Sustainability assessment of an energy efficient optimized solution

Abstract

In order to overcome the increasing energy demand in buildings and related environmental problems, new eficient energy technologies and new integrated building concepts, like solar passive and mixed-weighted thermal mass buildings, are being developed. The energy efficiency should not be the only parameter to consider in high-performance building design. Other parameters related to the three dimensions of the Sustainable Development (environment, economy and society) should also be considered, in order to obtain higher performance and more sustainable buildings. The aim of this work is to assess the sustainability of a non-conventional solution using the methodology MARS-SC. The input parameters will be evaluated using energy simulation tools and experimental measurements. The study will focus on the performance comparison between a mixed-weight thermal mass test cell and a conventional one.