Analysis of a Building Sustainability

Building Sustainability 1
ANALYSIS OF A BUILDING SUSTAINABILITY
By (Name)
Course
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission

Building Sustainability 2
Table of content
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Objective...........................................................................................................................................2
Sub task 1: Building water performance......................................................................................3
Sub-Task 2: Building thermal comfort.........................................................................................8
Sub-Task 3: Building energy performance.................................................................................13
Discussion........................................................................................................................................16
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................16
References.......................................................................................................................................17
Appendix.........................................................................................................................................18

Building Sustainability 3
Analysis of a building Sustainability
Introduction
Australia is one of the largest polluters in the world. Achieving net zero energy homes in
most countries like Australia has been a struggle with up to 1.5% greenhouse gas emission. A
report released by the Australian government shows that 23% of greenhouse gas emission is as a
result of the buildings energy demands (Iyer-Raniga & Wasiluk, 2007). Since 2002, there has
been restriction on water consumption as a strategy to counter drought conditions. Therefore, the
rapid enhancement of water and energy performance of the building sector can significantly add
to the environmental, social and economic benefits across the country, timely reduce global
energy use and promote environmental sustainability.
Objective
To analyze the 4 bedroom bungalow house case study to determine the building water
performance, energy performance, and indoor thermal comfort that are among the key steps
towards the sustainability of the built environment.
Sub task 1: Building water performance
Water consumption rate can be challenging to achieve in a home setting due to different
activities that require water to undertake. However, to achieve a sustainable design, it is a
requirement to fulfill the water consumption targets to help in saving water for future use. An
average family home is required to consume a target of 40%, however, this can vary depending
on different climatic conditions.

Building Sustainability 4
Step 1
Calculate the BASIX score of “water” of the original case study building, and analyze the
reasons why the building fails to satisfy the BASIX PASS requirement
The BASIX report gives a score of 27% which is below the target of 40% water performance.
This means that the building sustainability in terms of water consumption is poor and cannot
sustain the test of time. Since the design has failed to meet the BASIX requirements, then it
means that there are a number of parameters that the builders did not take into consideration to
achieve a sustainable design. To comply with the BASIX standards, there are a number of
measures that have to be taken, but in this case study some of those measures were not fulfilled,
and that is what lead into the failure of the water performance of the building. Some of those
reasons include:
 Lack of rainwater tanks and storm water tanks in the design was a big failure to meet the
BASIX requirement.
 Use of WELS rated 3 star (>7.5 but <= 9 L/min) and 3 star toilet are not recommended
for the project to pass the BASIX test.
Figure 8: toilet cistern
 Indigenous species with low water use should have covered at least 80% of the site
instead of the garden covering a larger percentage considering that it uses more water
(Huizenga, et al., 2006).