Energy Performance of Buildings

What Energy Performance of Buildings covers

Energy Performance of Buildings is examined in Unit A2 1, Building and Managing a Sustainable Future, a written examination. It covers energy conservation and residents' behaviour, insulation, air tightness and glazing, U-values and the heat flow equation, the zero carbon homes hierarchy and BREEAM, the Code and upgrading existing homes.

The 5 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Energy conservation and residents' behaviourThe economic and environmental benefits of saving energy, fuel poverty and oil heating in Northern Ireland, heating, electricity and hot water habits, heating controls, thermostat and gas saving calculations, and ventilation.Open →
• Insulation, air tightness and glazingHow insulation works, where heat is lost, cavity, solid wall and loft insulation, air tightness and draught-proofing, controlled ventilation and heat recovery, double and triple glazing, gas fills, thermal bridges and poor installation.Open →
• U-values and the heat flow equationThe unit and meaning of U-value, Q = U × A × ΔT, conductivity, thickness and layers, thermal resistance, typical U-values for glazing and walls, worked window, wall, roof and whole-house heat loss calculations, and the equation's limits.Open →
• The zero carbon homes hierarchyFabric energy efficiency, carbon compliance and allowable solutions, fabric first, orientation and shape, sizing heating after the fabric, gas boilers, the abandoned 2016 target, barriers to zero carbon homes and Passivhaus.Open →
• BREEAM, the Code and upgrading existing homesBREEAM's origins, ratings, scoring and categories, its benefits and criticisms, the Code's link to EcoHomes, why existing homes are hard to improve, the Green Deal, landlords and tenants, listed buildings and government incentives.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Energy Performance of Buildings further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• U-value vs Thermal resistance

  U-value: the rate of heat flow through one square metre per kelvin of temperature difference. Thermal resistance: the opposition a layer offers to heat flow, equal to its thickness over conductivity.

• Carbon compliance vs Allowable solutions

  Carbon compliance: emission cuts achieved on or near the site through efficient heating and renewables. Allowable solutions: off-site measures funded to deal with emissions a home cannot cut itself.

• Insulation vs Air tightness

  Insulation: materials that slow heat conduction through walls, roofs and floors. Air tightness: the resistance of the fabric to uncontrolled leakage through gaps and cracks.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What are the economic benefits of energy conservation in the home?

   Model answer

   A home that uses less energy has lower fuel bills. Lower bills can lift families out of fuel poverty and protect them from price rises.

2. 2

   What are the environmental benefits of energy conservation in the home?

   Model answer

   Less gas, oil and fossil-fuelled electricity is used, so carbon dioxide emissions fall. Lower demand also reduces air pollution and conserves finite resources.

3. 3

   What is fuel poverty?

   Model answer

   Fuel poverty is being unable to afford to keep a home adequately warm at a reasonable cost. Low income, high energy prices and poor energy efficiency combine to cause it.

4. 4

   Why is energy conservation especially important for households in Northern Ireland?

   Model answer

   Most Northern Ireland homes are heated by oil, which is high in carbon and has volatile prices. Fuel poverty has been more widespread in Northern Ireland than in the rest of the UK.

5. 5

   What is the order of priority for cutting a household's carbon emissions from energy?

   Model answer

   The first step is to reduce demand, then use energy efficiently, and finally supply what remains from renewable sources. Energy that is never used is the cheapest and cleanest.

6. 6

   How can residents' behaviour reduce the energy used for heating?

   Model answer

   Residents can turn the thermostat down slightly and heat only the rooms in use. Curtains closed at dusk and internal doors kept shut also hold heat in.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Energy Performance of Buildings revision questions

What does Energy Performance of Buildings cover in CCEA A-Level Environmental Technology?

5 subtopics: energy conservation and residents' behaviour, insulation, air tightness and glazing, u-values and the heat flow equation, the zero carbon homes hierarchy and breeam, the code and upgrading existing homes. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Energy Performance of Buildings organised?

By the CCEA 3930 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.