Energy declaration of buildings and building details

The paper deals with two construction details and discusses the opportunities and limits of their computer aided building simulation. Both details occur in the area of building renovation and modernization. The first is a 3-D joint of a partially protruding roof terrace with surrounding walls and a pitched roof, and the second is a fragment of the thick, rough, non-plastered stone wall of a building monument with adjacent additionally insulated walls and roof. A correct building-physics model influences the choices for optimal construction solutions and the overall balance of the building’s thermal / energy demand as well. The latter also affects the declaration of the building’s energy quality. Such declarations will be mandatory in EU countries starting in 2006.