NOW AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: Every performance test for completing a home energy audit. If you're a professional in today's fast-evolving industry of high performance construction and retrofits, then you've probably found yourself wondering a few things: Who can show me how to run that test? How do I get the most out of the equipment I own? Why do the tests work, and how do I explain them? What quality control methods should I use? Which tools will make my job faster and easier? With this guide, experienced and new diagnosticians alike will get step-by-step details on advanced testing, complete with best practices, important concepts and pitfalls, ways to present data to the client, Step-By-Step photographs, and time-saving tips, plus quiz questions for each diagnostic!

Explores and brings together the existent body of knowledge on building performance analysis Shortlisted in the CIBSE 2020 Building Performance Awards Building performance is an important yet surprisingly complex concept. This book presents a comprehensive and systematic overview of the subject. It provides a working definition of building performance, and an in-depth discussion of the role building performance plays throughout the building life cycle. The book also explores the perspectives of various stakeholders, the functions of buildings, performance requirements, performance quantification (both predicted and measured), criteria for success, and the challenges of using performance analysis in practice. Building Performance Analysis starts by introducing the subject of building performance: its key terms, definitions, history, and challenges. It then develops a theoretical foundation for the subject, explores the complexity of performance assessment, and the way that performance analysis impacts on actual buildings. In doing so, it attempts to answer the following questions: What is building performance? How can building performance be measured and analyzed? How does the analysis of building performance guide the improvement of buildings? And what can the building domain learn from the way performance is handled in other disciplines? Assembles the current body of knowledge on building performance analysis in one unique resource Offers deep insights into the complexity of using building performance analysis throughout the entire building life cycle, including design, operation and management Contributes an emergent theory of building performance and its analysis Building Performance Analysis will appeal to the building science community, both from industry and academia. It specifically targets advanced students in architectural engineering, building services design, building performance simulation and similar fields who hold an interest in ensuring that buildings meet the needs of their stakeholders.

Fundamentals of Building Performance Simulation pares the theory and practice of a multi-disciplinary field to the essentials for classroom learning and real-world applications. Authored by a veteran educator and researcher, this textbook equips graduate students and emerging and established professionals in engineering and architecture to predict and optimize buildings’ energy use. It employs an innovative pedagogical approach, introducing new concepts and skills through previously mastered ones and deepening understanding of familiar themes by means of new material. Covering topics from indoor airflow to the effects of the weather, the book’s 19 chapters empower learners to: Understand the models and assumptions underlying popular BPS tools Compare models, simulations, and modelling tools and make appropriate selections Recognize the effects of modelling choices and input data on simulation predictions And more. Each subject is introduced without reference to particular modelling tools, while practice problems at the end of each chapter provide hands-on experience with the tools of the reader’s choice. Curated reading lists orient beginners in a vast, cross-disciplinary literature, and the critical thinking skills stressed throughout prepare them to make contributions of their own. Fundamentals of Building Performance Simulation provides a much-needed resource for new and aspiring members of the building science community.

Effective building performance simulation can reduce the environmental impact of the built environment, improve indoor quality and productivity, and facilitate future innovation and technological progress in construction. It draws on many disciplines, including physics, mathematics, material science, biophysics and human behavioural, environmental and computational sciences. The discipline itself is continuously evolving and maturing, and improvements in model robustness and fidelity are constantly being made. This has sparked a new agenda focusing on the effectiveness of simulation in building life-cycle processes. Building Performance Simulation for Design and Operation begins with an introduction to the concepts of performance indicators and targets, followed by a discussion on the role of building simulation in performance-based building design and operation. This sets the ground for in-depth discussion of performance prediction for energy demand, indoor environmental quality (including thermal, visual, indoor air quality and moisture phenomena), HVAC and renewable system performance, urban level modelling, building operational optimization and automation. Produced in cooperation with the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA), and featuring contributions from fourteen internationally recognised experts in this field, this book provides a unique and comprehensive overview of building performance simulation for the complete building life-cycle from conception to demolition. It is primarily intended for advanced students in building services engineering, and in architectural, environmental or mechanical engineering; and will be useful for building and systems designers and operators.

Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) informs and enhances the usability and sustainability of building designs with lessons learned from evaluation of building performance throughout the building life cycle, from initial planning through occupancy to adaptive re-use. A key feature of BPE is that it examines design and technical performance of buildings alongside human performance criteria. That is, it seeks to examine facilities in order to determine whether they will work for the people that will use and occupy them. Rigorous BPE helps to improve design practice by providing feedback on the effectiveness of the choices made about the building to ensure that its design is optimised for stakeholders’ uses. The overarching theme for Enhancing Building Performance is to present the next generation of BPE work. The book provides an updated systematic approach for BPE as well as chapters written by experts from around the world who demonstrate how to apply BPE to enhance building design. Topics covered include: evidence-based and integrative design processes, evaluation methods and tools, and education and knowledge transfer. In addition, case studies provide specific examples of how BPE has been used to study such things as the impact of workplace design on human productivity and innovation. Written primarily for design professionals and facility managers who wish to use BPE to deliver improved building performance that is responsive to the needs of stakeholders, Enhancing Building Performance will also be of great value to researchers and students across a range of architecture and construction disciplines.

Publisher description

The main aim of this book is to present an intriguing retrospective of Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) as it evolved from Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) over the past 25 years. On one hand, this is done by updating original authors' chapter content of Building Evaluation, the first edition published in 1989. That, in turn, is augmented by an orientation toward current and future practice on the other, including new authors who are engaged in ongoing, cutting edge projects. Therefore, individual, methodology oriented chapters covering the fundamental principles of POE and BPE go along with major thematic chapters, topics of which like sustainability or integration of new technologies are addressed in a diversity of case studies from around the globe. Research, methodologies, and framework of POEs continue to evolve. POEs are one step, on the larger scale of BPE, in understanding how buildings function after they are occupied. This resource helps a rchitects, building owners, and facility managers understand the implications and reactions to the facilities that they designed, built and/or commissioned. By considering the whole process from conception to future uses of the building, there can be a more holistic approach to the planning, programming, design, construction, occupancy, and future adaptability of the structure. This book is dedicated to first editor Wolfgang F. E. Preiser who passed away during the process of editing and reviewing chapters of this volume.

The building performance evaluation (BPE) framework emphasizes an evaluative stance throughout the six phases of the building delivery and life cycle: (1) strategic planning/needs analysis; (2) program review; (3) design review; (4) post-construction evaluation/review; (5) post-occupancy evaluation; and, (6) facilities management review/adaptive reuse. The lessons learned from positive and negative building performance are fed into future building delivery cycles. The case studies illustrate how this basic methodology has been adapted to a range of cultural contexts, and indicates the positive results of building performance assessment in a wide range of situations.

high Performance Enclosures : Design Guide for Institutional, Commercial and Industrial Buildings in Cold Climates provides guidance for architects and building enclosure engineers working to meet the growing need for buildings that have significantly lower operational energy consumption. John Straube addresses a range of practical questions about low energy building enclosures that save energy while simultaneously improving durability, comfort, and rain control: How much of an impact can the enclosure, massing, and orientation have? How much glazing is appropriate and what options are available? How much does thermal bridging matter and how can it be minimized at difficult structural details? How does one detail thick layers of continuous insulation outside of steel stud walls? Can layers of insulating sheathing reduce the risk of moisture damage?--COVER.

Integrating Building Performance with Design shows you the importance of designing for building performance early in your architectural design process. The book offers you simple tools and exercises, along with examples of built professional work and successful student projects illustrated by more than 100 full color images to help you with your work. Topics include site, solar orientation, thermal comfort, building enclosure, daylighting, passive heating and cooling, active heating and cooling, indoor air quality, stormwater, and rainwater harvesting.