## 4 Simulation Results and Discussion
### Effect of Building Construction  
The effect of building characteristics on the water-side energy demand (Figure 11) and thermal comfort delivered by the radiant floors (Figure 12) is addressed in this section. The construction parameters assessed here were dwelling heat capacity, insulation level, and percentage of glazed area, classified further according to the values listed in Appendix B. The impact of each parameter was assessed for dwelling orientation and location (corner or interior). As shown in Figure 11, demand was observed to be greater in the corner-located dwellings. In the interior-located dwellings, whether wood- or granite-floored, demand was consistently highest among the dwellings facing north and lowest for those facing south. By contrast, demand varied very little between east- and west-facing interior-located dwellings. Demand declined and the difference between the average demands of wood and granite covering narrowed with rising building heat capacity, with the average demand exhibited by wood coverings in south-oriented dwellings varying by 37% from lowest to highest building heat capacity. Demand also declined in all the interior-located dwellings with rising insulation levels. For wood coverings in south-oriented apartments, the average demand was 46% lower in the dwellings with the highest than in those with the lowest insulation; similar values were recorded for the other three orientations. Figure 11: Effect of building construction on energy demand. Figure 12: Effect of building construction on mean daily hours with Top \(\geq\) 20 \({}^{\circ}\)C.  
The effect of the percentage of glazing on energy demand exhibited a different pattern for south-facing interior dwellings than for the other three orientations. In the former, the solar gains afforded by the higher percentage of glazing offset the greater heat loss across the outer facade wall. In north-facing dwellings with wood coverings and the highest percentage of glazing, the average demand was 53% greater than with the lowest percentage of glazing, whereas in the most-glazed dwellings facing south, the average demand was 10% lower than in the buildings with the least glazing. Corner-located dwellings facing northeast or northwest, whether wood- or granite-floored, exhibited higher demand than those facing southeast or southwest. Demand declined slightly with building heat capacity, with the average demand for wood coverings in southeast- and southwest-oriented dwellings varying by 10%, from lowest to highest capacity. Similarly, greater insulation levels lowered demand significantly more abruptly than heat capacity, with a 57% decline in average demand found for wood coverings from the lowest to the highest insulation level in southeast- and southwest-oriented dwellings. The opposite pattern was observed for the percentage of glazing in all orientations: the higher the percentage, the higher the demand, even in south-oriented dwellings, where solar gains failed to offset the outward heat loss across facade walls. In northeast- and northwest-facing corner dwellings with wooden floor coverings, the average demand rose by 54% from the lowest to the highest percentage of glazing. Based on the graphs in Figure 12, the interior-located dwellings exhibited more mean daily comfort hours than the corner-located dwellings. In the former, whether the flooring was covered with wood or granite, the comfort hours were higher in the south-facing dwellings than in those oriented in any other direction. The higher the heat capacity, the greater the number of comfort hours: in wood-floored, north-oriented dwellings, space conditions were comfortable for around 2 more hours when heat capacity was highest than when it was lowest. The number of hours also rose consistently with rising insulation level. In north-oriented dwellings with wood floor coverings, space conditions were comfortable approximately 2 more hours in the most than in the least insulated.