According to GrAB project partners, a universal design approach will provide a comprehensive best practice guidance on how to design, build and manage buildings and spaces so that they can be readily accessed and used by everyone.
Partners will not only develop a building condition assessment to maximize building life and reduce repair and maintenance costs, but also investigate user behaviour as it affects building energy consumption to some extent. For example, by adjusting thermostat for comfort, switching lights, opening/closing windows, pulling up/down window blinds, and moving between spaces, is a key issue for building design optimization, energy diagnosis, performance evaluation, and building energy simulation due to its significant impact on real energy use and indoor environmental quality in buildings.
Measurements will play another important role in order to facilitate industry wide consistency and benchmarking, to encourage the adoption of best practices and to help avoid disputes.
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