Energy Efficient Architecture

Course Structure
On a Weekly 3 hr Class:

2 hrs Lecture - Covering the Theory aspects of Sustainable and Green
Building design

1 hr - DISCUSSION SESSION/ CASE STUDIES/ PRESENTATIONS

School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University Campus, Chennai
AD9022 ENERGY EFFICIENT ARCHITECTURE

UNIT I ARCHITECTURE AND ENERGY 9
Solar System and Earth - Renewable Sources of Energy - Global Climates and
Architecture in Historic Perspective - Contemporary Trends - Sustainability and
Architecture

UNIT II SOLAR PASSIVE ARCHITECTURE 9
Design Considerations involving Site Conditions, Building Orientation, Plan form and
Building Envelope - Heat transfer and Thermal Performance of Walls and Roofs

UNIT III PASSIVE HEATING 9
Direct Gain Thermal Storage of Wall and Roof - Roof Radiation Trap - Solarium -
Isolated Gain

UNIT IV PASSIVE COOLING 9
Evaporative Cooling - Nocturnal Radiation cooling - Passive Desiccant Cooling -
Induced Ventilation - Earth Sheltering - Wind Tower - Earth Air Tunnels

UNIT V DAY LIGHTING AND NATURAL VENTILATION 9
Daylight Factor - Daylight Analysis - Daylight and Shading Devices - Types of
Ventilation - Ventilation and Building Design


Anyone involved in building design, procurement or maintenance in recent
years will have been confronted in one way or another by the term
Sustainability.

It is generally agreed that sustainability affects the way we live; consequently,
personal ethics will influence the way an individual interprets.

Like architecture as a whole, sustainability involves addressing a wide
spectrum of issues, sometimes seemingly conflicting ones

Acquiring a basic knowledge of these issues is the first step towards
establishing or clarifying personal values and moving towards a more
sustainable future.

Strategies for Sustainable Architecture aims to contribute to this process.


Sustainability, why bother?

Species of plants and animals are disappearing a hundred or more times
faster than before the coming of humanity, and as many as half may be
gone by the end of this century.

An Armageddon is approaching at the beginning of the third millennium.
But it is not the cosmic war and fiery collapse of mankind foretold in
sacred scripture. It is the wreckage of the planet by an exuberantly
plentiful and ingenious humanity.

(Edward O. Wilson The Future of Life)


Wilson describes that , it is not only the nature of human activities that
threatens the environment, but also their increasing occurrence.

Currently up to 2 million humans, without reliable access to safe food,
urgently require resources to cover their basic needs, while several
billions more rapidly increasing their resource use to improve their living
standards.

Compounding this, the global population is growing: currently at 6.2
billion, it is expected to stabilise at around 9 billion by end of century.

90 % of the population growth is expected in the developing countries.
This is going to raise low living standards which requires more
resources, producing more waste and increase the impact on the natural
environment.

The principles of sustainability aim to address the problems of
environmental degradation and lack of human equality and quality of life,
by supporting development that is sustainable in economic and social
terms and is capable of retaining the benefits of a healthy stable
environment in the long term.


What are the main environmental issues that demand Sustainability?

Global warming - describes the process by which greenhouse gases accumulate in the
atmosphere abnormally in huge quantum trapping the earths radiation and causing its
temperature to rise significantly. This change leads to environmental problems like change
in rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and expansion of deserts.

Pollution - Air, water and land is polluted by burning fossil fuels, industrial processes,
agriculture and other human activities is endangering human health, biodiversity and the
built environment.

Ozone Depletion - Ozone shields us from UV rays and is now depleted resulting in
health hazards like skin cancers, low immune system and altered crop yields in
agriculture.

Water - 1/3 of our world population is without safe water for their various uses. As the
population grows, so is the demand and polluting water will only make the rivers and
groundwater worse.



Resources Some non- renewable resources , including natural gas and petroleum will
eventually be depleted . Mineral ores will also be limited and renewable resources like
timber will are also at the risk of overuse.

Deforestation Deforestation through commercial logging, conversion of forest land to
agriculture use and other activities has resulted in destruction of natural habitats and
extinction of plant and animal species adds to the global warming and pollution.

Soil degradation Urbanisation, construction, mining, war, agriculture and
deforestation has resulted in soil degradation. Soil erosion, increased salination, altered
soil structure, drainage capacity and fertilisation can diminish crop yields, increase the risk
of flooding and can cause destruction of natural habitats.

Waste increasing amounts of waste add pressure for more landfill sites, which pollute
air, soil and ground water. Burning wastes has resulted in polluting air with toxic residue.

Extinction of flora and fauna The current mass extinction rates of plant and animal
species are the culmination of the environment damage the earth is going through.


