Johnston, D; Farmer, D; Brooke-Peat, M and Miles-Shenton, D (2016) Bridging the domestic building fabric performance gap. Building Research & Information, 44(2), pp. 147-159. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
It is recognized that there is often a discrepancy between the measured fabric thermal performance of dwellings as built and the predicted performance of the same dwellings and that the magnitude of this difference in performance can be quite large. This paper presents the results of a number of in-depth building fabric thermal performance tests undertaken on three case study dwellings located on two separate Passivhaus developments in the UK: one masonry cavity and the other two timber-frame. The results from the tests revealed that all the case study dwellings performed very close to that predicted. This is in contrast with other work that has been undertaken regarding the performance of the building fabric, which indicates that a very wide range of performance exists in new-build dwellings in the UK, and that the difference between the measured and predicted fabric performance can be greater than 100%. Despite the small non-random size of the sample, the results suggest that careful design coupled with the implementation of appropriate quality control systems, such as those required to attain Passivhaus Certification, may be conducive to delivering dwellings that begin to 'bridge the gap' between measured and predicted fabric performance.; It is recognized that there is often a discrepancy between the measured fabric thermal performance of dwellings as built and the predicted performance of the same dwellings and that the magnitude of this difference in performance can be quite large. This paper presents the results of a number of in-depth building fabric thermal performance tests undertaken on three case study dwellings located on two separate Passivhaus developments in the UK: one masonry cavity and the other two timber-frame. The results from the tests revealed that all the case study dwellings performed very close to that predicted. This is in contrast with other work that has been undertaken regarding the performance of the building fabric, which indicates that a very wide range of performance exists in new-build dwellings in the UK, and that the difference between the measured and predicted fabric performance can be greater than 100%. Despite the small non-random size of the sample, the results suggest that careful design coupled with the implementation of appropriate quality control systems, such as those required to attain Passivhaus Certification, may be conducive to delivering dwellings that begin to 'bridge the gap' between measured and predicted fabric performance.;
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | energy performance gap; building performance; housing; co-heating; air tightness; heat flux; thermal barrier; case studies; insulation; energy efficiency; building construction |
| Index terms: | domestic building, implementation, performance gap, building construction, certification, energy performance gap, Passivhaus, thermal performance, building performance, thermal barrier, air tightness, housing, quality control, case study, co-heating, energy efficiency, insulation |
| Subjects: | building construction, construction type, environmental engineering, project delivery, energy systems, data collection methods, materials science, administrative processes, contractual arrangements, performance management, sustainability and energy, quality assurance, energy efficiency, building materials |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Contract Administration, Quality Management, Construction Technology, Procurement, Design Practice, Sustainability, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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