Design lessons

The main lessons from this case study are the high energy use for appliances and lighting and the increased CO2 emissions from the use of the electric coil slab heating. Despite the specification of energy efficient appliances and lighting, the energy used in the dwelling is more than double that of a standard dwelling. The designers also intended that the floor coil be used only as a minor source of surface warmth for the slab and that the more efficient gas heater should be used as the primary source of heating in the winter. In reality, however, the floor coil is used as the primary heating source.

Both of these discrepancies demonstrate the importance of behavioural patterns on energy consumption. This problem could be alleviated through the education of the client by the designer as to the consequences of use of different fuel types on greenhouse gas emissions and the consequences of behavioural patterns on energy use. This information could be included in a user manual presented to the owners on completion of the building. A more drastic alternative is to limit user choices by, for example, not specifying electric storage heating systems in future projects.