Patterns of Dwelling Types, Location, and Spaciousness of Living in Norway. Critical Remarks on the Practice of Measuring Energy Performance per Floor Area Only

For decades, energy efficiency has been a key issue in the Norwegian building sector, and energy standards are strict in order to reduce net delivered energy to buildings. Formally, requirements on energy use of dwellings are set by kWh per m² heated GIA per year, a unit not accounting for dwelling size or number of persons in the households. This study, examining spaciousness of living in relation to dwelling types on an urban scale, shows that dwelling area per resident differs a lot across location and dwelling types. This implies that buildings formally performing the same in terms of following the legislation equally, in reality, may have a very different energy demand per person. When comparing dwelling types, energy demand per floor area and floor area per person is considerably higher for detached dwellings than for apartments. For both dwelling types, the energy demand of the dwellings in use is higher than what is stated in the requirements, and this difference is highest for detached houses. The current practice of measuring energy demand only per floor area is therefore insufficient. To realistically model energy performance of dwellings, measures accounting for dwelling size and number of residents should be included.

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