Design Solution · Interior & Wellbeing
Design Solution · Dream about it
Thermal-comfort review of protected interiors.
Dynamic thermal modelling of the protected interiors identifies overheating risk and tests mitigation (set-points, cooling provision, free cooling) that respects the heritage fabric. The review protects occupant comfort without aggressive intervention in listed spaces.
Dynamic thermal modelling of protected interiors is the right starting point for any overheating intervention in a listed building — it distinguishes between spaces that genuinely overheat under climate-projected conditions and those that are uncomfortable but safe, and it tests mitigations computationally before anything touches the fabric. The approach is well established in conservation engineering practice and the CIBSE TM59/TM52 criteria provide an accepted benchmark; the record's claimed evidence state reflects the absence of post-occupancy verification rather than any doubt about the methodology. The genuine challenge in heritage settings is that the tools available to a conventional building — mechanical cooling, additional ventilation apertures, external shading — are all constrained or prohibited, which means the DTM is as likely to narrow options as it is to open them. Fabric interventions that would carry U-value and air-tightness gains (secondary glazing, draught-proofing, internal insulation) sometimes survive conservation review and sometimes do not; the modelling outcome tells you what improvement is needed, but the consenting outcome tells you what is achievable. The design team should set expectations carefully: this process reveals the overheating risk with precision but does not guarantee that a code-compliant solution exists within the permitted works envelope.
#overheating #heritage #thermal comfort