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This dissertation, Informing Energy-efficient Envelope Design Decisions for Residential Buildings in Hong Kong by Xiaoxia, Sang, 桑曉夏, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Space conditioning and lighting together account for about a third of end-use energy consumption in residential buildings in Hong Kong. Previous research shows that such energy consumption can be significantly reduced by employing energy-efficient building envelope design. However, despite that fact, the envelopes of many residential buildings in Hong Kong are designed in ways that impair building energy performance. For example, most residential buildings in Hong Kong have single-glazed windows and solar-absorbing roofs, many leak airs, and some have no external wall insulation or exterior shading. There are many energy-efficient envelope (EEE) design measures that improve overall building energy efficiency, but their selection has been widely recognized as a difficult task for design decision-makers, as it requires good engineering judgment and substantial building performance data. Apart from the energy considerations in EEE design, the reasons why professionals do or do not incorporate EEE design measures voluntarily into building design have not been thoroughly investigated. The majority of previous studies have focused on evaluating design alternatives after the design decision is made, but largely overlook the issue of informing the design before the decision-making process. The aim of this research is to inform design decision-making for selecting appropriate EEE measures for residential buildings in Hong Kong. The research included three major interrelated steps. Firstly, a comprehensive literature review was conducted of the energy-related parameters and non-energy-related factors critical to the selection of EEE design measures in the Hong Kong context. Secondly, the influential design parameters identified from the literature review were used for detailed parametric simulation and analysis. Their effects on building energy performance were evaluated, and their relationships with selected outputs were analysed. Thirdly, a survey was set up to investigate the perceptions of building professionals about EEE design decision-making criteria and factors affecting the adoption of EEE designs. Taken together, these three study components contribute to the development of a decision support framework that buttresses the effective selection of appropriate EEE design measures for low-energy residential buildings in Hong Kong. The framework shortlists the critical parameters in EEE design, highlights their effects on building energy performance, points out the drivers and barriers to adoption, and suggests strategies to expedite the adoption of those measures. The findings should support the effective comparison and selection of EEE design measures for delivering low-energy residential buildings in Hong Kong. They should also help to achieve the targets of relevant industry and government programmes in Hong Kong for expediting the adoption of EEE design measures. DOI: 10.5353/th_b5317066 Subjects: Dwellings - China - Hong Kong - Design and construction

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