Energy efficient private service buildings with “ecofacility”: comprehensive support for building developers

Gerhard Hofer and Margot Grim, Austrian Energy Agency

Keywords

integrated planning, energy efficiency, private service buildings, life-cycle costs, LCC, Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, EPBD

Abstract

The current approach to the design of modern office buildings is dominated by glazed façades and comprehensive building installations such as air conditioning systems to achieve proper indoor working conditions. This, however, leads to high energy consumption and, subsequently, high energy costs. Furthermore, the resultant high maintenance efforts for installations lead to increased operating costs.

In the upcoming months, building developers will be confronted with the national implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. In future, minimum requirements on the overall energy efficiency of buildings will be mandatory and the energy demand of a building will be an additional factor of competition due to the energy certificate.

The integrated energy design process supports building developers in order to face both requirements: developing cost effective and energy efficient buildings. The service for building developers is based on a modular concept to give support in every planning and construction phase: In the first planning stages, this process contains activities such as the definition of criteria regarding energy efficiency, assessment of draft, calculations of heating and cooling demands and suggestions for improvements. During the detailed design phase, assessments with the help of simulations of energy performance and life-cycle costs calculations are carried out. Quality assurance during the construction phase with newly developed warranty models completes the process.

Since the summer of 2006, ecofacility – the Austrian climate protection programme for energy efficient private service buildings – offers these consulting services and aims to support building developers during all design stages in putting the integrated energy design approach into practice.