Clothing behaviour in Belgian homes

Clothing has a direct influence on the thermal comfort of an occupant and so, indirectly on the energy use of a building. Literary sources point out a lack of data about clothing behaviour in residential buildings. In order to assess the clothing behaviour two kinds of surveys are created: logbook surveys and online questionnaires. Both surveys are executed between March 11 and April 5, 2019. The mean clothing insulation worn during the investigation period is 0.58 clo. This clo-value differs from the clothing insulation values provided by Fanger, which are 1.0 clo for winter months and 0.5 clo for summer months. The influence of the indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, weather history memory, gender and age on the clothing behaviour is analysed. All variables have a small significant influence on the clo-value. It was found that occupants tend to wear the same clothes when they are at home. So, each participant clothes him/herself to be comfortable in their clothes and in the temperature of their own room. People who are used to live in lower indoor temperatures will, and are used to, wear more clothing insulation to be thermally comfortable than people living in warmer indoor temperatures. An adjustment in clothing behaviour can make a big impact on the energy use of residential buildings. A decrease in indoor temperature of 1°C can lead to heating energy savings of 10%. To remain thermally comfortable, the occupant must only wear an extra insulation value of 0.17 clo, which corresponds with a shirt. The question remains if occupants will effectively use the opportunity of changing clothes to lower their energy use