Currently, there is a major housing shortage and climate crisis. There is a shortage of housing for starters and singles, and the rental market is shrinking in the Netherlands. Residential buildings are often new construction, and their climate design needs to be energy efficient and sustainable. In addition, many cities face a surplus of vacant offices/premises. These office buildings can be transformed into residential buildings. This can accommodate a large circulation of housing and once the indoor climate is optimised, the building becomes much more sustainable. For the research, the thematic research question was formulated, focusing on thermal comfort as: “How can a climate system, for the benefit of vacant office buildings, be designed to provide optimal thermal comfort, be user-friendly and energy efficient, minimizing the cost to the residential building?”

The research includes an extensive literature review. This was done by reading books, (newspaper) articles, reports and theses. The literature review also provided some case studies. Furthermore, interviews were done with a renovation architect, property managers and building physicists. The interviewees also recommended several case studies.

The research shows that hybrid air-conditioning systems for transforming office buildings can create energy-efficient and comfortable homes. Combining passive and active techniques, such as insulation, shading and heat pumps, offers a flexible and efficient solution. Central ventilation systems are suitable for larger buildings, while decentralised systems such as the AEROMAT VT ventilation system are ideal for smaller buildings. When looking at costs that can be saved is by reducing heat loss, and to achieve this, the indoor climate must work as optimally as possible, and the thermal comfort must be as optimal as possible. To make it user-friendly, the operation of the systems and their use should be well communicated to occupants. This approach ensures optimal indoor climate with low operating costs and a sustainable home renovation.

It is therefore concluded that an integrated approach of passive and active techniques can provide an energy-efficient and comfortable indoor environment for the transformation of empty office buildings. Hybrid systems combine passive techniques such as insulation and use of thermal mass with active systems such as heat pumps and mechanical ventilation systems. At the same time, the use of sustainable materials reduces the ecological footprint. By reusing materials and applying circular design principles, the costs of future transformations are reduced. This makes transformation to housing economically and sustainably feasible.

Ceiling fans offer a low-energy solution for improving thermal comfort in offices, yet their ability to provide collective comfort, serving multiple occupants, remains underexplored, especially when airflow is diffused by desk layouts.

This thesis examines whether office desks can diffuse ceiling fan-induced airflow and expand the comfort zone. A mixed-methods approach was used, combining CFD simulations, lab-based airspeed measurements, and human-subject experiments to assess airflow distribution and perceived comfort across multiple desk configurations and fan speeds.

Results show that desks redirect downward airflow horizontally, increasing airspeed at seated height (0.85m). While higher air speeds lowered thermal sensation votes, comfort levels did not increase. At 28°C and 49.2% RH, participants preferred an average airspeed of 0.49 m/s without group control. With group-selected fan speeds, preferences varied between 0.49–0.78 m/s, indicating diverse comfort needs.

As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of summer heat events, Dutch residential buildings face growing risks of overheating. In response, occupants are increasingly turning to energyintensive air conditioning, further exacerbating climate impacts. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of passive and low-energy cooling strategies in enhancing thermal comfort and heat resilience in existing Dutch dwellings under future summer climate conditions. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining dynamic thermal simulations in Honeybee with resident questionnaires and expert interviews, applied to three typical housing types: detached, terraced, and apartment buildings. The results show that the most effective strategies vary by room function. For living rooms, temperaturebased ventilation, cross-ventilation, existing lightweight construction, and the addition of ceiling fans and solar shading proved most effective. For bedrooms, night ventilation combined with renovated construction and the same additional measures offered the best performance. Ceiling fans alone consistently outperformed both solar shading and green roofs in reducing thermal discomfort. Interviews and survey responses further revealed that residents and professionals continue to prioritize winter comfort over summer comfort, and value affordability, low energy use, environmental impact, ease of installation, and minimal maintenance—factors not captured by thermal metrics alone. The findings suggest that, when occupancy hours are taken into account and strategies are applied in targeted combinations, passive and low-energy measures can significantly reduce overheating and dependence on air conditioning. When incorporated across multiple levels of the built environment, this could contribute to more sustainable and climate-resilient housing in the Netherlands. 

