Climate, building design, energy use and comfort

Abstract

Environmental factors lead the user requirements, function and quality of the building. Climate is an important environmental factor that should be considered during the design of the building. When the design of the building is not suitable for the climate of the country or region, users requirements related to the heating and cooling will produce demands on energy use. This means either more energy use than necessary or uncomfortable and unhealthy indoor environment for users in terms of climatic condition. In this paper effects of climatic factors on design, energy use and users comfort are discussed in a systematic way, and compared with existing social residential buildings in Northern Cyprus. Surveys on the buildings and questionnaires with their users were done during the study.