RE2020 Thermal Study
Perpignan, Occitania

In Perpignan, the RE2020 calculation is carried out in zone H3 under one of the highest levels of sunshine in mainland France, which makes summer comfort the critical checkpoint of the project well ahead of heating demand. The tramontane markedly alters gains and heat loss and must be built into the assumptions for night-time natural ventilation rather than merely endured. The department's structural water stress also steers cooling choices towards water-frugal solutions. Dynamic thermal simulation makes it possible to arbitrate between solar shading, thermal inertia and over-ventilation before the design is fixed.

Summer comfort is the sticking point of the RE2020 in Perpignan: on exposed façades, the degree-hours (DH) threshold is quickly exceeded, all the more so in the south of France. Dynamic thermal simulation arbitrates between thermal inertia, solar shading and natural ventilation before the building envelope is fixed.