Resilience of buildings to climate change in the metropolitan region of São Paulo: evaluation of thermal comfort in residential units

Abstract

The object of this research is the thermal performance of residential buildings in the city of Sao Paulo, in the current and future climate scenarios, having in mind the climate changes planned for the coming decades (according to the scenarios of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report - IPCC AR4) as well as the increased vulnerability of the elderly population. The objective is to evaluate the thermal performance of residential units in the current climate scenario with a focus on the conditions of thermal comfort for seniors on climate change envisaged. This research is linked to a thematic multidisciplinary project involving IAGUSP, FMUSP, POLIUSP, and FAU supported by FAPESP, process 2010/10189-5. It is from this project that the empirical data will be based on since measurements of environmental variables in summer and winter will be calculated (air temperature, air humidity, globe temperature, and air velocity) within residential units of interest for this project. Simultaneously, questionnaires will be applied aiming at the perception of sensation and thermal comfort provided by the user during summer and winter. The data obtained will be tabulated, treated, and then processed and modeled mathematically by software operating resources of calculation tools and virtual spreadsheets. Comparing the results of the questionnaires with the results obtained from the microclimatic data treated and applied with the comfort index will allow the diagnosis of the thermal performance of the building as well as the proposition of building design recommendations. (AU)