Sustainable Energy For Buildings Construction Essay

Sustainable Energy For Buildings Construction EssayThe above marking profile is for guidance only and is non indicative of your concluding mark. The tokenish aggregate mark for a pass on an MSc module is 50, subject to passing each assessed component with a mark above a threshold of 40%. (3) Coursework submitted after the due deadline is deemed late and is subject to a mark of 0% unless an extension to deadline has been approved by your Course Leader. If an extension has been granted, the criticize copy of the completed Extension to Deadline form should be stapled to the work when submitted. If no extension has been granted, the tutor assessing the work get out insert a grade of 0% and, for selective information, indicate the true merit of the assignment. (4) If appropriate, mitigating circumstances should be submitted in writing on the appropriate form with documented evidence to the Course Leader for friendship at the MSc/MEng Examination BoardsCharikleia Chelmi, student no 12835450Date 14 November 2012Subject Energy acquire and supply.1. IntroductionFor thousands of years, buildings were designed based on the climate of the bea and the physical and social environment (Roaf, Fuentes and Thomas, 2007). The provision of comfort for the dwellers is one of the most(prenominal) important functions of a building as a result, there is a range of building types and the demand of vim depends on the occupants needs and the activities taking place there (Douglas, 2011).This report is produced in order to present the design of a low carbon building inhabited by a couple. The objectives of the project are to design a low carbon house in a central location of Brighton and Hove, considering the climate and the location, using low carbon construction materials and nix efficient technologies. The potentials for low carbon buildings in the city of Brighton and issues of energy demand and supply for this type of buildings bequeath also be mentioned taking into con sideration that over 27 % of the UKs CO2 emissions come from the residential sector.The project is based on information provided by books, case studies, tutorials, television programs and websites. Visits to other low carbon houses and informal interviews with the residents also helped to follow the best practice for the project.1.1. Climate and background informationThe low carbon house project is located in the sulphureast side of the jet Parade campus of the University of Brighton.The project is about a two-storey house. Since the purpose of make an energy efficient house is its appropriate orientation, the windows of the most habitable room should be located at the south side of the house. A south veneering roof bequeath also receive the gamyest amount of solar radiation syndrome (Pitts and Lanchashire, 2011). The surrounding buildings, trees and other types of vegetation ordain minimize the effects of wind.The weather in Brighton is warmer that in other cities of UK wit h mild winters and warm summers. The range of fair(a) monthly temperatures is 12.5 C, the highest mean temperatures are observed in July and August (20C) and the lowest in February (2C). There are around 4.8 sunshine hours per day and 1766 sunshine hours per year. The monthly and annual mean precipitation appears to be 67 mm and 801 mm separately (Climate and temperature, 2012).2. Building design, construction and performance specificationsThe construction of a low carbon building requires us to make a choice of natural, locally sourced with low embody energy materials.The construction of the building will be carried out using local sources with timber to be the main construction material. According to Pitts and Lanchashire (2011), timber inclose is a genuinely good method for construction due to the low embodied energy of timber-products.The house will be constructed using ModCell system (McCloud, 2008). The anatomical structure will consist of timber framed wall panels infil led with straw bales. The size of panels will be 3m high x 3.2m wide and 480 mm thick. The straw bales will be packed tightly inside the timber wall frames, plastered on both sides using lime render and finally dried (Tickle, 2010). The final product will be straw panels. The straw bales result in highly insulated walls and have low embodied energy. When plastered, they are airtight and fireproof in addition lime plasters offer high thermal mass (Jones, 2009).The thermal performance profiles are easily defined when knowing the insulation value of a material. This value is commonly known as the U-value. The lower the U-value, the better thermal performance the house displays (Shomera House Extensions, 2012). ModCell indicates that the U-value for a 480mm straw panel lies between 0.13 and 0.19 W/m2K and the