Passive and Low Energy Buildings

Abstract

Better energy efficiency in buildings can be achieved with active, passive and combined strategies. This chapter presents and discusses design strategies for passive and low energy buildings. Passive buildings fall under low energy building where special design criteria is in place to reduce the operational energy consumption in a building. Passive and low energy technologies can provide satisfactory thermal comfort in non-airconditioned buildings. Passive buildings strategies include heat gain prevention, heat modulation and heat dissipation. Building envelope aspects such as walls, glazing, roof, insulation, thermal mass, and shading are discussed. Low energy cooling technologies: ground c..