A new book Building Futures: Managing Energy in the Built Environment has been published.

Written by Jane Powell, Jennifer Monahan and Chris Foulds and published by Routledge, the book adopts an interdisciplinary approach to explore questions such as: how to practically go about reducing energy demands; what are the main obstacles to or enablers of change; how we can best monitor progress and performance; and what does this all mean for our future aspirations of constructing lower-energy building stock?

Professor Sir Bob Watson, CMG FRS, Monash Sustainability Institute, Monash University & School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, said: 'This book is essential reading for those interested in reducing emissions from buildings in a cost-effective and socially acceptable manner.”

A reduction in the energy demand of buildings can make a major contribution to achieving national and international carbon reduction goals, in addition to addressing the interlinked issues of sustainable development, fuel poverty and fuel security.   

The twin roles of energy efficiency, which is predominantly concerned with technological solutions, and energy conservation which involves changing peoples’ behaviour, are both explored. The book includes a broad geographical range and scale of case studies from the UK, Europe and further afield, including Passivhaus in Germany and the UK, Dongtan Eco City in China and retrofit houses in Denmark.

The book is a valuable resource for students and academics of environmental science and energy-based subjects as well as construction and building management professionals.

Author Jane Powell is a senior lecturer in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. She teaches and has research interests in the energy efficiency of buildings and low-carbon energy, in addition to environmental evaluation methodologies such as lifecycle assessment.

Author Jennifer Monahan is an associate tutor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. She has research interests in energy efficiency of buildings and low-carbon construction.

Finally, author Chris Foulds is a senior research fellow in the Consumption & Change theme of Anglia Ruskin University’s Global Sustainability Institute. He is an environmental social scientist with a keen interest in the role of building occupants and professionals in the transition to a low-carbon building stock.

Building Futures is available in hardback, paperback and as an eBook. For more information visit http://bit.ly/1SQ1R4r