Building Energy use Compilation and Analysis (BECA): An international comparison and critical review. Part A: New residential buildings

Abstract The potential for energy conservation in space heating of new residential buildings is characterized using results from computer analysis, and from a survey of low-energy houses. Simulations of the energy requirements of a prototypical house in the United States at different levels of conservation have shown that much higher levels of conservation than those presently employed in new houses result in minimum life-cycle cost. Measurement taken in actual houses indicate that very low space heating energy requirements — comparable to that now used for domestic water heating — can be achieved in new houses by attention to insulation, infiltration, and solar-design principles. We conclude that building standards should be made more stringent to hasten the adoption of cost-effective conservation measures.