The impacts of the EPBD upon the summer performance of buildings

While most existing EU National regulations only prescribe requirements for reducing heating needs, the new EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD) requires them to be updated to also account for cooling needs. In particular, the EPBD stresses the need to effectively promote the use of passive cooling measures. This text concentrates on ways how these requirements can be implemented, in both the residential and in the non-residntial sectors, discussing issues such as shading, thermal mass, ventilation, lighting and internal gains, AC use and AC avoidance techniques, etc., as well as on the practical implications for global building energy efficiency during the Summer months.