6.4 Operating Energy for Buildings
6.4 Operating Energy for Buildings
As well as the embodied energy contained in the materials of a building, and that of the processes used to construct a building, the main environmental impact will be the energy used during its lifetime. The figure below shows different scenarios of energy use over a lifetime of a building compared to the embodied energy
Figure 6.4.1 Operating Energy of Buildings [see reference 5]
Figure 6.4.1 sourced from MIT opencourseware
under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License
http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/39134/1-964Fall-2004/OcwWeb/Civil-and-Environmental-Engineering/1-964Fall-2004/LectureNotes/index.htm
According to the US Department of Energy, in the USA buildings account for 37% of primary energy consumption, and 65% of electricity use. This is the biggest use, followed by industry which is 36% and transportation which is 27%. This energy use by building accounts for 30% of greenhouse gases. [see reference 5]
Table 6.4.1 Energy needs and sustainable solutions of a building
Need |
Current Solution |
Sustainable Solution |
Lighting
|
Electric Lights fed by the grid |
Daylight
Renewable energy |
Heating |
Mains electricity, gas |
Better insulation |
Cooling |
Air-conditioning |
Natural ventilation |
(Source Ochsendorf [see reference 5])
Having briefly covered the main negative implications of the construction industry, we will now examine sustainable alternatives.