How to Design Energy-Efficient Homes: An Illustrated Guide

Too often, there is a substantial difference between the energy efficiency projected in the design and that actually achieved in the completed building. This is known as the "energy performance gap," a problem that not only results in higher energy bills for users but also, at a global level, negatively impacts climate change and carbon emissions.

This book is an illustrated guide for designing and constructing truly efficient homes that overcome this gap and offer genuinely reduced energy consumption, good thermal comfort, and excellent indoor air quality. Each chapter focuses on a specific construction system to describe common problems and best practices, and provides simple, illustrated data sheets of the most relevant construction details in terms of energy efficiency.

Windows, frames, floor slabs, walls, roofs, and other key elements are explained with illustrations of construction details (also compatible with the Passivhaus standard), heat flow and psi-value diagrams, as well as annotated photographs of the construction process. The result is a practical and direct guide intended to become an essential reference book for architects, quantity surveyors, builders, and other professionals in the construction industry.