Energy-efficient masonry buildings / Energieeffiziente Gebäude aus Mauerwerk

In line with the general trend to improved energy-related properties of buildings in massive construction, many massive buildings have been designed and built in recent years, which have proactively observed and also helped to determine the specification of future building standards in Europe. According to [1], the first low-energy house was built in Kassel in 1986 with an area-related energy demand for hot water and heating of only 60 kWh/(m2a). The use of massive building materials with low thermal conductivity played a similarly important role in this case to the increasing use of thermal insulation materials and new building services technology using renewable energy sources. Keeping the constructional details simple to build by tradesmen in order to avoid thermal bridging and useless building mistakes was and is still an important practical requirement. With the help of examples, the article demonstrates that monolithic construction is suitable for compliance with current energy-related requirements and how this is carried out.