The Use of Available Low Carbon Materials - Assignment Example

Part 1 Governments worldwide are working around the clock to come up with sustainable energy policy. This is as a result of the increased industrial development that has led to a rapid carbon emission worldwide. Nonetheless, project owners are encouraging construction managers to employ the use of low carbon materials for building designs. It is however important to note that low carbon materials are normally very expensive and it is quite hard to gauge their capability when it comes to carbon reduction (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2011). Technology has made it possible for project managers to integrate several building models in order to come up with the total cost required for the building blocks as well as the CO2 emitted by construction sites. These building models include; Microsoft Excel which is used to do all the calculations, Energy Stimulation Software (eQUEST) and Building Information Modeling (BIM). Globally, engineers and architects are encouraging the use of available low carbon materials so as to prepare for the dynamic future (Chen, 2012). Thus this report evaluates possible ways and available resources that are of low carbon emission and their lifecycle costs. In order to critically evaluate the rates of carbon dioxide emissions, this report combines data collected and analyzed by incorporating BIM software and Energy Stimulation Software. BIM has been confirmed to work as a digital database. This is due to its high capabilities that are made up of comprehensive building information, work simulation, 3D visualization and a schedule control characteristic (Chang, 2002). Past studies have shown strong potentials and the enhanced efficiency in integrated BIM while evaluating the carbon emission during constructions (Mah, 2012). Integrating BIM in any construction projects serve as a platform for project managers to keep track of the material information while providing a digital surrounding for project participants. Financial concerns arise when choosing an appropriate construction material with low carbon emission. Therefore project managers are called upon to conduct a critical evaluation process to determine the possible environmental impact and increase in cost. Figure 1 below shows an evaluation Flowchart: (Mah, 2012) Building materials will be designed according to the guidelines provided by the eQuest material database. This is as a result of its ability to provide a wide range of selection when it comes to the diverse construction materials. Simulation reports confirm that the most suitable materials without including carbon tax is made up of; cool roof with 25centimetre concrete and single Low-E window design (Lin, 2012). However when you include carbon tax, the most appropriate combination would be cool roof with 25 centimeter concrete. This is accompanied with a single reflective window design. Eco friendly materials are considered as the best building materials in minimizing the emission of carbon during construction. According to the Sustainable construction website UK, clay based materials combined with water so as to form construction bricks make up solid walls that are suitable for both dry and hot climates. Further during construction works engineers advocate for the inclusion of straws which is assumed to work as insulators and is fire resistant when compressed. The use of straws is more applicable as compared to asbestos insulation whose damage on human health is immense. The use of recyclable materials is a mitigation strategy that is less costly and of low carbon emission (Nygaard, 2012). This report suggests the combination of BIM and Energy Simulation Software eQuest to evaluate and come up with alternative building materials to reduce carbon dioxide emission. Additionally the report analyses the financial impacts these method construction and building materials have and advices that architects be prepared for it. Concluding remarks suggest that cool roof works efficiently in reducing carbon dioxide emission during constructions. However during the analysis of this study it is noted that developers can easily reduce their cost of production and still come up with environmental friendly structures. Notably, further research work needs to be conducted in order to develop construction material database that will provide a wide variety of materials for construction workers to choose from. This way the project aims at minimizing energy consumption and maximizes energy efficiency. The building should incorporate passive design features in order to reduce any chances of environmental impact and its running cost. In planning for the project, the architectural plan has to include measures to reduce hazards whether human or natural disasters. Therefore, steps to mitigate damage caused by fire or any other natural catastrophic events should be considered and put in place. First an extensive assessment should be conducted in order to come up with the possible impact that may result in the event of a fire outbreak. Secondly project manager need to include measures that will assist in reducing vulnerability in the proposed development activities. According to a publication by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (2008), when evaluating a design for fire safety, it is vital that the construction manager ensures that the potential heat sources material are separated from potential fuels. For instance during the installation of electrical and lighting systems, observing the codes and practices by ensuring electric wires and heating systems are well separated. This way the building has put in place controlling measures for a combustion process. Additionally a list of design parameters such as; compartmentation, number of exists, occupancy capacity and travel distance should all be calculated as one of the steps of fire safety strategies. Furthermore a suppression system need to be installed which include isolating valves, automatic fire detection devices and controlling equipments in each area of the building (The Electrical Safety Council, 2011). The application of the method described above provides an overview of the possible environmental impacts construction