Building performance is an attribute of a

building A building or edifice is an enclosed Structure#Load-bearing, structure with a roof, walls and window, windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, a ...

that expresses how well that building carries out its functions. It may also relate to the

performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...

of the building

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

process. Categories of building performance are quality (how well the building fulfills its functions),

resource ''Resource'' refers to all the materials available in our environment which are Technology, technologically accessible, Economics, economically feasible and Culture, culturally Sustainability, sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and want ...

savings (how much of a particular resource is needed to fulfill its functions) and

workload The term workload can refer to several different yet related entities. An amount of labor An old definition refers to workload as the amount of work an individual has to do.Jex, S. M. (1998). Stress and job performance: Theory, research, and im ...

capacity (how much the building can do). The performance of a building depends on the response of the building to an external load or shock. Building performance plays an important role in

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

building services engineering Building services engineering (BSE), service engineering or facilities and services planning engineering is a Regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that strives to achieve a safe and comfortable Indoor air qu ...

, building regulation,

architectural engineering Architectural engineering or architecture engineering, also known as building engineering, is a discipline that deals with the engineering and construction of buildings, such as environmental, structural, mechanical, electrical, computational, e ...

and

construction management Construction management (CM) aims to control the quality of a construction project's scope, time, and cost (sometimes referred to as a project management triangle or "triple constraints") to maximize the project owner's satisfaction. It uses pro ...

. Furthermore, improving building performance (particularly energy efficiency) is important for addressing climate change, since buildings account for 30% of

global energy consumption World energy supply and consumption refers to the global supply of World energy resources, energy resources and its Energy consumption, consumption. The system of global energy supply consists of the energy development, Refineries, refinement, a ...

, resulting in 27% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Prominent building performance aspects are energy efficiency, occupant comfort,

indoor air quality Indoor air quality (IAQ) is the air quality within buildings and Nonbuilding structure, structures. Poor indoor air quality due to indoor air pollution is known to affect the health, comfort, and well-being of building occupants. It has also be ...

and daylighting.

Background

Building performance has been of interest to humans since the very first shelters were built to protect us from the weather, natural enemies and other dangers. Initially design and performance were managed by craftsmen who combined their expertise in both domains. More formal approaches to building performance appeared in the 1970s and 1980s, with seminal works being the book on ''Building Performance'' and ''CIB Report 64''. Further progress on building performance studies took place in parallel with the development of building science as a discipline, and with the introduction of personal computing (especially computer simulation) in the field; for a good overview of the role of simulation in building design see the chapter by Augenbroe. A more general overview that also includes physical measurement, expert judgement and stakeholder evaluation is presented in the book ''Building Performance Analysis''. While energy efficiency, thermal comfort, indoor air quality and (day)lighting are very prominent in the debate on building performance, there is much longer list of building performance aspect that includes things like resistance against burglary, flexibility for change of use, and many others; for an overview see the building performance analysis platform website in the external links below.

Building performance standards

There are several different building performance standards widely used for designing

building code A building code (also building control or building regulations) is a set of rules that specify the standards for construction objects such as buildings and non-building structures. Buildings must conform to the code to obtain planning permis ...

s and energy-efficiency certifications. For instance, the standards produced by

ASHRAE The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE ) is an American professional association seeking to advance heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems design and constructio ...

(American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers) and the IECC (International Energy Conservation Code) have been widely used to inform local building codes and energy-efficiency certification programs, such as

Passive House Passive house () is a voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building that reduces the building's carbon footprint. Conforming to these standards results in ultra-low energy buildings that require less energy for space heating or co ...

Energy Star Energy Star (trademarked ENERGY STAR) is an Efficient energy use, energy-efficiency program established in 1992. It is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The EPA ...

, and

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

. Building performance standards include specifications on the

building envelope A building envelope or building enclosure is the physical separator between the conditioned and unconditioned environment of a building, including the resistance to air, water, heat, light, and noiseSyed, Asif. ''Advanced building technologies for ...

(which includes the windows, walls, roofs, and foundation), the

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC ) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...

system, electric lighting, hot water consumption, and home appliances, among others.{{Cite web , title=DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) Program Requirements , url=https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/doe-zero-energy-ready-home-zerh-program-requirements , access-date=2023-06-17 , website=Energy.gov , language=en

References

External links

ASHRAE - measuring commercial building performance

Global Buildings Performance Network

BPI Building Performance Institute
- U.S. organization setting home performance technical standards
Building Performance Association
- U.S. trade association of home performance contractors and others promoting performance based energy retrofits.
Building Performance Journal
- Home performance articles.
Platform for discussion of theory on building performance
- Building Performance Analysis book companion website Building engineering Energy conservation

Background

Building performance standards

See also

References

External links