Since, more than 40% of the end-use energy and as much as 70% to 80% of electric energy consumption are caused by the building sector in different countries worldwide, energy-efficient buildings play an important role not only in local economies, but they also impact the global climate protection. Although buildings are the key driver of electricity demand, they can also be a part of the solution to peak demand issues, through special designs implementing high thermal performance envelopes, optimizing dynamic thermal response, as well as an application of thermal storage, new controls, and renewable power generation. Static and dynamic thermal processes in buildings and building components, together with associated thermal mass effects and thermal storage, play an equally important role in overall building energy efficiency, utilization of renewable energy sources, and also in energy demand management. Building enclosures, which include both fenestration and the opaque portions of the envelope, effectively control the influence of outdoor conditions on the interior environment, reducing the heating, cooling, and lighting requirements to maintain the desired indoor conditions. The above factors directly impact the corresponding energy use and its dynamics. It is becoming well-understood now that the current world population must significantly reduce the energy demand for operating buildings and then meet it with renewable energy sources to the greatest extent possible. This is exactly the topic where the newly-planned Special Issue: “Thermal Performance of Buildings and Building Components | Renewed Role, New Expectations, and Old Challenges” intends to make its contribution. With this note, we invite potential contributors to present your research and look forward to receiving exciting papers supporting the realization of this goal.
Keywords: Building energy efficiency; Performance analysis; Building science; Building materials; Energy storage; Building-integrated renewable energy sources.