Rufino Hernández

University of the Basque Country | UPV/EHU · Arquitectura

This study presents a detailed analysis of thermal comfort and energy consumption in a Passivhaus-certified apartment in Bolueta Tower, Bilbao, Spain, over a period of three years (2020–2022). Utilizing a comprehensive, long-term monitoring approach, the research investigates the effectiveness of the Passivhaus standard in achieving both energy eff...

Overheating in buildings is a growing challenge in temperate climates, even in those where the traditional design focus was on protecting from cold and winter energy savings. This paper addresses a collateral problem that arose during the study of overheating in a residential Passivhaus building in Bilbao, northern Spain. Specifically, the local cl...

This article investigates the operation of a Mechanical Heat Recovery Ventilation (MHRV) system in an overheating nZEB apartment in Spain. The building, an apartment tower, was found to have a moderate to severe issue of overheating during extensive parts of the year. The study focuses on a flat located on the top floor of the Bolueta tower I in Bi...

The influence of people on building performance in terms of energy efficiency and environmental impact is becoming increasingly significant. It is essential to include users’ perspective, their comfort and satisfaction in decision making to ensure not only their well-being, but also the feasibility of interventions and the adequate performance of t...

Thermal comfort evaluation is crucial in the design of buildings, as it impacts the well-being and productivity of building occupants. Many national regulations and international standards provide guidelines for assessing thermal comfort. In order to simplify this process, we have developed a program called KxKali, which is intended to evaluate the...

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated a renewed interest in indoor air quality to limit viral spread. In the case of educational spaces, due to the high concentration of people and the fact that most of the existing buildings do not have any mechanical ventilation system, the different administrations have established natural ventilation protocols to...

European energy policies introduced nearly zero energy building (NZEB) design to stimulate the energy transition in buildings, and EU programmes promote the evolution towards positive energy buildings (PEB). Most studies into NZEBs are based on simulations, and not on real monitoring data. This paper presents the real performance data of the Zero b...

This work deals with daylighting for quality indoor atmospheres, considering building skins. In recent years, almost all retrofit facades of restaurants are highly glazed façades, boosting glare, sun ray absorption and overheating inside. Most of the time, they are not integrated with daylight control; therefore, lighting and out view requirements...