Measuring temperature, humidity, and energy consumption in residential homes under climate conditions 60 years from now: A joint verification with Shibaura Institute of Technology on the impact of climate change on housing

Panasonic Homes Co., Ltd. and Shibaura Institute of Technology (Professor Takayuki Akimoto, Specially Appointed Professor Makoto Koganei) have announced the results of their joint verification conducted at Panasonic Homes' domestic largest-scale artificial climate chamber (located within the Housing Test Center in Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture) regarding the impact of climate conditions 60 years from now on the thermal environment and air conditioning performance of residential homes.

While the impact of climate change on housing has previously been evaluated and analyzed through simulations using future prediction models, this verification is an extremely rare effort as it is the first research to measure data such as temperature and humidity using actual houses and equipment under an artificially set future climate.

■ Background
Amidst intensifying extreme heat due to global warming, this verification analyzed future climates. At a representative point in Region 6 (including Tokyo, major Kanto cities, Tokai, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, and much of Kyushu), an average temperature increase of 2.6°C in summer and 3.3°C in winter is expected compared to the present, with significant humidity increases projected particularly for summer. Tokyo's summer climate, in particular, is expected to shift toward a hot and humid environment similar to current Okinawa.

■ Overview of Joint Verification
This verification compared and evaluated the temperature, humidity, and energy consumption of each room and around the air conditioning equipment under both current and future climate conditions, targeting a house equipped with Panasonic Homes' whole-house air conditioning system 'Airlohas'.

Results confirmed that a comfortable thermal environment was maintained indoors in both summer and winter, and indoor humidity increases could be suppressed even under high-humidity conditions simulating future summer climates. On the other hand, since cooling energy required primarily for dehumidification increases in future summer climates, it was shown that average power consumption in August could potentially increase by approximately 1.5 times compared to the current climate. Countermeasures for increased energy consumption have become clear as an important issue for future residential design and equipment development.

Panasonic Homes and Shibaura Institute of Technology will continue to contribute to sustainable housing that balances comfort and energy efficiency through empirical research looking ahead to future climate change.