Final answer:
The Passive House standard is the key to creating buildings with optimal thermal comfort for occupants, using materials with low U-values, high R-values, and managing air turnover rates for maximum energy efficiency.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer is Passive House standard, which focuses on creating buildings with excellent thermal control, minimizing the need for active heating and cooling systems.
This approach involves strategically designing a building with advanced insulation techniques, using materials with low U-values and high R-values for walls and windows, and ensuring minimal air infiltration for improved energy efficiency.
By implementing standards like those of a Passive House, it is possible to construct a zero-energy house that maintains thermal comfort for occupants in various climates, even with extremes of heat and cold.
The U-value is a measure of a material's ability to conduct heat, with lower numbers being better insulators, while the R-value is the inverse measure used in the U.S.
The Passive House achieves impressively high R-values, indicative of its superior insulation properties. Furthermore, the careful management of air turnover rates to ensure sufficient air quality without excessive energy loss is another critical feature of environmentally friendly homes adhering to such standards.
The correct answer is option Engineering. The thermal comfort of building occupants is addressed by engineering standards. One such standard is the Passive House standard, which focuses on reducing conventional heating and cooling through better building materials, strategic window placement, and opening spaces to allow convection.
The standard requires snugly-built houses with low heat loss rates and high insulation values, achieved through measures like weather stripping, caulking, and improved window seals. The thermal performance of a house is measured in terms of heat transfer rate, usually in units of W/°C.