Knowledge gap with the existing building energy assessment systems

Abstract

Energy supply, the increasing demands for energy, climate change, and the imperative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must be considered in designing buildings. In order to design energy-efficient buildings, there should be accurate information about the thermal performance of the building. The thermal simulation readings should be precise. Its precision will also have a definite indication of the operational energy costs enabling the likelihood of conserving more energy used in building operations and reducing the greenhouse effect that is a result of emissions of greenhouse gases. Energy-efficient buildings are vital as they reduce the consumption of energy in and allow sustainable development. Erecting such buildings will require correct and realistic prediction of the buildings performance when subjected to a wide variety of harsh weather conditions in order to have a view of the impact of all the physical elements that influence the thermal performance. The behavior of the occupants also influences the thermal performance of a building. To achieve this, energy assessment instruments are used to accurately forecast the buildings thermal performance. This paper critically reviews energy rating methods for housing and the limitations of assessment systems.