Techreport,
Energy Efficiency Requirements in Building Codes, Energy Efficiency
(2008)
Abstract
The use of energy in buildings accounts for a large share of the
total end use of energy. In sectors such as residential and the commercial
sector the major part of the energy consumption takes place buildings.
This includes energy used for controlling the climate in buildings
and for the buildings themselves, but also energy used for appliances,
lighting and other installed equipment. In other sectors a small
part of the energy consumption is similar used for similar purposes
in relation to the buildings. This is for instance the case for some
buildings in the industry used for administration or some buildings
agriculture or forestry. The energy efficiency of new buildings determines
the building sectorâs energy consumption for far longer than other
end-use sectors components determine their sectorâs efficiency.
Buildings will typically be constructed to be used for many decades
and, in some cases, for more than a hundred years. In other energy
end uses, the capital lifetime for efficiency improvement will be,
at most, a few decades.
