Many buildings built before energy performance regulations are actually in a situation of thermal discomfort and energy inefficiency. The creation of intelligent environments is moving towards new opportunities, based on real-time monitoring and on the development of sensors and technologies. Furthermore, building automation and electronic systems standards enable interoperability and interconnection between control devices and systems. The application of soft computing has significantly improved the energy efficiency; however, it requires prior assessment to design the automation functions. Temperature, humidity, air quality and energy consumption are the most commonly measured parameters, but their relationships with other operational variables such as occupancy or some building states remain as a research challenge. This article presents a methodology to develop the automation of a large existing public building. This methodology consists of two stages: 1. Assessment and diagnosis to set appropriate functions, using EN ISO 52120-1 and EN 50090 for open communication networks, and EN ISO 52120-1 to assign the technical building management. 2. System control deployment of low-cost and low-consumption input and output devices. It has been proven that it is possible to effectively automate an obsolete building with a low-cost, open-source system that can be easily applied to other buildings.

The increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves, combined with urban heat islands (UHIs), pose significant public health challenges. Implementing low-cost, real-time monitoring networks with distributed stations within the smart city framework faces obstacles in transforming urban spaces. Accurate data are essential for assessing these effects. This paper compares different network types in a medium-sized city in western Spain and their implications for UHI identification quality. The study first presents a purpose-built monitoring network using Open-Source platforms, IoT technology, and LoRaWAN communications, adhering to World Meteorological Organization guidelines. Additionally, it evaluates two citizen weather observer networks (CWONs): one from a commercial smart device company and another from a global community connecting environmental sensor data. The findings highlight several advantages of bespoke monitoring networks over CWON, including enhanced data accessibility and greater flexibility to meet specific requirements, facilitating adaptability and scalability for future upgrades. However, specialization is crucial for effective deployment and maintenance. Conversely, CWONs face limitations in network uniformity, data shadow zones, and insufficient knowledge of real sensor situations or component characteristics. Furthermore, CWONs exhibit some data inconsistencies in probability distribution and scatter plots during extreme heat periods, as well as improbable UHI temperature values.

Many buildings built before the energy performance regulations are in a situation of thermal discomfort and energy inefficiency. The creation of intelligent environments advances towards new opportunities, based on real-time monitoring and on the development of sensors and technologies. Furthermore, the standards for building automation and electronic systems enable interoperability and interconnection between control devices and systems. The application of soft computing has significantly improved the energy efficiency, however, requires prior assessment to design the automation functions. Temperature, humidity, air quality, occupancy and energy consumption are the most common measured parameters, but the relationship with other operational variables such as occupancy or some building states remains as a research challenge. This article presents a methodology to develop the automatization of an existing large public building. The methodology consists of three stages: 1. Assessment and diagnosis to set appropriate actions using EN ISO 52120-1. 2. EN 50090 for open communication networks, and EN ISO 52120-1 to assign the technical building management. 3. System control deploying of low-cost and low-consumption input and output devices. It has been proved that it is possible to effectively automate an obsolete building with a low cost, open source system that can be easily applied in other buildings.

The thermal influence of Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) is not limited to periods of high temperature but persists throughout the year. The present study utilizes hourly data collected over a period of one year from a network of hygrothermal monitoring stations with a high density, which were deployed across the city of Cáceres (Spain). The network was designed in accordance with the World Meteorological Organization’s guidelines for urban measurements (employing radiation footprints and surface roughness) and ensures representation of each Local Climate Zone (LCZ), characterized by those factors (such as building typology and density, urban fabric, vegetation, and anthropogenic activity, among others) that influence potential solar radiation absorption. The magnitude of the heat island effect in this city has been determined to be approximately 7 °C in summer and winter at the first hours of the morning. In order to assess the energy impact of UHIs, Cooling and Heating Degree Days (CDD and HDD) were calculated for both summer and winter periods across the different LCZs. Following the implementation of rigorous quality control procedures and the utilization of gap-filling techniques, the analysis yielded discrepancies in energy demand of up to 10% between LCZs within the city. The significance of incorporating UHIs into the design of building envelopes and climate control systems is underscored by these findings, with the potential to enhance both energy efficiency and occupant thermal comfort. This methodology is particularly relevant for extrapolation to larger and denser urban environments, where the intensification of UHI effects exerts a direct impact on energy consumption and costs. The following essay will provide a comprehensive overview of the relevant literature on the subject.

Initiatives abound for improving energy efficiency in existing dwellings stock, yet the impact in their indoor thermal comfort conditions, postretrofit performance, and comfort levels are insufficiently explored. Studies that evaluate this parameter, enabling the validation or adjustment of current policies of retrofit actions, would be essential. Thus, this paper details the thermal monitoring and behaviour of a sample of 92 dwellings with a homogeneous user profile, with the aim of identifying thermal and comfort patterns. For this purpose, continuous long‐term monitoring is proposed for the comparative analysis of time series data for different climatic periods, instead of complex and individual data collection in situ. In order to correlate the envelope’s thermal behaviour, buildings are characterised in terms of building typology and construction period, after which occupant behaviours are examined via questionnaires on self‐reported thermal sensations and adaptive actions. Key results point to a lack of relationship between the building typology and construction period and thermal performance, even after the implementation of energy efficiency improvement measures. Additionally, thermal comfort was found to be intermittent, albeit more present in winter than summer, with a marked heterogeneity when it comes to individual habits. These facts indicate that it is necessary to include additional thermal performance driving factors for determining practical comfort implications and characterising its correlation with energy efficiency.

The increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves, combined with urban heat islands (UHI), pose significant public health challenges. Implementing low-cost, real-time moni-toring networks with distributed stations within the Smart city framework faces obstacles in transforming urban spaces. However, accurate data is essential for assessing these ef-fects. This paper compares different network types in a medium sized city in West Spain and their implications for UHI identification quality. The study first examines a pur-pose-built monitoring network using Open-Source platforms, IoT technology, and Lo-RaWAN communications, adhering to World Meteorological Organization guidelines. Additionally, it evaluates two citizen weather observer networks (CWON): one from a commercial smart device company and another from a global community connecting en-vironmental sensor data. The findings highlight several advantages of bespoke monitor-ing networks over CWON. These networks offer enhanced data accessibility and greater flexibility to meet specific requirements, facilitating adaptability and scalability for future upgrades. However, specialization is crucial for effective deployment and maintenance. Conversely, CWON faces limitations in network uniformity, data shadow zones, and in-sufficient knowledge of real sensor situations or component characteristics. Furthermore, CWON exhibits some data inconsistencies in probability distribution and scatter plots during extreme heat periods, as well as improbable UHI temperature values.