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| Low Energy Building | |||||||
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OVERVIEW |
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We all know that protecting the health of our planet is important. We also know that one important
way to reduce our impact on the planet is to improve the design of the
buildings in which we live, work, and pray.
But of equal importance to the ecological factors, there is numerous evidence to show that buildings which incorporate ‘green’ features are more attractive to their users. |  |
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| Buildings are an important catalyst in the effort to inhabit spaces which are not only healthy for us, but also for the planet as a whole. Below are listed a few suggestions which may be used to improve the health and efficiency of your home, school, office, or religious building. Following that are a series of lectures with information on how to create buildings which are healthy, comfortable, and sustainable. | |
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$ Replace any incandescent bulbs with CFUs (Compact Fluorescent Units) or LED bulbs. Lighting accounts for 20-25% of the electricity used in the United States, therefore any effort to reduce our use is essential. CFUs will last 9 times as long as a standard bulb while using only 25% of the electricity. LED bulbs will consume 40 times less electricity as incandescents. Although the cost per bulb is higher for both varieties, these bulbs offer a potential savings of over $25 per bulb over the unit’s lifetime. You therefore stand to not only reduce your electrical consumption, but also to reduce your maintenance costs. Click here for LED bulb comparison |
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“Installing a single fluorescent lamp…can keep a power plant from emitting three-quarters of a ton of CO2.” |
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| $Set your thermostat 4 degrees lower in the winter and your air conditioner 3 degrees higher in the summer. | |
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| $ Install water saving devices on all faucets. | |
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$$$ Replace all standard (single pane) windows with energy efficient models. In the U.S. nearly 25% of all heating/cooling energy is lost through windows. Therefore replacement windows stand to reduce the energy impact of a building significantly. Energy efficient windows typically consist of an insulated frame, two panes of glass, and compression seals on all operable units. Energy efficient windows may help reduce your heating and cooling costs by up to 15%. |
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| $$ Seal and insulate heating and air conditioning ducts. | |
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| $$ Replace older 10 gallon toilets with water efficient toilets | |
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| $$$ Install ‘light shelves’ on larger windows which can increase the amount of floor space lit (for free) by natural sunlight. You can also build interiors which incorporate what is called ‘open plan design.’ This means that walls do not continue to the ceiling and therefore light is allowed to penetrate farther into the building. |  The Rocky Mountain Institute |
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| $$ Install light sensors within perimeter offices. This will utilize free daylight during the day while providing artificial light only when the interior brightness falls below a prescribed level. | |
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| These and other simple techniques will help you avoid draining your wallet to cool your house. | |
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| The Menara Mesiniaga Building
"The building brings together the principles of the bioclimatic approach to the design of tall buildings developed over the previous decade by the firm." T.R. Hamzah and Yeang International
Mr. Yeang incorporates a technique he calls "vertical landscaping" into medium rise buildings. This novel concept brings landscape (which is normally reserved for the building pedestal) up and into the main structure. The novel approach helps to cool the building, which is located near the equator, and also provides fresh air to the building's occupants. The latter is often underestimated. The amount of energy used to provide fresh air into a building is significant, not to mention the benefit to occupants in terms of human health. Learn more about this building |
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The Commerzbank Tower In addition to being the tallest building in Europe, the Commerzbank headquarters is also among the greenest. Amazingly, every single office is daylit. Natural ventilation for the building is provided not by fans and ducts, but by a four-story gardens that spiral up the perimeter of the building and are accesseable at each floor. Central to the building is a full height atrium which utilizes a chimney effect to regulate the temperature of the building. For most of the year, Commerzbank Tower is able to rely solely on natural lighting and ventilation during daylight hours, drastically reducing energy consumption. The energy savings aspect, along with the vibrancy brought on by a semi-outdoors atmosphere and sense of community this tower instills, make it an exemplary work of architecture |
 Thanks to Alex's flickr account for this image. |
