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Renewable energy is based on using a direct route from solar radiation to consumption, as an efficiency improvement from a long term route via fossils. However, both routes put a claim on space/land and the time of use of that land/space to intercept and convert it to useful forms. However, the same solar radiation is needed, to produce materials in a similar change from fossil materials to renewable materials, and materials are needed as well to produce the conversion devices for renewable energy. Similar processes take place in the realizing sustainable buildings, especially 0-energy buildings: : there is space time involved to generate the renewable energy, but also to generate for instance the renewable material based insulation materials, or the wooden construction. These insights lead to the notion that looking to production of renewable energy only is sub-optimization of systems, and could in fact be counterproductive. This has defined our r esearch to explore ne w ways of evaluation of activities, and in our case buildings. We have developed a indicator called Embodied Land, to evaluate the time and space occupied by generating both renewable energy and renewable materials. This has been tested in two cases, and runs out to be a interesting approach, showing clearly how the optimization of land and space use over a cer tain time period relates to choices in materials and energy together, and makes it possible to optimise from both resources together, using an minimum of land occupation.

Studies indicate that the energy performance gap between real and calculated energy use can be explained for 80% by occupant behaviour. This human factor may be composed of routine and thermoregulatory behaviour. When occupants do not feel comfortable due to high or low operative temperatures and resulting high or low skin temperatures, they are likely to exhibit thermoregulatory behaviour. The aim of this study is to monitor and understand this thermoregulatory behaviour of the occupant. This is a detailed study of two females living in a rowhouse in the city of Heerlen (Netherlands). During a monitoring period of three weeks over a time span of three months the following parameters were monitored: activity level, clothing, micro climate, skin temperatures and thermal comfort and sensation. Their micro climate was measured at five positions on the body to assess exposed near body conditions and skin temperature. Every two hours they filled in a questionnaire regarding their thermal comfort and sensation level (7-point scale), clothing, activities and thermoregulatory behaviour. The most comfortable (optimal) temperature was calculated for each person by adopting a biophysical model, a thermoneutral zone model. This study shows unique indivual comfort patterns in relation to ambient conditions. An example is given how this information can be used to calculate the buildings energy comsumption.