2006-2011: "Simulation-based support for integrated design of new low-energy office building", Steffen Petersen, MSc, ALECTIA

The increasing depletion of fossil fuel reserves leads to a risk of rising energy prices, loss of supply security and climate change. Therefore, the use of fossil fuels should gradually be phased out in order to maintain a sustainable development. In the EU, buildings are responsible for 40% of the total energy consumption. That is why energy conservation in buildings has a great potential for minimizing the above risks and maintaining a sustainable development. The reason for building buildings and for their energy consumption is the human need for comfort. Sun, wind, rain, cold and noise mean that people in the Western world spend more than 90% of their life in buildings. Thus, maintaining a healthy, comfortable indoor environment is an important parameter in a sustainable development of the construction industry.

This thesis is a debriefing on four years of research work aimed at helping building designers meet the increasing demands to energy consumption without compromising on the quality of indoor climate. The research was carried out in collaboration with ALECTIA A/S, which also contributed half of the funding. The research was based on a proposed methodology for consequence-conscious design decisions in the early stages of the design process. The method relies on the use of building simulation to illustrate how design parameters affect the energy consumption and quality of indoor climate before actual design decisions are made. The method is made operational in a simulation tool that can perform integrated calculations of energy consumption, thermal indoor climate, air quality and daylight. The method and the tool are ideal for an integrated design process, i.e. a process where the building is a product of a targeted, close and equal cooperation between energy engineers, architects and other relevant specialists. The idea is that the energy engineer right from the earliest design phase will use the method and tool to generate input for the decision-making of the design team.

The method and the tool have undergone extensive testing during the four-year period of the project. The feedback from these tests has been used to develop the method and the tool. This user-driven development has also been the reason for the development of methods for economic optimization in early design stages, indoor climate control based on weather forecasts, and daylight evaluation of complex façade constructions. The result is a method and a tool that have proven to be useful in the design process of low-energy office buildings with a good indoor climate. Specifically, the method and the tool were used in the design of the office building Company House III in Kolding (completed in 2008) and the multi-functional Navitas in Aarhus (to be completed in 2014).

Company House III was built near Kolding in 2008 as a low-energy office building of approx. 5,000 m² in the highest indoor climate quality. The building was built by NCC with C.F. Møller as architects, ALECTIA as consulting engineers and NCC Construction as contractor. ALECTIA moved in as tenants in 2008.