Final answer:
The gross living area (GLA) is calculated by measuring the floor and ceiling area of a house and adjusting for the perimeter and height of the walls, also deducting the area of features like windows. A 12 m by 12 m house with 2.5 m high walls and eight windows totaling 16 m² in area results in a GLA with a specific heat loss measure calculated using specified thermal properties.
Step-by-step explanation:
When calculating the gross living area (GLA) of a house, specific elements are considered in the overall measurements. For a house with a square footprint measuring 12 m by 12 m, the calculation would begin with the floor and ceiling area, which is 12 m times 12 m, resulting in 144 m² for each. The walls are calculated by multiplying the perimeter (which is 48 m for the house, given four sides of 12 m each) by the height of the walls (2.5 m), resulting in 120 m². To adjust for features like windows, the area of the windows (2 m² each for a total of 16 m² for eight windows) is deducted from the wall area. Therefore, the adjusted wall area is 104 m².
The heat loss measure is then calculated by considering the thermal properties of the different elements. For this example, the windows have a heat loss measure of 13 W/°C (calculated as 0.8 W/m²/°C times 16 m²), and the walls, floor, and ceiling contribute an additional 59 W/°C, leading to a total heat loss measure of 72 W/°C for the structure.