Short Communication

Achieving sustainable buildings: the role of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning

School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Heriot-Watt University, 294 345 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

^⁎ e-mail: H.N.Chaudhry@hw.ac.uk

Received: 6 April 2016
Accepted: 5 May 2016

Abstract

With the ever-increasing population and global economy, the dependency on usage of non-renewable resources of energy is cumulating in direct proportion. Nevertheless, the non-renewable potential of these resources is certainly a leading worldwide issue, and one, which has gained substantial international interest over the past decades. Large and attractive opportunities exist to reduce building's energy use at lower costs and higher returns than other sectors. At the same time, substantial investments will be required to achieve this target as outlined by the Paris Agreement. These will require the combination of social, economic and environmental actions, including building energy codes, investment subsidies, labelling and reporting mechanisms, increased and trained workforce capacity, and evolving energy-efficient designs and HVAC technologies.