Resilient cooling aims to mitigate heat stress and maintain safe building conditions during externally induced disruptions, going beyond mere thermal comfort. This Guidebook focuses on designing cooling systems that are resilient to such challenges.
Discover a preview of our Guidebook 33: Resilient Cooling Design Guidelines, written by Patryk Czarnecki (Institute of Building Research & Innovation):
Introduction
Cooling of buildings is a global trend, driven by factors such as urbanization, climate change, economic growth in densely populated hot regions, and rising comfort expectations. This increasing reliance on room cooling necessitates the development of sustainable solutions to mitigate its environmental and economic impacts.
Annex 80 has addressed this challenge by devising, evaluating, and promoting innovative approaches to resilient cooling and overheating protection. As an important side effect, Annex 80 established a well based definition for 'resilient cooling', referring to energy-efficient, low-emission, and cost-effective cooling concepts that enhance thermal resilience while addressing global and local climate change effects.
The project focused on four key technology groups:
- Reducing heat gains to the indoor environment and people
- Removing sensible heat from the indoor environment
- Increasing personal comfort apart from space cooling
- Removing latent heat from indoor environment.
Annex 80 systematically assessed existing cooling technologies within these groups, identifying their capabilities, limitations, and resilience qualities. It further advanced these technologies to improve robustness, efficiency, CO2 neutrality, and affordability, while evaluating their actual performance.
Achievements
In June 2023, Annex 80 was officially closed, including the finalization and publication of all reports and deliverables. Annex 80 has made a substantial contribution to the professionalization and practical application of resilient cooling in a variety of climates and building types. The outcomes of the project encompass a broad spectrum of thematic areas. So far, the official deliverables have reached over 1.500 downloads, including 60 citations and recommendations.
REHVA Resilient Cooling Design Guideline
A significant advancement was achieved with the creation of the 'Resilient Cooling Design Guideline' published in co-operation with the Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Associations (REHVA), aimed at planners. This guideline provides a comprehensive description of the design process, the principles for assessing building resilience to heat waves and power outages, and the available software tools. Additionally, two case studies of the implementation of the Resilient Cooling Design are presented. They illustrate this novel approach in a retrofit and a new construction building.
Outlook
After Annex 80 the effort to ensure livable environments in cities continues. Currently a new international project is under preparation. Annex 97/Task 5 “Sustainable Cooling in Cities” has started its preparation phase in January 2025. It focuses on effective heat mitigation and sustainable cooling in cities, with special attention to linking outdoor spaces and the cooling of indoors. The aim is to develop and promote measures that improve health, safety and wellbeing, while enhancing energy efficiency and supporting carbon neutrality.
This Guidebook was published in cooperation between REHVA and the Energy in Buildings and Communities (EBC) program of the International Energy Agency; Annex 80.