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Building code are considered to be an effective policy tool to reduce energy use in buildings. In practice, national priorities influence the indicators and criteria adopted in the building codes. Consequently, neighbouring countries with similar climate conditions may use different criteria in their building codes to regulate the energy performance. In this paper, the energy performance criteria and their relative stringency in the latest residential building codes of Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia are compared. The study is based on energy performance evaluations of one single-family building and one multi-family building, located in the north of Sweden. Both buildings complied with the Norwegian and Russian building code. However, the buildings did not comply with the specific fan power and heat loss criteria in the Finnish building code. Additionally, the single-family building did not comply with the specific primary energy and electric powerdemand criteria in the Swedish building code when heated by an electric heater. The national standard input data were found to have a large influence on the buildings’ compliance with the studied energy use criteria. Policy implications of the results are discussed.

Building energy performance has been important in Fennoscandia ever since the early vernacular houses, to combat the cold climate. Due to EU directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD recast), building energy performance has become even more relevant in northern Europe the last decade. Objectives for improving building energy performance may include reducing cost and CO2-emissions, increasing energy independency, and improving the indoor climate. Different indicators, criteria, and evaluations methods may be used to reach these objectives. This dissertation addresses indicators, criteria, and evaluation methods used to regulate energy performance of residential buildings in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia. Four research objectives are covered: (RO1) comparing criteria and evaluation methods used to regulate energy performance of residential buildings in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, (RO2) studying the perspective of professionals with experience in building energy performance evaluation on (a) methods for evaluating envelope air leakage of residential buildings in Sweden and Finland and (b) potential energy performance indicators in the Swedish procurement process of multi-family buildings, (RO3) developing an approach for analysing the performance gap between design predictions and measurements that can be used to verify compliance with requirements on building energy use in practice, and (RO4) comparing the stringency of the energy performance criteria for residential buildings between the Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, and Russian national building code. Many differences were found between how energy performance of residential buildings was regulated in the four countries. In Sweden, measurements were used more for evaluating building energy performance than in the other countries. As of 1st January 2020, the Finnish building code was characterized by its focus on the building heat loss and stringent energy performance criteria compared to the other countries. The Norwegian building code was characterized by a relatively narrow system perspective on energy performance, with no regulation of the energy production efficiency or energy source. The Russian building code also had a narrow system perspective but was also characterized by its focus on the form factor – the relationship between building volume and enclosing area. The practitioners wanted to minimize the influence from building operation and user behaviour on energy performance evaluations in the Swedish building procurement process of multi-family buildings. Hence, they preferred component-focused indicators or indicators with a narrow system boundary. An approach has been developed for analyzing the performance gap between design phase predictions and measurements. The approach can be used to verify the finished building’s energy performance, with minimal influence from occupant behavior and building operation.

Energiprestanda har varit en viktig byggnadsparameter i Fennoscandia ända sedan de första bostadshusen, för att bekämpa det kalla klimatet. På grund av EU-direktivet 2010/31/EU om byggnaders energiprestanda (EPBD recast) har energiprestanda i byggnader blivit än mer relevant i norra Europa det senaste årtiondet. Målen med att förbättra byggnaders energiprestanda kan inkludera att minska kostnader och CO2-utsläpp, öka energioberoende, och förbättra inomhusklimatet. Olika indikatorer, kriterier och utvärderingsmetoder kan användas för att uppnå dessa mål. Denna avhandling behandlar kriterier, indikatorer och utvärderingsmetoder som används för att reglera energiprestanda för bostadshus i Sverige, Norge, Finland och Ryssland. Fyra forskningsmål omfattas: (RO1) att jämföra kriterier och utvärderingsmetoder som används för att reglera energiprestanda hos bostadshus i Sverige, Norge och Finland, (RO2) att studera åsikter hos yrkesutövare med erfarehet av att utvärdera byggnaders energiprestanda om (a) metoder för att utvärdera luftläckage genom byggnadsskalet hos bostadshus i Sverige och Finland och (b) potentiella indikatorer för energiprestanda i den svenska upphandlingsprocessen av flerfamiljshus, (RO3) att utveckla ett tillvägagångssätt för att analysera skillnaden mellan beräkningar vid byggnadens design och mätningar som kan användas för att verifiera att energianvändningskriterier efterlevs i praktiken, och (RO4) att jämföra energiprestandakriteriernas stränghet för bostadshus mellan de svenska, norska, finska och ryska nationella byggreglerna. Många skillnader hittades mellan hur energiprestanda för bostadshus reglerades i de fyra länderna. Sverige utmärkte sig genom att använda mätningar för att utvärdera byggnaders energiprestanda i högre grad än de andra länderna. Den 1 januari 2020 utmärkte sig de finska byggreglerna genom sitt fokus på byggnadens värmeförlust och strikta krav på energiprestanda jämfört med de andra länderna. De norska byggrelgerna utmärkte sig genom ett relativt snävt systemperspektiv på energiprestanda, där energiproduktionens effektivitet och energikällan inte reglerades alls. De ryska byggreglena hade också ett snävt systemperspektiv men utmärkte sig också genom sitt fokus på byggnadens formfaktor - relation mellan byggnadens volym och den omslutande arean. Parterna i den svenska upphandlings-processen av flerfamiljshus föredrog att utvärdera komponentfokuserade indikatorer eller indikatorer med en snäv systemgräns, för att minimera påverkan från byggnadens drift och brukarbeteendet. En metod har utvecklats för att analysera skillnaden mellan beräkningar vid byggnadens design och mätningar. Metoden kan användas för att verifiera den färdiga byggnadens energiprastanda med minimalt inflytande från bukarbeteende och drift.

