Design to Reduce Energy and Water Use
High energy efficiency is one of the basics of sustainable buildings. This can be achieved by doing the simple things well and cost-effectively, and by using innovative technologies.
The obvious reasons for energy efficiency include:
- lower energy bills;
- the effect on climate change;
- energy-efficient components and systems reduce unwanted heat gain and the need for artificial cooling;
Other advantages can include:
- more natural daylight and less need for artificial lighting;
- improved air quality efficiently pre-warmed or cooled as required;
- less noise, due to lower mechanical requirements.
The new Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building is projected to use 56 percent less energy and 90 percent less potable water for fixtures than a comparable structure built in a traditional fashion.
Y2E2 is designed to make the most effective use of natural light, distributing it throughout the building in winter and summer, without heating the building. Sun shades are positioned below the top of windows so that there is window above and below the shade. In the summer, when the sun is at a high angle (76 degrees), the sun shade prevents the sunlight from directly entering the building and heating it up. Windows with a southern exposure are shaded from direct sun by an extra-long horizontal sun shade above the top of the window. The north and east windows have vertical sun shades, and the west-facing windows have both horizontal and vertical sun shades. In the winter, when the sun is at a lower angle (29 degrees), it enters the top part of the window and reflects off the top of the sun shade and the interior light shelf. In all seasons, reflected light bounces off the ceiling and through translucent windows on the far side of offices into the interior of the building. The windows on the south side of the building are also slanted slightly up to harvest more light.
10 Ways to Reduce Energy
1. Assess how your building consumes and wastes energy. Conduct regular energy audits to determine what condition your equipment is in and how it is performing. These audits will show where and how energy is being wasted and prioritize energy improvement measures.
2. Use more energy efficient equipment. Install new energy efficient equipment and replace or eliminate outdated, inefficient equipment. Look for Energy Star labels for equipment and appliances.
3. Match HVAC and lighting output to occupancy. Install programmable building controls that enable systems to provide light, heat and cooling to building spaces only when they are occupied.
4. Maintain equipment for maximum efficiency. Make sure that your equipment is properly serviced and maintained so that it runs as efficiently as possible. Increase operating efficiency of chillers, boilers and packaged cooling equipment through proactive service and maintenance.
5. Maximize lighting efficiency. Upgrade lighting to high efficiency bulbs and fixtures. Energy efficient lighting uses less energy and generates less heat, reducing your costs and easing the strain on your HVAC systems.
6. Measure water usage and waste. Conduct water audit in your facilities, campus, or geography to determine where water is being used and wasted. Reduce water consumption by installing low-flow equipment and fixing leaks.
7. Schedule cleaning during regular work hours. Experiment with different "day cleaning" schedules. Arrange cleaning schedules to overlap with work hours instead of having cleaning done after hours and keeping the lights, heating and air conditioning on at night. That will reduce energy consumption.
8. Insulate thoroughly. Insulate exterior walls, outlets, pipes, radiators, etc to reduce heat and cooling loss.
9. Meet LEED standards. Build, renovate, and operate your facilities according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. That will benefit your bottom line by lowering operating costs and increasing asset value. It will benefit the environment by conserving energy and water, reducing waste sent to landfills, creating healthier, safer occupant environments, and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
10. Make building occupants more informed. Educate and engage building occupants to promote energy conservation and reward wise energy decisions and behaviors.
'The textiles industry uses 25% of all chemicals worldwide- 2nd in the world after the chemical industry'
This weeks lecture was about how contemporary design (mainly the textiles industry) at present causes the most chemical impacts as well as discussing the possibilities for sustainable alternatives to chemicals. At the beginning of a textile products life-cycle (more often than not) the farmers would spray their crops with pesticides and their sheared hair with some sort of pesticide or insecticide and wash it = leaving the matter soaked in chemical and wasting water. This is also typically true of synthetic textiles- chemicals are used to treat the item at beginning stages. There may also be labour, power & health issues that come into play if the farmer is not treated/paid fairly.
By using more sustainable materials or organically produced materials with natural dyes/ colourants and attempting to use nano technology in replacement of chemicals we could create an almost completely recyclable unharmful, non-toxic item that will not use as much water as the standard textile. By thinking more in depth about the natural properties of the fibre (eg. lambs wool water resistancy) we could just stick to using them instead of synthetically manufacturing our own onto fabrics, that wouldnt take any chemical processes.
Other options would be to come up with completely new fresh techniques that are low energy, chemical free & dont nessessarily need water. Its takes up to 17,000 ltrs of water to produce 1 kg of cotton, cotton is also becoming increasingly difficult to produce so why dont people find alternatives . Hemp is much like cotton in its qualities but is a tough withstanding crop that grows like a weed and has additional qualities that cotton lacks. Nettle (belonging to the same plant family as Hemp) could also probably be used as a cotton substitute & it was used during wartime as dye for uniforms. Wood pulp could be another alternative.Thinking about lifestyle design, designing for long life & short life. If we are designing for long life then its likely the product will need to be cleaned in some way usually requiring water, how can we create ways of washing that dont require water use or the dry cleaning chemicals? an ionizing laundry machine for example?
Designing for short life is a different matter, because if an item is made to be worn only a few times and recycled then washing doesnt nessesarily have to be a problem. Kay Politowicz & Sandy McLennan created a collection of short life paper garments which could be recycled after use - is this something that more designers should think about? or is it just a waste of trees?
We could replace chemical finishes with Nano technology (NanoSphere®) nanoparticles form a fine coating on the fabric which repels tough liquids such as oil, allowing you to rinse off easily with water. Nano technology requires less frequent washing at low temperatures and retains its function throughout.
At present synthetic & acidic dyes are released into our water supplies making it undrinkable - companies such as Herbal Fab use plant and vegetables to dye at low impacts using traditional techniques, there is also a fairly new company called Airdying® which dyes fabrics just as well as traditional ways but without using water. Heat transfer techniques could be a no water option but others could argue that the energy used to produce the heat may be just as bad for the environment. A new dye process arose using soil as a dye process, the natural fixatives in soil means not having to use chemicals- the PH levels determine the change of colour.
Before buying a fabric try to research into where it came from and how its been made- try to see how far back you can go
