Building Performance Diagnosticians

As recently as the early 1900s, energy costs were only a fraction of the total expense of operating homes, factories, and offices. As a result, less attention was paid to designing homes and other structures that were energy efficient. But the 1973 oil embargo, which caused energy costs to rise in the United States, prompted a demand for professionals to assess buildings system performance in order to reduce energy expenditures. In recent years, the growing threat of climate change, rising energy costs, and the emergence of green construction and advances in technology and data analytics have prompted renewed interest in identifying ways in which building systems and overall operations can become more efficient. Today, the building performance field has expanded to focus on environmental issues (such as moisture problems, mold, and poor air quality) that have a negative effect on residents or other users.