Calculation and measurement-based energy performance evaluations of the same building often provide different results. This difference is referred as "the performance gap". However, a large performance gap may not necessarily mean that there are flaws in the building or deviations from the intended design. The causes for the performance gap can be analysed by calibrating the simulation model to measured data. In this paper, an approach is introduced for verifying compliance with energy performance criteria of residential buildings. The approach is based on a performance gap analysis that takes the uncertainties in the energy evaluation methods into consideration. The scope is to verify building energy performance through simulation and analysis of measured data, identifying any performance gap due to deviations from the intended design or flaws in the finished building based on performance gap analysis. In the approach, a simulation model is calibrated to match the heat loss coefficient of the building envelope [kWh/K] instead of the measured energy. The introduced approach is illustrated using a single-family residential building. The heat loss coefficient was found useful towards identifying any deviations from the intended design or flaws in the finished building. The case study indicated that the method uncertainty was important to consider in the performance gap analysis and that the proposed approach is applicable even when the performance gap appears to be non-existing.

In Sweden, the national building code (BBR) stipulates the specific energy use as an indicator to verify whether a newbuilding is complying with its design-phase energy performance values. However, previous studies have shown that there may belarge differences between the calculated specific energy and the actual monitored energy use. The differences are attributed tovarious reasons including the actual energy behaviour of the occupants as compared to the standard values used in thesimulations. This may lead to disputes between the client and the contractor on the responsibility of meeting the energyrequirements.In this study an adapted version of Delphi methodology was used to understand the building professionals’ view on variousindicators used to verify building energy performance. The study showed that professionals are concerned with the use of specificenergy as an indicator in the building procurement process as they do not have control over the occupants’ energy behaviour.Majority of the professionals expressed a large confidence in the average U-value of the building, component U-values and thespecific heat loss figure by the Swedish center for zero-energy buildings as indicators of building energy performance.

In Sweden, all new buildings need to comply with the National Board of Housing, Building and Planning’s requirement on specific purchased energy (kWh/m²). Accordingly, this indicator is often used to set design criteria in the building procurement process. However, when energy use is measured in finished buildings, the measurements often deviate significantly from the design calculations. The measured specific purchased energy does not necessarily reflect the responsibility of the building contractor, as it is influenced by the building operation, user behavior and climate. Therefore, Swedish building practitioners may prefer other indicators for setting design criteria in the building procurement process. The aim of this study was twofold: (i) to understand the Swedish building practitioners’ perspectives and opinions on seven building energy performance indicators (envelope air leakage, U-values for different building parts, average U-value, specific heat loss, heat loss coefficient, specific net energy, and specific purchased energy); and (ii) to understand the consequences for the energy performance of multi-family buildings of using the studied indicators to set criteria in the procurement process. The study involved a Delphi approach and simulations of a multi-family case study building. The studied indicators were discussed in terms of how they may meet the needs of the building practitioners when used to set building energy performance criteria in the procurement process.

In order to evaluate compliance with requirements on building energy performance, it is necessary to find strategies to process discrepancies from the results of forward simulations in the design stage and of measurements in the operated stage. The gap between designed performance and measured performance is referred to as the “performance gap”. It can be divided into a procurement gap (between intended design and verified performance) and an operational gap (between verified performance and non-normalized measurements).  

In this work we introduced a methodology for performance gap analysis, based on separating the procurement- and operational gap. An important component to do this is calibrations of calculations using measured data. The suggested methodology allows for more detailed verifications of building energy performance and can be used to study how indicators reflect the performance gap. The proposed methodology is tested using data from a well-documented and measured operated single family building, in sub-arctic climate in Sweden.

The indicators studied in the verification were carefully analyzed. The methodology was found reliable based on the obtained results and a sensitivity analysis. An overall observation is that the applicability of the methodology depends on the accuracy of the hybrid method. The accuracy of the performance gap analysis per definition depends on the available information of the operated building, and consequently to access to extensive measured data.

