Comfort conditioning (heating & cooling) and hot water supply are intrinsic engineering services of modern built environment elevating the living standards and well-being of people. However, human comfort-related services in buildings are energy expensive, and they use up to 50% of energy delivered to buildings. Therefore, in the global race towards reducing the energy use and carbon footprint of buildings while complying with increasingly stringent energy and indoor environmental quality standards, comfort provision balancing between minimum energy use, human well-being and building resilience is more vital than ever. It is especially relevant for Switzerland due to the national goal to achieve 2000-Watt Society by 2050 reducing the primary energy consumption of buildings and related greenhouse gas emissions. The ICE lab contributes to the overall energy goal of the Swiss and global society and the advancement of comfort engineering for the built environment by undertaking a holistic approach – examining energy flow from primary resources and outdoors towards indoor occupied spaces and human beings.
