Shaping of the Architectural Detail in View of Energy Saving

Global warming observed has provoked the tendencies to reduce the emission of CO2. In January 2014 Poland also introduced much stricter building-law regulations referring to how buildings should be designed in respect of heat insulation and a permissible value of EP coefficient (defining a yearly demand for primary energy). The changes introduced result from the general strategy included in the European EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) which imposes (up to 2020) the reduction of greenhouse gases at least by 20 %. In December 2014 the European Union took up another obligation-to reduce greenhouse gases by 30 % by the end of 2030. The consumption of energy in the building industry is vastly influenced by the thermal insulation of buildings, as well as by such things as: thermal Bridges, air tightness of a building. When an architectural detail is not designed carefully enough or some other errors occur in the process of construction, one can observe a large energy loss which escapes through thermal bridges or other leaky places in the building. Energy loss may then reach even dozen or more per cent. The European Union has changed legal regulations for the building industry, concerning mostly energy effectiveness. Those refer not only to the insulation capacity (passive protection from the heat loss) but also impose the obligation for new buildings to use renewable energy, which is understood as an active share of alternative energy. While doing their designer's job, architects must now dedicate their time to the calculations how much heat is lost and to computer simulations of the energy balance, including the energy coming from solar panels, heat pumps, wind energy, etc. The changes and limits to energy consumption introduced gradually influence the character of architect's profession. The buildings designed as extensively segmented or glazed will become less economical than simple but carefully insulated blocks. Also, the role of an architect is about to be changed giving way to a new profession which could be dubbed as: a specialist in energy saving and the building physics.