ABSTRACT

According to the new directive on buildings energy performance, all buildings constructed after 2020, or after 2018 in the case of public service buildings, should be nearly zero energy buildings. It is commonly accepted that the planet's energy sustainability is based on the use of renewable energy, energy saving, and the energy efficiency of equipment and facilities. Therefore, the reduction of the energy consumption and efficient use of energy in buildings have become increasingly important in recent decades. The growing demands concerning thermal comfort and energy efficiency of buildings has motivated significant changes on the construction of enclosure walls in order to improve their thermal insulation capability. Moreover, masonry walls play an important role on the thermal behaviour of buildings given their ability to retain and release heat during the weather seasons. However, in order to evaluate properly the impact of masonry walls on energy consumption and thermal comfort of buildings, dynamic regime analysis must be performed.