Interplay of building efficiency and households' ventilation behaviour: Evidence of an inverse U-shaped correlation

The energy required for space heating has been significantly reduced in recent decades due to more efficient insulation and building technology. However, studies show deviations between actual and predicted heat consumptions. Apart from mere technical aspects, occupant behaviour is recognized as one of the major causes for the observed mismatch. The more efficient the building, the more the ventilation behaviour becomes relevant for energy consumption. This paper focuses on the interdependence between ventilation behaviour and building efficiency based on a dataset on 1558 surveyed households and energetic building properties. The analyses show that the ventilation behaviour depends on the energy standard of the building. There is evidence of an inverse U-shaped correlation of the efficiency of the building and ventilation behaviour: energy-inefficient ventilation behaviour is rare in unrefurbished, old buildings due to the natural air exchange rates. In buildings that have been (partially) retrofitted to a medium energy standard, energy-inefficient ventilation behaviour is identified. In buildings with a high energy standard (new builds or modernised to a high energy standard) households predominantly ventilate in an energy-efficient manner. Concerning the ongoing discussion about rebound effects due to inefficient ventilation behaviour, these results can help to overcome the scepticism towards ambitious modernisations. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study explores the interdependence between ventilation behavior and building efficiency, finding a U-shaped correlation between the two. Ventilation behavior is more energy-efficient in buildings with higher energy standards. Deviations between actual and predicted heat consumptions are mainly attributed to occupant behavior rather than technical aspects.