International Energy Agency Annex 80: Resilient cooling of buildings

The world is facing a rapid increase of air conditioning of buildings. This is driven by multiple factors, such as urbanisation and densification, climate change and elevated comfort expectations together with economic growth in hot and densely populated climate regions of the world. The trend towards cooling seems inexorable, therefore it is mandatory to guide this development towards sustainable solutions.

Against this background, it is the motivation of Annex 80 to develop, assess and communicate solutions of resilient cooling and overheating protection. Resilient Cooling is used to denote low-energy and low-carbon cooling solutions that strengthen the ability of individuals and our community as a whole to withstand, and also prevent, thermal and other impacts of changes in global and local climates. It encompasses the assessment and research and development of both active and passive cooling technologies of the following four groups:

1. Reduce externally induced heat gains to indoor environments
2. Enhance personal comfort apart from cooling whole spaces
3. Remove sensible heat from indoor environments
4. Control latent heat (humidity) of indoor environments

The Annex 80’s main objective is to support a rapid transition to an environment where resilient low-energy and low-carbon cooling systems are the mainstream and preferred solutions for cooling and overheating issues in buildings.