Opportunities and Limitations of Building Energy Performance Simulation Tools in the Early Stages of Building Design in the UK

Abstract

This research investigates the use of Building Energy Performance Simulation (BEPS) tools in the early stages of building design in UK architectural practices with a particular focus on the barriers and opportunities to their effective application and further uptake. Two primary methods of investigation were undertaken; the first was a wide survey among UK architects and architectural practices, where the responses of 418 participants were electronically gathered and analysed. A deeper understanding of the issues was developed through an analysis of the process of low-energy building design using semi-structured interviews with six representatives of well-established architectural practices in the UK. The findings reveal that while there is an increasing understanding of the importance of BEPS involvement at the early design stages, there was limited evidence of actual early implementation of BEPS tools other than a few well known but specialised tools such as Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) which were used mainly for domestic energy performance evaluation. However, many practices surveyed showed interest in achieving higher standards than the “basic” regulatory backstops, which has resulted in Passive House and BREEAM seeing increasing use in domestic and non-domestic projects respectively. Although there has been a significant increase in the development and availability of tools and methodologies for assessing building energy performance our study shows that the focus for future research needs to be shifted from the “tool development” to looking at methods of implementing and using such tools in practice at the early design stages.