Building Energy and Environments
Buildings are central to both human well-being and global sustainability.
Residential and commercial buildings account for nearly 40% of total U.S. energy consumption and about 33% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions—making them a major focus for energy efficiency and climate mitigation.
But our buildings not only consume energy, they also affect our health and well-being. People spend more than 21 hours per day indoors on average—especially infants and the elderly—so the quality of indoor environments has a profound effect on health and productivity.
Indoor air pollution poses serious risks. In developing countries, it causes around 5,000 premature deaths daily, disproportionately affecting women and children. In the U.S., exposure to toxic pollutants indoors dominates overall air pollution exposure.
Improving indoor air quality offers powerful benefits—studies show it can raise children’s test scores and boost worker productivity by tens of billions of dollars annually. When designed and operated properly, buildings not only consume less energy, but also provide shelter, reduce exposure to harmful outdoor pollutants and improve lives worldwide.
You Can Help
The Building Energy and Environments program at The University of Texas at Austin consists of a community of over 35 scholars (faculty, staff, postdocs and students) who investigate a wide range of issues related to building environments. This program’s research focuses on:
- Energy flows and conservation methods
- Moisture transport, control and effects
- Microbial growth and fate
- Sources of VOCs, SVOCs, and particles
- Transport of indoor pollutants
- Homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions
- Physical removal of gases and particles on surfaces
- Human exposure to indoor pollutants
- Control of indoor pollutants
Resources
- Research Area Coordinator: Atila Novoselac