CHILDREN SPEND MOST OF THEIR LIVES IN SCHOOL CLASSROOMS, SO THE QUALITY OF THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT IS VERY SIGNIFICANT FOR THEIR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND GENERAL WELL-BEING. THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF A RESEARCH PROJECT THAT LOOKED AT THERMAL PERFORMANCE AND PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES IN SCHOOL CLASSROOMS LOCATED IN THREE DIFFERENT CLIMATES OF CHILE. IT IS ORGANIZED INTO TWO PARTS: FIRSTLY, IT PRESENTS AN ASSESSMENT OF THE THERMAL CONDITIONS INSIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSROOMS BASED ON MEASUREMENTS THAT WERE TAKEN IN BOTH WINTER AND SUMMER. THESE SHOWED THAT CHILDREN ARE GENERALLY EXPOSED TO VERY LOW TEMPERATURES IN WINTER, AS MOST CLASSROOMS ARE NEITHER HEATED NOR COOLED BY ACTIVE MEANS. SECONDLY, IT PROVIDES A PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS OF A BASIC SCHOOL CLASSROOM TYPOLOGY AT THE SAME LOCATIONS. THIS INVOLVED DETERMINING THE IMPACT OF A LARGE NUMBER OF COMBINATIONS OF SIMPLE PASSIVE STRATEGIES ON OVERALL ENERGY PERFORMANCE AND IDENTIFYING THE BEST CASE FOR EACH LOCATION.

HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR) IMAGING TECHNIQUES ARE NOWADAYS WIDELY USED IN BUILDING RESEARCH TO CAPTURE LUMINANCES IN THE OCCUPANT FIELD OF VIEW AND INVESTIGATE VISUAL DISCOMFORT. THIS PHOTOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUE ALSO MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO MAP SKY LUMINANCES. SUCH IMAGES CAN BE USED FOR ILLUMINATING VIRTUAL SCENES; THE TECHNIQUE IS CALLED IMAGE-BASED LIGHTING (IBL). THIS PAPER PRESENTS A WORK INVESTIGATING IBL IN A LIGHTING QUALITY RESEARCH CONTEXT FOR ACCELERATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPEARANCE-DRIVEN PERFORMANCE INDICATORS. SIMULATIONS WERE CARRIED OUT USING RADIANCE SOFTWARE. THE ABILITY OF IBL TO ACCURATELY PREDICT INDOOR LUMINANCES IS DISCUSSED BY COMPARISON WITH LUMINANCES FROM HDR PHOTOGRAPHS AND LUMINANCES PREDICTED BY SIMULATION IN MODELING THE SKY IN SEVERAL OTHER MORE TRADITIONAL WAYS. THE PRESENT STUDY CONFIRMS PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS THAT IBL LEADS TO SIMILAR LUMINANCE VALUES THAN FAR LESS LABORIOUS SIMULATIONS IN WHICH THE SKY IS MODELED BASED ON OUTDOOR ILLUMINANCE MEASUREMENTS. IBL AND THESE LAST METHODS MINIMIZE DIFFERENCES WITH HDR PHOTOGRAPHS IN COMPARISON TO SKY MODELING NOT BASED ON OUTDOOR MEASUREMENTS.

EVALUATING THE ENERGY AND THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS DURING THEIR LIFETIME BRINGS ABOUT UNCERTAINTY, SINCE THERE IS STRONG EVIDENCE SUGGESTING THAT CLIMATE CHANGE (CC) WILL AFFECT INDOOR ENVIRONMENT QUALITY. CC HAS BEEN REFLECTED, AMONG OTHER PHENOMENA, IN A TEMPERATURE RISE THAT IS NECESSARILY RELATED TO THE INDOOR TEMPERATURE OF BUILDINGS. RECOGNIZING POSSIBLE FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS AND THEIR POSSIBLE EFFECTS WILL ALLOW IMPROVING THE RESILIENCE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS. TODAY?S BUILDINGS ARE SOURCES OF HIGH ENERGY DEMAND. IN THE CASE OF CHILE, AN ORDINARY HOUSE, DUE TO ITS POOR THERMAL PERFORMANCE, REQUIRES BETWEEN 40% AND 60% OF ITS ENERGY CONSUMPTION FOR HEATING OR COOLING, DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION.

