Nicol, J F and Humphreys, M A (2009) New standards for comfort and energy use in buildings. Building Research & Information, 37(1), pp. 68-73. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Existing international standards for the specification of environments for human occupancy often 'categorize' such environments to distinguish between higher and lower 'quality'. The way in which the categories are presented tends to favour high-energy, closely controlled buildings. Part of the reason for this is that the Standards address 'environment' without addressing the context of the environment in a building. This situation might have occurred through the need for the heating, mechanical ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) industry to justify a closely defined 'product'. A new building-centred approach to environmental standards is proposed in which low-carbon buildings are favoured and adaptive standards are used to ensure comfort.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | adaptive behaviour; categorization; comfort; energy consumption; human agency; indoor environmental quality; international standards; low-carbon buildings; thermal comfort |
| Index terms: | comfort, energy consumption, indoor environmental quality, low-carbon building, agency, adaptive behaviour, mechanical ventilation, energy use, specification, thermal comfort |
| Subjects: | sociology, occupational health and safety management, design practice, environmental health, human factors, energy systems, environmental engineering, contractual condition |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Contract Administration, Health and Safety, Design Practice, Sustainability, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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