Dive summary:

• A new way of modeling the likely energy demands of low- or zero-energy buildings while they are still in the design stage has come out of a Finnish scientist's research for her doctoral thesis.
• The work by Senior Scientist Riikka Holopainen from the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is called the Human Thermal Model and takes into account how buildings will be used, the likely activity levels of humans, how they are likely to be dressed and how the human body perceives heat and cold.
• The model is needed because conventional HVAC systems, and thus modeling for their use, are not useful in very low energy buildings.

From the article:

The thesis introduces the first ever mathematical application that integrates a building simulation tool with human thermal sensation. ...