U-value for solid timber frame is 0.134 W/m2K.Pitts and Lanchashire (2011) describe the wooden floor as the ideal place to locate thermal mass because solar radiation strikes it. T he structure will consist of timber suspended ground floor suitable for underfloor heating and high insulation.A pitched roof consisting of a couple of rafters formed into a truss, covered then by oak shingles will complete the structure. The rafters will be around 225mm deep and the roof will be insulated using wool and a breathable membrane below. Oak singles are natural materials that do not need a waterproof membrane under them in addition they match well with straw bale walls (Jones, 2009). The U-value for a timber roof is from 0.15 to 0.10 W/m2K. The roof will slope towards the south and solar panels and collectors will be placed on it. There will also be rooflights to take advantage of natural daylight.Windows influence heat loss, airing heat loss, solar heat gain and natural light representing an additional component to think about. A view, expressed by ModCell is that U-values for both glazing and frame of windows should not exceed 0.8 W/m2K. The building will have doub le glazed windows with a high-solar gain low-emissivity glass with argon-gas fill. The estimated U-Value is 0.30 W/m2K (Efficient Windows Collaborative, 2012). Large south-facing windows will be kind of constructed and timber window frames will reduce thermal bridging.A fine-control slot ventilator will also be established.3. Monthly energy demand profilesMacDonald (2012, p.45) defines energy demand profile as the pattern of energy use in a building, which varies during the day and over the year.Energy is used in several slipway in buildings. According to Douglas (2011), the hugeest amount of energy used in British residencies is for space and water heating. Space heating covers more than the half of the energy consumption in a British house. Water heating reaches a percentage of 24% while the energy rate used for cooking and dismission is 3%.A significant amount of the energy used in a house is in the form of electricity which powers electrical appliances and is finally convert ed into heat.Low carbon buildings aim at low carbon emissions. MacDonald (2012) claims that the measures that occupants have to take in order to achieve the best energy performance specifications are the followingTo reduce the energy demandThat means that occupants should reduce the consumption of energy and carbon emissions. The house will be appropriately orientated in order to get the best thermal and energy achievements that passive solar heating and passive design features can provide.To use energy in an efficient wayThe building fabric efficiency plays an important role as the houses components are made of materials of high thermal performance. Precise use and management of high efficiency building services result in suitable energy consumption, as well.To supply energy needs establishing renewable energy sourcesA great amount of the needed electricity will be provided by renewable energy technologies so that fossil fuels can be limited.The couple, who is out of the house most of the day, is estimated to consume around 7.500 kWh per year. The tenants are estimated to consume the highest amount of electricity, for powering appliances or for lighting early in the morning, during the evening and weekend. From November to February the demand for space and water heating is anticipate to be much higher than in spring and summer. However, energy requirements are expected to be less due to the houses design, the good insulation and airtightness (0.86m3/hr.m2 50 Pa) (ModCell, 2012).4. adapted renewable energy sources and their supply profilesThe house will be equipped with the following renewable technologiesSolar thermal glazed flat-plate collectors for water heating.The system will be placed on south facing roof mounted on a slope of between 30 and 40 degrees to the horizontal. It will well-nigh collect from 1000 to 1300 kWh per year meeting about 50% of annual domestic hot water demand. The average monthly output for the collector is estimated to be 20kWh i n December and January, 45kWh in February, 80kWh in March, 105 kWh in April, 125 kWh in May, 150 kWh in June, 160 kWh in July, 115 kWh in August, 95 kWh in September, 60 kWh in October and 30 kWh in November. There is a back-up boiler to support the solar thermal hot water system, during the periods of low solar radiation.Roof mounted photovoltaic arrayThe southerly facing1.85 kWp PV array will be installed at an angle of 35 and will generate around 1.700 kWh per year. Specifically, the average monthly electricity production of this system is expected to be 40 kWh in December, in 50 kWh January, 80 kWh in February, 125 kWh in March, clxxx kWh in April, 210 kWh in May and June, 220 kWh in July, 200 kWh in August, 150 kWh in September, 105 kWh in October and 65 kWh in November. During periods of low electricity demand, the lavishness electricity generation will be exported to the grid. As a consequence, occupants will use grid electricity at night or on complicated days (Solar Trad e Association, 2012).14 k W floor mounted air source heat pump.It will supply underfloor heating, with radiators elsewhere. The seasonal COP will be approximately 2.6. The electricity that PV generates can be used to power and support the pump.Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system.It will provide very good quality of indoor air and reach the greatest space heating efficiency (Welsh Government, 2012).5. Discussion and conclusionThe energy equaliser is based on the proportion of energy that enters the house and is stored and the proportion of energy that exits the house.Feist (2009) states that the sum of the losses equals the sum of the gains. Heat losses are the fabric heat losses through walls, doors, windows and roof and the natural ventilation heat losses. Passive solar gains and heat from electrical supplies and activities are the heat gains. His calculation shows that the annual energy balance of a passive house is 130kWh / (m2a).The low carbon building in the Gran d Parade will be constructed with the use of local and environmental couthie materials and renewable energy systems. The suitable specifications of the components and the supply profiles of the selected technologies aim at an energy efficient house with low carbon emissions during its lifetime. However, weather conditions can be occasional as a result, energy deficiency can be a problem which can be solved with the use of conventional forms of energy.The U.K. government aims at a 60 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. This goal makes the construction of low carbon buildings a necessary strategy that Brighton and Hove city Council must follow.6. ReferencesAndrews, K., 2009. UKs first Straw Bale Holiday Home by Carol Atkinson. Inhabitant, blog, 25 February. Available at http//inhabitat.com/yorkshire-straw-bale-cabin-by-carol-atkinson/ Accessed 28 October 2012.Climatemp.com, 2012. Climate and temperatures. Online Available at http//www.brighton.climatemps.com Accessed 27 Oc tober 2012.Douglas, H., 2012. A guide to energy management in building. New York Spon Press.Efficient Windows Collaborative, 2012. Windows technologies Low -E coatings. Online Available at http//www.efficientwindows.org/lowe.cfm Accessed 16 October 2012.ESRU, 2012. Urban solar water heating. Online Available at http//www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/01-02/RE_info/active_urban.htm Accessed 9 November 2012).Feist, W., 2009. Using Energy balances to meet energy efficiency. Online Available at http//www.passivhaustagung.de/Passive_House_E/energybalance.html Accessed 30 October 2012.Grand designs live The house that Kevin construct Pt. 1. 2008 DVD U.K. Talkback Thames.Grand designs live The house that Kevin built Pt. 2. 2008 DVD U.K. Talkback Thames.Grand designs live The house that Kevin built Pt.3. 2008 DVD U.K. Talkback Thames.Grand designs live The house that Kevin built Pt.4. 2008 DVD U.K. Talkback Thames.Grand designs live The house that Kevin built Pt. 5. 2008 DVD U.K. Talkb ack Thames.Grand designs live The house that Kevin built Pt. 6. 2008 DVD U.K. Talkback Thames.Jones, B., 2009. Building with Straw Bales. 2nd ed. Devon Green Books.MacDonald, M., 2012. Practice Guidance Renewable and Low Carbon Energy in Buildings, Welsh Government, Wales Planning Policy Development Programme. Online Available at http//www.ihsti.com.ezproxy.brighton.ac.uk/tempimg/2DCC707-CIS888614800301505.pdf Accessed 25 October 2012.Modcell, 2012. Helping you build a more suitable future. Online Available at http//www.modcell.com Accessed at 14 October 2012.Pitts, C. G. and Lancashire, R., 2011. Low-energy timber frame buildings. 2nd ed. Buckinghamshire TRADA Technology Ltd.Roaf, S., Fuentes, M. and Thomas, S., 2007. Ecohouse a design guide. 3rd ed. Oxford Architectural Press.Shomera House Extensions, 2012. Thermal performance in buildings. Online Available at http//www.shomera.ie/thermal-performance-in-buildings Accessed at 27 October 2012.Solar Trade Association, 2012. Solar ele ctricity (photovoltaic). Online Available at http//www.solar-trade.org.uk/solarHeating/photovoltaics.cfm Accessed at 31 October 2012.Tickle, L., 2010. Is straw the building material of the future? The defender Online, Online 13 July. Available at http//www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jul/13/straw-houses-balehaus-bre Accessed 25 October 2012.Welsh Government, 2012. Welch Future Home, case, Cardiff Welsh Government. 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