Looking for more Clarity or Support in Building Performance?

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PerformanceWise has two missions:

Bringing clarity to the complex and sometimes confusing world of building performance assessments.

Helping you solve specific problems or find new opportunities in this area.

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About Building Performance assessments

If you’ve made it to this website, you probably know what building performance assessments are about. But since different people may understand different things, here’s a summary of the different aspects I can help you with:

Operational energy modelling

Operational energy modelling can be performed during the design stage of a project to forecast the building’s future energy consumption. It enables designers to evaluate different design options and make more informed decisions by using more realistic scenarios. Leading to a more optimized energy performance in operation.
It’s required by some certification schemes, like NABERS DfP and BREEAM, and the London Plan policy (Be Seen).
It can also be performed for existing buildings, to understand their different energy uses better and facilitate their optimisation. Or for planning retrofit interventions.

Standardised energy efficiency assessments

More standardised energy efficiency assessments are typically carried out to check compliance with national and local regulations. Their purpose is to facilitate the comparison between buildings and against minimum targets, in terms of the theoretical efficiency of their inbuilt features. They should not be used for forecasting their real energy use in operation.
The standards and methodologies used for regulatory compliance are also applied to assess performance in the energy section of voluntary sustainability certifications (such as BREEAM or LEED).
I specialise in UK regulations, but can also provide general advice for other regions.

Thermal comfort / Overheating risk

The thermal performance of buildings is another important aspect, closely linked to energy efficiency. Thermal comfort and overheating risk assessments are typically performed in two contexts:
• In the absence of mechanical cooling — If the building relies on natural ventilation to avoid overheating, it’s essential to carry out a dynamic thermal assessment that takes into account all variables in sufficient detail.
• For environmental assessments, such as BREEAM — To evaluate the predictive thermal comfort achieved in occupied spaces, verifying that the operative temperatures resulting from the proposed design are likely to fall within the recommended ranges.
Additionally, in the context of operational energy modelling, it’s also important to verify that the forecasted energy consumption figures correspond to adequate operative temperatures in all spaces.

Performance of the thermal envelope

I’m including here different types of analyses of the building envelope, which may be carried out separately. However, in my view, they all serve the same purpose: verifying that the proposed envelope constructions meet the required thermal performance and low moisture risk.
• U-value calculations — To asses the heat transfer coefficient of the envelope elements. They can be straightforward calculations, but sometimes require more complex assessments with 2D or 3D tools.
• Thermal bridge assessments — To assess the additional (linear) heat transfer coefficient at the junctions between envelope elements, as well as their internal surface condensation risk. They are usually carried out in 2D, but sometimes require 3D modelling.
• Interstitial condensation risk — Moisture can permeate building envelope elements and cause condensation or mould growth if temperatures drop below the dew point. For certain build-ups or details, it is necessary to carry out appropriate analyses to assess the risk of this occurring and propose solutions.

Resilience and adaptation

In the context of ongoing global warming and climate change, building design strategies also need to consider the capacity to adapt to more extreme conditions than those experienced to date. Including the possibility of more frequent and longer power outages as the grid becomes increasingly stressed.
Resilience and adaptation measures can be incorporated now or planned for the future. But they should be taken into consideration for most buildings, both new and existing, by analysing the potential scenarios and options with appropriate methodologies.

Daylight access

There is growing evidence on the importance of daylighting (natural light in indoor spaces) for both physical and psychological health, as well as for productivity in professional environments.
Adequate access to daylight is achieved by designing appropriate glazing areas and distributing them effectively throughout the spaces.
However, increasing glazed areas affects energy efficiency and carbon emissions. Therefore, it’s often necessary to carry out detailed analyses to find the right balance that meets the project’s targets.

Passive House

I have included Passive House (PH) in a separate category for two reasons:
1. I’m not a specialist in it (although I have quite a few specialists in my network).
2. The PH certification includes several of the above aspects:
• It has its own modelling standard and calculation tool, which includes a simplified overheating risk check.
• Given its fabric-first focus, calculating the performance of the thermal envelope is an essential part of it.
• For high-performance residential buildings, given their very low energy use for space conditioning and the detailed inputs of PH calculation method, the PHPP, it is often used for estimating operational energy.
• Again, due to its fabric-first focus, a house built to the PH certification will generally be more resilient and adaptable to climate change and extreme conditions. Especially if these scenarios have been considered in the design.

Healthy buildings

Perhaps the area I’ve developed the least so far, but one that currently interests me the most. It’s an emerging area of work that focuses on what should matter the most for building users: that the buildigs they occupy promote their health and wellbeing and not their sickness. This might sound obvious, but it’s not. Because not all the factors that impact our health are captured by our 5 senses and can very often go unnoticed and unvalued.

It involves analysing, and making good decisions during both the design and operation of the building, on factors such as: air quality, toxic materials, moisture, humidity, thermal health, noise, daylight access, views out, water quality, and electromagnetic fields.

To know more about the different aspects of Building Performance you can go later to the “About BP” section.

Now, let’s get started with introductions

About Me

My name is Pablo Correa and I’ve been working as a Building Performance Consultant for the last 10 years.

