Back to Search Start Over

How reliable are geometry-based building indices as thermal performance indicators?

Authors :
Rodrigues, Eugénio
Amaral, Ana Rita
Gaspar, Adélio Rodrigues
Gomes, Álvaro
Source :
Energy Conversion & Management. Sep2015, Vol. 101, p561-578. 18p.
Publication Year :
2015

Abstract

Architects and urban planners have been relying on geometry-based indices to design more energy efficient buildings for years. The advantage of such indices is their ease of use and capability to capture the relation of a few geometric variables with the building’s performance. However, such relation is usually found using only a few simple building models and considering only a few climate regions. This paper presents the analysis of six geometry-based building indices to determine their adequacy in eight different climate regions in Europe. For each location, three residential building design programs were used as building specifications. Two algorithms were employed to randomly generate and assess the thermal performance of three sets of 500 alternative building models. The results show that geometry-based indices only correlate with the buildings’ thermal performance according to specific climate regions and building design programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
01968904
Volume :
101
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Energy Conversion & Management
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
103552701
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2015.06.011