ABSTRACT
B Keywords – building simulation; HVAC systems; indoor air quality; multi-criteria analysis; thermal
comfort
The importance of the rational use of energy in the world economy became prominent
when oil prices increased sharply during the energy crises of the 1970s. The
energy-saving policies that were adopted to confront the energy problem also included
the building sector, because buildings participate significantly in the world energy
balance. The need to improve the thermal performance of a building’s shell and to use
renewable energy sources, mainly solar energy, led to the formulation of basic principles
called energy or bioclimatic design. However, the effort to save energy as much as
possible created other important problems in buildings concerning thermal comfort and
indoor air quality (IAQ). At that time, the vital parameter of securing suitable indoor
environmental conditions for users was neglected during building design. The
environmental impacts from building construction and operation have attained more and
more importance in order to protect the environment. Consequently, the energy design,
taking into account the triptych ‘building-energy-environment’, needs to ensure not
only the rational use of energy but also satisfactory thermal comfort and indoor air
conditions as well as the minimization of environmental impacts, considering always the
right building energy behaviour for the whole year.
