Sustainability in Construction and the Integration of the Building Services - Essay Example

SUSTAINABILITY IN CONSTRUCTION AND THE INTEGRATION OF THE BUILDING SERVICES by Student’s Name Code+ course name Professor City and State Course Date Sustainability in Construction and the Integration of the Building Services Sustainability in construction involves the designing and building of a structure that is environmental friendly and efficient in terms of resource utilisation. The building should not only be efficient during its life cycle but also at the point of its demolition. Thus, sustainability starts right from site selection, building designing, erection, operation, maintenance, refurbishment, and destruction. An energy efficient building requires teamwork by the parties involved. Therefore the designers, architects, and clients need to work together at all stages. A green building is concerned with convenience, comfort, and economy. One of the major concerns of sustainability is the designing and building of energy efficient buildings. These structures should be able to reduce energy emissions to the environment. If we look at the burning of fossil fuels for instance, it contributes a high percentage of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Consequently, it emits gases that lead to acid rain. Global warming is also because of these emissions. Electricity, though efficient at the point of use, is a threat to the environment. Production of electricity causes emissions of carbon dioxide. Therefore, the use of fossil fuels as well as electricity should be minimized as much as possible. In the UK, research has shown that energy use in buildings is responsible for half CO2 emissions. In order to reduce this high level emissions, the government proposes a bill of coming up with energy efficient buildings. This involves construction of low energy buildings and refurbishment of existing buildings. It is therefore a collective responsibility of the professionals involved in building construction to reduce energy emissions (CIBSE 2004). The principles of sustainability in building include minimising construction of new buildings, constructing small buildings, avoiding the spread of cities, and limiting energy consumption. Energy efficiency can only be possible with an integrated design team. This team should be identified during the initial stages of the construction to ensure that energy loss is minimal in all the stages involved. The reduction of energy consumption involves limiting the energy used to mine, process and transport building materials. It also includes the energy used in the installation of these building materials. The operating energy should also be minimised. Operating energy includes the energy required in lighting, cooling systems as well as the energy used to heat equipment. Whereas much attention has been particularly paid to operational energy, embodied energy is taking has assumed a new importance lately. This is due to the consideration that, embodied energy may take up to a third of a building’s life cycle energy consumption. For instance a building build of wood will have less embodied energy as opposed to a building made up of concrete, baked bricks or steel (CIBSE 2004). Operational energy efficiency can be arrived at easily through different ways. This could be through minimising air leakage through the building envelope. In addition, the windows, floors, and the ceiling should be highly insulated. Implementation of passive solar energy can also be applied to reduce operational energy. Slanting windows and walls are also aimed at efficient energy utilisation. Awnings, porches, and trees aid in shading the windows and the roof during summer thus limiting energy loss. On the other hand, during winter, they minimise solar gain (CIBSE 2004). The windows are stationed to enhance day lighting. There is therefore no need to use electricity during the day. This reduces the level of electricity consumption during the day, as it provides the natural light. The use of solar energy in heating water is cost effective In pursuant to keep energy demand low, the designer needs to select carefully the energy sources to be used. Preference should be given to renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy. Air conditioning should be avoided as much as possible. Natural ventilation is more energy efficient. Air conditioners are only to be installed in unavoidable circumstances. Other options such as mechanical ventilation should also be taken into consideration. Since sustainability in construction also caters for the comfort of the building occupants, efforts should be made to ensure they are familiar with the building’s operations. The manager, operator and occupants will be more comfortable when they are in a position of controlling the systems installed in the building. Post occupant evaluations would give a feedback whether the energy intents have been achieved or not. Proper documentation outlining the energy efficient intents of the building should also be prepared. Following this, it is important that the building is designed in such a way that they are easy to operate and maintain. Operations and maintenance should involve simple procedures. Most importantly, there should be a complete handover of the building to the operators, managers, and the occupants. It is also important that existing buildings be improved (CIBSE 2004). This could be done by simply adjusting the management operations for instance. Another way of doing this is by introducing new energy saving technologies. However, care should be taken to avoid contradiction between new technologies and the initial design intent. The building designers have the responsibility of protecting the adverse effects on the environment. This can be done through minimising energy emissions to the environment. The interaction between the building services and usage should be taken into account, as they influence future energy consumptions. The designers also need to ensure the buildings are less co sty. This can be done through integration of services. For example, the cost of external shading can be compensated by the cost that could have incurred by air conditioning. Therefore, green buildings need not to be more expensive as compared with their counter parts (CIBS 2004). The financial decision of green building should not be given priority over the financial decisions. A life cycle costing ensures the environment is safe. It also ensures comfort thus it should not be ignored. The benefits of energy efficient buildings are shared among different parties. They include the building owners, occupants, the government, and the building professionals. As the occupants enjoy comfort and favourable working conditions and satisfaction, the design professionals get a greener image. This can be attributed to the energy saved in the building’s life cycle (CIBSE 2004). The greatest challenge in designing energy efficient building is lack of motivation on the side of building designers. Since the professional fees are linked to the overall cost of the building, we could say that sustainability in construction contradicts the benefits of the design team. This is because the buildings are designed to minimise on the cost and maximise energy conservation. According to CIBSE (2004), another challenge and perhaps the most critical one is the unpredictable climate changes. Apart from energy emission from buildings, the emissions from green houses have intensely enhanced global warming. Therefore, construction of a building that could be viable in the future is a challenge to the designers. The temperature changes for instance could lead to a demand of air conditioning in a building that initially had natural ventilation. This means that energy consumption will be increased. Additional costs will be incurred in installing the required equipment. However, this can be overcome by adopting a passive measure. Passive energy highly reduces overheating. An effective passive measure should incorporate both external shading and reduction of internal energy gains (CIBSE 2004). Solar control could reduce heat gain during summer. Natural Ventilation should be checked on as they could result in heat gain for instance in a hot day. It is therefore evident that an energy efficient building with proper design is likely to be viable in future. Energy Efficient Design To design an energy efficient social building in the inner city, certain design aspects need to be taken into consideration. This in particular should include the lighting, ventilation, and conditioning systems. Ensuring effective thermal regulation could also limit energy loss. Renewable, ambient, and passive energy sources should be a priority. Embodied energy should also be minimised. To reduce embodied energy, the building material should be chosen carefully. Wood for instance should be preferred to steel or concrete. However, this does not mean that concrete should not be used completely. Onsite generation of renewable energy sources could be more effective to use of electricity. These could include solar wind and hydro power. In lighting, the use of the natural illumination could be effective during the day. The windows thus should perform highly. Windows could also maximise heat gain. Priority should be given to natural ventilation over artificial conditioning. For instance, if it is a storey building, floor to floor spaces could be effective in the provision of aeration. Planting trees around the building enhance aeration, as they provide a shade. The trees can also serve to minimise heat gain when it is hot outside. Proper window orientation could ensure the building is efficiently ventilated. To ensure proper insulation, the ceilings, the floor and the walls should be highly insulated. This could ensure that minimum heat loss. This could ensure minimal energy loss between the conditioned and unconditioned space. For example a wooden floor is a better insulator. If you were responsible for the design of a social housing development in an inner city environment what are the main design criteria in terms of sustainable construction that you would need to give consideration to in terms of energy efficient design? Give due consideration to the costs of your proposals and whether you consider them to be affordable in the current economic climate. Reference List CIBSE Briefing, 2004, Thermal comfort in the 21st Century CIBSE Briefing, 2004, Reducing Energy Emissions through Energy Efficiency Read More