The Cool Down Coach – An occupant oriented behavioural coach for effective ventilative cooling and solar shading

Due to climate change Dutch homes are increasingly suffering from overheating, which can lead to discomfort and sleeping problems that are detrimental for resident’s health and wellbeing. Overheating can also lead to increased use of energy consuming air-conditioning devices. In mild oceanic climates overheating can largely be prevented through passive measures like solar shading and ventilative cooling. Previous research has shown, however, that residents do not always operate windows and shading devices effectively, sometimes opening windows at midday allowing warm air to enter or keeping windows closed at night preventing the home from cooling down with cool outside air. This paper presents the results of a study aimed at the development and testing of a Cool Down Coach (CDC). The CDC is an internet-of-things enabled device that supports residents in keeping their home cool through effective use of ventilative cooling and solar shading. The CDC uses locally measured indoor and ambient temperatures, weather forecasts, and a user-interface, shown on a display and mobile phone. A prototype of the CDC was tested in seven homes in the Netherlands and from six of them, data and user feedback were obtained. Most residents reported that they found the CDC useful and accurate, making them more aware of their behaviour. The measurements provided useful insights to the tenants about their actual behaviour. However, monitoring showed that the advice from the CDC was not always followed. Reported reasons include fear of raining in and nuisance of insects (during daytime) and fear of burglary, nuisance of insects and outside noise (mostly during nighttime). It appeared that changing established behaviours remains a challenge, even with aid of the CDC. In conclusion, the CDC is a valuable tool for stimulating optimal cooling behaviour and providing insights, but it cannot, by itself, fully resolve overheating issues.