The European Commission has expressed the wish to harmonize energy regulations in the building sector and at the same time has formulated goals for promoting the use of renewable energy sources. This paper studied the possible synergy of these two targets. To make a first step in this research topic renewable energy techniques are considered as environmental innovations for which incentives, being a public good, is dependent on governmental intervention, like energy policy instruments.
This paper presents the results of an indoor air quality-energy audit made in five air-conditioned office buildings in Singapore. Data are presented from both objective and subjective measurements.It appears that on the one hand BSI (Building Symptom Index) values are in correlation with IAQ and thermal comfort acceptability but on the other hand, no significant correlation exists between BSI (Building Symptom Index) and IPSI (Indoor Pollutant Standard Index).
Energy Performance (EP) standardisation and regulation is by a growing number of countriesconsidered as an attractive approach for achieving a more energy efficient built environment.Several countries have already enacted such EP based regulation (the Netherlands, France,Germany, ASHRAE approach in North America), or are preparing one (Greece, theFlemish Region).The European Council and Parliament are drafting a directive on the Energy Performance ofbuildings, imposing the institution of such regulation in every member state.This paper will give a general introduction to the issue of energy
The wish to improve the energy performance of a building as well as to improve indoor climate can be mentioned as one of the main driving forces behind the introduction of so called 'double facades'. Various types of double facades can be distinguished; the number of possible double facade variants is large. This raises the question in what way the performance of double facades can be predicted during the design process and how well-considered design decisions can be made.
The greater availability of information and telecommunication technologies and the trend towards flexible working practices allow the home and the workplace to coexist. Many studies mainly emphasize economic and social consequences of teleworking. However, there is no assessment of energy and indoor climate impact of teleworking at home. Furthermore a professional activity is usually not envisaged at home, and home is not built according to the same building design process as offices. Consequently, teleworking at home raises new questions about the evolution of dwellings.