## 2 Methodology
### Cities Analyzed  
In a recent study, the applicability of adaptive thermal comfort models throughout the planet was evaluated [49]. The results showed a relationship between latitude and the application of the adaptive thermal comfort models. In this sense, latitudes near the equator have an application of more than 90% of the days of the year, while latitudes near the geographic poles have an application lower than 10% [49]. This aspect is due to the values that external temperatures usually have at each latitude. Therefore, the variation of the external temperature is among the fundamental aspects in the use of adaptive thermal comfort models. However, there are regions far from the equator in which an adequate application of adaptive thermal comfort models was detected, such as the Mediterranean region [49]. As this research aimed at having greater knowledge about the application of this type of setpoint temperature, the main cities of countries in southern Europe with the greatest surface were analyzed (Figure 2). The criterion chosen to select the cities was that they were the capitals of the regions of each country. These cities usually have a greater population and a higher building energy consumption [50; 51]. Therefore, the study of these cities would allow to analyze the energy-saving potential that can be achieved under the climatic conditions where the buildings with the highest energy consumption are located. As a result, 47 cities in Spain, 18 cities in Portugal, 13 cities in Greece, and 20 cities in Italy were selected (see Table 2). As for Greece, it is worth stressing that the regional division was based on the 13 regions set in the Kallikratis Plan [52], which was enforced in 2011. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{3}{*}{**Model**} & \multirow{3}{*}{**Tolerance**} & \multicolumn{4}{c}{**Setpoint Temperature (\({}^{\circ}\)C)**} \\ \cline{3-8}  & & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**\(T_{rm}\) < 10**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**\(10\leq T_{rm}\leq 30\)**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**\(T_{rm}\) > 30**} \\ \cline{3-8  
As mentioned in Section 1, the results of this research were obtained through an exhaustive simulation process. Simulations were performed with EnergyPlus. To do this, obtaining the EnergyPlus weather (EPW) files of each city was required. Such EPW files were used for simulations and for the determination of the limit values of adaptive models (see Figure 3). This is done through the hourly temperature data available in each EPW. With these data, it is possible to determine the daily average temperature data in each file, and by applying Equations (1)-(3), the upper and lower limits of thermal comfort are determined. EPW files were obtained through METEONORM [53]. METEONORM is a software made up of 8325 weather stations which generates climate schedule values in any Earth's location through spatial interpolations. The radiation period considered for generating the EPW files was 1991-2010, and the temperature period was 2000-2009. This research was also aimed at analyzing the influence of tolerances on the adaptive setpoint temperatures in future climate change scenarios. The EPW files of each cities were therefore obtained in the years 2050 and 2100 through METEONORM. The former was selected because it is the year established by the European Union to reduce by 90% the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the building sector, and the latter was selected to analyze the behavior of the adaptive strategies at the end of the 21 st century. Scenario A2 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was chosen as it is one of the most unfavorable scenarios [54]. Such scenario considers a very heterogeneous world and is characterized by a constant increase in population and with economic developments focused on each region [54]. In this scenario, a rise in temperatures between 2 and 5.4 \({}^{\circ}\)C is forecast at the end of the 21 st century with respect to the values at the end of the 20 th century.