works have. According to Chen (2012), the use of BIM combination exhibits low embodied energy and a very long term thermal behavior. Moreover, the use of this method in reducing carbon dioxide emission, leads to the important issue of sustainable development. This pushes government official in housing sector to endorse more acceptable environmental constructions that meet their standards in order to solve issues arising in recent contemporary societies (Health and Safety Executive, 2010). Part 2 Backpool Fire case study On 6th January 2012, the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service reported a fire incident that they had attended to. The Ambassador Care Home, 670-672 Lytham road, Backpool was a detached premises with ground and first floor. According to a report filed by the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, the building had caught fire on the ground floor which began outside bedroom 10. During the fire incident several people including staff members and residents were successful evacuated from the building by the rescue team. According to the investigations carried out by Lancashire fire and Rescue Team, the owner of the building had breached some of the fire safety legislations. The outcome of their investigations showed that fire safety at this facility had been neglected and was operating on very poor standards. Therefore the safety of the residents within this premise and the staff members had been compromised putting their lives in danger. Some of the breaches identified included; i. Blocked exit routes ii. Combustibles materials blocking fire extinguishers and on the main staircase iii. Missing smoke detectors iv. Electrical leads in Santa’s Grotto located on escape routes v. Linen stored to ceiling height adjacent to light fitting. Analysis The above mentioned breaches are believed to have the main factors that must have led to the rapid spread of the fire. Failure to have an effective fire fighting measures which included accessible fire extinguishers or automotive sprinklers highly contributed to the growth of the fire. The owner of the building should have ensured that the structure was critically evaluated and analyzed before occupation. Additionally it is important that he should have carried out a complete and comprehensive fire risk assessment as outlined in Article 9(1) as stated in the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety). This would have enabled the management of this premise to mitigate proper steps to overcome any fire out break and prevent it from spreading. Notably, carrying out a comprehensive fire risk assessment would have ensure that emergency exit are accessible and lead to secure places for residents and staff members thus protecting them. Case study on Brazil night club fire On 27 January 2013, the Kiss Club in Santa Maria Brazil caught fire and killed an estimated 240 people and 169 injured. According to witnesses, the fire began at the stage just before a performance and rapidly spread to the rest of the club. Investigative reports by the federal police claim that the fire was caused by the use of pyrotechnic device on the stage. Most of the victims succumbed to their death due to Asphyxiation (carbon monoxide & cyanide poisoning) and stampede during escape. The fire and toxic gases emitted inside the club led to the death of many since the club only had one entrance and exit door, thus hindering the crowd from escaping and getting to safety. The owners of the club were arrested and charged with breaching some of the fire regulatory acts. These breaches included; i. Overcrowding ii. Faulty extinguishers iii. Usage of outdoor pyrotechnics iv. Fire developed & spread rapidly – Emitting toxic fumes due to flammable acoustic foam v. Only 1 exit & entrance Analysis Investigations reports by government officials claim that the club was excessively crowded denying the occupants room to move around and access the escape routes. The use of pyrotechnics and the overcrowding situation made the environment a health hazard thus the health department agreed that it was an unsafe place for people to be in. lack of proper supervision of the equipments that entered in the club also contributed to the inferno, this is because if the club officials were aware of the dangers of pyrotechnics they wouldn’t have allowed the band to use them in the club. The owners of the club were accused of negligence. This is due to their incapability to train their officials on how to attend to fire emergencies as well as failure to have adequate fire extinguishers in the club that worked properly. Lack of proper spacing in the club highly contributed to the rapid growth of the fire as well as the high numbers of dead individuals who were trapped inside. Reports by the police said that the acoustic isolation equipments were highly flammable which also contributed to the fire spreading really fast. The above incidences from Backpool and Santa Maria show how much people are unprepared when it comes to handling fire emergencies. There needs to be an open communication system between fire protection engineers and construction workers in order o come up with the most suitable design for these buildings. The Backpool residence area lacked a safety area for people to run to in case of such an emergency. Additionally both buildings lacked proper and accessible emergency exits for occupants. The sizes of these buildings also raise questions. Both building seem to have been really squeezed and there was no enough space for occupants to maneuver around and get to safety. More emphasis needs to be placed on the need to have a fire alarm system as a basic requirement for all buildings. When undertaking security measures, project owners are required to pay an equal amount of attention to security and fire safety. Special fire alarm systems need to be integrated in order to detect any presence of pyrotechnics inside a building. Assembly occupants of any building need to be informed and educated on the content of emergency evacuation information. Night clubs and any other areas of residence designs must be structured in a way that they are able to comply with the standard rules set for fire protection and fire safety. The designs must