ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book puts measurable energy consumption numbers to a few of these design tenets, showing how impactful they are for early design decisions. It seeks to inject building energy modeling (BEM) into architectural design, helping students and professionals to understand the workflow, leverage it to make decisions, and ultimately reduce the energy footprint of their building designs. The book addresses some of the sensitive geometric issues specific to externally and internally loaded building types. It reviews the history of passive solar architecture and places it within a changed marketplace where standards and rating systems provide practice with an evidence base from which to work. The book includes a BEM Pattern Guide showcasing a pictorial overview of office building forms to improve performance, demonstrating metrics for various letter-shaped buildings from the L, H, T, and U shapes.
