Reducing domestic energy consumption: A user-centred design approach

Energy use within the UK domestic sector is on the increase, causing significant environmental and social stresses. This increase in energy consumption is not only due to the rising proliferation of technological devices within the home, but also to their context of use, and the behaviours and habits attributed to and enacted through their...

Certification of passive houses: A Western European overview

According to the popular definition, passive houses have to reach a target energy demand for heating less than 15 kWh per square meter and per year. This criterion is used as a basis for quality assurance procedures and certification of passive house projects. This paper identifies the experiences in several western European countries concerning...

The Comfort Unit: Developed as part of a Climate Adaptive Skin

In what way would a façade be able to create a comfortable indoor office environment using only the indoor and outdoor environment as its energy sources? The low (average) outdoor temperatures in The Netherlands suggest that the outdoor climate is cold enough to cool the indoor climate through ventilation with fresh outdoor air without resorting...

Designing the comfort of the future car

This graduation project focuses on a combination of the following; cars, comfort and the future. Two of these elements seem hard to grasp, and one moves the world. Together they form the ingredients for an interesting challenge; how can we provide comfort to the occupants of future cars? The power consumption of comfort features in a fuel...