Climate-Responsive Retrofitting Strategy for Elderly Housing

Research conducted at the National University of Singapore has focused on creating a climate-responsive retrofitting strategy for elderly housing, specifically targeting the challenges posed by aging populations and climate change in China. The study's objective was to develop a simulation-optimization framework that balances energy consumption, thermal comfort, and retrofit costs, considering long-term climate projections and economic benefits. The proposed framework incorporates parametric modeling, LSTM Neural Networks-based performance prediction, and NSGA-II multi-objective optimization to guide dynamic material selection and performance evaluation. The research concluded that the proposed retrofit configuration reduces annual energy use by 15.1%, increases thermal comfort hours by 820 h per year, and lowers exposure to cardiovascular risk by 7.4%.

Key Takeaways:

• The study focused on developing a climate-responsive retrofitting strategy for elderly housing in China, addressing the challenges posed by aging populations and climate change.
• The proposed simulation-optimization framework integrates parametric modeling, LSTM Neural Networks-based performance prediction, and NSGA-II multi-objective optimization to balance energy consumption, thermal comfort, and retrofit costs.
• The framework incorporates long-term climate projections to guide dynamic material selection and performance evaluation.
• The optimized retrofit configuration includes PVC Low-E double-glazed windows, 76.77 mm of Glass Fiber insulation for the roof, and 76.93 mm of XPS insulation for walls.
• The proposed configuration reduces annual energy use by 15.1%, increases thermal comfort hours by 820 h per year, and lowers exposure to cardiovascular risk by 7.4%.
• The study concluded that the NPV gains observed across all three cost scenarios provide robust evidence for long-term policy development and strategic investment in elderly housing retrofits.
• The research was conducted by Tianyi Chen, Liang Xie, Zhe Li, and Nikhil Joshi at the National University of Singapore.

Statistics:

• The optimized retrofit configuration reduces annual energy use by 15.1% (from 14.9 to 12.64 kWh/m²).
• The configuration increases thermal comfort hours (PMV -0.2 to +0.5) by 820 h per year.
• The exposure to cardiovascular risk is lowered by 7.4%.
• The NPV gains observed across all three cost scenarios provide robust evidence for long-term policy development and strategic investment in elderly housing retrofits.

Sources:

• Chen, T., et al. Climate-responsive Retrofitting Strategy of Elderly Housing: Health Impacts Based On Data-driven Multi-objective Optimization of Building Envelopes. Building and Environment, 2025; 285.
• National University of Singapore. Building and Environment, 2025; 285.
• Building and Environment. Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Building and Environment - www.journals.elsevier.com/building-and-environment/)
• NewsRx. Findings on Information Technology Reported by Investigators at National University of Singapore (Climate-responsive Retrofitting Strategy of Elderly Housing: Health Impacts Based On Data-driven Multi-objective Optimization of Building Envelopes). Information Technology Newsweekly. November 4, 2025; p 236.