Dong, J;
Schwartz, Y;
Korolija, I;
Mumovic, D;
(2024)
Unintended consequences of English school stock energy-efficient retrofit on cognitive performance of children under climate change.
Building and Environment
, 249
, Article 111107. 10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111107.
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Abstract
School building stock retrofit forms a key part of UK's commitment to net-zero carbon target by 2050. However, with a changing climate, the retrofit of school buildings may have unintended consequences on indoor thermal environments and cognitive performance of children in non-heating seasons. This paper aims to quantify the impact of school stock retrofit in accordance with increasingly tightening energy efficiency regulatory requirements on cognitive performance of English children, while also exploring the potential adaptation measures under climate change. The results indicate that English schools that undergo envelope upgrades exhibit higher Cognitive Performance Loss (CPL) of children compared to their pre-upgrade conditions. Passive climate adaptation measures, especially increased daytime ventilation rate was found to be an effective strategy for mitigating the impact of climate change on cognitive performance. However, the benefits of passive measures will diminish as the climate warms, while air conditioning will be required to maintain cognitive performance loss at relatively low levels. In addition to the reduction of heating load, envelope upgrade can provide benefits for English schools in cooler climatic regions from both cognitive performance and energy point of view. The study calls for the CPL to be added as one of the key performance indicators when considering the long-term impact of climate change on schools. This would enable policy makers and relevant stakeholders to make more holistic decisions regarding school stock retrofit while ensuring that classrooms are conducive to learning.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Unintended consequences of English school stock energy-efficient retrofit on cognitive performance of children under climate change |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111107 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111107 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2023 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Building stock; School children; Cognitive performance; Climate change; Retrofitting; Meta-analysis |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > Bartlett School Env, Energy and Resources |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10183902 |
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