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| Oregon Health & Science University - South Waterfront campus GBD Architects OHSU's south waterfront building is the largest building in the world to achieve a LEED platinum rating. From sunlight preservation, to rainwater recycling, to energy conservation the building goes far beyond the norm for efficiency. Solar energy is captured by the combined forces of a trombe wall, and sunshades with solar collectors mounted on top. Additional energy is saved through the state's first large-scale on-site micro-turbine plant which can generate 35% of the building's energy needs. To minimize the loss of rainwater, the building's roof channels water to a greywater tank for use in restrooms and the landscape system. Finally the complex will completely recycle all sewage waste on site. The south waterfront campus is setting new standards for midrise buildings in the nation. |
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| Baker Dormatory Alvar Aalto The Baker Dormitory is one of only two buildings by the Finnish architect. The Baker Dorm was a green building before the term was recognized. Aalto built the footprint in a zigzag pattern to ensure that dorm windows did not face in on each other but instead looked onto the grand Charles River. He created small windows on the ground floor and larger windows on the upper floors where residents had less connection to the earth. Most interestingly, he pulled the stairway out from the building to make it a recognisable element and used generous glass on the stairways. From conversations with students there is definately a greater tendancy to use the stairways than the elevator. Aalto was ahead of his time in his ability to bring natural light deep into the building. He used skylights extensively to create a more naturally lit environment. |
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 LANDSCAPING
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Introduction An unprotected home loses much more heat on a cold, windy day than on an equally cold, still day. Well-located trees and shrubs can intercept the wind and cut heat loss. Up to one-third of the heat loss may escape through the walls and roof by conduction. Wind also increases the convective air currents along outside walls and roof thus increasing heat loss. Infiltration or air leakage can account for as much as one-third of heating losses in some buildings. Cold, outside air flows in through cracks around windows and doors, and even through pores in walls. This produces drafts that may cause you to compensate by raising the thermostat to unreasonable levels just to maintain a modicum of comfort. Both windbreaks and foundation plantings can cut down the penetrating power of the wind. Windbreak Benefits Studies of windbreaks show that windbreaks can reduce winter fuel consumption by 10 to 30 percent. One study in Nebraska compared fuel requirements of identical test houses which maintained a constant inside temperature of 70 degrees F. The house protected by a windbreak used 23 percent less fuel. In 1 month, an exposed, electrically heated house in South Dakota used 443 kilowatt-hours to maintain an inside temperature of 70 degrees F. An identical house sheltered by a windbreak used only 270 kilowatt-hours. The difference in average energy requirements for the whole winter was 34 percent. The amount of money saved by a windbreak will vary depending on the climate of the area, location of the home, and the construction material and quality. A well-weatherized house with adequate ventilation won't benefit from windbreaks as much as a poorly weatherized house. In addition to reducing the force of the wind, windbreaks also can reduce the wind-chill impact on people outside the house. Windbreaks can be located to control snow too, reducing the energy required to remove snow from around homes, buildings, and roads. Make sure windbreaks are located correctly to have the desired effect on drifting snow. The height and density of trees determine the amount of protection they will provide. Windbreaks of 2 to 5 rows of trees and shrubs generally provide good protection. Evergreen trees provide the best protection, although low, branching deciduous trees can significantly reduce wind speed. Even a single row of evergreen trees will give some protection. Windbreaks reduce wind velocity significantly for a distance of about 10 times the height of the trees. Maximum protection is provided within a distance of 5 times the height of the trees. Thus a windbreak 30 feet high protects an area extending as far as 300 feet downwind and some protection is provided for as far as 20 times the height of the trees. Foundation Planting Trees and shrubs planted close to buildings reduce wind currents that otherwise would chill the outside surface. Foundation plantings create a "dead air" space which slows the escape of heat from a building. These plantings also help reduce air infiltration around the foundation of the house. Evergreen trees and shrubs are thicker and are more effective than deciduous plants. To be most effective, the evergreens should be planted close together to form a tight barrier. In summer, the same dead air space helps insulate your home from hot, outside air reducing the need for air conditioning.
(Originally published as "Landscaping to Cut Fuel Costs," by Jerome R. Smith, former Extension Housing
Specialist, in The
For more information visit: |
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It is the central thesis of Bill
McDonough and Michael Braungart, his business partner and co-author of
Cradle To Cradle, that waste equals food. The founders of McDonough
Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) contend this is how the natural world
operates, so why can't we emulate this in our industrial society?
Instead, most of the products we develop are based on a "cradle to grave" approach in which nearly everything we buy ends up as a pollutant in a landfill or incinerator. The tiny percentage of goods that do get recycled are usually turned into something of less intrinsic value that also eventually gets discarded as waste. Little of what we make actually gets recycled back into the natural world or is endlessly reincarnated into products of value. Please visit EV World for the full text |
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