Quantitative Evaluation of the Contributions of Improved Housing Performances Toward Delivering Sustainable Development Goals by a Building Energy Simulation Tool

In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was adopted by all United Nations Member States. The indoor environment of residences affects the health of occupants regarding SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being). Meanwhile, a vast amount of energy is used to supply power to houses worldwide, which emit sufficient volumes of CO₂ and affect climate change regarding SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). A key step to delivering on these SDGs is improving the thermal insulation of houses and housing equipment performance to reduce energy consumption and protect the health of the occupants by improving the indoor environment. This study presents an evaluation method for quantifying the contribution of improving housing performance toward delivering the SDGs. The proposed approach is primarily based on the results of heat load simulations. Meanwhile, blood pressure is predicted as an indicator of health by using the interior environment obtained by the simulation. A case study was performed, and the results demonstrated the effectiveness of improving the housing performance of newly constructed houses compared to heating and retrofit. The proposed method is versatile and can be adjusted for application to alternative locations, house designs, and lifestyles.