THIS CHAPTER ADDRESSES THE REGULATORY BARRIERS AND ACOUSTIC DESIGN CHALLENGES FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH, WITHIN NEW FLEXIBLE LEARNING SPACES. NOWADAYS, THE DIVERSITY OF TEACHING METHODOLOGIES AND APPROACHES HAS MADE THE AMBIENT SOUND MORE COMPLEX DUE TO THE NOISE CAUSED BY GROUP LEARNING ACTIVITIES. THEREFORE, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS ARTICLE WAS TO MAKE AN INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF ACOUSTIC DESIGN REGULATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FLEXIBLE LEARNING SPACES. CURRENTLY, THE LIMITED ACOUSTIC DESIGN CRITERIA FOR THESE NEW SPACES DIFFER FROM ONE ANOTHER, EVIDENCING IMPRESSIONS WHEN DEFINING WHICH PARAMETERS WOULD BE OPTIMAL TO CHARACTERIZE THEIR ACOUSTICS. UNDERSTANDING THE OPERATIONALIZATION OF ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AND PEDAGOGICAL USE WILL BE ESSENTIAL TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE VERBAL COMMUNICATION USING VARIABLE ACOUSTICS, WHICH INVOLVES THE USE OF ACOUSTIC CONTROL ELEMENTS AND DEVICES TO COVER THE CURRENT GAPS IN EXISTING STANDARDS.

SEVERAL RESEARCH PROJECTS HAVE REVEALED THE IMPORTANCE OF CIRCADIAN LIGHT IN THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF PEOPLE. MOST OF THESE STUDIES HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT IN EXTREME REGIONS, WITH A LACK OF DAYLIGHT. HOWEVER, THIS HAS LED TO GREATER AWARENESS OF THE NON-VISUAL EFFECTS OF LIGHT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LIGHTING DESIGNS THAT CONSIDER PRINCIPLES THAT GENERATE CIRCADIAN ACTIVATION IN ALL CONTEXTS, INCLUDING THE GLOBAL SOUTH. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THIS CHAPTER IS TO ANALYZE THE LIGHTING CONDITIONS AND TO KNOW THE CIRCADIAN STIMULATION POTENTIAL FOR OFFICES THAT LACK WINDOWS FOR DAYLIGHT AND ARE ONLY ILLUMINATED WITH ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING, WHERE A LOW CIRCADIAN IMPACT IS ASSUMED. THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT IN OFFICES THAT WERE NOT INTENTIONALLY PLANNED TO COMPLY WITH THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CIRCADIAN STIMULUS, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE IT JUST BY HAVING LAMPS WITH A COLOR TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 3000 TO 6500 K, BUT IT IS NECESSARY TO HAVE HORIZONTAL ILLUMINANCE LEVELS ABOVE 300 LX AND EVALUATE THE VERTICAL ILLUMINANCE THAT THE OCCUPANT HAS, WHEN DESIGNING. IT IS NECESSARY TO MOVE TOWARDS A MORE INTEGRATED DESIGN, FOCUSING ON WORKPLACES WITHOUT ACCESS TO DAYLIGHT.

THE CHAPTER DISCUSSES THE OPTIMIZATION OF DAYLIGHTING STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE VISUAL COMFORT IN SIDE-LIT OFFICE SPACES. GLAZED FACADES ARE COMMONLY USED IN THE DESIGN OF OFFICE BUILDINGS, WHERE DIRECT SUNLIGHT CAUSES VISUAL GLARE, AND THE PROLONGED USE OF DYNAMIC USER-OPERATED SHADING DEVICES REDUCES DAYLIGHTING AND BLOCKS THE VIEW OUTSIDE. VISUAL COMFORT AT THE USE STAGE DEPENDS ON EARLY DESIGN DECISIONS APPROPRIATE TO EACH CONTEXT TO MAXIMIZE UNIFORM DAYLIGHT INDOORS AND CONTROL GLARE RISK. THIS MAY BE A CHALLENGE IN EXTENSIVE TERRITORIES WITH GREAT VARIABILITY OF PREVALENT SKIES AND DAYLIGHT AVAILABILITY. THE RESEARCH WAS CARRIED OUT IN AN EXPERIMENTAL OFFICE SPACE PROTOTYPE, ANALYZING DAYLIGHT STRATEGIES IN THREE CHILEAN CITIES WITH DIFFERENT CLIMATE CONDITIONS. THEY WERE EVALUATED USING THE CLIMATE-BASED DAYLIGHT MODELING METHOD AND VALIDATED WITH THE DYNAMIC DAYLIGHTING METRICS IN SUSTAINABLE CODES. THE CHAPTER PROVIDES A SELECTION OF DAYLIGHTING STRATEGIES SUITABLE FOR DIFFERENT CLIMATES. IT ILLUSTRATES THE DAYLIGHT PERFORMANCE REGARDING ILLUMINATION LEVEL AND THE POTENTIAL GLARE CONTROL TO ACHIEVE VISUAL COMFORT FOR THE OCCUPANTS.

