A Critique of the Passive Zone Concept for Energy Conservation Design Tools

Abstract

The use of design tools in architectural design is common place. Yet, in recent years the need has arisen to provide design tools to assist with the evaluating the energy usage of buildings. A number of tools are available for this type of work. Unfortunately, many of these tools are inappropriate for integration in the architectural design process. The research described here reports development work on a lighting, thermal and ventilation tool for use at the conceptual stage in the design process. The main contention is that this type of tool is crucial to effective passive low-energy design as it is difficult to integrate energy saving feature at later stages in the design process. Part of this work has necessitated a critique of the concept of the passive strategies for non-domestic buildings; this is an important element in assessing the energy contribution of the external environment to the building.