Resources Some non- renewable resources , including natural gas and petroleum will
eventually be depleted . Mineral ores will also be limited and renewable resources like
timber will are also at the risk of overuse.

Deforestation Deforestation through commercial logging, conversion of forest land to
agriculture use and other activities has resulted in destruction of natural habitats and
extinction of plant and animal species adds to the global warming and pollution.

Soil degradation Urbanisation, construction, mining, war, agriculture and
deforestation has resulted in soil degradation. Soil erosion, increased salination, altered
soil structure, drainage capacity and fertilisation can diminish crop yields, increase the risk
of flooding and can cause destruction of natural habitats.

Waste increasing amounts of waste add pressure for more landfill sites, which pollute
air, soil and ground water. Burning wastes has resulted in polluting air with toxic residue.

Extinction of flora and fauna The current mass extinction rates of plant and animal
species are the culmination of the environment damage the earth is going through.


Who initiated Sustainability An Historic perspective
In 1753, Joseph Black discovered carbon dioxide

In 1827, Jean-Baptiste Fourier suggested that an atmospheric effect kept the earth warmer than
it would otherwise be he used the analogy of a greenhouse.

In 1896, Svante August Arrhenius proposed that carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of
coal would enhance the earth's greenhouse effect and lead to global warming.
First warnings about climate change

From the late 1950s, carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements were made on a mountain top in
Hawaii. Over the next decade, these measurements confirmed that levels of CO2 in the
atmosphere were rising year on year. In 1967, an early computer simulation suggested that
global temperatures might increase by more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on CO2
levels.

Improved climate models developed over the next 20 years confirmed the link between CO2
emissions and global warming. Then an ice core from Antarctica first revealed a link between
carbon dioxide levels and temperature going back more than 100,000 years. Warnings like
these encouraged international action on climate change.



1962 -Rachel Carson publishes "Silent Spring".

This book brought together research on toxicology, ecology and epidemiology to suggest that
agricultural pesticides were building to catastrophic levels.
This was linked to damage to animal species and to human health.
It shattered the assumption that the environment had an infinite capacity to
absorb pollutants.

1968 -The Club of Rome, is established by 36 European economists and scientists.

Its goal is to pursue a holistic understanding of the 'world problematique'. It commissions a study on
global proportions to model and analyse the dynamic interactions between industrial production,
population, environmental damage, food consumption and natural resource usage.

1969 -Friends of the Earth forms as a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the planet
from environmental degradation;

preserving biological, cultural, and ethnic diversity; and empowering citizens to have an influential
voice in decisions affecting the quality of their environment --and their lives.

1971-Greenpeace starts up in Canada and launches
an aggressive agenda to stop environmental damage through civil protests and non-violent interference


AA 9114 SUSTAINABLE AND GREEN BUILDING DESIGN


1971, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is established in
Britain, with a mandate to seek ways to make economic progress without destroying
the environmental resource base.

1972, United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm. Only one
Earth-led to the development of The United Nations Environment programme (UNEP)

1972, Club of Rome publishes "Limits to Growth" (Meadows et.al) report

It described the use of a computer model World 3 -to study the implications of continuing
exponential growth in five interconnected trends of global concern: industrialisation,
population, growth, widespread malnutrition, depletion of non-renewable resources and
ecological damage.
The report adopts a pessimistic view of development, warning of severe resource
shortages if development were to maintain its current momentum.
Extremely controversial .

AA 9114 SUSTAINABLE AND GREEN BUILDING DESIGN


1987, Montreal Protocol focused on the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer and
eliminating substances that cause this (HCFCs).

Has since been strengthened twice -London and Copenhagen.
Production of CFCs in North stopped by 1996, countries in the South (China and India) to end
production by 2006.

1988, Inter-Governmental panel on Climate Change

Resulted in the framework convention on climate change signed by153 countries + the then EU,
dealing with the threat of global warming
Thought lacked firm agreements on targets, did aim to stabilise 1990 levels of CO2 and other
greenhouse gases

1992Meadows, D. B., Meadows, D. L. and Randers, J., Beyond the Limits, London: Earthscan.

Using a computer model to map patterns of growth, the report concluded that environmental
collapse was inevitable.
'If the present growth trends on world population, industrialisation, pollution, food production and
resource depletion remain unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached some time
within the next 100 years'.



1992, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de J aneiro,
Brazil The Earth Summit. 179 countries participated in this conference working towards reconciling
the impact of human socio-economic activities on the environment. Outcomes:

Convention on biological diversity
Framework convention on climatic change
Principles of forest management
Agenda 21
The Rio declaration on environment and development

1994, Law of the Seanational sovereignty of off-shore waters and the national responsibility for the
ecosystems within these waters (re. dumping waste, & fish stocks etc.)