THE EFFECTIVENESS AND ACCURACY OF A DAYLIGHTING STUDY RELIES ON KNOWING THE CLIMATE AND LIGHT CONDITIONS AVAILABLE AT A GIVEN PLACE, TO THEN EVALUATE THE ILLUMINANCE OBTAINED DURING THE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. THIS PAPER PRESENTS THE METHODOLOGIES OF A RESEARCH PROCESS, WHOSE OBJECTIVE IS PROVIDING REALISTIC DATA TO ESTABLISH THE FOUNDATIONS FOR FUTURE LIGHTING STUDIES IN CHILE. IT STARTS WITH THE REVISION OF THE METRICS USED TO QUANTIFY DAYLIGHT; LATER, THE METHODOLOGY USED TO COLLATE THE MONTHLY FREQUENCIES ON FOUR TYPES OF STANDARD CIE SKIES, STARTING FROM CLIMATE FILES, IS PRESENTED. FINALLY, BOTH THE METHODOLOGY AND THE RESULTS OBTAINED ARE PRESENTED TO MEASURE AND CHARACTERIZE THE REAL SKIES, AS WELL AS THE HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE PHOTOGRAPHS (HDR) AND, AS COMPLEMENT OF THIS INFORMATION, THE ILLUMINANCES MEASUREMENTS OF THE SKY DOME TO DEFINE THE TYPES OF SKIES OF SIX CHILEAN CITIES. FROM THE STUDY APPLIED, IT IS POSSIBLE TO CONCLUDE THAT KNOWING THE STANDARD CIE SKIES OF A PLACE ALLOWS US TO ADJUST AND FOCUS THE DAYLIGHTING STUDY FOR PREDETERMINED AND PREDOMINANT SKIES. IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT TO MENTION THAT THE MEASURING TECHNIQUES FOR THE SKIES MUST BE ADJUSTED AND CALIBRATED FOR EACH STUDIED LOCATION.

ADAPTIVE COMFORT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN DEFINING COMFORT STANDARDS WHEN CONSIDERING COMFORT IN BUILDINGS IN FREE-RUNNING MODE, INCLUDING ADAPTATION TO EXTERNAL TEMPERATURES, OPENING WINDOWS AND CHANGING CLOTHING. IN THIS REGARD, TWO INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS PROVIDE THE FUNDAMENTAL BASIS TO MODEL THE NECESSARY EQUATIONS: EN 16798 (FORMERLY 15251) AND ASHRAE 55?2017. THIS RESEARCH INTENDS ON ASSESSING THE FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING THESE STANDARDS TO THE CHILEAN CONTEXT, WHERE A LEGAL FRAMEWORK HAS BEGUN TO BE IMPLEMENTED TO REGULATE THE OCCUPANT?S COMFORT IN SOCIAL HOUSING. EXTENSIVE MONITORING OF INHABITANTS IN EXISTING UNITS UNDER FREE-RUNNING MODE HAS BEEN UNDERTAKEN IN SEVERAL SOCIAL HOUSING PROJECTS IN THE CITY OF CONCEPCIÓN (CHILE) AND THE COLLECTED DATA HAS BEEN CONTRASTED AGAINST THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS. RESULTS SHOW THAT USERS IN THESE HOUSES SHOW MORE TOLERANCE TO COLD TEMPERATURES, THUS, DESPITE BEING ALLOCATED BELOW THE STANDARDS? LOWER LIMITS, THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE IN THERMAL COMFORT. AS A RESULT, THE OUTCOMES OF THIS RESEARCH CAN SHED LIGHT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS TO SOCIAL HOUSING AND LOW-INCOME FAMILIES IN CHILE. THE STUDY PRESENTS A PROPOSAL FOR A NOVEL ADAPTIVE COMFORT MODEL FOR CHILE. THE NEW MODEL PROPOSES ADAPTING THE THERMAL COMFORT THRESHOLD?S LOWER LIMIT IN ORDER TO DEVELOP A NATIONAL STANDARD THAT BETTER REFLECTS THE INHABITANTS? NEEDS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CULTURE. THE STUDY DEMONSTRATES HOW THE PROPOSED MODEL BEST FITS THE THERMAL COMFORT CONDITIONS IN SOCIAL HOUSING IN CHILE.

