Designing with Energy Efficiency in Mind

:: By Stephanie Norton

The importance of energy efficient buildings has assumed great urgency today, in light of rapidly depleting energy resources, increasing pollution, and greater environmental awareness.  Fortunately, by adopting an integrated approach to design, buildings can be tailored to meet the occupant's need for thermal and visual comfort at sustainable levels of energy & resource consumption.  Below, we examine the three key components of this approach.

 

Incorporate passive solar techniques in building design to minimize load on conventional heating & cooling systems.

 

'Passive solar design' is design that integrates a combination of building features to reduce or even eliminate the need for mechanical cooling and heating systems.

 

Passive solar design works best in small to medium-sized buildings with low internal heat gains, such as townhouses, arenas, community centers, and low-rise retail and office buildings.  However, in any architectural style and in any part of the world, a designer can achieve energy efficiency while maximizing comfort levels by carefully considering the characteristics of the building site, including solar exposure, wind patterns, terrain and landscaping features.   Computer simulation programs can prove invaluable in this process because of the complexity of system combinations and interactions.

 

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