1997, Kyoto ProtocolWorlds Governments met in J apan to negotiate a treaty to start dealing
seriously with climate change to reduce emissions of serious greenhouse gases CO2, CH4, NO, +3
types of fluorinated gases.



1997 -Earth Summit+5 - A five year review of Earth Summit progress was made by the United
Nations General Assembly.

The final document adopted by delegates from over 165 countries --while taking small steps forward on a
number of issues, including preventing climate change, forest loss and freshwater scarcity -disappointed
many in that it contained few new concrete commitments on action needed.

2001Climate Summit, Bonn 178 countries developed a framework of how to implement the 1997
Kyoto Protocol.

2002-Earth Summit 2002, Johannesburg, South Africa. Rio+10 -World Summit on Sustainable
Development-people, planet, prosperity, This summit is regarded as unsatisfactory by environmentalists
, but does set goals including that for reducing by half the number(2.4 billion) of people without sanitation,
and halting the decline of fish stocks by 2015.

2004 ratifies the Kyoto Protocol and scientists warn that global warming is happening at a faster rate
than previously believed.

2005 The Kyoto Protocol comes into force , but the US ( the biggest polluter of co2 in the world) and
Australia think it is too expensive and did not sign up.




In 2006, the Stern report was published in the UK by HM Treasury. It was the first report of its kind into
the economic impact of climate change. It found that the costs of inaction far outweighed the costs of
action.

In November 2008, the UK government passed the Climate Change Act. The Act sets legally binding
targets for reducing emissions by 80 per cent on 1990 levels by 2050.

At the United Nations (UN) conference in Cancun 2010 , the attendees agreed a global deal to
tackle climate change. The key parts of this agreement were:

an overall target limit of 2 degrees Celsius on temperature rise

to include measures that developed and developing countries are taking on climate change in the UN
agreement

a system to assess how countries are living up to their promises on emissions

the Green Climate Fund to help developing countries go low carbon

to slow, halt and reverse the destruction of trees

to set up ways to help developing countries access low carbon technologies


Green Building Design



In a survey carried out in UK on environmental impacts associated with the construction , use
and disposal of buildings in the UK:

Buildings are responsible for 50 percent of primary energy consumption.

Buildings account for 25 percent of sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions and 10 percent of
methane emissions.

Construction work on site is responsible for 4.7 percent of noise complaints.

In large scale projects approximately 6 tonnes of materials per person are used for construction .

30 million tonnes per year of excavated soil/ clay waste are estimated to arise from construction
site preparation.

30 million tonnes per year of waste arise due to demolition work.



Buildings, their construction, use and disposal, have a significant impact on the natural environment
and social fabric of our society .

Sustainable architecture can help put into practice and encourage a sustainable way of life.

But how can buildings be designed and built to contribute positively to the sustainability agenda , to
achieve a strong, socially inclusive, stable communities while minimising the impact on the
environment? There are perhaps two main aims for sustainable architectural design:

- First, sustainable buildings should metaphorically, tread lightly on Earth by minimising the impacts
associated with their construction, their life in use and the end of their life. Sustainable buildings
should have small ecological footprints.

- Second, buildings should make a positive and appropriate contribution to the social environment
they inhabit, by addressing peoples practical needs while enhancing their surrounding environment
and their well being

Sustainability is not an academic pursuit or even a professional activity; its a way of life affecting
everything an Individual knows.



Buildings have potential lives spanning hundreds of years. What is being built now could affect the
next generations. Not to build for maximum energy, water, materials and waste efficiency is to place
an unacceptable burden future generations.

Sustainable technologies are available, sustainable design strategies have been implemented , and
studies have proved that these approaches can contribute positively to reducing the ecological
footprint of a society.

Sustainable buildings are those that can be an asset for many years to come.

Sustainability is not an academic pursuit or even a professional activity; its a way
of life affecting everything an Individual knows.



Further reading:

REQUIRED READING:
1. Manual on Solar Passive Architecture, IIT Mumbai and Mines New Delhi - 1999
2. Arvind Krishnan & Others, Climate Responsive Architecture, A Design Handbook
for Energy Efficient Buildings, TATA McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited, New
Delhi, 2001
REFERENCES:
1. Fuller Moore, Environmental Control Systems, McGraw Hill INC, New Delhi - 1993
2. Sophia and Stefan Behling, Solpower, the Evolution of Solar Architecture, Prestel,
New York, 1996
3. Givoni .B, Passive and Low Energy Cooling of Buildings, Van Nostrand Reinhold,
New York, 1994


Any Questions?


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