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| Typical Building Energy Use, IEQ RFP, December 2002, California Energy Commission No. 500-02-501 |
In very broad terms, buildings use energy in just two ways: (1) to power equipment (including lighting) that uses energy, and (2) to provide comfort conditions inside the building for occupants. Energy to operate lights and equipment is independent of climate, except for daylighted buildings, when available daylight will affect the energy used for lighting. Providing comfortable conditions requires that energy be used by furnaces, boilers, chillers, cooling towers, air conditioners, air circulation fans, exhaust fans, and/or pumps. These energy uses are highly dependent on climate conditions and building operation patterns and can change significantly from hour to hour and day to day.
In order to analyze and understand how masonry walls affect building energy performance, it is necessary to master some basic concepts about heat transfer and masonry materials. These are elementary concepts that may be familiar.