Energy and architectural consequences of Swedish building code

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose building code changes that would benefit both architectural design and the potential of achieving nearly zero energy goals by analyzing the architectural implications of the energy system boundaries within the Swedish code. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is driven by three questions that relate the national implementation of EU directive on nearly zero energy 2020 to the premises set out in the guidelines for revising the Swedish building code aiming at a performance-based regulation. A crucial part of the research is a comparative analysis of the design implications of the code to research findings in scientific articles on near-zero energy or low-energy design. Findings – The energy system boundaries in the Swedish code are steering the architectural design and energy consequences of offices towards using less heat but more electricity. The energy section is also limiting the architectural design choices by ignoring the positive energy aspects of daylight. A proposal of a new comprehensive energy section taking all architectural design related energy aspects into account is presented, in order to support design of nearly zero energy buildings. Practical implications – A building code that relates the energy system boundaries to form will help integrated design choices that are more likely to support the strive towards nearly zero energy buildings. Originality/value – The paper reveals the design implication of the Swedish energy section to be counterproductive regarding energy efficiency as well as limiting architectural design choices.