Transcript Document

16469 Low Energy Building Design
Sustainability – an overview
Dr Nick Kelly
ESRU
Origins of Sustainability
• Stockholm agreement (1972) addressed
environment, economic and social
development and outlined 26 principles for
sustainable development .
• Brundtland Report (1987) defined
Sustainability as:
• "Sustainable development is development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs".
UK Implementation
• The UK government has published its
guiding principles with regards to
sustainability
• http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk
• Covers much more than just energy and
natural environment
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economy and employment
social justice
communities
etc.
UK Implementation
UK Priorities
• FOUR key areas:
– sustainable consumption and
production
– climate change and energy
– natural resources
– sustainable communities
• ALL of these areas relate to the built
environment
Sustainability in Buildings
“Sustainable building design should aim to provide a
balanced solution, offering optimum working/living
conditions, alongside reduced environmental impact,
both now and in the future. Taking the complete
building lifecycle into consideration, there are many
factors involved, from the location of the building, its
design, subsequent operation and maintenance, to the
construction materials and practices used, and how
any future changes of use are addressed.”
D. McLean (IET)
Production and Consumption
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sustainability necessitates controlling energy demand in
addition to developing renewable/low carbon energy supplies
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the built environment is the largest final energy consumer
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in the built environment 40%3 of the energy consumed is used
is for space heating with most heating systems running on
natural gas
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overall energy consumption is on the increase with a 19% rise
in the domestic sector and 17% rise in the services sector
since 19903
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driven by:
– demographics (increasing # of households 18.6M – 24.2M
1971-20054)
– comfort expectations (average internal temperatures have
risen 5oC since 19705)
– lifestyle (multi-source lighting, increasing use of electrical
appliances)
Sources 1 DUKES 2005, 2 NS Social trends 3 Energy consumption in the UK 4 NS Social trends, 5 domestic energy fact file 2001
Climate Change and Energy
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the domestic sector alone accounts for 28%1 of final
energy consumption and 42 million tonnes of carbon
(MtC) per annum2
UK-wide buildings accounting for over 40% of all UK
carbon dioxide emissions, and with as many as 140,000
new homes needed each year it is no surprise that
reducing these emissions is currently a key focus
improving energy efficiency has been identified as being
the cheapest, cleanest and safest way of doing this
renewables alone DO NOT reduce energy consumption
but can reduce electricity taken from the grid and the use
of fossil fuels
Sources 1 DUKES 2005, 2 NS Social trends 3 Energy consumption in the UK 4 NS Social trends, 5 domestic energy fact file 2001
Natural Resource Protection &
Environmental Enhancement
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In 1998 the construction industry consumed over 420
million tonnes of materials
83% was primary materials
the construction industry accounted for around 80 million
tonnes of waste per year (4 x domestic waste)
the resource efficiency is 63%
the day-to-day operation of buildings also consumes
significant quantities of materials inc. treated water
sustainable buildings should use less raw materials in
their construction and produce less waste – through the
use of re-cycled materials and re-cycling of waste, recycled aggregates, insulation materials, etc, use of ‘grey’
water, etc
Source: The Construction Industry Mass Balance: resource use,
wastes and emissions R A Smith, J R Kersey and P J Griffiths
Sustainable Communities
• the UK’s sustainable development priorities
also include the need for sustainable
communities – covering the social aspect of
buildings
• relevant aspirations are:
– environmentally sensitive - providing places
for people to live that are considerate of the
environment.
– well designed and built - featuring a quality
built and natural environment.
– well connected - with good transport services
and communication linking people to jobs,
schools, health and other services
Legislation
• also remember that new legislation is
emerging that forces designers to think
sustainably:
• legislation, specifically related to buildings
includes
– Home Energy Conservation Act
– London Energy Strategy (using planning
powers)
– Local planning regulations
– Energy Performance in Building’s Directive
(energy performance and renewables)
– New building regulations (energy performance
and renewables)
Achieving Sustainability
• To maximise sustainability in a building design a global
strategy is required:
energy use
occupants
resource use
strategy
transport
renewables
emissions
local community
waste and recycling
Measuring Sustainability
• How can the resulting
‘sustainability be measured?
• Single or multiple metrics?
• UK government currently has 127
indicator measures and 68
indicators on sustainability
• not all relate to buildings
Performance Metrics
Performance Metrics
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GHG emissions
energy consumption
renewable electricity/heat
resource use (water/fuel)
road transport
waste/recycling
air Pollutants
land use
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community participation
employment/poverty
education
Performance Metrics
• to judge sustainability need to
compare performance against a
reference!
Comparison
• e.g. 1997 regs house vs passivhaus
Comparison
• e.g. 1997 regs house vs passivhaus