Portfolio for Environmentally Sustainable Design - Coursework Example

Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Portfolio for environmentally sustainable design Introduction Double glazing which is referred to as insulated glazing or double panning is the doubling or tripling of window panes (Abodahab, 89). Between the window panes is vacuum or a space filled with gas. The vacuum is very much important since it helps in the reduction of the transfer of heat from the part of the envelope building. Double planning window making is of glass. The glass is mostly either laminated or even tempered. The range of the thickness of the glass ranges from 3-10 millimeters. Double glazing has come in place replace the traditional storm windows. Storm windows turn out to be so much time consuming and require a lot of labor. When storm window is used in large buildings and equally tall ones, arduous task of repeatedly climbing the ladder with the large windows is experienced. It makes the process more labor intensive. Other than double glazing, different ways are available for the designing of the energy efficient buildings. Among the sought out ways, two ways to stand to be most appealing and convenient regarding applicability. They involve, using of radiant barriers and application of humidity concepts. A radiant barrier is defined as an insulation material that reflects heat. A possibility of heat transfer through materials by thermal radiation is substantially inhibited. The reflective surface of radiant transfer plays a significant role in the whole process of insulation. They are characterized by a low rate of emissivity in their operation wavelengths they are mostly located. i. Efficacy of double glazing Double glazing is considering one of the most modern methods of window panning buildings. Due to its numerous benefits and limited disadvantages, it is adopted as one of the most efficient, effective and convenient means. Some of the advantages are, first it helps in the reduction of UV light having its way through to the inside of the building. Ultraviolet rays (UV) is that light that causes dangerous skin infections and also destruction of furniture’s, carpet etcetera in buildings (Bluyssen, 79). The efficiency of the window is improved when the glass is tinted on the outer side of the double glazing unit. Elimination of the harmful rays is increased to a level of up to 86%. With this benefit, the value of the furniture’s and even the building itself is protected. Secondly, thermal insulation of the building is increased. Given in buildings a lot of heat gets lost through the windows and the doors, double glazing helps trap the heat within the building. It does this by allowing heat to pass through it to get in the building but reflects the inside heat from leaving the building. This makes the extreme climate not be in a position of affecting the inner temperature of the building. This also helps in minimizing the cost of heating and cooling hence savings is done The result is that it makes buildings notably warm during the winter seasons. Thirdly it boosts the level of security in the building. Being that the window panes are double, this makes it not easily vandalized, unlike the single panning that is exposed to a myriad of security threats. Fourthly, it works as a sound proof in buildings. This creates a conducive silent environment in the building. This is because the outside noise is barred from having its way inside the building. ii. The use of radiant barriers in building constructions. Radiant barriers are insulation that reflects radiation heat is, therefore, preventing its transfer from one side to another its small remittance surface (Al-Homoud, 360). There are numerous uses of radiant barriers more so in the field of building and construction. They involve one; it is utilized for the roof of buildings and attics. The barrier is placed in between the roofing of the building and the insulation area of the attic floor. Most of the heat that enters the building through the roof gets reflected back to the ceiling. Due to the low emissivity nature of the radiate, less heat penetrates through it. This makes the inner part of the buildings cooler since the heat from the roof is highly regulated and restricted from passing through the barrier. Two, it is used on building walls. In this case, it is utilized as a vented skin around the outer side of the wall. Wrapping of a house with the barrier leads to a reduction in the tonnage of air conditioning system. By about 10-20%. It also saves on energy and the construction cost of buildings. Three, it is used on the floors of buildings in the insulation of new concrete floor against heat loss. This keeps the floor warm. iii. Humidity and its definitions Humidity refers to the amount of vapor that is present in the atmosphere (Manabe, 249). Given that humidity also affects indoor environment, it is thus better to understand it at length. Humidity is expressed in three ways namely, relative humidity, absolute humidity, and specific humidity. Relative humidity is the water vapor that is present in the air and which is considerate of what the air can hold. It is mostly expressed as a percentage. The higher the percentage, the more the air-water mixture is humid.nit is often the ratio of partial pressure of water vapor in a mixture against the equilibrium vapor pressure of water. This is expressed by the formula below Absolute humidity is the total mass of water vapor (mH2O) which is present in a particular volume of air (V). It is expressed by the formula dv = mH2O/V. Specific humidity is the ratio of the mass of water vapor to the total of the moist air sample. When referring to the dew point, it reflects on the temperature in which certain amount of air is cooled down. In this case, condensation takes place at constant pressure. In other words, it’s the temperature whereby saturation takes place. Understanding humidity helps in the designing of energy efficient buildings since it has some effects on the performance of buildings. The result includes the growth of molds, decaying of building fabrics, staining i.e. walls etcetera. These effects can be controlled by limiting humidity in the building. One of the recommended ways is the use of double glazing. Glazing reduces condensation. It is because the gas that is in between the pane of glass makes sure that the interior of the glass is at room temperature iv. Conclusion Based on the above illustrations and findings, it is noted with the keenness that some technical issues are crucial to an environment that is sustainable. Having gone through the importances of double glazing, a standing fact that cannot be omitted is that, it has more benefits to modern buildings. Unlike the older storm windows, glazing appears to be more economical both regarding labor and time. It is also useful current construction practice. Alongside glazing, engineers also need to consider various factors too. One of them being the humidity of the place that building is located. This helps them come up with a superior glazing method. It may be double or triple glazing. Different mechanisms are also applied apart from glazing. This is the use of a radiant barrier. Barriers also help in the cooling of buildings. When put on the roof, it prevents heat from penetrating through it and into the room. It is used on the floors of buildings; its benefit is that it prevents new concretes from losing heat. A possibility of new concrete floors cracking is therefore significantly reduced. Through the application of these technologies, energy efficient buildings get to be constructed. Reference Abodahab, Nasser. Temperature distribution models for double-glazed windows and their use in assessing condensation occurrence. Diss. Edinburgh Napier University, 1998. Manabe, Syukuro, and Richard T. Wetherald. "Thermal equilibrium of the atmosphere with a given distribution of relative humidity." (1967): 241-259. Al-Homoud, Mohammad S. "Performance characteristics and practical applications of conventional building thermal insulation materials." Building and Environment 40.3 (2005): 353-366. Bluyssen, Philomena M. The Indoor Environment Handbook: How to make buildings healthy and comfortable. Routledge, 2009. Read More