Towards a unified cost optimal methodology for designing Low Energy Buildings in the Mediterranean Sea region

The increasing sustainability problems our world faces because of the thoughtless energy consumption and emissions production puts an increasing pressure for immediate and drastic energy saving measures. Although the consumption of energy - through appropriate legislation - is constantly decreasing in the industrial and transportation sector the building's sector doesn't seem to follow this trend. This fact is indeed worrying and has its roots mainly in the land development model followed the last 50 years and the way people manage their private fortune. In this context, the development of methodologies for designing cost optimal Low Energy Buildings is very important. If countries located in the same region and facing common problems and challenges coordinate their actions and develop unified methodologies this will help achieve the targets faster. This paper presents part of the common research work performed in this direction by two research teams in Cyprus and Egypt. The authors have investigated systematically a representative two storey building with respect to its energy and financial performance and have concluded to a proposal for the characteristics of the Low Energy Building. This proposal is not intended to be an exclusive design; however it will serve as a starting point for the design of Low Energy Buildings and as a reference case with respect to other designs.