The term Building Engineering Physics was introduced in a report released in January 2010 commissioned by The Royal Academy of Engineering. The report entitled, Engineering a Low Carbon Built Environment: The Discipline of Building Engineering Physics, presents the initiative of many at the Royal Academy of Engineering in developing a field that addresses our fossil fuel dependence while working towards a more sustainably built environment for the future.
The field of building engineering physics combines the existing professions of building services engineering, applied physics and building construction engineering into a single field designed to investigate the energy efficiency of old and new buildings. The application of Building Engineering Physics allows the construction and renovation of high performance, energy efficient buildings, while minimizing their environmental impacts.
Building Engineering Physics addresses several different areas in building performance including: air movement, thermal performance, control of moisture, ambient energy, acoustics, light, climate and biology. This field employs creative ways of manipulating these principal aspects of a building’s indoor and outdoor environments so that a more eco-friendly standard of living is obtained. Building Engineering Physics is unique from other established applied sciences or engineering professions as it combines the sciences of architecture, engineering and human biology and physiology. Building Engineering Physics not only addresses energy efficiency and building sustainability, but also a buildings internal environment conditions that affect the comfort and performance levels of its occupants.