Good intentions: Are they enough to achieve good solar building performance?

Abstract

The Passive Solar Programme (PSP), funded by the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has monitored the performance of over 30 passive solar designed buildings. Passive solar design can realise significant energy and cost savings. To assess the benefits of applying passive solar design within the UK, the PSP established the Energy Performance Assessment project (EPA). The study set out to assess not only energy performance but also the costs and amenity of existing, exemplar, domestic and non-domestic solar buildings. All the buildings were designed with a deliberate solar intent. However, it was observed that in many instances this intent was only partially achieved; many of the buildings performed below expectations. It was determined that a given design intent can be corrupted, partially or totally, by a variety of influences resulting from a building's design, construction or operation. This paper uses the EPA project to highlight a number of issues that need to be considered if a building's intended performance is to be realised in practice. Suggestions as to how the issues can be circumvented are made.