Like never before, building owners demand that new and retrofitted buildings be as energy efficient as possible. There are many strategies on the market today that can be adopted to achieve these high performance buildings (i.e. building envelope, renewable energy, high efficient mechanical systems and etc.), however the most economical and logical method would be to utilize the passive building approach. The passive building approach has been derived from the well-known European Trias Energetica Concept, which promotes passive energy savings rather than energy savings from mechanical systems. The TEC’s principles and brief description are shown here.
Though this approach has many variables associated with the concept, this article is going to touch upon how the thermal layer within the building envelope should be chosen to efficiently achieve the first tier of the Trias Energetica Concept—“Reduce the Energy Demand.” Additional information can be found at www.triasenergetica.com.