Why do award-winning 'green' buildings so often have higher energy bills than ordinary buildings? Why do expensive refurbishments deliver outcomes that are far from the promises of improved sustainability? Why does your building have high running costs and still the occupants complain about being too cold or too hot and are otherwise dissatisfied? The failure of many countries to produce buildings that are comfortable with excellent energy performance is a scandal. Achieving low energy buildings does not involve learning rocket science: just some basic building physics, a clear language for talking meaningfully about energy-efficient outcomes with all those in the buildings cycle, and an outlook that casts a new low energy perspective on old problems. This book provides that common language. It outlines a path towards understanding what makes for a good quality low energy building, the stakeholders that need to be engaged, and encourages new ways of thinking about how to reduce energy use and costs.
