Architecture Engineers Award

Accurate knowledge of the thermal envelope and its physical characteristics is essential for reliable building energy performance assessment. In existing buildings, limited information regarding construction details and hidden defects often leads to significant discrepancies between simulated and actual energy performance. This performance gap undermines retrofit planning, increases operational costs, and hinders carbon reduction efforts, highlighting the urgent need for improved on-site diagnostic methods. Role of Envelope Uncertainty in the Performance Gap Insufficient data on airtightness, insulation continuity, and thermal bridging directly affects the accuracy of building energy models. These uncertainties make it difficult to evaluate retrofit options reliably and often result in conservative or inefficient interventions. Addressing envelope-related unknowns is therefore critical for cost-effective and performance-driven retrofit strategies. Acoustic Air Leakage Detection Met...

  Existing buildings often exhibit a notable performance gap between predicted and actual energy efficiency due to limited knowledge about their thermal envelope, physical characteristics, and hidden defects. Understanding these parameters is crucial for developing cost-efficient retrofit strategies that reduce operational costs and carbon emissions. This study emphasizes the importance of on-site measurements and advanced diagnostic methods to enhance energy performance evaluations and support sustainable building practices. Challenges in Assessing Existing Building Performance Accurately evaluating the energy performance of existing buildings is hindered by incomplete or unreliable structural data. Hidden defects, variations in material properties, and deterioration over time contribute to discrepancies between modeled predictions and actual energy usage. These uncertainties make it difficult to design effective retrofits, highlighting the need for more precise assessment tech...