Open Access

M. Feldmann, M. Kuhnhenne, Bernd Döring, D. Pyschny, R.M. Lawson, R.D. Chuter, S. Boudjabeur, F. Lecomte-Labory, M. Airaksinen, J. Heikkinen, J. Laamanen, P. Albart, R. D'Haeyer, J.A. Chica, J.M. Maseda, A. Amundarain, M.O. Rips, J.A. Nuñez, O. Macías, P. Beguin, A. Ben Larbi

• ETHICS is concerned with evaluating, measuring and making improvements in the thermal and energy performance of steel-clad and steel-framed buildings. It addresses basic building physics performance at a laboratory and full-scale level, and the preparation of design guidance for commercial, industrial and residential buildings. It includes the development of design tools to assist users in assessing whole-building performance, and calibrates these tools against whole-building measurements, which will be obtained from this research. Opportunities for renewable energy and other energy-saving features will be assessed. This project focuses on objectives that are of particular interest for the design of new steel constructions regarding energy efficiency. ETHICS investigates the as-built performance by on-site tests regarding air tightness and heat transfer properties of the building envelope and by monitoring the energy consumption and thermal comfort of selected up-to-date steel buildings. As energy efficiency is a key requirement for design and construction of buildings in the future, this project provides well-founded scientific data, which prove the high energy performance of current steel constructions and work out details for further improvements to maintain and extend the position of steel products in the construction sector.