Quantitative Evaluation of the Contributions of Improved Housing Performances Toward Delivering Sustainable Development Goals by a Building Energy Simulation Tool. (April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Serikawa, Mao; Satoh, Makoto; Umishio, Wataru; Kawakubo, Shun; Nakano, Junta; Akimoto, Takashi; Ikaga, Toshiharu; Murakami, Shuzo
• Is Part Of: Sustainable cities and society. Volume 79(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-04
• Subjects: SDGs -- Thermal insulation -- Indoor temperature -- Blood pressure -- Energy consumption -- CO2 emissions; SDGs Sustainable Development Goals -- DGNB German Society for Sustainable Building -- LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -- BREEAM Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method -- CASBEE Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency -- WHO World Health Organization -- AMeDAS Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System -- BEST Building Energy Simulation Tool -- BEST-H BEST Program for Housing Calculation -- BESTEST Building Energy Simulation Test -- JPY Japanese Yen; Sustainable urban development -- Periodicals; Sustainable buildings -- Periodicals; Urban ecology (Sociology) -- Periodicals; 307.76
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2022.103701
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2210-6707

Abstract

Highlights: Evaluation method of contributing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was proposed. A heat load simulation-based method was proposed for the quantitative evaluation. Effect of improving housing performance is evaluated from multiple perspectives. Blood pressure, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions are predicted and assessed. Effectiveness of energy efficient houses that benefit resident health was confirmed. Abstract: In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was adopted by all United Nations Member States. The indoor environment of residences affects the health of occupants regarding SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). Meanwhile, a vast amount of energy is used to supply power to houses worldwide, which emit sufficient volumes of CO2 and affect climate change regarding SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). A key step to delivering on these SDGs is improving the thermal insulation of houses and housing equipment performance to reduce energy consumption and protect the health of the occupants by improving the indoor environment. This study presents an evaluation method for quantifying the contribution of improving housing performance toward delivering the SDGs. The proposed approach is primarily based on the results of heat load simulations. Meanwhile, blood pressure is predicted as an indicator of health by using the interior environment obtained by the simulation. A case study was performed, and the results demonstrated the effectiveness of improving the housing performance of newly constructed houses compared to heating and retrofit. The proposed method is versatile and can be adjusted for application to alternative locations, house designs, and lifestyles.