23 - Materials for energy efficiency and thermal comfort in commercial buildings

Commercial buildings contribute to a significant portion of the total energy usage and subsequent carbon emissions. Due to their nature, they can use much more energy than they are designed to use, and could be labelled as ‘energy wasters’. What this also means is that there is a large potential for improving their performance. In this chapter, the nature of office buildings, retail spaces and warehouses will be examined and issues affecting their energy use discussed in detail. Ways in which to reduce their energy consumption will also be considered. These include changes in building design and materials used in construction, changes in user behaviour, the increase of control and monitoring and the advancement in building technology and mandatory regulation.