Integrating energy efficiency into building design using a simplified thermal assessment method

New buildings and building refurbishments should be designed such that the best use is made of solar energy, and that fossil fuel based energy is not wasted. Because the thermal processes in a building are quite complex, the use of thermal assessment methods such as dynamic thermal simulation are generally recommended as part of the design process. These methods are intended to show building designers the effects of their building proposals on energy use, but are often too slow and difficult to use and do not really ?fit? into typical design practice. Therefore the job of energy assessment might be given to an engineer, but usually no assessment is done at all, or else the engineer is employed only to ?rubber stamp? the completed design. The method outlined in this paper is intended to give the building designer access to all the information in such a way that at early design stages the thermal characteristics of the building design can be quickly explored, in a parallel way to which designers explore issues of function and use, aesthetics, structure and cost. It is proposed that through use of such a method, considerations of energy and environment can be integrated into each project from the very start of the design process.