Are current design processes and policies delivering comfortable low carbon buildings?

Gaps between intended and actual performance which impact on indoor environment, energy use and carbon emissions have been well documented and are nowhere more important than when they present in performance problems such as building overheating and consequent occupant discomfort and high energy running costs. Here, such gaps are explored through a review of relevant literature and related illustrative investigations. Key drivers of those performance gaps are identified and located in the stages of the building industry process. Three case studies, of one office and two houses, are provided, highlighting where faults arise and may or may not be effectively dealt with and the reasons why. These include faults at the Implementation, Validation and Operation stages and the paper concludes by summing up generic failings in the industry that lead into the following paper by the same authors that offers an approach and potentially effective solutions to reduce such performance gaps by correctly using a BIM approach to quality control in the construction industry.