The need to boost the basic housing economy by setting up establishments that offer sustainable energy consumption is on the rise. Modern green buildings as they are often referred are becoming a prerequisite for most of the upcoming projects as the federal government aims at reducing greenhouse emissions. Constructing domestic buildings that are sustainable whether passive or active shall aid in combating climate change issues such as rising water levels, rise in global temperatures, human-wildlife crisis, and food shortages. This pilot project aims at environmentally friendly establishments within the United States as a means of achieving up to 40% reduction in water consumption and 93% electricity consumption from the national grid. The two-story 20,000 square feet building shall cater for a private residence in which one family shall stay for initial testing purposes.
In order to achieve full maximization of the renewable energy resources that are readily available, this pilot project shall be situated in a mountain area where the sunlight reception and wind levels are high for the utilization of photovoltaic and wind energy respectively. Another reason for choosing mountainous areas is to avoid the risk of any catastrophes such as floods which might disrupt the testing phase. The mountain area shall, therefore, require a lot of excavation procedures to be carried out in order to get a level ground on which the building shall be set up. The site also contains shrubs, twigs, and trees that shall need to be cleared for the sake of this development. The place is also rocky and the excavation process might be the tedious one calling for the mobilization of heavy machinery to the site.
The building methodology shall entail mainly of concrete and structural insulated panels. Concrete shall mainly be utilized in the external perimeter walls since they are durable and weatherproof while the panels shall be employed in internal rooms demarcation and insulating the house from the weather thereby effective power consumption. Autoclave aerated concrete is among the most popular materials and their availability is guaranteed. Light gauge steel shall be used for the sake of the internal partitioning supports due to the susceptibility of timber towards termite attack and eventual weakening of the building. This shall be used as a means of strengthening the foundation from the shocks and tremors that are experienced in mountainous regions from time to time. The hybrid concrete mode shall also be incorporated in some sections that require onsite molding thereby reducing the cost of the building by a large margin. Other materials that shall be included in this methodology are the green technique materials which may form a larger portion of the insulations for an energy-efficient design.
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