a annum
AC alternate current
ACH air changes per hour
ACLCA American Centre for Life Cycle Assessment
AHU air handling unit
ARD acute respiratory diseases
ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers AQCV air quality-controlled ventilation
AQMA air quality management area ARD acute respiratory diseases
BECO German Building Energy Conservation Ordinances BEMS Building Energy Management System
BMS Building Management System(s) BRE Building Research Establishment
BREDEM Building Research Establishment’s Domestic Energy Model
BREHOMES Building Research Establishment’s Housing Model for Energy Studies
°C degrees Celsius
C carbon
CAD computer-assisted design
CAV constant air volume
CEH critical equilibrium humidity
CENMA National Centre for the Environment, Chile
CFC chlorofluorocarbon
CFD computational fluid dynamic(s) CFL compact fluorescent light bulb
CHP combined heat and power
CI confidence interval
CIBSE Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
clo average clothing
cm centimetre
CML Centre of Environmental Science (Leiden University, The Netherlands) CNE National Energy Commission, Chile
CO carbon monoxide
CO2 carbon dioxide
CONAMA National Commission of the Environment (Chile) COP coefficient of performance
dB(A) decibel (A scale)
DBT dry bulb temperature
DC direct current
DD degree day(s)
DECARB Domestic Energy and Carbon Dioxide Model
Defra UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
DF Dermatophagoides farinae
DoE UK Department of the Environment DP Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus
DSY design summer year
ECBCS Energy Conservation in Buildings and Community Systems Programme
EE energy efficiency
ELCD European Reference Life Cycle Data System
EM Euroglyphus maynei
EMPD effective moisture penetration depth model ENHR European Network for Housing Research
EPA US Environmental Protection Agency; also Energy Performance Assessment Project EPBD Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
EPSRC Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council ER escalation rate of prices, in % per year
EST Energy Saving Trust
EU European Union
°F degrees Fahrenheit
g gram
GDP gross domestic product
GIS geographical information system GSHP ground source heat pump
HDM house dust mite(s)
HDPE high-density polyethylene
HVAC heating, ventilating and air conditioning H/W height : width ratio
IAQ indoor air quality
IEA International Energy Agency IEQ indoor environmental quality
IESD Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development I/O ratio indoor : outdoor ratio
IR infrared
ISO International Organization for Standardization
J joule
K Kelvin
KPI key performance indicator
L litre
LCA life cycle analysis/life cycle assessment LCC life cycle costing
LCI life cycle inventory analysis LCIA life cycle impact assessment LCM life cycle management
LCS life cycle sustainability assessment
LEB low-energy house
LECI London Energy and CO2Emission Inventory
LED light-emitting diode L/H length : height ratio LPG liquefied propane gas
LSHTM London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
LUCID The Development of a Local Urban Climate Model and Its Application to the Intelligent Design of Cities
LZC low and zero carbon
m metre
MPI Mite Population Index
MRC Medical Research Council
MSI mould severity index
n total sample population size NGO non-governmental organization
NH northern hemisphere
NHBC National House Builders Confederation NMVOC non-methane volatile organic compound N2O nitrous oxide
NO nitric oxide
NO2 nitrogen dioxide
NOx nitrogen oxide
NOKFOS nobody knows for sure principle NPL neutral pressure level
NPV net present value
O3 ozone
OSB oriented strand board
Pa Pascal
PAH polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon PCM phase-change material
PDA Environmental Pollution Abatement Programme
PEB passive house
PI performance index/performance indicator
PM particulate matter
PM10 particulate matter with a diameter less than or equal to 10 microns (micrometres)
PMV predicted mean vote
POE post-occupancy evaluation ppb parts per billion
PPD predicted percentage of dissatisfied PPEE Programa País Eficiencia Energética
ppm parts per million
PROBE Post-Occupancy Review of Buildings and their Engineering PSV passive stack ventilation
PTEAM Particle Total Exposure Assessment Methodology Study
PUrE Intrawise Pollutants in the Urban Environment: An Integrated Framework for Improving Sustainability of the Indoor Environment
PV photovoltaic(s)
PVC polymer vinyl chloride
RCEP Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution R&D research and development
REPA resource and environmental profile analysis
RH relative humidity
RSP respirable suspended particulate
s second
SAP Standard Assessment Procedure (UK) SARS severe acute respiratory syndrome SBS sick building syndrome
SCORCHIO Sustainable Cities: Options for Responding to Climate Change Impacts and Outcomes
SETAC Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
SH southern hemisphere
Sirii Swedish Industrial Research Institutes’ Initiative
SO2 sulphur dioxide
SOx sulphur oxide
SOA super output area
SPM suspended particulate matter
SSEES School of Slavonic and East European Studies SUDS sustainable urban drainage systems
SUE Sustainable Urban Environments consortium
t metric tonne
TABS thermally activated building system(s) TBP total building performance
TC thermal comfort
TLV threshold limit value
TRY test reference year
TVOC total volatile organic compounds UCL University College London
UETP-EEE University–Enterprise Training Partnership in Environmental Engineering Education UFP ultra-fine particle
UHI urban heat island
UK United Kingdom
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
US United States
UV ultraviolet
VAT value-added tax
VAV variable air volume VOC volatile organic compound
VPX vapour pressure excess
VROM-DGM Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, The Netherlands
W watt
WHO World Health Organization
yr year