THE PROPER CONSIDERATION OF DAYLIGHT IN INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS REFERS TO GUARANTEEING SUFFICIENT LIGHT LEVELS WHILE MINIMIZING THE RISKS OF GLARE. CURRENTLY, THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION STANDARDIZATION-ISO AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON ILLUMINATION-CIE ESTABLISH THAT, FOR CLASSROOMS, THE PROPER LIGHTING LEVEL OSCILLATES BETWEEN 300?500 LX. DESPITE THIS, THERE IS EVIDENCE OF DIFFERENCES IN THE DAYLIGHTING LEVELS PERCEIVED AS SUFFICIENT. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS ARTICLE IS TO IDENTIFY AND TO EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTION OF DAYLIGHTING SUFFICIENCY TO PERFORM TYPICAL READING AND WRITING ACTIVITIES IN FOUR CITIES IN COLOMBIA WITH LATITUDES THAT OSCILLATE BETWEEN 3°25?18?N TO 6°15?7?N: ARMENIA, CALI, MEDELLIN AND MANIZALES. A METHODOLOGY THAT INCLUDED THE APPLICATION OF SURVEYS TO UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN CLASSROOMS WAS OUTLINED; AT THE SAME TIME WORKPLANE ILLUMINANCE WAS MEASURED IN THE WORKSTATIONS AND VERTICAL ILLUMINANCE AT THE HEIGHT OF THE EYES OF PEOPLE. THE RESULTS SHOWED DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CITIES IN THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO PERCEIVE CERTAIN DAYLIGHTING LEVEL AS SUFFICIENTLY ILLUMINATED. A LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODEL SHOWED THAT THOSE DIFFERENCES CAN BE EXPLAINED FROM THE GLOBAL SOLAR RADIATION OF EACH CITY.

