Limiting Thermal Energy Requirements and the Development of Standards for the Energy-Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Belarus

This paper discusses the prospects and directions of development of energy-efficient construction in Minsk, Belarus. A solution to the issue of the limiting heat and energy performance of buildings to which one should strive is proposed. The concept of a building with “limiting heat and energy performance” is introduced. In such a building the heat transfer resistance of the building envelope and the degree of tightness are chosen in such a way that the transmission heat loss and infiltration heat loss resulting from incomplete building tightness and imperfect heat transfer is equal to the total value of the energy of household heat and solar energy. The calculations of the “limiting” heat energy performance for the climatic conditions of the city of Minsk are given. The materials presented in the article can be used in the development of standards and in the design of energy-efficient buildings.