Revealing the Energy Efficiency of Housing in Chile

Over recent years, Latin America has experienced continued development of vast residential areas with growing energy consumption of mostly imported and non-renewable fuels. Chile has been the first country in the region to set up programmes and regulations to improve environmental behaviour of dwellings, but there is a lack of detailed information on the energy performance of its housing stock. This paper presents the analysis and conditions for housing in the centre-south area of the country, in order to foster effective procedures to improve energy performance. Analysis is based on building statistics and the review of fifty actual homes, as well as energy simulation systems, with modelling and long-time monitoring of a dozen of these case studies. Some experiences of improved housing design and refurbishment were also examined. This research work identifies energy performance patterns and related architectural characteristics in housing in the area. It has managed to normalise specific aspects of residential energy simulation, such as climate, geometry, occupancy, materiality and equipment, demonstrating differences in comfort levels and building quality. The study exposes a novel strategy of review and improvement for residential areas, that reveals a conjunction between life expectations and construction quality, through analysis and appropriate actions, must be adapted to fit with local development.