Energy efficient houses in Denmark and moisture conditions in highly insulated constructions - rules, practice and education

The Danish Building regulation contains energy requirement for 2010, 2015 and 2020. This will gradually lower the primary energy use in buildings. The rules have maximum allowed U-values and linear heat losses for building parts and maximum allowed transmission heat loss though the opaque part. There are rules for air leakage of the building and the energy balance of the windows. Additionally, there are rules for availability of daylight and indoor climate (thermal and atmospheric). The building must have an energy use below an energy frame that includes heating, ventilation, hot water, electricity for operating the building, solar gains, heat recovery, potential penalty for overheating, etc. A standard calculation method Be10 has to be used. Additionally, a calculation of overheating hours must be done. The real energy use in building is not always as low as calculated with the design rules. The explanation is typically that the inhabitants have a higher indoor temperature or use the building in another way. It is still best to use the design tools to classify energy use and not “real energy consumption”. The paper describes literature, measurement and calculation of moisture in highly insulated buildings and concludes that the risk for moisture damage is low for most cases. Aalborg University and the Danish Building Research Institute has started a 2 year half-time study (Master in Building Physics) for professionals who are responsible for planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of buildings, and not through their training has achieved the necessary skills in the building physical area. Entry requirement is a master or bachelor degree and at least 2 years working experience in the field. The programme includes theory and practise related to heat, moisture and air, calculation methods for energy and indoor climate and projects for new and refurbished buildings.