BETWEEN THE AGES OF 6 AND 18, CHILDREN SPEND BETWEEN 30 AND 42 H A WEEK AT SCHOOL, MOSTLY INDOORS, WHERE INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IS USUALLY DEFICIENT AND DOES NOT FAVOR LEARNING. THE DIFFICULTY OF DELIVERING INDOOR AIR QUALITY (IAQ) IN LEARNING FACILITIES IS RELATED TO HIGH OCCUPANCY RATES AND LOW INTERACTION LEVELS WITH WINDOWS. IN NON-INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES, AS IN THE CASES PRESENTED, MOST CLASSROOMS HAVE NO MECHANICAL VENTILATION, DUE TO ENERGY POVERTY AND LACK OF NORMATIVE REQUIREMENTS. THIS FACT HEAVILY IMPACTS THE INDOOR AIR QUALITY AND STUDENTS? LEARNING OUTCOMES. THE AIM OF THE PAPER IS TO IDENTIFY THE FACTORS THAT DETERMINE ACCEPTABLE CO2 CONCENTRATIONS. THEREFORE, IT STUDIES AIR QUALITY IN FREE-RUNNING AND NATURALLY VENTILATED PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN CHILE, AIMING TO IDENTIFY THE IMPACT OF CONTEXTUAL, OCCUPANT, AND BUILDING DESIGN FACTORS, USING CO2 CONCENTRATION AS A PROXY FOR IAQ. THE MONITORING OF CO2, TEMPERATURE, AND HUMIDITY REVEALED THAT INDOOR AIR CO2 CONCENTRATION IS ABOVE 1400 PPM MOST OF THE TIME, WITH PEAKS OF 5000 PPM DURING THE DAY, ESPECIALLY IN WINTER. THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS INDICATES THAT CO2 IS DEPENDENT ON CLIMATE, SEASONALITY, AND INDOOR TEMPERATURE, WHILE IT IS INDEPENDENT OF OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE IN HEATED CLASSROOMS. THE ODDS OF HAVING ACCEPTABLE CONCENTRATIONS OF CO2 ARE BIGGER WHEN INDOOR TEMPERATURES ARE HIGH, AND THERE IS A NEED TO VENTILATE FOR COOLING.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO ANALYZE THE THERMAL PERFORMANCE OF WOOD-FRAME VERTICAL ENVELOPE SOLUTIONS USED IN CANADIAN ESTABLISHMENTS AND TO EVALUATE HOW THESE TECHNOLOGIES CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS REDUCING THE ENERGY DEMAND OF EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS IN CHILE. THE FIRST STAGE OF THE RESEARCH INVOLVED REVIEWING THE WOOD-FRAME ENVELOPE SOLUTIONS USED IN CANADA. SIX SOLUTIONS WERE SELECTED IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THEIR THERMAL PERFORMANCE AND THE ENERGY DEMAND REDUCTION PRODUCED WHEN THEY ARE INCORPORATED IN CHILEAN EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENT ENVELOPES. TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF THE ENERGY DEMAND RESULTS, THE LINEAR THERMAL TRANSMITTANCE VALUES (?) WERE OBTAINED FOR EACH OF THE WALL SOLUTION JOINTS WITH THE REST OF THE ENVELOPES ELEMENTS, USING LBNL THERM. FINALLY, USING DESIGNBUILDER, ENERGY SIMULATIONS WERE DEVELOPED INCORPORATING ALL THE VALUES (?)OBTAINED BEFORE, IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THE DEMAND REDUCTION PRODUCED BY THE SELECTED SOLUTIONS. THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE SOLUTIONS ANALYZED SAVE UP TO 51% OF THE HEATING DEMAND OF THE ESTABLISHMENTS DURING THE COLDEST MONTHS. THIS ALLOWS PROMOTING THE USE OF WOOD AS A SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL WHICH ALIGNS WITH THE ?ENERGY 2050? POLICY

DETACHED HIGH-RISE OFFICE BUILDINGS WITH MORE THAN 15 FLOORS IN HIGH DENSITY AREAS HAVE FLOOR PLANS WITH LARGE SURFACES THAT PREVENT NATURAL LIGHTING FROM ENTERING THEIR CENTRAL AREAS. THEREFORE, ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING IS USED TO SUBSTITUTE THE LIGHTING COMFORT NEEDS OF THEIR OCCUPANTS FOR A LARGE PROPORTION OF OPERATIONAL HOURS, RESULTING IN HIGH ENERGY EXPENSES FOR THE BUILDING. THE GOAL OF THIS STUDY IS TO EVALUATE THE LIGHTING POTENTIAL OF A CENTRAL ATRIUM WITH ADDED CLERESTORIES AND/OR SIDE LIGHTING EVERY FOUR LEVELS IN A PARAMETRIC 15-FLOOR THEORETICAL MODEL AND TWO FLOOR SURFACE AREAS OF 900 M2 AND 2500 M2, COMPARED TO A 40% GLAZED SURFACE ON FAÇADES WITHOUT SOLAR CONTROL DEVICES. A TOTAL OF 108 GEOMETRIC VARIATIONS OF THE ATRIUM AND ADJOINING SPACES WERE ANALYZED USING A CLIMATE-BASED DAYLIGHT DYNAMIC SIMULATION METHOD (CBDM), USING DIVA-FOR-RHINO AS THE INTEGRATED EVALUATION TOOL IN RHINO?S GRASSHOPPER SOFTWARE, WHERE THE PARAMETRIC MODEL WAS BUILT. THE GEOMETRIC OPTIMIZATION RESULTS SHOW THE DESIGN VARIABLES THAT ALLOWED A SIGNIFICANT ILLUMINANCE OF BETWEEN 60 AND 70%, USING THE USEFUL DAYLIGHTING ILLUMINANCE (UDI) INDICATOR IN A RANGE OF 100 TO 2000 LUX, DEMONSTRATING THAT THE INCORPORATION OF ATRIUM SPACES AS A CONTROLLED NATURAL LIGHTING STRATEGY IN THESE BUILDINGS IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SUSTAINABLE PERSPECTIVE FOR ARCHITECTONIC DESIGN.

