A study on the effect of transitional spaces on summer thermal comfort and annual energy consumption in different climates

This paper focuses on the effect of courtyards, atria and sunspaces on indoor summer thermal comfort and annual energy consumption for heating and cooling. One of the most important purposes is to understand if certain transitional spaces can reduce the energy consumption of and improve thermal comfort in houses. To conduct this research, 4 building types were modeled and simulated in five different climates with Design Builder, which uses Energy Plus as its simulation engine. From these simulations, the energy consumption of the houses is determined. Moreover, the indoor temperature data were plotted on adaptive temperature boundary charts. This paper shows that a courtyard or a sunspace located at the center of a house increases the energy consumption for heating in the Netherlands, at the same time increasing the risk of overheating in summer. At the end, the paper reports that although a courtyard is not energy-efficient (in comparison with the other models) in a temperate climate, it can provide a comfortable addition to a house if naturally ventilated during summer.