Energy Efficient Buildings

This book discusses energy efficient buildings and the role they play in our efforts to address climate change, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by considering buildings and the construction sector's unique position along a critical path to decarbonisation from a multi-perspective and holistic viewpoint.

This book presents a methodology for the assessment of structural building details, taking into account the contemporary guidelines for earthquake-resistant and energy-efficient buildings. A review of structural details for energy-efficient buildings revealed that in some cases the structural system is interrupted, leading to solutions which are not suitable for earthquake-prone regions. Such typical examples would be the use of thermal insulation under the building foundation and reduction of the load-bearing elements’ dimensions – also at the potential locations of plastic hinges which are crucial for the dissipation of seismic energy.