HUMAN WELLBEING AND THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE IS LINKED TO DAYLIGHT. HOWEVER, THIS IS BEING HINDERED BY THE RAPID GROWTH OF CITIES, PROMOTED BY REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS AND THE INTERESTS OF PROPERTY DEVELOPERS THAT SEEK HIGH-RISE DENSIFICATION AND RE-DENSIFICATION OF CERTAIN URBAN AREAS, JEOPARDIZING ACCESS TO DAYLIGHT. THIS ARTICLE PROPOSES A METHODOLOGY TO EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF URBAN RE-DENSIFICATION ON INDOOR LIGHTING DEMAND IN HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS IN ECUADOR AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH ENERGY POVERTY. IT ANALYZES THE URBAN AND BUILDING FEATURES OF QUITO, CONSIDERING THE LOCATION CONDITIONS OF BUILDINGS AND USING SIMULATION TOOLS TO EXPLORE SOLAR IRRADIANCE REDUCTIONS ON THE FAÇADE. IT ALSO ANALYZES INCREASES IN LIGHTING DEMAND, WHILE DETERMINING THE EXTREME CONDITIONS, CONSIDERING AN INCREASE IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION, THE AVERAGE SALARY, AND THE TEN PERCENT RULE. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT DAYLIGHT OBSTRUCTIONS AND UMBRAL CONES GENERATED WHEN FACING A HIGH-RISE RE-DENSIFICATION SCENARIO IN THE CITY REDUCE DAYLIGHT BY BETWEEN 40% AND 80%, GENERATING INCREASES OF BETWEEN 2% AND 498% IN LIGHTING DEMAND WHEN COMPARED TO AN UNOBSTRUCTED SCENARIO. THESE RE-DENSIFICATION SCENARIOS MAY CAUSE SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ENERGY POVERTY. IN CONCLUSION, ACCORDING TO THE TEN PERCENT RULE, BUILDINGS SHOULD BE LIMITED TO FOUR STORIES FOR STREETS UNDER 10 M WIDE, BETWEEN FOUR AND SIX STORIES FOR THOSE BETWEEN 10 AND 14 M, AND BETWEEN SIX AND NINE STORIES FOR STREETS THAT ARE BETWEEN 14 AND 18 M WIDE. THIS RESEARCH SEEKS TO HELP PUBLIC POLICY DEVELOPERS IN MAKING FUTURE DECISIONS ABOUT RISKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY NOT CONSIDERED IN URBAN PLANNING AND THAT MAY CONTRADICT SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS.

THIS STUDY DISCUSSES A METHODOLOGY PROPOSAL FOR THE DESIGN OF CONFORTABLE AND RESILIENT EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES. BASED ON FIELDWORK PERFORMED IN EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES THROUGHOUT CHILE, THE FIRST COMPONENT OF THE METHODOLOGY FOCUSED ON DETERMINING CONFORTABLE TEMPERATURES FOR SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN, WHICH ENDED UP BEING CONSIDERABLY LOWER THAN CURRENT STANDARDS, MAINLY DUE TO THE CHILDREN?S ABILITY TO ADAPT. THE SECOND COMPONENT OF THE METHODOLOGY INVOLVED IDENTIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMFORT AND CHILDREN?S SCHOOL PERFORMANCE; THIS WAS AIMED AT ESTABLISHING THE BENEFITS OF IMPROVING THE FACILITIES? QUALITY IN TERMS OF THE STUDENTS? HEALTH AND WELLBEING. FINALLY, THE METHOD INCLUDED THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TOOL TO VIEW THE FINDINGS OF THE THERMAL SIMULATIONS IN PASSIVE BUILDINGS, WHEN THE OUTPUT IS INDOOR TEMPERATURE INSTEAD OF ENERGY DEMAND