I’ve worked for companies of all sizes. Always seeking new challenges and opportunities to expand my knowledge and deepen my understanding of energy efficiency, building performance, and sustainability.

My background is not in Architecture or Building Services Engineering, which has allowed me to bring a more independent and unbiased perspective to the sector. And I’ve actively sought the best training and experience from a variety of sources, which allows me to understand the subject from different perspectives, gain greater clarity, and deliver the best advice.

My focus is now on providing more approachable and personalised advice and support across my areas of expertise to different people in the sector.

If you’d like to know more about my background, you can go later to the “About Me” section. But now, let’s focus on what really matters, on how I can help you.

About You

I’d like you to select from the list below the profile that best reflects your current role, so I can better explain how I can help you.

Director or Manager

You are the director of the company or your department. You make the main decissions and define the strategy, but you’re not involved directly in technical work.

Or you are a manager supervising other team members. You might be involved in technical work occasionally, but your main role is managing and reviewing other people’s work.

This is my role

Experienced Professional

You are an experienced professional in building performance, energy modelling, or other related disciplines, such as Sustainability, Architecture, or MEP engineering.

This is my role

Graduate

You finished your degree a few years ago (or have just finished it) and you are starting your professional career in building performance, energy modelling, sustainable building design, or other related disciplines, such as Architecture, or MEP engineering.

This is my role

Other roles

Other profiles that might find my help, insights, or network useful could be the following:

Researchers
Lecturers
Consultants in related areas
Manufacturers of related products
HR professionals and Recruiters
Software developers
Startups in related areas
Investors

I’m one of these

Who knows me?

Here are some people who have worked with me and their testimonials:

Pablo is a wizard with building performance modelling software. And he not only delivers precise, impactful modelling for decarbonisation projects but also supports sustainability consultants through expert training and guidance. His ability to simplify complex tools and build confidence makes him an invaluable partner for any sustainability-focused team.

Kenny Lampard Senior Consultant (Sustainability)
Turner & Towsend

Working with Pablo is always a great experience — he’s sharp, creative, and super reliable. More than just a coworker, he’s the kind of teammate who makes everything flow and come together right when it needs to. He plays a big role in building smart strategies and keeping the work top-notch. It’s a pleasure working with him!

Lourdes Ruiz JuncosResearcher
University of Navarra

For us, working with Pablo is having a trusted professional that you can always rely on to do a great job. Friendly, approachable, and extremely professional, he brings well-considered and clear solutions to every project we work with him on, demonstrating his passion not only for Building Performance but also for supporting his clients in every aspect.

Jason RedfearnManaging Partner
Focus Consultants

Pablo is very knowledgeable on all topics related to building physics. I’ve worked and collaborated with him for over two years on a wide range of projects, involving from detailed HVAC modelling to thermal bridging and condensation risk assessments. He delivers projects efficiently, on time, and to a high-quality standard, with the flexibility to adapt to projects’ needs.

Rodrigo García PriegoHead of Energy and Carbon
Greengage Environmental

Pablo has been an incredible mentor. His guidance was invaluable in helping me understand my position within the sustainability industry and prepare effectively for job interviews. His feedback and mentorship gave me the clarity and confidence I needed to secure my current role.

Rajasri SubramanianRetrofit & Sustainability Assistant
Nottingham Energy Partnership

It’d be great to have yours as well soon!

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Blog — Articles and Newsletter archive

If you found me recently and would like to catch up on what you’ve missed, head over to the ‘Blog‘ section. I’ll aim to keep it updated with my most relevant articles and newsletter emails — though I can’t promise I’ll always succeed!

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Questions you might have in mind

Is it prudent sharing with you my projects’ information?

If you have any concerns about confidentiality, the first thing we’ll do before sharing information will be signing an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Confidentiality will be central to our collaboration if you wish.

Will you publish information about our collaboration?

It’s up to you. If you agree that it can be beneficial for both, giving your company and work more visibility, we can do it. Otherwise, we can keep it to ourselves.

Will you become a competitor using my information?

I have no plans to create a company and taking on projects. What you can see on this website is my business plan: Helping people in the sector who can benefit from external support, and doing my part to improve the awareness and quality of work in the different areas of building performance.

Why are you not showing a list of your projects and images?

My main activity now is supporting other people, not modelling projects myself.
However, you’ll find images of past work in the “About BP” section

Why is your website domain a “.co” and not a “.com”?

First, because the .com wasn’t available! And second, because the .co could reflect better the consultancy character of this project.

Why is your website so unusual?

First, because I have created it myself. Be gentle please!
Second, because I wanted to focus on clarity and minimise unnecessary distractions.

Why the wizard hat?

I won’t hide that I’m a Lord of the Rings fan. So, in part it’s as a tribute to Gandalf the Grey and his wisdom. But also because my colleagues have sometimes referred to my ability to solve technical issues as “magic”.

Why are you doing this now instead of finding a suitable senior role in a company?

I have enjoyed my time as an employee in different companies and learned a lot, but I also believe it’s our obligation to reach our professional best. To give more value and help more people, using our best skills. While staying true to our values and purpose. I think this project will help me do just that.