Energy & building Design

Roughly one third of all energy use in the UK goes into heating buildings. A large proportion of homes in the UK are relatively old and were built before energy efficiency was considered important. Changing this situation is one of the easiest ways to both reduce energy use and to tackle climate change.

Why heat buildings at all?

• It is perfectly possible to design buildings that require no central heating, but which are kept warm solely by the heat given off by our bodies - e.g. the German "Passive House" building standard.
   
  

Challenges

• How can we make our current old buildings more energy efficient quickly? Climate change requires us to do this faster than it is practical to replace them.
   
  

Ethical issues

• Should house building companies be allowed to build houses that are less energy efficient than is possible?
• If climate change is such a threat, should upgrading buildings to be more efficient be a legal requirement?
• How do we balance preserving architectural heritage with energy efficiency?
   
  

Life choices

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