existing Building Design related to Regulations: Ireland as a case study. Paul O’ Sullivan, Munster Technological University, Ireland

    

   Study Results (18 mins)

   • Indoor Thermal Resilience in Irish Schools, Office and Healthcare Buildings. Adam O’Donovan, Munster Technological University, Ireland
   • Overall outcomes from the project and next steps. Adam O’ Donovan, Munster Technological University, Ireland

    

   Discussion (30 mins)

   • Connecting Resilient Overheating Mitigation Policy to Research. Paul O’ Sullivan, Munster Technological University, Ireland.

SESSION CHAIRS

1. Paul D. O’Sullivan, Munster Technological University, Ireland
2. Adam O’ Donovan, Munster Technological University, Ireland

SESSION DURATION

• 90 minutes