Design guidance for low-energy dwellings in early design phases: development of a simple design support tool in SketchUp

Abstract

Considering the energy efficiency and comfort levels of dwellings, stricter legislation will be applied towards 2020. To reach these requirements, an insight into the energy efficiency becomes essential mainly due to the complexity of these tools. Therefore, this research aims at early design support through an easy-to-use application adapted to the modelling logic of a designer. As architects often use simple CAAD design tools for design exploration, a prototype was established in Google SketchUp. In this context, the paper presents the development of a support tool for low-energy dwellings in early design phases, allowing designers to quickly assess the thermal comfort and energy performance of early design alternatives.