CONSIDERING THE IMPORTANCE OF DAYLIGHT IN THE PERFORMANCE AND WELL-BEING OF THE STUDENTS, AN INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT IN DAYLIT CLASSROOMS. THE OBJECTIVE WAS APPLYING A METHODOLOGY THAT INTEGRATES THE DAYLIGHT VARIATIONS TO KNOW THE ANNUAL LIGHTING PERFORMANCE IN TYPOLOGIES THAT RESULTED FROM PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES IN ORDER TO COMPARE THEIR PERFORMANCE. THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY WAS THREE ZONES OF CHILE: NORTH, CENTER AND SOUTH. THE STUDY WAS DONE THROUGH A CLIMATE-BASED DAYLIGHT MODELLING METHOD USING RADIANCE SOFTWARE. THE INTERIOR ILLUMINANCE WAS EVALUATED IN RELATION TO A TARGET ILLUMINANCE VALUE (GOAL-ORIENTED ASSESSMENT), FOR WHICH FIVE INTERVALS ARE DEFINED: LOW, TOO LOW, IN RANGE, HIGH AND TOO HIGH. THE AIM OF THE GOAL-ORIENTED APPROACH IS TO SET A TARGET RANGE OF VALUES AND ASSESS THE PERCENTAGE OF TIME OVER THE YEAR WHERE EACH RANGE IS REACHED AND THE PERCENTAGE OF SPACES IN A TEMPORAL MAP WITHIN IN RANGE DURING THE YEAR. TO SEE A COMPLIANCE OR NON-COMPLIANCE INDICATOR, A CATEGORY IS PROPOSED THAT CONSIDERS THE AVERAGE ANNUAL ILLUMINANCE ?IN RANGE? OVER THE YEAR IDENTIFYING WHICH ONE IS THE MOST EFFICIENT. FINALLY, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE INFORMATION OBTAINED IS BASED ON TARGET RANGES, WHICH ALLOWS GUIDING THE DESIGN DECISIONS, EFFECTIVELY RECOGNIZING THE ANNUAL PERFORMANCE.

THE POTENTIAL OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS MITIGATION IN THE BUILDING SECTOR CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH ENERGY POLICIES, PROGRESSIVE GOALS, AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS TO ATTAIN SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTIONS THAT GUARANTEE THE REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS. NET-ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS (NZEB) IS A CONCEPT THAT ALLOWS MOVING FORWARD TO NEUTRALIZE BUILDINGS? CARBON EMISSIONS. THIS HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED BY MORE INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES WHICH HAVE SET GOALS AND CHALLENGES TO PROGRESSIVELY APPROACH AN ENERGY NEUTRALITY BALANCE FOR BUILDINGS. THEREFORE, THE TARGET OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEFINE A FRAMEWORK FOR A NEW STANDARD TO REACH NZEB IN CHILE. FIRSTLY, AN EXHAUSTIVE REVIEW OF THE ENERGY POLICIES, NZEB DEFINITIONS, AND COMPONENTS OF AN NZEB SYSTEM TOOK PLACE. SECONDLY, FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS WITH LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONALS FROM THE BUILDING SECTOR WERE ORGANIZED TO DEFINE A VISION, OPPORTUNITIES, AND POTENTIAL MEASURES WITH A FOCUS ON POLICIES, TO IMPLEMENT AND DEVELOP LOCAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR NZEB BUILDINGS IN CHILE. THE STUDY IDENTIFIES THE NEED TO ADVANCE PUBLIC POLICIES TO ACHIEVE AN INTEGRATED POLICY FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ENERGY NEUTRAL CONCEPT BUILDINGS. FINALLY, THE PAPER PRESENTS A NZEB STANDARD FRAMEWORK, INCLUDING KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND SUGGESTED PERFORMANCE METRICS THRESHOLDS.

ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS TO FAVOR VISUAL COMFORT IN INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS, AS WELL AS TO OPTIMIZE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, REFERS TO GUARANTEEING SUFFICIENT DAYLIGHT. CURRENTLY, SOME STANDARDS DETERMINE SUFFICIENT LIGHT LEVELS TO PERFORM READING-WRITING TASKS. THESE STANDARDS, WHICH ARE BASED MAINLY ON CRITERIA GENERATED IN PLACES LOCATED ABOVE THE TROPIC OF CANCER, PRIORITIZE PRODUCTIVITY OVER PEOPLE?S PERCEPTION. EVEN THOUGH SEVERAL AUTHORS HAVE HIGHLIGHTED THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSIDERING PEOPLE?S PERCEPTIONS IN DETERMINING SUFFICIENT DAYLIGHT ILLUMINANCES, THERE IS NO CONSENSUS ON APPROPRIATE DAYLIGHT LEVELS TO PERFORM READING-WRITING TASKS. IN ADDITION, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE DYNAMIC METRICS FOR THE ANALYSIS OF DAYLIGHT PERFORMANCE, THE MOST POPULAR ONES PROPOSE GENERIC REFERENCE ILLUMINANCES AS SUFFICIENT ILLUMINANCES BUT DO NOT CONSIDER THE PERCEPTION OF PEOPLE. THIS CHAPTER REFLECTS ON THE NEED TO USE DYNAMIC DAYLIGHT METRICS THAT CONSIDER ILLUMINANCES THAT PEOPLE PERCEIVE AS SUFFICIENT. A NEW DYNAMIC METRIC, DADA, IS PRESENTED FOR APPLICATION IN THE TROPICS. THIS METRIC CONSIDERS THE VARIABILITY OF THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE IN THE TROPICS WHO PERCEIVE A CERTAIN DAYLIGHT LEVEL AS SUFFICIENT DEPENDING ON THE AVAILABILITY OF EXTERIOR DAYLIGHT SO THAT THIS IS CONSIDERED A CONTRIBUTION TO REMOVING THE BARRIERS TO ENVIRONMENTAL COMFORT IN THE TROPICS.

IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT IN BUILDINGS WITH FULLY GLAZED FACADES DESIGNED TO SAVE ELECTRICITY AND INCREASE DAYLIGHT, OVERHEATING DUE TO EXCESSIVE SOLAR GAINS AND GLARE HAVE BECOME RECURRENT PROBLEMS, AFFECTING THE QUALITY OF THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT IN OFFICE BUILDINGS. LIKEWISE, THE FOCUS SHOULD NOT ONLY BE ON REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION BUT ALSO ON PROVIDING COMFORT BY APPLYING DAYLIGHT STRATEGIES APPROPRIATE TO EACH CONTEXT. IN CONTEXTS SUCH AS CHILE, WHERE THERE IS SIGNIFICANT VARIABILITY OF DAYLIGHT DUE TO THE EXTENSION OF THE TERRITORY, (17 29, 57,, S - 56 32,12,, S) DESIGNING WITH THE CORRECT PASSIVE SOLAR STRATEGIES CAN BECOME A CHALLENGE. THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS TO INVESTIGATE THE APPLICATION OF PASSIVE SOLAR STRATEGIES IN SIDE-LIT OFFICE SPACES, FOCUSING ON DESIGNS THAT MAXIMISE DAYLIGHT PENETRATION WHILE PROTECTING OCCUPANTS FROM THE RISKS OF DIRECT SOLAR GLARE, AND ON METHODS TO PREDICT THE DAYLIGHT PERFORMANCE. A THEORETICAL MODEL IS THE PROTOTYPE OF AN EXPERIMENTAL OFFICE, LOCATED IN THREE CHILEAN CITIES WITH DIFFERENT PREVAILING SKY CONDITIONS, BUT ADAPTED TO THE DIFFERENT CONTEXTS BY INTEGRATING THE DESIGN STRATEGIES RECOMMENDED BY THE LEADING ENTITIES IN ADVANCED ENERGY AND DAYLIGHT DESIGN. DAYLIGHT PERFORMANCE WAS EVALUATED USING CLIMATE-BASED DAYLIGHT MODELLING, WITH SPATIAL DAYLIGHT AUTONOMY, ANNUAL SUNLIGHT EXPOSURE, AND USEFUL DAYLIGHT ILLUMINANCE METRICS, WHICH CAN INTEGRATE THE DAYLIGHT PROVISION AND POTENTIAL GLARE PREDICTION INTO A COMBINED APPROACH. THIS ANALYSIS WAS COMPLEMENTED BY USING A DAYLIGHT GLARE PROBABILITY INDEX TO VERIFY THE UPPER-LIT THRESHOLDS OF THE APPLIED METHODS. THIS PAPER PROVIDES AN EASY-TO-APPLY DAYLIGHT STRATEGIES GUIDE FOR DESIGNERS AND THE COMPARISON OF THE DAYLIGHT METRICS IN DIFFERENT CLIMATE CONTEXTS