This study investigates the provision of personalized air velocity for occupants in open-plan offices during summer, aiming to enhance comfort and productivity while conserving energy. By addressing dissatisfaction arising from limited control over environmental conditions, this research proposes a solution integrating individualized airspeed and distribution control within open-plan offices in temperate maritime climates.

Building upon the significant energy consumption associated with Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, this research underscores the potential for energy savings by locally increasing the airspeed instead of cooling the air. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of individual control in enhancing workplace satisfaction and productivity. Employing a theoretical framework of perceived control, the study delineates environmental and perception domains crucial for effective implementation.

Through interviews and theoretical analysis, a design framework is developed, focusing on control, performance, and robustness. The study identifies essential design factors and criteria, distinguishing between must-have and optional elements. Notably, user preferences and environmental constraints shape the design process, highlighting the need for tailored solutions.

Key findings underscore the significance of user-centric design, considering factors like noise, draft avoidance, ergonomic placement of controls, and device flexibility, ensuring compatibility with the office layout’s adaptability.

This research contributes to the advancement of personalized environmental control systems, offering insights applicable to various workplace settings and climatic conditions.

This thesis focuses on the design and implementation of a flexible, adaptable, and modular integrated unitised façade panel. The panel integrates air-to-air building services technologies for ventilation and/or heating and cooling, driven by electricity, to enhance user comfort under different climate conditions. The primary objective is to develop a panel design capable of adapting to various climates in residential concrete tenement flats built post-war worldwide, due to the need of refurbishments of such residential buildings.

The thesis outlines a programme of constraints that define and determine key aspects for designing a building services integrated unitised façade panel. It also emphasizes the selection of efficient air-to-air technologies available in the market for heating, cooling, and ventilation, including heat exchangers that significantly decrease energy consumption in buildings while enhancing user comfort, regardless of the climate.

One of the challenges of the thesis lie in establishing the market acceptance of the proposed product design, ensuring feasibility and attractiveness to engineers, manufacturers, users, and architects. The design criteria also need to accommodate potential future changes, geometry adaptability and aesthetics flexibility. Additionally, the final product design will be simulated under two distinct climates to assess its feasibility for large-scale application.

The focus of this thesis will be on decentralised ventilation, heating, and cooling services to achieve substantial energy savings. Other technologies related to sun shading and energy generation will be considered regarding space and installation requirements but will not be part of the literature research.

In terms of comfort domains, the thesis will address indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal environment, and acoustics. The primary research question guiding the thesis is: “How can a façade design integrate building services for heating, cooling, and ventilation, and enhance user comfort in residential concrete buildings?” The methodology employed for this thesis follows a design-through-research approach.

Overall, this thesis aims to contribute to the development of an innovative building services integrated unitised façade panel that significantly improves energy efficiency while enhancing user comfort, and allows for adaptability for residential concrete buildings under different climates conditions.

One of the major risks to our planet today is climate change, which is a problem that worries people all over the world. There is a rise in global temperature levels and greenhouse gas emissions. The building industry has a huge share in this aspect. The current built environment accounts for almost 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands. Therefore, to meet national energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission targets, the energy performance of existing buildings is critical. In existing buildings, the challenge is threefold when it comes to refurbishment. Occupant behaviour towards indoor environment and energy usage behaviour. Secondly, the labour required for technical changes and lastly the financial limitations. Therefore, it is important to design or redesign buildings with the aim to provide good indoor quality using energy-efficient building elements which are simple, adaptable, sustainable, and affordable. The study explored in this graduation focuses on the renovation of Proteus Eretes rowing accommodation using integrated climate design strategies. The report highlights the need of occupants and their interaction with the indoor environment. The proposal is a combination of key solutions that can make a huge impact on energy savings and comfort conditions in the rowing facility. This research by design methodology aims to bridge the gap between energy neutrality and occupant comfort in buildings.