The Three Most Important Design Considerations for Energy Efficiency
Course Description
As much as we talk about sustainability in architectural design, we often miss some important context. The three most important enclosure-related factors influencing how much energy a building will consume are, in order: glazing ratio (how much glass is on the building and how good is the glass?), air tightness (how well have we separated the inside from the outside?) and insulation (how much insulation are we using and is it continuous?). This list is not intuitive for a lot of professionals, and in prioritizing design decisions it helps to understand these relationships better, including differences between commercial and residential buildings and where we are as an industry.
Course Instructor Christine Williamson
Course Length 15:00
Published 18 Aug 2022
Please note: viewing this course and completing this quiz do not currently count towards AIA CEU credits.
Keywords: building science, energy efficiency, glazing ratio, glass, energy, sustainability, energy use intensity, insulation, continuous insulation, enclosure design, thermal performance