Building energy performance has always been important in the cold climate of Sweden, Norway and Finland. To meet the goal that all new buildings should be nearly zero-energy buildings by 2020, set in the EU directive 2010/31/EU [1] on the energy performance of buildings (EPBD recast), the building sector in Europe now faces a transition towards buildings with improved energy performance. In such a transition, a discussion is needed about the objective of the improvement – why, or to what end, the building energy performance should be improved. The objective of improving building energy performance is often a political decision, but scientific research can contribute with knowledge on how the objectives can be achieved.

This thesis addresses how the indicators used in the requirements used to achieve building energy performance in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, and the methods used to evaluate these requirements, reflect building energy performance. It also addresses difficulties in achieving comparable and verifiable indicators in evaluations of building energy performance. The research objective has two parts: to review, compare, and discuss (i) requirements and (ii) evaluation methods used to achieve energy performance of residential buildings in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The work in this thesis includes reviews of the requirements used in national building codes and passive house criteria to achieve building energy performance, of methods used to evaluate compliance with such requirements, and of methods used specifically to evaluate the indicator Envelope Air Tightness.

The results show that different sets of indicators are used to achieve building energy performance in the studied building codes and passive house criteria. The methods used to evaluate compliance with requirements used to achieve building energy performance are also different, but calculation methods are generally more often used than measurement methods. The calculation- and measurement methods used are often simple. A methodology to analyze the deviation between predictions- and measurements of building energy performance (the performance gap) was developed, to investigate the effects of different evaluation methods on different indicators used to achieve building energy performance. The methodology was tested in a case-study. This study indicated that the choice of method affects which parts of the performance gap reflected in the indicators Supplied Energy (see Terminology), Net Energy (see Terminology), and Overall U-value. Among the reviewed methods to evaluate air tightness, the Fan/Blower Door Pressurization is well known and preferred by professionals in the field. The results in this thesis may be useful when choosing indicators and evaluation methods to achieve different objectives of improving building energy performance and in the quest towards comparable and verifiable indicators used to achieve building energy performance.

Evaluation of building air tightness based on field measurements is an important aspect in the process to provide good indoor environment and energy efficient buildings. The measurements are generally conducted by experts. To improve field methods for evaluation of building air tightness, experience of these experts can be useful. The scope of this paper is to problematize usefulness of methods for airtightness measurements, how and when methods are used and potential for future development. Surveyed Swedish and Finnish experts have valued the performance and usefulness of methods in the perspective of being used for singe family, multifamily, new, inhabited, under construction, renovation, leaky and air-tight buildings. They also valued the future potential, as well as their own level of experience and expertise, of the methods. Although the results of the survey were based on a small set of collected data, it indicated that the experts favored methods with their highest assessed experience and expertise, i.e. Blower door and Surface temperature measurements/Thermography. Potential of future development within quantitative and component methods was assessed to be positive in general and in particular for the favored methods.

To meet the goals of the directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings, the building sector in Europe now faces a transition towards more energy efficient buildings. Research and development of new energy solutions and technology will be necessary for the transition and the importance of analyzing building energy performance increases. This paper aims to review and evaluate different methods that are commonly used to analyze energy performance in residential buildings in Nordic countries, primarily in Sweden, Norway and Finland. A short international review of regulations is also included. The goal is to find commonly used methods and possibilities for the future. The introduced methods are summarized, categorized and compared based on their advantages and disadvantages. Although the three Nordic countries have similar climate conditions and building traditions, the review shows relatively large variations in the definitions of energy performance for residential buildings, as well as variations in how measurements and calculations are used in the methods for energy performance analysis. In the conducted review, methods, or parts of methods, are also found to be used. The methods used to analyze energy performance are found to be more similar than the concepts of energy performance itself in the three countries. These aspects may be considered in further work to develop an international policy practice for energy performance of residential buildings in cold climate.

To meet the goals of the directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings, the building sector in Europe now faces a transition towards more energy efficient buildings. Research and development of new energy solutions and technology will be necessary for the transition and the importance of measuring and evaluating building energy performance increases. This paper attempts to review and evaluate different methods that are commonly used to analyze energy performance in residential buildings in Nordic countries, primarily in Sweden, Norway and Finland. A short international review of regulations is also included. Some advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed, as well as commonly used methods in the three countries. Although the three Nordic countries have similar climate conditions and building traditions, the study shows that there exist relatively large variations in defining parameters related to energy performance in residential buildings, such as energy use, heated area, and climate zones. The outcome of the regulations could be investigated by adapting the codes on a selected set of buildings. Common analyzing methods, or parts of methods, are found to be used in several countries. These aspects may be considered in further work to develop more accurate and easily comparable methods to evaluate energy performance for residential buildings in cold climate.