Challenging Conventional Wisdom in the Age of Computing
Abstract
This paper examines what might be referred to as the “Designer’s Conventional Wisdom”. In both practice and academia, some designers still follow what they consider to be well-established design recommendations to make buildings more energy efficient by responding to site-specific sun angles and climate. Among the early schematic design recommendations are some that address building massing and orientation. In terms of building massing, it is advised to design rectangular buildings that spread from east to west; the longer the building is the more energy efficient it is. In terms of orientation, it is advised to orient the building to north and south rather than to east and west. In order to protect windows from the sun, overhangs should be used to protect south-facing glass, while vertical fins should be used for glass facing east and west. Nowadays, with the availability of powerful design-assisting tools, such as energy modeling computer programs, it is imperative that we examine the validity and/or accuracy of such conventional wisdom. This paper takes office buildings in the US as a case study in examining the aforementioned design recommendations grandfathered into design until our current time. The paper will examine the sensitivity of performance to such recommendations at different climatic zones within the United States.
Keywords
Energy performance, Energy efficiency, Energy simulation, Equest, Orientation, Xternal shading devices, Evidence-based design, Design-assisting tools