Operating Agent: Mr D Bloomfield, Building Research Establishment, Great Britain

Summary

This project will increase the credibility and usability of existing procedures for calculating the energy and environmental performance of buildings. No restriction on the type of building or calculation procedure is foreseen. Consideration will be given therefore both to domestic and non-domestic buildings: to calculation procedures suitable both at the design stage and for example energy auditing.

Calculation procedures for assessing the thermal performance of buildings can be used at different stages of the design process and for assessing and improving the performance of existing buildings. The larger detailed simulation programs tend to be used by expert practitioners, while simpler calculation procedures have more widespread use and are often included in national codes or engineering guides. The rapid current developments in computing will enable more powerful analysis techniques to be used by a wider range of users.

Despite these advantages, there are some serious obstacles to their use which either prevent their proper use or more widespread acceptance by practitioners. These include a lack of transparency in the methods and a lack of well documented, reliable and appropriate data for use with the calculation methods. There is also a need for much better guidance on how they should be used.

This project addresses these major obstacles. It is divided into four subtasks:

1. Documentation of Existing Methods
2. Appropriate Use of Models and Environment for Integrated Design
3. Reference Cases and Evaluation Procedures.
4. Design Support Environments

Other participants: Finland Spain and USA are members of Solar Task 12 Subtask 13 which works together with IEA 21 Subtask C as a joint group.

Observers: Canada, Italy, CEC

Technical Synthesis Report: Calculation of Energy and Environmental Performance of Buildings
Mansson L-G
UK, Coventry, Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre, ISBN 1 902177 04 5, 1998, 28 pp
Contents
Order Printed Copy £20.00, (Order Code: ANN 21 TSR 03)
Free Download

Calculation of Energy and Environmental Performance of Buildings: Appropriate use of Programs Final Report, Subtask B

Volume 1, Executive Summary Anon UK, Watford, Building Research Establishment (BRE Ltd), 1994, c200 pp Contents Free Download

Volume 2: Performance Assessment Methods: the Subtask Output
UK, Watford, Building Research Establishment (BRE Ltd), 1994, c300 pp.
Contents
Free Download

Empirical Validation of Thermal Building Simulation Programs Using Test Room Data

Volume 1: Final Report
Lomas K J, Eppel H, Martin C, Bloomfield D
UK, Watford, Building Research Establishment (BRE Ltd), 1994, c150 pp
Contents
Out of Print

Volume 2: Empirical validation Package
Lomas K J, Martin C, Eppel H, Watson M, Bloomfield D
UK, Watford, Building Research Establishment (BRE Ltd), 1994, c100 + diskette pp
Contents
Out of Print

Volume 3: Working Reports
Lomas K J (editor)
UK, Watford, Building Research Establishment (BRE Ltd), 1994, c150 pp
Contents
Out of Print

Report on Projects Dealing with Building Design Support Environments - Final Report
Christof Hertkorn (ed.)
Germany, Karlsruhe, Universitat Karlsruhe, Institut fur Industrielle Bauproduktion, IEA 21 RN 331/93, 1993, 236 pp
Contents
Order Printed Copy £25.00 (Order Code: ANN 21 1994:5)

Environmental Performance of Buildings: Energy Analysis Tests for Commercial Buildings (Commercial Benchmarks)
Haapala T, Kalema T, Kataja S (Eds.)
Finland, Tampere University of Technology, Thermal Engineering, Report 101 , 1995, 66 pp
Contents
Free Download

Building Energy Simulation Test (BESTEST) and Diagnostic Method
Judkoff R, Neymark J
USA, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, DE94000280, NREL/TP-472-6231, 1995, 296 pp
Contents
Free Download (External Website 13.8MB)