be applicable when the buildings are fully occupied or staffed in order to avoid any catastrophic deaths. Any building owners need to include a fire protection engineer when carrying out the fire assessment within their premise. Club owners on the other hand should ensure that their premise is designed with means of egress inside and outside the building (Health and Safety Executive, 2010). Security personnel in these areas also need to ensure that the crowd does not exceed the number of exits available to contain them, exit capacity and egress travel distance. Notably it is important for club owners to restrict the use of pyrotechnics inside the clubs to avoid the eruption of fires. In my opinion every occupational areas of residence or public entertainment areas should have the following fire emergency equipments. These include adequate numbers of efficient fire fighting systems such as; fire extinguishers, Hose reels and fire alarm systems. Public areas need to have a strict rule of holding at least an occupancy load of maximum number of 1m2 per person. Emergency exits should be well and brightly lit for individuals to spot and use them as escape routes to safety. And there should be a ban order issued on the use of pyrotechnics or sparklers in enclosed areas or crowded places. Part 3 Freon are a group of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) in gaseous state which contain atoms of carbon, fluorine and chlorine (Blasing & Jones, 2012; Burke, 2007). Halons on the other hand refer to a group of fluorocarbons having bromine atoms but no hydrogen atoms (Burke, 2007). The naming nomenclature for these two compounds are different. Despite both of them using numbering system, Freon use a numbering system consisting of three integral values i, j and k while halons use four integers i,j,k & l naming system. For the case of Freons, the first digit i represent the total number of carbon atoms minus 1, the second digit j represent the number of hydrogen atoms plus 1 while the last digit k represent the total number of atoms of fluorine (Blasing & Jones, 2012; Burke, 2007). In some instances, two integral digits are given instead of three. In such a case, the first integral value i is zero. Chlorine atoms can be computed from; , where represent the total number of atoms of Carbon, Hydrogen and Fluorine respectively. Halons on the other hand use four digits i,j,k & l numbering system. The first digit i represents the number of carbon atoms, j represents the number of Fluorine atoms, k represents the number of chlorine atoms and l represents the total number of chlorine atoms (Burke, 2007). As such, the naming nomenclature used for Halons is quite simpler when compared to that used in Freons. Halons do have a serious environmental impacts on the Ozone which is believed to be ten times that of Freons (Peterson, 2001). They have been used in fire suppression agents all over the world. Halons are much more destructive because the hydrogen atoms are substituted with atoms of chlorine, Fluorine or Bromine which are chemically stable. Hydrogen atoms can either be substituted partially or fully. Full substitution of hydrogen atoms results to what is referred to as fully halogenated halons which is much more chemically stable and has a long lifespan in the atmosphere (Peterson, 2001). Under the Montreal Protocol, it was agreed that halogenated hydrocarbons be phased out and replaced with safer substances. Any substance containing chlorine or bromine was to be phased out and be replaced with those having fluorine basically because fluorine does not have any effect on the ozone (Burke, 2007). Chlorine and Bromine are major components of halons. These substances are chemically stable and they can stay in the atmosphere for approximately over 120 years (Peterson, 2001). Therefore, the decision to phase out halons having chlorine and bromine under the Montreal Protocol was indeed a good decision and action in the protection of ozone layer. Such substances ought to be replaced with those having less destructive effects. References Chang, Y.S. (2002). Life cycle assessment on the reduction of carbon dioxide emission of buildings. (Doctor), National Cheng Kung University, Tainan. Chen, L. (2012). BIM-based integration of energy saving and cost effectiveness for building envelopes. National Taiwan University, Taipei. Health and Safety Executive. (2010). ‘Fire safety in construction – guidance for clients, designers and those managing and carrying out construction work involving significant fire risks’, second edition. IPCC 2011. Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation, United Kingdom and New York, USA, Cambridge University Press. Lin, S.C. (2012). A study of carbon dioxide emissions control of building construction – for example in Taipei RC residential buildings. National Taiwan University, Taipei. Mah, D. et al (2011). House construction CO2 footprint quantification: a BIM approach. Construction Innovation: Information, Process, Management, 11(2), 161-178. Nygaard, R. F. (2012). Certification of sustainable buildings in a life cycle assessment perspective. Technical University of Denmark. Taiwan Construction Cost Index. [Online]. Available from: http://prj.tcri.org.tw/pmsweb/default.aspx. Accessed on [1st March 2015] The Electrical Safety Council, (2011). ‘Electrical Safety in Communal Areas of Residential Properties’. Electrical Safety Council. The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) publications. (2008). ‘Requirements for electrical installations: IEE wiring regulations’, 17th edition (BS 7671:2008). [Online]. Available at: www.sustainablebuild.co.uk/strawbaleforinstructionsonhowtobuild. [28th Feb 2015] Blasing, T. J. & Jones, S, (2012). Name that Compound: The numbers game for CFCs, HFCs, HCFCs and Halons. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC). [Online]. Available from: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/pns/cfcinfo.html# [2th March 2015]. Burke, R. (2007). Fire Protection: Systems and Response. Florida: CRC Press. Peterson, E. (2001). Standards and Codes of Practice to Eliminate Dependency on Halons: Handbook of Good Practices in the Halon Sector. Paris: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Read More