In recent years, several regulations have been set to reduce energy consumption in the building sector. The residential and commercial buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the European Union. In the Greek territory, rules on the energy performance of new buildings are set that require the issue of the Energy Performance of Buildings Certificate of category B or lower in order the new building to get a planning permission. Τhis

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... ate ensures that the building is efficient in terms of energy consumption for heating, cooling, air-conditioning, lighting and hot water production and also fulfills certain requirements regarding to the building envelope. In this paper two energyefficient school buildings are presented; a sixth grade high school complex of 6373 sq.m in the climatic zone B (Athens) and an elementary school of 2505 sq.m in the climatic zone C (Thessaloniki). The building design is focused on bioclimatic architecture, passive design strategies, high performance electrical and mechanical systems, lighting control and automation systems.