English

With the improvement of thermal building Insulation the percentage of energy losses due to air exchange becomes an increasingly· important factor in building energy demand. In order to optimize infiltration and ventilation and to minimize the energy demand of low energy buildings, it is necessary to install an appropriate mechanical ventilation system. Different ventilation strategies can be used: Extract ventilation and supply I extract ventilation systems for buildings as well as single-zone ventilation units with or without heat recovery.

How should environmental profiles be used for construction materials? An environmental profile is a graphical presentation of environmental burdens. The concept may be used to present the results from a number of different stages within an LCA. The most effective use of profiles for materials and products in buildings has yet to be established; whether they should present raw data or data which have been interpreted and to what stage in the life of the material they should be applied.

This paper sets out the monitoring results of the York Energy Demonstration Project (YEDP), carried out under the UK Government's Greenhouse Programme. Energy savings of up to 50% were observed as a result of incorporating energy efficiency measures into housing modernisation programmes. The project also provided insights into a number of replication issues.

The goal of sustainable development will be impossible to achieve without realignment of value creation by business arid the public sector. The environmental impacts of building activities are serious. There is a need for new competencies, better information about the environmental attributes of buildings, and suitable tools with which to achieve better eco-efficiency in practice. An aggressive commitment to developing and spreading the use of the Eco Profile method will provide a cost-efficient and attitude-changing environmental policy tool.

The objectives of this paper are to review measurements of airtightness in two domestic refurbishment projects in England, and to attempt to determine the effects of basic construction method and approach to refurbishment on airtightness.

This paper reports on an experimental study dealing with the effects of an automatic shading device on the energetic performance of a dimmable lighting system and on a cooling system. Some equations related to fenestration thermal properties are reformulated under a theoretical approach. In order to collect field data, energy demands and other variables were measured at the "Test Tower" on two distinct floors with identical fenestration features. New data were gathered after adding an automatic shading device to the window of one of the floors.

The paper describes a pilot-study set up to identify links between internal environmental quality and perceived well-being in a 1970's higher educational building housing the Mackintosh School of Architecture. The supposition is that such links may in turn inhibit/promote greater productivity. The study embraces a variety of working situations for staff and students and explores levels of satisfaction and dissatisfaction by means of questionnaire.

The management of environmental quality of school buildings has, for too long, been the overlooked half of the larger whole of the strategic educational planning process. This paper examines the changing role of environmental quality management from its traditional operationally-based role, to an expanded, more dynamic role in strategic educational planning activities at the local, site-based level. First, a brief review of the state of knowledge concerning the impact of environmental quality on the educational process is presented.

Escalating global environmental deterioration is due in significant part to buildings' share of total environmental burdens - ranging from 15 to 45% of the eight major environmental stressor categories. Therefore, improved building environmental performance could substantially reduce harmful anthropogenic environmental impacts. Previous efforts to address buildings' environmental impacts often lack a science-based approach and claims of "sustainability" or "green design" are often unsupported.