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SustainableEngineering@Edinburgh Group 8: Sustainable Housing By: Alexander Duffy (0681286); Dylan O’Halloran (0835861); Anne Gabrielle Michel (0896296); Jamie Cuthbert (0674728) IMS3 Sustainability Module, March 2009 Introduction Housing in the UK accounts for approximately 30% of the countries CO2 emissions. In a world of shifting energy costs and demands, it is the responsibility of the public to introduce sustainability into residential building design. While sustainable housing overlaps with employment, health, Social education, crime and many other aspects of people’s lives, it is important for us to gain perspective of the energy consumption in the Sustainable home and the attempts being made to minimise it. Economic Political Figure 1: Domestic consumption over time Social Aspects. •Planning Planning is vital to the social aspect of sustainability. Efficient planning must take into account accessibility to public transport, walkways and cycle paths. •Travel Consideration must also be given to reducing the need to travel by providing employment, schools, shops, health care and entertainment. Social inclusion is vital and developments should not be too big as to alienate the occupants and the residents should be able to take responsibility for their environment. •Urban Villages The government predicts a need for 4 million extra houses by 2021. These new developments should aim to be urban villages (local environments that are more sustainable) or comply with the Millennium Villages Programme ( Provide mixed-tenure residential developments interspersed with community facilities). How to design a sustainable hous? • Energy savings Considering heating, the most efficient way to save energy is to increase insulation standards. Solar energy is a good renewable way of heating, using thermal mass for heat regulation. • Sustainable materials Materials should be chosen considering their embodied energy and the LCA (Life Cycle Analysis). With a low embodied energy, timber is interesting for construction. Materials should also allow a good insulation. • Managing water resources Today in the UK, each person uses 150-154 liters per day and the consumption continues to rise. Water economy is thus an important issue, which can be resolve by methods of saving and reusing water. • Health and well-being Sustainability is also measured in terms of health and well being. The designer has to take comfort and health into account, and one important issue is the indoor air quality. Political Aspects •UK Government has agreed to reduce emissions of 6 main GHGs by 12.5% compared to 1990-levels during the period 2008-2012. •UK also committed to cut 1990-level CO2 by 20% by 2010. •Scotland’s share is equivalent to 1.7MtC in annual savings. •UK Government set long-term goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% by 2050. •Scottish Executive have set target to exceed Scotland’s share by 1MtC by 2010. •40-50% of UK CO2 emissions come from buildings, over half of this attributed to the domestic sector. •Scottish housing emits 18 million tonnes of CO2 per annum, approximately 8.5 tonnes per household. •2003-04 SHCS revealed 40% of dwellings in Scotland had NHER of ‘good’ and 275,000 dwellings had NHER of ‘poor’ or ‘moderate’. •10% of UK CO2 emissions are due to embodied energy used in the construction process. •Construction industry uses 35 million tonnes of material per year. In 2001, 2.2 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste was landfilled in Scotland. •Only 1% of construction material is re-used in Scotland. •Households use 50% of water publicly supplied in the UK; per capita consumption averages 154 litres per day. •Mains water has embodied energy element of 0.5kWh/m3, and is expensive to treat and supply. Economic Aspects In the vast majority of cases it is both environmentally and financially preferable to maintain a mains link; best not to be completely isolated. Some alternative energy sources for the home: Solar - not cost effective solely due to seasonal variation - guaranteed 10 years - expected lifetime=25-30years -initial cost: £54,000-£67,000 -annual savings: £500 Wind 100% energy requirement possible, hybrid system more common/appropriate; greater benefit in cost/dependency -initial cost: £15,000-£17,000 -annual savings: £400 Case Study: Strizki House Hydroelectric -generally more reliable than wind/solar the Solar Hydrogen Solution. -for individual homes: initial cost of as little as £1500 -initial cost: in early stages of development -payback in about 7 years =$100,000 -for housing clusters: initial cost %12,000-£15,000 -cancels home energy costs, fuel costs, avoids -with heat pump installed: payback in 5 years energy cost fluctuations References •Smerdon, T., Waggett R. and Grey R., Sustainable Housing: Options for Independent Energy, Water Supply and Sewerage, 1997, BSRIA •Stevenson F. and Williams N., Sustainable Housing Design Guide for Scotland, 2007, Communities Scotland and the Sustainable Development Commission. •Dye A. and McEvoy M., 2008, Environmental construction handbook, RIBA Publishing •Smith C., Clayton A. and Dunnett N., 2008, Residential Landscape Sustainability: A Checklist Tool, Blackwell Publishing Limited. •Figure 1: Department of Trade and Industry, Energy publications, Energy consumption in the UK, 2002 Sourced: http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file11250.pdf