Dear Colleagues,

Efforts to make the built environment more energy efficient continue unabated in the quest to reduce energy consumption, costs and environmental impacts. The concept of high performance buildings incorporates both energy efficiency and thermal performance, a blended goal that requires a high degree of integrated building design and operation. One additional layer is the relationship between individual buildings, groups of buildings, communities and the utility grid. Transforming the building stock from its current status as the largest energy consuming sector into an efficient, effective and sustainable entity will entail a radical rethinking of the methods currently used to provide necessary building services, such as space conditioning, illumination, electricity and water. Many efforts are currently underway to address these challenges and develop cost-effective solutions in the form of new building materials, components and systems. Related efforts are aimed at the improvement of design and construction methods.  A third critical area includes building operating strategies. Indeed, most of the potential for near-term improvement in the energy performance of buildings is associated with tight integration of building systems coupled with distributed power generation and dynamic control. Managing the energy flows within a building to meet the needs of the occupants when and where required is essential for obtaining optimal performance.

Dr. Stephen Treado
Guest Editor

• adaptive control
• automation
• building information model
• energy efficiency
• high performance buildings
• integrated design
• sustainable design
• thermal performance
• zero-energy-buildings

• Energy Efficient Building Design in Energies (5 articles)